Outdoor rinks may be closed in Ontario due to COVID-19, but young minds have come together in Kingston to make improvements for next season.
In a letter sent to Pittsburgh Coun. Ryan Boehme, two 11-year-olds have expressed their concerns about the condition of the Molly McGlynn skating rink.
“We both love skating at Molly McGlynn Park in the winter with our class and on our own. However, it is bumpy sometimes and hard to put on skates because there is little seating. We would really appreciate some more benches or places to sit, and if you could flood the rink a little more often, so it is not bumpy, it would make our school so, so happy,” the letter from the unidentified children said.
Boehme posted the letter to his social media page, with the names of the children blacked out.
Boehme said seeing two young people engage with council to try to bring change on an issue that matters to them was motivating.
“Having everybody get together at a community skating rink, having a couple benches, to be able to tie their skates with, that’s not a huge ask, its completely doable,” Boehme said in an interview Wednesday.
The Pittsburgh councillor said he sent the letter to city staff for consideration, but also asked residents from his riding to send their own letters of support to help bring the children’s request to life.
“I’m going to work on this and I’ve posted that letter to the community to try to get the community to back this and to really show them that the system can work,” Boehme said.