Indoor ice has been on the mind of many people in the Wadena community since last June when an EF4 tornado distributed pieces of the arena all over the west side of town.
Monday night, the District 2155 school board approved a motion to provide the Wadena-Deer Creek and Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Wadena-Deer Creek hockey teams with transportation for the 2010-11 school year.
The motion comes just one week after the Wadena City Council unanimously approved a plan by the Wadena Hockey Association and the Wadena Community Center to put an inflatable tent over the existing community center ice rink.
The hockey season for Wadena's 150 players begins in early November. If the temporary structure is not in place in Wadena by that time, the high school players will be bused to Long Prairie, a community 38 miles south of Wadena for practices and home games.
The Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Wadena-Deer Creek girls' hockey team is slated to open the season Nov. 19 with the first home game set for Dec. 14. The WDC boys' hockey team has four road games set before hosting Northern Lakes Dec. 9.
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Architect Kevin Donnay and grant writer Pat Conroy were on hand to present the board with four strategies that will be recommended to high school architectural firm Perkins+Will in the construction of a new building, which is slated to start April 1, 2011.
Conroy's four strategies include incorporating "green" technology, offering extracurricular activities and curriculum in new facets of agriculture, manufacturing and industrial technology and healthy living features.
Conroy recommended setting up an ad hoc committee to carry the ball and share responsibility with school board for design of the building.
