by V. Paul Reynolds

Each year about this time, the Maine Warden Service urges us to use extreme caution before venturing out onto any ice that may be covering Maine’s waterways.

This is timely advice. Two winters ago, three night-time snow sledders all perished in one night on Rangeley Lake when they and their machines broke through thin ice.

Many of Maine’s lakes and ponds may appear to be frozen, however safe ice conditions cannot be assumed.