Volunteers flooding the new Seeley Lake ROCKS community ice rink Dec. 1 with the help of the Seeley Lake Fire Department.
Above: Volunteers took a break for a group photo Saturday, Dec. 1 during the initial flooding of the rink. Pictured (L-R): Mark Kues, Scott Eggeman, Marc Eaton, Mike Lindemer, Seeley Lake Fire Chief Dave Lane, Shawn Ellinghouse, Garry Swain, Mark Butcher and Josh Butcher.
The Seeley Lake Fire Department shuttled 28,000 gallons of water to fill the rink around five inches, said Garry Swain.
Seeley Lake ROCKS President Jim McLean working the transit.
Because a lot of the water was lost during the initial flooding, Mike Lindemer and Mark Kues are spraying the ice to build up the ice sheet.
Volunteers working on putting up the boards for the perimeter of the ice rink. Pictured (L-R): Seeley Lake Lion Bobby Maddox, Mark Darrow, Lion Steve Bowen, Garry Swain and Darren Zellman.
After the Seeley Lake fire trucks had dumped more than 5,000 gallons of water, a large air bubble appeared under the plastic in the middle of the rink. Volunteers shifted the 6-ply plastic enough to be able to work it out.
SEELEY LAKE – The community ice rink at Seeley Lake Elementary is nearly operational. With the cold weather, Seeley Lake ROCKS is hoping to host the first skating party over the holidays.
The Ice Rink Committee under ROCKS started meeting over a year ago. After approval from the SLE School Board to put the rink on school property for three years, they started leveling the area for the temporary rink this fall.
ROCKS provided $7,000 in seed money for the project. They also applied for a $10,000 Parks Capital Improvement Grant from Missoula County. This is a matching grant so 50 percent of the grant needs to be raised locally, including volunteer labor.
The rink is 65 x 100 feet, about half the size of a regulation ice rink. ROCKS brought in fill to level the north baseball diamond. Then they put in more than 50 hours of volunteer time making the eight-inch perimeter boards, bracing and installing it. Then they lined the rink with a 6-ply plastic sheet.
Saturday, Dec. 1 with the help of the Seeley Lake Fire Department shuttling water, they put 28,000 gallons of water in the rink filling it to five inches. They paid the Water District for the water. Committee member Garry Swain estimated they put in 30 hours of work on the initial flood, not counting the fire department's time and the two fire engines.
Swain said it didn't get as cold as they were hoping when they flooded the rink so it didn't freeze. Then either the ground was not frozen enough and/or the liner might have leaked in the seam and they lost the water down to a couple of inches.
Every night and some afternoons for the past week, several volunteers have been out taking advantage of the cold temperatures spraying water to build up the ice sheet. Swain said they nearly have it built up between two to three inches, the optimum thickness for a rink.
"This is the perfect kind of weather to be doing what we are doing," said Swain. "It is cold enough and we just keep building it up. It's just going to get better and better."
Pyramid Mountain Lumber donated old belts from the mill to be used as rubber mats from the south dugout to the rink. While they aren't specific to ice skating rinks, Swain said they are perfect to help keep skates sharp and keep sand off the ice.
"Once you have your skates sharpened, it is really a lot easier to skate with an edge [for control]," said Swain. "We will continue to educate the kids to put their skates on where the rubber mats are and stay on the rubber mats until they are on the ice."
ROCKS is looking forward to purchasing a skate sharpener. They are also hoping to have a number of skates available for the community to use.
"We are trying to make it as easy as possible for kids and families to learn how to skate," said Swain. "That requires sharp skates that fit pretty well and ice that is the best that we can make it so they have the best chance of actually enjoying it."
The ROCKS rink will be open to the public free of charge during daylight hours. Swain said eventually they hope to designate specific times for free skates and "Stick time" for pickup hockey games. They also plan to host learning to skate and figure skating programs.
"These are still things we are working out this first year. Things will be a lot more ironed out next year and even later this year," said Swain.
ROCKS looks forward to having the first official skating party over the holiday break. Anyone who is interested in supporting the rink can make donations to Seeley Lake ROCKS or contact Swain at 499-2966 or garryswain@gmail.com to get involved.
Reader Comments(0)