By Charles Lefebvre

Crokicurl surface opens for second year

Jan 3, 2019 | 4:07 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — After some delays, the City of Medicine Hat’s Crokicurl playing surface has opened up for the season.

The city posted on its social media pages on Wednesday that the playing surface located in Strathcona Island Park has been operational this past week, but opening for the season was delayed due to vandalism.

According to a post from the city, the vandalism was found by staff on December 28. Bumpers were pulled out of the board, and someone walked on the setting ice, damaging it further.

“The unfortunate part is that it’s not a lot of expensive damage, but it’s still frustrating for our staff who are trying to put it together,” said Randy Taves, manager of parks with the city’s parks and recreation department. “We have limited resources, so now we have to come back and try and do it again.”

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Vandalism is an ongoing issue for the city’s Parks and Recreation department, with Taves saying they’ve spent more than $100,000 on repairs to parks property this year.

“When it’s vandalized, it’s not available for the public to use as intended,” he said. “Not only do the users lose, but the taxpayers lose, just because of a select few that decide to vandalize city property.”

Although the Crokicurl surface was repaired, the recent warm temperatures have made it not suitable to be played on. Taves said city crews will be back out to ensure the surface is ready for the public to use.