February 10, 2008

Club Executive as of Feb 9th.

President: Rodney Hurlbert

Vice President: Rob Meester

2nd Vice President: Bob Douglas (Trail Supervisor)

Secretary/Treasurer: John Meester

Elected Director: Corey MacSweeny

Appointed Director: Eric Blackmore

Appointed Director: Brian Day

Aug 22, 2007

Message from Rodney Hurlbert, Club President

Hello Everyone.

This is my first message to the members as the Interim President of the club.

Summer is starting to wind down, the kids are fretting going back to school, and the days are starting to get noticeably shorter, and the evenings are getting much cooler.  With all that happening I wanted to remind everyone that we are quickly reaching the end of our membership year.

We had a great season with some very extreme condition changes. Last summer we experienced one of the wettest, Muddiest , deepest summer in our clubs history, and this summer had to be the driest dustiest summer.   As many of you know this season was a protracted year in which we had an extended season. 

I want to thank everyone that chose the Johnstown ATV Club as your club of choice.  It has been an extraordinary season, in which I personally enjoyed riding with many of you.  Each and every one of us has some great stories and memories from the past 17 months.

I would like to invite you all back again for our 2007/2008 season, and encourage you to take advantage of the early bird registration. Remember, you have until August 31^st at midnight to renew your membership for $100 for your first Machine, and $70 for next  two machines.

September 1st is the start of our new season and with that the regular membership price becomes $130 for the first machine and $100 for the second and third machines.

As of August 21, 2007 , thanks to some hard work by Dave Dwyer and John Meester, we now have an online payment system that you can join or renew your membership using Paypal.  This gives you the option to pay with Visa, MasterCard, or American Express. We hope this will make your decision to renew easier as you can do this from the convenience of you own home.

As always we would like to encourage that you invite your friends to join as well. We would like to see our membership grow in numbers.  With greater numbers comes more trail maintenance, and that leads to better trails.

We would like to make this year a year of forward movement in Trail maintenance and trail growth, and a larger memberships.  We also would like to encourage anyone that has the  time and the will to help out to please contact any of the directors to let us know what you can do, and when you are available. 

All the work that gets done to maintain trails, run rallies, canvas for rally sponsors, advertise rallies, run the kitchen, maintain the clubhouse, cut the grass remove the snow, update the websites and so on and so on,   is all done through volunteers.  I would like to encourage everyone to help when ever and where ever you can.  We are all members and all pay our membership fees.  If everyone throws in a little where they can, this will help to make the club better for everyone.

This past membership period was a real Challenge to the Directors.  We had several large hurdles to navigate over, and I want to take a moment to recognize the effort that the Directors have put into the past 17 months. 

Some of the Challenges were:

• Floating the clubs expenses over a year and a half with one years membership fees. 
• Very expensive Tractor repair bill.
• Several extensive plumbing and heating repairs.
• Some badly need structural work on the club house
• Badly needed trail maintenance with very limited funds.
• Legal challenges over use of some crown land properties.
• 3 Bridges repair
• On going discussions with the townships, snowmobile club, South Nation Conservation authority, Limerick Forest Advisory committee and so on.

And the list goes on.  

This past season we have seen some changes in the Directorship of our club. Several of our directors analyzed their situations and regrettably found they needed to resign for various reasons.  To fill these rolls, some new Directors had to be appointed, while others took on new roles.   I think this in itself is evident that the tasks and challenges this season where extremely huge, demanding of time and very tiring on the entire crew.

I would like to thank our recently resigned directors:

Anne and Sheldon Gill - for their many years of dedication to the club.

Brian Day - for helping to get us through a very rough year and a half of financial gloom

John Foot - for working many hours to try and maintain our trails with little to no help or funds

And for the many hours spent by

Darryl Reynolds & Clive Clatt

I know I am missing some and I apologize for that.

I also want to point out that Bob Douglas has been working very hard as our new trail supervisor.   He has built a trail groomer and uses his personal tractor to help keep the trails in decent shape.   He also was instrumental in refurbishing and painting the Tractor so that we where able to get top dollar out of it, to help keep the club afloat. Bob has been our go to guy when we need something built or fixed.   Bob has been a tremendous asset to our club.

I also want to thank John Meester for covering the huge repair bill until we sold the tractor.  With out John, and his incredible good will, this club may not be in existence today.  The repair bill on the Tractor was more then what the club had in the bank.

The entire Meester Family has been tremendous to step up and help at all the rallies for several years, and I would like to commend them for this sacrifice of their time as well.

There are countless acts of generosity by many in this club that many of us never know happen.  I want to thank everyone for their past efforts and look forward to the coming season.  

We would like to encourage everyone work together to help make this season the best season yet for everyone.  We have a unique trail system that offers something for everyone.  Spread the word: “We are here and we plan to be here for many years to come”.

I also want to remind everyone, this is your club.  If you have ideas that you think will help to improve the club, feel free to contact any of the Directors.  We have an open book attitude, and we want your input on the day to day operation of your club.  You are always welcome to attend any meetings we have, and we will strive to give as much notice of meetings as we can.  There will be from time to time an emergency meeting with next to no notice, but we will work to avoid that situation where we can.

Thank you for your continued support of the Johnstown ATV Club. May each and every one of you have a safe and fun filled season on our trails.

Rodney Hurlbert

Club President.    

June 3, 2007

Changes in Directorship

President: Rodney Hurlbert

Vice President: Dave Dwyer

Hi Folks. The next rally has been scheduled for June 16th. We changed the date to allow time to prepare for the event.

Clive Catt has retired from the directorship. He regrets that he does not have enough time to dedicate to duties as a director.

I too requested a changed role. I sold my Argo this spring and, as most of you know, I have invested more of my leisure time in canoeing. Bring on the white water! In addition to that I am still heavily involved with the Limerick Forest Advisory Committee. Finally, I have a personal project that requires time that I have not been able to preserve.  In a kind gesture, the Directors agreed to my request and have accepted my petition to continue in a diminished role. Your new Club President is Rodney Hurlbert. Dave Dwyer has accepted the post of Vice President. I trust that you will support Rodney with the same encouragement as that which I received. Thank you all for the past support.

I've run this website since March 7, 2004 and as part of my transition a new webmaster has been appointed. Dave Dwyer will soon take over the management and care of this website. There will be some exciting new changes that I believe will be appreciated. I will not spoil Dave's thunder by telling you what will change -- just stay tuned!

Bob has been busy with clubhouse maintenance and trail maintenance. He's done a lot of grooming and has kept the grass cut.

We really want to start spending money on the trails. For that we encourage you to send in your renewals soon. Most of the renewal money will be applied to trail maintenance. We have climbed a big hill financially and are now in a position to apply the majority of new membership income directly on the trails. Please send in your renewal. The first renewal was received today.

Thank you, and I wish all the best for a bright and prosperous future for the Johnstown ATV Club.

Sincerely,

Brian Day (past president)

May 17, 2007

We now have the new membership schedule established.

The term of the 2007/08 membership year is from 1 September 2007 through 31 August 2008.

The fees for new memberships after 9 May 2007 are  $130.00 for the first machine and $100.00 for each additional machine in a family. (June, July and August are FREE!!

The early renewal fees for renewed memberships before 31 August 2007 are  $100.00 for the first machine and $70.00 for each additional machine in a family.

The fees for all memberships after 1 September 2007 are  $130.00 for the first machine and $100.00 for each additional machine in a family.

Click here to find the membership form.

We now have 278 members! Thank you all for supporting the Johnstown ATV Club.

May 3, 2007

Each year, Club volunteers take charge of parking control at the Spencerville Games. This requires about eight people for a few hours. The Games are scheduled for June 16th -- that's a Saturday.

Our coordinator from last year is not available to do the planning (which requires nothing more than a few phone calls), so we need a volunteer to coordinate the volunteers.

OK, folks; this time we really need one of you to step up to the plate. Please call one of the directors if you can help. This is an important obligation for our Club because it earns us good will.

We need the name of a coordinator by Saturday evening. Please call me directly if it is easiest for you.

Thank  you,

Brian Day

Club President

613-258-0739

April 30, 2007

The trails will be closed for another two weeks, then we will reassess the conditions and make a decision. Bob has been very busy working on some of the trails with a tractor and his groomer. Some sections of trail to the west of the clubhouse toward Angelo's Esso have been groomed. A small crew, working with Bob, have cleared a lot of brush and fallen trees from some sections of trail. Bob will continue to work on the trails during the closure. We appreciate your patience and cooperation to allow the water levels to drop and to give time for the trail work.

Thank you,

Brian

April 25, 2007

A note from your Secretary/Treasurer (John): "Bob, Rob, Derrick, and I spend 4 hours on the trails leading due north from the clubhouse on Sunday AM.  We covered about 3 miles.  There are numerous trees down and the beaver dam has made that low spot impassible without a boat. We cleared the trail that goes around this area and all is clear to the main trail leading east and west. We will need several clean-up crews with chain saws for a number of hours to clear the rest of our trails. As far as mud is concerned, most if not all the areas we encountered were passable, but I would suggest that another week or two of drying would greatly benefit the trails before we open them."

Hence, the trails will remain closed for at least another two weeks if we continue to have dry weather and only small amounts of rain.

If you can help the trail crew, please contact John or Bob (before 8:00 in the evenings).

Thank you,

Brian

April 21, 2007

The trails remain closed despite the welcome respite from wet and dreary weather. The drainage in the South Nation Watershed is slow due to the decline of only 14 cm for ever kilometer of drainage; consequently, it will be a while yet before we reopen the trails.

Note: Limerick Forest trails are still closed. For information about the Limerick Forest trails, please contact Geoff McVey, Acting Forest Manager, at 613-342-9246, extension 12416.

---

We held a Directors' meeting on Friday. We are working on a few projects right now. One of them is trail repair. Bob has built an ingenious groomer that impressed all of us. We decided to endorse our new Club Rules. Dave did a lot of research before recommending these rules.

(1)  There is no tolerance for alcohol or drug consumption when on club trails.

(2)  Tread lightly: Stay on club trails. Do not blaze new trails. Carry out what you carry in.

http://www.treadlightly.org/

(3)  Operate your ATV according to the rules in Ontario Regulation 316/03:

http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/DBLaws/Source/Regs/English/2003/R03316_e.htm

(4)  The speed limit on club trails is 50 km/h

(5)  Safety First: Know your limits and those of your machine and operate within them. Bring appropriate safety equipment each time you ride. Never ride alone. Always offer to assist other riders.

(6)  Ensure that riders within your group are club members or that they have purchased an appropriate day pass.

(7)  Your club membership sticker must be affixed to your ATV in a prominent and visible location. Carry your club membership card every time you ride.

(8)  Any operator under the age of 16 must be accompanied by and supervised by an adult.

(9)  You must report any trail hazards to the trail supervisor ASAP.  (Call Bob or another director.)

You will also encounter signs posted by the Club from time to time and we ask that you obey any messages posted on these signs. For example, fowl language is not tolerated in the clubhouse, turn the water pump off when you leave, keep the washroom doors closed, trail hazard and closure signs, and so forth.

In general, we wanted to keep the rules simple. We don't believe in the effectiveness of pages and pages of rules and fine print, so we decided to post a simple but important set of official rules.

Thank you Dave, for your work in developing these rules.

Brian Day -- Club President

March 26, 2007

Our trails are now closed. They will remain closed throughout the spring until the water levels drop and rut formation can be minimized by drier weather.

Limerick Forest Trails are Closed

March 26: Please be advised that we put up the “Trails Closed” signs today.  Hopefully they’ll be back down in a few weeks.  Kevin if you could advise your BMA friends we would appreciate it! Same for you Brian with regards to the Johnstown ATV club just in case.  Thanks!

Geoff McVey

Acting Forest Manager

Limerick Forest

United Counties of Leeds & Grenville

(T) 613-342-9246 ext. 12416

(F) 613-342-3069

So there you have it, folks. All of the trails are currently closed. It's time to do your spring maintenance and please keep your ATV parked.

Brian

March 13, 2007

The March Rally was attended by 59 participants. In addition to that, another seven people stopped in at the clubhouse to purchase a trail pass or a membership. We now have 276 members.

We will keep the trails open until the frost begins to break. For now, the trails are open. Please monitor the forum and the home page for trail status bulletins.

The furnace has been fixed. We had to purchase a new motor for the blower. The breakdown went undetected and we had a cold snap, so we had a complete freeze-up. The pump, many fixtures, and the toilets required repair. We commend Rodney for all the work he did to restore service.

Folks, we know that some people were in the clubhouse last week because the toilets had been used and not flushed due to the freeze-up. It would have been a kind gesture by whomever was in the clubhouse to have called one of the directors to report the furnace failure. Unfortunately, no one called and no preventive effort was attempted.

I'm really happy with the membership role now. Can we break the 300 mark?

A sincere thank you goes out to Colette Amell for soliciting our March sponsor and for the photos of the rally.

Sincerely,

Brian

March 9, 2007

The furnace in the clubhouse broke down. We fear that all the pipes are frozen and some may be split.

The furnace will be back in service tonight. The plumbing will be cleaned and repaired tomorrow. Contact Rodney if you are willing to help.

Directors Meeting

The directors are meeting at the clubhouse on March 10th at 10:00 (yes, that's tomorrow morning). Sorry for the short notice. You are welcome to attend and stay later to help fix the plumbing.

See you Sunday . . .

Brian

March 8, 2007

The fallen tree on the trail just west of the Spencerville Clubhouse (Dukelow Rd.) has been cleared away. You no longer have to bypass the trail by taking Dukelow Road.

The rally this weekend (on Sunday) is a "fun-run." That means that you form groups, and travel together to cover as many trails as possible in the allotted time.

GPS OWNERS: Please track your travels and bring your GPS into the clubhouse after the rally. I'd like to download your tracks onto my computer to use for updated trail maps. I'll have a Garmin USB cable with me; if you have a Magellan or Eagle GPS, please bring your PC cable.

Registration: 09:00 t0 10:00 EDT (Remember that we change our clocks ahead on Sunday morning) We may extend registration until 10:15.

Rally fee: $10  This will get your name in the draw for prizes.

Trail Pass: $20 (applies to non-members only)

Meal: Spaghetti $5 a plate

The sponsor is Minimax Transportation  --   we will have prizes

This will likely be the last rally this season with fair to good ice conditions. After this, it gets wet and wild.

Since the snow arrived in late January, some snowmobiles have been on the ATV trails. The sleds tend to pack down the snow nicely. If you drive on our trails with a snowmobile, please be cautious of the wheel tracks from the ATVs -- they may throw you off course at times. We are not charging a fee for snowmobile use on our trails (unless you participate in a rally) but we do ask you to be cautious. Our trails are not part of the OFSC trail system and are not being groomed.

See you soon,

Brian

February 18, 2007

The February rally was sponsored by Direct Energy. We'd like to thank Direct Energy for supporting our club.

February 14, 2007

The SOUTH GRENVILLE SNOWMOBILE CLUB has requested that all ATVs STAY OFF THE FOUR BRIDGE TRAIL over the South Nation River Tributaries.

The GSC's president contacted me with the request.

This trail is now being groomed for snowmobile use.

The president of the GSC told me that their trails are being groomed every night

and that ATV tracks are causing problems for the sledders.

The two clubs have been working together to repair and improve the trail. Our trails are open to ATVs year-round, but these shared trails are special because both clubs use them.

For now, I request that you stay off the four-bridges trail.

Let's allow our snowmobile friends to have their fun while the snow lasts.

Thank you

Brian Day -- Club President

February 11, 2007

February 5, 2007

We now have 262 members and more people are telling us that they plan to join.

The membership form has been updated. Click here for information.

Sheldon and Rodney have spent a lot of time in the past two weeks repairing busted pipes and damaged toilets. The door to the washrooms was left open again this weekend. This is beginning to get costly and it frustrates the volunteers.

Our next rally is on the 17th. The trails won't get any better than they are now, folks. Please mark your calendar.

Travel safe,

Brian

January 28, 2007

The following notice has been posted on our forum by the Club's Vice President.

It has become very clear to me that the trails are being used very heavily by non members of the club and that they are not paying for Day Trail Passes. It is because of this that The Club has contacted the OPP to enter into an agreement to have our trails patrolled. It is an offence to ride on posted trails systems without becoming a member, or paying for the day use permits. So effective Immediately, the OPP will be issuing trespass fines to any individual that cannot show proof of membership, or a paid trail pass, under the following ACT:

Trespass an offence

2.  (1)  Every person who is not acting under a right or authority conferred by law and who,

(a)   without the express permission of the occupier, the proof of which rests on the defendant,

(I)   enters on premises when entry is prohibited under this Act, or

(ii)   engages in an activity on premises when the activity is prohibited under this Act; or

(b)   does not leave the premises immediately after he or she is directed to do so by the occupier of the premises or a person authorized by the occupier, is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not more than $2,000.  R.S.O. 1990, c. T.21, s. 2 (1).

The members of this club pay their annual membership to help cover the cost of trail maintenance, insurance to cover land owners from liability, land usage agreements, upkeep of a club house, and parking facility.

It is not too much to ask that people pay for day use permits, or membership fees.

In the past we took a laid back approach to the abuse of the trail systems but we can no longer keep up to the cost of repairs when the people that are using the trail system for free is far out weighing the number of members.

I saw about 40 machines today go by our club house,  none had membership stickers on them,  the ones that I spoke to about the day trail pass made comments that they would pay and left with out paying.

We have contacted the OPP SAVE Team and they are more then willing to come and address the issue, and will be on the job as early as this week.

This is posted as fair warning to anyone that uses the trails with out paying for a membership,  the OPP will take a zero tolerance stand and fine everyone that is caught trespassing on our trails.

Rodney Hurlbert

Vice President

Johnstown ATV Club

Damage at the Clubhouse

This weekend, volunteers discovered that someone had been in the clubhouse and used the washrooms, but had forgotten to close the doors. The washroom and kitchen areas are heated in order to prevent the water system from freezing and to provide warm refuge for members. The person who left the interior doors open is now responsible for the frozen pipes and the cracked toilet. The toilet cannot be repaired. The pipes required a few hours of work.

PLEASE KEEP THOSE DOORS CLOSED!  The club would welcome a financial donation from the person responsible to cover the cost of a new toilet and the pipe repairs.

Membership

We now have 259 members -- only 8,491 to go. One of the new members drives an Argo! There are two of us now [Brian is happy].  The fee is $65. Please note that I have not yet updated the web site with all of the changes since the AGM. If you do send in a membership, the correct fee really is $65.

Travel safe,

Brian

January 24, 2006

Janice and Lee MacDonald participated in the rally last weekend. Janice sent me the following picture. I had some fun with the photo editor; I hope she doesn't mind.

As you can see, the ice was not thick enough last weekend and the wet spots prevailed.

Brian

January 23, 2007

The work to reopen the four-bridge trail near Wier Road has been completed. I received notification this evening about the news. Volunteers from both JATVC and GSC worked together to install the decks. The construction supplies were obtained by the GSC. So far, we have volunteered some labour, but we will be contributing some money to cover the cost of the materiel.

At the AGM the membership expressed their desire to have the work completed. The trail is now open. Folks, I have one request: If we happen to get a really good snowfall, it would be a really benevolent (kind) gesture if you would avoid this trail for a week or so after the snowfall to allow your friends who have snowmobiles to have their fun.

Keep the memberships coming.

Brian

January 21, 2007

The AGM is now over. Thank you to all of you who came out to participate and endure my speech. I'd also like to thank our auditors this year (Richard and Eric) for the comprehensive audit and the generosity of their praise for Ann, who managed the books with obvious pride in her work. All of the directors contributed to the effort at the AGM and we had some spousal assistance as well. It was all very much appreciated by your now fully elected club president.

For those of you who could not attend, please take a few minutes to read the transcript of my speech (right click to save the file -- it's in .pdf format).

I compressed this picture to reduce its size, but you can see that we had a good turnout at the meeting.

We went through the standard AGM agenda then held a Q&A session before closing. The meeting took just less than one hour to complete. You elected five officers and they then appointed the remaining directors. Here is how it turned out--

President: Brian Day (now fully elected)

Vice President: Rodney Hurlbert

2nd Vice President: Bob Douglas (Trail Supervisor)

Secretary/Treasurer: John Meester

Elected Director: Rob Meester

Appointed Directors

Clive Catt

Dave Dwyer

Eric Blackmore

This new team of eight is responsible for the management decisions of this club. The president does not get a vote if there is a tie.

It was a beautiful day and I was told that the rally was fun for most of the participants. I heard something about thin ice in spots and . . .  well, you know what that means -- some people got a bit wet; but the clubhouse was warm and the food was hot.

Travel safely,

Brian

January 18, 2007

A small group of volunteers have assembled to help with the installation of new decking on the largest span of the four bridge trail that crosses tributaries of the South Nation River. The work is planned for Friday, January 19. If you are interested in this activity -- despite the short notice -- please contact John Foot.

My speech is prepped and we are ready for the AGM. We will keep the meeting short so that the rally can start on time.

See you there . . .

January 10, 2007

The position of Treasurer is open for nominations. At present, we do not have a candidate for this important position. If you are interested or can suggest someone who may be interested and qualified, please let us know.

Thank you,

Brian

January 9, 2007

Last year, twelve (12) people attended the AGM. That was pitiful. This year, I want the walls of the clubhouse bulging. Unless there is a blizzard, the AGM is going ahead on the 20th of January and I expect to see you there. This is your club and it's time to vote for a new executive team. I'm not asking you to volunteer, I'm asking you to attend. I want to see over 50% of the members present -- that's 130 people or more!

PLEASE, PLEASE make the effort. Show your executive that this club is important to you, that you want a trail system, that trail expansion is important, and that you value the work of the management. If you don't attend, you will be sending us another message. Believe me when I tell you that we (the management of your club) need you. By your attendance, you will raise our spirits.

So on Saturday, January 20th, please be at the clubhouse by 09:00. At the very least, my speech should be entertaining.

We will serve a breakfast for a nominal fee at 08:00 -- pancakes and sausage, juice or coffee.

Thank you,

Brian

News Archive 2006

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