Before any significant snow flies, state officials are encouraging snowmobile drivers to take a safety course. Sonny Satre is the recreational safety coordinator for the Department of Natural Resources. Snowmobilers between 12 and 17 have to successfully complete the safety course before driving their machines on public land. Satre says the D-N-R safety courses cover a variety of topics and are taught by some 300 volunteers from snowmobile clubs statewide.While snowmobiling is a lot of fun, Satre warns it can be risky for the untrained driver — and deadly.Satre suggests calling your county conservation officer for the course nearest to you.