8906_MSA_November2024_Newsletter

The Maine Snowmobiler

November 2024 • Vol. 56 • No. 3 MSA, PO Box 80 Augusta ME 04332

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An Official Publication of the Maine Snowmobile Association

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Explore Island Falls

S nowmobiling in Island Falls, offers an ex hilarating outdoor experience, set against the picturesque backdrop of northern Maine’s winter wonderland. The area is known for its expansive snowmobile trails that traverse the rugged, snow-covered terrain, breathtak ing views of the natural landscape, including snow-draped pines, frozen lakes, and possi bly wildlife sightings. The tranquility of the rural setting enhances the overall experience. 1. Starting Point: Island Falls Town Center - Begin your adventure in the town center of Island Falls. Make sure to check trail condi tions and grab a local trail map. 2. Head South on ITS 83: - From Island Falls, take the ITS 83 trail heading South. This trail will lead you through beautiful wood ed areas and take you closer to the Baxter State Park Region. 3. Connect to ITS 81: - Follow ITS 83 until you reach the junction with ITS 81 in Sherman. This trail connects you to larger networks and provides opportunities for longer rides. 4. Head towards Mattawamkeag: - Continue on ITS 81 towards Mattawamkeag cut ting over on ITS connector trail 110 to East Millinocket. Be sure to stop in and visit the

East Branch Sno Rovers Clubhouse. 5. Loop Back via ITS 83 North: - From East Millinocket you will travel on ITS 83 North which will take you on the outskirts of the Baxter State Park Region. Here you can admire the breathtaking views of Mount Katahdin. 6. Return to Island Falls: - Finally, make your way back to Island Falls via ITS 83, com pleting your loop. You can enjoy the last leg of your ride by taking in the sights and sounds of the winter landscape. Another must see in Island Falls is Bible Point State Historic Site Bible Point State Historic Site, in Island Falls, it is renowned for its natural beauty and historical significance, often drawing visitors who seek to connect with both nature and history. The site is particularly notable due to its association with Theodore Roosevelt, the 26 th President of the United States, who visited the area during his summer retreats. Roosevelt, an avid outdoorsman and conser vationist, found inspiration in Maine’s rug ged landscapes, which influenced his com mitment to preserving natural resources and establishing national parks.

Join the MSA Snowmobile Club of your choice, by scanning the QR Code below and join the fun!

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MSA, PO Box 80, Augusta ME 04332 207-622-6983 • Fax: 207-622-7669 mainesnowmobileassociation.com r

PARK & RIDE LOCATIONS

Attention MSA Clubs if you would like to add your local Park & Ride please visit: mainesnowmobileassociation.com and fill out the form under MSA Forms.

REGION Central Central Central Coastal

CLUB Anson-North Anson SC Lexington Hilanders SC Norridge Sportsmen Alliance Moonlite Sno-Skimmers Westbrook Trail Blazes Westbrook Trail Blazes Westbrook Trail Blazes Cornish Sno-Cruisers Quad County SC Inc. Sebasticook Valley SC Ebeemee SC Ebeemee SC East Branch Sno-Rovers LA Sledders Portage Lakers Caribou SC

ADDRESS 18 High St 1453 Long Falls Dam Road 444-328 Martin Stream Road 60 Val Halla Road 429 Bridge St 771 Cumberland St 235 Pride St Rt #5 (Sokokis Trail) 976 Lee Rd (Rt 6) 238 Moosehead Trail US Route 11, ITS 111 Intersection US Route 11 6 Clubhouse Dr Club House 3346 Bennoch Rd Station Rd

TOWN North Anson Lexington Norridgewock Cumberland Westbrook Westbrook Westbrook Cornish Springfield Newport

ADDITIONAL DETAILS

Ashley Wing Memorial Park Direct Access to Kennebec Valley Railtrail KVT

Rachels on the green - breakfast- lunch - dinner - large parking lot for the Val Halla Parking lot. 15 minute drive from Portland with direct access to main trail system leading to destinations west and north of Cumberland. Westbrook Little League Parking lot Sunset Ridge Golf Course parking lot Prides Corner Congregational Church Parking lot will be busy Sunday mornings till about noon time. About 3/4 a mile south from Rt 25, Vacant lot and Approx 7 miles North of Limerick on Rt #5 Also, 2 miles down East Shore Rd, Lakeville, ME 04487 Large Parking Lot next to ITS 105 Very Large parking lot with direct ITS 85 trail access. Located right on RT. 7 just 1 mile from I-95. Food/Gas services available in both directions. Great take off spot for day or overnight trips. Contact Sebasticook Valley SC Facebook page for the latest grooming information. Located just north of the road crossing on ITS 111 north (Wildwoods trail) Located just north of the Jo Mary Trail on the left 1.5 miles north of Ebeemee Club House Lots of room for parking. Lunches usually served on weekends. Also the Rail Trail Parking lot off Bennoch Rd in Lagrange as well as Lagrange General Store Parking is alongside Station Rd in downtown Portage. There is room for approximately 12 rigs. As your leaving Caribou on Rt.89 heading east towards Limestone Otter St. will be on your left just before you reach the underpass. Drive all the way straight in and that is where the Park n Ride will be. As you come into Stockholm off 161 turn left onto Main St. and go across the bridge. Right after the bridge on the left you’ll see a sign for a public boat landing. Turn left into there and that in the parkn ride. There is a small maintained trail that will lead you thru the ballpark up to ITS 83 or you can ride the shoulder of Main St. from the park n ride and get on ITS 83 next to Eureka Hall. Immediately off I-95 northbound exit. Located at Brooks Equipment Service . Direct access to ITS 83 Oils, parts, and services available at this site, as well as 2 gas stations located within 900’ of park and ride location (one of which has 24 hr. card service with non-ethanol gas also) Ramp available for truckbed sleds. Please do not block garage overhead door where groomer is parked, or park in front of it. Free parking. This is a private driveway located on trail ITS 81. Call 207.316.9118 for permission to park (limited space) Madawaska This is a dirt road that connects east and west cottage road in Portage. There will be available parking on the west side of

Coastal Coastal Coastal Coastal Eastern Eastern

Writers Wanted We’re looking for newspaper articles. Topics of interest.... All things snowmobiling!

Eastern Eastern Eastern Eastern Northern

Ebeemee Twp Ebeemee Twp Medway Alton Portage Caribou

10 Otter Street

Northern

Do you have a favorite ride that you’d like to share? Grooming or trail work tips. Product reviews. Stories of your adventures. Club events. A member who goes above & beyond. If possible, please send along pictures for your articles. This paper is created for Snowmobilers and you are the

Stockholm

Northern

10 Otter Street

Caribou SC

Island Falls

Northern

1160 Crystal Road

Big Valley Sno Club

experts - we’d love to have your input! Please submit articles to editor@mesnow.com

St. David (Madawaska) Madawaska

Northern

19 Fournier Road

Madawaska SC

Madawaska SC

Northern

195 Dufour Road

Portage Lake SC

Portage Lake

Northern

Station Road

this road and will be marked with signs. Located right at the I-95 Sherman exit

Benedicta Snow Gang Chapman Ridge Runners Snowmobile & ATV Club Washburn Trail Runners SC Norway Trackers SC Sno Wanderers Wild River Riders

Sherman Chapman

Northern Northern

Sherman Citgo 94 Town Hall Rd.

This is the location of our clubhouse. The clubhouse is not open to the general public w/o notice. There is lots of room for park ing, but please not in front of our groomer barn, “The Bullpen.”

Washburn Norway Kingfield Gilead

Northern Western Western Western Western

48 Station Road 95 Lake Road 171 Main St. Route 2

Located at the Lake Pennesseewassee Boat Launch/ Parking Area. Parking lot holds 30 plus trailers and direct acess to ITS115 Located on the right hand side of Route 2 after entering Gilead from the west and passing the rest area or on the left side of the highway if coming in from the Bethel area. Long, thin parking lot for about 4 trucks with trailers. Kiosk and map in parking lot. Take a right at Andover Village (Rt. 120) just down over the hill on right Parking lot is across from the Ham Athletic Fields at 40 Brag Way. 2/10 of a mile from the intersection of Brag Way and Route 302. Easy access to ITS 89. Fireman’s field next to the little Androscoggin River.

Know Before You Go!

Snow Valley Sno-Goers

Rt. 120 Just East of Andover Village Brag Way

Andover

Western

Pleasent Mountian SC Formaly Bridgton Easy Riders The Bog Hooters SC

Bridgton

Western

Rte 11

Mechanic Falls Harrison

Western

Always Check Local Ice Conditions

Vacationland Rd

Harrison Friendly Riders

Western

Take Vacationland Rd, Follow Signs.

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Two $1,500.00 Scholarships

will be award this year by The Maine Snowmobile Association to eligible applicants.

☛ To be eligible for these awards the following criteria must be met: • Applicant and/or immediate family must be a member of the Maine Snowmobile Association for two years prior to January 1 st of 2025 • Applicant can be of any age • Immediate family members of MSA member are eligible. Immediate family is defined as legal dependents living in one household. • MSA membership can be family, individual or a business

☛ Scholarship awards are granted to MSA member or family member who is: • A recent high school graduate or holder of a GED • Any student in a one or two-year Associate or Technical School Program at a school in state or out of state • Any student in a four-year Bachelor Degree Program at a school in state or out of state • Pursuing a Master’s Degree

committee needs to raise funds. To do this we are asking clubs to consider making a donation to the scholarship fund. Some clubs in the state have held fundraising events, do a 50/50 raffle at club meet ings, send a donation directly or come up with other ways to raise the money. Whatever your club can do would be greatly appreciated and helpful. The Scholarship committee greatly appreciates your consideration to assist MSA students in reaching their higher education degree.

The Maine Snowmobile Association believes that our future depends on our children, which is why we are doing our part to invest in them. If you feel the same way, please consider helping us to raise money for the fund or making a donation if you prefer? Each year the scholarship committee gives out two scholarships to students who have been MSA mem bers for the previous two years. This year we award ed two $1500 scholarships to students. In order to continue this tradition, the scholarship

All majors and /or courses of study are eligible. Essay and completed application must be received at the MSA office in Augusta by the close of business on April 1, 2025. https://www.mainesnowmobileassociation.com/msa-scholarship-fund/

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MSA gives away vintage sled at this year’s Annual Snowmobile Show By John Monk

T his season’s annual show featured a bit different event at the entrance of the vintage show. Cou pled with the largest and best vintage show to date, members of the MSA angled a donation fundraiser to bolster the MSA Safety committee’s pot to help get some sort of program off the ground for more education for beginning snowmobilers. While the outcome of what that will develop in the future remains to be seen, this event surely showcased our members support for the concept. Here’s how it all started.

In 2018, the MSA received a call from Ken Swazey, a former MSA member stating he had some health issues and was no longer able to ride snowmobile. He stated he had an older model Ski Doo and would like to see it go to someone who could use it. The sled was picked up at his home and later found out to be Ski-Doo’s entry model into the touring market. This 1990 Ski Doo Safari GLX was the full load including liquid cooling, reverse, two up, electric, heated bars and full gauges. Additionally, it was in extremely good shape and even included the cover. It actually had sat in his barn from 2003 to 2018 without being touched. In last year’s rather snow starved season, the sled finally got a giant cleaning, with all the usual aged items replaced such as the primer, runners, bearings and severely deteriorated fuel lines and battery. The sled fired right up and surely would get someone on the snow. What to do next? After a discussion with the President Mark Chinnock, VP Matt Sted man, and daily operations manager Al Swett, approval was granted to accept donations to the safety fund in exchange for a ticket in a bucket for chance of winning the sled at the close of the show. The excitement began to build. All through the weekend, show attendees stopped by, chatted and healthily supported the idea both in concept and financially. With a group of about twenty people around, President Mark and VP Matt pulled the ticket of 2016 Snowmobiler of the Year, Tom Nelson who walked through with his wife, daughter and future son-in-law on Saturday night. A GIANTTHANKYOU is cast to all who contributed and $2,050.00 was raised and will be dedicated to a safety related project in the near future. This concept garnered strong approval from show attendees and hopefully more of this nature will be considered in the MSA’s future.

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From The Executive Board

From the President

clubs. Other resources for trails & landowner issues are the folks from Department of Conservation snowmobile program, regional trails coordinators. These folks work for Joe’s office and help clubs and landowners resolve issues that come up. Another resource is the Warden Service landowner relation program, the two folks at the state level (Andrew Smart & Kris MacCabe) can help you coordinate and talk through landowner issues, potentially resolving issues for your club. Please don’t try to take it all on by yourself, some of the issues clubs deal with can be quite daunting and time consuming. Grant deadlines are quickly approaching (December 1st) and please remember that work you want to be reimbursed for cannot be done until your grant has been approved through the Snowmobile Program office. In line with your grant is landowner permission, which is crucial to our trail system statewide. Please reach out in any way shape or form necessary to engage with landowners to ask permission for this season. We all know that land changes hands rapidly so be aware and get the right folks involved. Part of the solution for trail funding in the medium term can come from the November ballot Question #4, Trails Bond. By the time you are reading this we will know if it has passed or not. The positive implications of this for the snowmobile & outdoor recreation communities. The $7.5 million/year for four years can be a huge help to shore up critical infrastructure across the trails from all parts of the State. If it has passed, we will work to ensure that this funding is attainable by our clubs by working with the Snowmobile Program office and the legislature on the rules for distribution. If you have a question, problem, concern, or idea on snowmobiling in Maine, get in touch with me. You can contact me at the phone # or email below. Matt Stedman Stedman.matt@jdirving.com 207-557-1921 One of the biggest attractions at the Show was the Vintage Sled Display. This Vintage Display was once again put on by Chris Ring and Company and was by far the biggest and best show to date. Chris started the “Vintage Room” many years ago and started with a handful of sleds, followed by a number of years with 35-40 sleds, last year saw 65-70 sleds and had to be moved to a bigger room. Meeting with Chris several times in the weeks leading up to this year’s show, Chris had a goal of bringing in 100 sleds. Again, the display needed a bigger room which made home to 116 Vintage show and race sleds, with Plaques being awarded in several categories. Kudos to everyone who helped make this show a success. I can’t wait to see what Chris has in store for next year. November will have also been a busy month where MSA will have taken a trip to West with good friends, meeting a lot of people and had some great conversations. Thank you to all who came down to help in the booth. October 15th took us to Madison for our monthly Director’s Meeting which was held at the VFW Post, the meeting was informative and well attended. Thanks go out to Post #7865 for catering this event. Last but certainly not least the 18th,19th and 20th took us to the Augusta Civic Center for the Annual MSA Snowmobile Show. The show was packed full with snowmobile vendors of all kinds, and despite warm temps and sunshine all three days attendance was good. My hat comes off to our Director of Operations AL Swett for spearheading this event, strong work AL, Thank you for doing an unbelievable job with this; there are a lot of pieces to this puzzle. It takes a tremendous amount of people to put on a show of this size and I thank EVERYONE who came out to help, you know who you are and you should be proud knowing that you were part of making this event a success!

Springfield Mass for the Big E Sled Expo on the 16th and 17 th to promote snowmobiling in our great State of Maine. Next up will be our November’s Director’s Meeting on the 19th at the Eastern Maine Snowmobile Club in Holden. This meeting will feature the comeback of “Presidents Night” where we will honor and thank all MSA Club Presidents present for their continued support and leadership within the sport of snowmobiling. In December we will be showcasing our annual Super Raffle on Tuesday Dec. 10th at the Augusta Civic Center. We will have a Dinner at 6:00 pm preceded by a social hour from 5:00-6:00, followed by a short business meeting after dinner and then on to the Super Raffle festivities which we will be doing a live feed on Facebook. So RSVP by going on to the MSA Website or by calling the MSA Office 207-622-6983. Just a couple of things before I say goodbye, Important Deadlines are coming right up. Club Officers, Grant writers and Project Managers, please remember that Club and Municipal Grant Applications must be submitted to Joe Higgins office (Dept. of ACF Snowmobile Division) by December 1st. Also both MSA and the Dept of ACF Officer Update Forms need to be submitted as soon as possible. MSA Officer Update Form can be found on the MSA Website and you should find the one for Joe’s Office in the grant packet that you receive from the Dept. of ACF (This you MUST submit for any Grant approval) That is all for now my friends, and remember as always if you have any questions, comments, issues or would just like to talk about anything snowmobiling please email, message or call me, my door is always open and I would love to hear from you! Till next month, thanks for reading. Mark

Treasurer’s Report

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

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

H ello Folks, November is upon us and December is right around the corner, which really is an exciting time because, the anticipation that most if not all of us feel is only explainable to another fellow snowmobiler. One that some “Non Snowmobilers” just do not understand and look at us like we have three heads when getting all giddy talking about deep snow and cold temperatures! Truly unexplainable, yet we continue on with our day with a smile on our faces, possibly a little disturbed but who cares we’re happy and that’s all that matters! October proved to be busy as expected. We started out Oct. 11, 12 &13 in Epping N.H. At the Grass Drags, it was a challenging weekend weather wise, however we had a great time

Monthly Income Monthly Expense

$105,465.48 $ 48,836.03 $ 56,629.45 $ 85,600.00 $194,048.01 $132,555.74

Net Revenue

Short Term CD (10/31/24)

Checking (10/31/24)

Dedicated Account (10/31/24)

Pay Pal (10/31/24) - Special Events Account (10/31/24) $ 4,987.53 Credit Line (10/31/24) $ - Building Fund (10/31/24) $ 54,578.16 Brian Wass Safety Fund (10/31/24) $ 3,996.86 Scholarship Savings (10/31/24) $ 5,123.09 Scholarship CD (10/31/24) $ 60,216.40 tainside Ski Doo in Wilton. The little ones love the Arctic Cat ZR200 from Kramer’s in Sidney. Thank you all who make this a suc cessful raffle year after year! Now, The October Snowmobile Show. The Augusta Civic Center looked like a million dollars! It was professionally displayed; the Vendor’s did an incredible job. The MSA booth was manned by the top folks in our stable answering questions and selling newly designed clothing that were a big hit. On a warm fall day folks came in and purchased items and got answers from insurance, credit unions to sleds, trailers and clothing. It was a wonderful weekend. The Vintage show was the hit of the weekend, Chris Ring and his gang made it happen! I’m glad we went to a larger room and that was jammed packed! Attendance could have been better but nation wide shows have been down a bit due to last year’s lack of snow and the political year we’re in. So, that’s ok it’s a country wide slide, and we should be proud of what we built here in Maine! I know I’m happy and think it was a great turnout. It was a good feeling week end and can’t thank everyone enough for their devotion and passion to our sport. We all made it happen! Wishing for a wonderful winter! AL CLUB MEMBERS Once grooming begins submit your trail reports to: EDITOR@MESNOW.COM Please include your name and club affiliation $

From the Executive VP

Director of Operations

Matt Stedman 207-557-1921 (call or text) PO Box 621, Ashland ME 04732 Stedman.matt@jdirving.com

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

H ello Folks,

H ello fellow snowmobilers, As I write this article, I am still trying to get caught up from a weekend away at the Augusta MSA snowmobile show. What an amazing event. 50+ vendors on site, over 100 vintage sleds filled the North wing room as well as some “new to the show” vendors. I would like to personally thank those who chose to spend time at the show. Some volunteered the entire weekend across multiple booths & events, others worked extra shift for their employer at a booth while still others broke away from their responsibilities at home to come and see what the show had to offer. We at the MSA have been working hard throughout the summer months, to make sure we are supporting you in every way we can. If you’re struggling with something, please reach out to us at the MSA for help with that matter. Our contact is in the paper, so reach out through the office (Liz is a pleasure to talk with), to me or one of the regional VP’s and we will help you in any way we can. We may not have all the answers but will work with you to help resolve your questions/concerns or needs. We are here to support you and your

Here we go November is here and it’s time to refresh and getting ready for our win ter season. Our fall season is wrapping up and let’s hope La Nina brings us a great winter wonderland. Getting the Raffle together has been excit ing and in December we’ll see who goes home with some incredible prizes. Again, this year we have to thank the clubs who push the tick ets from the South to the North, this event is for you and it’s an easy way to make money. Again, thank you to our friends at Alcom in Winslow and Scotts Recreation for the new model Mission snowmobile trailer, it’s a gem. And of course, Chad Dow and his Nitro dealer Charlie’s in Madison. The Nitro Hybrid is another awesome sled trailer that will make someone’s Christmas a happy one. Kittery Trading Post always comes through, as does JB Grooming. Many gift cards from sled dealers, a cruise on the Katahdin, and stays at Motels will be a big hit this year. And of course, the snowmobiles The Polaris long track 4 stroke from Cove Side in Newport and our friend Ryan at Polaris. The Ski-Doo 600 EFI Renegade from Dan and crew at Moun

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From The Executive Board Secretary’s Report - Betsy Watson Central Region Directors Meeting - VFW - Madison, Maine - October 22, 2024

board to get a little more active on the trails. Then we had a really poor winter for getting g people out and about. I would continue to urge you to work with your local game warden and if you are not getting traction with your local game warden to go to the regional office and talk to the lead guy there and try to do a trailside safety check. Invite them to a function your club is doing, invite them to a regional meeting, interact with them so that they can interact with our riders. The end goal is making our trails a safer place for people to come and ride and recreate. Northern Region Vice-President: Nick Morrill: Not much happening in the northern region, most of the farmers are wrapping up harvest work. Leaves are almost all off the trees, there are snow flurries in the forecast, so the season’s not too far away. Clubs are starting monthly meeting, getting membership information out, still holding landowner appreciation dinners and functions, and out doing trail work. Just getting ready for the season. Central Region Vice-President: Ron Nunes: Everyone’s working hard. We are just waiting for the snow. Eastern Region Vice-President: Eileen Lafland Eastern region clubs are out and running. They’re getting their memberships in; they’re doing their trail work; they’re holding their club meeting; and they’re hosing their landowner suppers. They’re finding all those trees that were left over from last year and lots of water holes, even though it was a dry summer. If you plan on going to President’s Night, please let the office know how many presidents are joining us. We want to make sure we have enough food for everybody, and the MSA is picking up the tab for the presidents. Mark – the VPs in the Coastal and Western regions are not well. Gary Majors from the Western Regent had a spot of trouble. He’s been in and out of the hospital. Our prayers are with him. Matt Barron from the Coastal region has been in and out of the hospital with some health problems. Our prayers are with him too. Director of Operations: All Swett – The top priority is the Snowmobile Show. We need Volunteers to man the ticket booth, taking money and putting on the wrist bands. We need help on Saturday evening, Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon. So if anyone can help, we would appreciate it. The supper raffle is doing really well. Let’s talk about question 4. The 30 million dollars that we get if question 4 passes will help all trails existing. It’s going to help us with bridges and clearing brush. 25% goes to us, 25% goes to non motorized, and the rest of the money goes to the people on horseback and bicycling and so on and so forth. It’s a marvelous bill and the last two years have been horrible for us. This bill is going to help us out a lot. WE talked a bit ago about weight distribution on the trails. There a legislator in the county that wants to increase the weight on ATV / Snowmobile trails. Funding Committee: Matt Stedman – We had a call with our lobbyist James Cote, and Joe from the snowmobile program talking about the trails bond. This is a good opportunity for infrastructure work, all the devastation from the flooding and things like that. We are hoping to get that money to update bridges and culverts and surface material to really bring our trails back up to snuff so we can leave the rest of our money alone for winter maintenance. Then our lobbyists and Joe will work closely with us to see how it all works, how does that money get from the bond to the hands of the clubs. We are trying to make that pathway as simple and straightforward as possible. It will need to satisfy some requirements to make sure that people are using the money in the right way, but to try to streamline that process as much as possible so not to burden our clubs like the RTP style grant or something super, deep and obtrusive. We want to make sure that we can get this money and that it’s doesn’t take a lawyer to figure it out. Other funding information, you know from what

clubs spend on an annual basis versus what they get, we’ve got a $3 million gap. So we have a hole to fill in a tough economy. The first thing that happened last year that’s going to automatically get us some more money is a change to the gas tax. They tweaked it a little bit and that should provide the trail fund between $200,000 and $250,000 more for this grant season. That’s going to be a big help. We are working another bill to take sales tax from snowmobiles and provide a proportion of that to the trails fund. So give that money to Joe’s office to add to his grant program. The snowmobile program and the work of our volunteers put over $700 million a year into state economy. So how can we get some that money out of the general fund? Safety: Al Swett – I brought some safety stuff with me. Got a call from the teacher in North Anson and she wants to do a safety course. PPE is a big thing. So use earplugs and safety glasses. You want to be doing trail work in the right gear. Not sure if you guys have heard about El Nina, the weather phenomenal as compared to El Nino. El Nina is a complete flip from last year’s weather pattern, which favored a wetter South and a drier North. Weak La Niña events tend to allow for more snow in the Northeast, while snow is more limited during stronger La Niña’s because warmer temperatures often creep farther up the East Coast. So they’re saying this year is going to be a week La Nina which will mean colder weather and hopefully more snow. Mark – if you go to the show, to the vintage show, the MSA acquired a sled. It’s an older sled in good shape and we’re going to accept donations on that sled and for every donation that you make on behalf of yourself or a younger person you get a chance at that sled, and that sled on Sunday afternoon at 2:30 pm will be given away. Why I’m talking about it now is that all the proceeds go to the safety fund for the kids. So Al can continue his safety programs at the schools for the kids. Scholarship Committee: Barry Ryan: I’d like to give you a short report that Harvey just sent, He is the scholarship chair, I’m just the vice chair. We just turned over the CD to a new 12-month CD, short-term at 3.5%. At this point we would like to put a motion to the floor on our current MSA scholarship bank signing. We have three people on the account now. Two of those people are no longer associated with the scholarship fund. Currently, it’s just one person. Larry – We need to do some homework here or clean up some stuff? In the scholarship we have two people that are not active anymore. This is Sylvia Bridgman and Nancy Cooper. So we need a motion to remove them from the scholarship program. This needs to be done formally because the credit union needs to see copies of our minutes so they can see this in writing. In addition to that motion, we would add Barry Ryan and Mike Grass, Jr. to replace them and Harvey Chesley will stay. Eileen – Make a motion to replace Sylvia Bridgam and Nancy Cooper with Barry Ryan and Mike Grass, Jr. on the Scholarship Committee Credit Union’s list. This motion was seconded. All members were in favor, motion passed Membership Committee: Eileen Lafland: Membership have been rolling in nicely. I haven’t been entering them, so I guess Liz has been doing a quite a bit of work. I’m still working on the Rangeley’s 419 membership cards that were sent to me. I’m been working on them. I should be done by tomorrow. Family membership totals 1,540; 279 businesses, which totals 1,819 members at the present time. 73 of the 280 clubs have submitted memberships. Trail Committee: Brent Spalding: Communications are good because I got three independent notifications about the trail issue that Matt spoke about earlier. The clubs are awesome. We already have a solution to that issue. It drops 20 landowners to 4 landowners. There’s a little bit of brushing and a little bit of gravel work and the trail is going to be better than it was before so I’d just like to caution all the clubs. There isn’t a club in the organization that hasn’t had a landowner shut a trail down.

So take a breath. Sometimes it happened quite fast and other times it takes a bit but we solve this problem. The good this about social media is seeing all the great work that the clubs are doing. I have a workshop schedule for 9:30 AQM on Saturday at the Show. I’ll be starting out with a signage workshop and some Q&A. Joe Higgins will be starting around 10:15 AM and we’ve got him slated until 11:30 AM. Then following that, we’ll have the October Trail Committee Meeting Hall of Fame Chair: Gail Ryan: I’m still looking for someone from every region. I only have one right now from the Central Region. I have sent a symphony cards to Debbie Levasser, who lost her husband, Rick; to Ron and Lori Newman, who last a relative in Rhode Island. I sent get well cards to Jerry Major, Matt Barron, Kylie Roberts, Marion Pinkham, and Charlene McFarland. Hospitality: Gail Ryan – told us a great joke. LOL Old Business: Super raffle, Al already gave you that; The Epping Grass Drags – Done; Trail funding - Matt went over that. New Business: - Mark already touched on the December 1 st grant deadlines and I talked about trail safety checks earlier on, so I think we’re good. Question on the floor - “On the state website, they don’t show the first deadline for the capital equipment grant”. Matt – the capital equipment grant is not on December 1st, I’s June 15 th . December 12 st is the deadline for the municipal and club grants. Pot of Gold – Portage Lakers, not present. Motion to adjourn – all in favor Harvey Chesley, 207-314-0637 25 Hillcrest Dr, Clinton ME 04927 harv.chesley@gmail.com H ello fellow snowmobilers, thanks to all that visited at the Snowmobile Show in Augusta. We appreciate all the generous peo ple that stopped to buy a raffle ticket or even just to visit and hear more about the scholar ship and how much it helps support our fami lies. Many thanks to the committee members and volunteers that manned the booth over the weekend. Not only did the Alna snowmobile club volunteer a shift they also brought a $200 donation for the scholarship. With the holidays fast approaching it’s a good time to consider a donation to the schol arship fund, also the National Day of Giving is December 3. If you or you club is looking for a worthwhile cause look no further than our very own scholarship fund. The commit tee has set a goal of funding the two student awards from our savings account so that our newly invested CD will have time to build interest. We have had some very nice dona tions from fundraiser, 50/50 raffles and other events, with another push we are confident we can reach our goal. As always all of us committee members are more than happy to attend a club meeting, offer support on a fundraising event or just help out in way we can if any club would like to help with our efforts. Thanks for all the great work that has been done, we couldn’t do it without all of you. Here’s to a safe and healthy Thanksgiving. Scholarship Committee

T he treasurer’s report was read and placed on file at the office.. President’s (Mark Chinnock) opening comments: The biggest thing going on this week is the Snowmobile Show. In fact, it is coming up this weekend. The Vintage sleds are up to 125 sleds. We just got back from the Epping Grass Drags. It was an adventurous weekend because of the high winds. If you didn’t realize, the ITS maps are out. There is a case on the table over there. The Maine Guide will be coming out maybe this weekend. The supper raffle is the next thing. The drawing will be at the Augusta Civic Center on December 10th. We will be streaming live. How many people have talked to Joe Higgins from the Department of ACF? No one! Joe is one guy and he is doing both the Snowmobile and ATV sides. So he is pulling double duty. Joe gets like 100 calls a day that he’s going to have to deal with. Matt and I had a great idea and Joe is really excited with this. We have trail coordinators in each region and so does Joe. Not every phone call has to go to Joe. If you have any issues you will want to reach out to the guys on the piece of paper that was handed out to you. If they can’t reach an agreement, then they will elevate it. Deadlines – Everyone got their membership packets, one from the MSA and one on the grants from Joe’s office. You want to pay attention to those dates. In the packets from the MSA is a piece of information that is very important, the officer update form. It’s important because of the online membership. One of the questions is what does your club charge? If you don’t return the form to update the database then we have to charge an estimated fee and it probably not going to be as much as you charge. The next director’s meeting on November 19th, and we are bringing back president’s night. Its’ going to be at the Eastern Maine Snowmobile Club in Holden, 263 Levin Seller Road. The supper will be Roast Pork. Peter Ford made a motion to accept the Secretaries Report. Charlie Hunnington Seconded. All in favor, motion passed. Barry Ryan read the Treasures Report. Report was placed on file. Executive Vice-President: Matt Stedman – Most clubs have a Facebook page, it’s a great way to share information. One thing that bugged me a bit was one club that posed about a trail closure. The post had the landowner’s name on it. Personally I don’t think that is the right thing to do to call an individual landowner out for closing their property to a trail. I know it’s frustrating for clubs. Its great information to let people know that the trail won’t be the same this year and stay tuned for signage or reroutes or that there’s no trail to a certain place anymore. But calling someone out by name in a Facebook post and then gets shared who knows how many times, is probably not a good thing to do for the business of snowmobiling. It puts a sour taste in folk’s mouths. I definitely would not want to be called out like that. Trail safety check – Al and I had a meeting with If & W and the game wardens and got them on Betsy Watson, Secretary 207-205-1559 412 Roberts Ridge Rd, East Waterboro, ME 04030 watson.betsy29@gmail.com

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From The Executive Board

looks to be holding to average temperatures in November. While doing your trail work be sure to wear the proper gear. Keep a watchful eye on one another and be aware of tripping hazards. Home safety tips include smoke and O2 detectors. Change their batteries and replace them if you’ve had them for a while. Fire sup pressants are good to have on all floors of your house or camp. Plan an escape route with fam ily and friends in case of a fire. Trailers should be checked over from front to rear, if your tires are cracked, replace them. Wheel bearings should be greased and service the hubs and brakes. Make sure all the lights work. Look for cracks on the frame around the axle, tongue, and hitch. Hopefully, La Nina will bring us a much needed winter. Make sure you have your sleds checked over. Track, ski carbides, battery, lights, maybe a complete tune-up including clutch cleaning. Doing it now is good, instead of breaking down on the trail. Make sure your gear all fits as it should. Many of our dealers have great snowmo bile options from helmets, boots, coats, bibs, gloves, and mittens to make your trip a mem orable one. Please be safe out there! Al voters about this issue- it is a positive step for ward for us, and one that we intend to build on. The chambers in the Maine State House, the House and Senate, appear to look similar to what they were before Election Day. Democrats appear to have held on to their majorities in both chambers, but Republicans were able to make some meaningful gains as well. MSA will con tinue to work diligently with members of both parties to achieve results for our membership. MSA leadership continues to discuss var ious legislative options with a goal of deliv ering even more funding for our clubs. We are basing these discussions on data and pre cedence, and expect to be working on these issues throughout the legislative session (Jan uary through June). One thing that is import ant for us all to be mindful of is that appro priations and funding legislation will require significant patience and hard work given the expected structural budget gap. As we finalize our proposals and strategies we will continue to socialize them with members and clubs for your input, as well as to invite you to partici pate in support of our efforts. Legislative leadership and committee assignments will begin to take shape in com ing days, and the legislature will start its work in earnest in early January. Until then, I hope all of you enjoy a wonderful holiday season and keep those snow dances active! Fingers crossed for a great riding season! Respectfully, James Cote, MSA Lobbyist on trails, bridges, and grooming equipment in anticipation of a great season. Remember to register your snowmobiles and do not forget to join a club and participate in that club. Not only is there labor work to be done, but there is an enormous amount of work that you can do behind the scenes with management, fundraising, membership and more. So even if you think you cannot help in the woods, you can still contribute a great deal. The MSA Central Region is the gateway to the Northwoods for tourists and many of our clubs operate with small teams. So please follow our websites and social media sites for information on individual clubs in the areas you ride and pitch in where you can. I would also like to thank all of you who attended the Central Region Directors meeting at the VFW in Madison. And a special thanks to all that helped set up and prepare the delicious meal. Ron Nunes, Central Region VP

longer permitted. A Facebook post was gener ated and the club, while justifiably frustrated, started looking for options to maintain con tinuity of the trail system. What ensued was several inappropriate comments and threats towards the landowners on Facebook to the point that game wardens were called in to alle viate the situation. In the end, the landowners were comforted and calmed down while the club found a solution that would actually be a better long-term solution. I would hazard a guess that every single club within the MSA family has dealt with a landowner denying trail access at one time or another. I know these situations can challenging and frus trating, but I implore you all to take a pause before you respond and inform your club and the public at large. Keep it respectful and state the facts in broad strokes. I would also ask that you address inappropriate comments on social media. Sometimes, if lines of commu nication are open with the landowners, then, just maybe, some conversation and education will change their mind. Threats and disparag ing remarks get us nowhere. I want to thank everyone who attended my workshop at the MSA Snowmobile Show last month. It was a great turn out and the discus sion was fantastic. I always learn something at these events. I hope you did too! In fact, that session inspired me to write about another common question. Stay tuned – you’ll have to member does have a number in the system and we can use that old number, rather than issuing a new one. If they don’t know it, that is fine as long as you indicate they were a MSA member in the past, include their full name and a birthdate if possible and we can find it. Also -please write on the FRONT of the transmittal form if you are including mem bers and do not have a card for them. We try very hard to match the cards with the names on the form but sometimes that doesn’t hap pen and we must go back through to find the member we missed. You can even highlight the member that doesn’t have a card includ ed on the back side of the transmittal form. That will make it easier for us. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us either at the office or email membership@mesnow. com. You can also email me directly at l.an de.lafland525476@gmail.com and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Membership total as of Oct. 22, 2024 95 clubs have submitted memberships to the office as of this date. Three clubs have submitted over 100 memberships. Total memberships are as follows: Family 2,261 and business 417 with a total of 2,678 Membership totals by region Central 264 Coastal 210 Northern 578 Eastern 730 Western 896 Everybody seems to be working hard and it appears that almost everybody is ready to get trails opened up. Everybody is praying for a better winter than what we had last year. I noticed clubs are picking up their new equipment and getting them ready and I just want to say congratulations to all those clubs, for getting grants for said equipment. I write this the night we find out about the trail bond and like every club and member I pray it passes. I hope everybody has a great November and great Thanksgiving. Think snow everyone! Matthew Baron read about it next month. Think Snow…………… Brent pretty hard that weekend to start thinking about snowmobiling.

MSA Lobbyist Capitol Report

Trails Committee Chair Report

James Cote MSA Lobbyist TRAILS BOND PREVAILS! W ell it’s Wednesday, November 6th and the dust is just beginning to settle on this election season. Most importantly for MSA, I couldn’t be happier to report that the $30 million trails bond has been approved by Maine voters by what appears to be a margin of roughly 55%-45%. While this money won’t get distributed immediately, things will begin to move in coming weeks and months, and some significant financial support is finally on the way for our industry and sport. MSA lead ership and I will be meeting with state officials in coming weeks and days to talk through more details and we will certainly pass along any information we receive to clubs. Thank you to all who helped spread the word and educate

Brent Spaulding, MSA Trails Chairman 207-944-7762 41 Madison Ave Brewer ME 04412 msatrailchair@gmail.com G reetings from Brewer, I have finally witnessed the first frost of the season. Mother Nature is making the turn towards winter. I know most of you have already been out getting ready for what I hope will be a banner year of white gold. I have a new sled to try out so, thank you, for all your time, effort, and passion for our sport. A common trail issue cropped up this past month. A new landowner transplanted from another state informed the local club that access for a sled trail on said property was no

Safety Committee

From The Membership Corner

Eileen Lafland, 207-843-7813 PO Box 733, Holden ME 04429 L.andE.lafland525476@gmail.com

M emberships are coming in to the office a good rate currently. Great job everyone for getting in as many as you have. Hopefully all clubs will send in more soon so that members continue to receive their MSA paper. If their membership is not in the system, they are not receiving the paper and missing out on the news. A message for club membership people- Please ask the member if they have ever been an MSA member of any club when they are signing up. Anyone that has ever been a

Alan Swett 207-872-7282 234 County Rd, Waterville ME 04901 snowtraveler@roadrunner.com N ovember marks our get-ready month. Prepare for the unexpected, snow and ice could be at our doorstep, and we need to take it easy and remember how to drive, walk, and ride our snowmobiles if we get lucky and have some accumulating snow. The weather

Central Region VP

Coastal Region VP

Matthew Baron, 207-608-3737 92 Emery Corner Rd, Limerick, ME 04048 msacoastalregion@gmail.com W ow, it’s November already. Time is flying. There’s a ton of fundraising events that have been going on and we are passed the annual snowmobile show. This year it was warm and sunny in the 70s. It was

Ron Nunes, 401-527-5370 260 Last Round Up Rd, Lexington Twp, ME 04961 Thelastroundup2018@gmail.com T he leaves are falling, temperatures are dropping. Fall is here, and winter is on its way. Clubs and their teams are working hard

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I t’s November everyone! Happy Thanksgiving! This year is flying by again and we are all awaiting the arrival of the cold, cold temps and SNOW, SNOW, and more SNOW!! We are ALL due a good to great winter, as last year sure wasn’t it! I was asked recently when the snow dancing should begin and I say the time is – NOW!! So, get on those dancing shoes and let winter begin. October was a busy month for MSA. We were at the Epping NH show one weekend and the next weekend we were at the Augusta Civic Center for the MSA show. Mother Nature got her weekend weather mixed up those two weekends. NH weather was tre mendously windy, cool, and rainy for an out side show and Augusta was sunny with temps in the 70’s for an inside show. We need to get

her straightened out so she and Ole Man Win ter get on the same page this year! We talked to many snowmobilers from many states at both shows and they all said the same thing- “we need snow!” Not only did we attend and man booths at two shows there was also an E-Board meeting and a regular directors meeting in the month. On top of that a regional meeting was held at the Glenburn Lakeside Riders Club. That doesn’t count the regular club meetings and a landowner supper that were also on the sched ule. Whew! I told you it was busy! I would like to thank Glenburn Lakeside Riders and regional directors Barry Ryan and Larry Lafland, MSA Trails Chair Brent Spaulding, trail committee member Troy Grass, MSA Safety chair Al Swett, and Joe

Higgins from DACF for making the regional meeting a success. It is always nice to get into a club and talk to clubs that can’t always attend other meetings. Hopefully there will be two other eastern regional meetings in the next two months, so clubs PLEASE watch your mail for informa tion. East Branch Sno-Rovers club is hosting one on Dec.11th. Also watch the MSA web site for info on directors’ meetings that are coming as well. Don’t forget to get your Super Raffle tickets in to the office by Dec. 1st if possible, for the drawing on Dec.10th. That’s all for this month. Enjoy the holiday with family and friends and get everyone to the do their snow dance!! Eileen

Eastern Region VP

Eileen Lafland, 207-843-7813 PO Box 733, Holden ME 04429 L.andE.lafland525476@gmail.com

MSA Club News

Northern Region VP

W ell it’s been an interesting last few weeks, to say the least. We got the trailer and two sleds from Al Swett and sold tickets at the Masonic car show in Oxford, transferred them to Bridgton the next day, then transferred them to Fryeburg for the fair, this all went very smoothly with Al picking them up after the fair and heading for Glenburn. Next camp a serious bout of pneumonia which land me in ICU for four days, definitely not fun. I had to cancel the western region meeting and missed the MSA zoom and Madison meetings. It appears that I am doing OK and anxious to get energy back. Hopefully it will be all systems go for a while (except another day surgery on my back, #8). Please feel free to reach out to me for answers and perhaps speaking to your membership. Until next time, GOD BLESS Jerry Looking forward into the months to come, some upcoming winter snowmobiling related events are starting to be advertised. North Star Motorsports will be bringing snowmobile racing back to Arnold Brook Lake in Presque Isle on January 18th for the first race of the New England X Country Championship Points series and the last week in February/ first weekend of March the crew at Spud Speedway will be putting on the 3rd Annual SnowBowl. For more info, check out both organizations social media pages. With all that being said like everyone from one end of the state to the other we patiently wait and keep our fingers crossed that this year will be better then last. Happy Thanksgiving everyone and remember to always ride right, ride sober and right safe. The County have been or are starting to hold their monthly meetings to plan for the upcoming year, while others start marking their trails, work on reroutes, work on grooming equipment, put finishing touches on newly built groomer buildings and hold landowner appreciation events. Some clubs throughout Aroostook County are making the final push on selling MSA Super Raffle tickets, which is a great and easy way to support them as half the sales from the tickets remain with the club itself.

regular meetings are the first Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. For more up-dated informa tion you can check us out at our Facebook page . . . which can be a bit confusing as there are at least one or two older versions of the Facebook Page – to find the newest page just look for our new black and white logo. We have had a change in leadership this year as former President Brent Stover stepped down due to a new employment opportunity. Thank you, Brent, for your time and com mitment to the Club . . . and welcome aboard Makayla Crandall who was voted in as the new President. Our VP also stepped down for unrelated reasons and so we elected Laurie Clark as our new VP. Finally, the Treasurer resigned and so the Membership elected Maia Crandall as Treasurer. We seem to have caught a bit of a break this year in terms of trail work as last year we were on a bridge rebuilding and building frenzy . . . this year only one or two bridges need some minor work. We will however need to brush and re-sign a portion of the ITS which was closed and re-routed due to logging a few years back and will be back up and running this year. Finally, mark your calendar as Katahdin Area Snowmobile Trails will be hosting their second annual Poker Run which you may have read about in the September issue of this very publication. It’s a good time, there are some decent cash prizes and perhaps one of the only poker runs in Maine which spans two counties! Irreverently submitted, Jason Johnson, Secretary LINNEUS SNO SPORTS Linneus, ME Greetings from Linneus Sno Sports, for the year 2024-2025 we are ramping up to a great start for the year. We had a summer of yard cleanups removing some trees close by to our club building, relocating two small buildings in the yard, along with the garage getting cleaned out, and it’s all looking good.

Deadlines for club news is the 25 th of the month prior to the publications. Please submit articles to editor@mesnow.com

NORTHERN REGION

SMOKI HAULERS sc Oakfield, ME

It’s late-October and I’m already seeing some signs that point to a possible return to a snowy winter. No, I’m not talking about the large black band on the wooly bear caterpillars or even how high the wasp’s nests are this year . . . I’m talking about how low the farm ponds look right around now. Now I know we all swear by certain signs and portents – whether it be the forecast from The Old Farmer’s Almanac or what the latest and greatest European meteorological forecast is calling for in terms of El Nina – but me . . . I go with what my grandfather always said about the farm ponds. Pamp (so called because the first grandchild could not say “Gramp”) said if the farm pond was full in the Fall there wouldn’t be a very snowy Winter, but if the farm pond was low, we could expect heavy snow. I know, I know . . . it sounds crazy, but I swear it seems to work out that way. In any case we here at Smoki Haulers in Oakfield have a full schedule this coming Fall, Winter, and Spring. By the time you read this we’ve already hosted not one, but two Hunter Breakfasts and by the end of November will be hosting a craft fair (no word on whether any one in the club wants me to make a birdhouse out of popsicle sticks or anything like that.) In December we’ve got a visit with Santa planned and a Club Christmas party on the 21 st . In January we’re planning a Breakfast on the 4th – if folks leave the Clubhouse hungry after chowing down on one of these break fasts, I am pretty sure they need to see their doctor as they most likely have a tapeworm. February vacation will bring two Family Fun Nights. After a brief respite in March, we return in April with our annual Pie Sale, Easter Egg Hunt, and a Spring breakfast. Like last year we’re also hoping to have the Clubhouse open on the weekends – at least on Saturday – to provide riders with a place to warm up and fill their bellies with hamburg ers, hot dogs, and brownies a la mode as this seemed to be a big hit last year. If you would like to join the Club, we’re always happy to have new members. Our

Nick Morrill 207-554-0074 406 Main Street, Stockholm ME 04783 landscaper9791@gmail.com G reetings once again from the Crown of Maine. As I sit and write this article the geese are flying south, the 2024 harvest season is over, and hunting season is in full swing that could only mean the start to the riding season is a few weeks away. Unfortunately Mother Nature doesn’t think so. We’ve seen all four seasons in a 24hr period a few times in the past month. Hopefully old man Winter can get the weather straightened out for us soon and deliver us some good snow and riding weather this winter. With all that being said clubs throughout

Western Region VP

One of our main projects was the purchase of the 2022 Tucker from Track Inc. much thanks to Chad for delivering the machine as promised. Before the delivery our machine had the opportunity to be displayed at the Maine

Jerry Major, Cell: 207-838-0892 137 Morrill Rd, Norway ME 04268 mrfun101jem@gmail.com

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