Wilkie throws support behind Fernie B.C for Hockeyville 2018
If any community in Canada knows what Fernie B.C. is going through with the loss of its arena following an ammonia leak that killed three men on October 17; it’s the Town of Wilkie.
Almost two years prior to the Fernie tragedy, Wilkie itself lost its arena on Oct. 9,2015 due to an electrical fire that caused extensive damage to the SaskCan Centre and presented a hardship, not only for the communities sports teams such as the Wilkie Outlaws, but for the entire town as a whole.
Last year, Wilkie secured several grants and received many donations to help renovate their facility, including $25,000 as a top-10 finalist for Kraft Hockeyville (KHV) and had considered trying their luck again to win the grand prize of $150,000 and a NHL pre-season game this year. However, when committee members Helen Urlacher and Kathy Heilman read the submission put forth by Fernie, they knew they had to help.
“When Kathy (Heilman) texted me and told me to read the Fernie story on Kraft Hockeyville; I was really moved,” said Urlacher. “So we decided that we will throw our support behind Fernie and try for KHV in 2019.”