Skate through the winter weather

Axel, glide or look like a newborn deer in skates at the free Platte Valley Kiwanis Ice Rink on Veterans Island this winter.

Over thirty pairs of skates were donated by the community, according to Kiwanis President Anita Herold, including 26 pairs from the Saratoga Recreation Department.

Herold believes the rink provides physical, mental and social advantages for the youth of Saratoga.

“It’s multifaceted,” Herold said about the benefits of kids having the ice rink available. “First off, it gets them out in the fresh air and some physical exercise. It builds confidence when you learn to skate, because it’s not as easy as you might think. And It provides them with a sense of community, they’re able to mingle with other kids interested in ice skating.”

How did an ice rink show up in a skate park?

This is the fifth year Kiwanis has set up the Ice rink. The original rink was much smaller and set up in Khe Sahn West American Legion Memorial Park.

“A couple years ago,” Herold said, “we decided to see if we could use Veteran Island Park to make a bigger rink and the Town said yes, the Rec Department helped us and we had a lot of support from the community.”

In the fall, Kiwanis begins the rink set-up process by applying for a grant from the Recreation Department of Carbon County School District Number Two which allows for the purchase of replacement walls, liner, parts for the homemade zamboni and all the “nitty-gritty pieces” that make the Rink functionable, she said.

After all grants, parts and pieces were acquired, community members, not all Kiwanians, volunteered their time to assemble the rink piece by piece.

With a fully assembled rink there were only two things missing – well one and physical change due to frosty conditions.

“We’re very fortunate that the Saratoga Volunteer Fire Department brings their trucks over and fills the rink right from the river,” Herold said. “Then it’s up to Mother Nature to freeze it for us.”

Herold has favorite and not-so-favorite parts when it comes to the rink.

“I like coordinating and throwing the party, playing broomball and the games on the ice,” she said. “I don’t really like when it’s dark and I’m scooping all the snow off it. That is a necessary evil of clearing the ice every time it snows.”

When can you skate?

From December until around March – depending on how long freezing temperatures last – the rink is open everyday at the Veteran Island Skate Park, lights are on from 7 a.m. – 9 p.m.

As long as there is at least four inches of ice and the ability to maintain it safely, there will be skating.

There is all the essential equipment for a rousing game of broomball, bins full of skates and helmets, as well as skate walkers for those less experienced at gliding across frozen water with blades attached to their feet to lean on.

Kiwanis

Herold will be a Kiwanian for three years this upcoming May and is beginning her second year as President of the Platte Valley Kiwanis Chapter.

She was looking for some way to give back to her community and was looking at different organizations, groups and clubs in the entire County. A former client of hers recommended she join Kiwanis, according to Herold.

“When I found out what Kiwanis did, especially with their focus on kids, I thought it would be a great group to be involved in and that’s proven to be true,” she said.

Her favorite parts of being a Kiwanian are all the good they do for the kids in the community and with the extended care patients of the North Platte Valley Medical Center.

“We do a lot of goods and services that people need and that really, really drives me,” Herold said.

For those contemplating volunteering, the Platte Valley Kiwanis is holding an open house meeting in the Platte Valley Community Center on January 16 from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

“Anyone interested in what we do, who we are, any of that, everyone is invited to come and talk to us,” Herold said.