Local News

There are many recreational opportunities to enjoy around the Blue Water Area in the summer, and there’s usually more fun with a group! That’s why a couple of local residents banded together just a short time ago to assemble Slow Row Michigan and Slow Roll St. Clair. The group was brought together by their love of the outdoors, kayaking, and biking.

The St. Clair based group meets up just about every week for a new kayaking or biking trip. Throughout the summer, the group’s kayaking members have met at a different location every Tuesday. The slow rolls bike trips currently take place in a different location every Thursday evening. The cyclists will take off tonight at 6:30 on the Wadhams to Avoca Trail. A full list of dates can be found on their Facebook page. If you’d like to join in on kayaking, they are available for rent. Both options are a great way to get outdoors and see the beauty of the area with a fun group.

Reports confirm that a body was located near Russel Island Thursday morning which matches the description of Riley Gleason. Gleason was last seen Friday evening in the St. Clair River behind the St. Clair Inn. While the community awaits confirmation that Gleason has been recovered, they have been rallying around the family and the many organizations who have tirelessly assisted in the search. 

The St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office & Dive Team Auxiliary and many volunteers have spent many hours attempting to recover the young man. In an effort to support the volunteers of the Dive Team, the Milkhouse Café will be hosting a fundraiser on Tuesday, July 30th from 3-10 p.m.  All Sales at the Milkhouse Cafe will be donated to the Dive Team Auxiliary in support of their life-saving mission to Educate, Respond and Recover for the St. Clair County Sheriff.

The St. Clair High School volleyball program was set to host a fundraiser for equipment needs, but is instead focusing their efforts on raising money for the Gleason family. The program is selling tickets for a St. Clair themed basket that will be raffled off Saturday, August 3rd. There has been a constant outpouring of support on social media, and the community has stepped up to provide meals for the family through the end of September. 

Volunteers in St. Clair have been working diligently to plan a redesign and build of the popular Imagination Station playground on Carney Drive. After several months of planning and fundraising, the group set dates for construction which will take place September 10-15.

The planning process involved community input, design days for kids, and several volunteer committee meetings. The original playground was built in 1994 and according to Committee Director Matt Alley, has been well-loved. He said the group of volunteers is “trying to take this entire Imagination Station process and put it into the scope of what needs to be done for the next generation of children in the area to take advantage of the Imagination Station for decades to come.”

The effort to redesign and rebuild the park is completely donation and volunteer based, and they’re still trying to fulfill the goal. There’s an opportunity to contribute while having fun this weekend when the group hosts a road rally fundraiser Sunday in St. Clair. If you are interested in being part of the project or want to take part in this weekend’s event, visit their Facebook page “Imagination Station Rebuild” for all the details.

In February, the Port Sanilac Lions Club took part in the Trex Community Challenge Recycling Program. The community challenge recycling program gives an organization six months to collect five hundred pounds of plastic film in return for a Trex bench for their community. The Lions Club accepted the challenge on April 1st, and the Sanilac County Historic Village and Museum was chosen to be the recipient of the first bench.

The response was truly overwhelming; by May 1st, the five hundred pounds had been collected. The bench was presented to board members of the Sanilac County Historical Society on July 6, during the “Old Fashioned 4th of July Celebration” held at the Museum.  The Sanilac County Historical Society wants to thank those who helped collect plastic. They are also grateful for the Lions Club and its partnership in acquiring the Trex bench, and the club’s dedicated president, Cathy Stewart. Both the Museum and the Lions Club will continue collecting plastic film and encourage the community to help them keep this program going in the Port Sanilac area.

Because we live in this beautiful Blue Water Area we tend to take for granted the massive ships that pass through on a daily basis.  The first settlers in our area saw boat traffic as well, but the ships were a little different than those that pass by today. They still had the same function of transporting goods and raw materials around the Great Lakes Region, but their beauty and craftsmanship are timeless.

We know them simply as “Tall Ships”,  and they sailed through our area recently enroute to the Tall Ship Celebration being held in Bay City from July 18th through the 21st. These are reproductions of ships that sailed in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s. Bay City is a host port for the TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE®, a series of races and rallies organized by Tall Ships America. If you want to see the ships a little closer to home, they’ll head back this way August 9-11 for a tall ships celebration right across the international border in Sarnia.

This highly-anticipated Blue Water Fest kicks off tonight with the Rotary Parade at 6:30 p.m. Tomorrow is Family Night produced by Operation Transformation and later there will be Fireworks at Desmond Landing. Friday will see many different events like Silent Disco, Mannequins Making a Difference, The “Taking it to the Streets” fashion show, Boat Day Yoga by Port Huron Yoga, and so much more. 

From the Huron Stage to the Quay Street Zebra Bar Lot to the Bell’s Oasis Tent Stage, live music will be playing Thursday and Friday. Of course, don’t forget to stroll along the Black River and check out the boats that will be racing on Saturday in the 2019 Bell’s Beer Bayview Mackinac Race. Speaking of Saturday, don’t forget to have Breakfast Dockside presented by the Blue Water Kiwanis Club and Chemical Bank.  It is being held from 6:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the bank’s downtown location on the river. Festival admission is FREE to the general public. For more information and the musical lineup visit thebluewaterfest.com.