|
|
|
By SHELAGH TALBOT - GREENVILLE - The town of Greenville has a new friend - a machine called the Pisten Bully. This machine bullies through snow and with the help of a drag, will be creating some mighty fine snowmobiling trails for the winter crowd for years to come. The story about this bully goes back about eight years, when Kevin McDonough and Paul “Arno” Fichtner met over a cup of coffee one winter day and talked about how quiet Greenville was. There was a snowmobile crowd out there, but mostly they traveled from Millinocket to Kokajo, then maybe to Kineo and points north. How to get those folks to travel through Greenville? Well-groomed snowmobile trails! Fichtner decided to put a bid in for a new Gilbert tractor with a drag and the following year had an opportunity to get an old Pisten Bully from a ski area - one that had been revamped for the narrow guage of a snowmobile trail. He spoke to the town Selectmen about his plan to improve the trail system around Greenville and he said he would volunteer his time to do so. For five winters Fichtner and other volunteers worked the trails at night, grooming them smooth. The town then hired Mike Coburn to continue the job for the past three years, and in a mushroom effect, snowmobiling has become the life blood of many businesses in Greenville during the winter months. But these two machines were getting tired. At a public hearing this past August, townspeople urged selectmen to continue operating the snowmobile program and purchase a new grooming machine. “To give up the snowmobile grooming program would be throwing away the economic development plan,” said Greenville resident Dave Vaughn. On Sept. 17, Greenville selectmen concurred regarding the purchase of a new machine and elected Fichtner as Director of the grooming program, thus relieving Town Manager John Simko of the task. It was also decided that Mike Coburn would continue in the role of grooming coordinator. Fichtner agreed to accept the post and went about finding a new machine. And find one he did. The selected machine was used as a demo during the last Ricky Craven charity ride. It is a Pisten Bully 200 , state-of-the-art and capable of reliable, agile service with low operating costs and extended maintenance intervals. Fichtner was also able to negotiate a good price for the groomer. This bully with drags retails for around $168,400, but Fichtner was able to secure it for around $145,700 which includes an extended warranty and service and support from Kassbohrer. According to Simko, the town would be responsible for only a small percentage of that price. Residents will decide about this during a special town meeting slated for November. This week Fichtner and Coburn will attend a two-day maintainance mechanics workshop so they will be knowledgable about this new bully. They also plan to train those who will be involved with the grooming program. “If everyone is trained we can make this program better,” Fichtner said. “And if we have good trails, it won’t take any time for the word to get out. News travels faster than the speed of light in the snowmobile crowd,” he added. |