By Joel van der Veen

HANLEY — A jump in temperatures last week didn’t bode well for hockey players in Hanley.

The town’s arena, in operation since 1982, is perhaps the last operating facility in the area that still relies on natural ice.

“I think we are pretty close to being the only natural ice around here for a while,” said Cindy Prosofsky last week.

With winter temperatures on the rise, residents can only expect to use the rink for a couple of months each year.

Prosofsky said the rink wasn’t up and running till the end of December, and several days in a row of above-zero temperatures could put the rest of the season in jeopardy.

“You look at the weather we’re having right now,” she said. “Who knows what will happen to our ice?”

After three years of fundraising, Hanley is moving closer to bringing artificial ice to the rink.

Back in 2014, organizers set a fundraising goal of $1.5 million for an ambitious project that would have included a cement pad over top of the existing rink floor.

Prosofsky, who serves as president of the artificial ice committee, said they are in the midst of revising their plans.

As of last week, they had not released their new fundraising target — indicating only that it would likely be significantly lower — or the total raised so far. Prosofsky said that information would be publicized soon.

The Hanley Arena was built between 1980 and 1981 and officially opened on Feb. 21, 1982, replacing an earlier skating arena constructed in 1928.

For the full story, please see the Jan. 23 edition of The Davidson Leader, or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe today.