Coun. Struchan Gilson gave an impassioned plea for citizens to stand up and take action against vandals at the Memorial Sports Centre during Monday night’s council meeting.
“As a member of the Community Services executive committee for the past six years, a regular user of the ’52 Canadians Arena in the winter, and a citizen of Fort Frances who, along with many others, contributed to the building of the new Memorial Sports [Centre], I would like to publicize a growing a concern I have, along with many other others, regarding the ’52 Canadians and IFK [Ice for Kids] rinks,” Coun. Gilson told council.
“Our Memorial Sports [Centre] is being abused and vandalized by a few individuals,” he stressed.
Among the examples he cited:
•marking up painted walls;
•smashing windows—even those with wire mesh in them (there’s been eight already this year);
•jumping on change room benches until the supports are pulled out of the wall;
•kicking the backs off the new seats in the Ice for Kids arena, breaking the hinges so that this fall, they actually ran out of spare parts to repair them; and
•leaving dressing rooms so messy that staff have trouble keeping up and therefore have less time to do maintenance work.
“Something has to be done, and quickly, and at this point, hiring more staff to police is not an option given the town’s financial woes,” Coun. Gilson remarked.
“Team or league damage deposits is an option, as is dressing room supervision, but personally, I feel the answer lies in ourselves,” he added. “After all, we paid to build it and we pay to maintain it.”
Coun. Gilson argued teams should leave a dressing room like they found it, and “not covered in popcorn.”
“Toilets have been left unflushed—it’s disgusting,” he remarked. “Garbage pails are empty but the rooms are covered in spit, tape, and cigarette butts, and graffiti is out of hand.
“We would not allow this at home. Why is it happening in our arena?” he asked. “I challenge all arena users to step forward and take ownership. If you see something going on you don’t like, report it.
“If we don’t, our arena’s going to be trashed in no time at all,” he warned.
Community Services manager George Bell confirmed Coun. Gilson’s report on the rampant vandalism at the Memorial Sports Centre.
“This fall has been the worst it’s ever been,” he remarked. “We’ve had more broken seats, more broken windows, more shooting pucks around, more writing on the walls than I’ve ever seen.
But as far as a solution goes, Bell noted that decision has to be made by council.
“We would like to catch someone and ban them from the facility. We [the sports centre staff] are trying awful hard, and that’s all I can say,” he said, throwing up his hands and adding, “What can one staff member do?”
“That’s where citizens have got to take ownership,” said Mayor Glenn Witherspoon. “If you see somebody do something, report it. You’re not being a stoolie, you’re looking after your own investment.”
“If you see an act of vandalism, and you know who it is, tell us. Then we can proceed [legally],” echoed Bell.
Mayor Witherspoon also noted that the Memorial Sports Centre is being used by some parents as a sort of baby-sitting service, with kids being dropped of there for hours to amuse themselves as their parents go elsewhere.
“We must put measures in place if this doesn’t turn around quickly,” agreed Coun. Dave Bourgeault. “It needs to be discussed now. We need to have rules and regulations posted, we need the have policies posted, and we need to push enforcement.
“I’ve seen the damage—it’s ridiculous,” he remarked.
Acting Fort Frances CAO Mark McCaig, who’s also a minor hockey coach, said when the expanded sports centre opened, the users used to follow an unspoken, unwritten code of conduct that was mutually understood.
“With what I’ve seen happen in the last little while, it’s unfortunate the minority has had such a great impact,” he said, stressing the majority of users still treat the facility with respect.
“We have to set a significant tone—‘If you’re going to conduct yourself in this way, in this building, there’s going to be severe consequences,’” McCaig added.
While a couple of possible solutions mentioned including team or league damage deposits, and even one-year suspensions from their respective league for teams that leave a dressing room in disarray, the matter ultimately was deferred to future discussion by the new council being sworn in Dec. 1.
“I want to start the debate. Whomever’s on Community Services in the future has to do something,” concluded Coun. Gilson, though stressing the public still should be the first line of enforcement.
(Fort Frances Times)
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
