An unbelievable ride
There is still plenty of snow on the ground for snowmobiling, with a prediction of perhaps another month worth of snow season, and the trails have to be carefully maintained on a regular basis.
The members of the Washburn Trailrunners are responsible for taking care of about 45 miles of trail. They have to drag areas including the Carson, Blackstone, Portage and Crouseville area trails. This is done by the efforts of many. ‘Cat’ groomer drivers are: Trail Master Dave Moreau, Assistant Trail Master Carroll Sperrey, Allen Carter, Billy Pike, Rod Sperrey, Greg Sperrey and Fred Flewelling.
The general public likely doesn’t know the extreme effort this takes on the part of the groomers. They do the runs in sections, going out several nights a week in order to take care of the entire trail system for this area. The average time it takes to groom each section can run up to six hours depending on the weather, the condition of the trails and the number of riders using the trail. The groomers take time from their families to do this, and it benefits not only the snowmobile riders and trail users, but area businesses as well. Without good grooming, sledders wouldn’t be coming to Washburn and stopping for snacks, coffee, meals and gas. The Trailrunners Club works with area businesses, and those who sign up for a business membership with the club get the added bonus of the groomers making a side trail right to their doors, making it easier for the sledders to get to them. Our area owes this group of dedicated volunteers and the Trailrunners Club a debt of gratitude.
During the past week, I got a chance to go on a short run with driver Billy Pike. We went from Riverside Drive and rode through Crouseville, out to the bridge heading for Presque Isle by Fred Flewelling’s potato house. This bridge was so narrow that the groomer backed onto it, clearing about half the bridge, with Presque Isle’s groomer being responsible for the other half. The ride took us around the farmland of Richard Porter and down through a newly-cut section of woods to rejoin the trail near the motel at the foot of Churchill Hill.
The ride crossed the main highway several times and, amazingly, left no major snow residue in the road. The traffic was light, but all cars and sleds that we met were more than courteous and quick to react and share the trail. We went behind homes and buildings and saw humorous features along the way. Somewhere on our travels, we saw what was left of a small tree, and it had a sign reading ‘Al’s Stump’ beside it. There’s likely a good snowmobile story in there somewhere.
All along the trail we saw signs of wildlife – moose, rabbit, deer and other smaller tracks. Billy said that they often see moose and deer on their runs and take care not to upset the animals. The drag is well-lit, and lots can be seen from the giant windows in the cab. The river lit slightly by the moon was especially peaceful looking. We even saw a man step out on his back porch and wave to us. There were also ‘trails’ of snowmobiles from the various homes along the route, showing how they easily join the trail system for their sled rides.
The groomer is truly a modern state-of-the-art piece of equipment as far as I was concerned. (The only suggestion I would have would be to make the steps a bit closer to the ground for shorter folk.)
The cabin is roomy with large windshields to view the trail from all four sides, and it has just about everything that could be needed on it, including a computer and digital readouts for just about everything concerning the machine ranging from oil pressure of the engine to the wind speed outside! It is also technically able to have the Global Positioning Satellite System at their disposal, and even has AM/FM radio! There are two seats – one for the driver and one for the rider – in the heated cab, which has readouts showing how warm or cold it is in and out of the cab. There are fine metal guards built and installed by Fred Flewelling to guard against tree branch damage.
The groomers usually try and go in pairs in case of trouble or emergencies. Plans are being looked into for installation of a cell phone when the new tower is installed in Washburn. I would not have been a lot of help, but with all my talking and questions, I think I did a fair job of keeping Billy awake through the ride. I thank both Billy and the groomer staff of the Washburn Trailrunners for allowing me to join in and enjoy this truly unique experience.
Birthdays/anniversaries
Belated birthday wishes go out to Parker Corey. Those celebrating birthdays this week include: Brian Wark, Michelle Doody, Mark Sperrey, Carianne Fitzherbert, Dennis Tully, Tony Hatch, Kevin Rand, Melissa Conley, Peggy Wilson, Andrea Hatch, Shannon Skipper, Maurice White III, Jim Cray, Tamra Robertson, Kevin Cunningham, Ardis Libby, Shirley Rand, Michael Howlett, Alex Kennedy, Clifford Sperrey, Roy Turner, Mike Lagasse, David Olcott Jr., Lisa Turner, Morgan Berube, Nathan Sperrey, Roger Dickinson, Shirley Plissey, Andrew Pinette, Tamria Maynard, John Thomas, David Wilson and John Griswald.
A belated anniversary wish goes out to Paul “PJ” and Diane Dumont. Those celebrating anniversaries this week include: Craig and Crystal Hobbs and Troy and Sandy Dahlgren.
Town-wide events/reminders
The cover for the month of March Washburn calendar features Washburn Girl Scouts from 1999 through 2007. Anyone from their families would love to have this calendar, and it’s a Washburn Rotary-sponsored fund-raiser, so it will benefit the town as well. The cost is $10 and is available from any Rotarian, at the Katahdin bank or phone Christie Cochran at 455-8034.
The Trailrunners Snowmobile clubhouse schedule is: On Fridays, the kitchen will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. with a light lunch including burgers and hotdogs and Stew Night features a variety of great homemade soups and stews served starting at 4 p.m. On Saturdays, the kitchen is open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. serving breakfast and lunch. On Sundays, the clubhouse will be serving breakfast and lunch from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.
TOPS will be meeting each Monday at the Washburn Trailrunners clubhouse, starting with weigh-in at 4:15 p.m. and the meeting from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. For further information, contact Birdena Cochran at 455-8353.
The Salmon Brook Historical Society will be holding their quarterly meeting on Thursday, March 27, at the Washburn Civic Center at 6 p.m. There will be a potluck supper followed by a business meeting. Please bring a main dish or dessert and a place setting. All are welcome.
Don’t forget to vote
The municipal elections will be held on Monday, March 17, at the Washburn Civic Center with the polls open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Included in the ballot will be two seats for three-year terms on the Washburn Town Council and three seats on the SAD 45 School Board for three-year terms.
Washburn’s annual Town Meeting will be held at the high school on Tuesday, March 18, at 7 p.m. Town reports will be available at area businesses and the Town Office during the week prior to the Town Meeting.
Perham news
Perham has one three-year position on the Board of Selectmen and one three-year position on the SAD 45 School Board. There are a few copies of Perham’s recently-approved Comprehensive Plan available at the Town Office for residents to review. The vote concerning this plan will be held during the March annual meeting.
The first annual Perham Snowshoe Spectacular, aka Salmon Lake Bog Snowshoe Spectacular, will take place at the Perham Town Office, High Meadow Road, on Saturday, March 8. Events include a 3K Aadult snowshoe race held at 11 a.m., with a registration fee of $5, starting at 9 a.m. There will be lots of activities throughout the day including prizes awarded to winning adult contestants and ribbons for all children participating at 12:30 p.m. at the Perham Town Office. All proceeds will be used to benefit a non-motorized trail development around Salmon Lake Bog. Richard Clark will be snowshoeing out to the bog, a distance of about five miles round trip, starting at 1 p.m. and anyone interested may join him. Anyone wishing to lend a hand for this and other events to raise money for this worthy project is asked to contact the Town Office at 455-5887 or any member of this joint committee.
The Perham Town Office hours are Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Rec Center schedule
On Wednesday, March 5, and Wednesday, March 12, there will be cross country skiing from 2:45 to 4:15 p.m. On Thursday, March 6, there will be indoor soccer at the elementary school gym with grades 5-6 playing from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. and grades 7-8 playing from 6:30-7:30 p.m. On Monday, March 10, there will be men’s basketball from 6:30 to 9 p.m. There will be cross country skiing from 2:45-4:30 p.m. On Tuesday, March 11, there will be indoor soccer at the elementary school with grades K-2 playing from 5:30 to 6:15 p.m. and grades 3-4 playing from 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Project Graduation 2008
Washburn High School’s Project Graduation will be holding a Variety Show on Saturday, March 8, at 6 p.m. at the high school. There will be many different talents including musicians, vocalists, comedians, youth dance troupes, adult dancers, baton twirlers, line dancers and entertaining skits, bands and ballroom dancing.
There will also be snacks available throughout the evening, with all proceeds going towards Project Graduation. Admission will be $5 for adults and $3 for children under 12. For further information on this event please phone Tracy Reed at 455-4886.
Also as part of the Class of 2008 fund-raising events, there will be a team of workers who will shovel roofs, walkways, driveways, do some yard work and haul in wood. All their labor will be done for donations to the Project Graduation fund. For further information, or to reserve your job time, contact Billie Roy at 455-8369.
The Class of 2008 is having an ongoing bottle drive and asks that anyone wishing to donate to this Project Graduation fund-raising event can drop off their bottles at the Presque Isle Redemption Center or have any senior class member pick them up.
Dental Health Week winners
Students at Washburn Elementary School recently took part in a contest to design posters showing their ideas on dental health. Each class had first-, second- and third-prize winners and there were overall winners with those students having their posters placed in the county of Aroostook ACAP contest.
Grade 1 first-place winners included Andrew Keller, Hannah Dow and Sydney Chavez. Grade 1 second-place winners were: Conner Howe, Samantha Churchill and Conner Bragg. Grade 1 third-place winners were: Quinton Thompson, Brittany Brissette, Michaela Tozier and Carvor Pendexter. Grade 2 first-place winners were: Mallory Martin and Ashley Conroy. Grade 2 second-place winners were: Carly Bragg and Daniel Worsley and Grade 2 third-place winners were: Brianna Kaelin, Adrianna Damboise and Devon Maynard. Grade 3 first-place winners were: Rachel Driscoll and Kamryn Irving. Grade 3 second-place winners were: Bryce Roix, Mariah Davis and Sarah Kinney. Grade 3 third-place winners were: McCall Turner and Makenzie Vaughn. Grade 4 first-place winners were: Kylie Haines, Brittany Corey and Laina Mette. Grade 4 second-place winners were: Taylor Howe and Jenica Harris. Grade 4 third-place winners were: Kaylee Levesque, Brooklyn Plummer and Brandon Cropley. Grade 5 first-place winners were: Brittany Hernandez and Kaylee Doody. Grade 5 second-place winner was Nicholle Tozier; and Grade 5 third-place winner was Tiffany Bragg.
The following students had their posters placed in the Aroostook County Action Program contest: Sydney Chavez, Mallory Martin, Carly Bragg, Rachel Driscoll, Kamryn Irving, Kaylee Doody, Mariah Davis, Kylie Haines, Laina Mette and Brittany Hernandez.
Happy 3-year-old
Parker Corey recently celebrated his third birthday at his Bangor home with Dad and Mom, Brad and Billie Corey. He enjoyed opening lots gifts and shared the fun time with friends and family. Grammy Debbie Corey went down for the big event along with grandparents Nanny and Bampy, Terry and Peggy Donnelly. Also attending were Beverly Doody and son Ryan and Parker’s Aunt Amy and Uncle Jeremy. Grandparents Bill and Leasha Fitzherbert and his Aunt Chelsea Fitzherbert were unable to attend but sent along many happy birthday wishes to their special grandson.
The partygoers enjoyed a birthday cake decorated in the Bob the Builder theme, complete with ice cream. Parker was especially pleased with his cake as it featured his favorite TV show. Later that evening, Parker and Grammy Debbie had a fun time at a sleepover at Auntie Bev and Uncle Steve Doody’s home. Parker was a very good guest and had fun doing some guitar ‘jamming’ with Steve, providing great musical entertainment for the evening.
Christie Cochran is the correspondent for Washburn, Wade and Perham. She can be reached at 455-8034 or gramchristie@yahoo.com.
