8212_MSA_December2022-R1

From The Executive Board

From the President

a special time riding there along with the Williams Sign hanging down. Harvey was also a Groomer of The Year from the MSA. He loved to snowmobile one trip was from Maine to Eagle Lake and across Lake Michigan! He will be missed by the Anson North Anson SC and everyone else he touched along the way. I will always remember you Harvey. We all have a passion for snowmobiling we love it and make sacrifices that affect our families and friends. Thank you all for what you do. Remember though family comes first! I’d like to thank the Lexington Highlanders SC for hosting the MSA directors meeting last month. Great food and hospitality! Thanks to Larry and Eileen Lafland for hosting the Eastern region club meeting along with Brent Spaulding, Mike Grass, Barry and Gail Ryan, Joe Higgins and everyone else who helped out and drove to the clubhouse on a rainy windy night. It was nice as always to see old friend and meet new ones. I hope you all have a very nice Holiday season Merry Christmas to all, AL Oath”. As a Snowmobiler I promise to always use proper Trail etiquette, to always ride right (even in the tight corners) to always keep my speed down within double digits and to always slow down when approaching crowded intersections. I furthermore, promise that I will always pack the night before and never make my friends wait, that I will always maintain my sled, trailer and truck so as not to make anyone wait while I repair my stuff. Speaking of waiting, I also promise to wait at the intersections for the people in my party behind me. I furthermore promise that I will register my sled early even before the snow flies, and I promise to always join a club to show my support for the thousands of volunteers that create the trails on which I ride. I also promise to always stop and thank a groomer operator if the opportunity arises. Lastly but probably the most important, I promise to always thank a landowner and respect his or her land for which I ride on! Following these simple guidelines is guaranteed to make you a better snowmobiler, I promise! That’s all I have for now Folks, and as always if you have any questions, concerns or comments, or just want to talk snowmobiling please reach out to me. Thank you, Mark. types and are often done in manners that have private road associations organized for that benefit. The key take-away here, the town assumes NO liability for events, be it safety or legally and may fall on individuals making the repairs. As you can imagine, this is where most of the confusion lies and there are many questions that continue to go unanswered. Thirdly, the Private Road is exempt from any town spending public monies to maintain or keep up to standard and liability. In fact, they can’t put any money in as the very next day, a private landowner could close it with no recourse of return. Of notable interest, there are an extremely large amount of these roads that were mostly generated before 1976, when processes of dis continuing roads were beginning to be imple mented. What further confuses the situation, the road may have been discontinued at a town meeting and may show up in the meeting min utes, but there was no due process of these changes to get it on to county and state regis try of deeds. Thus, the level of confusion and each one may need to be solved on a case-by case basis as each has its own set of dynamics. That was an earful, but incredibly well pre sented by Jim and I will keep you up to date on what unfolds. In the meantime, be respect ful of the situations and continued to appease the local landowners as their approval is “our” approval. See you all at the Super Raffle! Have an incredible Christmas Season and Let’s Go Riding! Johnny

from the southern to northern clubs is great. Clubs are working together more than ever. I really think that getting everyone involved has decreased accidents and fatalities. The family as I call it is stronger than ever. We need to continue this practice. Everybody benefits from it. “All on the same page” seems to work. Backing up a little bit the show in October I, felt was a success. We had vendors that were very happy to be back after the Covid years. Many dealers sold lots of merchandise. Trailers along with Charlies Motor Mall cars, trucks, groomers and drags out front seemed to be a big hit. Lots of interest in and outside. Thanks again to everyone who made it a great show. Sad news we last a gentleman from Anson, Harvey Williams will always be remembered as a hard worker, family man, and he loved to ride snowmobiles! We dedicated the North Anson Railroad Bridge last fall in the families honor. The Williams Bridge will be used this winter for the first time in quite a few years. Harvey and Jean were at the dedication along with family members, fellow snowmobile riders, town folks and friends; it is going followed by another great Super Raffle in December and mixing in a couple of director’s meetings in between, not to mention a host of Club events. October and November also found us putting on two Trails Workshops, one in Augusta and the other in Minot at the Moonshiners clubhouse, Thank you to the moonshiners for hosting the Workshop, it was a great venue and was well attended. Sitting here in the beginning of December, it is hard to know what old Mother Nature is going to do or not do. I have a good feeling that by the time this paper rolls out that there should be many places in the State with snow and working on a groomable base, all indicators point towards a very favorable Snowmobiling season. I feel like we are all hoping for a good snowpack Statewide, especially with gas, food, and lodging prices where they are. We all look forward to the Trips “Up North”, the weekend and week getaways, the super big Trails groomed to a T, the great food and the amazing hospitality but with all that being said, it sure is nice just to ride from your home base once in a while! Besides, we all need to benefit from one of Maine’s largest recreations. As we approach the Snowmobiling season I would like to share a few words to live by… maybe, we can call it “A Snowmobiler’s back and bridge repair and now are posting photos daily of their progress. If you’re sitting on the sidelines, STEP UP! I personally would like to call out Shawn and Lila, who read a recent clubs post of trail work, showed up and grabbed couple arm loads of signs and threw their talents in the ring. It clearly was an added bonus project that got done without planned ahead attention. MUCH APPRECIATED! On the Abandoned and Discontinued Roads Commission, Chair Jim Katsiaficas gave an excellent briefing of the three basic types of roads. In short, they are Town Way, Public Easement and Private Road. A town way is where the town is obligated to keep open, safe, and convenient for all to pass. These will gen erally be any road that the town has “accepted and adopted” in their area. The maintenance costs will come from the town budget and supplemented by any state grants or cost shar ing on a pre-approved understanding. Joe Q Public has not right to repair or change these roads. Second, a Public Easement, is an easement held by the municipality for purposes of the public to access land or water that is not con nected by a public way, and it include what is formerly known as private ways, that are not subject to circumstances governed by “gates and bars”. The town retains the right, but not obligation to maintain these and will be gen erally done by decision of the town office or voting citizens. By contrast, “individuals” may construct, improve, or maintain these

Lori Hemmerdinger (207) 890-5455 544 Plains Road • Poland, ME 04274 Treasurer@mesnow.com Treasurer’s Report Respectfully Submitted, Lori Hemmerdinger, Treasurer

Alan Swett, 207-872-7282 234 County Rd, Waterville ME 04901 snowtraveler@roadrunner.com

G reetings Friends! Here we go, December the kick off of the Holiday season and snowmobiling in Maine. Thank you to all the volunteers, landowners, business supporters and the state government who make snowmobiling in Maine what it is. Signage has gotten better; communication

Monthly Income Monthly Expense

$ 60,272.08 $ 42,359.94 $ 17,912.14 $258,223.92 $106,973.26

Net Revenue

Checking (11/30/22)

DedicatedAccount (11/30/22)

Pay Pal (11/30/22) - Special EventsAccount (11/30/22) $ 4,987.53 Credit Line (11/30/22) $ - Building Fund 11/30/22) $ 53,928.80 BrianWass Safety Fund (11/30/22) $ 1,285.31 MSA Scholarship SavingsAccount $ 1,832.00 MSA Scholarship CDAccount $ 60,187.00 $

From the Executive VP

Scholarship Committee

Mark Chinnock, Vice President 207-754-9874 544 Plains Road, Poland, ME 04274 napadude66@hotmail.com

H ello Everyone! Tis the season, in more ways than one. First, I would like to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy NewYear! may your stockings be filled with lots of snow and your New Year bring miles of groomed trails. All aspects within the MSA are in full swing as well as all of the local clubs are waist deep in fall projects. We’re settling down from a very successful Snowmobile show in October

H opefully everyone had a nice Thanks giving and now setting their sights on Christmas. We all know the holiday season is busy, filled with shopping, parties and family events but it’s never too early to start thinking about schools and scholarships for the upcom ing year. Often family and friends gather this time of year the conversation goes to what students are up to and what their future plans might look like. This is a great time to remind folks about the MSA Scholarship and what an impact it might have on a family of a student seeking posy high school education. The MSA Scholarship is easy to find on our website and committee members have often been told it’s relatively easy to complete. The major focus of the application are letters of support from educators, employers, friends and even snowmobile club members. So the holidays could be a great time to connect with some of these people to ask for help and support. For me the essay component is probably my favorite part to review in the whole pro cess. To be able to read about how the sport of snowmobiling we all love so much has had such a positive impact on young riders is pretty amazing. Many of the applicants play a key role in their club for helping on trails, the clubhouse work or even supporting member ship drives. Even more important is that many of our young members are planning their future education and plans around how they can get an education so that they can stay in Maine and continue to be a part of their club and support snowmobiling on a bigger level. Wishing all a safe, healthy and Happy Holi days and as always scholarship club members are willing to answer questions or even attend club meeting to provide information. Harvey Chesley, 207-314-0637 25 Hillcrest Dr, Clinton ME 04927 harv.chesley@gmail.com

Steering Committee

John Monk Chairman of Steering Committee monksdoomopars@hermon.net

I t is crazy to think that the season is about ready to start! Many areas have now seen the white and are starting to believe it is here for the duration. As always, there are other areas that will have to be patient a bit longer. The MSA office has been extremely busy with prepping the last steps of Super Raffle Prizes, closing the books on another success ful show, actively involved with trail signing and inspecting guidelines, and preparing a few trail safety stops for the season. Clubs continue to due a relentless job at brush cut

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