Many visitors will be coming to the Blue Water area next week for Blue Water Fest and the Mackinac Sailboat Race.  When someone new is coming to your home, you always want to put your best foot forward and have things squeaky clean.  The Blue Water Young Professionals took time to clean up the bike racks and benches that are along the Black River Walk in Port Huron. They, along with community partners, installed the bike racks and benches back in September 2014.  The benches and racks were designed by local artists and capture the nautical landscapes of the Blue Water Area. The YPs are also gearing up for work on the 7th Street Tunnel Mural Project. SC4 art students designed murals for the outside of the east and west end of the tunnel.  The YP’s will be installing them by early next year.

The City of Algonac has a new way to watch boat traffic up and down the St. Clair River.  Along with some of the other live cams up and down the river, the Algonac Cam can be found on YouTube.  Its camera moves from North to South, then back again. In the northernmost camera view, you can actually see the water level cresting above the boardwalk.  To find the cam, just type “ship cam Algonac” into a search engine, and you will soon be viewing the beautiful St. Clair River. The camera is made possible by the Algonac-Clay Historical Society and the City of Algonac, and it joins existing St. Clair River cameras in Port Huron and Marine City, Michigan.

The Athletic Factory is a non-profit organization based in Port Huron, Michigan, with the purpose of creating recreational opportunities that support the positive development of St Clair County and surrounding counties’ youth through athletic participation and competition, educational tutoring, and student-athlete college preparation. The local organization recently received $15,000 from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation that will go toward their mission and programming. The organization’s two components of athletic training and social services, like mentoring and after-school enrichment, are making an impact in the community.  On their website, former college and professional athletes offer advice. Most of these athletes have some sort of a connection to the Blue Water Area, and many attended local high schools. 

The new sports courts in Port Huron are ready for use.  Thanks to a generous donation from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, the Community Foundation of St. Clair County, and St. Clair County Parks and Recreation new basketball courts are now available at Sanborn, Optimist, and Lincoln Parks.  In addition, new pickleball and basketball courts are also ready to go at the 16th Street Park thanks to the contribution. Port Huron Parks and Recreation Department hosted a ribbon cutting on Thursday, July 11 at Sanborn Park’s basketball court to celebrate the new courts throughout the City.  City officials, including Mayor Pauline Repp, attended the unveiling.

One big asset to the international community is the train tunnel running under the St. Clair River between Sarnia and Port Huron. The train derailment that took place almost two weeks ago has been a developing situation with many facets. Over the weekend, the final cars were cleared out of the tunnel, and yesterday evening the closed portion of 10th Street between Beard and Cedar Streets was reopened.  Now, CN crews have finished laying the new track in the international rail tunnel between Canada and the United States, and the first train has successfully cleared the tunnel.

New track had to be laid for the whole span of the tunnel, and the spilled sulfuric acid was either removed from the site or neutralized. Officials are reporting that the spill caused no harm to the environment or to public safety as it was completely contained to the site of the derailment. The tunnel suffered only minor cosmetic damage, and there was no effect on its structural integrity. CN is working in full collaboration with the Canadian Transportation Safety Board who is leading the investigation into the derailment.

Summer is beginning to really heat up around our area, and a sure sign of summer is Sand Fest which begins tomorrow and runs until Sunday at the Fort Gratiot Light Station.  The 7th annual event presented by the Friends of the Fort Gratiot Light goes from 10 am to 8 pm Friday and Saturday and 10-4 pm on Sunday. Over the weekend, Sandfest will host Michigan’s first and only Master sculpting and advanced amateur competition. 

Live music performances go throughout the day with the last group starting their musical set at 6 pm both Friday and Saturday. There will be a variety of activities each day including sand sculpting lessons, quick-sand speed sculpting, and a hands-on kids zone.  Competitions will happen throughout the event, and amateurs can register to compete all day Friday and for a short time on Saturday beginning at 9 AM. The park is already open to the public so curious on-lookers can watch Master Sand Sculptors create the Welcome Sculpture.  Check out bluewatersandfest.com for more information.