Marysville is calling all  5^th through 12 grade students interested in participating in Junior and Senior Equestrian teams to attend their first registration day Wednesday, April 24 at 6 p.m. at Goodells County Park.  According to team coach Tanya Pecarich, two shows are scheduled for June with four shows set for September.  Pecarich says if you have your own horse or lease a horse and would like to be part of great team, you can contact her, or the other team coach Jonathan Perkins through email at MarysvilleEquestianTeam@gmail.com.    The purpose of the organization she says is to promote continuous growth in programs fostering horsemanship education, sponsor activities to encourage interscholastic participation and to have cooperative adult-supervised leadership for all students in grades 5 through 12 who desire to participate.  For costs and more information and rules check out the website at mihadistrict12.org

A house fire in Lapeer County in the early hours Tuesday, took the lives of three young children critically injuring four others.  Officials say they suspect that a heating issue was the cause of the blaze. Lapeer County Central Dispatch received a 911 call at shortly after 3:00 a.m. Tuesday, February 26 to the 2000 block of South Almount Avenue for reports of a mobile home on fire.   When the police officer and the Imlay City Fire Department arrived at the scene, half the home was engulfed in flames and a 29-year-old woman reported there were people inside.  The woman was later taken to the hospital in critical condition, according to reports.  Firefighters entered the home and extricated six people.  A 3-year-old girl, 5-year-old boy and 6-year-old boy all died in the fire.  A 1-month-old girl, 18-month-old boy and 42-year-old man were taken to McLaren-Lapeer and transferred to Hurley Medical Center in critical condition. The 1-month-old was later transported to Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor.  The Michigan State Police’s arson investigator has been called to the scene to determine a cause and origin of the fire, however officials believe it was a heating issue as the family are reported to have been having furnace issues.

Article submitted by Jeff Brooks, Deputy Manager, County of Lambton, Emergency Medical Services Department

Since Jeff Friedland is not one to toot his own horn, I thought I would toot it for him. I had the great pleasure of attending the State of Michigan interoperability Conference last week in Traverse City Michigan. It is always an honour to attend and speak at this conference and highlight the cross border work that we are doing with our cross border partners. Much to Jeff Friedland’s surprise, he was presented with an award for all the work he has done on interoperability and emergency management in his career. I cannot think of a more deserving person. Jeff has worked tirelessly for the people of not only St. Clair County but also the County of Lambton so it was great to see this work get recognized. Jeff, has helped  make the border a little thinner and the cross-border communities closer.  Jeff Friedland is retiring from his position the end of this week.

The St. Clair County Retirees’ Association will hold their Luncheon Meeting on Wednesday, March 6 th at the Charles Hammond American Legion Hall, 1026 Sixth Street, Port Huron. Doors open at 11:30 a.m., with a fried fish dinner served at 12 noon. Cost for the luncheon is $10.00/person for Association members and their guest; and $12.00/person for non-members. A $2.00 fee will be charged for non-members attending the presentation only. Guest speaker will be Chef Jim Kokenyesdi, SCC Community Mental Health, who will address the agency’s Galley Restaurant, Sail-In Café and the onsite training provided to consumers working in either location. Membership in the Association is open to retirees from all St. Clair County departments or their surviving spouse. For more information, please contact Sharon at sccra917@gmail.com or 810- 987-9185.

The American Red Cross has a severe shortage of type O blood and urges type O donors – as well as eligible blood and platelet donors of all blood types – to give now to ensure lifesaving patient care isn’t impacted this winter.  Type O blood is the most in-demand blood type, helping patients facing life-threatening conditions and emergencies every day. Type O negative blood can be transfused to patients with any blood type and is what emergency room personnel reach for when there’s no time to determine a patient’s blood type. Type O positive blood is also especially needed because it is the most transfused blood type and can be given to Rh-positive patients of any blood type.  Having a readily available blood supply is critical for patients like Luna Giles, who at the age of 1 1/2 has already underwent two heart surgeries and required over a dozen transfusions.  “Each time, the nurse would bring in a bag of blood for her transfusion, I noticed a small label on each one that said ‘Donation Type: Volunteer,’” said Luna’s mom, Jessie Giles. “It made me think about each individual who donated blood for my daughter. I would never know who those individuals were, and they would never see the effect their donation had. But each of those individuals, strangers to us, absolutely saved my daughter’s life. They may never know it, but to me, they are heroes.”  Right now, the Red Cross has less than a three-day supply of most blood types, and blood products are being distributed to hospitals faster than donations are coming in. Recent snowstorms and severe weather in many parts of the country have forced hundreds of blood drive cancellations, causing more than 20,000 blood and platelet donations to go uncollected.  Individuals of all blood types – especially type O – are asked to make an appointment to donate blood or platelets by downloading the free American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

Upcoming blood donation opportunities Now Through -March 31

3/4/2019: 7:30 a.m. – 1:15 p.m., Anchor Bay High School, 6319 County Line Road in Ira

3/5/2019: 8 a.m. – 12:45 p.m., Port Huron Northern High School, 1790 Krafft Rd. in Port Huron

3/7/2019: 8 a.m. – 1:45 p.m., St. Clair High School, 2200 Clinton in St. Clair

3/13/2019: 8 a.m. – 1:45 p.m., Port Huron High School Key Club, 2215 Court Street in P.H

3/19/2019: 8 a.m. – 1:45 p.m., Memphis High School Library, 34130 Boardman in Memphis

3/20/2019: 12:45 p.m. – 6:30 p.m., Palms Elementary School, 6101 Palms Road in Fair Haven

3/20/2019: 8 a.m. – 1:45 p.m., Marine City High School, 1085 Ward in Marine City

3/20/2019: 8 a.m. – 1:45 p.m., Marysville High School, 555 East Huron in Marysville

3/21/2019: 11 a.m. – 4:45 p.m., DTE Belle River, 4505 King Road in East China

3/25/2019: 11 a.m. – 4:45 p.m., Sacred Heart Church, 310 N. Main St. in Yale

3/26/2019: 11 a.m. – 4:45 p.m., Belle River Elementary School, 1601 Chartier in Marine City

The Blue Water Area Chamber of Commerce will host the 13^th Annual State of St. Clair County Luncheon Address from 11AM – 1:15PM on Friday, March 22, 2019 at Alexander’s Premier Banquet Center, 1200 Gratiot Blvd., Marysville.   The event is open to the public, however registration is required.  Individual registration is $40 per person and includes buffet lunch.  Business and corporate tables are also available at discounted rates.  Over 400 community and business leaders from the region, including Ontario, Macomb, Lapeer and Genesee counties, attended last year, making this event one of the Chamber’s signature event.   According to St. Clair County Administrator Controller, Karry Hepting the public is welcome and tickets may be purchased through the Blue Water Chamber of Commerce website, or by calling the chamber at  (810) 985-7101