The Rink Rat Speaks
By Paul Easton

After a late start, the Randolph Skating Rink has become wildly popular. Lars Vargo, 3, gets a helping hgand from his dad, Gerald. (Herald / Tim Calabro)

As you read this, we will be heading into our 11th day of excellent skating, hockey, and broomball . Based on the long range forecast, that trend should continue for many days to come. I am pretty sure this is the latest the rink has opened in my time there. We have closed as early as February 17th and stayed open as late as March 15th. Tom Morgan and I have vowed that if we are ever skating on St. Patrick's Day, we will color the ice green. Let's all hope that this is the year...especially since we got such a late start.

The Monday night H.S. Broomball game had a special guest player. Peter Butterfield, our new Town Manager, came with two of his children to participate in the game. He has joined them often for this activity.

A few years back, I mentioned to Peter that we had a lot of kids playing broomball, and needed more sticks. He took me to his garage and provided us with 11 more. It turns out that growing up, his family played on a lake or pond near where they lived.

Anyone interested in casual adult broomball on Monday night at 9:00 PM should call 728-4875.

We recently heard from our Rink Rat brethren over the mountain in Rochester that their rink is now open. It is located on the school grounds. It is open every day (weather permitting), and the lights go off at 9:00.

There is still room in both the hockey clinic for beginner to intermediate level players, and several levels of skating lessons. Call 728-4647 for information. The first day we were open it snowed, and unfortunately the snow that was left around the edge of the boards got rained on, and then was frozen.

Anyone who would like to assist in the extraction process should contact Tom or Paul at the rink number. We have the tools, we just need some help. Great stress relief, and can be done at a slow relaxed pace. See you at the rink!