The Morden fire and police departments are preparing to do a major overhaul of the outdoor rink just west of the Morden courthouse.
Over the past 26 years, the rink has become a hub of community connection, family memories, and even firefighter training, but it has also begun to show its age.
The fire department began fundraising last year to replace the worn boards, receiving a major boost when the Morden Area Foundation pledged to offer a matching $18,000 if the community contributed the same.
“A lot of the fundraising has been done, and there’s been a lot of donations from many people throughout the community,” said Chief Tim Reimer, who noted a $3,000 grant was also coming from the Morden Community Thrift Shop.
They’re aiming to get to work on the improvements this month.
“We’ll be removing all of the exterior puck board and then we’ll be assessing the condition of the wood framing and then reinstall and also remove the chain link fencing around all of the top,” the chief explained. “We’ll do an overall assessment of the whole structure, and then from there we’ll be installing new puck board and then reinstalling or replacing the chain link fencing.
“It’s going to be a big project,” acknowledged Reimer. “It’s kind of a joint group between the fire department and police department, who look after that rink.”
Both departments welcome the hands-on opportunity to get involved in something for the benefit of the community.
“A lot of the guys take a lot of pride in it. It’s a good way for them to give back to the community in a way that so many people can actually make use of it,” Reimer said.
“So many of the guys take a lot of pride in that outdoor rink. It’s something we’ve been working on and maintaining for so many years,” he added. “And hopefully now doing a bunch of upgrades to it will hopefully carry on the tradition of having the police and fire outdoor rink for the community to use.”
And he noted the rink has been really well used by the community.
“You drive out there almost any time of the day or the evening and there’s almost always people out there, which is always really good to see.”
