Maine USA: snowmobile news; American snowmobile news stories and articles compiled by Zenwaiter.com

May 4 2006; Augusta, ME, USA; The town council amended the amount designated to be given to the Snowmobile Club to be $2,523, rather than $3,465. The reason for the decrease was the lack of snow, Dyer said. Get the whole story here...

Tuesday, March 07, 2006 - ALLAGASH - Bangor Daily NewsNEWS: AROOSTOOK COUNTY; Can-Am musher weds chef at Allagash race checkpoint The bride-to-be was dressed in her red-and-black mushing jacket emblazoned with race patches. The groom was dressed in a black winter outdoor suit. Tenley Meara finished 18th in the Pepsi-Budweiser Can-Am Crown 30-mile sled dog race Saturday, but early Monday, on a bank overlooking the Allagash River at Two Rivers Lunch in Allagash, she officially became No. 1 in Wayne Bennett's heart. Meara, a veteran sled dog musher and registered Maine Guide, and Bennett, a chef, were married shortly after 8 a.m. under a crisp, sunny sky. more here
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WALDO COUNTY (March 2, 2006): Lack of snow serious blow to snowmobile industry; The lack of snow in the lower half of Maine has devastated the state’s once-booming snowmobile industry, prompting some people to call for a federal disaster declaration. “A disaster is usually a blizzard, a hurricane, an ice storm — not that it’s 50 degrees and sunny in February,” acknowledged Bob Meyer, president of the Maine Snowmobile Association. “But business in some of these small towns is off 50 to 60 percent. Business owners do need help. A lot of jobs are at stake.”Read all the news story here..
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Snow drought has Maine snowmobilers scrambling; WEST FORKS, Maine (AP) — This winter's lack of snow doesn't worry some Mainers who depend on it to make their businesses' cash registers ring. They're trucking the stuff in. Maine received 2 storms in late January, welcomed by many who enjoy outdoor winter activities. Pat Wellenbach, AP "If Mother Nature doesn't come here, we're going to her," said Peter Dostie, who with a few other local business owners has mustered backhoes, a six-wheel-drive dump truck, snowplows and grooming machines into service hauling in what many Mainers call "white gold." Using snow from piles around two town halls, a school parking lot and a local ballpark, they are firming up eight miles of a trail that skirts the Kennebec River in western Maine on the way to higher elevations, where the snow from earlier in the season still covers hundreds of miles of trails. read the entire Maine snowmobile story here...

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RANGELEY -- An 18-year-old Durham man who was riding a snowmobile with a group of friends on Haley Pond in the early hours on Friday was killed when he drove into an outcropping of land, according to a warden service spokesman. Speed and possibly alcohol were factors in the crash that killed Douglas White, said Marc Michaud, director of public information for Maine's Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. White's body was found by friends wedged into the crotch of a branch of a large tree about 10 feet off the ground, Michaud said. Maine news story here

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Thursday, February 23, 2006; Event to benefit Pine Tree Camp; By LARRY GRARD; Staff Writer; Copyright © 2006 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. ROME -- A weekend of snowmobile races, great meals and a fishing derby is scheduled on and around North Pond, with proceeds of Fun Days going to the Pine Tree Camps.The facility in Rome provides recreational opportunities for children and adults with disabilities.Saturday's fishing derby will take place on the ponds of the Belgrade Lakes. The weigh-in and awarding of prizes is set for 5 p.m. at the Pine Tree Camps on North Pond.Snowmobile drag races are set for Saturday, and radar runs are Sunday.In addition, there will be a pig roast and baked bean dinner at the camps. Cabins will be equipped with handicapped-accessible bathrooms and five dining rooms.Inmates from the Kennebec County jail in Augusta have worked throughout the week to get the cabins ready."They've been doing a good job, and it's kind of been a rehabilitation for them, being involved with the Pine Tree Camps," said Francis Smith, Fun Days coordinator and a longtime Pine Tree Camps volunteer. "It looks like we're in for good weather, and a good time."Raffle tickets, available on site, are $2 each or three for $5.Pine Tree Camps is located on Smithfield Road in Rome. Those on snowmobiles can follow ITS Trail 87 to the Norridgewock/Smithfield Trail to North Pond.For more information or to register, call Smith at 474-2765.Larry Grard -- 474-9534, Ext. 343 lgrard@centralmaine.com Read more Main news stories here...