By Chris Jaster
The Parkland Bowling Alley in Maple Creek will have a different look to it if it re-opens.
Larilyn Mitchell, the owner of the bowling alley, has plans to decrease the number of lanes in the building and form a partnership with another business in town to have a different recreational activity in the building.
“What I’m thinking to do is possibly keep some of the lanes out and add something to it. I think it may be very viable that way,” she said. “There have been some thoughts and ideas going around. If we had something else to add to it or supplement it where there was another activity to bring people in.”
Mitchell considered this idea before the flood hit Maple Creek on June 18, but the effects of the natural disaster may make it easier for her to put her plan into action.
The floodwater broke the seals around the bowling alley’s windows and doors and left three feet of water in the building. The water destroyed almost everything inside the building with the exception of the bowling balls, most of the bowling pins, some benches and a few pairs of bowling shoes.
This forced Mitchell to remove everything from the building and pretty much start from scratch.
“It’s pretty well destroyed on the inside. The only thing left of it was the machines that reset the pins,” said Mitchell. “We gutted it out as quickly as possible to stop the mould and that seems to have worked.”
The bowling lanes are the only destroyed part of the building that has not been removed.
Mitchell had insurance for the building, but it didn’t cover flooding. As a result, she is waiting to hear back from the provincial government as to how much financial assistance she will receive through the Provincial Disaster Assistance Program. How much money she receives from the program will determine the future of the bowling alley.
“Basically, it was go ahead and gut it and then just wait for a response from the government before you know what direction it will go from here,” said Mitchell.