State Roundup

Marine City St. Clair Co. health officials look into cancers MARINE CITY, Mich. (AP) -- Public health officials in St. Clair County have launched a new investigation into whether environmental or other factors could be responsible for a rare form of kidney cancer diagnosed in five children in the Marine City area since 2007. The children in southeastern St. Clair County have Wilms' tumor, Times Herald of Port Huron and The Detroit News reported. The St. Clair County Health Department has investigated a possible Wilms' tumor cluster in the past. They decided to start the new investigation into whether there might be environmental or other factors after a 6-month-old girl was diagnosed in March. "Even with four cases reported at the end of 2009, we recognized it as something that was unusual," said Sue Amato, the county's director of health education. Kristina Tranchemontagne, a Marine City mother of three, saw her daughter, Ashleigh, diagnosed with Wilms' tumor in the fall of 2008. After a month of chemotherapy, surgeons removed Ashleigh's tumor. Today, she is a healthy 6-year-old preparing for kindergarten next fall. "I was crushed," Tranchemontagne said of the diagnosis. "My world was coming down on me." Marine City is located along the St. Clair River, which connects Lake Huron and Lake St. Clair, and is about 40 miles northeast of Detroit. Marine City has industrial plants and is about 10 miles from petrochemical plants in Sarnia, Ontario, but health officials say there's no established link. Investigations into possible cancer clusters can take years. Dearborn District teachers union votes to run health plan DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) -- Teachers in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn have approved a contract that gives their union full control of their health care plan as part of a cost-cutting effort that could serve as a model for others. Details of the 4-year contract were unveiled Tuesday following Monday's approval by members of the Dearborn Federation of Teachers. The agreement is to be voted on Monday by the school board and is expected to save the district about $4 million next school year. "We have our own destiny in our hands," said Chris Sipperley, president of the union. Under the agreement, Dearborn Public Schools caps its contribution at $12,000 per employee. The 1,230-member union will run the plan and determine how to spend the money. Superintendent Brian Whiston said the plan is a creative way to address the district's budget problems. "They've really stuck their neck out," he said. "I believe in the union and its leadership. The contract could serve as a template for other districts. And it's in line with ideas proposed by Republican Gov. Rick Snyder on cost-cutting. He recently proposed giving districts a bonus if teachers and other school personnel pay at least 20 percent of their health care premiums. "An awful lot of school districts and unions are going to want to find out ... if this makes sense for them," said David Hecker, president of the Michigan chapter of the American Federation of Teachers. Usually districts purchase plans. In this case, the union will purchase the plan from the Michigan State AFL-CIO Public Employee Trust, a 25-year-old Volunteer Employee Beneficiary Association that provides health plans for some public employees in Michigan. The contract, which is retroactive to July 1, 2009, also includes a 3.5 percent pay cut for the next two years and a 3 percent pay cut for top-scale teachers. With the contract and other cuts, the district expects to its projected 2011-12 deficit of $18 million will narrow to $3 million. Published: Thu, May 5, 2011