It’s out with the old and in with the new, and the public has noticed the difference.
On Oct. 17, the Armour, Ryerson, Burk’s Falls Memorial Arena's new score clock replaced the old timepiece, which was first installed in 1986.
“It was a piece of history coming down,” Chris Merrick, arena operator and certified ice technician, said of the old clock.
The new device replaces toggle switches with buttons and Christmas-type bulbs, with LEDs.
Replacing the old bulbs – which were becoming more expensive – could be tough at times, especially when they would break. Merrick said a special tool was needed to twist out broken bulbs.
“Also, since the new clock has LEDs, staff no longer have to go up the catwalk to change the bulbs,” Merrick said, adding that sometimes the circuit board behind the old bulbs would burn out and have to be replaced.
Merrick says the new score clock is user-friendly and has a start/stop button instead of toggle switches. While power to the old clock could be lost if the wiring jiggled, the new one is wireless.
Parents coming in to watch their children play minor hockey noticed it right away.
“They asked, 'When did you get this?'” Merrick said. “They were happy with it. And the timekeepers are also very happy with the new clock.”
The Village of Burk’s Falls is keeping the old clock to see if it can find another use for it.
Rocco Frangione is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter with Almaguin News. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
