Algonac News

Officials at Algonac Community Schools are working to give their students a leg up in getting into elite universities.

Katie and Jeremy Larrison had a birthday party several Saturdays ago for their younger daughter, Mira, who turned a year old.

The March of Dimes Jail and Bail is under way from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today. The event raises money to fight birth defects.

The mayor of Algonac said he didn't realize he wasn't supposed to discuss the departure of City Manager Patrick Burelle until after he spoke to a newspaper reporter.

All that remains of 80 to 100 acres of wetland weeds here is charred black stalks -- and a looming question.

Algonac lawyer James Downey has announced his candidacy for a seat on the bench in 31st Circuit Court.

A grass fire on Harsens Island has been put out. Firefighters from Clay Township handled the fire with assistance from Algonac, Ira Township, New Baltimore, and Marine City fire departments.

In the middle of Farmington Hills is a 125-acre golf course operated by Oakland County Parks.

St. Clair County's children are an increasingly embattled segment of the population, according to the 2009 Kids Count database that recently was released.

First, a clarification: McMorran Place General Manager Randy Fernandez wants to amend something he said in Friday's TalkBack.

Now I feel guilty about enjoying the Marysville golf course. Last March, state Department of Natural Resources conducted a pair of surveys on Cuttle Creek, which flows through Marysville.

When teenager Austin Wirgau attended a first aid class to qualify for a seasonal job with the Downriver Recreation Commission, he didn't know he would shortly be staunching a live wound during a real emergency. The Algonac High School junior was recently recognized by the Downriver Recreation Commission for expertly administering aid to resident Chuck Miller who fell off a ladder, severely injuring his ankle. Miller was changing a light bulb at the pavilion while Wirgau was watching some children at Browne's Field on Harsen's Island.

Cold temperatures and a wicked north wind last week brought a convoy of U.S. Coast Guard cutters to the rescue on the icy St. Clair River along the waterfront communities of Marine City, Algonac and Clay Township. Five U.S. Coast Guard cutters met up and worked all week pushing through miles of broken pieces of ice piled in heaps from shore to international shore. The Penobscot Bay, Neah Bay, Bristol Bay, Hollyhock and senior ship Mackinaw, were seen making their way back and forth night and day in an effort to break up the frozen masses.

U.S. Coast Guard workers were busy on the North Channel of Harsen's Island Monday, breaking up a formidable ice jam that had freighters backed up for days. Ice cutting operations were scheduled from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and Harsen's Island residents were advised to plan for suspended ferry services during the next 24 hours. Ferry owner David Bryson bought islanders some extra time, convincing Coast Guard officials to postpone the ferry shutdown until Monday, instead of Sunday, so they could alert residents of the interruption in service. "We have to give our people to chance to get their cars off the island to the mainland," Doptis said.

Embattled City Manager Patrick Burelle has stepped down after a one-year tenure in Algonac. After communication began breaking down between Burelle and Mayor Jim Wisdom, some council members became concerned that city matters were taking a backseat to dealing with the strained relationship.

Many longtime Algonac residents can still appreciate the legacy left by two hometown men who changed the face of the boating industry, Chris Smith and Gar Wood. "What the Wright Brothers were to airplanes and Henry Ford was to cars, Chris Smith and Gar Wood were to boats," said Pete Beauregard, chairman of the Legends of Algonac project. The venture, conceived last summer by former Chris/Craft executive Herb Pocklington, includes installing two life-size statues of the renowned men in Algonac Park. An annex on the Algonac/Clay Museum, with an extensive collection of Chris Craft memorabilia, is also part of Pocklington's vision.

The former Port Huron city manager now is at the reins of Algonac's government. Karl Tomion of Port Huron was hired Tuesday as Algonac's interim manager.

Karl Tomion, the former Port Huron city manager, is now in the same position in Algonac on an interim basis.

No one likes the idea of raising taxes in a grim economy, but a proposal to raise the diesel tax from 15 to 19 cents per gallon is a worthy exception.

Freighters marooned north and south of the St. Clair River because of an ice jam were able to continue forward Tuesday.