Heffner wins his third Game of Logging title

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    GREENVILLE — Sam Heffner made it look easy — but it wasn’t.
    The Greenville forest ranger dominated the 20th annual Game of Logging competition at Saturday’s Forest Heritage Days, winning the event by 82 points over runner-up Tyler McIntosh of Glenburn.

Observer photo/Mike Lange

    GOL TEAM — Game of Logging competitors at Forest Heritage Days were, front row, from left: Sam Heffer, Greenville; and Tyler McIntosh, Glenburn. Back row: Dan Haiss, Manchester; Tom Fox, Orland; Paul Cyr, Fort Kent; and John Grignon, Dixfield.

    Unlike last year’s GOL competition when Heffner went into the tree-felling contest with a two-point lead, Heffner had a comfortable cushion over McIntosh and third-place finisher Tom Fox of Orland this time.
    But he said he still had his work cut out for him. “The tree-felling can still make or break your score,” said Heffner. “But when you work in the woods all the time, a lot of this stuff is like second nature.”
    The felling contest requires loggers to drop a tree — stripped of its branches — as close to a target as possible. The maximum number of points is 75 and Heffner’s cut and fall earned a team-high 70 points.

Observer photo/Mike Lange

    PERFECT CUT — Sam Heffner makes a perfect bore cut and releases two orange balloons in another precision contest. If the saw had gone off-angle, black balloons would have sailed away and the competitor would have lost points.

    “There’s a lot to it (tree-felling),” Heffner said. “You have to estimate height and notch it just right.” McIntosh and some other competitors had their aim right, but the tree fell short of the target. “The field is crowned a little — it’s not a flat surface. So you have to make adjustments,” said GOL master of ceremonies Stewart Hall.
    Heffner won all but one event, attaining perfect scores in speed cut, vertical bore cut, precision stump, precision bore, precision bucking and double-notch events. He fell short in the cookie-stack competition with only 12 out of a possible 20. McIntosh won that event which requires loggers to cut as many thin-sliced pieces from a vertical log while staying above the yellow ribbon. He sliced off 22 discs.
    Heffner won a check for $1,000, McIntosh took home a Dolmar 6400 chainsaw and Fox won a package of safety gear.
    Paul Cyr of Fort Kent finished fourth and Dan Haiss of Manchester and John Grignon of Dixfield ended up with a tie for fifth-place.

Observer photo/Mike Lange

    STUMPED — Paul Cyr finishes his cut in the precision stump contest where competitors have to create an open-faced notch with both corners meeting on a painted line. He earned 30 out of a possible 40 points.

    This year’s Game of Logging added a fun event: the chainsaw toss. Hall explained that the contest was generated by many tales about frustrated woodsmen throwing their chainsaws toward their pickup bed when the machines broke down.
    So the GOL competitors — and later, some fans from the grandstands — took turns tossing three inoperable chainsaws into a truck bed from about 30 feet away. “We took the oil and gas out and removed the chain,” Stewart said.
    This was the 20th appearance of the Game of Logging in Greenville and the 12th year it took place on the Greenville Consolidated School athletic field.

Observer photo/Mike Lange

    COOKIE CUTTING — Dan Haiss competes in the cookie stack contest where the object is to cut as many thin-sliced pieces from a vertical log while staying above the yellow ribbon.

Observer photo/Mike Lange

    BORE-ING — Tyler McIntosh tackles the precision bore contest where the object is to cut straight through the block without releasing the balloons on either side.

Observer photo/Mike Lange

    OFF IT GOES — A fun contest was added to this year’s game of logging as competitors took turns tossing old chainsaws into a truck bed. John Grignon of Dixfield lets this one loose.