Barriere Curling Club will re-open its doors Friday, March 14, after a successful fundraising campaign to repair part of the ice making plant.
In late December, the club had an unscheduled closure of curling activities due to leaks in the chiller portion of the ice plant. Since then, the executive has been scrambling to raise funds to replace the chiller and re-start the plant.
Presentations were made to the District of Barriere mayor and council. With their involvement and support, the curling club was able to access the Federal Gas Tax rebate fund through District of Barriere and the Thompson Nicola Regional District. The club was granted a total of $20,000, which covered a good percentage of the repairs. District of Barriere provided $10,000, while the TNRD Area O (Lower North Thompson) and Area P (Rivers and the Peaks) contributed $5,000 each. The club appreciates the specific efforts of Mayor Humphreys, CAO Colleen Hannigan, councillors Ward Stamer and Bill Kershaw, and the TNRD area representatives Bill Kershaw and John Sternig.
As part of the ice plant repairs, upgrades in power consumption were gained by changing the freon to a more efficient and environmentally friendly product. The club has agreed to participate with the TNRD on monitoring those efficiencies in energy consumption as part of the Federal Gas Tax rebate.
A special thanks also goes to Gordie Zerr and Darcy Feller for their efforts to coordinate a second quote for repairs to the chiller. A second quote was required by the regional district for the grant to proceed. Without the quote, which took considerable time and effort, our plant would not be up and running today.
We have a number of upcoming activities.
First, all interested curlers and members are invited to an evening of curling and socializing on Friday, March 14, at 7 p.m.
Next, we will host the annual Loggers Bonspiel on Friday and Saturday, March 21 and 22. The bonspiel is a Skins Format. A team may be made up of any combination of men and women. Call Brian Bondar at 250-672-5334 to register.
Finally we will continue to sponsor the Jam Can Bonspiel for local youth. This event will be held on March 28 and 29. Notices will be provided at Barriere Elementary School.
