ATV road use a personal issue for both sides

Tony Reaves

What began last August as a vote to allow an ATV club access to several tote roads has become a personal issue to people on both sides of the debate.

On Feb. 14 at the Board of Selectmen meeting, it will come up again.

For both sides, it's a question of money invested. And for Cliff Goodwin, vice president of the X-Tra Mile ATV Club, as well as Parsons Road residents James and Paula Hakala, it's about the ability to enjoy their retirement.

Cliff Goodwin, 68, lives on Oxford Street. He said last year he was driving a small ATV that he pulled on a trailer to reach his club's trails. When access to Parsons Road was granted, he sold the ATV and the trailer and bought a huge, $12,000 Arctic Cat Prowler 700.

It has two seats; one is for Goodwin and the other is for his wife. He said he and his wife rode the trails as often as they could. He used to ride a snowmobile, but with both his hips replaced, he can't lift his leg over the seat anymore.

His ATV rides more like a car, with seat belts and all, and allows him to ride through the woods and spot wildlife, he said. “It's the only recreation I have,” Goodwin said.

He said with Parsons Road cut off, he'll have to buy a truck and a large trailer, which he figures will cost him about $15,000, to pull his new ATV. “I can't afford to truck my machine,” Goodwin said. He said he's still making payments on the ATV.

“If the select board had not approved the road's use, I would not have bought a new machine for my wife and myself,” Goodwin said.

“One person doesn't own the road,” he said. “It's public property.”

His son, John Goodwin, said he and other club members put thousands of dollars and more than 400 man-hours into extending and building up existing trails to connect to the Parsons Road and, beyond it, the Oxford club's trails.

Goodwin said he's one of 18 ATV riders who rely on Parsons Road to access the trail system and one of about 150 in Paris. To Goodwin and other club members, the board's decision to rescind their access is a case of one household trampling the rights of 150 residents.

To the Hakalas, it's about regaining their quality of life. James and Paula Hakala used to live in Auburn but moved to Paris seven years ago to get away from the noise. The say they intentionally picked a house away from snowmobile and off-road trails. Paula Hakala calls it their “little piece of heaven.”

The ATVs “ruined our summer. It ruined our fall. It hasn't done a thing for my blood pressure,” Paula Hakala said in January.

The Hakalas didn't want to discuss the ATV issue further Tuesday, but James Hakala previously said he received notification from the club that they wanted access but wasn't aware the Board of Selectmen would act on that request.

They didn't know about it until after the ATV club had finished the connecting trail and invited ATV riders from the Oxford and Waterford clubs to ride along on the completed trails. The Hakalas said more than 60 ATVs passed their home. The road is about 50 feet from their house, and they say the noise is deafening.

“Our right to privacy, integrity, security and being in God's country for the roads being impacted was taken away by the town of South Paris,” James Hakala said in August. In September, they unsuccessfully requested the town rescind ATV access to Parsons Road.

The board said they would revisit the issue later. In the meantime, a committee, including the Hakalas and ATV club members, tried to come up with alternatives but couldn't find them. They did manage to route around another resident's home.

In January, the board voted 3-2 to rescind access at the Hakalas' request. Selectmen Ted Kurtz and Kenneth West voted against rescinding access; Selectmen Raymond Glover, Lloyd Herrick and Jean Smart voted for it.

Paula Hakala said she'll be at the Feb. 14 board meeting. Cliff Goodwin, who requested the agenda item, will be too.

"This is vacationland," Goodwin said Tuesday. To Goodwin, that means recreation. To the Hakalas, it means peace and privacy.

--

Source: http://www.sunjournal.com/oxford-hills/story/979940

---

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites