The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Submitted Article On Sunday the public is invited to attend the grand opening of the renovations of the Denareplex at 1718 Wigwam Drive, Denare Beach. Creighton and Denare Beach MP Rob Clarke will be at the ceremony as well as village councillors and recreation board members. 'Our Government is proud to have supported the improvements to the Denareplex Community Centre,' said Clarke, on behalf of the Honourable Lynne Yelich, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification. 'This investment helps improve the community's recreational infrastructure and supports job creation and economic growth.' It took six years from the first engineering consult and drawings to complete the renovations of the Denareplex. Throughout changes in village council, the recreation board and recreation directors, and in spite of occasional setbacks, the work continued from phase to phase and grant to grant to bring us to the present. Celebrate Now we are ready to invite the public and dignitaries to help us celebrate the completion of this major project. The skating rink, which occupied half of the Denareplex, was moved outdoors behind the Denareplex. The vacated space was used to enlarge the main hall, and to add a fitness room, storage room, teen lounge, mechanical room, skating change room, bathrooms with handicap access, a multipurpose room, and space for a future workout room. This work was accomplished in several stages as grants became available. Grants from the Canada Celebrates Saskatchewan Program and the CIF Centennial Facilities Grant Program helped to get the project off the ground in our Centennial year, 2005. In 2008 the Building Communities North Program allowed us to continue with another stage of the project. Finally, the Recreational Infrastructure Canada Program provided the funds to complete the project. Grants were not the only source of funds. The initial funds came from a capital savings program initiated by the recreation board in 1993, authorized by the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority to allow bingo and lottery funds to go into the savings program. That means everyone who helped work bingos for the recreation board over the years has contributed to these renovations. By the end of the savings program we had $130,000. Village council also contributed at each stage, and also provided emergency funds to pay for a new roof over the entire Denareplex when it was discovered that the original roof over the rink area had several leaks which were about to destroy the new drywall. There will be a brief opening ceremony and greetings from dignitaries, followed by refreshments. Come out to see the facilities and the diagrams and photographs of the stages of construction that will be on display in the main hall.
