Ice and water

The DukeDome was supposed to close on Sunday. That was the plan. The ice plant was to shut down. The lights turned off and the doors locked. After serving this community in one form or another for nearly 80 years, and a touching sendoff on Friday, the DukeDome’s days were done.

But late last week, in a strange coincidence, the historic Memorial Arena in Belleville gave up the ghost—its doors were closed by official order. Its future is now uncertain.

Belleville’s rec folks say this was likely the last season for the Memorial anyway, as work progresses toward adding two additional ice surfaces at the Quinte Sports Centre. A group of community residents and businesses have already begun organizing an effort to salvage the Memorial as a vital downtown facility. We certainly wish them well.

In the meantime the loss of the Memorial means several sports organizations have been left scrambling to find ice time. In true neighbourly fashion, County officials have already stepped forward to offer the DukeDome as a fill-in for the Memorial.

Helping out in a crisis is part of the tradition of this community. When the Wellington arena burned in 1973, the folks from Picton were on the phone that night to offer ice time to the stranded teams and skaters in Wellington, according to Tom Nash, who has presided over three arenas in Wellington in his lifetime. Similarly, when the Picton arena burned to the ground a few years later, Wellington was there to help bridge the gap until Picton was back on its feet with a shiny new arena.

It must be remembered that Wellington and Picton were bitter on-ice rivals at the time. Their matches were crusty, hard-fought affairs with partisan fans voicing thunderous approval for each well-placed elbow or bone crunching bodycheck. The rivalry often spilled out onto the streets and into the coffee shops across the County.

But when their neighbour was in need—the hard feelings evaporated and whatever assistance was required was found and delivered.

And so it shall be again. The DukeDome is likely to earn a reprieve this week as recreation folks from Belleville and the County hammer out the details of using the historic Wellington arena for the next few months.

This is the way it should be. A more fitting end to the DukeDome can scarcely be imagined.

Let us hope this goodwill between neighbours infects Belleville’s waterworks department.

County residents are still stinging mad after learning this past spring that Belleville charges the County 153 per cent more for bulk water than any other customer. A truck from Toronto can pull up to Belleville and will pay $1.30 per cubic meter for a tank full of water. But for the water Belleville supplies to Rossmore and Fenwood Gardens, the County pays $3.30 per cubic metre. Same water. Same distribution point. One price for the world—another much higher price for the County.

How could this be?

Belleville officials won’t explain why it charges unconscionable rates for water to the County—other than to say that it was the deal that was struck and that the County council agreed to it.

It seems the municipal elders of the dayin Ameliasburgh likely concluded paying Belleville a massive premium was a lesser evil than building a water plant it couldn’t afford. But this, in no way, justifies charging your neighbour more than double the rate you charge others.

There is no way around this—the County needed water—Belleville had it and decided to make their neighbours pay through the nose to get it. It smells like extortion. It is not as though Amelisaburgh Township had other options.

This isn’t how neighbours treat one another. Not here. Let us encourage our municipal leaders on both sides of the bridge to sit down early in the new year and fix this historic wrong. We have much in common—much we can do together to ensure the prosperity of our communities.

It is time to forge a bond with Belleville that is not based upon how much we can extract from the other—but rather how much better we can be as true neighbours working together in mutual respect.

Sharing ice is just the beginning.

rick@wellingtontimes.ca