North Country ATV Association Inc.

Claire Willette writes "URGENT-HELP NEEDED!!
We need our members help! We are seeing a trend happening, CHANGE. Some of our landowner's are preparing to subdivide and build on land that we currently use for ATV trails. This is their right, don't get me wrong but for those of us who enjoy the riding areas we have this is a sad time.

We need our members help to find new riding areas. This is important, especially if you want to be able to ride your ATV's on safe, legal trails.

Most of our members ride in other areas than what we currently have for trails. If you know landowner's who would be willing to think about a legal trail system on or across their property, let us know or even approach that person first. The Board is more than willing to come with members to talk with perspective landowner's and discuss issues they may have.

We have plans for expansion in the works but due to the new information about building and subdividing we may need to change course.

So we ask, please help keep the family fun sport alive by guiding us into new riding territory! Thank you!
-The Board of Director's

Essex Junction Memorial Day Parade
On Saturday, May 23, 2009 Essex Junction will hold their annual Memorial Day parade.

The NCAA will be participating in this parade. The parade will begin at 9:45am and should be finished by 11:00am.

We be doing a patriotic theme so machines will be in red/white/blue.

Thank you to all those who participate in our yearly parades.

Cowansville to Granby, Quebec Ride
Sunday, May 24, 2009 we have a ride planned from Cowansville to Granby. If you are interested in attending, please contact Joe Larose, Ride Coordinator to let him know so we plan accordingly.

Trail Work Dates
There are some trail work dates coming up that we could gladly use some members help. First, we had a work weekend on the Georgia Mountain trail system in Milton on May 16-17th. Thank you to everyone who showed up and lent a hand. Second, we have a trail clean up day in Highgate scheduled, 9am on May 30th. Third, we have a trail work day in Enosburg on May 31st, 9am. Bring saws, clippers, etc. Last, but not least we have a trail work date scheduled for the Montgomery trails on June 14th, 10:00am. Contact Brian Willette, Trails Coordinator for more information. Thanks!

Milton 4th of July Parade
We will once again participate in the 4th of July parade in Milton. Please keep watch of the NCAA website for details or feel free to contact Claire with questions. Thanks!

Maine Trip in July
On July 23-26th we will be heading to Maine for a long weekend of ATV riding. We will stay at the Pine Grove Lodge and Cabins in Bingham, Maine. You can check out their website by visiting www.pinegrovelodge.com or call them toll free at 1-866-672-4011.

The average cost of lodging is $35/person/night. As of right now it looks like food will need to be hauled in for lunch and dinner. Breakfast is included in the lodging fee. There are also restaurants within a 30 minute drive of our lodging in case you want to go out to eat.

You will need to register your ATV in Maine for a cost of $69/machine. You will need to do this after June 1st so the registration will be valid when we go in July.

If you plan on going with us, please let Claire know so we can get an idea of who is going for when we depart. More on the meeting place and departure later.

From the President-Steve Carlin
I would like to begin by saying this past weekend*s trail work on Georgia Mountain has done what we had planned, open all the trails. There has been some erosion in areas that we are still working on, so watch out for those if you*re riding up there. Other than that, the trails are all open and in good shape. If you encounter any problems with the trails at any point, please contact us so we can get to it as soon as possible.

Our thanks go to NCAA members: Fred Martin, Dave Ladd, Dave Burnor, Gerald Perry, Greg Cadieux, Mike Tedford, Chris Racicot, Randy Nichols, Myles and his father, Ted Rounds and Matt Laroche for coming to the mountain to work on the trails this weekend. Thank you also to our Trails Coordinator, Brian Willette, our Secretary, Claire Willette and our VP, Rusty Getty for their unending support of the NCAA.

Now for something a bit different:

In the years I have written for the NCAA*s or VASA*s newsletters, the topics have always been ATV and club related. I recall writing about trail work, how we are always in need of help or how any number of fundraisers was going on. The numerous articles on good things the club had done such as building playground units in different communities or the property clean ups the NCAA has done over the years. Then of course there were the articles promoting multitudes of events for the NCAA, VASA or any of the other clubs. And then the blurbs pushing the rides, oh yes the rides in Vermont with other clubs, or in New York, New Hampshire, Canada and even West Virginia. Each past article was some how linked to ATVs.

I*ve written about so many things that when I chose my topic for the newsletter you*re reading, I didn*t need to take even a second to ponder whether my newest subject had been touched upon before. Writing about the same thing time and time again can get boring, sort of like writing, *I will not talk in class*, on the blackboard one hundred times. But, that*s another story.

So it was April 4th and I found myself inside one of the buildings at the Champlain Valley Exposition fairgrounds in Essex Junction. With me were my wife, three children and a large contingent of my wife*s family. Amadis, a heavy metal band was rocking in the background with their lead singer belting out vocals that reminded me of Rob Halford in his heyday with Judas Priest. But, we weren*t there for the music. A large oval was outlined in tape on the floor, with a smaller oval outline inside, like a much smaller, flat version of Bristol Motor Speedway. In the center of the inner oval was a line of chairs running parallel with the ovals.

There was electricity in the air when the locker room doors to our right opened and out rolled a group of women on roller skates. The Green Mountain Derby Dames were out on the track to begin their warm-ups in preparation for their bout with the women*s team from Montreal. I don*t think I*ve ever seen so much fishnet in one place. With names like Star Slayer, Bruise Control, The Atomic Muffin8her and Blitzkrieg Blondie I didn*t know what to expect. One name however struck home, Zelda Savage, the only Dame on the track with a gold helmet and my niece, now a jammer for Vermont*s only women*s roller derby team.

Amadis ended their set just before the first whistle blew at 6:00 PM and there was twenty minutes of non-stop excitement. This is not your mother*s roller derby you watched on TV as a kid, no far from it. This is the real deal and these women all have the black and blues to prove it. I found myself clinching my teeth each time one would get knocked to the concrete floor by an opponent. Each wore elbow and kneepads along with a helmet, however those didn*t help when they landed flat on their backsides, many times at full speed. It looked like a bar room brawl on wheels with bodies flying every which way.

The Dames battled for 3 twenty-minute periods and when it was done I found myself a fan of the Green Mountain Derby Dames. I don*t usually find myself in a role of promoting things that are not related to ATV recreation, but in this case I make an exception. If you ever want to see an indoor sport that is different and exciting, check out one of the Dames bouts. I believe they take the summer off, but will be back at it in the fall. You can also check them out at: www.gmderbydames.com, where you will find everything you need to join in the fun. I spoke with Zelda and Bruise after the bout and we are working on forming a relationship between the Dames and the NCAA. Hmm*who knows where this will go. One thing*s for sure, both the Dames and those that ride ATVs both like having fun on four wheels.

June Dairy Days Parade
During the first weekend of June, Enosburg holds their annual Dairy Days Festival. We are in the process of inquiring whether or not we can participate in the parade. Please keep watch of the NCAA website or contact Claire for more information.

Hatfield/McCoy Trails in W. Virginia Damaged
Mother's Day weekend blew in storms left and right in Vermont but down to the south they received some devastating floods once again in the coal towns of West Virginia.

In 2007 a group of NCAA members took a trip to this area to ride the most renowned Hatfield/McCoy Trails and the area had major flooding before we arrived. They have just been hit again with major flooding so I would imagine that it will take them quite some time to clean up damaged trails and washouts in case anyone is planning to visit that area in the near future.

Our thoughts are with the residents of the flooded areas and we hope that clean up is swift for all of those affected.

WANTED-Events Coordinator
We are saddened to accept the resignation of our current Events Coordinator, Theresa Getty. She has done an outstanding job and is so creative, but we do understand her need to step down.

If anyone is interested in taking on this volunteer position, please let us know. You should be creative and willing to set up and plan club events (example: Family Day, Appreciation Dinner, etc). Typically we do not hold too many events in the course of a riding season but we will look at all ideas brought before the Board by this position.

Again you can contact Steve Carlin, Rusty Getty or Claire Willette for more information if you are interested.

Rokon Rangers Defined as an ATV
Before the Legislature completed its session there was a Bill introduced regarding Rokon Rangers being included in the definition of an ATV. These units are a two wheeled, two wheel drive "bike". They have balloon style tires similar to an ATV so they tread the ground like our ATV's These units are not dirt bikes (which currently are not allowed on trails).

We have only a couple of these units that belong to members in our organization but for them it is a step forward for legal inclusion in our club and VASA.

So if you see this style bike on trails/rides it is okay as long as they have a current VASA Trail Access Decal.

Trail Expansion.
Now that the riding season is here it would be nice to expand our trail system. Brian and I need your help. Does anyone know if the Hempyard Road in back of the Airport has been blocked off? That is going to be very important for our link to Franklin. We are still working on the link from Bakersfield to Johnson. If anyone has info on land please let Brian, Claire, Steve or I know.

Thanks,
Rusty Getty and Brian Willette

Contact Information
North Country ATV Association, Inc.
968 Ellsworth Road
Fairfax, Vermont 05454
802-849-6729
www.ncaa-inc.com

Board of Director's
Steve Carlin, President
363-9523 (cell) or email to:
themadcatter1@aol.com

Rusty Getty, Vice President
309-8419 (cell) or email to:
outlander800@comcast.net

Claire Willette, Secretary/Treasurer
849-6729 or email to:
secretary@ncaa-inc.com

Coordinator's
Joe Larose, Ride Coordinator
272-2555 (cell) or email to:
joel19795@yahoo.com

Dan Boulet, Trail Patrol Captain
318-7076 or email to:
snake72@myfairpoint.net

Steve Leedy, Public Relations
827-6680 or email to:
vtatver@comcast.net

Brian Willette, Trail Coordinator
849-6729 or email to:
briclair@together.net

"

Claire Willette writes "North Country ATV Association, Inc.
March/April 2009 Newsletter

NEW Membership Year Started
Please remember that in order to ride on NCAA and any VASA trail you must have a 2009 trail decal.

All of our points of sale are stocked with 2009 membership materials so pass the word on to your friends/family and remind them to renew or join.

The BIG 50/50 Raffle
UPDATE-almost $300 in the account so far and we won’t be holding this raffle until August 16, 2009.

We will be selling tickets for people to win half of what we sell. This could be a very large sum of money due to the amount of time we have to sell tickets.

If you are interested in getting tickets they will be $1.00 per ticket or 6 tickets for $5.00. We have attached the raffle form to the newsletter for those who would like to take a chance on winning. Please return to: North Country ATV Association, 968 Ellsworth Road, Fairfax, VT 05454.
We will also have tickets available at club meetings, events, etc. or you can contact Claire for tickets and we can send them out to you.

Another Great Appreciation Dinner!!
On Saturday, February 21st we had our annual Appreciation Dinner at the American Legion Hall in St. Albans. It was another great success!! Thank you so much to Theresa Getty our Event Coordinator for putting the event together and Steve Carlin for cooking all the wonderful spaghetti and sauce.

Many awards were presented to members for trail patrol and trail work. Plaques were purchased for our points of sales and shown to members as well as a couple of tokens of appreciation were given to Board members and Coordinators.

One of our much appreciated landowner’s attended, thank you Mr. and Mrs. Callan for coming and spending the evening with us!!

NCAA Annual Meeting Held
On March 3, 2009 at our monthly meeting, we held our annual voting in of Board members. The President and Secretary positions were up for renewal. Steve Carlin and Claire Willette were once again voted in to their positions. Thank you to the members who attended and took part in the decision process.

Also at this meeting we had guest speaker Warden Dan Swainbank from the VT Fish and Wildlife Department come in and speak to members regarding ATV issues in the Franklin County area. We appreciate all they do for us to help keep the trails safe!!

Kid’s ATV Clarification
We have a question asked quite frequently and it was suggested we put the word out to our members regarding the answer. Question: Do the kid’s ATV’s need to be registered or have a VASA decal?

Answer: Yes, Yes… ALL ATV’s need to be registered if ridden anywhere else but
on your own property or permissioned property. Also any ATV on VASA trail must have a current trail decal to be legal regardless of the engine size of the ATV and in order to do so you must be registered with the State of Vermont.

Law enforcement can ticket machines for not being registered on VASA trails. It is also in the works to have law enforcement be able to ticket people for not having a current VASA trail decal.

Please start planning for the spring riding season and get everything lined up for legal riding now.

Trail Patrol Training Scheduled
On Saturday, April 18th, 10:30am-12:45pm at the Georgia Public Library on Route 7 just off exit 18 of I-89 we will hold a Trail Patrol orientation meeting/training. If anyone is interested in joining our trail patrol, please plan on attending this training.

If you are an existing Trail Patrol member, please contact Dan Boulet to sign back up. You can do so at the monthly meetings or get a hold of him via phone or email.

Thank You Landowners for the generous use of your land to offer a fun, family sport!!

Trail Expansion Help Needed
Rusty Getty is leading the trail expansion process. We are in hopes of getting out of the Highgate/Swanton area and head towards Franklin and Enosburg to connect our two trail heads. If people know of a landowner in the area of Campagna Road; Parent Road; Tarte Road or Buck Road in Highgate and Dandurand Road; Route 235; Richard Road; Gallup Road; Rock Maple Road; Dewing Road, Towle Road and Stanley Road in Franklin that would be willing to let us traverse a section of their property to achieve this connection please get a hold of Rusty.

We are also working with the Green Mountain ATV Club in Lamoille County to achieve a connection to their trails from the Bakersfield area so again if anyone knows of trails and landowners in that area give us a shout.

One area that we need help with right away is we need to find a legal crossing on Route 109 near Codding Hollow Road in Belvidere. If anyone is familiar with this area and can lend a hand we would greatly appreciate it.

VASA Trail Expansion Underway
Trail Expansion on a VASA level is progressing wonderfully. Clubs from our area heading northeast are in the process of hooking trails together. They each have their hurdles but hopefully by the end of the riding season 2009 we will be able to leave Bakersfield and make it to Concord in the northeast kingdom. Wouldn’t that be a ride!!!

Upcoming Rides/Parades
We are in the process of gaining permission to participate in the Maple Fest Parade in St. Albans on April 26th. We hope to have word in a few weeks whether we are able to participate. Most likely we will be able to, but we will only be able to have a limited number of ATV’s participating. Stay tuned to the website for more information once we receive word.

The first ride planned is scheduled for Saturday, May 9th. It is a Mother’s Day ride. We will leave the Bakersfield Town Garage about 10am and all mother’s who attend will receive a special gift.

From the President
Wow!! How the time flies. Just after New Years I said that the Appreciation Dinner would be upon us in no time. Where did the month between the dinner and now
go? With the 2009 riding season just around the corner, the trails are in fairly good condition and the thaw has not caused too many problems at this point. Hopefully this slow thaw keeps the trails in decent shape. It’s looking good for us to be able to get out early and start cleaning them up far before the season kicks into full swing.

We are in hopes that with the low price of gas, many more people will be riding this year. I have spoken to three past members in the last week that did not join last year, due to high fuel costs and not having time to ride. All three have said they will sign up with the NCAA again this year, and one hasn’t been a member since 2005. The number of inquiries coming from outside Vermont hitting my email is up also, the most recent from Hartford, Connecticut.

I have written in past newsletters and have mentioned at the monthly meetings that we are hoping to link up with the Green Mountain ATV Club in Lamoille County this year. Things are looking up as I am waiting to hear that a major landowner between us has signed on. Last I heard was that this landowner was going to be attending the GMATV Club’s March meeting and signing on the line. This will be a big plus as the possible permission of a large bordering landowner may hinge on this permission. It will not be the first time neighboring landowners have said that if their neighbor gives permission, they will also.

As Claire wrote above, we are in desperate need of a crossing in Belvidere to get us across Rt. 109. The goal is to reach Codding Hollow Road, and a crossing near Laraway Mountain Road would be ideal. We can get to the Back Road in Belvidere and the Smithville Road in Waterville without a problem. If anyone knows where we may be able to put a crossing in that area, please contact one of us. This is one of the last major hurdles to linking our two clubs.

We will begin with the April meeting to have maps of different areas where we are looking to expand trails. If you are familiar with any of the areas we have mentioned in this newsletter, please join us for the next meeting. You may hold the piece of the puzzle we’re looking for. A crossing of Rt. 109 will get us onto the GMATV Clubs trails and I have heard they are looking to add trails this year as well. This crossing will also be a key link in our effort to link all the northern Vermont clubs together, from Swanton to Concord.

We are also looking for members in Bakersfield, Berkshire, Franklin, Montgomery and Richford who from time to time might be able to make it into their Town Clerks office to pick up tax maps for the club. Tax maps are a crucial tool as we plan the future of your trail system. At a glance we can see where properties are and who the landowners are. From there it’s easier to contact landowners and know the area we are interested in, and who borders it. If this is something you might be able to help with, please let one of us know. It is almost impossible for one of the three of us to make it to many of these Town Offices without having to take time off from work.

So all the signs of a great riding season are right in front of us. The NCAA has many rides planned. Expansion is key this year. The weather is starting to cooperate with a reasonably slow thaw and most of the trails I’ve been on had an easy winter. If you’ve been thinking about getting involved, but just haven’t yet, this is the year to do it. We are going to need all the help we can get if we want to accomplish our goal of trail expansion this year.

Claire, Brian, Rusty and I have spent countless hours scouring maps planning for expansion at all four of our trail systems. I was pleasantly surprised last Friday night when I saw the work that Rusty has done planning our journey east from the pits. We are closer to getting to the Enosburg trails than I had thought. We iron out a few kinks and we’re there. Now is the time to jump on board and help us get more mileage, something every one of us want. Hope to see you on the trails.
-Ride safe,
Steve

NCAA Meeting Speakers
Claire Willette is in the process of setting up meeting speakers or
demonstrations for our monthly meetings.

The April meeting we will have a selection of ATV gear from North Country Cycle in Swanton so join us for the next meeting and check out what our vendor has to show.

Weekend Warrior Fundraiser
We have found a company in the central part of the states who is willing to give the club a 5% kick back of orders from NCAA members. For example: If you purchase a $400 plow and you order via the link provided below or over the phone letting them know you are with the North Country ATV Association, the club will receive $20 back from Weekend Warrior.

This company carries ATV 3-point implements, tow behind implements, ATV/UTV accessories like snow plows, sprayers, spreaders, racks, pull behind mowers, hunting gear and more.

The link that directly connects you to our account is: http://weekend-warrior.com/?TabId=36&affiliateid=10054 or you can call them directly at 1-866-539-8944.

Ongoing Aluminum Can Tab Collection
For those of you who are new to our “family” or just as a reminder please continue to save your can tabs and turn them in to us at a club meeting or event. We will continue to collect the tabs for 2009. Thanks!

REMINDER-Lamoille Valley Rail Trail Off Limits…
Please be aware that we as ATV riders are not allowed to ride on the LVRT. There is law enforcement on this trail looking for illegal trespass via ATV. We are in hopes that in the future we will be able to use portions/sections of the rail trail but right now we need to stay off.

Calendar of Events
April 7, 2009-NCAA monthly meeting, 7:00pm at the American Legion Hall in St. Albans.

April 13, 2009-VASA monthly meeting, 6:30pm at the Central VT Chamber of Commerce in Berlin.

April 18, 2009-Trail Patrol training, 10:30am at the Georgia Public Library, Route 7 off Exit 18 of I-89.

April 26, 2009-Maple Festival Parade.

May 5, 2009-NCAA monthly meeting, 7:00pm at the American Legion Hall in St. Albans.

May 9, 2009-Bakersfield to Montgomery Mother’s Day ride, 10am.

May 16-17, 2009-Georgia Mountain trail work weekend, starting 9:00am each day.

**See the attached 2009 Calendar of Events for the complete listing of dates currently set up. **

Maine Trip in July
On July 23-26th we will be heading to Maine for a long weekend of ATV riding.

The average cost of lodging is as low as $35/person/night. As of right now it looks like food will need to be hauled in as we may be staying at a lodge. Again more on this later…

You will need to register your ATV in Maine for a cost of $69/machine. You will need to do this after May 1st so the registration will be valid when we go in July.

The details of where we are staying, etc. are being planned out as we write this newsletter. Please keep track of the NCAA website because we will post the details there first!

If you plan on going with us, please let Claire know so we can get an accurate count of people for lodging. So far it looks like we are up to about 20 people.

Contact Information
North Country ATV Association, Inc.
968 Ellsworth Road
Fairfax, Vermont 05454
802-849-6729

Board of Directors:
Steve Carlin, President-893-2883 or email to: themadcatter1@aol.com

Rusty Getty, Vice President-868-7273 or email to: outlander800@comcast.net

Claire Willette, Secretary-849-6729 or email to: secretary@ncaa-inc.com

Coordinators:
Dan Boulet, Trail Patrol Captain-318-7076
snake72@verizon.net

Joe Larose, Ride Coordinator-272-2555 or joel19795@yahoo.com

Theresa Getty, Event Coordinator-868-7273 or lukas1021@comcast.net

Steve Leedy, PR Coordinator-827-6680 or vtatver@comcast.net

Brian Willette, Trail Coordinator, 849-6729

Local Businesses:
John Hamel
Hamel Land Trailer Sales
Route 7 South
Milton, VT 05468
802-324-8109
www.hamelland.com

Mike Clark
General Contractor
Residential/Commercial
802-893-7695
741-5210 (pager)

Tim and Heather Forsyth
North Country Cycle and Repair
127 Grand Avenue
Swanton, VT 05488 802-868-4816
Motorcycle, ATV and Snowmobile repair; White Outdoor Power Equipment and Troy-Bilt Lawn and Garden Equipment.
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