Harsens Island Ferry Closing Notice

I just spoke to the Champion's Auto Ferry office so this is the update:

The ice is flowing heavy on the North Channel of Harsens Island.

The plan is for the ferry to stay open until 8pm tonight (IF POSSIBLE) and then close for the night.....it all depends on the ice, so make your plans early and get to the place you want to spend the night...island or mainland.

Closing the ferry for the night allows the ice to set up and freeze together so the ferry can then make a path in the morning.

That is the plan for today.

Check back here for updates.

Thanks for the Donations !!!

A few people have sent in donations to help defray the costs of keeping Harsens Island News coming to you.

In these tough economic times I really appreciate you thinking of us!!!

Idle Hour Skip Day Cancelled

The Idle Hour has no water at this time so.....skip day had to be cancelled.

We'll let you know if they reschedule.

Headline News

Sunday, January 30, 9AM – 2PM

This Sunday the Lake St. Clair Walleye Association presents the 14th Annual Children’s Ice Fishing Event.  Registration located at Metro Beach near the Day Sail Launch area.  This area has heated restrooms.  This is a free event.  All kids must be accompanied by an adult.  Call Mark Tews at 586.557.3767 for more information.

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Identity of man found dead on I-94 remains a mystery

Port Huron Times Herald

CHESTERFIELD TWP. -- Police are still trying to solve the case of a man found dead early Friday morning on Interstate 94.

Chesterfield Township police were called about 3:20 a.m. by a truck driver who said he hit what he believed to be a body on westbound I-94 at the 23 Mile Road overpass.

Thousands of fish turn up dead in area waters

Detroit Free Press
Bob Burns of Friends of the Detroit River said he has received reports from Monroe to Lake St. Clair of the dead fish. Doug Martz, former Macomb County ...


2 Algonac men arraigned; items from break-ins recovered
Port Huron Times Herald
St.- 1:44 am Two Algonac men arrested Wednesday in connection with several home invasions in southern St. Clair County were arraigned Friday in 72nd ...


Algonac, Clay Twp. look at combining fire services
Port Huron Times Herald
The Algonac City Council and Clay Township Board gave officials the OK last week to move ahead on building a proposal that would outline how a fire ...


BREAKING ICE ABOARD THE BRISTOL BAY
Port Huron Times Herald
The ship had traveled from Algonac to Lake St. Clair on Tuesday morning, ... While leaving Algonacon Tuesday, thick ice stopped the Bristol Bay cold. ...

Family Member Killed

My husband Steve's brother, Jimmy Schueler, was murdered at his Ohio business office on Thursday.

Jimmy is also survived by local residents John and Helen Cameron.

They are all in our prayers.

Select Alert Notice

Citizens of St. Clair County:


A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10:00AM EST SATURDAY, JANUARY 29

Something to do Next Friday!

Can get difficult to come up with new things to do here on Harsen's Island in the winter.

Mark your calendar for Idle Hour Skip Day and come for a visit!

Ice Update

Good Evening,

With the help of the rain and warmer temperatures, the Mackinaw, Samuel Risley, Bristol Bay, and Neah Bay continued flushing the ice currently plugging up the St. Clair River. Though three vessels were successfully escorted through the river today, limited results were achieved in flushing the ice due to the southerly winds pushing the ice back up the channel. Additionally, as the ice flows down the river, it gets into tighter areas and can make the flushing more difficult in the long run. The latest reports indicating that the thickest brash ice is around Willow Point, reaching from one to five feet in places. We will continue to monitor water levels in the river and lake to avoid potential flooding situations due to this ice jam.

We will not be breaking into the North Channel tomorrow. However, temperatures are expected to drop in the coming days, which may significantly slow the flow of ice down the river and create a potential flooding situation. We will reassess the conditions tomorrow and make a determination as to whether to break the North Channel on Thursday.

We will continue to update you on changing conditions, and should the need arise we will give you advanced notice via this blog, 911 alerts, and press statements of our intentions. Again, we appreciate everyone’s patience during this busy operation.

Updated Ice Conditions and Situation for Today

Good Afternoon Everyone!

Well, the Mackinaw and Samuel Risley have escorted one vessel through the river this morning and worked the track throughout the day. This sunshine is helping to warm the ice and move it around a little making our job slightly easier this morning. The Bristol Bay and Neah Bay continue to conduct flushing of the Old South Channel and Seaway Cut and this has proved useful.

There will be one upbound vessel and four downbound vessels through the river tonight into tomorrow. Tomorrow, we are looking at about the same amount of traffic. After that, the Soo locks will close and traffic will significantly slow down.

What all this means to you is that once we get this heavy volume of traffic clear, we will be more focused on maintaining the flow of commerce for things like heating oil, coal, salt, etc...that are important for Great Lakes customers for both sides of the border and keeping a close eye on water levels. If there is a need to break into the North Channel and interrupt ferry service, we will give you advanced notice via this blog, 911 alerts, an update to the Clay Township website, and issue press statements.

We appreciate everyone's flexibility, patience, and understanding as we work another busy ice season. Thanks again to Melon and Sue for this forum to reach all of you!

Coast Guard Officer now Member of Harsens Island News!

As you can see from the below post I have extended an invitation of blogger/posting privileges to:

Lt Justin Westmiller
Public Affairs Officer
US Coast Guard
Sector Detroit


Lt Westmiller has accepted my invitation to post directly to Harsens Island News.


This is GREAT news!  We will definately be in the loop with Justin on board!

Harsens Island Ferry

After last nights ferry closing, things are back to normal with occasional delays.

I spoke to Champions Auto Ferry a bit ago, and this is the plan:

Regular scheduled service today.
Switch to every 1/2 hour sometime tonight.
Resume regular service early Thursday morning.

No exact times were given

Snow Plows are on the Island

The roads have been a mes since the snow yesterday, but I just saw a snow plow/salt truck go by so things should be improving!

Earthquake

From Charles Miller:

Did anyone else feel the 5.5 magnitude earthquake this afternoon around 2:30 PM? Motion was side to side.

Thanks for asking Chuck, we did feel something unusual and went outside to look for a big truck or something!!

Bluegrass Festival on Harsen's Island

We will be there with several booths!!!

We will have OFFICIAL H.I.M. Harsen's Island Militia T's tanks and other gear, made by RockIt, one of our subsidiary companies.  When you purchase official H.I.M. gear, a portion of the sale proceeds goes to CHARITY...as it should.

RockIt Gear will be there with Harsen's Island related T Shirts, Tanks and other gear including the exclusive RockIt Romper.

We will also have hand made jewelry, paintings, photos.

Time Off & Summer Gearing Up

After ice update time of year, I like to take a much needed break!

I've also had a string of injuries which have slowed me down...all is healing well and I'm able to get around much better now, thank you!

The kids are still having their ups and downs with the dysautonomia (rare disorder that screws up your life!)

The one year anniversary of my mother's death has recently passed...tough times for all the family.

I'm working on new T shirt designs and will be selling these online and at Weaver's market exclusively.  Marlow Mackie, the fearless leader of H.I.M. has given me exclusive rights to produce and sell HIM T's, tanks, shorts and other gear, plus design some new looks for HIM gear...look for those soon at Weavers and on the T Shirt tab above.  David Bryson, owner of Champion's Auto Ferry,  has given me the OK to design and sell Harsen's Island Ferry T's & gear which will also be sold here and at Weaver's.

Busy, busy, busy!

Survivor T Shirts - Update

Our T Shirts are always custom ordered and created.  Sometimes we have a few extra imprinted shirts in stock, but not often.  

A shipment of completed T's will be going out on Monday via Priority Mail....should take 2-3 business days for you to receive yours.  The shirts going out are the orders placed through 3/23.

Orders placed 3/24 to 4/2:  Blank T's were ordered 4/2 and should arrive by Wed 4/7.  It takes me a few days to make the transfers and Hot press them onto the shirts, so they should ship by Monday 4/12.

If you would like me to hand deliver your order (Harsen's Island only, or meet you at the ferry if you are from the mainland) call me at 810-643-1401 to arrange this.

Seaway Island Fire

Thanks to Melanie Most for these photos of the fire yesterday:


Seaway Island is on fire and is blowing smoke and ash all over the flats.

Seaplane crashes along St. Clair River, killing 1

CLAY TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A single-engine seaplane crashed into a dock near a home on the St. Clair River, killing the 80-year-old pilot.

The St. Clair County sheriff's department says the Grosse Pointe man was flying the plane about 1 p.m. Thursday when witnesses said the plane circled, went sideways and crashed into a dock in Clay Township.

His name wasn't immediately released.

Dock owner Ronald Mikolajczyk tells the Times Herald of Port Huron he heard a propeller buzzing and then the sound of the plane hitting the dock.

Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Corey says the pilot was the only person aboard. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board were investigating the crash about 30 miles northeast of Detroit. 


Man dies after plane hits St. Clair River dock
Detroit Free Press
CLAY TOWNSHIP — The plane that crashed into a St. Clair River dock is owned by Michigan Sport Aviation LLC out of Grosse Pointe, according to Federal Aviation Administration records.

The plane has tail number N853CZ and is a fixed-wing, single-engine craft manufactured in 2007. 

Police said the pilot, who was killed, was an 80-year-old man. His name and residence are not being released pending notification of family. 

St. Clair County Sheriff Tim Donnellon said the pilot was the only person in the plane. The craft was flying south over the river’s North Channel when it banked hard and hit the dock at 4965 Pointe Tremble Road about 1 p.m. 

Liz Cory, an FAA spokeswoman, said officials are investigating. The lead investigator is the National Transportation Safety Board.

She said there is no indication of why the plane crashed. An investigation typically takes several weeks, she said. 

Ronald Mikolajczyk, who owns the dock, said he heard a propeller buzzing and then the “thump” of the plane hitting the dock.

Mikolajczyk, 53, said he and neighbors rushed to the plane, and the pilot was unresponsive and had no pulse. He said the plane hit the dock at a 45-degree angle.

“It is real nerve-racking, a terrible scene,” he said.

Mikolajczyk said the craft is a small amphibian plane, which allows it to land and take off from the water.

“It was a big thump with a crunch,” he said of the plane crashing. “You know it was a sound of something happening that shouldn’t happen.”

Mikolajczyk, who has lived in the house for 11 years, said he’s never seen anything like it.

“Boats run into the docks, but not airplanes,” he said.

According to a Times Herald reporter on the scene, the plane’s nose is in the water, smashed into the dock. The tail of the plane is bent over the cockpit. 

The plane is silver, with blue on the tips of the wings. There is a blue and red stripe down the side.

80-Year-Old Man Killed in Small Plane Crash WXYZ CLAY TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) - The pilot of a small plane was killed when his plane crashed in a channel near Harsens Island. The plane crashed in the North Channel of the St. Clair River. The 80-year-old pilot who died was from Grosse Pointe. He was flying alone when the crash happened. St. Clair County Sheriff Tim Donnelon says the pilot was flying south at a low altitude. "He circled toward the north, the plane went sideways, and he crashed into the dock just after one o’clock this afternoon,” Sheriff Donnellon reports. A couple was outside doing yard work when they reportedly saw the plane crash. The husband and wife said the plane nearly hit their home. That's when they say it did a nose-dive and crashed into the water. They say they rushed over to help, but say the man did not have a pulse. It is not known where the man was coming from or headed to. The pilot's name is not being released until members of his family are notified.

Ice Jam in the News

Cutters break ice jam Windsor Star, Canada,  Tuesday, March 30, 2010

WINDSOR, Ont. —Massive ice jams that caused shipping traffic bottlenecks over the weekend have finally been cleared from the St. Clair River after round-the-clock work by the Canadian and U.S. coast guards.

"This winter was a very strange event," said Andy Maillet, the superintendent of operations at the Canadian Coast Guard regional operations centre in Sarnia.

"This particular winter has been an anomaly along the whole Eastern Seaboard. The Gulf of St. Lawrence saw record low amounts of ice. I certainly have never seen this in my 34 years."

Maillet said that while Lake St. Clair had the least amount of ice since 1984, it still saw three instances where ice bridges were formed at the mouth of the St. Clair River in January, February and last week.

"They sort of had the perfect storm type of situation where the winds, the temperatures, everything was in proper sync, the planets were aligned, and the ice just pummelled down the river, as it did a couple of months ago," said Maillet of the trouble that began early last week.

"The ice sealed up the river again, the only ice that remained out there was the heavy, thick ice that survived the melt, so it all piled up at the bottom of the St. Clair River and caused an ice jam whereby there was an ice jam both at the top end and the bottom end initially."

Seven ice breakers, the Samuel Risley and Griffon from Canada and five from the U.S., worked 24 hours straight on Thursday and Friday to clear the jam while shipping traffic was brought to a standstill.

"It's probably the first time we've ever had seven icebreakers working at one place on the Great Lakes ever," said Maillet.

There were about 20 commercial vessels waiting to proceed through the river while the icebreaking took place.

Such jams actually impede the flow of water and cause the level of Lake St. Clair to drop and Lake Huron to rise, Maillet said.

Canadian, U.S. coast guards break ice jam Windsor Star, BY CHRIS THOMPsonMARCH 29, 2010 Massive ice jams that caused shipping traffic bottlenecks over the weekend have finally been cleared from the St. Clair River after round-the-clock work by the Canadian and U.S. coast guards. “This winter was a very strange event,” said Andy Maillet, the superintendent of operations at the Canadian Coast Guard regional operations centre in Sarnia. “This particular winter has been an anomaly along the whole Eastern Seaboard. The Gulf of St. Lawrence saw record low amounts of ice. I certainly have never seen this in my 34 years.” Maillet said that while Lake St. Clair had the least amount of ice since 1984, it still saw three instances where ice bridges were formed at the mouth of the St. Clair River in January, February and last week. “They sort of had the perfect storm type of situation where the winds, the temperatures, everything was in proper sync, the planets were aligned, and the ice just pummelled down the river, as it did a couple of months ago,” said Maillet of the trouble that began early last week. “The ice sealed up the river again, the only ice that remained out there was the heavy, thick ice that survived the melt, so it all piled up at the bottom of the St. Clair River and caused an ice jam whereby there was an ice jam both at the top end and the bottom end initially.” Coast Guard clears ice from St. Clair River Toledo On The Move (AP) -- The U.S. Coast Guard and Canadian Coast Guard have wrapped up an effort to clear ice jams on the St. Clair River. Chief Warrant Officer Mark Stauffer says in a statement that a significant amount of ice was flushed out of the St. Clair River during the past week. He says it's the most ice in the river in decades. Delayed traffic also has cleared the river as of Monday. The Coast Guard Cutters Mackinaw, Neah Bay, Bristol Bay and Biscyane Bay and the Canadian Coast Guard ships Griffon and Same Risley conducted icebreaking operations between the St. Clair River and southern Lake Huron. The ice this month forced crews to free freighters that got stuck.

Ferry & Ice Conditions Update

As soon as we posted that the airboat would run I dashed to get across...had to pick up prescriptions.

The ice was moving pretty good in the middle of the North Channel as we went across, but no problems with Bobby's excellent captain skills.

Thanks to the kind gentleman who drove me to the drug store...sorry I'm terrible with names.

I was back to the DNR in a flash, but had to wait there for nearly 2 hours.  The line was long...I immediately calculated I would be on the 6th airboat trip back to the Island.

Not too bad except in my haste to get off the Island, I was only wearing canvas slip on shoes and a light jacket...no gloves, no hat...not too bright for an Island Girl!

My daughter, Shannon, was on the Island side at the Boy's Club waiting for me and giving me updates...the airboats were not going over any more...they were sitting at the island.  I called Daryl and got the scoop...the ice was now moving too fast for safe airboat transport and we would have to wait for it to slow down.

The temperature kept dropping as the now approximately 20 people jumped from foot to foot trying to keep warm.

After what seemed an eternity the airboat started running again...then along comes the US Coast Guard cutter heading down the North Channel...we all groaned thinking they would get the ice moving again and delay our frozen bodies return to a warm place once again, but their presence seemed to make no difference in ice movement...thank God!

After waiting 4 trips, (it would have been one, but Middle Channel Mike could not be bribed with the offer of a free T Shirt!) it was my turn to go.  I jumped (not literally) onto the airboat just after the sun had set and the temperatures had plummeted...I could no longer feel my feet...but that was great for my foot injury.  The return trip to the Island was freezing but uneventful.  We could see the USCG still working the ice downriver from the ferry...hope they are successful tonight!

Once I got home and started to thaw I began to notice the severe pain in my recently injured, frozen foot....guess two hours on my feet was too much, but it was the only way to stay warm.  Then my nurse mind started taking over...need to elevate that foot and put some ice on it...oh great!