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economist suntribune sports thmsday june 13 2002 25 popular outdoor rink getting a lid installed stouffville sports store owner gets money from molsonsfund community to put roof over yearold ball hockeyice hockey facility by jim thomas correspondent its a recreation site for all sea sons whats needed to make this a reality is a roof and this is ian boyds next pro ject to raise the roof over a 6000- squarefoot pad at the rear of boyds sports on ringwood drive with the enthusiasm shown so far including an approved 5000 grant from molsons local heroes fund boyd is confident construc tion can begin this fall cost has been estimated at 40000 while the rink as it stands is good recent mild winters have made it difficult to hold ice for long periods boyd explains if the sur face is protected from sun and sleet iceuse can be extended boyd proposes to raise funds through the sale of fourbyeight ad signs these will be located on the north and west exterior sides the asking price per sign is 1500 of 1 ills- illllb staff photosjoerd witteveen ian boyd owner of boyds source for sports on ringwood drive in stouffville wont require the use of an umbrella to hold over his 6000squarefoot ball hockeyice hockey recreational pad in the near future as he recently received a 5000grant from the molsons local heroes fund to assist iri the construction of a roof to cover the facility now known as the buttermakers pad boyd is aiming to sell advertisements on the boards to assist in further funding thats required to cover the estimated cost of 40000 which 1000 will go towards roof current facility is called is an exten- construction sionofthis there are 25 sign spaces work will be completed by local signmak- ers jim brazier and keith dudley fifty per cent of useable space is already committed boyd says boyd says hes always been an advocate of backyard rinks the buttermakers pad as the theres a possibility somewhere down the road artificial ice could be added boyd describes his project as a community spirit thing he says never in his wildest dreams did he envisage such a pro ject when he acquired the site three years ago its been wonderful he claims ive enjoyed tremendous cooper ation from the mayor and parks and recreation its all for the kids he adds and the kids have responded turning up in droves for both ball and ice hockey games theres no charge but users are expected to treat the facility with respect boyd says and this theyve done i check the area every morning its amazing how neat and clean its kept boyd himself takes care of all maintenance and utilities once the roof is completed lights will be added along with pro tective side screens a trust fund for all donations has been established at the toronto- dominion bank branch on main street the original pad was completed last fall community sponsors contributions came from the mayors youth fund stouffville kinsmen club stouffville buttermakers stouffville raiders slopitch team stouffville amateur hockey league moller insurance don reesor excavating james rennie excavating toronto- dominion bank bob mcneil electric the miller group lafarge canada yipesstripes williamson motors the bartley boys jendan construction todd excavating ken goodbrand schell lumber dale rennie carpentry roma fence and tim hortons rink boards were installed by schell lumber houston ford barthau jewellers and markham mower stouffvilles been good to me says boyd its nice to give some thing back to see so many kids having so much fun i couldnt be happier mcknight generated a spark in sdss athletics longtime stouffville coach to take leave of absence by jim thomas correspondent he came to stouffville district secondary school as a teacherelectrician but he ignited a spark in student athletics that 15 years later still burns brightly bill mcknight 57 is taking a oneyear leave of absence in hopes of rekin dling an earlier career mcknight will be honoured at an appreciation afternoon at amaretto restaurant on june 18 from 4 pm to 6 pm mcknight a native of valley walter northern ireland emi grated to canada at the age of nine taking up residence with his parents and brother in east york it was while attending east york collegiate- he met the girl of his dreams then a school cheerleader bill and judy have two daughters kate and tanis a son matthew and a grand son owen as a student mcknight was always active in sports first with the east york trojans and goliaths and later at george brown college following a successful apprenticeship and 23 years employment with ainsworth electric mcknight followed his wifes advice and turned to teaching a decision hes never regretted he obtained a faculty of education degree from queens university in kingston and then joined the cooptechnical department at sdss hes currently the schools coop head bill mcknight says decision to take a leave of absence from stouffville secondary was difficult however it was sue leroy who steered mcknight on a volunteer course would you like to coach he remembers her asking id love to he replied thus began a teacherstudent association that would leave an indelible mark on hun dreds of athletes with the exception of volleyball mcknights been involved in every sport both boys and girls at all age levels working in close cooperation with leroy they led the midget girls bas ketball team through the season of 197778 without a loss players he recalls include kelly sheridan susie baston janine bell tammy grove julie coleman and terril junkin mcknight would continue this connection through their junior and senior years the senior girls advanced to the ontario finals twice under his tutelage sdss won six consecutive fastball titles standout players includ ed scott evans jamie showers paul sinclair chris and rich burkholder and dan larmer mcknight initiated the sdss hockey program in 1995 an activity thats still going strong stouffville has always been a great hockey town and the boys wanted a team so i twisted a few arms and it happened he recalls along with howie burkholder manager of the stouffville mennos they took a junior rep club to the north american championships in rockport illinois in hockey mcknight still plays tuesday and friday mornings he heads up a league origi nally organized by nowretired teacher al piette modest concerning his own coaching abili ties mcknight claims most players showed a skill in a particular sport long before entering secondary school i was blessed with a lot of great kids both boys and girls he says they displayed amaz ing talent more importantly mcknight speaks with pride of all spartan teams regardless of the sport on many occasions he says opposing coaches would congratulate him on the fine sportsmanship displayed by his athletes mcknight established and enforced a rigid code of conduct that players respected win with class lose with class was his motto playing on a team isnt a right but a privilege he maintains but mcknight says none of his extracurric- ular involvements would have been possible without staff support including assistance by technical head wally currie whenever i had to catch a team bus and go somewhere wally would fill in he says mcknights sports involvements went far beyond his association with stouffville district secondary school annually he along with rich burkholder and currie would conduct a softball camp on a reserve at manitoulin island operated by dick and shirley ohlman and later don and shirley hamilton for many years he was a director on the board of willow springs a summer camp at lemonville across from where he lives mcknight honestly admits his leave of absence request was a difficult decision working in the school and with the com munity has been a marvelous experience he says id do it all again whitchurchstouffville and stouffville secondary are the beneficiaries of mcknights talents and extracurricular time the school and the community will say thanks onjune 18 town to honour latest provincial champions tonight honouring the best in athletic achievement thats what the town of whitchurchstouffville will be doing tonight when they host their annual recognition of athletes awards night at latcham hall beginning at 730 pm the evenings festivities will hon our teams and individuals from stouffville who attained firstplace or goldmedal status at provinciallevel competitions between the period of june 2001 to june 2002 among the teams to be recognized are the ontario hockey federation champion stouffville clippers pee- wees the ontario minor hockey association champion stouffville clippers juveniles and the markham- stouffville stars novice girls team individuals to receive accolades haye participated in the disciplines of gymnastics masters curling life- guarding and track and field town officials note that anyone is welcomed to attend the festivities the recognition of athletes awards night began in 1988 and has since become an annual affair