Newsletter
Chapter Meeting March 14, 2001
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 7:08 PM by Lynn Waldron
Treasurer’s Report & Financial Action:
A. Bob Benham reports from the sunny south that we have $1,622.28 in our account.
B. Lynn Waldron requested approval for expenditure of funds for 2 gallons of Blue Blaze paint at an estimated cost of $17-$20/gallon. Moved, seconded and approved.
C. Charles Krammin and Larry Hawkins requested funds to cover the cost of two North Country National Scenic Trail patches for two scouts who assisted us with Trails Day 2000. We had hoped to get the National BSA Trails Day patch designed for the NCT, but the logistics were too complicated and expensive, 100 patches needing to be purchased through a BSA Council store. Moved, seconded and passed.
Promotion & Membership – Funke
A. Tom was not available for a report
B. Lynn recalled that Earth Day is approaching in April. In the past, Tom has requested $25 to fund an NCT booth at Earth Day event. Money was approved in case it will be needed again this year.
Trail Adopters – Juhl
A. No action reported
B. Lynn pointed out that we will want the entire trail well policed by Trails Day 2001 so that it is clean and easily hiked.
Activities – VanDyken
A. Barb was not available for a report.
B. Lynn indicated that we should consider the northern portion of our trail near Middleville for the next activities hike.
Trails Day 2001 – Wolfe
A. Janet not available for report.
B. Committee has been meeting monthly at the Kellogg Forest wnd things are proceeding well. Last Month Bill Powaser presented a potential food program which promoted membership, low impact and healthy foods. Was well accepted. Timelines were established for each subcommittee to document progress. These are sent to Janet the Tuesday before the monthly meeting to be collated and published.
C. The March meeting will take place at Kimball Pines at 1:00 PM. Meet in the parking lot near the first service area. This will coordinate with the trail crew who will be working the Ott Preserve or Kimball Pines in the morning.
Trail Report – Krammin
A. Lynn thanked Charles Krammin for spearheading the trail crews for the last couple months.
B. Charles reports that his text directions for the portion of the trail from 108th St. to M-37 through Middleville and the Paul Henry trail is available on the NCT Web Site but is a bit complicated to find:
- Go to "Explore the Trail"
- Lower Michigan
- Slides
- trail conditions
- January 13th
Charles will attempt to get this in an easier spot to access
C. Two weeks ago the trail was cleared from Peets Rd to Bassett Lake Rd. Some pines were down and required cutting up.
D. The kiosk at Bassett Lake has been badly damaged by vandals, having been shot up with small shot destroying the plexiglass and contents. The recommendation was to move it to a less obvious position and replace the plexiglass. The kiosk at MacDonald Lake has one slug hole in it but is otherwise intact.
E. A request has been turned into MDOT for a sign on M-179 indicating an approach to the NCT. There will be no charge to us and the sign will meet MDOT specifications, which our present signage does not. We can use the signs we received from the NPS on county road approaches.
F. Maps:
- Tiffany, the cartographer at headquarters will have summer interns available. Our GPS data from 108th St south to the Barry State Game Area will be formalized into a map for the northern segment. It will be in a 100,000:1 scale.
- The State Park cartographer has done a GPS study of all the trails in the Yankee Springs Recreation Area many of which intersect with the NCT. This data will be made available to Tiffany so that all the side trails will be included on our NCT maps.
G. Annette Chapman of the Calhoun County Planning Commission has hiked the trail as we have it flagged in Kimball Pines and the Ott Preserve and has approved it. This means we can start trail building and putting up blue blazes. The section of trail across the Harper Creek Schools property has not received formal approval by the school board although we do have a verbal commitment.
H. Saturday March 17th Trail work will be in the Ott Preserve or Kimball Pines depending on the degree of thaw that has occurred. The diehards will meet at the Prairieville Inn for breakfast at 7:00 AM and drive to Battle Creek. Those from the east side not wishing to make the pilgrimage to Prairieville can meet at the MacDonalds near Kimball Pines at 8:30 AM
I. Upcoming Work Days for the Trail Crew:
- March 17
- March 31
- April 14
- May 5
- May 19
Old Business
Lee’s Backpacking Program
Lee’s Backpacking educational program will be coming up soon. CNC/NCT has the program one or two weeks before Trails Day 2001. Neil Juhl will get the details to Tom Funke for the Newsletter. We encourage all the membership to attend these informative sessions.
NCTA Headquarters is scheduled to move to it’s new home in Lowell this weekend. Apparently the Lowell High School Football Team is going to do all the lugging and carrying. It’s great to see the city of Lowell taking the NCTA so close to heart.
Next Meeting
The April meeting will take place at the Barry Township Hall at 7:00 PM on Wednesday April 11, 2001.
Chapter Contacts
See our CONTACTS web page to see who is who and how to get in touch.
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