Suffolk News-Herald

Sliding on ponds and waterways frozen over during the recent cold weather may look like fun.

But it’s deceptively dangerous, said Capt. James T. Judkins, Suff-olk’s emergency service coordinator.

&uot;Ice seems to attract kids in the winter time,&uot; he said. &uot;I think the idea of ice skating and playing on it is fun for them.

&uot;But even if it looks frozen to the eye, people may get out there and find out the hard way that it’s just not thick enough to walk on,&uot; he continued. &uot;My advice for people around here is simple: Stay off it. The climate here is not conducive for safe play on the ice. It’s not cold enough long enough around here.&uot;

With above-average temperatures predicted for the next few days, any iced-over areas will be melting, said Wayne Albright, meteorologist in the National Weather Service’s office in Wakefield.

&uot;Ice won’t be an issue after the next couple of days,&uot; he said. &uot;The real cold stuff is over, at least for the next week or two.&uot;

Local officials want residents to exercise safety precautions around iced-over ponds, Judkins said

In January 2003, a 14-year-old Forest Glen Middle School died after a fall through the ice of a rention pond. The youngster was sledding with friends behind Colander Bishop Apartments on Brook Avenue. He died in Sentara Norfolk General Hospital hours after rescuers pulled him from the water.