Access to Huron's piers blocked

HURON — The Army Corps of Engineers placed new signs warning people to stay off dangerous areas near Huron's piers. The signs posted at the Lighthouse Pier, north of the "blockhouse," and the East Pier, attached to Nickel Plate Beach, warn people of danger and to keep off the restricted area. "We put the signs up because all of those areas are strictly navigation structures, and that's what they were designed for," said Susan Blair, a spokeswoman for the Army Corps' Buffalo office. "The public was never meant to use them for recreation. Last year, somebody, unfortunately, died when he fell off the rocks." Henry Stout, 19, drowned in June after a wave knocked him off the rocks as he attempted to get from the pier to the Huron Lighthouse. There were also two drownings last year at Nickel Plate Beach, but they were unrelated to the restricted area at the East Pier. Some people, however, do use the rocks there for recreation, which the Army Corp. contends needs to stop. Blair said people who disobey the signs could be charged with trespassing. Huron city manager Andy White said the federal government owns the land and the city leases certain areas of it like the observation deck at the blockhouse, which remains accessible to the public. "It's their land and they can obviously do what they please," White said. "But it has been widely enjoyed as a recreational asset in the past, and we weren't given any notice of it."