1. Someone ruined the ice at Lynwood Park and they don't care
2. He doesn't want to come back
3. So, what's going to happen to the Lynwood Rink?
4. Here's what you can do
Someone ruined the ice at Lynwood Park and they don't care
In fact, they feel hard done by because they couldn't skate whenever they damn-well please.
Early this morning our rink maintainer was at the Lynwood rink as part of his 20+ hour per week regimen to maintain the rink, pond and skate paths. He put up a "SORRY, RINK'S CLOSED" sign at the entrance to the hockey rink and went about his Saturday morning family activities bringing his own kids here and there.
Later that morning a man was skating on the clearly closed rink with his child. Our rink maintainer asked if he saw the "closed" sign, then things got weird. The skating man said something to the effect of "What the hell am I supposed to do in Canada in February?". The conversation went downhill from there. It ended with our rink maintainer getting yelled at in his car as he drove away with his family.
 |
| Skating on a closed rink creates cuts over 1cm deep - causing hours of extra work. |
He doesn't want to come back
Today our maintainer has notified me that he does not want to do this anymore. He has never wanted or asked for praise for his work. But I know from speaking to people in the community that it is very appreciated. We've had several different people maintain the rink in the past, some were not good. One in particular was totally eager and willing but underestimated the enormous size of the task.
We finally found a "winner" as they say, and some bozo chased him away in one morning.
 |
| Finishing touches before Hockey Day in Lynwood |
 |
| The rink on a better day |
 |
| Skating path around the play structure |
Here in Lynwood Village (part of Bells Corners) we have a park, a community building and - in the winter - a rink. Almost everything we do from our Hockey Day in Canada days to the Family Fun Days is by volunteers you can count on 1-2 hands.
The city doesn't pay us to do anything. We take time away from our own family and friends to try and make the community better.
The only exception to this "doing everything for free" is the rink maintenance job which is so time consuming that it simply would not get done unless we offered minimal compensation. The city provides our association a budget of $5,000 to dispense as appropriate to maintain a hockey rink and a small skate pond - 100s of hours each season is needed by this person plus additional volunteers.
So, what's going to happen to the Lynwood Rink?
As of right now, the ice at the Lynwood hockey rink will not be usable for the Family Day holiday. A few minutes of skating on a closed rink caused hours of additional work for someone who simply does not have the time to fix it. And the disrespect handed out was insult to injury.
We don't have a rink maintainer for next season. If we cannot find a replacement we will have to inform the city to not install the rink boards next season and there will be no skating.
Here's what you can do
Appreciate the work people put into making your neighbourhood (or any neighbourhood) better. If you see someone doing something good - say thank you. They may be doing it for pennies or nothing at all. Whatever you do - don't act like you own them.
Sincerely,
Jean-Luc Cooke
Lynwood Village Community Association, President
