By Pauline Kerr.

Without a doubt, the ice in the Ripley arena has been used a lot this year. In fact, it’s been one of the busiest seasons ever. According to Mike Fair, director of community services, who presented a report during a recent Huron-Kinloss council meeting, major tournaments such as OFSAA – the provincial boys A/AA high school championship – using the arena in Ripley (as well as arenas in Kincardine, Tiverton and Lucknow) certainly contributed. And the Ripley Wolves men’s team making the league cham
pionship helped. The team’s success drew a lot of fans to the arena. Fair was asked about a problem with the time clock the previous weekend. He said the issue originated with a regional power failure that involved Ripley. It seems almost everything else had been wired into the generator. Not the time clock. A small generator was brought in to run the clock. Fair said, “We got through it.” The game was delayed by an hour, but it went on. “The power came back on not five minutes into the game,” he said. Plans are in the works to correct that small glitch.
The ice surface was not affected by the power failure, thanks to cold weather. The ice surface isn’t wired into the generator. Fair noted, “We’ve been very fortunate regarding the ice. In 23 years, we’ve never lost it.” As for the future, Fair said if a power failure results in the ice melting, so be it. “If it happens, it happens.” There was a brief discussion among councillors on the possibility and costs of keeping the ice in through generator power in the future, so the arena could be used as an emergency morgue in the event of a major disaster.