The tragic death of four boys who drowned while playing on the ice on a Massachusetts river is once again a sad reminder that just because there's ice on our lakes and rivers, doesn't mean it's safe to go out on them.

One of the boys ventured Saturday out onto the ice, which was only 1 or 2 inches think. When he fell through the ice, three of the boy's friends tried valiantly to save him. However, they also perished in the rescue attempt.

With the recent warm temperatures, seeing the ice on area rivers and lakes is quite deceptive. Some may just be curious, or others may want to go fishing. Still, we're encouraging people of all ages to stay off the ice until we start getting colder temperatures. If not, we may have an unfortunate tragedy in our own area.