Athens
COMMUNITY LIVING
Send Athens news to: RR@tpprinting.com phone: 715-223-2342 fax: 715-223-3505 P.O. Box 677 103 West Spruce Street Abbotsford, WI 54405 Grab & Go crafts
Younger children can get a symmetrical snowflake craft kit from any of the nine Marathon County Public Library (MPCL) locations from Monday, Jan. 4 until Friday, Jan. 29.
Each kit will contain cotton swabs, blue circles and instructions for making this artistic, seasonal craft.
Parents can call the branch libraries to schedule a time to pick up a kit, or visit the drive thru at MPCL in Wausau any time it’s open.
Reading challenge
MarathonCountyPublicLibrary will offer a virtual Winter Reading Challenge for kids, tweens and teens from Friday, Jan. 1, until Sunday, Jan. 31.
The challenge will be conducted via the free Beanstack app. Participants can log the books they read, the number of minutes/hours and more. Can participants complete the challenge in time? They should participate and find out!
For more information on the reading challenge, people can call 715-261-7220.
Snowmobiling safety
After the snowmobile trails open, the Association of Wis- consin Snowmobile Clubs (AWSC) wants snowmobilers to always ride with caution, and they should never ride on trails crossing lakes or rivers that aren’t marked by the local snowmobile club.
The AWSC consists of over 610 snowmobile clubs from every county in Wisconsin. Community based, snowmobile clubs and their 41,000 plus volunteer members are solely responsible for developing and maintaining over 25,000 of public snowmobile trails.
Club members brush, clear, sign and prepare the trails, along with grooming them to ensure they are smooth and safe. Annually, these volunteers work many hours in partnership with dozens of gracious landowners to ensure trail access, as most trails are on private property. Without the support of thousands of Wisconsin landowners, the trail system wouldn’t exist. Thus, riding on closed trails or traveling off a marked trail is not only dangerous—it’s trespassing. Wisconsin’s snowmobile program is administered by the DNR, but unique in that it’s a user-funded program. In short, snowmobilers provide the funds—through sled registrations and trail pass fees—to create, maintain and sustain the largest public trail system in the nation.
Additional funds for the snowmobile program come from gas tax monies snowmobilers generate. These usergenerated funds help reimburse local clubs for some of the expenses they incur.
People need to make sure their snowmobile has a current registration and a 2020- 21 Wisconsin Trail Pass. For more information on trail pass requirements, people should visit gowild.wi.gov.Snowmobilers wanting to join a local club should visit the AWSC website at awsc.org.
