Hidden Bear Trail ATV Club Newsletter #2, 2015

Membership Meeting & Fundraiser: On Saturday August 15th we held our 2nd membership meeting of 2015 at Animals Bear Trail Inn and also held our annual fundraiser. The meeting started at 11:00 am with a total of 32 members in attendance. Prior to the meeting starting at 9:00 am we had members set up for the fundraiser that started at noon. We had a very steady crowd all day even with the temperatures that soared into the 90’s. We ended up doing all 100 of our meat raffles, along with 4 – 50/50 raffles and a gun raffle. Fun was had by all in attendance even with the extreme heat. The board of directors would like to thank all the members that volunteered, (we had in excess of 40 volunteers that day), thanks also goes to Dave Thompson and his crew for running the spin wheel all day, thank you to all the people that attended the event and a special thanks to Echo Valley, the Schoolhouse Bar, Animal’s and the Beach Club for donated a portion of the gun for our gun raffle. Pictures of the days event can be seen on our website at: www.hiddenbeartrailatvclub.com.

Cash Raffle: We also held our annual cash raffle at our fundraiser. Thanks to all the members that purchased and helped sell tickets. The following is a list of Winners: $4000.00 – Mary Grutza, $2000.00 – Tim Stephani, $900.00 – MJ & JR, $700.00 – Tony Farder, $600.00 – Bob Dow, $500.00 – Ray Fiedler, $450.00 – Halfway Group, $300.00 – Not Bob’s, $200.00 – RCH, Ron Jackson, Jackie Pitterle, Bob Goble, Great Northern & Animal, Gary Spiller, $150.00 – Julie Wolf, Halfway Group, Dennis Soulier, DC Hedman, CPDM, Marilyn & Shawn, Tom Pickett, Steve Fonder, Karen Pitterle, Yvonne Coulthard, & Jon Reformado.

Membership: Our club now has a total of 162 paying members and in excess of 300 total members which includes spouses & children. The Board of Directors want to thank you!!!!

Lakewood Parade: Our club participated in the Lakewood Parade again this year, we had 20 people ride in the parade from our club and the Red Arrow Club. The group gave out over 50 pounds of Mardi Gras Beads!!! A special thanks goes to Loren Nelson for leading the parade with our club logo and safety info. Pictures from the Lakewood Parade can be seen on our website also.

Trail Conditions: We are currently working with the Forest Service and Oconto County to increase the width and increase the visibility on the ATV Trail/Route from the Nicolet State Trail over to Doty. We are currently working in the area by Highway 32 & Thelen Road. Last week our club hired the Red Arrow Snowmobile & ATV Club to use their brush hog to cut the sides of the trail between Highway 32 & Star Lake Road. We also had 17 members from our club to brush the same area to increase sight visibility in 10 different areas between Hwy 32 & Island Lake Road. In the next few weeks Oconto County will be widening the entrance onto Highway 32 and Thelen Road along with putting down gravel in the first half mile of this trail. Also our contractor will be fixing some of the washout areas between Island Lake Road & Star Lake Road in Riverview. Just another reminder the main trail (Nicolet State Trail/Old Railroad Grade) is maintained by Dusty Trails ATV Club. They groom the trail from Mountain to Suring one week and the second week they groom from Mountain to North of Lakewood. The Red Arrow Snowmobile & ATV Club groom the Nicolet State Trail from Lakewood to the Forest County Line.

Safety & Rules: At our last Board meeting it was suggested that in our newsletter that we put info regarding some of the ATV rules. Helmet Requirement: Those under 12 years of age must wear a helmet at all times. Those over 12 but under 18 must wear a helmet at all times except when traveling for the purpose of hunting or fishing. Public Roadway Restrictions: ATV route signs on public roads indicate legal UTV travel as well. State and County Highway surface travel is not legal in Oconto County. A few county highway ditch lines are clearly marked for legal travel.

Business Members: The following is a list of Business Members, please help support their Business: Lakewood Hardware, Timberline Restaruant, Lakewood Supervalu, Lakewood Powersports, Mulligans, The Beach Club, Lakewood Shell, J&J Contracting, Animals Bear Trail Inn, Maple Heights Campground, Echo Valley Campground, Boulder Lake Campground, Tebo Lakewood Realty & Cellular, O’Neils Halfway Bar, 9 Mile Resort, Firelite Bar & Grill, Waubee Lodge & Prospect Bar & Grill. Please welcome our newest Business Member, The Schoolhouse Bar & Grill.

Next Membership Meeting, Club Ride & Cookout: Our next and last membership meeting for 2015 will be Saturday September 26th at the Firelite Bar & Grill, in Lakewood WI at 10:00 AM. After the meeting we will go on a club ride followed by a cookout at the Lakewood trailhead. More info to follow.

Jim Wisneski
Secretary