Rice Lake Snow Drifters Newsletter - OFSC

Rice Lake
Snow Drifters
Newsletter
Winter Edition
Rice Lake Snow Drifters – 17th Anniversary
A Word From Our President
We are extremely excited to have had a very early start to our snowmobiling season this year.
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Inside This Edition:
Our economy is bounding back and although the past few seasons
were not great for ski resorts, snowmobiling, or ice fishing, they will
all get a major boost this year with the early season.
Looking forward to a good long winter.
President’s Message …..1
Come Snowmobile …..2
Trail Permits…..3
Volunteering…..4, 5
Thank You Landowners …..5,
6
News …..7, 8, 9, 10
We are all working hard to finalize our part of the Trans Canada Trail
to join into Peterborough for a 2017 completion across Canada.
See you on our trails.
Enjoy the season.
Elwood Ellis
President - Rice Lake Snow Drifters Inc.
Executive:
President: Elwood Ellis - 905-623-0002
Vice President/Trail Warden: Kevin English – 705-639-2009
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Treasurer: Doug Luff - 705-295-4321
Secretary: Sherri Luff – 705-295-4321
Online Reporting System: Glen Atkinson - 705-295-4833 orsrep@ricelakesnowdrifters
Sign Coordinator: Doug Luff - 705-295-4321
Inspection Coordinator: Tom Davidson 705-295-4318
Volunteer Coordinator: Mary Martin – 705-696-3005
Permit Coordinator: Michelle Atkinson – 705-295-4833
GO GREEN!!! And help cut down on administration cost (printing and stamps to send this
newsletter out). PLEASE SEND US YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS TO [email protected]
SO FUTURE NEWSLETTERS AND UPDATES CAN BE SENT TO YOU ELECTRONICALLY.
*****VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT www.ricelakesnowdrifters.com for regular updates
and information about our trails and what our club is up to*****
To leave us a message call 705-295-SNOW
Our address is Box 125, Keene, Ontario K0L 2G0
COME SNOWMOBILE WITH THE RICE LAKE SNOW DRIFTERS
Get Started with Great Reasons to Go Snowmobiling!
1. Quality Time with Family & Friends
2. Get Outdoors & Be Active -There’s nothing like a day of
snowmobiling in clean air and fresh snow to keep you
healthy, sharp and fit!
3. Escape the Daily Grind- Snowmobiling carries you away
from worries and stress
4. Connect With Nature - Snowmobiling connects you with
scenic places only accessible during winter…an awe inspiring wonderland just waiting for you!
5. Make Winter More Fun- Snowmobiling makes winter fun.
So let your fun begin – Go Snowmobiling!
The Rice Lake Snow Drifters’ area is rolling out its’ white carpet of
snowmobile trails, welcoming you to great snowmobiling. Our groomed
trails await you and will provide you with a day of amazing scenery and
fresh air and of course a great place to ride. Check our website for
snow conditions and trail updates at
www.ricelakesnowdrifters.com
Come see us this winter and discover all the excitement and fun of
snowmobiling!
INFORMATION ABOUT SNOWMOBILE PERMITS
A Snowmobile Trail Permit entitles you to access any available OFSC
Trail, at your own risk, at any time during the winter. Trail Permits are
required by law in Ontario.
Permits generate the revenue our club needs to maintain snowmobile trails
(signage, trail maintenance such as grading or resurfacing , redecking of
bridges etc.), our recent purchase of a new groomer and to support the
Trans Canada Trail project that was rec ently completed on the rail bed
between Hastings and Peterborough. They are the only source of funding
for trail operations.
By purchasing a permit, each rider contributes to t he cost of providing
snowmobile trails as part of the OFSC User Pay System. To ensure that
your permit money goes to the OFSC district , whose trails you ride most, it
is important to buy your permit from a club in that district.
Permits are still available.
The cost for the season is now $260 for a regular permit.
Classic Permits, 7 day and 3 day permits are also available .
Please contact Michelle Atkinson.
705-295-4833
Don’t ignore this sign. Use of OFSC trails is at your own risk.
Our club functions because of the willingness of volunteers, who work on
trails, organize events and stay up to date on current happenings within our
District and in the province. Without our volunteers our trails would not be
prepared. This work begins a long time prior to the snowmobile season. This
includes people working many hours to speak to current landowners to ensure
we still have permission to use their trails, brush back, reroute if necessary,
and sign the trails, organize the selling of permits at events such as Sledarama
and to ensure all equipment is in good working order for the season, as well as
people organized to be groomers. It is the law that all
trails be signed with appropriate signage to ensure the
safety of all riders. Events such as the Elimination
Draw and the Poker Run would not occur if our
volunteers did not organize these. This occurs because
we believe strongly that we need to bring our club
together at fun events that promote the wonderful
sport of snowmobiling. On the second and fourth
Monday of each month volunteers attend meetings to
keep the club functioning. If any of you could offer
your time we would gladly welcome your help. Please
speak to an executive member or attend one of our
meetings.
CAN YOU HELP?
Each year the club opens and maintains approximately 150
kilometres of groomed trails. All of these trails, except for the Trans
Canada Trail/Rail Line, go through private property, thanks to the
generosity of our local landowners. Most of the trails are through
fields that the owner works so each year the club has to install
signs and field stakes according to OFSC specifications. In the
spring we must take out all those signs and field stakes as the
owner will begin working their fields again. Hunting season also
plays a role in when we can start to sign certain areas as bow and
black powder hunting takes us into December. This year we had
early snow but the frozen ground prevented us from signing the
trails quickly as we only have a few people volunteering to complete
the job. More people to help out even signing a small section of trail
would be appreciated. If you could spare some time to complete
this type of work please call Doug Luff at 705-295-4321 or send an
email to him at [email protected].
IF YOU HAVE SNOWMOBILED THIS SEASON ON RICE LAKE
SNOW DRIFTERS’ TRAILS THANK A LANDOWNER.
NO LANDOWNERS=NO TRAIL SYSTEM 
RIDE SAFELY ON OUR TRAILS
REPORT ANY SAFETY ISSUES TO TOM DAVIDSON AT 295-4318
Please Respect Landowner Property By:
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Staying on the Trail
Leaving Signs & Stakes Intact & Leaving Gates & Fences Alone
Respecting the Equipment and Property That You May Pass By
Avoiding Farm Animals & Pets
Using the Trail for Snowmobiling Only ~ 4-Wheeling is Not Allowed!
Using Trails ONLY When They Are Open
Congratulations to the following lucky landowners
who won turkeys in a random draw held at our Christmas meeting
on December 2, 2013.
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Lynn Chamberlain
Stella Coveney
Karl Darling
Fred and Beth Elmhirst
Bob Gellatly
Wes Irwin
Joe McGrisken
Gord Nelson
Joe Steed
Dennis Simms
Funny but true. Many deer have been spotted on a number of our
trails. Be aware and watch for our wildlife friends.
RIDE SAFE!
VERY VERY IMPORTANT
Conditions on our trails can change quickly due to mild weather,
freezing rain or rain. Always check our website at
www.ricelakesnowdrifters.com for information about whether our
trails are open. It is very important that you also check to see if the
lake trail remains open. SAFETY is our top priority!
Green means available
Yellow means limited availability
Red means closed
News
Saturday, October 26th was an exciting evening at the Elimination
Draw held at Elmhirst Resort. Throughout the evening anxious ticket holders
waited to find out if their ticket would be drawn out for the chance to win a
snowmobile, four wheeler or $6000 cash.
This happened while being served a delicious chicken dinner prepared by the
culinary staff at Elmhirst Resort. Also many draw prizes were available,
compliments of our wonderful sponsors.
The first ticket drawn out and the winner of $100 was Chad Twohey. The 50th
ticket, 100th ticket, and the 150th ticket drawn also received $100 each. These
tickets belonged to Monica Evenden, Leanne Berghout, and John Worral. The
drawing of the last 10 tickets was very suspenseful as the people with these tickets
were called to the front. The last three tickets drawn belonged to Christine
Fitzgerald who won $200, Bonnie Davidson who won $300.
... and finally the winner of $6000 was Gord Conroy. Congratulations to all the
winners. It was a great evening and was as always very well received. Thanks to
everyone for keeping our snowmobile club strong.
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OUR WINNERS
Congratulations to all students who completed the snowmobile driver
training course on Saturday, December 14th.
Many thanks to Joe Steed and Rachel Atkinson for teaching the
Snowmobile Driver Training course. We appreciate your willingness to
volunteer and help foster a love of snowmobiling for our young riders.
Hopefully you have been able to get out on our trails. If you have you may
have noticed some changes to our system. These include the Hiawatha Trail
which has been rerouted. This was done in December. It involves a rather
large ridge and with the icy conditions we have had, this has made it
slippery. With more snow in the forecast the condition of this part of the trail
should improve. However, if you wish to use the road trail until that happens
it is still available. The Norwood trail has also changed slightly. Signs have
been posted to alert you to these changes.
Good News:
The lake has been staked from Hiawatha to Bewdley. This
has been the first time we have been able to do this in 3
years. Cold weather has made for a lot of ice. Be aware
there is one pressure crack near Bewdley which has been
marked with a slow before it and there are stakes where the
best place to go over it is. In the very near future the lake
will be staked from Elmhirst Resort to Hiawatha.
Our great volunteers signing Rice Lake
Family Day Weekend
The OFSC is pleased to promote snowmobiling by
allowing free access to our trails on Family Day
Weekend to those snowmobilers who do not have a
permit. More details are available at the OFSC
website. www.ofsc.on.ca
MANY THANKS TO OUR WONDERFUL GROOMER OPERATORS WHO ARE DOING
AN AMAZING JOB KEEPING OUR TRAILS IN EXCELLENT SHAPE. WHILE WE ARE
SOUND ASLEEP THEY ARE GROOMING THE TRAILS.
AND FINALLY
Hopefully the snow conditions will continue and allow us to hold
Two Poker Runs
on Saturday, February 1st and Saturday, March 1st
Ride the trails that day and come draw your hand at Elmhirst Resort in
the Wild Blue Yonder between 2 – 5 pm
Cost $20 a hand. 50-50 take of the money brought in.
Bring along your cell phone on your ride and take three pictures of
you and your friends snowmobiling and show them to us for an extra
card.
Happy Snowmobiling!!! Happy Trails!!!