b'Club NewsBuckaroos of 302Well, its been a disappointing turn of events as Kevin and I sit down to write this newsletter. Rain and unseasonal temperatures have decimated the trail system across the state, and things look bleak as we head into the middle of March. It looks like well be summerizing the sleds a little early this year.A group of riders on vintage sleds stopped by the Coles Pond Sledders Cook Shack.The Buckaroos of 302 are sad to report that Buzzy Eastman, our longtime trailmaster and groomer, passed away at the age of 80 on Feb. 15 after a period of declining health. Buzzy joined the Buckaroos in the 60s and was the driving force behind the development of our trail system. BuzzyBurke Driftskippers Coles Pond Sledders will be remembered for his passion and years of dedication. He will beIt seems the season is over. Trails areThank you to the Coles Pond Sledders missed.done as the forecast doesnt haveclub volunteers and to our landowners On Feb. 28, the Buckaroos performedanything to revive them. April 15 isfor making this season awesome! a rescue drill with the Groton Fireapproaching fast. Despite the shortNone of it could happen without your Department and FAST squad. Weseason, it was a good one. It seemssupport.aimed to make it as real as possiblelike people managed to cram in threeWe purchased a groomer, and our team to help test our response time andmonths of riding into a month and aof groomer operators did a fantastic the logistical challenges of accessinghalf! job grooming the trails given the the trail system from local roads andLike most clubs, we had our share ofconditions. The grooming team had getting supplies and personnel to thehiccups, mostly with our groomer andto work together to fix mechanical accident site. We encourage other clubsdrag. We also had some high times,issues and found solutions that led to to practice mock rescues with theirlike our day at the Coles Pond Cookvirtually no down time. Thank you, local emergency services.Shack. We look forward to doing itShawn Messier, George Gattone, Dave Well keep updating our trailagain next year.Brown and Caleb Messier. Awesome conditions on the VAST map, FacebookPlease keep an eye on our Facebookteamwork!page, and website. As this will be ourpage for upcoming events andThe Cook Shack had a fun season. We last correspondence before the summervolunteer opportunities. We arehad many host clubs and groups from issue, we thank our volunteers,planning several projects for thisthe area cooking and serving meals. landowners, Lambert Farm Grooming,summer and fall. Also, we want to tryClubs and other groups signed up to local businesses, and especially ourto implement a trail steward program.host at the Cook Shack to help raise snowmobilers for making it a goodDont forget our monthly meetingsmoney for their organizations. Among year! As always, be safe, respectand officer elections coming up shortly.the hosting clubs/groups were, Sno-landowner property, and please dontWe also have raffle tickets and longPackers of Lamoille County, Lamoille litter our beautiful trails. sleeve t-shirts for sale. Contact us atArea Cancer Network, Waterford Taylor Lamberton, Presidentburkedriftskippers@gmail.com for allRidgerunners, Mad River Ridge Kevin McDonnell, Vice Presidentyour drift skipping needs. Runners, Worcester Rangers, Sno-buckaroosof302.comBrian DeLisle, SecretaryBees of Barre, Barre Town Thunder Like us on Facebook burkedriftskippers.comChickens, Mountain Tamers, and Like us on Facebook Drift Skippers Snowmobile Club. We appreciate all who stopped by to support and enjoy breakfast or lunch on their travels. 26 | Snowmobile VERMONT'