While most Thompsonites welcome this year's unseasonably warm late summer and early fall temperatures, there may be a few who would like to see it cool down a bit - the ones wearing skates.
Inside the refurbished C.A. Nesbitt Arena, it may be harder to get a good view of the ice because humidity has caused the plexiglass to fog up, at least partially due to the weather. This same humidity has also led to water on the ice and the recreation department is hoping that when the cooler weather that will inevitably come arrives, clear glass and hard ice will once again be the norm.
"The trouble with the fogged-up glass and at times the water on the ice is a combination of things," said director of recreation, parks and culture Bruce Krentz. "Humidity is our main problem, thus the condensation (fog) on the glass and the tendency for water to sit on the ice."
Factors behind the humidity include the warm weather as well as the work that went into the arena during its retrofit last year.
"The new construction seems to be more conducive to trapping that moisture than in the past," said Krentz, whose department is seeking ways to further circulate the air in the arena to help reduce the problem. "We are looking at a de-humidification system, which should help."
The same issues did arise last year during the Munn Cup, though not to the extent they have now. And even though it is believed that winter will help sort the problem out, the recreation department also hopes to prevent such occurrences in the future.
"It is our goal to take steps through the winter to be able to deal with the possibility of warm temperatures and the return of higher humidity," said Krentz.
The good news is, it probably won't be a problem anymore in a month or so.
"Once it cools off outside we do expect the majority of the problem to resolve itself," said Krentz. "As much as we would love to control it, the weather will decide for itself when it will get cold. As this is our first full season, this is all part of the growing pains in running a new facility."
