WINTER IS CHEERY with all its pretty snow-flakes and holiday happenings. Capture the moments and share them with your friends and neighbors in the lake community. We like your bright ideas and imagination. What is

happening in your neighborhood? It's the season for pretty decorations and twinkling lights. Submit to Julie at sinnidi@aol.com. The deadline for our next Shore Lines is January 5.

Shore Lines The Saratoga Lake Association

P.O. Box 2152

Ballston Spa, NY 12020

www.saratogalake.org

December 16, 2014

Editors: Julie Annotto Sharon Urban

sinnidi@aol.com urbans@nycap.rr.com

This Holiday, let’s say thanks to the people who

taught us to always dig a little deeper . . . . . .

To your mom who gave you your sense of style. Your coworker who always brought out your best. Your dad who helped you build your first lemonade

stand and then helped you sell it to the boy down the street.

Your grandma who helped you understand where you came from.

Your favorite coach who believed in you more than you believed in yourself.

And all your loved ones who provide you with the inspiration to take charge of your future.

Don't forget to thank the people who help make you who you are today. (source: USA Today)

Snowflakes and Winter Cheer

The Annual Holiday Party was a festive and fun occasion. For details and additional photos, please go to pages 5 and 6.

Is that ice on the lake? A wintry Snake Hill taken from the south end by Neal Kramer.

Holiday personality insight . . . What is your favorite holiday movie? It’s a wonderful life? A Christmas Carol? A Christmas Story? Miracle on 34th Street? A Charlie Brown Christmas?

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It's A Wonderful Life: You're leaving a legacy of kindness! A Christmas Carol: You're an undaunted idealist! A Christmas Story: You're a sentimental sage! Miracle on 34th Street: You're a nurturing romantic! A Charlie Brown Christmas: You're a creative dream-maker!

Sue Chatsworth from Water’s Edge, sent in these photos of our beautiful white wonderland.

How about a Little Holiday Trivia

(guaranteed to make us all feel old!)

See if you can match each quote with the holiday-themed movie it was featured in.

_____1. “Merry Christmas, you wonderful old Building and Loan!”

_____2. “Oh, Christmas isn’t just a day, it’s a frame of mind.”

_____3. “Baby, you’re just what I want for Christmas.”

_____4. “Yes, sir. I’m sure I’m very sorry, sir, to cause you such an inconvenience. It’s the family more than me, sir.

They put their hearts into Christmas as it were, sir.”

_____5. “There’s no Christmas in the Army, Captain.”

_____6. “Remind me to nail up the board in the back fence. He’s coming through the front door next winter.”

_____7. “Sometimes angels rush in where fools fear to tread.”

_____8. “You could melt her heart right down to butter, if

you’d only turn on the heat!”

_____9. “Arrange it, are you crazy? Where am I gonna get a

farm? I haven’t even got a window box!”

Select from:

A. The Bishop’s Wife (1947) B. Christmas in Connecticut (1945) C. White Christmas (1954 D. A Christmas Carol (1951) E. Holiday Inn (1942) F. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) G. Holiday Affair (1949) H. It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947) I. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

Good luck!

1. F 2. I 3. G 4. D 5.C 6. H 7. A 8. E 9. B

News from the Town of Stillwater Edward Kinowski, Supervisor

Hello and Happy Holidays to all! To Say the least, we have had a very busy and successful year. I will headline with Brown's Beach. We are ex-tremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to purchase this land and return it to the public for use. This coming year, thanks to so many volunteers and donated resources from local businesses, the Beach will be open, along with picnic areas, a new Marina, the best of Dock Brown's Tav-ern and the Nest lnn. However, no need to wait until next Spring, as Ice Skat-ing and other activities are being planned for this win-ter. Dock Brown's, the Town and other area business will be hosting weekend events: Pond Hockey Tournaments, Fishing Tournaments, Motorcycles races, snowmobile club activities and a host of other vendor events. Weather per-mitting, these events should begin on Friday evening, January 16th and continue to the end of the Month -- more are possible. We are seeking to re-establish fun family events for win-ter activities as well as summer. More information will be coming via newspapers, radio, face book and other local advertisements. Restoring Brown’s Beach and improving the site for other services is a major accomplishment for our Town and surrounding communities. Just one note: Full renovation is still in progress, so please pardon any incon-veniences along the way. Other Parks and Recreation amenities completed this year and planning for the next: the New Stillwater River Front Park located off Route 4 by the Saratoga Battle Field. This is a passive park for relaxation with a picnic pavilion area, park benches, picnic tables along the river, walking trail and a Canoe and Kayak launch. Completed the walking trail, ball field and Multi-use facility at Glen Hollow Park near the Lake. Extended the Multi-use walk-ing trail at the south end of Town with parking and picnic tables. We received over $300K in grants to revitalize trail projects and water front Planning; and just received another $200K to continue our portion of the Champlain Canal-way trail system. Happening about town is the ongoing development of Global Foundries. Understandably, traffic will be an issue for a while and we are addressing these issues as they arise – but it does take time.

continued

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Additionally, home building is on-going throughout our Town, bringing a good measure of growth in well planned areas. A new housing development is in the works along the Western portion of State Route 67. If all goes well, this development will help bring water and gas to this area. Additionally, this Planned Development District (PDD) project will help the Town complete a portion of our new Water District for the Southern portion of Town. Outside of our many town projects, I wish to pro-vide a note about Maplewood Manor to all area resi-dents. Maplewood Manor continues to be an excellent Adult care facility in spite of all the negative press in recent weeks. The news of late speaks to major layoffs and drastic pay cuts that do not tell the whole sto-ry. Currently, employee & sale actions are on hold until after the new year; and then, time is needed to conduct a smooth transition. There are a lot of details to the sale of Maplewood and the County Staff are working diligently to meet all milestones. I, for one, admire the employees at Maplewood for the daily care they provide to our seniors and their families. As the Town representative to the County, I will seek to insure we help keep Maplewood a premier facility for years to come – one day at a time. My wish for the coming year: May all traveling our roads obey the speed limits, be courteous to your neigh-bors, Please – Keep your animals at bay, and have some fun – hopefully a lot!

Snowball ~Shel Silverstein

I made myself a snowball, As perfect as could be, I thought I'd keep it as a pet, And let it sleep with me.

I made it some pajamas, And a pillow for its head, Then last night it ran away, But first - it wet the bed!

Congratulations to the Towns of Ballston and Stillwater for each being awarded a $15,000 Farm-land Protection Implementation grant from the NYS De-partment of Agriculture & Markets for the establishment of Transfer of Development Rights programs.

The awards come a few years after PLAN’s comple-tion of a TDR study, which demonstrated how these incen-tive-based and market-driven programs are effectively im-plemented for the conservation of valuable natural re-sources and directing development toward areas that have the infrastructure and amenities to best support it. PLAN will work with each Town as they put the study into action developing and implementing Transfer of Development Rights programs.

Dreaming of a Blue Water & Sunny Sky Vacation?

It could be yours!

One lucky person will be the winner of an adventure-packed week with family and friends with this one-week stay at a lakefront camp in Port Douglass, NY on the shores of Lake Placid. At $100 per ticket, the winner will have a choice of a 7-day stay between May and October 2015 in a four-bedroom, 2.5 bath camp. Adventure awaits with an Olym-pic-sized tour of Lake Placid with a car pass to the White-face Memorial Highway, four Whiteface gondola rides, and four passes to the ski jumps and Olympic Museum. Also included are two family passes to Ausable Chasm, 18 holes of golf with cart privileges at Bluff Point Golf Resort, and foot passenger day passes on the Port Kent-Burlington Ferry (in season). Finally, personal seaplane tours of the Adiron-dacks and Green Mountains leaving right from the camp's family dock. Don't miss out on this getaway Raffle! Drawing to be held on December 31st. To purchase raffle tickets, please contact PLAN's office at (518) 587-5554.

During this holiday season, give a gift to Saratoga County!

...the gift of land conservation...

Please join us in asking NYS to transfer the western portion of the lands surrounding the former McGregor Prison to the Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preser-vation as an addition to the Moreau Lake State Park. The land is already owned by NYS. Committing it to conserved parkland will allow public access to these beautiful, wild acres in the Palmertown Range, benefiting both residents and visitors of Saratoga County. Conservation is a gift that will keep on giving to future generations, too! Make your voice heard. Help show your support for this transfer by following the link below to a petition that will be sent to Governor Cuomo asking for a portion of the former prison properties to be protected forever as an addi-tion to the Moreau Lake State Park. Click here to sign the petition. Or you can visit their web site at www.saratogaplan.org. Every single signature helps! ***************************************************

Kaydeross Creek and Kayak Trail is just one of PLAN’s preserves. Visit their web site at www.saratogaplan.org to view the many accomplishments and land preservation achievements of this or-

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Photos

By

Carol

Dooley

Annual Holiday Party Great Success All reports indicate that the 100+ members that attended the Annual Party at Panza’s had a wonderful time. The food was delicious and the desserts “to die for.” Panza’s did a great job with decorating and the room glowed in wintry white. There was a lot of dancing, laughing and enjoying friends and neighbors. All in all a night to remember. Thanks to the hard-working and diligent committee mem-bers who made this occasion possible — Carol Dooley, Kathy McKenna and Dianne Fedoronko. Your efforts are very much appreciated.

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Some Winter Reminders from the Town of Malta CHRISTMAS TREE PICKUP will be the week of January 5th. You may also drop them off at the Highway Garage. SNOWY DAYS ON GARBAGE PICK-UP DAY: When plows will be out during garbage pick-up day PLEASE keep the buckets back at least 2' from the edge of the road. The Waste Removal Trucks can reach at least 3'! YEARLY REMINDERS: —No parking on the streets or 4 feet from the shoulder of the roads from Nov. 1st through April 1st. Your vehicle may be towed and a possible fine of up to $100. —Remove ALL objects that are in the Town's Right-of-Way (ROW) for snow re-moval. These objects in-clude: sprinkler systems, bas-ketball/hoops, rocks and landscaping. The ROW is about 30 feet from the cen-ter of the road. The Town will NOT be responsible for re-placing or repairing any objects left within that ROW. —Also, it is against the law to plow snow into town roads or across the street onto someone else's property. —If there is a major storm and you have fallen trees/limbs, we will make a trip throughout the town to pick these up - have them out by the curbside as soon as you can! —There is a shed with salt/sand mix located toward the back of the Highway Garage parking area. You are welcome to bring a bucket and shovel to take what you need (it is not for commercial use-residents only). If you have any concerns or questions, do not hesitate to

call us at 899-2818. Please keep in mind that we are out on the road often and our secretary is part time so if you get the ma-chine PLEASE leave a message, we will return your call quickly. Plus, all this information is on our website!

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Two resident eagle youngsters search along the shore for some tidbits. Photo by Nick Annotto.

There just aren’t any bad views on this lake of ours. This beautiful winter scene was

taken at the home of Nick and Julie Annotto by granddaughter Nicole Wade.

The best things in life are the people you

love, The places you've seen, and the

memories You made along the way.

Stewart’s Shops Holiday Match Program

Holiday Match is a program that started over 25 years ago to specifically benefit or-ganizations/programs for kids under the age of 18 in the areas of social services, health, education, recreations, and the arts. To date, with the help of our customers, we have allocated nearly $19 million to our local communities. We collect in our shops from Thanksgiv-ing Day through Christmas Day**. We match our customers’ donations dollar for dollar, with no administrative fees. In 2013, together we raised more than $1.34 million for over 1,440 organizations. If you are a non profit 501c3 or-ganization interested in applying for funds through the Holi-day Match program, please visit our website. We will pro-vide an online application for your request. Applications are also available in our shops during this time. The deadline for this application process is January 31st. When you stop by Stewart’s Shops, why not drop some of your change in the match container!

It appears that Dianne and Gene Fedoronko have someone that keeps drawing them to New Hampshire. It’s just a guess, but I suspect grandson, Jack, may have something to do with it!

John and Tina Pamper delivered a “house” to grand-daughter Hope Kittle when they visited her in Olney, Illinois. As you can see, Hope is busy getting her new house ready for Christmas!

Looks like these little guys fell asleep waiting for

Santa!

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We hope you enjoy these excerpts about Santa from: Gail Welter Life As I See It - The Blog (http://gwfirecracker.blogspot.com) What Christmas series would be complete with-out an appearance by the big guy in the red suit? I know I can't forget him - especially since I've met him! That's right, I've met the 'real Santa'!! In fact I've even blogged about him before. Would you believe I saw Santa in May?? There wasn't even any snow on the ground and Rudolph wasn't even with him. He wasn't wearing his red suit, but I recognized him anyway. Heck, he wasn't wearing a disguise, so it was easy to spot him - even in his shorts and t-shirt...... See what I mean? How could you miss him? I could barely believe my eyes and suddenly I was a kid again. Well, I caught up with Santa again yesterday, but before I fill you in on what he had to say, let me remind you what happened when I met Santa back in May (from the post, "Celebrity at the Ice Cream Stand".)........................ I've talked in my blog before about photo excursions taking us to unexpected places, and across the paths of unexpected people. Tonight was one of those occasions. The clouds had parted and the sun was on its way to setting, so I suggested to John that we take a drive to the river hoping we might catch a pretty sunset. Although the sky was pretty with wispy clouds which reflected nicely on the river, the sun had dipped behind some heavy, lower cloud cover so it looked as though a sunset wasn't in the cards tonight. Since we were already out, I suggested a stop for soft ice cream at our favorite snack bar, Devoe's Rainbow Delights. As we were about to park, I noticed a van next to us.......... Naturally I was curious about this Santa look-alike.......heck, maybe he is the "real" Santa. As you might expect, Santa drew a lot of attention from the evening ice cream crowd. At one point he went to a van as it was leaving and visited with the passengers inside. As he was about to finally get back into his vehicle (where Mrs. Claus had been patiently waiting for her celebrity husband to finish greeting his fans), I decided to introduce myself in hopes of getting to know this "Santa Claus". It seems out Santa was Fred Clark, Sr., otherwise known as the Saratoga Santa. Fred bears a striking resemblance to the real “Santa,” don’t you think? He might even believe he "is" the real Santa. After working for 31 yrs in the Saratoga School District, Fred now makes his living lighting up the smiles of children and adults during the holidays - and beyond. It was clear tonight that it doesn't matter what time of year it is, people, young and old, are excited when they see San-ta Claus - especially at their local ice cream bar. Mr. Claus was gracious and eager to share his stories and photos with us. He actually had a photo album of himself and various children in his van, as well as business cards - both adult versions and some for kids too!

continued

What a delight it was to meet this kind and generous man who spends his days making joy for believers, young and old. Even though Mr. & Mrs. Claus had come to Devoe's for maple cream ice cream, which was last week's flavor of the week and no longer available, they visited with patrons and posed for pic-tures and graciously answered questions from the paparazzi (me). One of the fun facts Santa shared with us was that he is one of 17 children - all born of the "same mother and fa-ther." He was very proud of that and why wouldn't he be? In a day of disposable marriages, a couple staying together after raising 17 kids is pretty remarkable. How blessed I am to have happened upon such a special human being! Once I got home, I googled 'Saratoga Santa'. It seems Santa is pretty popular around these parts. Some of you may have even run into him at the Victorian Stroll in Saratoga. There are hundreds of images of him on the internet, an interview done by Time Warner Ca-ble and articles of his appearances all over the area. He's done commercials for Mohawk Honda and an upcoming commercial for Hoffman Car Wash. Santa is available for hire at office parties, nursing home visits, schools, house calls and more. I can imagine he keeps pretty busy since he's the best looking Santa I've ever seen and trust me, at my age, I've seen a lot. It might be of interest to note that Saratoga Santa's career began 19 years ago when his wife convinced him to enter a "Santa-Look-Alike contest. Goes to show, wives always know! My only disappointment was that we hadn't run into him there last week when we were there with our granddaughter, Elena. What a thrill that would have been!! So next time you're inclined to stay home and veg in your recliner, consider getting out. You never know who God has planned to be in your path. It might even be Santa!

Member Ann Durocher takes a moment to pose with the

big guy.

9

Family Fun Night Friday, January 2

6 p.m.-8 p.m. Malta Community Center

1 Bayberry Drive Malta, NY

www.maltaparksrec.com Enjoy a wonderful night including: Craft corner Basketball shoot contest Inflatable obstacle course Zumba Games by go kids Music Spa City Swingers Dance Demo DJ Fun photo booth And much, much more …………… $10 per family — pre-registration is requested by December 26. Please wear gym shoes. Refreshments available. To register on line use code #6021.

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Looks like our weed harvesting equipment storage building is just about ready for occupancy. Thanks to SLPID for forging ahead with this project. Photo by Commissioner Ed Dweck.

Holiday Trivia Quiz

What kind of tree does mistletoe come from? When did layaways start? Who was Jacob Marley? What’s a faux firelog made of? Ricky Zahnd and the Blue Jeaners, Barry Gordon and

Joe Ward all released versions of the same holiday song within one week of each other in 1955. Name the song.

What was the Eggnog Riot? What was the alternate name for the poem, “A Visit

from St. Nicholas”? In which 1944 Christmas film does a female convict

fall in love with a shell-shocked wounded soldier who is on a Christmas furlough?

What was the Charge-Plate? Who are Mr. and Mrs. Stahlbaum, Clara, Fritz, Uncle

Drosselmeyer, Mouse King, Cavalier and the Sugar Plum Fairy?

Wow, did I “flunk” this one ….. Answers on page 12

Virginia Clark submitted this photo of snow-heavy

trees….nature’s beautiful tunnel.

The North American Lake Management Society (NALMS), assisted by its affiliate member the New York State Federation of Lake Associations Inc., will host its 35th International Symposium in November 2015 in Saratoga Springs, NY. This will mark the first time that NALMS has come to the Empire State. The symposium caters to many of the preeminent lake and reservoir re-searchers and managers from across the globe representing the private and public sectors, academia, and NALMS member lake associations from across North America. The mission of NALMS is to forge partnerships among citizens, scientists, and professionals to foster the manage-ment and protection of lakes and reservoirs for today and tomorrow. The annual NALMS International Symposi-um plays a critical role in facilitating the exchange of sci-entific, technical, and administrative aspects of managing lakes and reservoirs. The theme of the 2015 Symposium is North American Lakes: Embracing their History, En-suring their Future. Our goal is to showcase the historic lakes in the region and highlight the lake management activities taking place to protect them for future genera-tions.

Be Septic Smart Did you know that one-quarter of all U.S. homes have septic systems? Yours may be one of them. If you’re not properly maintaining your septic system, you’re not only hurting the environment, you’re putting your family’s health at risk — and may be flushing thousands of dollars down the drain! EPA’s SepticSmart initiative is a nation-wide public education effort that aims to inform home-owners living on properties serviced by septic systems on the importance of properly maintaining their septic sys-tem and provide valuable resources to help homeowners make important decisions regarding their wastewater management needs. The initiative also provides educa-tional outreach resources for organizations who seek to promote this message locally. Find out more are: http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/septic/septicsmart. (Waterworks, November, 2014)

DEC Announces New Proposed

Sportfishing Regulations

Regulations Schedule to be effective April 2015 DEC modifies the sportfishing regulations approxi-mately every two years as part of DEC’s commitment to enhance fishing opportunities and protect the State’s fresh-water resources. DEC assessed the status of existing freshwater sportfish populations and the desires of anglers in developing the proposed regulations. In addition, many of the proposed changes are the result of DEC’s efforts to consolidate regu-lations where possible and eliminate special regulations that are no longer warranted to have become outdated. The new sportfishing regulations are scheduled to take effect on April 1, 2015. The regulations in the 2013-2014 Freshwater Fishing Regulations Guide will remain in effect until the new regulations are enacted. Once enacted, a new regulations guide will be available. To receive input early in the process, DEC made the proposed changes available to the public on its website in July 2013. The early feedback helped DEC determine which regulation changes to advance further or to elimi-nate from further consideration. The full text of the proposed regulations are available on DEC’s website at www.dec.ny.gov/regulations. (resource: Waterworks (adapted by NYS DEC press release October 15, 2014)

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In a recent Shore Lines, we printed an article from NYSFOLA in which they were asking for input on their Draft Aquatic Invasive Plan.

NYSFOLA has submitted comments, on behalf of our member lake associations, to the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation on the Draft Aquatic Inva-sive Species Management Plan. To read the comments, go to www.nysfola.org and look in the NEWS section of the home page where you will find a link.

FIRE EXTINGUISHER OPERATIONS AND LIMITATIONS

So you have a fire extinguisher, do you have any idea how to operate it. Very often I see fire extinguishers in homes and garages and when I ask the owner how to operate it, the return blank stare says everything; “I have no clue”. Fire extinguishers come in various sizes, shapes, colors and extinguishing agents. Whatever type of extin-guisher you have, taken a moment to pick it up and look at what is written on the body of the unit. I have seen many small extinguishers, many with plastic tops that are placed in vehicles, boats, and home kitchens. Most of these extinguishers are cheap non refillable units. Many have no gauges so it’s unknown if they are still charged with the expelling gas. How long are they good for? Most manufacturers say they should work for 5 to 15 years. So how do you know it will still work, and how long have you had yours? Most reputable units have a manufactur-ing date. If it doesn’t have a gauge there are no guaran-tees, and if it has a plastic top they are less likely to hold pressure for a long time. First lesson, purchase a good quality extinguisher with a metal top and a gauge. Fire extinguishers come in various sizes, less than 2lbs, 2lb, 5lb, 10lb, 15lb, 20lb etc. Naturally larger is bet-ter as long as you can easily transport the unit to the fire, if the extinguisher is too big, you may not be able to carry it. The rating on the extinguisher label, such as 2A, 20BC gives you an indication how much of what type of fire you can put out with the type and amount of agent in the extinguisher. The higher the number the more fire of the indicated type it can put out. Fire classifications, A type fires are in ordinary

combustibles such as wood, paper or cloth. B type fires are fires involving solvents or solvent type materials both liquid and solids. C type fires are fires involving en-ergized electrical equipment such as

a motor, dryer or toaster – remember turn off the power or pull the plug and now the fire is no longer electrical. D type fires are combustible metals, one of the most com-mon is magnesium or aluminum, and these extinguishers

continued

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normally found in industrial settings. K type fires involve combustible cooking materials such as animal or vegetable oils and fats and K type extinguishers are required in com-mercial kitchens. The most common fire extinguishers available to the residential consumer market are ABC dry chemical extinguishers. While the most common size is a 2lb this unit will only last a few seconds and you have to be within 8 feet of the seat of the fire to be effective. The range of most extinguishers is no more than 15 feet, so you have to be relatively close to get the extinguishing agent on the seat of the fire, or at the point that the substance is burning. The second mistake that is made in educating the casual user is that they are usually trained outside, where there is no smoke, no heat and you are able to move around the substance that is on fire, you don’t always have that luxury inside a room. Additionally when an ABC dry chemical extinguisher is discharged it produces fine dust that can be irritating but non-toxic. The second thing to understand is fire extinguish-ers have limitations. If you are going to choose to use the recommended 5lb ABC unit with metal head and gauge, call the fire department first, keep a door to your back and if the fire is larger than you, evacuate the building immedi-ately. If you purchase a fire extinguisher, hang it in an ac-cessible location where you can grab it quickly, I recom-mend near a door, if it doesn’t put the fire out, you can escape. An ABC extinguisher will work on wood, paper and cloth, solvents, grease fires and those involving ener-gized electrical equipment. It has limited time and range and dispenses an irritating non toxic dry extinguishing agent. Extinguishers don’t last forever, check the gauge annually, if it’s in the green it’s ok, if not you have to get it recharged, it will not discharge agent. Fire extinguishing service companies are listed in the yellow pages or on-line. Now that you have learned some fire extinguisher facts, to use an extinguisher, pull the pin out all the way, aim the extinguisher directly at what is burning and squeeze the trigger, move the unit slowly from side to side in a sweeping motion until the fire is out or the unit is empty, then leave the premises. From experience fire extin-guishers have limited capabilities especially when trying to extinguish engine fires. One last thing you need to understand new interi-or materials burn hotter and fast since they are composed primarily of plastics, you have less time to escape and less time to attempt to extinguish a fire, when in doubt always get out. Tom Rinaldi, Commissioner Stillwater Fire District/Arvin Hart Volunteer Fire Company

Ice Safety It won’t be long before the lake freezes over. Let’s all follow the safety rules and have a safe and fun winter. Avoid crossing frozen bodies of water in a single file. Never venture onto the ice alone or without telling your plans to a responsible adult. Any time you are on the ice and have not personally checked the ice thickness consider yourself in harm's way. Check the thickness of the ice with an ice spud before venturing onto the ice. Never Drive a Car or Truck on the ice. Avoid standing or walking in areas with a group of

people. Always wear a life jacket when on the frozen surface of a lake or river. Carry a pair of ice picks. These are designed for a self

rescue and are two handles with a nail device in one end attached to each other by a length of rope.

Look for large cracks or depressions in the ice. Learn and practice rescue techniques by using ropes, boats, ladders, etc. Ice does not form with uniform thickness on any body

of water. Underwater springs or currents can wear thin spots on any body of water.

Clear ice is the strongest. Ice formed by melted and re-frozen snow appears milky, is very porous and very weak. Ice covered by snow should always be presumed unsafe.

Four inches of ice will generally hold an average-sized person on foot. Snowmobiles and ORVs need at least eight inches of solid, consistent ice.

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Answers to Trivia Quiz on page 10

1. Any tree it wants to climb. Mistletoe is a parasite, latches on to any tree and gets its nutrients from it.

2. During the Great Depression in the 1930s. Stores began allowing customers to make payments until the goods were paid for.

3. The former business partner of Ebenezer Scrooge. 4. They’re generally made of sawdust, oil, paraffin and

wood products. 5. “I’m Getting” Nuttin’ for Christmas.” 6. Over Christmas in 1826, whiskey was smuggled into

the US Military Academy to make spiked eggnog. Twenty cadets were court-martialed.

7. “The Night Before Christmas” by Clement Clarke Moore, in 1823.

8. I’ll Be Seeing You, starring Joseph Cotton, Ginger Rog-ers and Shirley Temple.

9. One of the first credit cards, used from the 1930s to 1950s. It had the customer’s name embossed on the metal tag.

10. The main characters in The Nutcracker. Well, how did you do?

From all of us at the Saratoga Lake Association

We wish all our friends and neighbors

the happiest of holiday seasons and a happy and

healthy New Year!!