The Prez Box

by Ron Bone

It’s a cool thing that the State of Idaho offers a Corvette license plate. I’ve talked to people from out-of-state who wished their states offered a similar plate. Most of our members are aware that part of the proceeds generated by Corvette license plate registrations and renewals are returned to Valley Corvettes, in Boise, who generously shares them with our club. Last year we donated $2,500 of these proceeds to charities in our geographical area. We just voted at our last monthly meeting to donate another $4,200 to local charities this year. Floyd Sager, the president of Valley Corvettes, informed me that, statewide, over $22,000 have been made available for charitable donations by these license plates. In case you wonder if this money really accomplishes anything worthwhile, just look at the words of Jim Miller elsewhere in this newsletter.

Floyd recently alerted me to a bill affecting special license plates that has been introduced in the Idaho House of Representatives. I found it in House Bill H0101 and discovered that the bill would prohibit any new special license plates.

This bill, which was sponsored by Rep. JoAn Wood of Rigby, states that the special license plate program “is straining the limited resources of the Idaho Transportation Department and its county assessor agents.” On March 14 the House voted 36-32-1 in favor of the bill, sending it on to the Senate (who returned it to the House on March 24). Taking into account only the representatives in our local area, the bill was supported by Rep. Dennis Lake (Blackfoot), Tom Loertscher (Iona), Janice McGeachin (Idaho Falls), and JoAn Wood (Rigby). Opposed were Rep. Jack Barraclough (Idaho Falls), Joseph Cannon (Blackfoot), Russ Mathews (Idaho Falls), Dell Raybould (Idaho Falls), Ann Rydalch (Idaho Falls), and Mack Shirley (Rexburg).

So how are we affected if only new special license plates are to be prohibited? It appears that we are not, at least not directly and not the way the bill is currently worded. However, the wording could change as the house and senate iron out their differences.

What appears to be lacking in this debate is some perspective on the good that the Corvette license plate, in particular, has accomplished. It’s important that our legislators be aware of this aspect. If you want to give your representatives and senators your viewpoint on this matter, it’s easy at www.legislature.idaho.gov. It can’t hurt to have informed, benevolent legislators.

Idaho Statute 49-402C speaks to sunset provisions for special license plates. Basically, there is a three-year honeymoon during which no minimum number of plates must be issued. After the honeymoon, any special plate that fails to issue at least 1,000 plates for each of two consecutive years will be discontinued. The honeymoon is over for

the Corvette plate and, so far, 858 have been issued this year. So a bit of a push would be helpful.

One thing we might consider would be to distribute the brochures that explain the Corvette license plate story. If you see a Corvette without one, leave a brochure on the windshield. I’ll have some at the next monthly meeting.

Time to drive!

By Trish Bargman

The results are in and we can see that you want to do a lot of driving this year. Debbie has planned the first day trip to be April 16. We hope we have a huge turnout for the first drive of the year. Debbie has a great day planned for us. The other places that were mentioned for day trips are:

Jackson, Bear Lake, Mesa Falls, Yellowstone, Lava, Sun Valley, Twin Falls, Maddox for lunch and the museums, and of course bird watching. The new members might not realize that we “bird watch” -- if you are curious ask someone about it. It really is a lot of fun.

For overnight trips some suggestions are: Beartooth Pass, Lewis and Clark Caverns and the prison, Jackson with a loop through Yellowstone, Sun Valley loop, Salt Lake/Park City, Twin Falls, Las Vegas, and Boise.

The big winner for a 3-4 night trip was to Glacier Park, Waterton Lake, and home through northern Idaho. Jack Larsen is working on this and has set a tentative date for the first of August. More details on that will come as soon as possible.

There were also some suggestions for an Oregon coast, Seattle trip. I suggest that we try to work that into going to the Seattle show next September. Twin Falls/Jackpot would be a good time to go the Snake River Club Border Run in June. A trip to Boise would be great and a chance to attend their Vette Fest in July.

We have a lot of good ideas for spontaneous events also, so be ready to go for a square ice cream cone in Swan Valley, or a mystery dinner. We will try to do at least a one-day trip a month, and one evening drive each week. We welcome all ideas and help in this. Hope to see a lot or all of you this summer.

Day Trip for May

This is not completely set up yet, but this is the general idea. We will go to Maddox in Utah for a late lunch, early dinner, and to the Air Force Museum at Hill Air Force Base. The rest of the route is not set yet, but details will be in the May newsletter and the calling tree will let you know more as the time gets closer. The day will be Sunday May 15. April trip was a Saturday so this time we will go on Sunday.

Minutes of the March Meeting

by Peggy Bone

The monthly meeting was held March 10 at Gringos Restaurant in Rexburg. There were thirty-five members present. Ron Bone called the meeting to order at 8:15 P.M. Ron acknowledged the March birthdays and introduced new members Marilyn Walker and Brian Allen.

Ron stated that the club has $4,600 in our Corvette license plate account and asked for charity nominations. The charity must be a charity organized in the state of Idaho. The members present selected the following charities:

D.A.R.E. Program in Rexburg....................... $350

D.A.R.E. Program in Rigby........................... $350

Family Crisis Center of Rexburg.................... $700

Fraternal Order of Police in St. Anthony

........ for Jim Miller........................................ $700

Domestic Violence in Idaho Falls................... $700

City of Refuge in Idaho Falls.......................... $700

Haven Temporary Shelter in Idaho Falls......... $700

Wayne Campbell reported that he had contacted D.A.R.E. coordinators in Idaho Falls as requested at our February monthly meeting. Wayne said that the Westside and Dora Erickson elementary schools want to have D.A.R.E. drives at the end of April. Twenty-eight Corvettes will be needed for each drive.

Bill Madsen said that this year is the tenth anniversary of Wild West Vette Fest. Bill officially kicked off the 2005 Sponsor Drive and asked all members to participate. The member who collects the most sponsor money will win a $100 prize. Sponsor letters and a list of 2004 sponsors were made available. Bill also requested that we ask sponsors, while we are talking to them, if they would like for our club to donate to any particular charitable causes. These nominations would be voted on by the club when deciding which causes will receive our donations. New sponsors will also be listed in the newsletter so that we can patronize them.

In discussing Wild West Vette Fest 2005, Bill Madsen said that the number of poker run stops will be reduced from five to four and that sponsors will be invited to man the stops. The show committee is working on a couple of other events for the show. Bill also asked that anyone who has some sheet rock scraps contact him.

Trish Bargman and Debbie Morris outlined some of the activities that they are organizing this year. These activities will be in the newsletter and the calling tree will be contacting members.

Jack Larsen announced that he is planning a club road trip to Glacier National Park. The

trip will be the end of July or the first of August.

Ron reminded everyone that their $25 annual dues are due. Our next monthly meeting will be on April 21, 7:00 P.M., at Big Juds in Archer. The meeting closed at 9:30 P.M.

Hagerman Day Run

By Debbie Morris

The Hagerman Day Run is scheduled for Saturday, April 16. We will meet at the old Ernst Building at 9:00 a.m. for a day of fun. We’ll stop on the way for lunch and then on to the Shoshone Falls, and from there to the fossil beds. If we have time we will stop and see some historic barns. If you have questions please call me. Bring your radios.

Policeman Thanks Club for Donation

One of the recipients selected for our Corvette license plate fund donations this year is a policeman with the Fremont County police department. Jim Miller suffered a massive heart attack that destroyed 85% of the left chamber and required that a double defibrillator and pacemaker be implanted. He is currently awaiting a heart transplant.

Jim and Judy Hobbs recently attended a fundraiser organized for Jim Miller and announced our donation on behalf of the club. Jim Miller sent the following Thank You card to the club shortly afterward.

Dear Members,

I am overwhelmed by the generous contribution you made, on my behalf, at the fundraiser.

I never dreamed I would be on the receiving end of such an outpouring of love and support.

Gratefully,

Jim Miller

For Sale: 1995 Corvette Coupe

Dark purple metallic paint with light gray and black interior, tinted removable roof. Automatic transmission. New front, mostly new rear tires. Only 53,000 miles. A really nice car with no problems. Contact Farrell Davidson at 356-9285.

Did You Know

By Egon

Every electrical connection must have a + and a - connection. The positive supplies the power, the negative completes the system. So what?

When you drive down the road at night, you notice on coming car with one nice bright headlight and one very dim. Most cases the dim light does not have a good ground connection or negative connection. Check your vehicles and see that both headlights are nice and bright. If you have this problem, it is an easy fix.

 Next problem: the car in front of you has a signal light flashing very rapidly. I bet the signal light on the dash is doing the same. Again most cases you will find a burned out front or rear signal bulb. In the case of the rear, it’s most likely the stoplight.

 I come back to my old saying “pre flight” your vehicle like pilots do aircraft.

Now let’s think about automatic transmissions.

If you have an automatic transmission in your Vette, or everyday car, about every 40,000 to 60,000 miles you should change the oil in it. You C-6 owners don’t have to worry for a while.

You can take it to “Dirty Hands Sam” at the high-speed lube place and for $40 to $60. They will hook a machine on it and suck the oil out, then replace it with new oil. That was simple.

Not so fast. When those places do that, they don’t change the filter or clean out the oil pan. Removing the pan lets you see if “stuff” is in the pan that might cause you trouble in the future -- broken parts, metal shavings, etc.

I did the filter and oil change on Connie’s Vette and all was well inside. But until you remove the pan you won’t know. So if you decide to take it to “Dirty Hands Sam” be sure that you get a filter change and inspection.

You don’t need any surprises on the next long Vette trip.

2005 Calendar of Coming Events

by Ron Bone

April 21: Monthly meeting at Big Juds Restaurant, 7:00 P.M. Big Juds is located in Archer, on the Rexburg to Heise highway.

May, 27-29, 2005: Big Sky Meet - Cruise to the Sky 2005, in Bozeman, MT. Meet will be hosted by the Hyalite Corvette Club. You won’t want to miss this one! Friday: Fish Olympics. Saturday: Show-n-Shine, Rally/Poker Run, Dinner, Dance with live music by Blue Jack. Sunday: Autocross, Fun Run, Banquet. Registration $75 single or $140 couple before May 1, 2005; $85 single or $160 couple after. Children $25 for the entire weekend. Information and registration form is at www.hyalitecorvetteclub.com. Hardcopy registration form: see Ron Bone. Reserve rooms soon at the Bozeman Best Western Grantree Inn (1-800-624-5865, ask for Sales Office). Alternatively, the Bozeman Days Inn (406-587-5251) is right next-door. Either motel is $75 per night.

May 27-28, 2005: First Checkerboard Vette Meeting, Buffalo Bills Hotel/Casino in Primm, NV. For red and black Corvettes. Info: www.corvettecruzin.com.

June 10-12, 2005: Border Run 2005 hosted by Snake River Corvettes at Barton’s Club 93 in Jackpot, NV. Details to follow.

June 10-12, 2005: Third Annual Corvettes at Lake Tahoe. Sponsored by the Lake Tahoe Corvette Club. Drives around the lake, poker run, show-n-shine, dinner, golf, special guests include Corvette racer Dick Guldstrand. Registration $95 for two until cutoff at 150 registrations or May 15. Lodging $84 to $101 per night. Info: www.laketahoecorvetteclub.com. Registration form: see Ron Bone.

July 28-31, 2005: Vette Fest 2005 hosted by the Valley Corvette Club in Boise, Idaho. Thursday: Registration and reception; Friday: Autocross and drag racing; Saturday: Show-n-shine, dinner and dance; Sunday: Awards. Registration $90 single, $145 couple before 6-30-05; $115 single, $170 after. Online registration at www.valleycorvettes.org or see Ron Bone for hardcopy. Headquarters at Doubletree Inn Riverside, $87 to $107 per night, 208-343-1871. Info: Larry & Marian Hollinger, hollingerl@aol.com or 208-377-0476.

July 30-31: Autocross Clinic with Bill Cooper, hosted by the Hyalite Corvette Club at the Helena, MT airport. Bill taught racing for the Bob Bondurant school for over 20 years. He provides group instruction and one-on-one on-course tutoring in your car. Have a blast learning how to do it right. This year the clinic will be limited to 45 drivers, with Corvettes given preference for registration. Cost will be $120 for the general public, which includes the clinic on Saturday and the race on Sunday. If you only want to race on Sunday, the fee will be $25. Motel and registration details to follow.

End of July / First of August: Road trip to Glacier National Park. Being organized by Jack Larsen. Details to follow.

August 12-13, 2005: Sixth Black Vette Gathering, Reno-Hilton Hotel/Casino in Reno, NV. Info: www.corvettecruzin.com.

August 26-28, 2005: Wild West Vette Fest, sponsored by Corvettes of Southeast Idaho at West Yellowstone, MT. Friday: Icebreaker, burnouts; Saturday: Parade, poker run, autocross, dinner with a DJ; Sunday: Show-n-shine. Registration $75 single, $90 couple before August 1; $95 single and $110 couple after. Registration form: download at www.srv.net/~csei or see Ron Bone for hardcopy. Limited to 150 registrants. Headquarters: West Yellowstone Conference Center Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort, 1-800-646-7365 (mention VET05 for room block). Additional rooms: Clubhouse Inn, 1-800-565-6803. Show Chairs Bill and Dana Madsen at 208-523-2552 or pirate@srv.net. Co-chairs: Tim and Lisa Hobley at 208-681-2834 or bearmntcont@aol.com. Registration: Bruce and Connie Barton at 208-365-0591 or lt5vett@yahoo.com.

Sept 2-4, 2005: Second Annual Corvette Roundup, sponsored by Central Wyoming Corvettes at Casper, Wyoming. This is an NCCC 2005 Rocky Mountain Regional event. Friday: Check-in, technical inspection. Saturday: Show N Shine, poker run & fun rally. Sunday: Autocross, funkana, awards. Golf tee times available. Registration $95 single and $110 couple before May 31, $100 and $120 before July 15, $115 and $135 afterward. Rooms are blocked for $55 per night. Forms and info at www.centralwyomingcorvettes.com or see Ron Bone.

Sept 2-3, 2005: Second Red Vette Gathering, Reno-Hilton Hotel/Casino in Primm, NV. Info: www.corvettecruzin.com.