Driftbusters March 6th. Meeting Minutes
Meeting was called to order by Pres. Evan Halvorson
Introductions were made by all.
Secretary’s Report by Cheryl Gelling: The meeting minutes were handed out prior to the meeting from the Feb. meeting and Evan asked if everyone had read them. Evan asked if there were any corrections or additions. Cheryl Gelling said that the food donations from the Holiday party should read that they were given to Sacred Heart instead of The Salvation Army. Motion was made by Jim Gelling, seconded by Casey Weismantel, motion approved.
Treasures Report by Ann Nagel: Ann stated she is going to transfer the $2,500 back to the trail fund that we borrowed earlier from the trail fund to put in the membership fund to pay the bills. Ann stated that to date we have 103 members. Dennis Beckler received a check for $500 to reimburse him for the $500 check he gave to Lyle Schaunaman for using his tractor and snow blower to rescue the groomer from under the Westport bridge on Hwy. 281. Motion to approve by Dan Rohbach, Cheryl seconded, motion approved.
SDSA Report by Kelly Weaver: They received 10 scholarship applications which is a record. Continuing discussion was held on the fat tire bikes. The forest service is working on a trail map for the fat tire bikes.
Advisory: Nothing at this time.
Trail report: Kelly Weaver stated that because Kenny Ham is in the hospital and the predicted storm for this Sat. the trail will not get groomed this weekend. We also need to think about putting together a trail proposal for next year and if we need to make any changes in the trail route. We can groom until March 31th. The last time we groomed the groomer got stuck under the bridge on 281 by Westport. To see the pictures and the details go to the Driftbusters facebook page.
Emergency Reaction: Nothing to report at this time.
Safety Report: Nothing to report at this time.
Charity Report: Ann stated that we need to fill out a charity report to turn in to the state. Ann will do this. Ann stated that she got a thank you from The Journey Home for our donation.
Publicity: Jim Gelling asked Casey Weismantel if he had heard back from the radio station about the interview we were supposed to do on InTouch. Casey stated that he has not heard from them.
Activities: The club has held 2 trail rides the past 2 weekends and have a couple more scheduled, please check on Facebook for date, time and locations of upcoming trail rides. The radar run that was postponed will be held on March 17th. and the casino night will be March 30th.
Old business: Casey Weismantel stated that he heard back from Ramkota that April 7th. & April 14th. would be available for our Pizza/Swim party. The rental of the room and access to the pool would be $100. After a brief discussion it was decided to go with April 14th. More details will follow on Facebook & web site. Cheryl Gelling stated that she has made all the arrangements for the fall campout and membership drive at Wylie Park for the weekend of Sept. 13-14th. Jim Gelling stated that he had contacted David Novstrup on what options we have on cutting the expense of renting the go-karts. After a brief discussion Ann Nagel made the motion to rent the go-karts for just 1 hr. this year at the cost of $375, Joey Nagel seconded, motion approved. Discussion was also held on how many turkeys to cook on Fri. night.
New Business: Casey Weismantel gave us an update on the upcoming casino night. Casey stated he is still looking for volunteers to help. Discussion was held on the upcoming election of officers and board members for the April meeting. 2 board members terms are up, and we need to appoint someone to finish Dan Rohbach’s board member position as he will be President next year. After a brief discussion Evan Halvorson has agreed to finish Dan’s board member position for next year. Casey Weismantel and Pat McCoy agreed to be elected as board members for the next 2 yrs. We still need a pres-elect for 2020. Kelly Weismantel has agreed to be elected as secretary. Ann Nagel has agreed to be the treasurer for another year. This will be voted on at the April meeting.
Monthly News letter: Kelly Weismantel took care of this.
Next meeting April 4th. at the Pizza Ranch at 7:30pm
Motion to adjourn was made by Casey Weismantel, seconded by Jim Gelling, meeting adjourned.
Cheryl Gelling, Secretary.

MARCH NEWSLETTER
Hello Driftbusters!

If you’re not out enjoying your snowmobiles this winter, you’re doing it wrong! We have been getting a nice amount of fresh snow weekly, which has been allowing us to run the groomer weekly as well. That means the trails should be in fantastic condition so I hope everyone is enjoying them! Make sure to pay attention to the Facebook page to stay up to date on when there will be club rides and other events.
The radar run event that was originally scheduled for Sunday, March 3rd. has been postponed to March 17th. due to pending cold temps, and also not being able to prep the surface due to blowing snow.
Our next meeting will be Wednesday, March 6th. at the Elks Lodge again with pizza at 7pm, and the meeting starting at 7:30pm. Let Ann Nagel know at 228-4143 if you plan on attending so she will know how many pizza’s to order. We will take free will donations to help pay for the pizza’s. I encourage everyone to join us there as this will be the final meeting before our Casino Night event and we need to get everyone signed up for a volunteer slot as well as finalizing any other last minute decisions. We need all the help we can get!
Evan Halvorson, President

Radar run on March 3rd is postponed to Sunday, March 17th. Due to recent snows and winds we have not been able to establish the track for the radar run.  The extreme temperatures forecast for Sunday have also contributed to the decision to postpone to March 17th at 1 pm at the Richmond Oasis.

Driftbusters Feb. 13th. Meeting Minutes
Meeting was called to order by Pres. Evan Halvorson
Introductions were made by all.
Secretary’s report by Cheryl Gelling: The meeting minutes were handed out prior to the meeting from the Jan. meeting and Evan asked if everyone had read them. Evan asked if there were any corrections or additions if not he asked for a motion to accept. Motion to accept the minutes was made by Al Nagel, seconded by Kenny Ham, motion approved.
Treasurers Report by Ann Nagel: We have 97 members, 16 associate members, and 3 web site. Motion to accept treasurers report by Jim Weaver, seconded by Casey Weismantel, motion approved.
SDSA Report by Kelly Weaver: The Governor’s ride is this weekend. SDSA board meeting is Friday night. The SDSA scholarship program for high school students deadline is Feb. 25th.
Advisory Report by Al Nagel: The board meeting is at 6 pm Friday night. We will do our budget review. We will have a discussion and update on locking differentials for the groomers.
Trail report by Jim Weaver: We are trying to get the trail groomed once a week. We are having to deal with lots of piles of snow on driveways and approaches, as well as signs covered up or knocked down. We had an issue with the groomer last week due to the bitter cold weather the fuel filters were jelled up. When you are riding the trail and you see signs that are knocked down please stop and stand them back up, it is for everyone’s safety. The trail is the best I have seen in a long while. We had to replace the 2 tires on the back of the drag because they were badly weather checked.
Emergency Reaction: Nothing to report at this time.
Safety Report: Corey & Kate Gelling reported that they have not received the safety certificates from the safety course they taught. Jim Weaver called Ryan Raynor about this and Ryan said to resend the information and he will take care of this.
Charity: We did a collection of food items at the Holiday party in Jan. and it was given to the Salvation Army food pantry.
Publicity: Cheryl Gelling stated she got an email from The Dakota Broadcasting station asking if we would like to do a live interview on In Touch in regards to our upcoming Casino Night in March. Casey Weismantel and Kelly Weaver will contact them and set up a date.
Activities: Cheryl Gelling stated that she contacted the Americ Inn to book a date for our upcoming Pizza/Swim party. The only opening they had was Sun. April 28th. She asked what everyone thought about having it that late. Casey Weismantel said he would contact the Ramkota and see if he could work something out. Discussion was held on having a radar run and scheduling some weekend club rides. The decision was made to have a radar run at The Richmond Oasis on Sun. March 3rd. Check the Driftbusters web site or facebook for more information on the radar run and the scheduled club rides. Jim Weaver stated that we will need at least 6 volunteers to help put on the radar run.
New Business: Cheryl Gelling asked if everyone is ok with scheduling our fall campout and membership drive for Sept. 13-14, which is the weekend after Hay Days. Discussion was then held on renting the go-carts. Jim Gelling was asked to contact Wylie Part Go-Carts and see if we could just rent the go-carts for 1 hr. instead of 2 hrs. and if we could do this in the afternoon instead of the evening. Richmond Oasis has offered to give a hot dog and a can of pop to anyone who signs up to be a new Driftbusters member at the Oasis, and asked if we would be willing to furnish the hot dogs and the pop. Casey Weismantel volunteered to take care of this.
News Article: Casey Weismantel will do this.
Old Business: A motion was made by Mark Musel to put the name of every new member (renewing members not considered new members) that signs up between Feb. 1 and May 1st. in a hat for a drawing for $50, motion was seconded by Tom Wanttie, motion approved. Check Driftbusters web site for more details. Cheryl Gelling asked everyone to think about who will be replacing 3 board members, pres. elect, and we need to pick a place for our final April club meeting.
Casey Weismantel updated us on the Casino Night. He handed out a floor plan of the building and showed us where everything will be set up. Explained how many people we will need to run this event. He told us that he has received several donation of items to be used for prizes, but that we also need some more items for door prizes and the small paddle wheel. He encouraged everyone that have not sold their tickets to please do so or turn them back to Ann so they can be redistributed to get them sold.
Next Meeting is WEDNESDAY March 6th. at The Elks Lodge at 7:30pm. with pizza to be ordered.
Motion to adjourn was made by Casey Weismantel, seconded by Kelly Weismantel, meeting adjourned.
Cheryl Gelling, Sec.

All new members who join the club from Feb. 1 to May 1 will be entered into a drawing for $50. (Renewing members are not considered new members).
Join the club by: (1) Mailing $30 dues to Aberdeen Driftbusters
P.O. Box 204
Aberdeen, S.D. 57402-0204
(2) Complete online membership form & pay online @
www.snowmobilesd.com/membership-form

Listed below is the scheduled club rides. Rides will all begin at 1 pm. Rides will not be held if temps. are below zero.
Sat. Feb. 16th. trail ride from Titan’s Bar & Grill in Frederick.
Sat. Feb. 23rd. trail ride from The Shed 18 in Westport.
Sat. March 2nd. trail ride from Richmond Oasis.
Sat. March 9th. trail ride from M Station at Mina.
Sat. March 16th. trail ride from Fossum Field, Aberdeen.

Hello Driftbusters,

Well, I hope everyone is finally getting to enjoy the trail system now that we have plenty of snow! As of today (2/1), the entire trail system will be groomed again and ready for a weekend of use.

The club ride in the Black Hills was a success, as the snow was very good out there as well! The trail system was the best I have ever seen, and the meadows had plenty to play in also despite having to combat some light rain Saturday morning. Some members also attended the Deadwood Snocross races in the evenings. They put on a heck of a good show as always! The Christian Brothers Racing team gives out one of their team race jackets to a kid at every race event, and our very own Beckett Halvorson was lucky enough to be chosen for that. So if you decide to watch the CBS playback of the races on Feb 10, or Feb 17, you might get to see his interview up on the podium.

I personally was not able to attend the Christmas party/steak feed on Jan 12th due to a crazy kids wrestling schedule, but it sounds like we had a good turn out. Any time we can dontate a whole shopping cart full of food to our local food pantry, I would consider that a success!

We are in the final stages of planning our casino night March 30th at the Elks Lodge. Please sign up to volunteer to work if you have not already!

Our next meeting is Feb 7th at 7:30pm at the Elks Lodge in Aberdeen.

Evan Halvorson, President

Well, we sure didn’t have to worry about losing any snow this past week. With the deep freeze waning, the grooming is warming up. Today, the trail was groomed from Westport to Frederick and the remaining trail will be groomed tomorrow (2-1-19). Trails conditions are good. Keep an eye on the website and Facebook page for future updates.

Driftbusters Jan. 3rd. Meeting Minutes
Meeting was called to order by Pres. Evan Halvorson.
Introductions were made by all.
Secretary’s Report by Cheryl Gelling: The meeting minutes were handed out prior to the meeting from the Dec. meeting and Evan asked if everyone had read them. Evan asked if there were any corrections or additions if not he asked for a motion to accept. Motion to accept the minutes was made by Duane Sutton, seconded by Kenny Ham, motion approved.
Treasures Report by Ann Nagel: We have 91 members, 16 associate members, & 3 web site only members. Motion to approve by Al Nagel, seconded by Jim Weaver, motion approved.
SDSA Report by Kelly Weaver: Kelly stated that all SDSA members can get a discount on your SnoCross tickets for the Deadwood races but you have to do it over the phone. SDSA will also have a booth at the races. Governors ride on Feb. 16th. will be headquartered out of Spearfish Holiday Inn. There is a form in the SnoPlainsman to send in if you plan on attending. Discussion is still on going on the fat tire bikes riding on the snowmobile trail. SDSA dues will be going up next year $5. Next years convention is the 50th. annual convention for SDSA and it will be held in Watertown by the Poinsett Pounders on Dec. 6th. and 7th. The Poinsett Pounders are asking for donations of old shirts to make a quilt and also if each club could give a club history on their club. Cheryl was asked to contact Mary Ann to update club officers in the SnoPlainsman.
Advisory Report by Al Nagel: there was an accident in Spearfish Canyon involving a snowmobiler but he doesn’t have any details yet. There has been a couple of trail reroutes and the fat tire bike issue is still on going. Arctic Cat will no longer be furnishing snowmobiles for the Governor’s Ride so SDSA and the Advisory Council are checking in to renting sleds for that day. Next meeting is Feb. 15th. at the Holiday Inn.
Trail Report by Jim Weaver: Jim Weaver stated that on Christmas Eve day he and his nephew drove to Hardy Camp in the Black Hills and picked up a new groomer track because we have not received the new track we had ordered from Tucker SnoCat and they can’t give us an answer when it will be delivered. On Christmas Day with the help of Dennis & David Beckler, Sonny Pence and myself the new track was installed. On Sat. Dec. 29th. the grooming was started but because of deep snow conditions the groomer got stuck multiple times and finally had to be pulled out with the use of 2 pickups. So it was decided to stop grooming because we thought there was problems with the groomer. Jim stated that after he made dozens of phone calls he found out that the State of SD orders the new groomers with what is called open differentials which basically means just one front track and one rear track drives. To remedy this problem Tucker makes optional locking differentials but it costs several thousands of dollars more. Jim found out that if we put these locking differentials in our groomer the state will not pay for them so it would be our club expense. Ann Nagel made a motion to table the idea of buying locking differentials at this time. Kenny Ham seconded, motion approved. Kenny Ham started grooming again today (1-03-19) and Jim Gelling followed him in his pickup. They made it all the way to Frederick but they by passed the Mina Loop. Kenny plans on taking the groomer back tomorrow and doing the Mina loop on his way back to Becklers. Ann Nagel made the motion to give $50 to Dennis Beckler and Jim Gelling for the abuse to their pickups on helping to pull out the groomer. Kenny Ham seconded, motion carried.
Emergency reaction: Al Nagel stated the updated the emergency lists have been sent to Scott Meints at Brown County emergency dept.
Yetis Report by Matt Olson: Matt stated they will be having a booth at the SnoCross races in Deadwood. They will be selling sweatshirts, hats, & fire starters. Stop by the booth and say Hi. The day after the Governor’s Ride the Yetis will be having a ride. They are sending a group to ISC in Grand Rapids. They have a Yetis page on the SDSA website where you can get all contact information and order apparel that the Yetis have for sale.
Safety Report by Corey Gelling. Corey stated that he has not got the certificates back yet from the state for the 8 participants that took the snowmobile safety course. Kelly Weaver stated that Snowmobile.org. has several updated snowmobile safety videos that you can view on line.
Charity: Everyone is asked to bring non perishable food items to the holiday party/steak feed Jan 12th. at the Richmond Oasis as these items will be donated to charity.
Publicity: Tracy Olson volunteered to write next months new article for the SnoPlainsman.
Activities/ trail rides. The Holiday party is Jan. 12th at Richmond Oasis. A trail ride will be held starting from Richmond Oasis at 1 pm depending on snow conditions. Will start cooking steaks around 6pm. for members only. A trail ride is also planned for Jan. 19th starting from the MStation at Mina at 1pm. The Jan. 25th. 26th. Black Hills club trail ride will be starting out of Dumont lot at approx. 9am each day.
Old Business: Casey Weismantel held a discussion on the Casino night for March 30th. He is still looking for volunteers to help run some of the games. Tickets for the supper were handed out in books of 6.
New Business: Discussion was held on changing club dues for next year. Motion to increase the family dues from $30 to $40 was made by Joey Nagel. Duane Sutton made a motion to amend the motion to raise the family membership from $30 to $40, full associate membership from $50 to $75. Associate member for SnoPlainsman only from $35 to $50 and to advertise on Driftbusters web site only from $15 to $25. Casey Weismantel seconded, motion approved.
Next 2 meetings will be held at the Elks Feb. 7th. and March 7th. at 7:30pm.
Duane Sutton stated he has ACSA calendars for sale for $20. He also volunteered to display the Driftbusters largest club trophy at the Milstone.
Split pot drawing of $50 was won by Doug Braa.
Motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Ken Ham, seconded Jim Gelling, meeting adjourned.
Cheryl Gelling, Sec.

While Mother Nature has done her part, our groomer is experiencing drive train issues. Attempts to groom the trail over the weekend failed when the groomer was stuck multiple times and eventually needed to be pulled out of the ditch (also multiple times). It appears the track is moving on only one side, and therefore is inoperable in that condition with our current snow depths. With the holiday, answers are coming a little slower than normal so we are looking for an update this week on the next steps. Keep an eye on the website and Facebook page for updates, and use caution should you decide to ride the ungroomed trail.