(WXYZ) — A Mount Clemens family is thankful to be alive after Macomb County prosecutors say a teenager broke into their home in the middle of the night and detonated an explosive device Delvon Lee was in the home at the time with his 9-month-old son “It sounded literally like someone threw an M-80 in there But that fire spread quickly and engulfed the front of the home along with a cousin and her 9-month-old all ran out the back door and hopped a fence to safety “You just see the whole front of this just burst in flames," Lee said Videos and photos taken after the fire show the extensive damage inside the home The babies were checked out at the hospital “My main concern was making sure my son was good and everybody was out the house,” Lee said it became clear the fire was intentionally set the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office announced a 17-year-old was taken into custody accused of breaking into the home and lighting an explosive Lee says the teen had briefly been talking with the female cousin who lived in the home and she refused to go out with him earlier that night “This is a kid ruining his life over a girl he met five days ago,” Lee said The home was a rental, but the family lost many of their belongings that were burnt inside the home. There’s now an online fundraiser to help support The teen accused of being responsible for this is still in custody at the Juvenile Justice Center Prosecutors are discussing charging him as an adult “We will make a determination about the totality of charges against the alleged perpetrator following a thorough review of all available evidence,” Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J “This was an extremely serious crime that endangered the lives of seven people and caused substantial damage to a home I am especially outraged that the lives of two infants were put a risk The Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office will not tolerate this reckless disregard for human life and private property.” A 17-year-old Mount Clemens boy is being charged as an adult after authorities said he broke into a home last week and detonated an explosive device is accused of illegally entering a Mount Clemens home in the early morning hours of April 10 the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office said in a press release issued Thursday causing "extensive fire damage to the residence," prosecutors allege The fire badly damaged the home on Eldredge Street leaving the family — including two 9-month-old babies — homeless All seven people inside the home were able to escape without injury Authorities did not say why they believe Brady set off the explosive or whether he knew the occupants prosecutors were granted a special adjournment to April 17 so they could decide whether or not to charge Brady as an adult Lucido said after reviewing the evidence and considering how close Brady is to his 18th birthday he opted to charge him as an adult with one count each of home invasion placing explosives near a property and possession of bombs with unlawful intent Each charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison “I did not reach the decision to charge Mr Brady as an adult lightly," Lucido said in a statement "The gravity of this crime plus the need to seek justice for the victims and protect the public required this solemn action I authored and passed the legislation that ended the prosecutorial practice of automatically charging 17-year-olds as adults to provide more discretion and fairness in the justice system and giving second chances to young people," the prosecutor added Brady’s alleged grievous conduct requires me to charge him as an adult.” Brady was arraigned as an adult Thursday in Clinton Township's 41-B District Court Online court records show he pleaded not guilty and Magistrate Ryan Zemke set his bond at $500,000 He is being held at the Macomb Juvenile Justice Center (JCC) in Mount Clemens If he remains in custody after his 18th birthday the JCC has the discretion to continue to hold him there or have him transferred to the Macomb County Jail Brady's next court appearance has not yet been scheduled Online court records do not list an attorney for the suspect Brady is banned from having any contact with the alleged victims using any drugs or alcohol or possessing any weapons @max_detroitnews MT. CLEMENS, Mich. – A Mount Clemens animal control officer is under investigation for allegedly mistreating a dog after a video went viral. You can watch that video at the beginning of this article. The video shows the man forcing a dog into the back of his truck. The viral post said someone called for a stray dog to be picked up, but the man used a trap and grabbed the dog by its neck to get it in the truck. Mount Clemens Mayor Laura Kropp made a statement on Facebook regarding the video: “The mission of those that serve as Mt Clemens Animal Control officers is to ensure compassionate treatment for all the animals they encounter. A video and a statement from a witness call into question the behavior of a Mount Clemens employee while he was responding to call from a resident that found a stray dog. The employee has been placed on administrative leave while the matter is investigated. Thankfully, the dog has been reunited with his owner. The city is working with the owner to ensure the health and safety of the dog." Copyright 2025 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved. Hannah Music is an alumna of Oakland University and has been with Local 4 since March 2024. Click here to take a moment and familiarize yourself with our Community Guidelines TV Listings Email Newsletters RSS Feeds Contests and Rules Contact Us Careers at WDIV Closed Captioning / Audio Description Public File Current EEO Report Terms of Use Privacy Policy Do Not Sell My Info FCC Applications Copyright © 2025 ClickOnDetroit.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group (WXYZ) — A multimillion-dollar project is now underway in downtown Mount Clemens and business owners say despite the temporary inconvenience they’re excited about what it’ll mean for the future “I’m feeling great because it’s been a long time coming,” said Davey Taylor Co-Owner of Weirdsville Records & Paperback Writer Books The $5.6 million project is set to revitalize downtown around Macomb Place and involves eliminating the curb The fountain stage was moved and will be relocated It’s partially city-funded and partially grant-funded “I think people were tired of hearing 'I'm sorry we can't do anything like that in Mount Clemens because we don't have the money,' and so we stopped using that as an excuse We found partners in our congressmen to say we could use an appropriation And I think because we were really ready with all the planning and a great idea of how to create this space that people want to come to we believe it will be a direct impact for economic development in our downtown,” said Mayor Laura Kropp The project’s scope encompasses a complete renovation of Macomb Place between North Walnut and Pine Street all of Cherry Street Mall from the Roskopp Parking Lot to Market Street and a full reconstruction of the New Street Parking Lot The intent is to make the downtown area more accessible increasing foot traffic and driving economic development it's felt like we are the city that just doesn't have the opportunities that other cities have had because we have this really significant budget issue where 48% of our land is non taxable to be able to do the big projects,” said Kropp The project is taking place in front of Diane Kubik’s She says the area continuing to be walkable is a plus for business the need to support small and support their community,” said Kubik Taylor also says his and his wife’s business is also doing well “Our sales haven’t changed much at all for the construction People are welcoming this as well,” said Taylor “There’s a little bit of slowdown here and there That’s been the goal for the Downtown Development Authority they’ve held regular meetings to inform businesses and plan to continue working to support them with pop-up and specialized events “We thought we were going to do it last year so we were well prepared for it to start this spring we just want to make sure people feel comfortable coming downtown maybe just meandering downtown and look and see what we're doing and check on our progress And we want to make sure that the businesses are open and have good hours that will support the project and it's so important because we need the pedestrian traffic to come downtown,” said Marketing Coordinator Michelle Weiss and the street should reopen by November during the business owners’ busiest season We’re really excited that everything will be redone,” said Kubik Where Your Voice Matters (WXYZ) — After stickers promoting unwanted activism started popping up community members and business owners in Mount Clemens are speaking out A well-known alleyway in downtown Mount Clemens is a popular place for stickers but not the kind that recently started showing up Marcel Johnson first noticed the black and white stickers with QR codes promoting "white lives matter" and "straight pride" on Wednesday after a customer called to alert him “I think it was just a high-traffic area that they wanted to target,” Johnson said He tore them all down and reported both incidents to the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office hoping that would be the end of it but as he was talking to 7 News Detroit “Somebody came back and did that,” Johnson said He describes the repeated incidents as harassment against the community “It makes me more angry than anything,” Johnson said Johnson and his wife opened up shop in the area because of the inclusive and diverse community and says this this won’t be tolerated He doesn’t want to give it too much attention but wants it known they won’t be silenced Things like that will always be taken down here,” Johnson said Paperback Writer Books store and Weirdsville Records are sending the same message We’re a close-knit community for being a big community and we think everybody matters,” said Lisa Taylor co-owner of Paperback Writer Book Store and Weirdsville Records but keep those thoughts to yourself,” said Diane Kubik Longtime community member and volunteer Lee Gothro echoed those sentiments “We’re not going back — we’re going forward and we’re going to take as many people as we can with us,” Gothro said “I was shocked at first and then extremely defensive of my community because I know that’s not the values of our community,” Kropp said We have so many different types of people that belong to our community and we always feel strongly that that is a point of pride for us." We talked to the sheriff and may go as far as setting up cameras to find out who is doing this,” Kropp said They can’t understand why someone would target their community for those kind of messages we’re taught to ignore these kind of things and it’s to be expected I never thought it would be at my front door though,” Johnson said The Macomb County Sherrif’s Office is investigating and increasing patrols in the area (WXYZ) — Mount Clemens plans to move city hall to the downtown central business district to make space for new development along the Clinton River that the public will be able to enjoy The state of Michigan allocated $2 million to Mount Clemens to begin the relocation process Mayor Laura Kropp hopes in addition to the revitalization and redevelopment of downtown One idea is to transform the area into a mixed-use space "We want it to be the epicenter of Macomb County," said Kropp Kropp says the city of Mount Clemens is in negotiations to secure a building for the new city offices The next step is gathering funds to also move the fire station and then coming up with a plan to redevelop the east side of the river "We're going to bring economic development to Mount Clemens and we're going to take the river and connect it back to our community so that people use it and want to spend more time using Mount Clemens as their fun space," said Kropp Marcel and Taylor Johnson own Little Daddy's Cheesecakes and have benefited from increased foot traffic downtown over the years and are excited about the possibility of more "We had our own customer base before we opened but it's grown exponentially" since then thanks to the influx of new residents and foot traffic in the downtown business area that just seems to keep growing according to Marcel "It's just been a bonus since we've gotten here." The downtown area has the least vacancies in a decade This all happens as the city prepares to break ground on the downtown revitalization project which will start in March of 2026 People in the area can expect to see major construction I would like to welcome you to our website.  This website provides detailed information about staff and responsibility of the Sheriff's Office It also provides statistical data and information about employment.  Please reach out to us if you need our services or have any questions." and the Italian flag — get ready for a taste of Italy in metro Detroit this weekend as local Italian Americans honor their origins The Italian Heritage Street Fair is coming to downtown Mount Clemens on Saturday. The free event comes as local communities mark Italian American Heritage Month this October Lisa Valerio-Nowc is president of the Columbus Day Celebration Committee All are welcome to come and join in the celebration of Italian-American culture and history "We're very proud of where our roots began and very proud of the fact that we're Americans as well because this is our home and we believe that the Italians have made a great significance in building up America as well as contributing to the history of America," Valerio-Nowc said Here's what to know about the Italian Heritage Street Fair The festival will be held Saturday from noon to 9 p.m Where is the festival?The festival will be held at Macomb Place More: Nearly 100-year-old Dante monument's connection to Belle Isle is somewhat obscure Cheerleading for Detroit’s comeback is nearly as loud as for its sports teams When Mayor Mike Duggan announced that his mayoral days were numbered But while Duggan and Detroit capture headlines nationwide southeast Michigan has two other innovative mayors whose time-worn cities get almost no attention these leaders are trying to revive aging cities suffering decades of Rust Belt reverses Clemens Mayor Laura Kropp seem poised to notch some success after more than a century of producing cars had its last big auto factory – GM's East Assembly truck plant – close in 2009 That capped decades of other GM factories closing in a city that once employed 45,000 GM workers Clemens' economy relied on the healing lure of mineral baths which filled downtown hotels and restaurants with convalescing visitors That trade ended in 1976 when the town's last bathhouse burned down Both cities have suffered from persistent poverty – inside their city halls they struggled to afford to provide basic services with significant numbers of Black residents although Pontiac also has a large Latino population Both are the historic "seats" of their respective counties chosen more than two centuries ago as the sites for county courts these historic county seats of Oakland and Macomb are showing signs of progress The recoveries of these historic cities can't come a moment too soon for Kurt Metzger a population data expert and booster of traditional has pioneered population studies at the U.S Metzger said society benefits from renovating old cities Doing so lures new residents to live within walking distance of jobs That takes cars off the roads and cuts pollution saving time and money for those who choose urban lifestyles It also reduces the need to subdivide open land for new housing preserving green space for farms and parks “I was happy to see Pontiac gain population recently That’s always a good sign” for a Rust Belt city The city gained 3.5% population from 2010 to 2020 and another 1.5% from 2020 to 2023 the regional planning partnership of communities in seven counties of southeast Michigan that uptick is just a blip compared to Pontiac’s past The city peaked in 1970 at about 85,000 residents although its population was up only slightly from 2020 to 2023 – up just under 1% The latest proportions of white (22%) and Black (48%) residents are down slightly while the Hispanic population is up landing at 20% of the population as of 2022 That fits a trend of scattered Midwestern “Rust Belt” cities becoming places where Hispanic immigrants wish to settle according to “Global Heartland,” a book by F a professor of urban planning at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Clemens' proportion of Hispanic residents (3%) and Blacks (24%) has held steady since the 2010 census while whites dropped slightly and the multi-racial category rose the same amount “I just saw that Livonia wants to build a downtown Troy tried to do that along Big Beaver Road You have all these bedroom communities that want downtowns is tiny by comparison and very constrained by its tax base Clemens is non-taxable because it's government and church properties and hospitals," Metzger said the city government "has a great strategic plan," and with the Clinton River flowing through the downtown the city has prime options for new housing and other development that would overlook the water “They’ll never bring back the mineral baths I hear county leaders talking all the time about the coastline (of Lake St Clair) and their corridors of sprawl – Gratiot adding that officials should do more to promote Mt Experts say that aging Rust Belt cities rarely have the tax base to rebuild on their own Clemens could be at one end and Pontiac at the other Pontiac tried and failed with revival themes – art galleries retired chair of urban studies and planning at Wayne State University The city has had better luck lately when big employers discovered its location near main roads as well as its low-cost investment property Amazon employs about 4,000 workers at a huge warehouse where the Silverdome stadium once entertained fans of the Detroit Lions and Pistons Pontiac City Council President Mike McGuinness said Still, those positive signs seem to show that, following Detroit’s path, Pontiac and Mt. Clemens are poised to make their own important changes for the better. Contact Maryann Struman, breaking news editor, via mstruman@freepress.com. Free Press Staff Writer Bill Laytner has retired. Mount Clemens ― Bakery owner Melissa Lavender said she's "really looking forward" to some of the changes that Mount Clemens will be making to its downtown in an upcoming, multimillion redevelopment plan. Lavender, the owner of Clementine's Pastries in downtown Mount Clemens, said some of the curbs in the downtown are around a foot tall, while others are shorter. She often sees people trip during art fairs or other events held in the area. "It never fails ― there's always somebody falling," she said. The city of Mount Clemens is planning to raise the street, which would eliminate the curbs, and make other updates as part of a $6.5 million revitalization project to spruce up its downtown, make it more user-friendly and encourage more businesses to open in the area. The project is expected to break ground in April. Mount Clemens City Manager Gregg Shipman said the project is a "game changer" and noted that the downtown hasn't had a revitalization project in nearly 40 years. He said the city will be replacing the streets, the sidewalks and all of the underground water and sewer infrastructure. It will also relocate and rebuild the Fountain Stage, which is used for events. Mount Clemens Mayor Laura Kropp said the downtown has looked "tired and worn out." "It wasn't an inviting place ... to come," she said. "If you were opening a business, it wasn't exactly the type of place that you want, you're excited about. So we're trying to create that type of environment as well." Some small businesses said they think the project will make the downtown more accessible and could make more people visit the district. In addition to replacing underground infrastructure, construction crews will replace the sidewalks and restructure Macomb Place from North Walnut Street to Pine Street, and Cherry Street from the Roskopp Municipal Parking lot to Market Street. The streets and the sidewalks will be made of pavers. Shipman said the city is also moving the Fountain Stage. He said Macomb Place currently takes "this giant curve" around the stage, which makes it hard for delivery trucks to pass by. They will be moving the stage to the other side of the street, which will straighten the street and allow more people to view the stage. It's used during events such as the Friday night concert series in the summer and the Made in Michigan Show in the spring. Kropp said the downtown will have string lights that hang over streets, as well as lights that will shine on the stage and nearby areas and can be programmed different colors. The city is creating an entryway sign, which people will pass through while walking from the Roskopp parking lot to the downtown. "It basically designates an area where we want people to come through and really understand that this is the downtown," she said. On Dec. 2, Mount Clemens City Commission voted to award a contract to VIL Construction Inc. for the construction project. It had originally awarded a bid in May, but had to delay the project to conduct an environmental impact study. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) had required the study. The delay was long enough that the city had to re-bid the project. Shipman said the project will be mainly completed by November 2025, but they may not be able to finish the planters until the following spring due to the weather. He said the largest funding source for the project is a $3.5 million federal HUD grant, which was secured by U.S. Rep. John James. Other funding sources include federal American Rescue Plan Act funding, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, the Mount Clemens Downtown Development Authority and the city's budget. Kropp said Mount Clemens wants its downtown to be the downtown for Macomb County, and the city is looking for more businesses to move there. "We want it to be the hub for the food scene, the cultural scene and the entertainment scene," she said," and so this project creates the environment infrastructure-wise to begin that process." Married couple Lisa and Davey Taylor opened Weirdsville Records and Paperback Writer Books, a record and used-book store, in downtown Mount Clemens in 2011. They moved to another spot in the downtown in 2014. Lisa Taylor said the district is getting a "great mix of businesses," many of which are women-owned. They range from bakeries to a chocolatier to gift stores. Kropp said the downtown's vacancy rate decreased from 70% in 2019 to less than 30% now. "I think it'll actually make our city more user-friendly to all people," Lisa Taylor said of the plan, "because the curbs right now are very high and hard to negotiate." She said making the streets and sidewalks level will make the downtown "more accessible for all people." Diane Kubik, the owner of Max & Ollie's Vintage Boutique, said she's grateful the downtown will be more pedestrian-friendly, and she's glad the city is fixing the underground infrastructure. However, she said the loading zone, which is right next to her business, is being moved to another street. "So for people carrying in goods to us or furniture that we sell or records for the record store, it's going to be a huge obstacle," she said. Harrison Township resident Brian Pettit, whose son has music lessons at Ardis Music in downtown Mount Clemens, said he'd love to see the downtown grow. "I love coming up here when he has a lesson and walking around downtown," he said. He would like the downtown to get more stores that "appeal more to the general public." Lavender of Clementine's Pastries said the project might cause more people to want to come to the downtown and "see what we have going on." But she's concerned about the construction period. She said she wonders if people may see construction vehicles or road closures and decide to go somewhere else. "I'm just hoping that our current customers that are visiting us now and have in the past will continue to do so while we go through the transition period of construction," she said. MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. (WXYZ) — The vast majority of candidates who ran for public office this election know by now if they won. However, for Rashidah Hammond and Alex Bronson, it's been a nearly week of lingering uncertainty. Both are running for the Mount Clemens school board. “When I woke up Wednesday morning, I went and checked on the official website and I saw that there was a tie between me and the other candidate," Hammond recalled. “I was surprised." A lot of people were surprised to learn that Bronson and Hammond tied. Each received 3,495 votes a piece, according to the Macomb County clerk. They tied for the fourth and final open school board position on the ballot. “So, the first thing I do: I call the clerk. I’m like alright, 'What are we going to do about this?' He’s like, ‘Well, it’s unofficial. We gotta wait for everything and then once that’s done, then ya know, come do the process to settle a tie,'” Bronson said. So what is the process to break the tie? It’s simpler than you might think and you’ve likely done it. “We’re gonna call the two candidates in and we’re gonna flip a coin. This is how I handle it,” Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini told 7 News Detroit. Hear more from Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini in the video below: Before the coin toss, he said two sheets of paper will be placed into a box. One sheet will read “elected" and the other will read “not elected.” Then, the coin toss will determine which candidate will stick their hand into the box to pull out one those sheets of paper. “We’re gonna flip a coin. They’re going to decide heads or tails. Head picks first," Forlini explained. "And they’re going to pull out “elected” or “not elected," and the other one is not elected." Hammond told 7 News Detroit, "Being 2024, I would like there to be something more advanced, maybe a runoff between him and I.” In response to that idea, Forlini said, “No, that’s not the way the law works. The law works. This is how we gotta do it.” Bronson said he also expressed that it felt "arcane." However, he said, “It’s better than rock, paper, scissors where I’m going to blame myself for the rest of my life for not throwing scissors, ya know?” Forlini said a tie like this one hasn't been seen since the 2007 election race for city commission. Now, these candidates will need to agree on a day to meet to flip the coin. "If Rashida gets it, I'd be more than happy with that. I think she did a lot of great work on city council and I think she'd make a great addition to the school board also," Bronson said. Hammond said, "I'm very thankful to the voters that came out and voted in election 'cause this shows the importance of the local school board and local elections. They're just as important and that every single-vote counts. 'Cause that one extra vote would have been the decision breaker." Forlini said the only other way to break the tie and avoid pulling a piece of paper from a box is to account for votes from voters living overseas, including members of the military. Also, he said ballots with technical errors still need to be fixed and tallied. He said that all should be done by Wednesday. MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. (WXYZ) — A life-saving scene played out on a busy stretch of Gratiot Avenue last week with a heroic act by a Macomb County sheriff's deputy.  Deputies Nicole Miron and Anthony Gross were notified on Sept. 12 around 2:15 p.m. that a silver GMC Sierra pickup truck was driving erratically in Mount Clemens on southbound Gratiot Avenue near Church Street. Watch video of the heroic rescue in the player below: They found the driver on Gratiot Avenue near Remick Drive and turned on their lights and siren, but the 63-year-old driver failed to stop and continued on at about 5 mph. Gross was driving, and Miron rolled down her window and tried to get him to stop, but he appeared to be in a daze. The driver managed to briefly hit his brakes and that's when Miron climbed from her passenger seat into the moving truck. The deputy was able to stop the truck. "Luckily, I am very small. When I went through the window, it was a big-size front kind of window, I was able to slide right through. I don't think any of my gun or gear touched him, so I slid through, my small stature helped and the fact that we were a two-man car helped," Miron told us on Wednesday. The Clinton Township Fire Department was called in to treat the driver and he was taken to the hospital. His family was alerted. It appears the driver had experienced a medical episode. View this post on Instagram A post shared by WXYZ Detroit Channel 7 (@wxyzdetroit) “I commend Deputy Miron for putting herself in harm’s way to help a citizen in need and protect other drivers on the roadway,” Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham said in a statement “Due to her quick thinking and selfless actions she safely ended what could have been a tragic situation.” The city of Mount Clemens is changing the laboratory it uses to determine the level of what’s known as total organic carbon after being cited earlier this year by state water authorities in routine testing of drinking water quality A violation was issued by the Michigan Department of Environment Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) to the city’s water treatment plant for its treatment techniques that resulted in inadequate removal of total organic carbons in water the facility draws from Lake St but future issues could jeopardize the city’s water compliance certifications The water is safe to drink and poses no health risks officials with the city’s utilities department wrote in a letter to Mount Clemens residents and business operators “We have contracted with a different laboratory that is better equipped to analyze TOC to try to avoid any invalid results in the future and are taking steps to ensure the removal efficiency of our treatment process meets all drinking water standards,” city administrators said in the letter Total organic carbon is the measure of the concentration of organic carbon in a substance and is considered to be the best indicator of contamination TOCs can happen due to the buildup of organic matter the effectiveness of the purification process may be reduced meaning that higher levels of organic compounds can pass through and cause an increase in TOC levels in the water purification system 15 and required city officials to notify the water customers in February an engineer with EGLE’s Drinking Water and Environmental Health Division said Mount Clemens has been using the lab “for a while” and questioned the results of the fourth quarter of the 2024 sample Bolf said he is not aware of any problems at the lab “It is not uncommon for laboratories to be questioned by their clients when analysis yields unfavorable results,” he wrote in the email or quality control are noted during EGLE’s laboratory inspection process their certification could be compromised.” The lab is certified in Michigan for TOC analysis so the state must accept the results unless the lab has documentation showing the results are invalid neither EGLE or the city can pick and choose which results to accept and there is a formal process for invalidating a compliance sample,” Bolf said “I am not aware of any effort by the city or the lab to invalidate the sample.” Mount Clemens officials said they will be increasing their monitoring frequency to monthly for a period of time That is being done in consultation with state water administrators That document states Mount Clemens routinely tests its water for TOC removal The TOC removal ratio is calculated as the ratio between the actual TOC removal and the TOC removal requirements Mount Clemens’ ratio in the fourth quarter of 2024 was 0.984 less than the standard Safe Drinking Water Act requirements of 1.0. The lab used by Mount Clemens indicated the lower removal ratio may have been due to “issues at the laboratory,” city officials wrote adding lab personnel were reviewing their procedures the effectiveness of the purification process including filters may be reduced meaning higher levels of organic compounds can pass through and cause an increase in TOC levels and pass through and cause an increase in TOC levels in the water “This is not an emergency,” Mount Clemens water officials said State law required the city to issue the letter to its residents and businesses Mount Clemens monitors the drinking water for byproducts associated with the disinfection process including trihalomethanes (THM) and haloacetic acids Drinking water containing excessive amounts of byproducts may lead to adverse health effects and may lead to increased risks of getting cancer A large ceremonial coin from the tiny Italian town of Pignataro Interamna; two sheets of white copy paper, and a clean, black plastic rubbish bin helped determine who won the election tiebreaker for the last seat on the Mount Clemens Community Schools board Macomb County Clerk/Register of Deeds Anthony Forlini recalled the story of the gold coin from his father's hometown and given to Forlini when he was a state representative Wednesday for school board candidates Rashidah Hammond and Alex Bronson They were vying for the last of four seats on the school board, which oversees a school district of just over 750 children a program supervisor for Head Start in Macomb County Forlini flipped the coin onto the floor in a side room at the county elections department in Mount Clemens one stating "elected," the other stating "not elected" were prepared by the county's chief elections clerk Forlini repeatedly shook the bin "like they do on TV with the Lotto." Hammond had first crack at reaching into the bin — temporarily labeled "Mount Clemens Community Schools Tie-Breaker" — grabbing one of the folded pieces of paper; followed by Bronson Hammond smiled wide as she selected the "elected" paper "Better luck next time," Bronson said after he shook Forlini's hand and then shook hands with Hammond after she received a handshake and congratulations from Forlini specifically the drawing of the slips of paper with "elected" and "not elected" is outlined in state law said she would like the process to be different She said the main issue facing the school board is increasing the student population because that brings in additional funding who said he was "a little disappointed" for his loss said a recount is "unnecessary," adding that doing so "puts just too much burden on the county clerk's office." "did good work on (the) City (Commission) and I think she'll continue to do good work on the school board The other three winners in the school board race were incumbents Jeanine Walker and Earl Rickman per the official results that were certified Tuesday by the county's Board of Canvassers The current terms of the school board seats expire Dec This isn't the first time there has been a tiebreaker for a race in Mount Clemens More: Democrat Paul Gieleghem elected new Clinton Township supervisor, per unofficial results Gary Blash and Jack Johns tied for a seat on the City Commission in what was believed to be a first for the city Blash won a coin flip and picked first and ended up pulling the slip with the word "elected" out of a box Johns ended up netting one more vote than Blash in the recount and won the race with 807 votes to Blash's 806 votes More: New Michigan laws target high-tech vehicle theft devices, aim to curb auto theft there was a tie for a Grosse Pointe City Council seat in Wayne County but withdrew after the recount revealed yet another tie — in that case with one more vote for each candidate than the election showed In August 2016, two votes separated the winner and second-place finisher for a partial term on the Mount Clemens City Commission. Bill Ford won the seat, with Laura Fournier coming in second. Fournier requested a recount but Ford still ended up winning by two votes though each candidate received one more vote than on Election Day According to the Macomb County Elections Department there was a recount in the Mount Clemens mayor's race in 2013 though the vote separation was by more than 60 votes and the results did not change from Election Day Forlini had to break another tie in his four years as county clerk It was in the August primary this year for a Republican precinct delegate in Sterling Heights The candidates didn't show up for that tiebreaker Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com Support local journalism. Subscribe to the Free Press Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters (WXYZ) — A proposal to raise water rates in Mount Clemens passed Tuesday night Leaders approved the plan during a city commission meeting City leaders say the hike is needed to cover a $37 million project that includes switching the city's water source to the Great Lakes Water Authority Watch our previous coverage ahead of the vote in the video player below: City Manager Gregg Shipman said the residential customers can expect to pay an extra $13.40 per month That monthly cost equates to about $160 a year give or take Several residents 7 News Detroit spoke with earlier Tuesday were not happy with the proposed increase “It just seems excessive and unnecessary,” resident Mike Switney said “I just don’t see why it would have to amount to that much." The city said anything less isn’t adequate to meet the funding needs and instead of upgrading the city’s water system the mayor said it’s less costly to switch to GLWA “(The project cost) $37 million for a community where we have a $14 million annual budget we had to come up with creative way to fully fund this project," Mount Clemens Mayor Laura Kropp said She said the state granted $20 million in loan forgiveness but we want to have safe water," Kropp explained City Commissioner Spencer Calhoun said it’s unclear what the increase would look like for businesses "Residents are concerned about water rate increases with the prices of everything going up it’s something that we’re really concerned about and so we’ve really got to balance those two things,” Calhoun explained (WXYZ) — Hundreds of people celebrated the New Year in downtown Mount Clemens for its annual New Year's Eve gala It's an all-night affair that began at 4 in the afternoon with events for kids at the non-profit children's museum Discovery Center of Macomb Attendees offered donations for kids to participate in a variety of activities “Just getting out of the house and doing something fun for New Year's with the kids," said Krystal Salom Downtown Development Authority Coordinator They only decided to add activities for kids later down the line in 2016 "We didn't think there was any place for children to go for New Year's because “We were looking for something for the kids to do and this has a lot of good learning opportunities around science and art and engineering and the kids had a good time,” said Haxhigh Many families went from the Discovery Center of Macomb to the first fireworks display and ball drop at 9 p.m "This is our first year going to the fireworks show and we’re really looking forward to it being a little earlier so the kids don’t have to stay up really late and it's going to be a great show,” said Haxhigh Another took place at midnight for the later crowd "The mini-ball drop was absolutely awesome We loved it because not everybody gets to go downtown Detroit or New York City or anything like that so that was cool to see and for the kids to experience,” said Melissa Martz FERNDALE (WXYZ) — A man from Mount Clemens was charged with carjacking and fleeing from police after allegedly assaulting two women in Ferndale Authorities said one woman was knocked unconscious Investigators said the two women had just left New Way Bar on Woodward Avenue when a man attacked them in an adjacent parking lot stood behind their vehicle and blocked them in They said he accused the victim of nearly hitting another vehicle Investigators said things escalated with Marks punching the driver You don’t think something like that’s going to happen to you in general but I wouldn’t expect something like that to happen in Ferndale.” She was surprised to learn the attack didn’t stop there Police said Marks carjacked the women and led officers on a chase into Royal Oak where he lost control of the vehicle and crashed the truck at an Amoco gas station in this world," metro Detroiter Nicole Baker said She said she keeps her head on a swivel everywhere she goes “You gotta be cautious of your surroundings and watch people and always be prepared to protect yourself," Baker advised He’s due back in court on January 2nd for his probable cause hearing MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. – An attorney in Mount Clemens hung up his tie to pack his porch and yard with a mountain of pumpkins Attorney James Galen put out over 150 pumpkins for trick-or-treaters in Macomb County on Thursday (Oct. 31). “So, the way this whole thing started was we drove out to 34 Mile Road and Romeo Plank to Miller Farms. “They got a lot of pumpkins in the field, and I know the farmer out there, Mr. Jeff Miller, and we collected 160 pumpkins, and we put them all on the porch. Yesterday, we spent a good part of the afternoon cutting the tops off, gutting them, and, of course, carving them. “By 5 o’clock tonight, everyone was gutted, and every one of them was carved with a candle in it, and I couldn’t have done it without my crew here.” To everyone’s disbelief, Galen explained why he took the time to carve the pumpkins. “I’m 62, I am tired and overweight, but I tell you what, I love the kids,” Galen said. For a happy Halloween, go to Scott Boulevard and Gratiot Avenue in Mount Clemens for candy, scary music, and the “Pumpkin Man.” Copyright 2024 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved. Brandon Carr is a digital content producer for ClickOnDetroit and has been with WDIV Local 4 since November 2021. Brandon is the 2015 Solomon Kinloch Humanitarian award recipient for Community Service. (WXYZ) — The Victory Inn in Mount Clemens is finally being torn down The historic place was deemed unsafe and abandoned in 2020 after a fire broke out Press conference: Local leaders break ground on affordable housing project in Mt There is also a history of criminal and illicit activities at this place both before and after it was abandoned 7 News Detroit reporter Faraz Javed spoke to the community about how they feel about the demolition and the new project to take place "How much of an eye soar has this been for you?" asked Javed "It was just terrible to look at every day," said Pam Pelowski it would be better," said Patricia Richardson and Patricia Richardson were all excited to see officials kick off the demolition this morning State Senator Kevin Hertel described it as a transformational moment and it's turned into this first-class housing it will more than double the number of residents living here in the core area of Mt The new project will feature a 4-story high building with 117 affordable housing units "You think this is what the community needs right now?" asked Javed ain't nothing wrong with that," said Johnson "You think this will help the community?" asked Javed "This was made possible with 10 million dollars in grant funding over the last 2 budget cycles in the state budget," said Sen But Harold is also a little sad to see the 1960s building go down that once was a thriving space VIDEO EXTRA: Watch the start of demolition of the old Victory Inn and now it's being torn down," asked Javed They had church in there and everything," said Johnson Officials say it will take about 90 days to demolish the building and then another 18 to 24 months to complete the construction of the new building The results of Tuesday's election still are being certified but if the totals in one local school board race in Macomb County hold Per the unofficial results, there is a tie for the last of four seats on the Mount Clemens Community School Board, where candidates Alex Bronson and Rashidah Hammond both received 3,495 votes The top three vote-getters were incumbents Jeanine Walker and Earl Rickman, and Paul Sheppard, per the unofficial results. The current terms of those school board seats expire Dec If there's still a tie between Bronson and Hammond, there's a process in state law to determine the winner of that fourth seat: The Macomb County Board of Canvassers would schedule a day for the deadlocked candidates to come before the county clerk who prepares as many slips of paper as there are people The clerk writes the word "elected" on as many slips of paper as there are offices to be filled and "not elected" on the remaining slips The slips are then folded and put in a box The candidate who selects the "elected" slip is the winner If a tie exists once the election is certified it wouldn't be the first time that a tie had to be broken in a race in Mount Clemens the county seat has a quirky little history with election ties and recounts "It's a small city, and it's easier to get into that position," Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini said Thursday Gary Blash and Jack Johns tied for a seat on the Mount Clemens City Commission According to the county elections department Forlini said he remembered one tie in his four years as county clerk: It was for a precinct delegate position and the candidates didn't show up for the tiebreaker The tie was in the August primary of this year for a Republican precinct delegate in Sterling Heights according to elections department information If the Mount Clemens school board race is tied in the end Forlini said he would anticipate the candidates coming in for the tiebreaker as the clerk's office and elections department are located in Mount Clemens Forlini said nothing will happen regarding the race, however, until all of Tuesday's results are certified and the results still show a tie It's possible the results could change, for example, if there are any military and overseas ballots that are outstanding. Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said Wednesday that there were about 6,000 outstanding military and overseas ballots that will be added to the unofficial results if they are postmarked by Election Day and received by Nov The county's Board of Canvassers has 14 days after the election to certify the results the board finished certifying that election 17 minutes shy of the midnight deadline on the 14th day he said — and for a couple of the prior elections — Forlini provided sworn assistants from his different offices to assist the county's Board of Canvassers A coin flip and random drawing determined the winner of a tied school board race in Mt Rashidah Hammond and Alex Bronson both received 3,495 votes in the race tying for the fourth and final open school board position the Macomb County clerk had to hold the tiebreaker determining which candidate would stick their hand to pull out a sheet of paper that either said "elected" or "not elected." and then pulled out the piece of paper that said "elected," meaning she was elected to the board You can watch the entire process in the video below both candidates shook hands and spoke to 7 News Detroit Hear from Hammon and Bronson in the videos below