ANNUAL MEETING ELECTION RESULTS

The Rumford Polar Bears Snowmobile Club Annual Meeting took place on March 13, 2008 at Sam's Restaurant.  Below are the results of the election of officers which took place at the meeting.

President:  Ron E. Russell

Vice-President:   Rob A. Cameron

Treasurer:  Bob Stickney

Secretary/Corresponding Secretary:  Louise Stickney

Trail Masters:   Tom Reed, Fern Dumoulin, and Gene Knox

At-large board member:  John Blais

At-large board member:  Daniel Stearns

Thanks to all who were willing to serve!

It's school vacation week and there are a lot of families out on the trails enjoying this wonderful winter sport of snowmobiling. 

Keep in mind that the Rumford Polar Bears Snowmobile Club trail system makes its way up and down mountains and through the forests. It is not made for speed, but affords riders the opportunity to appreciate the beautiful landscape of Western Maine. 

Let's make it a safe vaction time for everyone:  ride on the right side of the trail and keep a prudent speed.

We are in danger of losing access to some of our trails because of the irresponsible actions of a few thoughtless people. There are snowmobilers who are riding off the trails onto private property. They are riding sleds which are very loud and causing a disturbance to landowners, especially late at night.

The Rumford Polar Bears Snowmobile Club has worked hard to maintain harmonious relationships with the landowners who let us use their property for snowmobiling. The landowners do not want to block access, but unless the situation is controlled, that is just what will happen.

We all need to work together to keep our trails open.  You can help by getting the offending sledder's registration number and calling Game Warden Brock Clukey at 207-392-1479. 

HOPE ASSOCIATION RIDE-IN

The weather cooperated for the 33rd Annual Hope Association Ride-In - all the participants got to have a snowmobile ride before the snow started to fall. 

Snowmobile club members from many of the area clubs were on hand to give rides to over 30 people.  Hats (or should we say helmets) off to the Slippery Sliders from the Roxbury-Byron area!  They had 14 club members attending and Mike Worthley and his wife were also there representing the ATV club.

John Blais, the son of John and Linda Blais, was featured in a WCSH 6 TV news segment about metal trades in Maine.  What a thrill to see one of our young Polar Bears Club members making the news in such a positive way! Young John was the winner of the first Rumford Polar Bears Scholarship a couple of years ago.  That money certainly has been put to good use!

Many of us who come to Club meetings on a regular basis have watched John grow up.  Both big John and little John have been active club members.  From the time he was in grammar school John and his dad sold 50/50 tickets at Club meetings.  His dad taught John to drag the trails and they both pitch in with trail work - brushing, helping with bridge building, and putting up signs. 

Keep up the good work, John, and good luck with your job at D&G Machine!

Click here to see the video which appeared on WCSH 6 TV.

What's “trail magic” you ask? It's a term used by those hiking the Appalachian Trail who experience unexpected acts of goodwill extended by strangers. For a hiker it might be a package of cookies or candies stashed along the trail, a ride into town, or a home-cooked meal and a night in a real bed.

Snowmobilers experience “trail magic” too. It's the caring and concern showed when snowmobilers encounter a sled stopped along the trail with the cowling raised. The person with the sled trouble won't be passed by, but will invariably be offered help by nearly every passing snowmobiler.

Snowmobile “trail magic” happens when someone notices a problem on a trail and sets about fixing the problem. Maybe it's a sign put up that will help people more easily find their way. Or it's the washed out section of trail that gets Christmas tree bows and snow shoveled into it by some unknown hand or hands.

We say THANK YOU to all these wonderful people who make “trail magic” happen!

The wild, wet weather on Thursday evening, November 15, didn't deter Rumford landowners from attending the Rumford Polar Bears Landowner Appreciation Dinner. 

Sixty landowners and 14 Club members enjoyed a delicious roast pork dinner catered by Wayne McPherson. 

CLUB REORGANIZES GROOMING &

MAINTENANCE RESPOSIBILITIES

The Rumford Polar Bears Snowmobile Club kicked off the 2007-2008 season by holding a special pot-luck lunch meeting on October 14, at the home of Rob and Louanne Cameron.

In an effort to distribute the work load and encourage volunteerism, discussion centered on a proposed reorganization of trail maintenance and grooming responsibilities. To this end, it was decided to train several more people to operate the Tucker using mentoring by the experienced groomers along with the groomer awareness training DVD put out by the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands. The goal is to have six groomer operator teams. Trailmaster Gordon Phillips has developed a groomer check list to ensure proper care of the equipment. Fern Dumoulin and Tom Reed put together a proposed trail grooming schedule for when the snow flies.

The entire trail system has been divided into six sections for the purposes of maintenance and signing. The plan is to find six people who will each take responsibility for one section. A list of responsibilities for these “trail maintenance supervisors” is being developed to help them with their work. When it comes time to get a work party together, there will be a work party organizer who will contact club members to ask for help with brushing trails, building bridges, or whatever other work needs to be done. We hope you’ll be able to lend a few hours when you get a call to help!