We Shall Return

Even though it was a very tough season for us, please reassure all your friends that we will be with you next season. We are already making plans and getting things into place to provide as much snow as possible, as soon as we can and for as long as we can. We are not going to let a few tough weather seasons get the better of us. We shall return and be as strong as ever.
Some may ask how that is possible. Simply put, it is because of all the great people that work here. All of them seem to make it a personal challenge to help Snowstar move forward in spite of what obstacles that Mother Nature has thrown us over the past few winters. I want to thank all of them for being a part of the Snowstar Family.
A perfect example is Steve and Sandi Mueller....... and they know what I am referring to!
Thanks to all who have worked here and thanks to all who supported the area!!!!
See ya next season!
ps........FYI, our Ski Swap/Open House has been moved up to Saturday Nov 3rd this year. This move will enable us to take advantage of a much larger Ski Shop offering and will make for a much expanded offering of equipment for sale at great savings. So mark your calendar now!

Illinois does not want us!

Governor blagojevich........why do you not care about businesses located in the state of Illinois? You have created new business fees, you have increased existing business fees and now you want more. Why can you not have a fiscally responsible budget and control your spending? Perhaps it simply because you feel better about yourself by spending and spending. To do so, you constantly turn to in-state business firms to support your habit. If you were to create a healthier environment for firms, instead of driving them into submission, perhaps more revenues would be created simply by having a stronger economy in the state driven by firms that can survive and thus create more jobs. Simple Economics is something that you choose to ignore or take the time to understand.
What is next?......blagojevich now has proposed the largest tax increase ever proposed in history. His proposal to tax all sales of goods and services in the state will be devastating to Illinois employers and will burden consumers with higher costs.
The Governor is tying his catastrophic tax increase to an extravagant expansion of government-funded health care. Not only will his health care plan hurt the private health care marketplace, but the Goods and Services Tax will decimate the economy, likely reulting in more uninsured individuals.
The Goods and Services Tax, referred to as a Gross Receipts Tax(GRT) is simply a form of income tax that taxes all revenues, not actual business profits. The GRT taxes business income even when they do not have profit. The state will take its share right off the top. Even businesses in the red or breaking even will pay a hefty state tax making it harder to keep jobs.
Because the GRT applies to each busniness that helps produce and distribute a product, the tax compounds, or "pyramids" on the end product. Because every stage of production and distribution is taxed, higher prices are embedded in the products. This process could very easily reult in a 10 to 15 cent increase in a gallon of gasoline. Expanding taxation of services and the pyramid impact makes a GRT especially regressive for Illinois consumers.
Illinois has simply turned itself into a big business that creates its own rules. And I thought we were living in the free world...........Welcome to blagojevichville!!!!!!

Put a Fork In It

Get out and enjoy winter while you can.......
We spent all night deep ripping all the slopes, got some fresh snow last night, and double groomed everything this morning..........skiing will be very good this weekend with a 26"-52" base.
What lies ahead....?...we plan on being open the weekend of the 10th and 11th.........but beware as I am seeing an abrupt end to winter starting the middle of next week. One very reliable weather guru told me that I could put a fork in the Winter of '06/'07 as the goose is cooked after this weekend.
Let's hope he is wrong.............
ed