Safe skating

The Recreation Department is creating an outdoor skating area on a portion of the town green. The preparation includes leveling the surface, applying shrink wrap to the ground, and installing wooden boards around the area, according to Recreation director Susan Roche. When it gets cold enough, the area will be filled with water to create the ice surface. Roche said the project is intended to provide residents with a safe, convenient place to skate, something many townspeople have asked for over the years. “A lot of times people skate on public or private bogs, but there really aren’t that many of them, and we discourage people doing that because it’s not safe,” she said. Roche said the skating area will be free to the public, though the department will designate specific hours for supervised family skating and may allow groups, such as hockey teams, to reserve ice time. The facility will be dismantled at the end of the season. - John Laidler