8944-R1_MSA_January2025_Newsletter

MSA Club News

your registration and insurance info. You never know. RESCUE HELOCOPTER LANDING SPOT: Located at the second Elsemore Land ing sign, near Pocumcus Lake. GPS: N 45° 10.14’, W 67° 53.79’. HELP NEEDED: Call 796-5027, Les, Brinda, or a store worker. TRAIL PROBLEM: Call 796-5027, Les. He will solve the problem. PINE TREE STORE: Hours 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM, 796-5027. NON-Ethanol Gas. Always remember, for food, drink, supplies and fun, “You can’t go wrong at The Pine Tree Store”. LODGING: Call 796-5027, Les, Brinda, or a store worker. MONTHLY MEETING: Every 2nd Wednesday @ 6:00, usually at the GLS Fire Station. NORTHEAST CARRY sc Northeast Carry, ME Follow us on Facebook and Instagram Since we have closed out 2024, it’s now time to get into the 2025 snowmobile season and we are looking forward to serving fellow riders. Northeast Carry General Store will be providing gasoline, food, beverages, sweet treats along with sweatshirts/t-shirts, etc. On Dec. 17 th 50 signs were placed on the trail between Northeast Carry and Route 66 along with bush hogging the sides of the trails. Thank you, Aaron. Please make us one of your planned stops and think snow! Deer Ole Me As I write this, we are approaching the Christmas Holidays and have already seen snow come and go. We had 15” on Thanks giving followed by 10” within the next week and then the dreaded rain which spoiled the starting base for our trails. However, we are optimistic that snow will return during Janu ary by the time you read this. Our board was elected at the Dec. 19 meet ing: President: Charlie Baker; V.President: Roger LaBonte; Trail Master: Hutch Gagne; Secretary & Membership Chair: Debi Baker; #1 Director: Dennis Paine, Alternate #1 Steve Gross; #2 Director Danny Ranhosky; News letter/Reporter: Denise Gross. At the time of this writing, our trails are not finalized due to logging. The Clouse Allen trail will be open to the Guilford Trail and the Breakneck Ridge Trail. The CCC Road will be open once enough snow has fallen to keep vehicles off of it. The Shirley trails have been prepared by our dedicated volunteers over the spring & fall. Blowdowns have been cut out, railings and bridge decking have been repaired at Young’s Crossing on the Shirley By-pass Trail. The river trail over the Piscataquis River to ITS 85 should be considered a “cross at your own risk” due to thin ice. When trails are open, our President, Charlie Bake,r will start club rides on Wednesdays. It would be remiss to not mention some of the difficulties our club has been experienc ing at the club owned Adirondak shelter on the railroad bed, ITS 85 in Shirley. President Baker submitted an editorial in late Nov. to the local newspaper expressing Club distress over the problems. They include tipping over the porta-potty, repeated donation box break-ins/ theft, theft of the trail camera and grill pro pane tank, and the total destruction of our grill caused by a dead racoon placed into it to con taminate it. We realize that the destructive incidents were caused by a few, and that the majority of sledders or hikers who use the trails & our shelter are not responsible for the destructive incidents. We hope in the future that the prop erty will be respected so that we may continue to offer the Adirondak shelter & porta-potty for use by all. A BIG thank you goes out to the special individual who donated a replacement grill! Watch our website and club emails for updates on cookouts and club rides as soon as we have enough snow…..the groomer is ready to go when needed! SHIRLEY BOG TRAIL BUSTERS Shirley, ME

tion to the club of your choice. Rest in peace my friend. Upcoming Events Sunday January 12 th Board of Directors 5:00 p.m. Club dinner 6:00 p.m. (potluck) Club meeting 7:00 p.m. Sunday February 23 rd Board of Directors 5:00 p.m. Trail work continues every Sunday morning at 7:30 a.m. at the clubhouse. We also have a few members that are retired/semi-retired that can work weekdays, just reach out to the club if you have time available to donate. Think snow! See you on the trails or at the clubhouse Troy G Trail Grunt GLENBURN LAKE SIDE RIDERS sc Glenburn, ME Well, here it is fellow snowmobilers the first article in a brand-new year. As we move deeper into the winter season of 2024/2025 let’s hope that you are looking at copious amounts of snow to ride on, well at least to go around the yard once or twice. I was really planning on starting this article off quite differently, than the way it’s going to go now. As many of you reading this know by now, we have lost a true warrior. Larry Lafland wore many, many hats (he often said that his collection way surpassed mine, and it’s true). Larry was a husband, father, grandfather, and uncle in his private life and in his well renowned MSA life, he was an active mem ber in the EMSC as a Regional Director, Trail Master, clubhouse maintenance and buildings coordinator, past Snowmobiler of the Year, Steering Committee member, MSA Schol arship Committee member, Trails Advisory Committee member, and probably a few that I missed. He will surely be missed by all that were impacted by his presence. In the days, weeks, months, and years that follow, his contributions to the sport of snowmobiling and especially to his dedication to the MSA will leave gaps that will extremely difficult to replace. This undoubtedly will not be just one person; it will be a combination of many indi viduals. It will be different to not see him and Eileen together at the meetings, on the zoom calls, together on the trails riding - Larry in the lead and Eileen following behind. It will be different as Gail, Marion and I rode with Larry as the pilot and Eileen as his navigator on the way to MSA directors’ meetings across the state, as they met and dropped us off at the park n’ ride. A couple of those drives to west ern Maine, really, we should have “zoomed” it in -but Larry was always up for the challenge. He always wanted to be present and show the support for the sport that he so loved. I am really proud to have known and worked with Larry on a few projects (especially the “ new groomer shed “) -just don’t tell Gail and Eileen that Larry and I were on the peak of the roof to add the final ridge cap on the metal roof as Don N. was on standby as darkness and rain were on the way. Also, so fortunate to work with all of the EMSC crew as we parked cars at Shaw’s for the waterfront concerts / Bangor the last few years to raise money for various projects, special thanks to “parking boss” - Tammy Y. You made it happen with a few well-placed phone calls. Larry will be missed (but not forgotten) at the EMSC dinners (pulled pork was always fantastic), EMSC annual lobster bake (he always made sure that the lobsters were cooked to perfection) and so many other events as well. As I close out this part of the article, please ask yourself; “what would Larry do” - the answer is easy -”don’t step away - step-up”. On with the rest of the intended article at hand; Our annual GLRSS Christmas party/Yankee was well attended by 13 members and 2 more, Brenda P. and by River L. (Brenda’s grand daughter) and our “ youngest member “ -she’s 4...we had plenty of food, lots of left overs and some pretty cool gifts that got swapped Club dinner 6:00 p.m. Club meeting 7:00 p.m Trails

around (luckily no fruit cakes again this year) ... As we await for some parts to arrive for our Kubota ( shock and knuckle ) to get it back up and running -we have gotten up all of our stop / stop ahead signs (32 sets ) -we have staked out a couple of fields, a few more to go , acquired 2 trickle chargers for the Skandics (thanks Eddie) got the heater and mirrors (thanks again Eddie), and are in the process of upgrading (get it?) Some of the stakes that have outlived their usefulness. Trail work will continue on Sundays / 8:00a.m. @ the clubhouse until it’s completed and then we will work out a schedule for grooming as conditions permit/allow... Next meeting -January 15th, 2025 @ GLRSC Clubhouse - 2838 Ohio street, Glenburn-7:00p.m. Trail safety check -Sunday, January 19th, 2025 @ Village Variety Store /Glenburn-10:00 a.m. -2:00 p.m. Hope you all had a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and have a safe snowmobiling season. Barry E. Ryan GLRSC Vice President Welcome fellow snowmobilers to 2025... As I sit at the kitchen table this morning, on this last full day of fall, the first full day of win ter will be tomorrow, looking outside the tem perature is a balmy 21 degrees. With overcast skies and snow in the forecast (only an inch or two), we still may get a white Christmas. Just would like to take a moment to THANK ALL of the volunteers that put in countless hours of trail preparation. Trail signing and trail grooming again that makes it possible to enjoy safe, smooth trails for us to ride on. This is many, many times taken for granted as non-vol unteers (you know who you are) pull up those blankets on a frosty fall morning or a freezing winter night as those hardy few go out and work on and groom the trails, as you rest in bed and hit the snooze alarm as if you were going 10 rounds with Mike Tyson. We like to ride as well, as time allows, so stop for a moment, join a club, pay your dues, get involved, commit to volunteer a few hours, and feel a sense of pride as you traverse across the best trails in New England. And while you are at it - PLEASE take a few minutes to say THANK-YOU to landowners that allow us to use their property again this season. A few kind words will go a long way in future requests. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how grateful we are to have Dale and JoAnn as they open up their home to our KSRSC meetings. THANK-YOU, we really appreciate the hospi tality that you extend to the membership. Just a couple of notes to wrap this up; 1) Next KSRSC meeting -JANUARY 9 th @ 7:00P.M. -Dale and Joann’s house. 2) Looks like trail work that didn’t get fin ished in DECEMBER will be continued into JANUARY on SUNDAYS @9:00A.M. -meet at the KENDUSKEAG FIRE STATION, with trail grooming to start, continue as conditions permit / allow. Please contact trail master DAVE P. for more details. 3) New Volunteer/Member Jeff M. 4) Please ride safely this season, ride smart, ride again tomorrow.... 5) Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays to you all. Barry E. Ryan KSRSC Club Reporter With any luck by the time you’re reading this we will have groomed and opened up all of our trails. As I write this, we are currently working on clearing downed trees from the mid Decem ber wind storm. We also completed a reroute on our new section of the Brewer Lake trail. Thank you to our trail crew for finding a bypass of a bad hill and flattening out the rough areas of this trail. The trail still needs some work in other areas but is in much better condition than it was last season. We are also working on the annual service for the grooming sleds and trac tor and are eager to start putting hours on them. KENDUSKEAG STEAM RIDERS sc Kenduskeag, ME BALD MOUNTAIN SNOW RIDERS Dedham, ME

Denise Gross Club Reporter

QUAD COUNTY sc Springfield, ME

Hi to all, Quadcounty SC has been busy, clearing the trails from down or hanging trees from previous storm damage. We have had a good turnout on trail work days, still have more to do. The two small snow storms and one pre dicted for Christmas Eve, makes it look like the sled season is getting closer. Last week, Quadcounty SC got permission from one of our landowners to reroute the trail, so we can get around a yearly trouble section of ITS105. Quadcounty SC is always trying to make the trail more enjoyable to ride and groom! Saturday, Santa came to the clubhouse and gave out toys to the kids that came to our breakfast. The kids decorated ornaments and cookies with Crystal and Angie Willette. The Springfield Fire Department bought and helped wrapped the presents for the kids. Quadcounty SC will be serving our regular breakfasts in January and Haddock chowder/ Beef Stew dinner January 11 from 4:00 to 5:30, dessert included all for $10. Quadcounty SC is planning a hot dog roast, February 15 at the park and ride on ITS105 off the East shore Rd. In Lakeville. Hot dogs, chips and campfire pies will be served, food is free but donations will be accepted. You can come by sled or vehicle, hope to see you there. Cheryl is going to open Quadcounty SC clubhouse, Wednesdays, and Thursdays morn ings from 6-10:00, serving breakfast and coffee for anyone that wants to eat and/or socialize. Starting the week after New Year’s, January 8. Your slow typing reporter, Kevin EASTERN MAINE SNOWMOBILERS Holden, ME EasternMaineSnowmobilers.com Find us on Facebook A Snowmobilers Prayer Oh, Lord, Let it snow. Let it drift and Let it blow Enough to make the county say: “No nec essary travel today.” Let the clubs all report: “Excellent conditions for our sport!” Then to our sleds we will run, to hit the trails and have some fun. Let smiles and miles cleanse our soul, And as the sun sets the groomers will roll. Watch over our volunteers and landown ers we pray, Without them we could not enjoy the day.

We at EMSC wish to dedicate this arti cle in remembrance to our trailmaster Larry Lafland. Sadly, Larry passed away unexpect edly December 8 th in Bangor. This is a great loss not only to his family and friends, but to the snowmobiling community locally and at the State level. In 1988 Larry joined this club, he was a past President and most recently as active trailmaster for as many years as anyone can remember. He soon also joined the MSA where he is held positions as past trails chair, advisory council, and the governor’s land owner task force. At the time of his passing, he was an active trails committee member, scholarship committee, steering committee, and Eastern region director all for the MSA!! And although Larry enjoyed giving awards out, he was the recipient of the Maine Snow mobile Association Snowmobiler of the year for 2019. A true ambassador of the sport. In true Larry fashion he asked that any donations or gifts be made to the MSA Scholarship fund at PO Box 80 Augusta Maine 04332 or a dona

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