Club meeting updates

Highlights from last night's meeting of the Creeper Trail Club:

• Green Cove Station is featured on the cover of the new edition of Images of Washington County, Virgnia, a business and promotional magazine from the chamber of commerce. Unfortunately, the website doesn't yet seem to be updated with the new issue. The article is titled, "A Link to the Past".
• The Town of Abingdon has employed Steve Hudson as a "Trail Ambassador" to help bikers and trail users on the Abingdon/Damascus section. He rides the trail four days a week, picking up trash, answering questions, and fixing flats for bikers while keeping track of the need for trail maintenance like downed trees. When he sees something needing attention beyond what he can give on the bike, he calls in the crew from Parks and Rec to follow up. He usually parks his car at the Alvarado station, riding first to Abingdon and back in the morning, and then toward Damascus in the afternoon.
• Budget cuts from the Forest Service will limit the operating days of the Green Cove Station to four days a week (Friday through Monday), beginning in July. With all that Skip Blackburn and the station provide to trail users, this is a big disappointment.
  
• The towns of Abingdon and Damascus are working on a joint resolution to codify the official rules of the trail. This is partially in response to adjacent landowner concerns and was also prompted by the club's initiative to post the "rules of the trail" on some new trail maps that will soon be unveiled.
• The recent fundraiser for the O. Winston Link memorial at Green Cove (to be dedicated October 7) was successful in bringing the funds balance to around $4000. That means they are about halfway to the amount needed. If you know of an individual or business who would be interested in completing this campaign, I'm sure they'd be glad to hear from you.