Entries sought for the fire department's 2010 Ice Watch

KENT — It’s another cold winter in Kent — so cold that there’s not much to do outside except, well, watch the ice break in the Housatonic River.

And for the 33rd year, the Kent Volunteer Fire Department has made a game of it, with the  Ice Watch fundraiser.

The rules are simple: Participants pay for a chance to guess the time and date when the ice in the river will break.

A special tripod is placed on the river surface in late February. It records the exact time when the ice moves down the river.

“There are at least 6 inches of ice out there right now, possibly even more,� said Susie Rundall, an organizer of the contest, about the river’s current conditions. “But I wouldn’t walk on the river right now to take a guess.�

The contest was started in 1977 by John Greene, former owner of the Kent Good Times Dispatch. It is a fundraiser for the fire department, with half of the money raised from entries going to the department and the other going to the winner.

“The entries are very slow right now,� Rundall said. “Many of the businesses where we had signs in the window have closed up. We do need the support right now.�

To enter the contest, send $2 for each entry along with the date and time you think the river will begin to move. Entries can be mailed to Kent Ice Watch, Kent Fire Department, PO Box 355, Kent, CT, 06757.

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