8963-R1_MSA_February2025_Newsletter

MSA Club News

either the season or for the year. When you sponsor for the year, your advertisement will remain through the ATV summer season as well. These funds will also help to offset the monies that are needed to maintain safe trails for our sledders. That is about it for this month - Keep your fingers and toes crossed for snow in our region. Well that is about it for now – Happy Trails Everyone Carilynn Hanson MOLUNKUS VALLEY SNO-DRIFTERS Sherman, ME Hi From MVSD! As I sit here and write these it’s a whopping 8 degrees but hey its freezing things up/down ...we need snow! On Dec 31st we had a New Year’s Eve gath ering at the clubhouse for our members had a pizza party with delicious pizzas from north gate grill in island falls, game night was a huge hit for all ages lots of laughs! We have the best club. Jan 4 th we had our potluck and meeting well attended as always and door prizes was won by different members another hit. Jokes were told by deb another great evening for sure if you want to checkout pictures out go to our Facebook page. The guys have been busy repairing the track on a groomer and getting trails ready. Their work never ends get those snow dances going as I said we need snow. Anyone is welcome to join our club mes sage us and we can get you set up the club where there are no strangers only friends you haven’t met. Asking you all to please keep Joe Chris tianson from Matagamon in your prayers as he was in a tractor accident on Jan 22nd . He is recovering at home but has a long road ahead of him. He and his family do a lot for surrounding areas you can mail him a card at PO Box 220, Patten ME 04765 if you’d like Bowlin, Matagamon, Shin Pond club has a raffle going on for him drawing is Feb 22nd donation of 20.00 is appreciated you can get tickets from Terry Hill, Greg Burns even at Matagamon store! That’s all folks! Keep on keeping on! Deb Long (MVSD) Hi Folks, It’s January 20, 2025 and boy oh boy Mother Nature has not cooperated in our favor so far this winter. Moosetown Riders Allagash is fortunate enough to have our trails signed, panned and as of today also groomed. Most of our trail system is in the North Maine Woods allowing us to utilize the unplowed log ging roads. These roads are not tree covered therefore we have a good base of snow on most of our trails. The trail from Two Rivers lunch to the Little Black Checkpoint could definitely use more snow, sledders have been traveling that section with caution. Others have trail ered their sleds up to the Little Black Check point Park and ride. Many have said that this trail to Escourt/ Poheganmok Quebec is an awesome ride and a MUST DO! At the time of printing one can only imagine that all our trails system will have lots of snow including Allagash towards Chamberlain Market and the 120 Connector. We are also excited to offer all sledders a new and improved re-route on ITS92 to Chamberlain Market eliminating the narrow and gnarly hard wood ridge section. On another note, our Mascot did acquire its name. Michael Walker won the free Moose town Riders hoodie with the name he put in. “Mooselini” travels in the groomer with our operators, sometimes on the pan and at times even poses in the snow to show snow depth. We have started our “Moose is Loose” com petition. Find 1or all 3 of Moosetown Riders wooden moose silhouettes, take a selfie of you and your group. Email the selfie to moose townridersallagash@gmail.com to be entered to win. The first, second and third place finish ers will be chosen at the end of the season. The first-place finisher will win a 2025/2026 free 2 night (weekday) at Wicked North Outdoors LLC., in Allagash. Second place finisher will win a gift certificate at Two Rivers Lunch in Allagash. Third place finisher will win a gift MOOSETOWN RIDERS Allagash, ME

55-year-old building to complete leveling and solidifying of our lodge so we could even move forward with our project. You are carry ing on the trade from your dad, Gary Pelletier, and you did him and us proud. Our second Thanks go out to JR Boucher & Son Construction, Ricky Gervais for com pleting our kitchen extension foundation in such a quick, professional, and timely man ner. We can never Thank You enough! Home Solutions of Fort Kent for tackling our project , when we really weren’t certain of what we wanted. Thank you to you and your men for your patience with us. Curtis, the cathedral ceilings were an awesome idea. Wait until you all out there see this. And our final Phase, completed by Shawn Goyette of Marty’s Custom Builder Commer cial and Residential Building and Remodel ing. Shawn, you, and your crew were the most wonderful people to work with. You fit right in with our little club, seemed to know what we wanted when we didn’t even know what we wanted. And fast and professional, when you started we were convinced we would not open this year at all because our project was lagging behind, Within 3 weeks the amount of work you and your men completed was awe inspiring. You worked with all of us and there were lots of us giving orders, and you created a work of art. We can’t thank you enough. Huge Thanks also go out to Roger and Chad Morneault, our plumbers and Shawn Mor neault, our electrician. Now , all that remains is for you snowmo bile riders to stop in and give us your opinion. Come ride our trails, get your fill of our end less white trails Victor and Craig are working so hard to keep smooth and pristine. Visit our area, It really is very beautiful but don’t take my work for it. Seeing is believing. And after you’ve ridden to your hearts content stop in and see us at the St. Francis Sno Angel lodge and see what we’ve done. We have our grand opening, February 15th, 2025 which will go hand in hand with our 2nd annual pig roast, succulently prepared by Brandon and Britany Lane and their chil dren Emilee and Lukas, and of course all of your other regular cooks, Erwin (ask to see his apron) Lorie, Faith and all of you other won derful cooks that help us out. We hope to see you then. Kim Ouellette Secretary St. Francis Sno Angels Welcome to the Cold Snap — With a ground cover of mainly ice, we are still waiting for that snowfall that will create the best-groomed trails. The temps have been around -19 during the night and daytime temps have held steady in the teens. Yes, it is cold!!! Trails are looking rough and with the rain and then the freeze, traveling should be done with absolute care. There are still a lot of open areas that can be navigated, but please stay on the trails. Our groomers have been out and about checking and maintaining the trails for debris, so as always stay safe and watch for them. January’s Pot Luck supper was fantastic. It was cold, but many members came out to join in the fun. As promised, we had our White Elephant gift swap. It was hilarious - the most sought-after gift was a ceramic duck. After being passed around 5 times, it ended in the hands of our club secretary’s son’s hands. The second most sought after gift was a nice pair of boots. I believe everyone in the club tried them on hoping they would fit. They ended up on the feet of Matt. Congratulations Matt!!! The Rockabema Snow Rangers Raffle has begun. The prizes are: first draw $3,000.00, second draw is $1500.00, and final draw will be $500.00. You can purchase your tickets on the Rockabema web page, or our members will be out and about selling tickets at $50.00 per ticket. Make sure you get yours!!! March will hold the MSA ride and the lun cheon will be held at the Rockabema Snow Rangers Clubhouse. Please RSVP prior to coming so we have a total of all who will be attending. There will be more information in the next write up. The SPONSOR A MILE on our trails is up and running. Please contact me, Carilynn Hanson 2036876403 - to sponsor a mile for ROCKABEMA SNOW RANGERS Patten, ME

certificate at Forget Me Not Diner in St. Fran cis. We look forward to seeing the imagination and creativity that we will receive with these photos. We are also pleased to announce that we have added another 2 State certified groomer operators. This year alone we have 7 certified operators whom have committed to grooming our trails, ensuring that our trails should be in great shape (weather permitting). Thank you all for your continued support. We couldn’t do what we do without, the landown ers, our members, businesses, donations, vol unteers, and the wonderful town of Allagash. Dear Members, I hope all of our members and supporters had a wonderful Christmas. As I write we are still waiting for just a little more snow. The woods trails are okay, but the fields could use another 6-8 inches, especially on plowed ground. I guess the entire state needs to do a snow dance! We held our annual Christmas party and our January Bingo night with small numbers but lots of fun. February 8 will be our next meeting/supper. Please call me if you have any questions about the dates. Susie Johnston is also serving breakfast and lunch on Feb. 8 and March 8, from 7-1, so stop in, eat a nice meal, and visit with your neighbors and members. The groomers have been out on trail #74 with the entire trail packed, including the Scopan trail. Trail #105 to Swanback from the inter section with # 74 has been packed for about 2 miles to the south, and north with the trail going into the railbed in Mapleton, all packed. There is active logging in the Swanback area so proceed with caution. Buster’s trail, #81 north, the ATV trail #81 into Mapleton and the Village trail #81 do not have enough snow yet. If you have any questions, call Mickey at 227-6365. I apologize for missing the December news letter due to a death in the family. Here’s hop ing there will be lots more snow next month. Sue Maynard CENTRAL REGION ROME RUFF RIDERS Rome, ME It continues to be a wait game. We have done some preliminary inspection and clear ing of downed trees on the west side. We have not made a complete inspection of our trail system but with one descent storm we will begin grooming and complete the inspection. With the below average temperatures, our lakes and wet areas will be frozen and ready to cross. We received our east side 72” drag and have completed the installation of the hydraulic controls. We expect delivery of the west side 72” drag by the time this article is published. The regional C4 map will be available from participating clubs and at the Rome Town Hall. The map is centered on the Readfield-Bel grade-Manchester area and covers 25 different clubs. Our meetings are the second Tuesday of the month September to April, 7:00 PM at the Rome Town Hall. All are welcome. Hello snowmobilers, I sit here and wonder what I can write about for this month’s news. Snow is scarce with no significant storms in the foreseeable future. Things have frozen up nicely with all the frigid weather we have been having, now we just need more of the white gold to fall. Oh, it is falling, but down in our southern states! What’s up with that? But, when you look at things as a whole, we should be thankful that other than colder than normal temperatures we are far better off than those that have lost their homes to devastating fires or dealing with weather we aren’t prepared for. I always say, “No matter how badly you think things are, there are others that have it worse”. Having said that, our club members continue to go out on the trails to do work on them so they will be ready when the rideable snow does arrive. Please watch our facebook page, Monmouth Cochnewagan Trailblazers, for information on CHAPMAN RIDGE RUNNERS SNOWMOBILE AND ATV CLUB Chapman, ME COCHNEWAGAN TRAILBLAZERS Monmouth, ME

when trails are open for riding. In the mean time, do your snow dance. Roberta Kemp, President WESTERN REGION FRYEBURG AREA SNOWMOBILE Hello everyone, I’m hoping by the time you’re reading this there will finally be some snow on the ground. The guys continue to do trail work every Sun day and hope to be out grooming soon. We realize that people want to be out there riding but please understand that without more snow we just can’t open the trails yet. I’ve seen several clubs expressing their frus tration with folks out there riding where and when they shouldn’t be and landowners are getting understandably upset. Please respect the people who provide us the land to ride on when it’s appropriate. Without them we’d be shut down and not riding anywhere besides on our own land. Always remember to be safe out there and ride smart! ASSOCIATION Fryeburg, ME norwaytrackerssnowmobileclub@gmail.com Thanks to all our members and crews, we are ready. Just waiting for snow. Special thank you’s to our business mem bers for supporting the Norway Trackers and our community: Morse Logging, Mowatt Pav ing and Repair, Hillside Cottages, The Lake Store, 290 Main St Pub and Restaurant, EA Smith Plumbing and Heating, Knotty Pine Woodwork, Walter Curtis Logging, Williams Broadcasting, Snow’s Marine, Pine Tree Pav ing, Western Hills Property Group. If any of these businesses can be of service to you, we encourage you to contact them and mention the Norway Trackers. Snow Dancing. Dan Trouant, Club Reporter The January 10th meeting of the Pleasant Mountain Snowmobile Club, at the Bridgton Community Center, started off at 6PM with the Fabulous Pot Luck Supper. President Blaine Chapman started the business meeting at 6:45 pm with the Pledge of Allegiance. He then asked for members to go around the room to introduce themselves, say where they were from, and if they had a position with the club. Blaine said that we currently have 125 members and 19 business memberships. He reported that all of the culverts have been installed which should help reduce water on the trails, and brushing has been completed. Maintenance is ongoing for the Club’s 3 Tuck ers. There has been no grooming because we are still waiting for snow. Keep doing your snow dance! The Club voted to hold the Poker Rally on February15 th as well as the Chinese Auction, even if there is no snow. Many people have already signed up to help. Poker cards would be handed out at the Bridgton Community Center starting on that Saturday morning. Blaine reported that Jimmy Barber has put all Map boxes out. They can be found at Nouria, Campfire Grill, Cann Family Bakery, Paris Farmers, Hayes Ace Hardware, Morn ing Glory, Bridgton House of Pizza, Mainly Melts, Chamber of Commerce office, and Lit tle Mountain Store. Jean Preis reported that there are (2) $1600.00 scholarships that the MSA offers. PLEASANT MOUNTAIN sc Bridgton, ME Bridgtoneasyriders.com See us on Facebook Bridget Gorton Club Secretary NORWAY TRACKERS Norway, ME Find us on Facebook

(Continued on Page 10)

9

w m

n o

o b

2 0 2 5 l M a i n e S

i l e

r

F

u a r y

e b

r