By By ANDY HAMILTON / Niles Daily Star
NILES – You don't have to own a pair of skates to use the new ice rink at Eastside Park.
A group of volunteers will be at the Niles park today from noon until 5 p.m. loaning skates to the public. The Niles Elks Lodge will be providing at the same time free hot chocolate.
Niles residents Barb Allen and Candace Skalla, as well as Ferry Street Community Resource Center Director Lisa Busby, began making phone calls early this week in search of skates to purchase in order to provide people a chance to use the newly created rink. By Friday, they had rounded up more than 50 pairs of skates to loan out.
At least 45 pairs were bought at a discounted price from Value Land of Benton Harbor. Busby found another five pairs, which will remain at the Ferry Street Resource Center for the students, and two pairs were donated.
"A lot of hours went into this and we want to make sure it happens again next year," said Skalla, who is the wife of Niles City Council First Ward Representative Tim Skalla.
Joe Ray, assistant director of Niles Department of Public Works, and a group of volunteers, including Allen's brother Larry Allen, Larry Pickles and Paul Mooney, have spent numerous nights spraying a large surface on the east side of Eastside Park to create the surface. Another layer was added yesterday by the Niles Fire Department.
"Our goal is to get groups up there, like youth groups," or neighborhood children, Skalla said.
Any organizations wanting access to the skates for use at Eastside Park can contact either Skalla at (269) 684-2455 or Allen at (269) 683-5738 to set up a time to meet with volunteers at the rink. Anyone interested in volunteering or who has a pair of skates to donate can also contact Skalla or Allen.