On behalf of the Board of Directors for the Hidden Valley Community Association, we hope that this November finds you and your family happy and healthy. This month sees a few changes for us – including the return to Standard Time– as we welcome a new Ward 3 councillor. We’re hoping to continue the success we have had working with the City in our ward to improve the quality of life in our community. We look forward to having more to share with you in next month’s update.
Our top priority remains completing repairs to the rink boards at the Hidden Hut. A subcommittee completed a grant application for the Parks Foundation and the Calgary Flames Foundation that, if successful, will help us meet a significant portion of the cost of rink board replacement next year.
The damage to the boards resulted from a problem with the material itself, and ours was not the only community association that experienced this problem. The original supplier and installer for the boards is no longer in business and finding and installing temporary boards has proven challenging. However, we are planning to flood the rink this year to run our hockey program, working around the damaged areas while we arrange temporary replacement of the most heavily damaged boards.
For this to work, we have developed a safety management plan: after the rink is flooded this season and during those times when significant holes remain or develop, rink usage will be limited to scheduled times. During those times when we cannot arrange for volunteers on or near the ice to keep folks away from the damaged boards, or nearby to obtain and provide help should an accident occur, we would close the rink. For every hour provided for community-based hockey programs, we’ll match at least an hour of scheduled, supervised public availability. Once we have a schedule developed, we will post it on www.hiddenhut.org, and near the rink.
With our plan for eventual full rink board replacement, a workaround for the season, and a planned interim fix to replace individual boards, we are confident that – weather and volunteers permitting – we’ll be able to return to the ice this winter.
November in Calgary is a month for observing, reflecting, and celebrating as we move from fall into winter. The year there are many days of significance occurring throughout the month. Folks in our community will be pausing to remember and honour the sacrifices of those who came before to try to make a better life for their nations and peoples, and they also will be celebrating survival, miracles, and hope. While the HVCA has no formal events planned for the community during this time, our thoughts and most sincere wishes for peace and goodwill are with you, and we hope to get together soon with you all.
Neill C. VP HVCA
