feature story:by Zenwaiter, October 2 2001
With the summer fading and the leaves turning gold,the whole village is a-buzz with snowmobile talk!
They are all waiting for you.
A few weeks ago, it seemed that everything here was for sale; restaurants,
motels,
even grocery stores! This week, almost everything that wanted to change
hands, has changed hands;the Arnouche is sold, the Sportif is sold, the
Trois Étoile has changed hands...etc.
The restlessness in the village seems to have subsided, deals have been
concluded,
and the new owners of motels, bars, restaurants, and hotels, are settling
in
and getting down to business.
The competition between the new hopefuls is fierce but friendly. For the
American visitor,this is good news; more competition means lower prices.
Once you add the value from exchanging your US bucks into Canadian loonies,
you really find great value in St-Zenon!
For local tourist businesses, the first event of the fall
season is always the same...
Sign Wars!
New business owners are sneaking into the bush on their ATV's, packing their
new signs,
their hammer and nails, and their hopes. Old business owners watch and smile.
They will go in later to see if their signs are still where they
left them.
Last week, one person in particular
even took a chain saw into the bush.
His motives were not good. It appears he(or she) mowed down the big Glaciere
sign
at the fork just east of the Bistro. Really!
The idea of the sign wars exercise, is to place signs strategically on the
snowmobile trails,
to lure the passing sleds in. Some people forget to consult the snowmobile
club
where they wish to place their sign. It can get in the way of safety or
in the way of the groomer. In such cases, they are often removed.
A simple call to the club can avoid problems.
The St-Zenon snowmobile club will soon be out installing all the official
trail sign,
A big job as there are 392 kilometers of trails to mark!
zw
Sign Trouble Update Dec 4 2001
Last week, signs from Le Cabanon and Le Refuge were ripped
apart and thrown into the ditch by some unknown culprit. Al found five locations
where the signs were destroyed, and tried to repair what he could.
This week Al will spend another full day replanting and repairing the signs.
The value of Al's signs that were destroyed, was approximately 400., while
the damage to the Cabanon signs was around 200.
Al filed an official report with the S.Q. Police, as it is the 5th time
this has happened in one year. The Police say they will act on the complaint,
and have suspects identified.
