Hey guys and gals,
If you have ever wondered just how much we listen to you, get a load of this!
The HMT Rangers have initiated an investigation into an illegal dump thanks to keen eyed riders bringing it to their attention!
There are many different ways our riders help us. From telling folks what a great vacation destination the trails are to reporting things to us that may not be all right.
During a recent ride, one HMT enthusiast had spotted an illegal dump and looked into it before contacting the HMRRA Rangers.
“A trail rider had come across this mess and reported it to me around Dec. 1,” said Hatfield-McCoy Ranger Jeremy Collins. "I went up and located the spot where he said it was and poked into it and found some mail, a bill with an address on it.”
Ranger Collins also took pictures of the illegal dump which was located in the Peach Creek area, for further evidence. An arrest warrant was obtained for the primary suspect.
Following a further investigation the suspect was located a few days later and taken to Magistrate Court on litter charges.
“They are going to have a court hearing on it later,” Collins said, adding that the Hatfield-McCoy Rangers are still investigating the incident.
Hatfield-McCoy Deputy Director John Fekete said the Rangers are investigating the matter seriously and that it was further proof that litter on the trails will not be tolerated. Fekete said the Authority was thankful to the trail rider who notified the Rangers about the incident and to the officers who worked on the case.
“Litter is a serious problem in our area, and we have to take it seriously,” Fekete noted saying that illegal dumps and pollution could hurt the local economy if tourists get the wrong impression of southern West Virginia.
Just goes to show you that when our riders talk, WE LISTEN!
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Christmas at HMT
Christmastime is always a very busy and special time at the Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority.
It's a time of merriment and good cheer, but it is also a time of hard work and contemplation. Trail management has to assess how good of a year we have had work-wise from maintaining and building new trails to which merchandise sells well and which needs to be phased out. There are annaul employee assessments as well as an annual employee Christmas party and the chance for all of HMT's far-flung employees to get together in one place and enjoy each other's company.
The Hatfield-McCoy Trails had another good year, according to
Executive Director Jeff Lusk, who shared the good news with HMRRA
employees at their annual Christmas party.
This year, in addition to what amounted to a day off with pay, the folks who work at the various trails and trailheads also recieved a bonus, a new jacket and more at the party where many old friends got together and shared in one of the most basic Christmas traditions- Fellowship.
We also got to hear some good news from management.
“For eleven years we have had continued growth in permit sales,” Jeff Lusk
said at the meeting, where employees got their holiday bonuses. “For
six years we have had continued growth in our merchandise sales. That
says a lot when you consider that the national economy has been in a
slump.”
Lusk thanked Hatfield-McCoys employees for their hard work and
dedication, noting that often when a problem arose, such as one
employee being off sick, other employees stepped forward and met those
challenges.
“That is no easy task, when you consider that we are operating six
trailheads in five counties,” Lusk added. “I told somebody this
morning, you really don’t realize how many employees we have except
for when we all get together like this and you see that parking lot
and it is filled.”
Lusk said he felt Hatfield-McCoy was a great place to work because of
the people who work there creating a friendly environment.
Deputy Director John Fekete and Marketing Director Mike Pinkerton
thanked their coworkers and Lusk for their role in helping the
Hatfield-McCoy Trails maintain the success it has seen over the past
11 years.
It's a time of merriment and good cheer, but it is also a time of hard work and contemplation. Trail management has to assess how good of a year we have had work-wise from maintaining and building new trails to which merchandise sells well and which needs to be phased out. There are annaul employee assessments as well as an annual employee Christmas party and the chance for all of HMT's far-flung employees to get together in one place and enjoy each other's company.
The Hatfield-McCoy Trails had another good year, according to
Executive Director Jeff Lusk, who shared the good news with HMRRA
employees at their annual Christmas party.
This year, in addition to what amounted to a day off with pay, the folks who work at the various trails and trailheads also recieved a bonus, a new jacket and more at the party where many old friends got together and shared in one of the most basic Christmas traditions- Fellowship.
We also got to hear some good news from management.
“For eleven years we have had continued growth in permit sales,” Jeff Lusk
said at the meeting, where employees got their holiday bonuses. “For
six years we have had continued growth in our merchandise sales. That
says a lot when you consider that the national economy has been in a
slump.”
Lusk thanked Hatfield-McCoys employees for their hard work and
dedication, noting that often when a problem arose, such as one
employee being off sick, other employees stepped forward and met those
challenges.
“That is no easy task, when you consider that we are operating six
trailheads in five counties,” Lusk added. “I told somebody this
morning, you really don’t realize how many employees we have except
for when we all get together like this and you see that parking lot
and it is filled.”
Lusk said he felt Hatfield-McCoy was a great place to work because of
the people who work there creating a friendly environment.
Deputy Director John Fekete and Marketing Director Mike Pinkerton
thanked their coworkers and Lusk for their role in helping the
Hatfield-McCoy Trails maintain the success it has seen over the past
11 years.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
For your own benefit
Hey folks,
Big Jim here with a little safety warnin'....
Have you ever seen that tee vee show on SPIKE called "A Thousand Ways to Die"?
Eventually they are gonna have a segment like this, if people don't get their heads out of their hindquarters as my dear ole pappy used to say....
Now, lets start with the voice over in that Ron Perleman style....
Cut to intro of an excited looking guy standing next to the cast of Deliverance..
"This, is Charlie. He has just made the last major bad choice of his life. You see, Charlie went to Wild and Wonderful West Virginia to ride the world famous Hatfield-McCoy Trails. The problem is that Charlie listened to some local folks who had a grudge and were two cheap to fork over the $26.50 that a year long permit would have cost them as natives. Despite the fact they just spent three times that amount on beer, lottery tickets and a carton of Lucky Strikes."
Cut to a guy dressed like an extra in a Civil War epic with bad teeth and the Lucky Strikes under his arm telling Charlie - "Shoot, don't ride them thar trails, you need to get over here next to the interstate and take this backroad to the Outlaw Trails= That's where we ride!"
Cue to voice over-
"Charlie didn't know it, but the guy giving him bad advice would rather sell his soul to Satan for an 8 track than ride that stretch of property. It belonged to a local utility company he got fired from and was posted "No Trespassing." In fact most of the locals who advise folks like Charlie to ride the "Outlaw Trails" are advising folks to risk life and limb to trespass, which is against the law.
Charlie's new found friend doesn't care about Charlie, or if Charlie has a good time. He just has a grudge against the ex-boss who fired him for sleeping on the job one time too many.
So Charlie takes the advice of Gomer,Goober and Gomber and heads for the Outlaw Trails. He makes his way to the foreboding spot and ignores the "No Trespassing" sign. Surely those guys who told him to come here wouldn't steer him wrong would they? - the voiceover announces as you see Charlie unlimbering his shiny ATV from the back of his sled.
Cut to a picture of Charlie riding off into a valley as the locals start stripping his vehicle. The Ron Perleman voice says, "This is one reason why they call it "Outlaw."
Cut to Charlie in the woods having a pretty bad go of it. The voice over comes back on and notes - "Unlike the world famous Hatfield-McCoy Trails, the so-called Outlaw trails are often ungraded. They are, after all, somebody's private property and are not set up for riders. Also there are generally no maps for them so if folks like Charlie get lost they are on their own. If Charlie gets into the back corner and breaks down, he is not going to encounter some freindly Ranger out on patrol to help him out and he probably won't even come across other riders who could assist him. For all intents and purposes Charlie is as alone as if he were riding on the Moon."
Cut to Charlie having a bad spill on an unmaintained stretch of land and getting stranded in the woods. The voice over comes back on and says. "Well, Charlie was in a pickle now...Night was coming on and so was Hypothermia....Even if Charlie could get out of this predicament he would possibly be facing fines, fees and so forth for trespassing. If the local search and rescue teams got called out he would have to reimburse that agency for expenses too. But Charlie has worse things to worry about now..."
It sounds funny and on the tee vee show it is portrayed as funny. But there is nothing funny about the trouble you can get into when you listen to bad advice from people who advise you to go trespassing on somebody elses unmaintained private property. HMT has way over 500 miles of well maintained marked and mapped trails. Staying on them is a SAFETY ISSUE. People who tell you to go 'off trail' onto Outlaw Trails are not giving you good advice. They could care less about your safety or riding experience. You don't know them, so you don't know the reasons why some of them dole out bad advice so Big Jim advises you to use common sense and avoid trespassing on somebody elses property when you can ride on one of the best maintained trail systems in this part of the world.
Big Jim here with a little safety warnin'....
Have you ever seen that tee vee show on SPIKE called "A Thousand Ways to Die"?
Eventually they are gonna have a segment like this, if people don't get their heads out of their hindquarters as my dear ole pappy used to say....
Now, lets start with the voice over in that Ron Perleman style....
Cut to intro of an excited looking guy standing next to the cast of Deliverance..
"This, is Charlie. He has just made the last major bad choice of his life. You see, Charlie went to Wild and Wonderful West Virginia to ride the world famous Hatfield-McCoy Trails. The problem is that Charlie listened to some local folks who had a grudge and were two cheap to fork over the $26.50 that a year long permit would have cost them as natives. Despite the fact they just spent three times that amount on beer, lottery tickets and a carton of Lucky Strikes."
Cut to a guy dressed like an extra in a Civil War epic with bad teeth and the Lucky Strikes under his arm telling Charlie - "Shoot, don't ride them thar trails, you need to get over here next to the interstate and take this backroad to the Outlaw Trails= That's where we ride!"
Cue to voice over-
"Charlie didn't know it, but the guy giving him bad advice would rather sell his soul to Satan for an 8 track than ride that stretch of property. It belonged to a local utility company he got fired from and was posted "No Trespassing." In fact most of the locals who advise folks like Charlie to ride the "Outlaw Trails" are advising folks to risk life and limb to trespass, which is against the law.
Charlie's new found friend doesn't care about Charlie, or if Charlie has a good time. He just has a grudge against the ex-boss who fired him for sleeping on the job one time too many.
So Charlie takes the advice of Gomer,Goober and Gomber and heads for the Outlaw Trails. He makes his way to the foreboding spot and ignores the "No Trespassing" sign. Surely those guys who told him to come here wouldn't steer him wrong would they? - the voiceover announces as you see Charlie unlimbering his shiny ATV from the back of his sled.
Cut to a picture of Charlie riding off into a valley as the locals start stripping his vehicle. The Ron Perleman voice says, "This is one reason why they call it "Outlaw."
Cut to Charlie in the woods having a pretty bad go of it. The voice over comes back on and notes - "Unlike the world famous Hatfield-McCoy Trails, the so-called Outlaw trails are often ungraded. They are, after all, somebody's private property and are not set up for riders. Also there are generally no maps for them so if folks like Charlie get lost they are on their own. If Charlie gets into the back corner and breaks down, he is not going to encounter some freindly Ranger out on patrol to help him out and he probably won't even come across other riders who could assist him. For all intents and purposes Charlie is as alone as if he were riding on the Moon."
Cut to Charlie having a bad spill on an unmaintained stretch of land and getting stranded in the woods. The voice over comes back on and says. "Well, Charlie was in a pickle now...Night was coming on and so was Hypothermia....Even if Charlie could get out of this predicament he would possibly be facing fines, fees and so forth for trespassing. If the local search and rescue teams got called out he would have to reimburse that agency for expenses too. But Charlie has worse things to worry about now..."
It sounds funny and on the tee vee show it is portrayed as funny. But there is nothing funny about the trouble you can get into when you listen to bad advice from people who advise you to go trespassing on somebody elses unmaintained private property. HMT has way over 500 miles of well maintained marked and mapped trails. Staying on them is a SAFETY ISSUE. People who tell you to go 'off trail' onto Outlaw Trails are not giving you good advice. They could care less about your safety or riding experience. You don't know them, so you don't know the reasons why some of them dole out bad advice so Big Jim advises you to use common sense and avoid trespassing on somebody elses property when you can ride on one of the best maintained trail systems in this part of the world.
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