No ice to watch this year

KENT — Due to the absence of an ice covering on the Housatonic River in Kent this year, the annual Ice Watch will be replaced by a 50/50 drawing for people who purchased tickets. The Ice Watch is a fundraiser for the Kent Volunteer Fire Department (KVFD).According to Susie Rundall, who has worked on the Ice Watch committee for about 40 years, there is a 50/50 drawing in years when there is no ice. This year the drawing will be held at the fire department’s annual dinner, to be held at The Kent School in March.Rundall is the mother of Bill Rundall, who has been chair of the Ice Watch committee for about 10 years.The cable that stretches across the Housatonic is connected to a clock that measures the exact time the ice thaws. The cable was ripped out at 11:59 p.m. on March 6, 2011, by the extraordinary ice floes on the river that year.Rundall said they know the exact time because that was when the clock stopped. The cable has not yet been replaced. Had there been ice this year, Rundall said it probably would have been repaired and the thaw mechanism and clock reinstalled.Feb. 17 was the last day to purchase tickets. Rundall reported that $400 in tickets were sold. Last year, ticket sales totaled $1,291. Rundall said yearly ticket sales can vary a great deal. In 1988, the Ice Watch sold $3,650 worth of tickets. In 1996, only $662.The ice watch was started about 40 years ago by John Green, who brought the idea back after a trip to Alaska.

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