A proposed outdoor skating rink in 100 Mile House is about to move forward – as long as someone is willing to shovel the ice.
The South Cariboo Joint Committee of the Cariboo Regional District (CRD) this week supported funding the outdoor rink after School District 27 gave them permission to use the former courts at 100 Mile Junior Secondary. The council has already agreed to allocate $2,000 toward the project, which will include removing the posts and adding a wooden frame with outside boards, as well as benches.
However, the council stipulated the deal is contingent on users being responsible for clearing the ice, similar to what is done at other outdoor public skating rinks such as Forest Grove. 100 Mile Mayor Mitch Campsall noted earlier that the District doesn’t have the resources to maintain the ice, which would likely be used by people from the whole South Cariboo, not just the district.
Al Richmond, Director for 108 Mile Ranch-Lac La Hache, suggested making users aware the gates into the tennis courts are too narrow for a snow blower or ATV and they will likely have to shovel the snow by hand.
100 Mile Coun. Maureen Pinkney said the users can pile the snow around the edges. “As there is more and more snow, it’s just a bigger barrier to fall into,” she said.
Minor hockey mom Nadaya McNeil, who pitched the project on behalf of the community, had suggested the tennis courts as a good contender for the outdoor rink because the site is large, fenced and overlooked by the school parking lot. She said Tuesday that while she was “thrilled” to hear the project was going ahead, she was waiting to get confirmation from the CRD before trying to organize the maintenance of the site.
