A grant of $25,000 from Pioneer Grain and its parent company, James Richardson International, will enable the Yellow Grass Rink Board to complete renovations to the rink boards before the rink opens for the winter

Volunteers and materials began coming together this past week at the Yellow Grass Rink, and the plan is for the rink to up and running by Nov. 2, or earlier if it's possible, said rink board president Al Whitrow.

He said the board started the project to refurbish the rink boards about four years ago, and then this grant came through from Pioneer Grain which will enable them to finish it this year.

"We're changing the corners and adding some more plexiglass, and replacing the puck boards. It's all volunteer labour except for some work being done by a local welder," said Whitrow.

He said the funds may be sufficient to do some other projects in the rink, but first they want to get the boards done properly, and he figures that will take at least $15,000 of the funds from Pioneer.

One possibility for an extra project is to provide space heaters for the players' benches and for the spectators area.

Explaining about the grant, Mike Tyhy of the Pioneer Grain terminal in Weyburn said Pioneer's parent company, JRI, celebrated its 150th anniversary by inviting applications from community projects in the communities where they're located.

"The communities were invited to submit an application for projects which were reviewed by the James Richardson Foundation. The community submits an estimated project cost, and the foundation decided which amount to award," said Tyhy, adding that 150 communities across the Prairies had grants provided through this project.

The project will come in handy as Yellow Grass has a busy schedule for the winter booked already, with four teams based in Yellow Grass plus ice time being booked by travelling teams from Weyburn Minor Hockey, said Whitrow.

"We're looking forward to a busy year. We're shooting for the rink to be open by Nov. 2. If things go well, we'll open ahead of that. We're getting busier every year, and it's made a big difference with this grant as to what we're able to do this year," said Whitrow.