Now that St. Hilaire is in charge of plowing Kingston roads, he warns kids not to create snow forts near the road because they could be hurt by a passing plow truck.

"If snow forts are way off the road, they are a lot of fun," he said. "I used to have snowball fights and build forts.

"But if I were to drive by with a 40,000-pound truck and I hit a snow bank, I’d never know if a kid was inside."

He suggested building snow forts in the back yard instead.

With approximately 10 inches of snow fallen so far this winter season, St. Hilaire and his team of plow drivers want to make residents aware of the dangers on the town’s 98 miles of public road.

Several years ago, St. Hilaire was plowing snow at a cul-de-sac on Great Pond Park and when he started to push snow up on an embankment a little head popped out of the pile of snow. He said he was 6 feet away from killing the child, and asks parents to be diligent about warning their kids about the dangers of snow forts near the roadway.

When plow drivers clear the roads, they usually plow 5 feet beyond the edge of the pavement, so it’s important snow forts, cars and mailboxes are out of the way, he said.

Police Chief Donald W. Briggs Jr. said cars cannot be parked on town road or highways during a snow emergency, which is any snowstorm. Cars in the road could be towed away. St. Hilaire said if cars are 8-10 feet off the road, it gives plow trucks plenty of room to get the job done. He remembers times when cars have been left on the road covered with snow and plow drivers hit them without seeing them.

"We need to plow the snow off the edge of the road," St. Hilaire said. "There have been cars that have been hit. That doesn’t make the owner or the plow guy very happy. People have to realize our visibility is sometimes less than 50 feet."

St. Hilaire also advises residents not to shovel or plow snow from their driveways or vehicles into the road. Briggs said it’s against state law to push snow across a road using a snow blower or shovel.

"It creates a hazard," Briggs said. "It’s unlawful, and it could leave a person liable for action that occurs. If a car goes off the road because of snow in the middle of the road, you could be liable."

St. Hilaire said the plow drivers aren’t exactly happy to finish plowing a road and come back the next day to find that someone cleared snow from their driveway into the street.

As the winter weather continues, St. Hilaire asks residents to be patient with plow drivers and understand they sometimes are working 24 hours straight.