The news of the record six feet of snow that fell in Erie over the Christmas Holidays has made it around the world. The amount of snowfall in Erie has eclipsed several state records. This week Erie is also quickly closing in on the record all time high of 149 in. of snow in a season for the area. The next time I ask everyone to do a snow dance I will be more specific as to the amount and location of the snowfall.
An Emergency in Erie County was declared during this event. Large amounts of snow and sleet were followed by a sizeable rise in temperature. This weather event produced ice and flooding. Until one is in a serious situation such as this you never know if you are really prepared. It certainly helped to have a front end loader tractor. Today I am running out of room to put the snow.
I want to thank all the volunteer groups, neighbors and friends who helped each other through the snow ordeal. It is gratifying to know that help is close by when one needs it.
Two groups who helped clear roofs, sidewalks and driveways in the City and County were the Rubicon Volunteers and the Civil Air Patrol Cadets. The Rubicon group is composed of military men who want to continue to be of service to communities. They were in Erie during the tornado clean-up several months ago and came back to help shovel sidewalks and remove snow/icicles.
The Civil Air Patrol Cadets are a group of young people hoping to become pilots someday. They do service projects to help them receive flying time. Coincidentally they were started many years ago by my brother-in-law, Karl Lang, of Coudersport. They helped clear off four feet of snow from the entrances to my house while enduring record low temperatures. I was surprised when I asked the group where they were from and they replied St. Marys, my home town, and the Pittsburgh area. It is a small world. (One of the Cadets referred to my brother-in-law as Captain.)
Kudos to both groups for their help.
In spite of all the snow this is a great opportunity to showcase our trails.
Club volunteers groom and maintain approximately 3,000 miles of trails on private land, the Allegheny National Forest and state land. Information concerning trails across the state can be found on our website at www.pasnow.org
During this Emergency several clubs continued to groom trails and work on groomer repairs. Sid Schaefer, a member of the Presque Isle Club (PISC) was up at 3 am on New Years Day to groom trails for the people who were coming to Erie County to ride. Bob Percy and Dick East along with Sid worked in extreme low temperatures to repair the groomer which had developed a problem. Meanwhile the McKean club groomer operators and members helped groom PISC trails. Then their groomer threw a track during this grooming. Eighteen volunteers appeared to help replace the track. This comradery is what snowmobiling is all about. Thank you for your help.
Many clubs have several members who go the extra mile to make the trails safe, sponsor fundraising events and spread the word about the benefits of club and PSSA membership. Please consider nominating members from your club for the Annual PSSA Awards. They will be due to the PSSA Secretary, Chick Walters, by March 21, 2018. (Information is on the website at www.pasnow.org)
Several Regional Directors will finish their tenure as representatives of their region by the next Membership Meeting. Clubs should nominate the present Director or nominate someone else to represent their clubs on the Board. One e-mail from the clubs in the Region stating their nomination should be sent to Don Mosier, Executive Board member, by March 21, 2018.
The Membership meeting will have an Open Forum for Members Only this year. More information will be given in the March Keystone Snowmobiler.
Liz Krug, President
Mark your Calendar: Membership Meeting May 5, 2018 Ramada Conference and Golf Hotel- University Park (same as this year)
