2013 Solstice sign-ups — we have snow!

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Photo: Rod Boyce

 

The last few weeks, winter has gotten underway here in interior Alaska. A month ago, there was talk of a snow-free Halloween (narrowly avoided), but now, with a two good feet on the ground and some ice in the middle from a bout of freezing rain, things look different. The trails aren’t deeply set yet, and people are still exploring and opening the main routes, but it looks good for our Solstice races, scheduled for Dec. 21, three weeks from now.

Some sign-ups have been trickling in by mail. The status as of Nov. 30 is:

Solstice 50:

  • Moira Shepherd
  • Ryne Olson

Solstice 100:

  • Aliy Zirkle
  • Allen Moore
  • Heidi Sutter
  • Meghan Luke
  • Rod Boyce
  • Seth Barnes

We’ve heard interest from a lot more people, so send in your entries and/or come to the next TRDMA meeting (at 7 pm Monday Dec. 2 at the Two Rivers School) to help with the preparatory work.

2013 TRDMA Rabies Clinic – writeup

Every season, the first event organized by the  Two Rivers Dog Mushers Association is not a race, but our annual rabies vaccination clinic in collaboration with Dr. Jeanne Olson, DMV, of Raven Veterinary Services in North Pole. Low-price rabies shots are available for a low price ($10 for a dog and $15 for a cat), and we usually manage to get well over 100 — in busy years several 100 — dogs and cats up to date with their rabies protection. The event is also an opportunity for mushers to exchange race plans, gossip, and news from their dogs. It is also nice to mix with the Two Rivers and Pleasant Valley neighbors, who bring in their pets.

Yesterday was this year’s date, and it was the first time we used the Pleasant Valley Community Center (right behind the Pleasant Valley Store) as a base of operations. It turned out to be a pleasant and roomy space, with tables to sit down at for animal owners to fill in their paperwork. After a very busy first hour — everyone seemed to arrive on the dot at noon when we opened — things calmed down a bit, and we ended up with 152 vaccinated animals (144 dogs and 8 cats).

Many thanks to Dr. Olson, to Stephanie Ehlenfeldt for organizing everything and Life Rhythms Massage for sponsoring the rental of the space. Also to the Pleasant Valley Community Association for being great to work with, and the following volunteers:

  • Abbie West
  • Judy Currier
  • Debbie Seegall 
  • Cindy Kirgan (who also brought the most excellent baklava)
  • Greg Stoddard
  • Becky Cummings
  • Chris Waigl 

(Please leave a comment if anyone is misspelled!)

Next TRDMA vaccination clinic: In a year.

Next TRDMA date to note: Monday, October 7, 7:30 PM, Two Rivers School — membership and volunteer meeting.

To finish, a few pictures for your enjoyment.

dog being vaccinated, with vet and owner

Is it my turn now? (With Dr. Jeanne Olson and Torben Metzner.)

Dr. Olson and Torben - paperwork done

Torben and Dr. Olson look happy with the papwork

A lull in the paperwork, finally

Stephanie and Debbie enjoying a lull in the papwerwork

2013/14 season start: first meeting, board election, and rabies vaccination clinic

The season is starting! Please note the following dates and events:

  • Our first membership & volunteer meeting will take place on September 16, 2013, at 7:30 pm at the Two Rivers School. You can renew your membership during the meeting. Starting October, we will return to the first-Monday-of-the-month schedule. The most important agenda items are:
    1. Filling the vacant board seats
    2. Our race schedule and start of preparations for the Two Rivers 200
    3. Sponsorship and marketing
    4. Licensing obligations
  • Our annual rabies vaccination clinic run by Dr. Olson of Raven Veterinary Services, North Pole, will take place on Saturday, September 20, 2013 from noon to 4pm at the Pleasant Valley Community Center. Please pre-register here or via the form below, and then download and print the animal list sheet and bring it completed to the event. (with each animals name, age (first rabies vaccine? or booster?), color, weight, sex (intact?), and the ownerʼs name, address, and phone number). You can also print our flyer and help spread the word.

The TRDMA is getting a new web site!

Welcome to the new TRDMA web site! We want to offer our members, supporters and the interested public a much better web presence. As I am posting this, the first stage in our transition is in progress. Here is the plan:

  1. Transition all the content from our old web site at trdma.org (including historical race results etc) to the new site (currently at trdma.info).
  2. Transition our mailing list to the new server.
  3. Switch the domain name back from trdma.info to trdma.org
  4. Add new features such as automated on-line sign up, merchandise etc.

Why is this so complicated?

Mostly this process is so complicated because we don’t only have to move a site but also a mailing list. The second reason is that our old site is a very manual and hard-to-maintain site and our new site uses a content management system (WordPress). The old site has been hosted for us for free by a member (many thanks!!), but with the new site we are moving to a large-scale web host. This is a transition for our very small team of volunteers!

Thank you for your patience, and please let us know in the comments what you think and what you’d most like to see here!