'Just people getting together': Pleasant Hill community rink closer to reality
'Just people getting together': Pleasant Hill community rink closer to reality
A community rink is one step closer to reality in the Pleasant Hill neighbourhood, an area that has been void of a rink for decades.
The project got off to a slow start, according to David Fineday with the community association, because of the pandemic but now it’s full steam ahead to create a gathering place for residents.
Fineday has lived in various core neighbourhoods in Saskatoon for 50 years. He’s coached hockey and helped build a rink at Princess Alexandra School years ago, so he knows the importance of having meaningful activities available, especially for kids.
“What we’re missing is a thing called spirituality and that’s the circle, and that’s what we need to bring back. A hockey rink isn’t a circle, but it’s close and that will help bring it back,” Fineday told CTV News.
Pleasant Hill is only one of only a few neighbourhoods that doesn't have an outdoor rink. The closest rink for people in the area is blocks away with some options in Riversdale, King George or Westmount.
Joel Bernbaum is with Sum Theatre, which operates out of Pleasant Hill Park in the summer. He got on board two years ago because he said he saw a desire from many in the area to create a permanent gathering place.
Those include the community association, Chokecherry Studios, St. Paul’s Hospital, The Central Urban Metis Federation and many more, according to Bernbaum.
“It’s our favourite park to come to because it’s always the park that’s full when we arrive. Pleasant Hill is a vibrant community, and people use the spaces in this community,” he says.
Those involved hope this project represents more than simply just a rink and brings people together, something Fineday says, is missing.
“If I have a problem, maybe you can help me. If you have a problem, I could help you. That’s what can happen in this park, just people getting together,” he said.
Input was gathered from adults and kids in the community through interviews and public informational sessions. The goal was to get ideas for the rink, and those submitting suggestions were encouraged to dream big.
“That idea grew and that idea came from over there, and it was really something to hear those little kids talk,” Fineday recalls.
Some of those creative suggestions included having a place to sell hot chocolate and to also have a rink around the main rink so some people can still skate while a hockey game is going on in the centre.
City council approved the rink as a municipal project Wednesday, which means they can garner more donations. The budget for the capital project increased by $100,000 to be funded by private donations.
The initial cost estimate is around $50,000, but the hope is to incorporate Indigenous symbols and a warm-up shelter with evening and weekend programs that will likely mean a much higher price tag.
The group is looking for a donation-in-kind to help pay for the plumbing needed to get water to the rink, which is expected to be costly. They hope other businesses or organizations recognize the importance of the project and come forward to help.
Organizers also said that a rink takes a lot of volunteers and manpower through the winter to keep it running properly so they are also counting on community members to step up and get involved, and welcome anyone to contact the community association to pitch in.
Cape Breton University has more than doubled in size by enrolling thousands of international students, and critics say the campus and community weren't ready. Watch the documentary 'Cash Cow' on CTV W5, Saturday at 7 p.m.
In a choice forced upon them by the Canadian government, four mothers have made the agonizing decision to forfeit an opportunity to repatriate their children from open air prisons in northeast Syria.
Statistics Canada has released its new report about the Canadians level of confidence in Canada’s institutions, finding that recent immigrants are more likely to express confidence in the media and parliament.
A new Canadian study of 4.8 million people says a daily alcoholic drink isn't likely to send anyone to an early grave, nor will it offer any of the health benefits touted by previous studies, even if it is organic red wine.
Lawyers representing Toronto MP Han Dong served Global News with a libel notice on Friday over reports that alleged he spoke to a Chinese diplomat in February 2021 about delaying the release of the two Michaels, and that he was a 'witting affiliate' of Chinese interference networks – allegations that Dong denies.
A recent report from Royal LePage is predicting a drop in prices for Canadian cabins and cottages this year as demand softens from economic uncertainty and low housing stock.
Interim RCMP commissioner Michael Duheme says he would support the Criminal Code changes recommended in the Mass Casualty Commission report to implement stricter gun laws.
The sale has started of former Saskatchewan government liquor store buildings. The province got out of liquor retailing earlier this month and is disposing of all assets.
In an attempt to take pressure off hospital emergency rooms, the Saskatchewan government will offer a bump in pay for family doctors who work later hours.
In one day, Ontario midwife Manavi Handa saw three patients who will have to pay thousands of dollars to be able to schedule a C-section beginning on Sunday.
Police say the bodies of eight migrants have been retrieved from the waters off the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne, straddling the Canada - U.S. border. The people whose bodies were recovered Thursday and Friday consisted of two families of Romanian and Indian origins who were likely trying to enter the U.S. illegally, police said Friday.
Officials in Vancouver said they plan to meet with the artist and volunteers who are keeping vigil on a children's shoe memorial on the steps of the city's art gallery in an effort to end the tribute to children who didn't return from residential schools.
B.C.'s securities regulator has permanently banned a Vancouver lawyer from the financial markets after he was convicted in a U.S. court for his role in a US$34-million fraud.
Akwesasne Mohawk Police say they are working with Immigration Canada and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to confirm the identities of the eight migrants whose bodies were pulled from the St. Lawrence River this week.
Montreal's seasonal parking restrictions go into effect Saturday. As of April 1, parking will be limited during certain hours to make way for street cleaning and maintenance operations. Drivers should pay close attention to street signs to determine when and where it's safe to park.
A Vancouver Island woman managed to capture something on video last Sunday that experts say is extremely rare. Maxine Gillette calls it a once in a lifetime experience.
A Vancouver Island musician and former church pastor will serve three months of house arrest, followed by 18 months of probation, after he was convicted of one count of sexual assault.
After the RCMP commissioner admitted he didn't read the Mass Casualty Commission’s final recommendations, family members of those killed in the April 2020 tragedy say they have doubts the force will change.
A doctor named in a lawsuit after a Nova Scotia woman died in hospital following a long wait to see a physician has denied allegations from the family that he failed in his duties.
A northern Ontario man has been banned from licenced hunting and fined $5,000 after pleading guilty to having more than six times the legal limit of grouse and obstructing conservation officers.
Ontario's guns and gangs team says with the help of police in Sudbury and Durham, it has disrupted a large drug trafficking operation, seizing 2.7 kilograms of cocaine and arresting six.
London police responded to Dundas Street, just west of William Street around 6:30 p.m. Friday evening for a reported shooting. According to police, one person is in custody.
A U.S. citizen charged with threatening death or bodily harm to Justin Trudeau made a virtual court appearance from a London jail Friday. Jeremy Joseph, 40 — who is living in Sarnia, Ont. — was arrested on Feb. 4, 2023 after Sarnia police were notified of emails containing threats.
The province’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is investigating after a man was seriously injured while attempting to flee from OPP on Highway 401 Thursday afternoon.
