The Tale Of The Home Made Rink

The story goes something like this:

Picture beautiful Quebec Canada. Well picture Sherbrooke in Quebec Canada. Nice town, lots of snow in the winter and bitter temperatures during the nights. Picture a backyard ice rink, father waters it almost every night to make sure it is smooth and all sides are even. See the father and his friends putting up side boards around the rink. Now picture people playing hockey on this rink. Different ages playing against each other. Hear the laughter? Hear the shouts of glee when someone puts the puck into the net?

Now look at the next door neighbour. He is a nice guy. He just hates the ice rink because of the bright lights during the night. He also dislikes the loud noises of the puck being slam against the boards. He took his complaint to the city.

The city people including the mayor told the rink owner that he needs to take the rink down because of the noise and the lights. He was also told he needed a permit to build an ice rink with backboards. The owner of the rink checked out the city’s website and found nothing about any permits or zoning rules.

After this story got out and into the main stream media, the city got in touch with the rink owner and was told he can rebuild his rink. He can build his rink as far away from his neighbours side as his backyard permits.

Now you know the story of the misunderstood ice rink in Quebec Canada! Is it true or false?

It is true. This is an actual story that took place in Quebec Canada. One question that kept me thinking was: Is this the first ice rink the family put up? If it was I could understand both parties. But if the family has put up ice rinks for years, is he a new neighbour then?

I love the reaction of the city and mayor. Anytime one can get more money, one tries!

There might be a few morals in this story. There might be some ideas in how to treat your ice rink neighbour in this story. But I believe it is just a story.

Be nice to your neighbours. Enjoy the winter and everyone- play hockey!