By Peggy Spieger Happy Holidays Everyone! Welcome to Winter. The ground is white here in La Pine and it is still snowing. It’s snowing in the Cascades and many of you have been out on the trails already. Be careful out there. The lower elevations have minimum snow cover and the hazards are barely covered. Stay on the trails until there is at least two foot of snow. This protects the environment, your equipment, and perhaps your body. Much has been said about Dutchman Flat and the surrounding area at Mt Bachelor. The bottom line is that the Forest Service has decided to use cautionary signing in the area in lieu of posted speed limits this year and monitor the results. We are asking you, the snowmobiling public, to respect this decision and use caution and common sense when snowmobiling in the vicinity of non motorized recreationists. It is unnecessary to speed in the sno-parks. It is unnecessary to speed by skiers, snow shoers, and sled dog teams. Don’t do it. Ask yourself, “would I want to meet me on the trail?” Respect the rights of others and when you “open it up” be sure the area is clear. It will also be helpful to us if you document any contact, positive as well as negative, that you have with other trail users. You can be sure that our enemies will document any perceived negative encounter they have with a snowmobiler. You can send these comments to the Bend/Fort Rock Ranger District, 1230 NE 3rd Street, Bend, Oregon 97701. Or you can send them to me. Thank you for your cooperation on this. We work constantly to keep the lands open to snowmobilers but we can’t do it without your help. At the Expo some of you indicated an interest in a personalized license plate for snowmobilers. This was a good idea but Russ Goffin has researched it further and the cost is prohibitive so we will not be able to pursue it at this time. Volunteer hour forms have been mailed to each club. These forms will help us keep a more accurate count of the thousands of volunteer hours all of you contribute to benefit snowmobiling in your areas. Each club has been asked to assign someone to track this. Please take the time to complete these monthly while the hours are still fresh in your mind. It’s easy to forget all we do if it isn’t written down regularly. I need this information for the national charity report and for my annual report to the State of Oregon. Each club is asked to plan a charity event. This can be Christmas Baskets, fund raising for a local charity, the Special Olympics, or any other charity of choice. We have so much. We need to share. Each club is also asked to observe National Safety Week, January 11-17, 2004. Contact your local media with PSA’s, have a “coffee” at the warming shelter, show safety videos at club meetings are just some ideas. Safety is everybody’s business. Please continue to sell the Triton Trailer tickets for the benefit of our Legal Defense Fund. The drawing will be at Cascade Yamaha Ski-doo in Bend on New Year’s Eve day. We also have the ACSA calendars for sale for $25.00 and the $100.00 ACSA tickets for the four new sleds to be given away in June. Several clubs I know of start their meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance. What a nice feeling. Happy Holidays everyone. Smile….it’s catching. Say a prayer for our service men and women. |