107th Year - Week 17
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
www.interior-news.com
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PM 40007014
Money raised to date:
$390,245
GOAL
$400,000 NEW ARENA DONATIONS $5,000: - Steti Transport
$3,000:
SCHNAI DAI 2014
- Harry Leffers - Vandergaag Construction
Above: Smithers Mayor Taylor Bachrach plans his descent down Hudson Bay Mountain for this year’s Slush Cup on Sunday. Left: The Mayor executes it with style. For more photos from the event, see Page A15.
$2,000: Mackenzie Travel
$1,000: - Smithers District Chamber of Commerce - Glacier Roofing 2006 - Billy Labonte - Colin & Muriel Bruintjes - Luc & Renate Morneault - Janett & Dean Daly - Summit Reforestation
$500: - Sara Tomlinson & Thomas Roper
Nolan Kelly photos
Arena fundraising campaign successful By Ryan Jensen
$200: - Western Financial Group
INSIDE LETTERS SPORTS COMMUNITY OUR TOWN THREE RIVERS CLASSIFIEDS
A7 B1 A18 A21 C1 C4
Smithers/Interior News
The Smithers second arena fundraising drive is a success. As of Monday, fundraising committee member Erin Rowsell said they had brought in just over $390,000 toward the $400,000 goal, with more still waiting to be confirmed. Last year, the Town of Smithers committed to building the second arena, at a total cost of about $4.7 million. Of that budget, $400,000 needed to be raised by the community. The campaign kicked off with a bang, when Dan Hamhuis and his family made a $50,000 contribution to the project. Money slowly came
in over the summer but by earlier this month, about $120,000 still needed to be raised. Down but not out, the fundraising committee rallied and individuals and businesses from across the Bulkley Valley stepped up with donations, ranging from $25 to $10,000, to make the facility a reality. One family who contributed to the arena, Luc and Renate Morneault, live in Switzerland. The family heard about the campaign through an article in The Interior News. Luc was born and raised in Smithers and was involved in both figure skating and minor hockey growing up. He said he remembers having 5:30 a.m. practices at the Smithers
Friday Only! see page A-24
Kraft Cheez Whiz 1 kg
Civic Centre twice a week. “There were times in the middle of winter where we weren’t able to enter the arena [because the doors were frozen shut],” Morneault said. “The dedication and determination by parents, players and coaches under these freezing conditions in the early winter mornings shows how important hockey, as well as ice time, is to the community.” Smithers Mayor Taylor Bachrach said he has witnessed the community come through time and again and said he wasn’t surprised the fundraising campaign was successful. “I’ve always been pretty confident that people were going to step up and that the committee would be able to raise the full amount,” said Smithers Mayor
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Taylor Bachrach. “It’s a really generous community and there are a lot of really amazing projects that have been built through community support. It’s wonderful that the whole budget has been raised and we’ll be able to build it as planned.” With just two weeks left, Bachrach put a challenge out to the community to contribute financially to the project. For every $1,000 donated by a resident, Bachrach and his family pledged to make a $100 contribution, up to a total of $1,000. That challenge brought in another $18,000. What made the campaign even more special, Bachrach said, is that it became a true community project. See ARENA on A8