Newsletter
North Country ATV Association, Inc.
July/August 2010 Newsletter
Primary Voting Day Approaches-Notes from the VASA office
The first voting opportunity will come up Tuesday, August 24. Voting takes place in your home town at a widely advertised public location such as schools or town buildings. Voting hours go from early morning until 7 p.m. If you have never voted, you need to stop by your Town Clerk’s office and register to vote. If you are unable to vote on August 24 due to a conflicting commitment, you can stop by your Town Clerk’s office and vote in the weeks leading up to August 24. This is called Early Voting. You can also vote by mail if you are out of town for an extended period by contacting your Town Clerk’s Office and requesting that the ballot be mailed to you.
The August 24 election is known as the Primary Election. This is where Republicans choose the candidates to represent them in the November 2 election against the Democrats and the Democrats choose the candidates to represent them on November 2 against the Republicans. On August 24, you will have a choice whether to vote in the Republican primary or the Democratic primary. You must pick one. Everyone is free to make the choice. It is not necessary to be a registered Democrat or Republican in order to participate.
The August election is expected to have extremely low voter turnout. A strong turnout of VASA voters makes our votes all the more important because of the low total votes that are expected to be cast. If you have questions about the voting process, please contact me at 434-3346 (T) or sbmcvt@aol.com.
VASA does not endorse candidates and the local clubs should not make endorsements either. As you might imagine, if you were a candidate, you would not look kindly, if you were elected, on an organization that worked against you. However, VASA and the local clubs do have a responsibility to accurately inform members of the ATV records of the candidates. Our members have a right to be informed. If our members are informed and we meet our 90% turnout goal or come close to it, VASA almost assuredly will single handedly influence the outcome of some elections.
VASA is a large organization that relies on the Governor and Legislature to understand the benefits of legal managed ATV riding. This understanding is not automatic. It must be earned. We owe it to ourselves, our club, and VASA to be informed and to participate! Voting is the most fundamental participation of all! An informed vote means more elected officials that support managed ATVing.
The importance of voting cannot be over emphasized. Please use the time between now and August 24 for coming up with ways you can help your club to achieve 90% voter participation. Meetings are one vehicle. E-mails or snail mail to club members are another vehicle. Informal discussions also help as do e-mails to folks outside your clubs who support managed ATVing. Let’s all demonstrate to our fellow townspeople and elected officials that we do indeed “Ride ATVs and Vote.”
-Steve McLeod, VASA Public Policy and Outreach
NH Reciprocity
For those of you who are not yet familiar with the new rule change between Vermont and NH, if you plan to go ATV riding in NH you must register your ATV in NH as well as Vermont.
Some of the clubs obtain waivers for certain events that allow out of state riders a chance to participate without the NH registration. Please check with the local club in NH before riding without a NH registration.
One event that I know is approved for out of state riders is the North Stratford, NH ATV Rodeo on August 13-14th. You can ride trails for free on the event dates only. If you plan to ride any other dates you must have a NH registration.
ATV Safety Course
We will once again attempt to hold an ATV safety course on July 24th at the Milton Fire Department from 9am-4pm. Unfortunately our last two classes were cancelled due to low sign up. This class looks to be a full class of children ages 10 and up. We will await the newest safe drivers!
Parade Season Complete
Our parade season is finally over and I would like to thank all of the people who were able to participate. I hope a good time was had by all and I look forward to next year.
There is a possibility we will be looking for participants this Fall for a parade in Underhill. As more information is known it will be passed along to club members.
-Greg Cadieux, Parade Director
Memberships Located At…
Here is our updated list of locations where memberships can be obtained in Franklin and Chittenden Counties:
-Champlain Valley Equipment in St. Albans
-Land Air in Essex Junction
-Milton Rental in Milton
-North Country Cycle in Swanton
-Roadside Marine in Williston
-Senesac Yamaha in St. Albans
-VT Home and Marine in Williston
As well as you can always pick up your membership at a monthly meeting or call Claire Willette to make other arrangements to obtain.
North Country ATV Association on Facebook
The NCAA does have a page on Facebook that we do try and post periodically on. Search us and join for updates, etc.
Bakersfield Cards
We have been informed by the Town of Bakersfield that the only place where members can obtain a Bakersfield Card is at L&L Sales and Service. We can no longer issue cards to members on the day of the ride or at meetings.
Please visit Larry at L&L and bring your $5.00, ATV registration, proof of insurance and drivers license to obtain your Bakersfield Card. Thank you!
ATV Pulls at the Saratoga County Fair
Sunday, July 25, 2010 the North Country ATV Association of New York will host ATV pulls at the Saratoga County Fair. The cost is $12.00 per class with registration beginning at 9:00am.
They will have stock classes, modified classes, open classes and more. Email ncatva500@aol.com for more information on specific rules and class specifications.
Upcoming Rides
The schedule for summer rides is as follows:
-July 25, 2010-Newport, VT
-July 31, 2010-Bakersfield to Montgomery with Topsham Trail Riders and BBQ
-August 21, 2010-W. Rutland area
-September 18-19, 2010-Danville area overnight trip
Please check the NCAA website for more information on these rides. We will list departure times and locations, etc. as they are finalized.
If you have any questions, please feel free to call or email me.
-Joe Larose
VASA’s Mt. Washington Ride
On Sunday, August 8th VASA will once again host a ride up the Mt. Washington Toll Road. The cost is $23 per operator and $8 per passenger. If you plan to ride two up you must either have an ATV manufactured for two or a side by side machine. Helmets are required.
Tickets will be available at the base of the mountain on the day of the ride until about noon. If you have any questions, contact the VASA office at 802-477-5075.
NCAA Merchandise
Claire Willette has ordered in additional supplies for NCAA merchandise. We now have a limited supply of wind breaker style jackets, new hats, tank tops (both men and women) and a few additional non-hooded sweatshirts. If you are interested in any of the above, let me know and we can set a time to get it to you.
Trail Patrol Reminder
Just a reminder to all trail patrollers, we need your patrol hours turned in on a monthly basis so we can turn them into the VASA office. If you have any questions or need forms contact Mike Tedford, Trail Patrol Captain. Thanks!
June Ride Overview
In June we had some great ATV riding! We started off with a visit to the Central VT Quad Runners club in the Bethel area on June 19th with 30 NCAA members joining us for this day of riding. A big Thank You goes out to our guides from the CVQR club!
June 25-30th a group of twelve went to Maine for a long weekend of ATV riding. We stayed at the Pine Grove Lodge in Bingham, Maine (www.pinegrovelodge.com) and had wonderful weather. Last year when we went in July it rained the entire time we were there. This year it was dry which did make it dusty but we all survived the dust storm to enjoy over 400 miles of trail riding.
Pictures of both of these rides are up on our website: www.ncaa-inc.com for your viewing pleasure.
We envision returning to both the CVQR trails this fall and Maine once again next year.
Thanks everyone who joined us on our adventures!
Calendar of Events
July 25, 2010-Newport ride.
July 31, 2010-Bakersfield to Montgomery with Topsham Trail Riders
August 8, 2010-VASA’s Mt. Washington ride
August 13-14, 2010-North Stratford, NH ATV Rodeo
August 21, 2010-West Rutland area ride.
September 18-19, 2010-Danville weekend ride.
THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR LANDOWNERS! Without you we could not offer fun, legal ATV riding in Vermont.
Contact Information
Executive Board:
Steve Carlin, President-363-9523 (cell) or email to: themadcatter1@gmail.com
Rusty Getty, Vice President-309-8419 (cell) or email to: outlander800@comcast.net
Claire Willette, Secretary-849-6729 or email to: secretary@ncaa-inc.com
Randy Nichols, Treasurer-782-8080 or email to: 1mrwinter@comcast.net
Directors:
Joe Larose, Ride Director-272-2555 (cell) or email to: joel19795@yahoo.com
Greg Cadieux, Parade Director-309-0780 (cell) or email to: g_cadieux@hotmail.com
Brian Willette, Trail Director-849-6729 or email to: briclair@hughes.net
Mike Tedford, Trail Patrol Director-524-7418 or email to: m44jmt@myfairpoint.net
Marty Koldyk, Public Relations Director-238-2782 or email to: unca.marty@yahoo.com
Matt Laroche, Director at Large-370-0812 (cell) or email to: matthewlaroche@ymail.com
Ron Lawyer, Director at Large-868-4121 or email to: lawyerr@comcast.net
Steve Leedy, Director at Large-827-6680 or email to: vtatver@comcast.net
North Country ATV Association, Inc.
968 Ellsworth Road
Fairfax, Vermont 05454
802-849-6729