January 2010 call to action & update letter
Dear
Members of the Laurel Highlands, Rolling Ridge and Maple SummitSnowmobile Clubs,
Happy New Year! I hope everybody had a safe and enjoyable holiday.
We have snow... and plenty of it!! A lot of people have been out riding and probably missing the LHHT bridge over the Turnpike. There are hard copies of the petition to sign up at the clubhouse, as well as at various businesses (snowmobile dealers, Walat's and other local businesses in Donegal, Bakersville, Somerset, Ligonier, etc.). You can also sign the on-line version at:
Happy New Year! I hope everybody had a safe and enjoyable holiday.
We have snow... and plenty of it!! A lot of people have been out riding and probably missing the LHHT bridge over the Turnpike. There are hard copies of the petition to sign up at the clubhouse, as well as at various businesses (snowmobile dealers, Walat's and other local businesses in Donegal, Bakersville, Somerset, Ligonier, etc.). You can also sign the on-line version at:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/savethebridge/
At this time, we have approximately 800 signatures and that number keeps growing.
We are very fortunate because we have been getting advice and direction on how best to handle this situation from people who know what we need to do in order to see results. At this time, the bridge will remain closed and will likely be torn down in the near future (dismantling to begin on
Thursday). The DCNR does have plans to replace this bridge but there is no money for it in the budget so there is no time frame as to when the new bridge would be installed. That is why the petition was started... to
expedite the construction of a new bridge.
This week is going to be very important. Signing the petition is good but
we need to do more. The governor, legislators, commissioners and Chamber of Commerce that I list below need to hear from us. They need to get 500 phone calls this week to understand the importance of this issue to the snowmobiling community, the hiking community and local businesses. Please take the time to contact these individuals THIS WEEK. They need to get bombarded and once they do, they'll be a lot more likely to reallocate funds for a new bridge.
If these individuals receive the mass amount of phone calls as I've stated
above, it is VERY likely that a new bridge would be in place before the
start of the 2010-2011 snowmobile season. Otherwise, this could drag out 5, 10, or who knows how many years.
Your call to them should be professional (no yelling and no swearing), but
should be firm and factual. Explain the importance of the bridge to you
and explain how you feel it is impacting snowmobiling, hiking and the
economy (as it pertains to each of us as individuals).
It is very important that these calls are made THIS WEEK. 500 calls over 6 months won't be enough to make the legislators find funding for this
bridge. Please do not assume that the next guy will make the call and your call won't make a difference. YOUR CALL WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
These clubs has been through a lot in the past 12 months and we've been
successful at almost all of what's been thrown at us. We can get a new
bridge but it is going to take the help of everyone. Please take the time
to do your part.
Below are the people in the area that we need to call. Doing so will go a
long way towards helping snowmobiling continue across the turnpike.
Governor Edward G. Rendell's Office
225 Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17120
Phone: (717) 787-2500
Fax: (717) 772-8284
Richard A Kasunic (D)
Senate District 32
Fayette, Somerset (part), Washington (part) and Westmoreland (part)
Counties.
ADDRESS: Senate Box 203032
Harrisburg, PA 17120-3032
ROOM: 458 Capitol Building
TELEPHONE: (717) 787-7175
D.O. ADDRESS:
1192 University Drive
Dunbar, PA 15431
(724) 626-1611
Carl Walker Metzgar (Republican)
Bedford County (Part) and Somerset County (Part)
Hon. Carl Walker Metzgar
149A East Wing
PO Box 202069
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2069
(717) 783-8756
Fax: (717) 787-2005
Mike Reese (Republican)
Fayette County (Part) and Westmoreland County (Part)
Hon. Mike Reese
409 Irvis Office Building
PO Box 202059
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2059
(717) 783-9311
Fax: (717) 260-6502
Chamber of Commerce
Chris (Director)
(724) 593-8900
Chamber of Commerce
Sara Harkum (President)
(724) 593-2818
County Commissioners
Pamela Tokar-Ickes, John Vatavuk or James Marker
(814) 445-1400
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. I know
making these calls will take some time but it is absolutely necessary that
we do this if we want a new bridge for next snowmobile season. Thank you!
Kerri Schott
Vice President, Rolling Ridge SMC