A winter without curling in Rockyford is like … well, a winter without curling in Rockyford.
     The Rockyford Curling Club is on a mission to repair their curling rink after the club made the difficult decision to close this season.
    “Our floor is built up on posts. Rockyford is like a swamp, so the farmers, back in the day, pounded posts into the ground and made a floor and poured cement on top,” explains Curling Club President Randy Melcher. “Now those boards, trusses, and beams are all dry rotted out. In one place the floor has fallen like three inches.”
    The conditions forced the Curling Club’s hand and there was no curling this winter.
     “That made it too hard to make ice, so we had a meeting and discussed it. We had another meeting and found there is still interest in getting it going again so here we are,” said Melcher.
    This left about 10 teams without a home rink this season. They also had to cancel their bonspiels and other special events including a Family Funspiel.
    Curling has been in Rockyford for about 90 years.  Melcher explains they began making ice in the 1970s. The rest of the facility is in good condition. About eight years ago, they rebuilt the outer structure due to mold problems.
    “We had that spray-on insulation and I guess mold really loves that,” he said. “The guy that came to clean it said it is usually cheaper to rip it apart and start over than it is for us for clean it. We looked at a new building and he was right… we put a new building around it.”
    Now all they need is a new floor.
    To make it all happen means they need to raise the funds to rebuild. Their initial estimate is about $370,000. He said the contractor is willing to work with community members, which may help reduce the costs.
    Melcher says they are working on a grant application to the Community Facility Enhancement Program.
    “Our local Lions Club is helping out a quite a bit and we have a loan from the Village that we will have to pay back within 18 months,” said Melcher.
    They have also recently launched a gofundme campaign to hopefully solicit private donations to support the project.
    Melcher said they are looking at more fundraising endeavours. For more information or how to support the Rockyford Curling Club, contact Melcher at 403-533-2240.
    He hopes that the loss of the season doesn’t mean a loss of teams.
    “Once it shuts down for two years, no one is coming back,” he said.

The second inmate fatality in three days has been reported at the Drumheller Institution.
A press release from Correctional Services of Canada (CSC) stated that on Tuesday, February 20, 25-year-old Brandon Lee Mirva died in custody. He was serving a two-year sentence, commencing on October 26, 2017, for possession of drugs for the purposes of trafficking as well as failing to attend court and failing to comply with an undertaking.
This comes after a notable week at the Drumheller Institution. On Tuesday, February 13, visits to the Drumheller Institution resumed after restrictions were put in place on January 31 due to a possible influenza outbreak.
The Mail reported that on Saturday, February 17, 29-year-old inmate Anatoly Eichman died. He was serving a sentence of about two and a half years for possession of a prohibited/restricted firearm with ammunition.
On Monday, February 19, the Institution was placed in lockdown for an exceptional search.
CSC states that in both cases, the inmate’s next of kin have been notified and as in all cases of an in-custody death, CSC will review the circumstances and contact the police and coroner if required.