Having been gone for over two weeks, I'm still catching up on reading the Caledonian Record. This morning I had a message from Tom Dente (JPA president) with a link to a story in yesterday's paper. Tom keeps close track of these things! The story is about our friend and former JPA social director, Dave Parker, having the misfortune to sink his snowmobile in the pond. Click HERE for the complete story.
     I know Dave knows Joe's Pond extremely well, having spent many summers here. He is now making this his permanent, year-around home, so this is his first winter living on the pond. I'm pretty sure he would be aware of the dangers of going through the ice at the narrows, but since these past several winters have had unusual weather patterns, alternating deep cold and higher than normal temperatures, it may well be that the rules that applied just a few years ago are no longer reliable. We try to warn snowmobilers not to go near narrows or where brooks or the channel enter into the pond, as the ice may not be safe there. It's hard to know where the thin spots are or how far reaching they are. After a rain, the warmer, faster-flowing water rushes into the pond and cuts a swath into the ice, and therein lies the danger. There can be thin spots almost anywhere on the pond, depending on what's going on under the ice - a spring, currents that change over time - all making the ice unreliable. 
     We are very glad Dave is ok. It could have been a serious accident. It's too bad the machine went in, but apparently Dave acted quickly and jumped free in time to save himself from a really cold dip.What Dave probably hasn't escaped is some good-natured ribbing from neighbors and fellow JPA members, come summer.