North Augusta, Ont. outdoor rink receives building donation, honours life of community member

NORTH AUGUSTA, ONT. -

Outdoor community rinks are a staple in rural Ontario.

For one village northeast of Brockville, a recent tragedy has transpired into something special.

In North Augusta, the two-year-old 60 x 100 outdoor rink on Mill Street is a popular destination. Maintained by volunteers, it's not so popular for users suiting up to use it.

"I'd put out some plastic chairs, and we would knock the snow off them, sit on them with our bottoms getting cold and wasn't very nice," said Bill Tennant, North Augusta Recreation Committee President. "Our boots would fill up with snow, so it wasn't very nice!"

Local company Little Irishman's Portable Sheds figured they could help, and discussed building a shed to help users stay out of the cold while lacing up.

"My partner and I, our shop is in North Augusta, we've lived here all our lives," said co-owner Dale Armstrong. "We were talking about the rink with Bill and we decided that we would donate a shed for the kids and people to put their skates on and stay out of the weather a little bit."

The new shed was dropped off just before New Year's, and placed beside the rink.

"We spent a few days working on this to get it to the way we wanted it," said Paul Asbreuk, also a co-owner. "(we had to) figure out what size, and get the bench at the right height for all the different sized kids that are coming here."

"Just a nice place for them to come and stay out of the cold wind," he said.

A donated shed for the North Augusta, Ont. outdoor rink is in memory of Maya Spence. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)

With the shed a welcomed addition, another small gesture was praised by the community.

On the side of the shed, a small sign provided by TNT Dynamite Signs of Prescott states, "In Memory of Maya Spence", a 22-year-old resident who unexpectedly lost her life last summer.

"She was the light of our lives," said Armstrong, Spence's stepfather.

Spence loved sports and was a recent Laurentian University graduate, who had just accepted her dream job at Skate Canada.

"She was a great girl. Couldn't ask for a better daughter," he added.

On Aug. 30, 2021, Spence passed away from a pulmonary embolism, when a blood clot gets caught in an artery in the lung. She was shopping with her mother in Kingston when it happened.

"There was no indication that she had any illness at all," Armstrong said. "She wanted to be in the sports field and she got the opportunity at Skate Canada and she was looking very forward to it."

In university, she helped create Lu Women in Sport and graduated with honours. She also held a volunteer position in the organizing of the Canada 2022 games.

"She actually never got to start (her job)," Armstrong said. "She had the job, got her apartment in Ottawa and she had been there for two weeks."

"Maya was always involved in the community, she was friends with everyone and she was just a super girl," added Asbreuk.

Tennant, excited and thankful by the donation of the shed, says the memorial tops it off.

"The fact that they could do it in memory of Maya was really exciting," he said. "This whole village took a hit when that happened. We all suffered, and so to be able to have something like this to come out of it, is kind of neat."

On Friday, kids skating on the rink could leave their boots in the shed to keep them dry.

Silas and Corey Gray prepare to go for a skate at the North Augusta, Ont. outdoor rink. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)

North Augusta residents Cory and Silas Gray also stopping by to play hockey, using the shed for the first time.

"It's excellent," Cory said, tightening his son's skates. "I was kind of wondering if I had to bring a chair down for him so he had somewhere to sit while I put on his skates and it's perfect."

"It's good news out of tragedy," Tennant said. "I mean our hearts are still broken, everybody still misses Maya, but we can all look at that picture and say look what we got now and remember her positively and enjoy the rink and the shed."

Including the two friends and partners, glad to provide a lasting memory of someone special.

"It's going to be really nice knowing that everyone, every time they walk by this shed, they are going to see Maya," said Asbreuk.

"Maya would be very proud of this," added Armstrong. "She's just a super girl."