It’s that time of year again and this, from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is a sober reminder to be careful.

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A 15-year-old Windham boy died Saturday night, Dec. 27, as the result of a snowmobile incident earlier Saturday afternoon.

Kyle Rogers, 15, of Windham, was traveling westbound on ITS 90 in T13, R5 WELS towards Portage when he went off the southwest side of the trail and hit a tree at approximately 3:30 p.m., according to Maine Warden Service Lt. Doug Tibbetts.

Mr. Rogers, who was driving a 2004 Arctic Cat 700 Fire Cat, was making a long, slight corner when the incident occurred. He was the second sled in a group of eight snowmobilers out on the trail. None of the others saw the incident. The teen was wearing a helmet.

Freezing rain that limited visibility and speed may have been contributing factors. The incident is under investigation.

Mr. Rogers was transported by Ashland Ambulance to The Aroostook Medical Center, and by ambulance to Eastern Maine Medical Center. He was pronounced dead at 9:28 p.m.

The teen was wearing a helmet.

Warden Dave Milligan and Sgt. Brian Gray responded.

Tom Remington

Tom Remington

Below is a list of all the nominees and winners of this year’s Sportsman Channel Awards and the categories each show was nominated for.

Best Show Open

Adventure Bound Outdoors (winner)

Jon Brunson Outdoors

Predator Quest

Best Graphics or Visual Effects

Broadside Adventures (winner)

All Outdoors with Alan Probst

Sportsmen’s Outdoor Strategies

Best Original Song

Jon Brunson Outdoors (winner)

Aim Low Bowfishing Journals

Kids Hooked on the Outdoors

Best Videography

Patagonic Waters (winner)

IGFA Angler’s Digest

Spiritual Outdoor Adventures

Best Editing

The Outfitter (winner)

Lunkerville

Outdoor Connection

Best Writing

Hunting Across America (winner)

IGFA Anger’s Digest

Raghorn Adventures

Best Audio Recording/Mixing

A-Way Outdoors (winner)

Broadside Adventures

Spiritual Outdoor Adventures

Best Informational/Educational Episode

Taxidermy for the Sportsman (winner)

HuntFishCook

Raghorn Adventures

Best Small Game or Turkey Episode

Spiritual Outdoor Adventures (winner)

HuntFishCook

Predator Quest

Best Upland Bird or Waterfowl Episode

Evolved Habitat’s Outdoor Addictions (winner)

NonStop Hunting

Spiritual Outdoor Adventures

Best Freshwater Fishing Episode

Reel Outdoors with Chris Bailey (winner)

Lunkerville

MidWest Outdoors

Best Big Game Episode

Fair Game (winner)

Adventure Bound Outdoors

The Outfitter

Best Saltwater Fishing Episode

IGFA Angler’s Digest (winner)

Hook the Future

Reel Outdoors with Chris Bailey

Best Combination Episode

Raghorn Adventures (winner)

Evolved Habitat’s Outdoor Addiction

HuntFishCook

Best New Series

IGFA Angler’s Digest (winner)

Brian Doty’s Xtreme Outdoor Adventure

Outdoor Connection

Viewer Favorite Hunting Show

Southern Backwoods Adventures (winner)

Predator Quest

The Modern Day Mountain Man

Viewer Favorite Fishing Show

North American Fisherman (winner)

In-Fisherman Specials

Lunkerville

Viewer Favorite Combination Show

HuntFishCook (winner)

Alan Warren Outdoors

The G3 Sportsman

Viewer Favorite Personality

Keith Warren of “Best of Keith Warren’s Hunting Adventures” (winner)

Colorado Buck of “The Outfitter”

Mike de Avila of “Lunkerville”

Sportsman of the Year

Alan Probst of “All Outdoors with Alan Probst” (winner)

Keith Warren of “Best of Keith Warren’s Hunting Adventures”

Sam & Ruth McCuin of “The Outfitter”

Steve Easom of “On the Water, in the Woods with Cody & Cody”

Posted by Tom Remington

SANFORD, Maine – A 23-year-old Kennebunk man enjoying a night of snowmobiling with two childhood friends died at approximately 8 p.m. Friday when he tried to avoid a gate on a trail in Sanford.

Christopher P. Jackson, who was to celebrate his 24th birthday on Jan. 17, was pronounced dead on the scene. The Sanford Police Department and the Maine Warden Service responded.

According to the Maine Warden Service, Mr. Jackson was snowmobiling with two friends, 26-year-old Ty D. Brown and 24-year-old Matthew R. Weeman, both of Kennebunk, when Mr. Jackson approached a gate that separates the trail from its intersection with Hansen Ridge Road.

The gate, which is well marked with reflective materials, is a series of poles with an opening in the middle for people who use the trail to pass through. The maintained trail is a former railroad bed that now is draw for recreation such as biking, hiking and snowmobiling.

Warden John Lonergan, who responded to the accident with Warden Sgt. Tim Spahr, said Mr. Jackson tried to avoid the gate by turning the snowmobile a hard right. The sled rolled over and Mr. Jackson came off of it, hitting his head on a pole before landing in the snow.

Mr. Brown and Mr. Weeman did not witness their friend hitting the gate, Lonergan said, but immediately tried to help him by wrapping his head with cloth.

Mr. Jackson was wearing a helmet, and alcohol does not appear to be a factor in the accident, Lonergan said. The Warden Service is investigating whether speed was a factor.

“It’s a tragedy accident,” Lonergan said.

Posted by Tom Remington

It’s that time of year when baseball is in a flurry scrambling around trying to decide who will be in the playoffs and who will be a spoiler or perhaps just totally forgotten. Last night I attended the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Boston Red Sox baseball game at Tropicana Field in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. The Sox of course are in first place chasing the American League Pennant and hoping for a spot in the World Series. The Devil Rays could just as easily been forgotten this year but they are very much involved in the “spoiler” role.

But so far they have lost two straight to Boston and have a final game here on Sunday. Next week the Yankees, who as of last night, remain 2 and a half games behind Boston in the American League East race.

The photos below aren’t of the best quality because of the lighting and distance away but nonetheless, I thought you might enjoy.

Tom Remington photo – Inside Tropicana Field and a view of the brand new large screen scoreboard in right field. A good crowd was on hand.

Tom Remington photo – Raymond, the Devil Rays mascot, works the crowd helping to keep fans into the game and cheering for the home team. When the Sox are in town, it’s hard to tell who is the home team.

Tom Remington photo – Carlos Pena is the Tampa Bay Devil Rays rookie first baseman. He is a contender for Rookie of the Year honors along with Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia. Last night Pena hit his 41st and 42nd home runs of the season. Pena already holds the home run record for any Tampa Bay Devil Ray.

Tom Remington photo – Red Sox rookie, Jakoby(sp) Ellsberry, heads back to first base as Devil Rays pitcher Sunnanstine tries to pick him off.

Tom Remington photo – The Sox jumped out to an early 3-0 lead but the Rays kept fighting back and eventually took a 6-5 lead into the seventh inning. The Sox tied it at 6 in the eighth. In the ninth, a home run by Valentin put the Sox up for good and that brought in ace reliever Jonathan Papelbon to shut down the Rays and that he did.

Final score?

Tom Remington photo

Tom Remington