March - April 2008
Newsletter
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version
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OFFICERS:
Charles Howard, President; Ron Davies, V.P.; Liz
Miller, Treasurer; George Capron, Rec.Sec.;
Elizabeth Haig, Corr.Sec./Editor;
DIRECTORS: Mark Devins, Bob Ely, John Pfeiffer,
Dave Stocklosa, Dan Stysh, Barry
Sweeney
LOST
TRAIL CLUB: We are
just now ending our 39th season of being a club….as
we end the season in ’08-’09 we will be celebrating
our 40th year. The Club became reality in the
summer of 1969 and was incorporated in November
1969. A lot of changes have taken place in that
time, both in equipment and in active memberships.
At that time we had between 60 and 70 members. This
year we registered 726 members. With that number we
would hope that several more would be available to
come to our meetings on the first Wednesday of each
month, September through May. At the present time
we hold our meetings at Charlie Brown’s Bistro on
Jackson Hill Road at 7:30 p.m. This meeting place
is courtesy of Mitch Healt who now leases the
Bistro. We currently have between 15 and 20 attend
and would like to see 20 more. We do have some
‘hidden’ active members, those who come out when
bridges need to be built, grooming needs to be
done, signs posted or removed, brushing to be done,
etc. and we thank them. I also want to thank Lisa
and Arleen for the help they have given me this
year. Memberships will be running out by August and
in September the new 2008-2009 season memberships
will start. At about that same time the NYSSA
vouchers will be available, so let’s start joining
early and avoid the crunch when the first snowflake
falls. Membership dues will remain at $25 for
either individual or family. With those dues you
get one sticker with an individual membership, or
two with a family. Extra stickers are available for
$1.00 (our cost). You also receive the NYSSA
voucher which gives you a lower rate when
registering your sled with DMV. Club maps which are
new each year (and a good fundraiser for us) are
available for $1., or if you prefer the complete
Lewis County map, they are available for $5. Each
member also receives four Newsletters a season, and
a magazine from NYSSA. Due to the rising cost of
diesel to run the groomers, we have several
fundraisers throughout the year. Memberships can be
mailed to us at the above address with your check
for $25.00. Please include name, address, phone,
email address and whether it’s for individual or
family.
NEW
YORK STATE LOTTERY: According
to the official New York State Lottery website, a
winning lottery ticket was sold at the Boonville
Nice N Easy for the March 12 LOTTO. Some lucky
person won second place, worth $189,185.00 by
having five out of six numbers, plus the bonus
number. The winning numbers were 15 – 21 – 29 – 37
– 41 – 44 and Bonus Number 51. There was no first
place winner and just one second place winner. To
date (March 28) no one has produced the winning
ticket. This makes many people wonder if it was a
snowmobiler in town that day….bought a
ticket….shoved it in a pocket and forgot it. So
think back people…were you in Boonville March 12,
2008? And did you buy a LOTTO ticket? Check your
snowmobile suits. And if its one of our members,
just remember, the club always accepts donations
for trail funding – keep us in mind.
FUNDRAISERS:
The
NYSSA Super Raffle tickets that you good people
bought have all been forwarded to NYSSA with the
drawing to be held during the Annual Forum, April
11 – 13 in Niagara Falls. Let’s hope one of us is
lucky this year.
We still have tickets for the 2008 Harley-Davidson
Nightster 1200. The PUB on Main Street in Boonville
is sponsoring this raffle for the benefit of Lost
Trail Snowmobile Club and the Adirondack High
School Senior Award. Tickets are $2.00 each and we
are enclosing one for your use. If you care to take
a chance, just send us the stub and $2.00. The
drawing takes place during “Best of Boonville” on
June 7, 2008. If you wish more tickets, just send
$2. for each one you want and we will fill in the
stub for you.
We had two Poker Runs this year that had small
participation – but weather was mostly to blame.
However, those that did participate, had an
enjoyable time….especially the good munchies at the
end of the ride.
The club also plans to hold another snowmobile
raffle for the Fall and are looking and pricing
sleds at various dealers. This drawing takes place
at the annual Shootout in early December. These
tickets go for $20. each and only a limited number
are sold.
2007-08
SEASON: It was
an on again-off again season, but a lot of good
sledding took place in between the rain and ice
storms. Our new trails, Constableville (and wasn’t
it nice that the Hilltop Tavern opened again this
season…let’s hope they continue to be open. There
was a lot of fun Wednesday nights with Susie’s Taco
Night) and Port Leyden/Lyons Falls, received many
good comments. These trails do not have numbers as
we still have not been authorized by the State to
make them state-funded trails, so all grooming was
at the expense of the Club. No state funding will
be received for this mileage until (or if) they
receive approval.
Our new Kubota Tractor and Four-Track System
arrived in January and what a great addition to our
grooming chores it made. With the added miles of
the new trails, it made shorter work time for the
volunteer groomer drivers. This Kubota groomer was
much needed, and we were so pleased to have been
awarded the Grant from NYS OPRHP. We received 80%
of the monies needed from OPRHP and the Club had to
supply the other 20%.... our portion amounted to
approximately $25,000. We hope you all enjoyed the
nicely groomed trails throughout the season .. for
two or three weeks both groomers were out 24/7. We
spent $10,161.04 on diesel fuel to give you the
smooth trails.
SAFETY: On a
more subdued subject – we hope you all keep in mind
to ride safely. There were numerous fatalities
throughout the State this year, but three of them
were on our trail C7. This is not the kind of news
we like to receive and in both cases, it was stated
that speed was the main factor. So watch your speed
and go slow with the alcohol….save that until you
get to the end of the ride.
LANDOWNER’S
PICNIC: We have
our plans underway for the 8th
Landowner
Picnic celebration. This event honors those people
who make it possible for you to have trails to ride
on. We have over 70 private landowners to thank for
the use of their land. The Picnic will be held
Sunday, June 8 at Stysh’s Brown Barn, starting at
Noon. There will be all kinds of food and beverage,
raffles, door prizes, games, and musical
entertainment by David Allyn for your listening and
dancing pleasure. All club members are invited to
come, but we need an RSVP so we can provide enough
food. This Picnic will also honor all the
volunteers that make this organization GO!
NYSSA
FORUM: The
State Forum is being held in Niagara Falls April
11, 12, 13. We plan to send both our President
Charles Howard and Vice President, Ron Davies who
will bring home the latest changes and news from
the state organization. Also the New York State
Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic
Preservation will be on hand with information and
the latest regulations. The drawing for the NYSSA
Super Raffle will be held on Saturday and as soon
as we receive a list of the winners we will post
same on our web site
www.losttrailclub.com. They
will also be on NYSSA’s site
www.nyyssnowassoc.org.
MISCELLANEOUS: Many
thanks to those of you who made donations to the
grooming fund, big or small, they all helped…and
thanks for the kind marks received. We also had
some negative comments, but like we noted above, we
need more help at various times. We volunteers do
get tired (and sometimes get sick). One added
request, when you gas up in Boonville at either
Sunoco or Nice N Easy, please sign your receipt and
throw it in the jug – we can receive an off-road
gas tax refund from the State by submitting them
(and a lengthy form) to the Fuel Tax
Division.