From State of Maine Reps:
Maine Warden Service Urges Caution Before Heading Out On The Ice
The Maine Warden Service is urging people to use caution before venturing out onto any ice covering Maine’s waterways.
Many of Maine’s lakes and ponds only have a thin ice cover and ice conditions vary greatly throughout the state. While ice conditions may be safe in some spots, it can be very dangerous in others. The Maine Warden Service is recommending that people check the thickness of any ice before venturing out for any activity on frozen water.
If you must go on the ice, the Maine Warden Service offers these tips for ice safety:
Never guess the thickness of the ice - Check it! Check the ice in several different places using an
auger or some other means to make a test hole and determine the thickness. Make several, beginning at the shore, and continuing as you go out.
Check the ice with a partner, so if something does happen, someone is there to help you. If you are doing it alone, wear a lifejacket.
If ice at the shoreline is cracked or squishy, stay off! Watch out for thin, clear or honeycombed ice. Dark snow and dark ice are other signs of weak spots.
Avoid areas with currents, around bridges and pressure ridges. Wind and currents can break ice.
Parents should alert children of unsafe ice in their area, and make sure that they stay off the ice. If they insist on using their new skates, suggest an indoor skating rink.
If you break through the ice, remember:
Don’t panic.
Don’t try to climb out immediately - you will probably break the ice again. Reach for solid ice.
Lay both arms on the unbroken ice and kick hard. This will help lift your body onto the ice. Once on the ice, roll, DON’T WALK, to safety.
To help someone who has fallen through the ice, lie down flat and reach with a branch, plank or rope or form a human chain. Don’t stand. After securing the victim, wiggle backwards to the solid ice.
Support access to private land
Maine has a unique history of public access to private land. Over the past 200 years, landowners, residents, and visitors have forged a tradition of neighborliness and shared access that you won't find anywhere else in the nation.
You can do your part to help ensure continued access to private land by adding a Maine Outdoors Partners Program membership to the purchase of a hunting or fishing license for $15.
Purchase your license with an Outdoors Partners Membership during the month of December and you will be entered for a chance to win a new trail camera!
Learn more at mefishwildlife.com/outdoorpartners
Maine Securities Administrator Announces Top Investor Threats For 2020
Maine Securities Administrator Judith Shaw today announced the top five investment products or schemes likely to trap Maine's investors in the new year and recommended steps they can take to protect themselves from investment fraud.
The list was developed by surveying members of the North American Securities Administrators Association, of which the Maine Office of Securities is a member, to identify threats investors are likely to see in 2020. The following were most frequently identified by NASAA members as the top five areas of concern for the coming year:
Promissory Notes
Ponzi Schemes
Real Estate-related Investments
Cryptocurrency-related Investment Products
Social Media/Internet-based Investment Schemes
Investment offers that sound too good to be true often share similar characteristics. The most common telltale sign of an investment scam is an offer of guaranteed high returns with no risk. All investments carry the risk that some, or all, of the invested funds could be lost. Anyone who says their investment offer has no risk is lying, Administrator Shaw said. No one can guarantee an investment return. Remember if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
Many of the threats facing investors involve private offerings, which are exempt from federal securities registration requirements and are not sold through public stock exchanges. Unregistered private offerings generally are high-risk investments and dont have the same investor protection requirements as investments sold through public markets, Administrator Shaw said.
Investors should always ask if the salesperson and the investment itself are properly licensed or registered. This information can be confirmed by the Maine Office of Securities. Working with a properly licensed investment professional affords investors certain legal protections. For the same reasons you wouldnt go to an unlicensed doctor or dentist, you should avoid unregistered investment salespeople and their products. Anyone offering to sell a security without a license is breaking the law and should be avoided, Administrator Shaw said.
Information about advisers, salespersons and investing is available at www.investors.maine.gov, by calling 1-877-624-8551 or writing to the Maine Office of Securities, 121 SHS, Augusta, Maine 04333-0121.
Maine CDC releases student health survey results
Reported e-cigarette use among high school students nearly doubles since 2017
Results from the 2019 Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey (MIYHS) show an increase in the number of Maine high school students who report e-cigarette use, commonly referred to as "vaping."
Survey results for 2019 show that 28.7 percent of Maine high school students report currently using e-cigarettes (at least one time in the past 30 days), an increase from 15.3 percent in 2017. Maine's 2019 MIYHS high school results align with the most recent data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey, which show that 27.5 percent of high school students throughout the United States report having used e-cigarettes within the past 30 days, an increase from 11.7 percent in 2017.
The number of Maine high school students who report ever having used an e-cigarette product increased from 33.2 percent in 2017 to 45 percent in 2019.
The survey also shows that the number of high school students who reported current use of conventional cigarettes dropped from 8.8 percent in 2017 to 7.1 percent in 2019.
The survey is a collaboration between Maine CDC and the Maine Department of Education (DOE), conducted biennially since 2009. Its purpose is to identify emerging trends facing youth by quantifying the health and related behaviors and attitudes of 5th through 12th graders using direct student surveys tailored to each age group. All public middle and high schools in Maine are invited to participate in the survey, which is administered during the spring of odd-numbered years.
The survey results show that e-cigarette use is also up among Maine middle school students. Current use (at least one time in the past 30 days) among middle school students rose from 3.8 percent in 2017 to 7 percent in 2019. The number of middle school respondents who reported ever having used an e-cigarette product rose from 10.4 percent in 2017 to 16.3 percent in 2019.
The 2019 survey results also indicate that fewer Maine high school students report buying e-cigarettes from stores, decreasing from 7.2 percent in 2017 to 4.8 percent in 2019. Most students reported receiving e-cigarettes from other people or giving money to others to buy the products.
Under a law that took effect in 2018, most individuals in Maine must be at least 21 years old to purchase tobacco products - including e-cigarettes. A clause in the law allows individuals who had turned 18 as of July 1, 2018, to continue to buy tobacco products lawfully.
Maine CDC has worked with the Maine Office of the Attorney General to pursue increased compliance checks on e-cigarette purchases at retailers throughout Maine to prevent sales to youth. Maine already conducts these checks on both electronic and combustible cigarettes but has boosted the focus on e-cigarettes. Maine also already bans all online sales of e-cigarette products and licenses tobacco product sellers to ensure oversight.
The Maine CDC and Maine DOE have additionally law that bans e-cigarette use on school property.
Maine CDC and Maine DOE continue to work with partners across the state to help prevent young people from initiating use of and exposure to e-cigarettes. A workgroup has met regularly to create educational resources and presentations to increase awareness.
Information on the Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey
For information on tobacco cessation programs:
Contact Maine CDC Tobacco and Substance Use Prevention and Control Program: (207) 287-4627 or dhhs@maine.gov
Local technical assistance for schools: Local Prevention Partners
Maine CDC educational guide about e-cigarettes/vaping-type devices: org
Additional resources: ENDS & Vaping Resources
The Maine Tobacco Helpline at 1-800-207-1230 or TheQuitLink
The Truth Initiativeoffers free text message programs for youth and young adults who want to quit vaping or smoking and is a resource for parents looking to help their children.
Text Quit to 202-804-9884 to quit JUUL or e-cigs.
Text QUITNOW to 202-759-6436 to quit cigarettes.
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