7839-R1_MSA_Dec2021_MaineSnowmobiler

MSA Club News

trails. They reported trails were in pretty good shape with just a few areas needing attention with chain saws. The new section at the junc- tion of the Williams trails was made wider for easier access with the groomer. A small adjust- ment was made to the trail in this area to create a more convenient and safer trail by eliminat- ing one of the S turns. Thanks again everyone for the help. Many hands make light work.

winter weather we all want and need! If we have all been really, really good this year, just maybe he will bring it to us! From everyone at Clifton Area SC to all MSAmembers and their families- Happy Hol- idays and Best Wishes for the New Year. Stay safe and if you can get in a ride, do so safely! The Officers, Directors and Members of CASC https://sites.google.com/site shirleybogtrailbusters Like us on Facebook Shirley Bog Trail Busters. Email us: ShirleyBogTrailBusters@gmail.com Only a few days of a few inches of snow in the Moosehead Lake Region, but the Shirley Bog Trail Busters are still busy. We had an election of officers at our November meeting. Re-elected were: Pres- ident: Charlie Baker, Vice President: Roger Labonte, Trail Master: Hutch Gagne, Secre- tary and Membership: Debi Baker, Treasurer: Pegeen Ranhousky, Director: Danny Ran- housky. Congratulations to all of our officers! Russ, Charlie and Denis have been working on the track truck, getting parts and changing fluids/filters getting it ready for grooming. Charlie is working with landowners to get trails established. Debi and Pegeen are busy with incoming membership renewals. We also are continuing our trail mainte- nance with a trail session on the North Access Road Bypass. It is time to plan a few trips around our beautiful state of trails. Consider making a trip to the Moosehead Lake Region and visit our trails in Shirley. Debi Lynne Baker Secretary EASTERN MAINE SNOWMOBILERS Holden, ME easternmainesnowmolibers.com Find us on Facebook Wow just like that it’s December! November is super busy at our snowmobile club, with trail work every Sunday morning, Hunter’s breakfast on the second Saturday of November each year, and our regular monthly meeting on the third Sunday of each month. SHIRLEY BOG TRAIL BUSTERS Shirley, ME

We like to start work around 7:30 a.m. but any amount of volunteer time is greatly appreci- ated. PS any club member that volunteers 25 hours or more of trail work or grooming gets next year’s membership on the house. Upcoming Events Sunday, December 12 th Board of Directors 5:00 p.m. Club dinner 6:00 p.m. Club meeting 7:00 p.m. Christmas party with gift exchange following meeting Saturday, January 8 th Fundraising We would like to thank G&M Family’ Mar- ket and The Eddington Store for allowing us to put a kiosk in their stores to help sell the MSA super raffle tickets. And thank you to all of the members that help us sell tickets for our 300 Club. That drawing starts with the club meet- ing in November and continues for 6 months. We’re looking for some input into another small fundraiser that’s kind of fun. This is “When will the snow fly”? Thinking maybe make it simple like buy a square on a calen- dar or pick the date of when the first plowable snow is in Bangor. If you have not renewed your membership or would like to join the club it would be greatly appreciated. Buildings and Grounds Our buildings and grounds chair would like some additional help ( he says some of the things need a younger man’s back and legs LOL) if anybody is interested in helping out please let us know. This year we are still in need of getting the driveway plowed, again let us know if this is something a club member or business supporter could help us with thank you! We have been chasing down a water / mois- ture issue in the club and we believe finally we have found the issue and remedied it . That issue was the ridge cap of the metal roofing and I believe that Larry, Brent, Troy and Bob found and sealed the seams that were leaking. Mailings / Post cards With increasing postage rates and slower than usual delivery times. We ask that every- body could make sure they submitted a valid and current email address to receive updates instead of going through the US mail. You can find this link through our Facebook page or also at EasternMaineSnowmobilers.com We at EMSC hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday, that December is good to you and y’all have a wonderful Christmas. Think Snow!! Hi to all, Quadcounty SC has been busy this Novem- ber, with miles of trails bush hogged, some hand brushing and moving a bridge 13 miles to replace an old wooden bridge. We also have a new trail completed in Carroll Plt. The snow that arrived the other day tells us winter is fast approaching and we have a lot more to do! We will be going out to work on trails on Sundays till we start grooming. So, if you are available, we will be leaving the clubhouse about 8:30 Sunday mornings, just show up with warm clothes, boots and gloves. We will furnish the tools. Quadcounty did three hunters Breakfasts in November, we had a good turnout but we miss the Snowbirds. See you in the spring! Quadcounty SC did a Takeout Thanksgiving Dinner again this year, we served 113 people, we want to thank all that donated time, food and monetary. Our meetings are the 2nd Monday of the Clubhouse and kitchen open for the season (dependent upon snow) !!!!! Board of Directors 5:00 p.m. Club dinners 6:00 p.m. Club meeting 7:00 p.m. Sunday, January 9 th See you at the club Troy G, Trail Grunt QUAD COUNTY, sc Springfield, ME

month at 7:00pm at the clubhouse on Rt6 across from Smith’s Store. Your slow typing reporter, Kevin

SEBASTICOOK VALLEY, sc Newport, Etna, Stetson, ME

SVSC’s trails crew headed up by Trailmas- ter Scott Jakins, along with President Tyler Jakins and Kelly Merrill, have been hard at work preparing our many miles of trails for the upcoming season. Re-routes, brush cutting and clearing, rock picking, signage and bridge repair along with equipment maintenance have been done. The trails committee reports that we are ready for snow!! At our last meeting on November 10, we held a Landowner’s Appreciation Raffle. We drew 2 names from each town with an alter- nate also drawn from each. The winners will each receive a $50 Walmart gift card. The win- ners were: Newport: Mike Jones, Gary Hall, Alternate: John Rush Stetson: Donald Thurlow, Brenda Carlton, Alternate: Connie Merrill Etna: Alton Buzzell, Jr., Don Mitchell, Alternate: Kenneth Graves Our next meeting is scheduled for 7:00 PM, December 8 at the clubhouse and hopefully Tyler will have to plow the parking lot so we can all get in. Submitted by: Lisa Sawyer, SVSC Secretary

The groomer has had a complete mainte- nance check and will be ready for the trails this winter. Snow showers have begun in the county and hopefully this means we will be out enjoying the trails very soon.

MOOSEHEAD RIDERS, sc Greenville, ME Find us on Facebook

Ride safe and hope to see everyone on the trails ☺

A lot going on at this time of the year and this is even before the first snow hits the ground. So, what is our club doing and why should you join any club to support that effort for great trails? Some clubs do more and some a bit less. Here is a partial list; prepare a bud- get and submit a state grant request, fully maintain and rebuild as needed 5 groomers and 5 drags, mail membership renewals to 200+, pay bills, insurance etc., confirm trail routing for the upcoming season with our state coordinator, order signs and mark trails, rebuild stream crossings as needed, obtain written permissions from every landowner having a trail, purchase supplies, negotiate fuel deliveries and prices, cutback brush. Then by late December we can add nightly groom- ing of trails from Blanchard to Kokadjo and the Moxie area to Gulf Hagas. Yes, it’s a bit overwhelming. Here is a picture of our brush saw mounted on a groomer ready to start trimming.

Happy Holidays! Barbara McKeen Club Reporters

EASTERN REGION

CLIFTON AREA, sc Clifton, ME

Here it is the last month of 2021 and hope- fully the temperatures will be dropping soon. With all the rain we received in the fall there is water, water everywhere which makes it diffi- cult to get to some of our trails to check them. Then there are the pesky beavers to contend with. They do not like all the water either, so they are working over time trying to block it off, which also causes more water problems. Wouldn’t it be nice if those animals could learn to work with us, not against us? Bill has been out checking trails as best he can. He has others working with him and they are brushing out what they can. It is a long job when you only have two or three people trying to do all the work. Many thanks to Bill and the others for tackling those trails. By the time you read this, the SUV groomer should have its repairs done and checked over for the upcoming season. The sleds have been cleaned and are also ready to go, we just need the cold, cold temperatures and lots of snow! Come on everyone- let’s ask Santa for the

The Hunter’s breakfast this year was very successful (74 meals served) this is always headed up by Jan with help from Dick, Judy, Nancy and Carl , Paul and Lisa, Ann, Larry and Eileen , Don, Gail and Tammy. It takes many hands to make something like this a success and we thank you all! Trail work has been meeting every Sunday starting in the first Sunday of October each year. Headed by trailmaster Larry we have done two bridges so far and two reroutes of existing trails to make them safer for our landowners and for properties that change hands. We meet at the clubhouse a little after 7:00 a.m. the coffee will be on and there are homemade baked goods.

Thanks for your support. Bob Ludwig, Secretary raludwig184@gmail.com

PAUL BUNYAN sc Bangor, ME

According to weather reports, as I type this update, the Bangor area could see our first measurable snowfall today into tonight! We

(Continued on Page 16)

15

w m

n o

o b

0 2 1 l M a i n e S

i l

e r

D

m b e r 2

e c

e