Hodag Sno-News FFFFFFFFFFFFeeeeeeeeeeeebbbbbbbbbbbbrrrrrrrrrrrruuuuuuuuuuuuaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyy 222222222222000000000000111111111111666666666666

https://www.facebook.com/hodagsno “Sno News is Good News” www.hodagsnotrails.com

The monthly Newsletter of Hodag Sno-Trails Snowmobile Club; P.O. Box 621; Rhinelander, WI 54501

President – Dick Emerick 362-7964 Vice President – Terry Miller 362-5025 Editor – Jill Demcak 490-1824 dick.e@live.com tmiller243@frontiernet.net jillhodagsno@outlook.com

Trail News:

-Trails: Lakes were finally ready and were marked in late January. We need SNOW. The “big snow storm” that was predicted, ended up being 3 inches; which helped a little anyway. The trails were bumped up to “good” as an overall rating. The forest roads and general trails are in good shape. There will still be some areas that have bumps / holes that we can’t seem to smooth out with the existing snow base. Corners can be slick so be careful out there! Get out there and ride! WE URGE PEOPLE TO STAY ON THE MARKED TRAILS! Going off trail is TRESPASSING!!! Our trails were well marked, however riders repeatedly went off the trail, damaging the landowners crops. The landowner threatened (justifiably so) to CLOSE THE TRAIL. Our Trail Boss had to pound 23 additional posts and signs into the FROZEN GROUND along with caution tape. Make sure you spread the word!

Elections of Officers: Club President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer are up for election during the April Meeting. There will be nominations at the Feb, Mar, and Apr meetings. The current President and Vice-President are not running for re-election. This is a great opportunity to support the Club and the area snowmobiling community. We need some people to step up. Without a club, there will be no trails. Friend of HST: Noteworthy non-member will be chosen at the March Club Mtg. Please send any suggestions to Dick Emerick or bring to the March meeting. Here is our Tins Map Link. You should be able to save on your Smartphone and zoom in. http://www.hodagsnotrails.com/hst_newsletters/_files/%24%242015-16%20HodagSnoTrails%20TINS.pdf

Time Sheets: Submit to Dick Emerick. (715-362-7964) Groomer drivers & trail maintenance. Club members are always encouraged to inspect and work on trails in their area. This is on-going through the season. The more time we submit, the potential is greater for more money the club will receive. Be sure to keep a record of time and equipment used so that it can be submitted for reimbursement. Make sure that you identify which trail you worked on since the club only gets reimbursed for funded trails. The time sheet is located at http://www.hodagsnotrails.com/hst_newsletters/_files/trail work form Final.pdf Equipment: Thanks to Dan, Curt & Dick for their time on getting those chains on the tractor. We need more volunteers to show the ropes.

Fund Raisers:

- Chocolate sales: This is a great way to help our club, easy seller at $1 each, 60 bars in a box. We collect half of profits! We can use your support with distributing it in various places. Please make sure you give your name & number to these establishments so they can let you know if they need another case. If you would like to help, please join our meeting and pick some up to disperse or call Rick or Mary Sweo (715)490-0958, Dick Emerick (715)362-7964 or email Jill Demcak at jillhodagsno@outlook.com

Please let us know if you have any other fundraising ideas. All ideas appreciated. Shirt sales: - We are selling T-Shirts $12, Long Sleeved Shirts $15 and Sweatshirts $25 with our latest logo. If interested, call Nicole Bartz (715-360-9221 or (715-369-9221) on information on how to purchase these.

Clothing is currently for sale at Pine Harbor, Birchwood Bar & Northwoods Hideaway.

Abstract logo available in Black/White letter & Charcoal Grey/Hot Pink letter. Colored logo available in Sport Grey/Green letter & Indigo Blue/White letter.

Thank you for everyone who helped butting barrels and signs out on the River!

HELP WANTED!

“Hodag Sno-Trails club is a non-profit VOLUNTEER organization that builds and maintains over 140 miles of snowmobile trails. “ There are a number of areas where your Club needs HELP. We need members to fill these positions. As you see from the descriptions below not all areas require physical labor, we have a great need for individuals to fill positions that require managing and tracking. If you are interested in helping out, please contact the person listed for each area to get additional information. There will be training and mentoring for all areas. - Orphan Trails We know you all like the outdoors! We still have sections of our trails that do not have a Trail Boss / Inspector. At its simplest we need someone to check the trails in the fall for downed trees, low branches, and damaged/missing signs and spring sign removal where required. Call Terry Miller (715) 362-5025 for info. - Lakeshore Dr RR Xing to Ice Arena and Oak Leaf Rd. Best to have an ATV for this section. - Quality Collision (Dean’s) to Thunder Lake, Hodag Pump and Shoeder’s. Most can be done with a road vehicle. - Map Committee & Chair Need a fresh group of members to run the Map Committee. Mail renewal letters, follow up with old sponsors and get new sponsors, collect money, make a map mockup with the printer. Typically have four meetings during September – November. Work with Club members to fill map boxes, collect money. One or some committee members should know e-mail, Excel, Word. Call Mary Sweo (715) 490-0958 for info. - Candy Chair Order the candy, distribute to our members, and collect the money from the members. Some record keeping, paper or computer. Call Dick Emerick (715) 362-7964 for info. - Bridge Committee / Chair Need 2-3 people to inspect bridges every summer. Coordinate repairs before the season. Call Terry Miller (715) 362-5025 for info. - Landowners’ Dinner Committee Need a couple of people to help plan and coordinate this event. Acquire door and raffle prizes. Call Mary Sweo (715) 490-0958 for info. Thank you to Jan Erovick for helping out with the HST Website!

January Meeting: Jan. 19th at Boondocks, we had 30 members present. At this time we had 196 members, 104 renewed, 23 did not. The groomer went through the whole trail system except some club trails. There was about 75 hours of brushing done with the tractor. Maps are out, keep the boxes full. Lots of candy to sell. Ice Golf was decided to be on March 12th, letters are going out to sponsors, working on raffle ideas, need volunteers. There will be ice drags on Boom Lake Feb. 27th, we had to make sure when we marked the lake to keep off the track area. 50/50 was won by Lenny G.

Community: Rhinelander’s Lion’s Club Fisheree & Winter Festival: Sat –Sun Feb 13-14 from 7 A.M. to 3 P.M. Hodag Park serves as the Headquarters. Events for Adults & Children. Support our Rhinelander Community! https://www.facebook.com/732441613452579/photos/a.857611320935607.1073741835.732441613452579/1223469274349808/?type=3 - Rick Sweo participated in the MS Snowmobile Tour and was able to donate over $1200. Great job! Our club ride Sunday February 7th we had 26 members join! Although it was a drizzly day, we had a great time being outside in our Great Northwoods! Thanks all who made it out.

Get your family out for a day of riding! Join one of our club rides. All ages welcome to join, we will send updates through the season for times and places to meet. Anyone who is the age of 16 or older can take the online course to become certified at: http://dnr.wi.gov/education/outdoorskills/onlineEd.html

Membership: We are at 216 members. For anyone new or renewals, it takes about 2 ½ weeks to get your paperwork in the mail so be patient. We can only submit to AWSC twice a week. For anyone that wants to join HST, on-line and mail in applications are available at www.hodagsnotrails.com/apply.html The membership year is now October 1 thru September 30. The deadline for Annual dues is October 1. Those not paid up by December 31, will be dropped from the roster. Your membership is valuable to the community and is much appreciated. Recommend us to your friends!

County & State News: County: - We will be working on the county map for next season. - The monthly meeting of the Oneida County Snowmobile Council is held on the 1st Wednesday at the Oneida County Courthouse at 6:30 PM Sept. through April. Anyone may attend. Enter thru the doors on the North side. State: AWSC is swamped with requests for last minute trail passes. Suspect it will be better next year. Will always have some folks that wait for snow to register sleds and/or buy trail pass. Join a club involved with AWSC and save money on your trail pass. A great value for owners of multiple sleds. Know that your AWSC member # is the same as your club # and is also on your subscription of Wisconsin Snowmobile News magazine through AWSC. Trail passes take about a week to receive in the mail. You can go online to apply: https://www.awsc.org/ - Snowmobile fatalities 2015-2016 Season, (Updated February 8th): State: 4

Oneida County: 1 Vilas County: 2 Accidents all involved striking a fixed object – trees, embankment, and shoreline.

Up-Coming Events: Overnight Club Ride – February 20 & 21. Destination: Mole Lake. We will leave from Northwood’s Banquet Center at 9:00 a.m. We have 3 king rooms/5 rooms with (2) queen beds in each/3 smoking rooms with (2) queen beds in each. Rooms are $69 + tax for (2) people and an additional $8/per person. As you can see we are limited on the rooms, so if you don’t mind sharing a room it would allow for more club members to participate. To reserve a room, call Mole Lake Lodge at 715-478-3200. Mention Hodag Sno Trails to get in the block of rooms. 10th Annual Ice Golf Tourney at Fisher’s: Saturday March 12th, starts at 11:00. 18 holes – 4 person scramble - $40 per team. Best golf score has first option on picking the envelope with the most winnings. Playing good OR bad golf, everyone can win! Just participate! There is also going to be a meat raffle, Plinko Game and other raffles. Call Russ or Billi from Fisher’s Resort at 715-362-3691 for more info. We do need volunteers to help with all the games. Anyone willing to donate items for raffles? Give Kim Goodin 715-369-9280 or Kathy Baker at 715-369-0437 a call if you would love to volunteer or donate for raffles. All proceeds go to Hodag Sno Trails. Tues. Feb. 16th Club Meeting 7:00 at Forsyth’s Sat. – Sun. Feb 20th-21st Overnight Club Ride Sat. March 5th Club Ride – TBA Sat. March 12th Ice Golf @ Fisher’s Tues. March 15th Club Meeting 7:00 Beachcomber’s Fri.-Sun. March 18th – 20th Shoeder’s Open House