Residents should be upset with closure

Dear Editor,

The closing of the Yale and Capac Teen Wellness Clinics is only one symptom of the problems at the St. Clair County Health Department.

A group of anti-science followers of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is in the process of trying to take total control of the Health Department.

All county residents who want to keep a stable Health Department in St. Clair County should contact your county commissioner and express your opinions.

You can find their contact information on the county website: https://www.stclaircounty.org/SubHome/Index/620

The relatively new County Medical Director, Dr. Remington Nevin, and his supporters on the Advisory Board of Health – Carolyn Richards of Greenwood Township, Dawn Fulk of Port Huron Township, Ira Township Chiropractor Stephen Smith, and David Rushing of Riley Township – are, in my opinion, on the verge of destroying our Health Department.

At the December 17, 2025, meeting of the Advisory Board, Richards, Fulk, and Smith attempted to force the removal of Liz King, the very competent Public Health Officer who is in charge of the Health Department, with a motion that failed 3-2-1. (One member abstained, one member was absent, and David Rushing is a non-voting member representing the County Board of Commissioners.)

If Liz King is removed, Dr. Nevin would likely be appointed to serve as both the Health Officer and Medical Director and would have total control over the department.

At the beginning of his tenure in St. Clair County, Dr. Nevin passed out copies of RFK Jr.’s 2022 book, A Letter to Liberals: Censorship and COVID: An Attack on Science and American Ideals, to the Advisory Board of Health members.

Dr. Nevin is the person who ordered the closing of the Yale and Capac Teen Wellness Clinics.

Among other anti-science beliefs, he is a vaccination skeptic, is opposed to fluoridation of drinking water, and has accused the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services of having a radical political agenda.

The terms of four of the seven Advisory Health Board members expired in 2025, and they are up for re-appointment at the January 8, 2026, Board of Commissioners meeting, including Kevin Watkins and Marie Muller, who have consistently voted against Dr. Nevin’s policies.

If they are replaced by Nevin supporters January 8, Nevin will soon be in total control. Dr. Nevin has clearly indicated in numerous statements and memorandums that he wants to use his position at our county to challenge the Michigan Department of Health and other conventional medical practices.

This could result in our county paying to defend many lawsuits against Dr. Nevin.

Please contact your County Commissioner to express your concerns about having an anti-science Health Department.

You can find out more about the hostile takeover of the Health Department on this Facebook page, Blue Water Common Ground Coalition: https://www.facebook.com/profile.

—Fred Fuller
Yale