Late Winter 2018 | 35 for prizes. It is always a festive night, as everyone always receives a prize. Don and Roxanne Gunther, members of our club, were the happy grand prize winners of the Ski-Doo. Our event is always sold out and the tickets go quickly in November. On a very sad note for our club and the VAST organization, we lost a very important person, Dave Page. He was our Essex county director to VAST, club representative to Essex county, trailmaster, grant writer, show representative, and our budget director to speak of just a few of the jobs that he did and did so well. He was the “glue" that held our club together through good and bad times for over 20 years. Please read the special article that is written about Dave in this issue. Many volunteers have stepped up to try to fill some of the big jobs that Dave took care of, but he can never be replaced. As the season seems to be coming to an end too early, we can only hope that we will get a couple of late spring snow storms that will put us back in business for some spring riding. If not, we urge you to remember that there is a lot of work that happens during the off season. Volunteering is not only the right thing to do to keep our trails in tip top shape, but it is often a lot of fun and offers camaraderie. There are also jobs that don’t always involve physical work. So get out there and contact your local club where you do most of your riding. Homer Selby, Club News Reporter brightonsnowmobile.org Like us on Facebook Don and Roxanne Gunther were the winners of the Ski-Doo at the January Brighton Snowmobile Club fundraiser. Connecticut Valley Sno-Riders As I write this, we are experiencing a warm up, but there is still snow on our trails and conditions vary. Hopefully, we’ll get some March storms to extend the riding season. Our Cookout at the Roost event was a great success with an all time record of 224 meals sold! We had a great day for the event and enjoyed meeting all the folks who came by. I believe 22 gallons of chili was served. Thanks to all who attended the event and helped out with the event. In early January, past president Lin Mixer and I attended a VTC (Vermont Traditions Coalition) mixer. At the mixer were other members of VTC, land commissioners and even the governor. VTC is an organization that supports traditional use (hunting, fishing, snowmobiling) of Vermont lands and keeps a watch for any legislation that would adversely affect those activities and lobbies for legislation that would encourage and protect it. They work closely with VAST. Early in the season our groomer suffered a major failure of a spun lower connecting rod/crankshaft bearing with another about to go. Many thanks to the Lunenburg Polar Bears and Dana Nason for helping us maintain our trails during that down period. After getting this repaired, we’ve been Lunenburg Polar Bears Snowmobile Club, Inc. What started as an encouraging season has been showing signs of a hasty retreat. Like so many winter enthusiasts in the snowmobiling northeast, we too have been impacted by the damaging thaws. Yet we are hopeful a March snowstorm will return riders to the trails. Yes, it happens in Polar Bear Country! Amongst the repeated rains, many of our sheltered high-elevation trails have surpassed our expectations. Farther south our Corridor 2 pipeline trail has also been surprisingly resistant to the sustained warmth. Members are amazed that our approach to EX65 near Lancaster still has a base on March 1. Regrettably, there is no snow on top to pack or groom. Our fleet remains silent. It was exciting to see a great turnout at our Hot Dish Buffet on Feb. 3. Our grooming team was able to provide direct trail access, despite a nearby logging project. Numerous guests arrived by snowmobile. Congratulations to Adam Minior who won the 50/50 raffle. Thanks to our members both past and present, plus a cadre of friends that helped make this event a success. As always, thanks to our landowners, who were also offered a free home-cooked meal. On Feb. 10, the Polar Bears hosted the annual Ride to The Roost. Sleds launched from EX 62 under a steady falling snow. The convoy was led by Deputy Eric Engel from the Essex County Sheriff‘s Department. The route included a tour of the club‘s Corridor 1 trail improvements. The final destination was a packed house at The Roost in East Haven. Everyone appreciated the efforts of the grooming on our regular schedule again. John Orlowski, President ctvsr.com Like us on Facebook Past CTVSR president Lin Mixer, Governor Phil Scott and Current CTVSR president John Orlowski had the opportunity to chat at a Vermont Traditions Coalition event. Club News