Trail Tales - nebula.wsimg.com

Trail Tales

The Yearly Newsletter of the

WYTC

2014 Year in Review

Westmoreland Yough Trail Chapter

Inside this issue

2014 A Busy Year for the Over the Hill Gang…...2

The Over the Hill Gang Volunteers ……...….......3

Trail Riders Bike to Washington,, DC …...…...….4

Yough River Trail Riders ... …………….…….…..5

2015 Calendar of WYTC Events………....….…...5

Labor Day Poker Run Well Attended Despite a

Rainy Day .......................... ……….………….......6

Trail Appreciation Day……………….…..….…...6

WYTC Honored with Award……..……………...7

5K/10K Run and Fun Walk …….……………......7

Trail Monitors Help to Keep the Trail Safe……...8

List of Business Sponsors……………….…...…..8

Bike for Life …………………….…………….....9

Membership Renewal Form………………...........9

End of Year Holiday Fellowship Evening……...10

Special points of interest

The Over the Hill Gang is an important part of

maintaining the trail

The Yough Trail Riders have another good year

Fundraising events are popular and well attended

Calendar of Events

Bike 4 Life

Membership Renewal Form—Renew Today

A Message from the President

Dear Supporters of the WYTC,

On behalf of the volunteers, we hope you enjoy this year’s edition of

the Trail Tales, the first newsletter in a few years from the West-

moreland Yough Trail Chapter. We appreciate the support you have

given us in 2014, and previous years, by becoming a member and by

attending our yearly events. The 5K, 10K Run/Fun Walk in May was

followed by a well-attended Trail Appreciation Day in early June. Our

event year ended with a record attendance at our annual Labor Day

Poker Run on Monday, September 1.

In 2014 our maintenance crew, kindly referred to by their moniker the

Over the Hill Gang, volunteered over 1200 hours maintaining the trail.

This year brought a particularly wet season for the crew and many

hours were spent repairing washouts from summer storms.

We appreciate your support over the past year. We hope you continue

this support in 2015 by renewing your membership and by introducing

your friends to the trail. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer

either by working on the trail during Wednesday work parties or by

working in a behind the scene role raising funds and helping organize

events, please either attend a monthly meeting or email me at

[email protected].

Bruce Souply—President

2014 A Busy Year for the Over the Hill Gang Submitted by Bob Hand

The WYTC Maintenance Crew obtained three

new pieces of equipment in 2014; a Ventrac

tractor used for mowing, plowing, and towing; a

used golf cart used to carry workers and tools to

work sites on the trail and a new spray cart used

to apply Round-Up type herbicide along the

trail. The equipment was purchased with the

help of grants from the R.K. Mellon Foundation,

Robertshaw Charitable Foundation and the Trail

Volunteer Fund along with monies from mem-

bership dues and the annual WYTC fundraising

events. All of these items have proven their

value in just the first season of use. The Ventrac

tractor has a rear discharge deck which shortens

time to cut the grass along the trail because it

allows the grass to be cut in both directions with-

out blowing grass onto the trail. The golf cart

has allowed the OTHG to have multiple work

sites on the trail during our weekly work parties.

The spray cart allows for more precise and effi-

cient use of herbicide.

Maintenance work parties were held every

Wednesday morning beginning at 9:00 am.

Turn out for the parties was good and allowed

the completion of many tasks such as installation

of signs, minor repairs to the trail surface, grad-

ing of gravel parking lots, construction and in-

stallation of memorial benches and covered pic-

nic tables, bike racks, etc.

In addition to the routine maintenance done at the work

parties some “gang” members cut grass or blew off leaves

when their schedule allowed. In the spring we borrowed a

leaf blower from Cedar Creek Park Maintenance to clear

all of the dead leaves from the edges of the trail. Then the

groomer purchased in the fall of 2013 was used to smooth

the trail for the riding season. The very heavy rainstorms

during July, August, and September caused several major

wash-overs on the trail. Material from some of the adjoin-

ing coal mine slate dumps poured onto the trail, some-

times, several feet deep. Tim Aaron, in particular, spent

many hours using the John Deere front loader and back

hoe to make the trail passable again. WYTC’s section of

the trail was never blocked for more than a few hours.

One of our major non-routine projects was the installation

of concrete barriers along the coal mine slate dump at Van

Meter. The wash-over of coal dust onto the trail at that

location should be eliminated or reduced.

The number of volunteer man-hours worked by the Over the Hill Gang increased again this year

as reflected by the above chart. Plans for 2015 include clearing drainage ditches in order to

avoid some of the erosion and wash-over problems, remodeling of the seating area at the King

Trailhead in West Newton, cleaning and re-staining of memorial benches and covered picnic

tables, improved trail surface drainage between West Newton and Buddtown plus whatever

emergencies occur.

Regular Over The Hill Gang work party attendees are:

Tim Aaron – Master Mechanic, Construction Meister and Maintenance Guru.

Apprentices: Butch Celapino, Kent Banas, Charlie Carey, Sam Cover, Bob Hand, John

Hixson, Jim Lockschmidt, Jim Logan, Harry Morrison, Boomer Oldham, Franklin Reese, Ro-

wan Reid, Jack Zewan, Ozzy Osborne ( no, not that Ozzy Osbourne, ours speaks English.)

Apologies to whomever may have been forgotten.

The Over the Hill Gang Volunteers

—————————–-——–——

“Volunteers don’t get

paid, not because

they’re worthless, but

because they’re price-

less”

— Sherry Anderson —————————–———–-—

1087

11541177

1290

1000

1050

1100

1150

1200

1250

1300

1350

2011 2012 2013 2014

OVER THE HILL GANG VOLUNTEER MAINTENANCE HOURS

Please renew your membership using the form on Page 9. Your membership

dues help to purchase supplies and equipment to support the work to maintain

the trail. Your continued support is greatly appreciated and critical to the suc-

cess of this effort.

Trail Riders Bike to Washington, DC By Cheryl Haberstock

On September 10, 2014, several members of the YRTR

(Yough River Trail Riders) headed out on our journey

to DC. Last year we had biked the GAP Trail from The

Point in Pittsburgh to Cumberland, so this year we

wanted to bike the C&O Canal Tow Path to complete

the trip to DC. It was a great morning as we all met in

Cumberland.

The first day was a little hectic as one of our riders had

a flat tire about 15 mi into the trip; it was fixed without

any difficulties. At about 19 mi into the trip, another

flat tire. This one was a challenge as we wasted 2 more

inner tubes without success. It was decided that per-

haps the wire bead in the tire was piercing the tube. For

the next few miles, we had to keep stopping to pump air

into the tire until we had cell service to call our SAG

(support and gear) driver to meet us at a designated lo-

cation. Our SAG driver (the lifesaver of the trip) met

us, drove the bike and rider back to Cumberland to a

bike shop to fix the tire, purchase additional inner tubes,

and return the rider to the trail ahead of us. We rode

toward each other till we met and continued our journey

together.

We stopped for lunch where the service was extremely

slow and our orders were mixed up. One of the riders

made a comment to the waitress about the slow service

but was pleasantly surprised when his hamburger was

so juicy. This generated lots of joking about the actual

contents of the hamburger that made it so juicy!

Because of all the flat tires and the slow service at the

restaurant we almost needed flashlights and the bugs

were biting as we made it to our first night's accommo-

dations. We all stayed at the same B & B that night

which was really nice, good food and great accommo-

dations. The owners were very gracious and like family.

Our trip followed the Potomac River, which I have to

say is the most beautiful river I have ever seen. The

Potomac is ever-

changing from quiet

waters, to the Great

Falls (which put Ohio

Pyle to shame), to

scattered islands of

green grass, to huge

boulders. Breathtak-

ing!!

We stayed a night in

Harper's Ferry, WV;

a neat little town. We

had to carry our bikes

up a spiral staircase

to get to the bridge to

ride in to the town. The Appalachian Trail runs through

Harper's Ferry and we had the pleasure of meeting sev-

eral hikers who had been on the trail for 2 months!

Our timing was perfect as we were able to witness a

reenactment of the mules pulling a barge up the canal,

the participants were all dressed according to the

time. It was something special to see. The

C & O offers so much history with many of the locks

and lock houses well preserved, the Paw Paw Tunnel;

there are so many side trips one can take.

Yough River Trail Riders By Bill Hurrianko

Rides are held, at least, on Tuesdays and Thurs-

days and usually start at the West Newton Sta-

tion unless the group decides on another loca-

tion. Other locations might include Connells-

ville, McKeesport or Ohio Pyle. Start times are

9:00 am in warm weather and later during cooler

weather. The riding season generally extends

from April to November with most rides being

20-30 miles round trip.

This is a great way to make new friends and feel

more comfortable while riding along the trail. A

typical ride may include 6-14 riders. If you are

interested, plan on meeting at the West Newton

Station for one of the rides or leave your name

at the station and you will be contacted. After

your initial ride your name can be included on

our email list.

2015 WYTC Calendar of Events

Mark your calendars for the following WYTC events.

You may want to check the website,

www.bikewytc.org, in case there may be a change to

these dates.

Jan 31—RTC Annual Retreat, Bishop Connare Center,

Greensburg

Mar 28—March for Parks, Cedar Creek Park

May 9—Fourth annual 5K, 10K, 2 Mile Fun Walk

June 7—Trail Appreciation Day, West Newton Station

Sept 7—22nd Annual WYTC Labor Day Poker Run

Bike to Washington, DC continued:

The C & O is a rougher ride than the GAP due to trying to

preserve the history of the trail. That being said, it was

great! None of us cared that we were constantly dodging

ruts, rocks, roots, etc. It rained one day making the trail a

royal mess but "roots right, mud left, tree branch right", etc.

became the chant of the day. We laughed, were covered

with mud and felt like kids again!!

When we arrived in DC on Sept. 14, we did have time to

ride to several monuments and take some photos, before

loading our bikes onto a trailer and climbing into the van for

our ride back to Cumberland. The ride back in the van was

filled with laughter as we rehashed the events of our trip.

Yes, our behinds were sore, we were tired, we fell, changed

many flat tires, dodged rocks & ruts, at times we were cov-

ered in mud and soaking wet; but we did not care because

we were having a great time with great friends. We are al-

ready planning our trip for next year.

Labor Day Poker Run Well Attended Despite a Rainy Day Submitted by Mary Reid

Memberships renewed this year will be good until April 30, 2016.

Please complete the form on page 9 and send your renewal in today.

If you select to receive a membership card they will be mailed in May.

Labor Day 2014 dawned with a persistent mist but that didn’t stop the twenty-

first Annual Labor Day Poker Run. It was the very best ever with 417 regis-

trations and only a few no-show’s. Several changes and updates made for a

more streamlined event such as the new reduced rate of $10.00 for children

ten years of age and under, and the flat rate of $20.00 for both pre-

registrations and walk-ins, with T-shirts going to only those that preregistered.

At the registration table, participants were given a card to record their poker

hand and a numbered bib for the prize drawings. Events included a 4 mile

walk, a 12 mile bike ride and a more challenging 20 mile bike ride. When the

walkers and bikers started returning there were snacks of apples, oranges,

pretzels and water to enjoy while waiting for the prize drawing to begin.

As always, the highlight of the event was PRIZES PRIZES PRIZES !!! This

was the first year that all prizes were posted on announcement boards and

winners were identified using the numbered bibs issued at check-in. This

provided an easier way to identify prize winning participants instead of having

people standing around during the prize drawing process. Thanks to the ex-

treme generosity of local businesses and dedicated volunteers, there were a

large number of prizes and gift cards, including the grand prize of a bike do-

nated by the West Newton Bicycle Shop.

Other winners of the day were then announced. The most senior walker and

biker were identified as well as the walker, 12 mile biker and 20 mile biker

with the best poker hands. All winners were awarded a $50 cash prize. Every-

one eagerly anticipated the drawing for the bike that was donated by the West

Newton Bicycle Shop with Gil Collie of Monessen taking home the prize.

The very successful fundraiser was concluded with a 50-50-raffle that made

the event well worth-while for the lucky winner. A brief survey of partici-

pants indicated that the prize selection changes were very well received and

everyone looks forward to joining in the fun again next year. This is a our

biggest fund-raiser of the year and the WYTC appreciates everyone’s support.

Thanks for making the 2014 Poker Run a big hit!

Winner of the donated trail bike, Gil

Collie of Monessen, center, is shown

with Floyd Macheska, owner of West

Newton Bicycle Shop holding his daugh-

ter Vivian, 1; and WYTC president

Bruce Souply.

Participants of the Labor Day Poker Run

mill around and talk and enjoy snacks

while waiting for prize boards to be dis-

played.

Trail Appreciation Day

Each year the WYTC holds a Trail Apprecia-

tion day, usually in June, in an effort to say

“Thanks” to all those who visit the trail during

the year. Hot dogs, cookies, drinks and other

snacks are handed out free to those stopping by

that day.

On September 18th, representatives from the

WYTC attended the Westmoreland County

Parks and Recreation Citizens Advisory Board

11th Annual Green Luncheon. The luncheon

was held at the Twin Lakes Expansion Site as a

away to thank the individuals, groups, founda-

tions and businesses that have supported the Cit-

izens Advisory Board in improving parks and

trail projects throughout Westmoreland County.

This year the WYTC was awarded the Lewis

Fellow Award. The Lewis Fellow award is a

service based award and is given to those that

have worked and given consistently to West-

moreland County Parks and Recreation. The

WYTC was nominated based upon its strong

history of caring for the GAP in Westmoreland

County, its volunteer efforts for March for Parks

and for volunteering at the Westmoreland Arts

and Heritage Festival.

WYTC Honored with Award By Bruce Souply

In the photo from left to right are Tim Aaron,- WYTC Volunteer, Bill

Hurrianko-WYTC Vice President, Bob Hand– WYTC Director, Ted

Kopas-Westmoreland County Commissioner, Leslie Pierce-WYTC

Treasurer, Bruce Souply-WYTC President, Charles Anderson-

Westmoreland County Commissioner and R. Tyler Courtney-

Westmoreland County Commissioner.

Third Annual Yough River Trail

5k/10k Run and 2 Mile Fun Walk

Sponsored by West Newton Fox’s Pizza

Emery Strotman, above, crosses the finish line

first in the 5K segment of the WYTC 5K/10K Run.

Below WYTC President Bruce Souply, far left, is

shown with the overall winners, from left:

Dough Basinski, of Pittsburgh, 10K men's;

Strotman, 5K men's; and Karin Bauer, of West

Newton, 10K women's. Kimberly Perozzi, of

West Newton, 5K women's, was not present for

the photo.

The Third Annual Run/Walk was held on Saturday May 10, 2014 with

nearly 200 participants attending. Runners were issued electronic tim-

ing chips that accurately logged each competitor’s time for the two run-

ning events. After the races and walk were concluded all registrants

were treated to complementary pizza, compliments of the WYTC and

Fox’s Pizza. All finishers of both the run and walk under age 10 were

issued medals. Runners in nine age groups were awarded medals for

first through third place finishes. The first overall male finisher in the

5k run was Emery Strotman of Bunola and first female was Kimberly

Perozzi of West Newton. The first male finisher in the 10k run was

Douglas Basinski of Pittsburgh and first place female was Karin Bauer

of West Newton.

The Fourth Annual Run/Walk is scheduled for Saturday May 9th, 2015.

Come join in the fun. If you can’t run, try the two mile fun walk. Your

registration fee helps the WYTC maintain and improve the WYTC Sec-

tion of the trail.

I want to thank the monitors for doing such an excellent job in keep-

ing the trail safe by their efforts and their presence on the trail. In

2014 there were six active monitors on the trail. They were Fran Col-

onna, Bob Hand, Bill Hurrianko, Rik Pankiewicz, Niki Klingensmith

and Tom Kopp. As you can see from the chart they spent many hours

and covered many miles on the trail. They helped with bike repairs,

gave out first-aid supplies, maps and information about the Great Al-

legheny Passage. They also picked up trash, gave directions and

placed membership brochures in the bulletin boards on the trail.

To become a Trail Monitor you must first become a member of the

WYTC and also attend a Monitor Workshop. A workshop is sched-

uled once a year and the date will be posted on the web site or you

can call the trail office at 724-872-5586.

You can recognize the Trail Monitors by their gold jackets or T-shirts

with the monitor logo and by the smiles on their faces.

Trail Monitors Help to Keep the Trail Safe By Terry Liszewski

“Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.” Frank Lloyd Wright

Month Monitors Miles Hours

April 6 1053 157:01

May 5 2055.5 280:45

June 5 2396.1 320:25

July 5 2428.2 339:15

August 5 2568.8 378:35

September 6 2487.1 360:45

October 6 1964.1 258:30

November 3 565.3 100:30

TOTAL 15518.1 2195:45

Trail Monitors by the Numbers

The following businesses have generously supported the Westmoreland

Yough Trail Chapter. Please show your appreciation by patronizing them

in return.

Bob's Radiator & Repair

C. H. and D. Enterprises, Inc

Cole Chiropractic

Commercial Bank & Trust of PA

CTS Sports

Fill-up Fuel

Flower's Auto Wreckers, INC.

Fox's Pizza Den, West Newton

Gary's Chuck Wagon

Giant Eagle, West Newton

Highway Appliance

Hope Veterinary Hospital

JPK Construction

Kimberly Contracting

L.L. Barthels Funeral Home, Inc.

Letterio Distributing

PNC Bank

Scoops N'at Ice Cream

Szczerba Excavating, Inc.

Ted Harhai State Representative

The Back Porch Restaurant

The Clubhouse Grille

The Embroidery People

The Nutrition Group

The Picnic Place

The Trailside

Trail Photography Unlimited

Trib Total Media

Voyager Mobile Home Estates

West Newton Bicycle Shop

Williams Ace Hardware

Youghiogheny Canoe Outfitters, Inc.

2015 Board of Directors

Officers

President

Bruce Souply

Vice President

Bill Hurrianko

Treasurer

Leslie Pierce

Secretary

Mary Reid

At Large Directors

Robert Hand

John Hixson

Caz Liszewski

It’s time to renew your membership if you haven’t already done so for

the 2015 year. Memberships will expire on April 30 of each year. The

WYTC counts on membership dues to be able to continue supporting

and maintaining the 10 miles of the GAP trail that runs through West-

moreland County. You can also get a full page copy of the member-

ship form off the webpage at bikewytc.org.


Membership Form Your privacy is important to us. The WYTC does not share names, addresses, phone num-

bers, or email addresses with other individuals, organizations or companies.

Name:

_______________________________________________________________

Address: _______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

Phone: _______________________________________

Email: ______________________________________

Note: Email addresses are used to send out information about events and other activi-

ties. Please include your email address if you have one.

Membership Type (circle): New Renewal

Membership Category (Put an “X” in the appropriate space.):

________ I’d like to receive a membership card. Cards will be mailed in May.

________ I’m interested in doing volunteer work. Please contact me.

Please make checks payable to “RTC-WYTC” and mail completed

form with your check to:

RTC-WYTC

P. O. Box 95

West Newton, PA 15089

Thank you for your support.

Individual $20 $

Family $30 $

Supporting $50 $

Benefactor $125 $

Voluntary Contribution $

Total Enclosed $

The Trail Tales is published by the Westmoreland

Yough Trail Chapter. The opinions expressed in the

newsletter are those of the authors and may not

represent the official positions of the WYTC. Re-

print of all or any part of the publication is prohibit-

ed without express consent of the originating au-

thor and/or the Trail Tales. Copyright 2015. All

rights reserved.

Become a "spokes" person for the

American Red Cross and have fun

while helping others! West Newton, Pennsylvania to

Washington D.C.

August 3-7, 2015

For each of the last 6 years Bike for Life partici-

pants have peddled 300 miles from West Newton,

PA to Washington D.C. The purpose of the annu-

al journey is to raise funds and awareness for the

American Red Cross and its local disaster relief

efforts. Bike 4 Life was started out of an aspira-

tion to cross an item off a bucket list and has

since turned into so much more.

The 2014 Bike 4 Life crew pauses before the pleasura-

ble descent to the hot tub and pool in Cumberland MD

on day 2 of the 5 day trek.

If you have ridden on the GAP, you must have at

least dreamed about riding all the way to Wash-

ington DC. Well, dream no more. If you are a

casual weekend rider with no cross-country expe-

rience, no problem! Bike 4 Life has bi-weekly

training rides starting in April to help you and

your bike get ready for the trip. Fundraising is

easy; online assistance and tips from fellow riders

are readily available. Nights are spent at hotels

and B&Bs. Riding together with a group of like-

minded cyclists is so much more fun than trying

to go it alone. The trip is fully supported and is

limited to 20 riders. So register now and turn your

dream into reality. For more information stop by

our tent on Trail Day Sunday, June 7th from

11:00 to 3:00 or visit www.arcbike4life.org. You

may also contact Dave Mickley via email

[email protected] or phone 724.872.8748.

http://www.arcbike4life.org

mailto:[email protected]

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage

PAID West Newton,

PA 15089 Permit No. 28


PO Box 95

West Newton, PA 15089

WWW.BIKEWYTC.ORG

Mailing Label Here

End of Year Holiday Fellowship Evening

At the final WYTC Directors/

Members meeting of the year, a pot-

luck dinner was enjoyed by all at-

tending. This is an annual event

which gives everyone a chance to

share in the fellowship of the sea-

son. Great food and conversation

was enjoyed by all.

Trail Tales - nebula.wsimg.com

Documents

Transcript of Trail Tales - nebula.wsimg.com