Ice rink goes up at the skate park

Walter Sprague
Art and Culture Reporter
 
Newcastle Ice Association, a new entity with Director Sara Thurgood at the helm, has secured and set up an ice rink.
“The ice rink is up and will start filling with water tomorrow morning. This is located on the North side of the skate park in Washington Park. This is just Northeast of the Loaf-N-Jug,” Thurgood posted on Wyoming Talk of the Town on Friday. 
As promised, the rink was filled Saturday, despite several inches of snow that fell overnight. The original location of the rink was to be the baseball field on Birch Street. However, after a couple of attempts, organizers determined that the area was not level enough, and the rink was relocated to the skate park.
The rink was made possible by $15,000 in donations by businesses and residents of the community, with Par Pacific Wyoming Refining Co. donating the lion’s share at $10,000. The donations paid for the rink walls, straps, supports, sandbags and liner. The equipment came from Easy Ice, of Minnesota. A couple of tears in the liner happened during the attempts to install the rink at the baseball field, but they were found and repaired by Jared Evick on Saturday. Carefully clearing the buildup of snow was essential to locating the rips.
The inspiration for Thurgood to get a rink in Newcastle came from her daughter, Regi (Regina).
“She plays hockey for Rushmore Thunder in Rapid (City),” Thurgood said. “I wanted a place she could skate and practice here.”
Three times a week, the Thurgoods have to travel to Rapid City for practice, and then there are the days the Thunder plays other teams, and the travel can be extended. One of Thurgood’s long-term goals is to have a minor league hockey team in Newcastle.
“I think we can support that, in time,” she said.
While still looking for a permanent place to have an ice rink Thurgood said, she is hopeful that by next year the association can raise enough funds, approximately $50,000, to have a refrigeration unit that goes under the liner. That way, the association could possibly open the rink as early as October. In five years, she hopes to have a permanent building. Then the rink could be open much longer, likely throughout the year.
Because of the generous donation, the association has named the rink the Par Pacific Wyoming Refining Ice Rink, in honor of the company and the unselfish way it came through to make the rink a reality.
Thurgood hopes to host a skating party on a Saturday in the next couple of weeks. She also hopes to have a deejay play music as people ice skate. Thurgood is planning to post the information on Talk of the Town as soon as it is confirmed.