Ice making at the Landmark arena has received a major setback.

Mark Stropko is President of the Landmark Recreation Association. He says about two and a half weeks ago, their arena manager walked into the building to find water trickling out the door of the Zamboni room. When he opened the door he saw the room was flooded with water.

As it turns out, a rubber ring gave way overnight on their water softener. Stropko says their water softener is located right next to the control panel for their ice plant. When the ring gave way, water started spraying against the control panel, soaking it beyond repair.

Now, instead of hosting summer hockey camps, the Recreation Association has been busy ordering parts and notifying their clients that they will need to find other venues. According to Stropko, it could take up to ten days before the parts come in, then another ten days to install everything and another seven days to make ice. He says he is now hopeful they will be skating in Landmark by mid-September.

According to Stropko, the cost of repairs and loss of revenue has exceeded $40,000. Though he says those costs are covered by insurance.

In hindsight, Stropko says it is better for this to happen now than once the plant is up and running. Stropko adds though it is an inconvenience, everything will work out in the end.

Having said that, organizers for the Zajac Camp have expressed their gratitude to Steinbach Parks and Recreation for helping out Landmark in this situation. Cheryle Warkentine and Heather Beltz issued the following statement:

"On behalf of the Zajac Camp, we cannot begin to express our appreciation for what the Steinbach Rec Association did for us! They went above and beyond to help us out in a difficult situation and called in their staff early to put in ice for us. Jason Peters, (Parks and Rec), specifically made numerous phone calls and was extremely helpful in this situation. We want to say a HUGE thank you for what they have done, and really appreciate how the city of Steinbach has helped out a fellow small community. I know each of the kids registered in this camp will not be disappointed that the camp can still continue."

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