A hockey rink is under construction behind the SHS elementary wing being built by Galena resident Martin Hornfischer.

Mr. Hornfischer is building an ice rink using the old basketball court behind Sidney C. Huntington School so kids and community members can skate on it.

“When I was young, I used to skate on lakes and sloughs and I wanted to try to do that here in Galena,” he said.

In Galena, the ice on the sloughs sinks, making it impossible to skate on, and the Yukon River requires plowing because of the snow and drifting, so he said he came up with the idea to skate on the old basketball court, he said.

He is using the old basketball court because it is level. He used two-by-fours as a rim to hold the water. He is using the water from the swimming pool, which is right next to SHS. Because the swimming pool water was too high in calcium, he said he wanted to put it to good use.

He wanted the ice rink to be done by mid-January, but it was delayed due to challenges, such as the pool water being very warm, which took a while to freeze over, and cold weather was followed by warm weather. He is also waiting for the city to deliver the water used for the ice rink, hoping that the ice rink will be open to the community and kids soon.