The rink? — why it's new?
Within minutes of stringing the nets on the new basketball hoops recently mounted in the concrete playground of the renovated ice rink, the sound of kids dribbling echoed throughout the downtown area.
"The nets were installed during an evening and by the next morning, kids were up there playing," said Jodi Maertens, one of the Revive the Rink committee members responsible for renovating the old ice rink into a year-round activity area.
"We are thrilled to see the excitement and use of this space. Every time we drive by it seems like there is a new group up there shooting hoops. It is truly gratifying to see them enjoying it."
Utilizing volunteers, the rink that sits on the corner of Highway 68 and Baldwin Street has slowly undergone a facelift as funds have become available. The old dilapidated boards surround the ice rink were torn down and the cracked uneven concrete removed and replaced with a new flooring. After the ground was leveled, re-bar was put in place by volunteers.
The concrete was poured by three different local cement contractors with the help of a dozen volunteers on July 27. Yards of concrete could be purchased as a fundraising campaign for $100.
"We had many community members, friends and other people interested in the $100 yard of concrete challenge," Maertens noted. After the concrete was cured, the basketball poles, backboards and rims were installed on each end on July 31 by local firemen. The next step is to install the new boards that will surround the hockey rink.
"The boards are being donated by MAHA (Marshall Area Hockey Association)," said Maertens. "They are a plastic board. They are being cleaned up and repaired and we will have those installed prior to winter by local volunteers."
The committee of Jodi and Bill Maertens, Chassidy and Adam DeRoode, and Mike Stassen are also planning to mark lines for the basketball court on the cement, as well as marking for other planned games and activities.
"It would be great to get the lines and other activities painted this fall," Maertens said.
"Everything continues to depend on volunteer time and the weather. At the latest, this will get done next spring."
The basketball poles can be removed easily and a cap inserted in the sleeve so the rink can be flooded in the winter for preparation of hockey players, figure skaters and broomball enthusiasts. The committee continues to raise additional funds to keep the project going.
"We are still in need of donations to continue to make updates to this space," Maertens said. "While the initial goal was to get the concrete poured and the boards installed, we need to update the warming house and install new fencing as an added safety measure for balls or pucks that could get outside of the space. We don't want anyone to get hurt or any vehicles to encounter damages."
Committee members have mentioned that local people have been pleased with the looks of the work done at the rink site and what a positive thing it is for the community.
"It really was our goal to keep our community vibrant and to fulfill a need,” said Maertens. "We used the space for a vendor event over Belgian-American Days and had a lot of positive feedback on what an awesome idea that was.” "It's such a great space and there are so many possibilities of things we can do up there for events and activities."