8576-R1_MSA_December2023_Newsletter

MSA Club News

2) Preparing for the holidays is also a sign that those exciting times on the trails is just around the corner. 3) There’s also some exciting Sno-Goer news. We have recently developed a partner ship with the Wiscasset FD and have been provided access to their training building next door to our club house. This facility will give us a bit more space for meetings and other gatherings. The club house will continue to be the hub for trail and grooming operations but this extra space at the training facility is a great addition and we are excited. Other updates from the Sno-Goers include completing recent annual elections including my appointment to this assignment (note to self, and others – Don’t miss a meeting :). All kidding aside, happy to jump into this and lend a hand. Some business to take care of; The Sno-go ers meet on the 2nd Thursday of each Month beginning in October and running through April. Always fun to have guests and new members are always welcomed! Trail work has begun and this will continue on Sunday mornings, meeting at the club house at 8:00 a.m. (ish). What better way to spend a fall morning in Maine than to help clear a cou ple trees, add a few signs, and maybe help out an aging bridge? From all of the Wiscasset Sno-Goers, we hope that you and your families had a great Thanksgiving and wishing you all the happiest holiday season. As always, a very appreciative “Thank you” to all of our landowners who allow access for our trail system. One last tip, it’s never too early to start those right thumb exercises to avoid that bit of soreness after that first ride. Jeff Robertson Wiscasset Sno-Goers WINDHAM DRIFTERS Windham, ME Happy Holidays! Colder weather is here and we all wait for Mother Nature to bless us with white gold!! The Drifters have been very busy preparing for another snowmobile season. Signing is done, bridges rebuilt, new bridges built and bridges moved back to their original locations. A special Thanks to Wireless Construction Inc. of Standish for their help and use of their crane to move a large bridge back into place on the Land Trust property. Also, the Drift ers would like to recognize another local and generous company for their donation of aggre gate. Shaw Brothers of Gorham donated 60 yards of stone to build up the base on parts of our system that are problematic during the grooming season. We are lucky to live in such a great community! The Drifters participated in the town’s Hal loween Trunk or Treat event where club mem bers handed out candy and displayed some of the club’s equipment. With the trail prep work near completion, grooming equipment is converted to running on their track kits and waiting for the opportu nity to groom the trail system! There’s always work to be completed on our trail system. With almost 40 miles of trails, there’s always branches and young growth that can be trimmed. We welcome those who can lend a hand with these tasks. Please follow our Facebook page and frequent our website for projects and events dates. Club meetings have had great attendance with new folks joining us every month! If you didn’t receive a membership form in the mail, you can purchase one easily from our website. Lastly, a special Thanks to those dedicated officers and members who work year-round for our club. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All!!! Follow us on Facebook and visit our website windhamdrifters.com THINK SNOW!!! Ride Right and Ride Safe! Happy Sledding! Shane Spencer-Club Reporter

the snow Gods are looking favorably on us this winter. That’s it for now. Think *Snow * Snow * Snow * and Happy Holidays! >> Please join your local club!! Your dues go directly back into maintaining the trails you ride!!! << * * * Ride Safe, Ride Sober, Ride Right!!! * * * Check our calendar at www.westbrooktrail blazes.com for up-to-date Club info and trail conditions. Visit us on Facebook www.facebook.com/ Westbrook Trail Blazes Billy Bouffard – Information Officer – 207 712-4395 billybouf@yahoo.com Hi Folks, We hope the holiday season has been good for you so far. Now just waiting for the ground to freeze up and Mother Nature providing lots of white gold. The trail crews have been super busy every Sunday since mid-Septem ber. We’ve been really fortunate to have up to 15 members coming out weekly to get the job done. We’ve gotten most of the trail brush hogged and have been focused on rejuvenating a four mile trail in Dayton. That has included rebuilding several bridges, installing some culverts to help with drainage, and hauling in several hundred yards of donated wood chips to fill in low spots. This trail will allow us a new access point to Lyman and Waterboro. SACO PATHFINDERS sc Saco, ME Find us on Facebook Other club happenings are the annual Festi val of Lights parade in Saco. We are one of the feature parade participants with a huge float and several of our members hauling groom ing equipment with their side-by-sides. We also have lots of members walking the route handing out candy. The week after the parade is our annual Christmas Party. It’s a chance for families to get together and enjoy an evening of food a fun at the club. I want to give a shout out to one of our lon gest tenured members, Gordon Mehlman. For the past ten years or so, Gordon has taken it upon himself to put together several holiday meal baskets for some families in need. He will spend a few days gathering items from local stores, putting together the baskets to feed families of four or more, then delivering the baskets to a local church. We don’t know who gets those baskets, but we are thankful we can help someone in need during the holidays. That’s about it for now. Remember, get your gear ready to run/ride before the snow flies, always thank a landowner when you see them, and always ride right and under control. Cheers Doug Doherty, President November has been a busy month for the club. Trail work is in full swing. A landowner asked if we would be interested in opening back up a trail that had not been used for a number of years. So, we rounded up a crew of 6 men and took on the task. The biggest issue was the broken-down large bridge that needed to be replaced. After the cleanup of the trail the crew tackled the bridge. Was able to get a couple new supports for the bridge in place and ready for re-decking. A week later the decking, side rails and runners were com pleted. The landowner came down to inspect our handy work and they were so happy with the final product! Nice to see happy land own ers. Now the focus turns to signing our trail LIMINGTON CRANKERS sc Limington, ME

The Sno-Crawlers had their first club meet ing, and all leadership positions remain filled by the same individuals as last year. It was an unusually rainy Summer and Fall, making it very difficult to do any trail maintenance whatsoever, but the ground was finally firm enough these last two weekends, to get out there and fix the Steep Falls bridge, which was severely damaged during a storm where we received five inches of rain in one day. This is a major bridge located in South Waldoboro that connects Friendship to Waldoboro. The crew which typically works on Sundays took the last two Sundays to repair the bridge and make it safe for our 2024 snowmobiling sea son. The bridge, which was partially swept away, and were it not for a cable put in place last season it would have been totally gone. The footings and planks were badly damaged and required replacing. The crew attached new cables, and new footings, and new planks bringing the bridge back to life. We of course thank Tony, Dave, Ben, Carl, Ric, Eric, and Troy for their continued support and mad skills. The Safety officer has also started putting up GPS trail markers approximately a mile apart throughout the trail system. These will help snowmobilers, hikers, bikers, skiers and all who use the trail system to know exactly where they are, and should an emergency occur on the trails you can give these coordi nates to the emergency responders, and it will help them get to you quicker. It goes without saying that if you enjoy walking, skiing, horse riding, biking, or finally snowmobiling please be sure to support your local club where these trails exist. These trails are here for your use based on the tire less efforts of volunteers, and countless hours of maintenance. We look forward to a snowy and cold winter with lots of opportunity to sled to our local restaurants, visit friends and just enjoy the beautiful outdoors. We can’t thank our members, businesses, and landown ers enough, as your continued support ensures the legacy of the Waldoboro Sno-Crawlers continues into the next generations. We look forward to seeing you out on the trails. Please be sure to look at our Facebook page for events, club meetings, and work parties. Respectfully, Stephanie Bravoco Club Reporter Saturday December 2 nd in beautiful down town Westbrook. Visit our event page for details and reservation information. That’s it for now. Lots of work to be done before we hit the trails. Happy Halloween!! >> Please join your local club!! Your dues go directly back << >> into maintaining the trails you ride!!! << * * * Ride Safe, Ride Sober, Ride Right!!! Check our calendar at www.westbrooktrail blazes.com for up to date Club info and trail conditions. Visit us on Facebook www.facebook.com/ Westbrook Trail Blazes or www.westbrook trailblazes.com Bill Bouffard – Information Officer – 207 712-4395 billybouf@yahoo.com

system and creating an updated map. We continue to push to gain business and family memberships. I would like to welcome Rachael Delcourt as our secretary. Rachael is hard at work cre ating the clubs new web site and if all goes well will be available by December 1st. Please feel free to visit the site at, limingtoncrankers. com. We also have a contest for a new club logo and will be having a clothing line started up soon as well. Finally I would like to recognize Stanley “Pubby” Blake for your years of dedication to the Limington Crankers Snowmobile Club. I do not know the exact number of years Pubby has volunteered his time to the club but I am pretty sure it has been well over 30 years. So on behalf of the Limington Crankers, I say thank you to Pubby. WISCASSET SNO-GOERS Wiscasset, ME Greetings to all from the Wiscasset Sno-Goers, As I write this on this November day, some exciting things are occurring here in beautiful mid coast Maine. 1) Some frosty mornings that require some extra defrost on the windshield is always a welcome sign of things to come. Mark Whitman President LCSC

WALDOBORO SNO-CRAWLERS Waldoboro, ME

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