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12 economist suntribune sports- thursdijansmooa i in recent days the thermometer has hovered near the freezing mark during daylight hours and dropped below it in the evenings thats a sure sign that bodies of water will solidify for the angling enthusiast that can only mean one thing anoth er ice fishing campaign is upon us while its time to get the ice auger and ice fishing gear out of storage and prepare the ice hut extra precautionary measures must be given during periods of first ice the biggest concern centres on when a frozen body of water is safe enough to travel on a year does not go by without a get caught standing on thin ice snow machine vehicle or individ ual plunging into the frigid drink to prevent such incidents from happening there are several steps that can be taken to assure a safe and enjoyable outing on frozen pond the ministry of natural resources recommends ice thick ness of at least three inches or more of clear blue ice to support a group travelling in single file clear blue ice thickness measur ing at least 712 inches can support a twotonne gross vehicle a 2 12gross tonne vehicle can be supported by clear blue ice thickness of at least eight inches mike hayakawa add another two inches of clear blue ice for travelling with a 3 12- tonne gross vehicle ah eighttonne gross vehicle should be driven on clear blue ice thickness of at least 12 inches and a 10tonne gross vehicle on 15 inches if you are unfamiliar with a body of water that you intend to fish on contact local tackle stores in the area or ice hut operators to check on ice thickness be cautious of areas that are usu ally the last to freeze up or are the first to break free during a thaw- these areas can include river- mouths shoals bridges underwa ter springs narrows or places where theres underlying currents be leery of days with extreme winds which can act as a catalyst to any sudden break up- of areas with pressure cracks precaution should also be taken on areas that are blanketed with snow which acts as an insulator when travelling on foot and if in a group be sure to space yourselves apart in equal distances the lead person should carry a spud and check for ice thickness at certain intervals its also wise to carry a length of rope to use in case of an emergency it also doesnt hurt to carry a cell phone gps or handheld compass which can be employed in the event ofawhiteout ice fishing can be a fun outing being safe contributes to that clippers ice third title the stouffville major atom clippers sailed off with their third tournament title of the season recent ly with a 43 win over ajax in the final of the ajax christmas tourna ment the clippers opened the tournament with a 21 win over whitby before suffer ing a 62 loss to the host club but the exclusively aerobics 117 ringwood drive unit 6 stouffville winter semester starts jan 1 0 2000 offering taibox classes also offering lowimpstep toning classes registration thurs jan 6 79pm for more info call marion deacon ofc cert 9058871248 pw clippers rallied with a 101 win over oshawa to reach the final scoring for the clippers were curtis watson seven goals mikhael metauro four luke mabley and brandon jupp two bern sampson and kyle miller one each midget waxers take title the markham definney chiropractictaylor and webbcoverall computertd waterhousetd financial group- unimark automotive leasinglaidlaw transportationselect auto body d and r contracting midget aa waxers captured the recent 22nd annual vic teal hockey tournament in st catharines with a 32 overtime win over ajax in the title tilt the waxers reached the final after defeating burlington 21 pickering 31 hillcrest 20 and ancaster 20 the clubs lone loss was a 20 decision to hillcrest in a qualifier scoring for the waxers were travis prourke three goals paul lusky two goals two assists jason power drew webb dan definney and andrew regan one goal one assist chris federchuk garrett mccrea and chris mcginnes one goal dan millett two assists calen gauley rob hope graham edward and jr giliberto one assist graham jeffery waxers impressive so far in new year ev the markham waxers rang in the new millen nium with a pair of firsts victories over the aurora tigers and newmarket hurricanes backed by a twogoal effort from kevin tompkins which included a power- play and shorthanded marker the waxers defeated the tigers 62 in aurora sunday hosting the hurricanes on tuesday the waxers received a shorthanded goal from tom kotsopoulos and powerplay tallies from greg chambers and tompkins en route to a 31 win it sure was nice said waxers head coach russ herrington of the two wins which improved the clubs provincial junior a hockey league southern conference record to 151533 herrington said the extended furlough during the christmas break did not hurt the bottom line though was the way in which the team performed herrington sensed the club realized they must buy into what the coaching staff has been preaching all season long that involves adhering to a couple of systems involv ing defensive zone coverage transition play forechecking and puck control the guys are playing the gameplan almost to perfection and theyre seeing the dividends of it once you beat good teams they start to say lets stick to our guns herrington said another factor which might have lit a spark with the club was a recent deal which sent for ward david colucci to the vaughan vipers in exchange for 18yearold defenceman brent pollock and 16yearold centreman jason fraccaro pollock is in his second year in the league while fraccaro is a rookie were definitely happy with the deal said herrington jason fraccaro had a goal and an assist in the win over aurora and brent pollock gives us another physical presence hes good at clearing in front of the net he plays within him self in addition to tompkins two goals against the tigers joel kitchen ryan steane with his first as a member of the waxers fraccaro and greg chambers added singles the waxers will have their work cut out for them in their next two outings as they play in newmarket tonight then host the vipers 8 pm friday spirited comeback pays dividends the spirit of stouffville did something on monday they had not done all season long and that was to pick up a win after overcoming a deficit the spirit accomplished that feat in thornhill with a 43 overtime decision over the rattlers trailing 20 after one period and 30 just 24 seconds into the second the spirit staged their comeback with unanswered goals by mike fiume and jamie minchella to trim their deficit to 32 after 40 minutes a goal by daniel speer in the third period forced overtime from there jd smithson potted the overtime winner with 48 seconds left in the period when he banged in a rebound sporting a 191620 northern conference mark the spirit return to action tonight when they host the parry sound shamrocks at the rec centre at 730 pm nc business depot sears the bay zellers ap iga- unionville iga markham canadian tire food basics royal travel iga- stouffville sobeys food basics port perry canadian tire rhill canadian tire aurora no one can deliver results like we do 66iecedafasorty v to book your flyer distribution call ssjs8w5 sun markham 905 2948244 stouffville 005 64021 00 st aiv markham townwide collection of christmas trees will take place on monday january 10 2000 please place all trees at the curbside by 700 am for collection do not bundle with wire remove all decorations do not put in a plastic bag t for more information call environmental services department 905 4157535 fax 905 4797766 email wastemgtcitymarkhamonca 1vrkham i of excellence