Local News

Summer in our area is always a great time for festivals and fairs.  This weekend, a couple of local communities are celebrating. The 40th Annual  Marine City Maritime Days Festival begins tomorrow. The festival has several events over the next few days including a parade, a fishing contest, cutest baby contest, and lighted boat parade. The goal of the festival is to improve the community through tourism and travel.  The Facebook page for the event includes a full calendar of events and activities. 

Another event already in full swing is the Croswell Fair. The fair will have a carnival midway for patrons to enjoy. There will also be harness racing tonight. On Friday night, they will have an event called Drags in front of the Grandstands featuring 4-wheelers, lawnmowers, and snowmobiles, yes, snowmobiles.  You can learn more on their Facebook page.

On Monday, Capital One Financial announced a data breach where an individual outside the company obtained personal information of customers who applied for a credit card and current credit card customers. 140,000 social security numbers were compromised along with 80,000 linked bank account numbers.  Canadian credit card customers had 1 million social insurance numbers compromised. In the breach, credit scores, credit limits, balances, payment history, and contact information was obtained. The unauthorized access occurred on July 19th and the perpetrator was apprehended by the FBI. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said, “This data breach is yet another example of how fragile our information infrastructure is and how vulnerable all of us are to cyber hacking.” 

The Water Warriors are men and women from all walks of life who share their love of water sports and their desire to help people. Since 1991, they have combined those passions in the form of jet skiing to benefit the Special Olympics through a 5-day, 450-mile endurance ride. The group begins their journey in Mackinaw City and travels the entire length of Lake Huron. Then, they head down the St. Clair River and finish their ride in Algonac. Their goal is to raise money for the athletes of Special Olympics Michigan.

This is the 29th annual ride for the group, and it all started when a member of the Wertz Warrior Snowmobile Endurance Ride believed overcoming the obstacles of Michigan’s vast waterways and weather conditions could be achieved. According to their press release, over 25 personal watercraft riders, three support boats with spotters aboard, and a fleet of land support vehicles will make up the 75 members participating in this year’s ride. Throughout the journey, they have planned food and fuel stops, rest stops, and many fundraising dinners. They will also have the opportunity to meet Special Olympic athletes along the way.  There are overnight stops in Mackinaw City, Alpena, Tawas, Port Austin, and Port Huron.

If you’d like to see the Water Warriors pass through our area, they are set to cruise under the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron Thursday around 3:00 p.m. They also have a planned pig roast fundraiser and informational meeting for local residents at the Bridge Street Marina at 6 p.m. Those interested in attending the fundraiser can call 586-850-3187 for more information.

Work has been completed on the reconstruction of the railroad track crossing in Kimball Township. Wadhams Road between Ravenswood and I-69 is now open to all traffic. In addition to the railroad crossing, a new asphalt surface and shoulder gravel were added. Motorists should be aware that temporary pavement markings are there, and the permanent markings will be placed later.  Ace-Saginaw Paving was responsible for the $460,000 construction project.

The City of Port Huron announced last week that crews are working to clear the sand from the entrance to the canal connecting Lake Huron with the Black River.  The sand will be placed at Holland Beach and to the south along the Lake today, July 31st, and on Thursday, August 1st.

Holland Beach will be closed Wednesday and Thursday this week during the project.  The contractor will use Gratiot to LaSalle and Conger to Holland to transport the sand. Traffic in these areas will be slowed, and it may be stopped at times. Residents are encouraged to refrain from parking on those streets on Wednesday and Thursday.

The St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office is advising local residents that a new scam is being attempted in our area. Residents and businesses are receiving calls from individuals claiming to be from DTE customer service collecting payments, but police are saying it’s a scam. The Sheriff’s Office reported that last weekend a Port Huron Township business was contacted by phone. The owner of the business was told she was behind on payments, and if she didn’t pay up, the power would be shut off. She was given an 833 phone number to verify the information. She told deputies that when she called the number, it sounded very similar to the message she received when she called an actual DTE customer service number. Fortunately, she did not give the caller any credit card information. In light of this event, a spokesperson for DTE Energy’s Corporate Security is reminding people that DTE never collects payments by contacting the customer over the phone or in person.