Snowmobile club assists Lewis County first responders with storm rescues
Nov. 23—HARRISVILLE — Concentric circles of community came together Saturday morning to rescue a man having cardiac issues from his remote home in the town of Diana after 18 hours of fast and heavy snowfall subsided, leaving behind between 5 and 6 feet of groundcover.
A worried nephew snowshoed about a mile and a half to check on his diabetic uncle who has heart issues. He called 911 after finding him in need of medical attention. That sparked a collaborative response from state, county and town agencies and municipalities joined by volunteer members of the private club in the area most perfectly suited to lead the way through the massive frozen accumulation — the Long Pond Sno Sled Club.
When grooming machine driver Kenneth "Kenny" G. Malbeuf — a now-retired Lewis County Highway Department worker for 36 years — was notified that the state Department of Environmental Conservation forest rangers couldn't reach someone in medical distress because emergency vehicles couldn't make it through the stacked thick, wet snow, he didn't hesitate and neither did the club's leadership.
"I said absolutely. That's what we're here for — community service," said the Long Pond sledding club's trail manager Ronald J. Wolff.
Because snowmobile trails in Lewis County are not yet officially open, the large groomer that moves through snow on tracks, normally stationed in Harrisville, had not yet been brought over from Croghan where it's stored.
But by about 8:30 a.m., Mr. Malbeuf was in the groomer preparing to lead the DEC about 2 miles into the woods down Power Line Drive, a small road off French Settlement Road.
"There was no way of getting in there without a groomer," Mr. Malbeuf said. "The DEC was right behind us with their track vehicle and got the people out."
The man, estimated to be in his 70s, was reached by about 10:45 a.m. He was stable and taken to the hospital by a Lewis County Search and Rescue ambulance, according to a DEC news release.
Mr. Malbeuf and the four rangers leading the rescue efforts, Lt. Joshua T. Hogan, William V. Benzel, Luke H. Evans and Lincoln N. Hanno, moved on to their next rescue about 4 miles up another small road — this time off Bryant Bridge Road — where six people were trapped in a hunting camp, one of whom wanted to leave in case any problems arose from his chronic health conditions.
The rescues were the result of "a group effort between the towns, the county — everybody — to make everything work," Mr. Malbeuf said, adding that the Diana Highway Department brought fuel out to him so he could keep going and the Harrisville Volunteer Fire Department allowed the groomer to be parked there and had food waiting.
As calls for help from people trapped in their homes kept coming in, the groomer was used to make welfare checks on people in places plows couldn't reach, most notably at Lake Bonaparte where Mr. Malbeuf checked on seven families that were content to stay put until the town could dig them out. Another club member who is also a sheriff's deputy, Keith Bush, continued the checks with the groomer on Saturday night.
Diana Highway Department Superintendent Joseph "Chuck" Langs said Tuesday afternoon that there were only two more roads to clear in the town, neither with residents, and gave credit to the county and the towns of Martinsburg and West Turin for sending their larger equipment and personnel to help. He said it would have taken much longer and been more difficult without them.
He said his crew and all of those who pitched in during and after the storm "did an excellent job. We spent a lot of time but we got a lot done."
The assistance of the snowmobile club was crucial, he said, but not surprising because they are always helping out when they're needed.
"And it's not just Long Pond, but you hear stories about all of them. They all do the same thing," he said. "If somebody's in need of getting some help, the clubs are always there. The Sheriff's Department knows that if we have somebody out and they need help, they call the groomer. If they're called upon, they're going to go help."
Mr. Wolf and Mr. Malbeuf said all of the clubs' grooming machines in the county are equipped with 911 radios, and they call in when they go out and come back from grooming. They also reach out if they come across accidents or other incidents on the trails.
Although the clubs are compensated for maintaining trails, their responses to situations like the snowstorm is all voluntary and at the clubs' expense.
"It's an emergency situation. You've got to help everybody out," Mr. Malbeuf said. "Yeah, we burned a bunch of fuel yesterday, but we saved lives. That's the bottom line."
