Well Bonnyville, as I'm sure a lot of you familiar with our social media pages are already aware, the town is set to lose one of its community mainstays from the best part of the last three decades, as SpareTime Bowling is all set to shut its doors for good April 19.
For the past 25 years, the Michaud family has run the bowling alley, a facility that hundreds, if not thousands of locals and out-of-towners has taken advantage of and used for some good wholehearted fun over the past two and a half decades.
While I totally understand the reasoning behind the sale of the complex, and I commend the Michauds for their at times selfless attitudes towards operating the facility, losing the only bowling alley, one of the few sources of entertainment on offer in Bonnyville, is a big blow to the community.
Just last week, we saw several local residents demonstrating in front of the Nouvelle's offices in protest after learning of the new owner's plans to turn the location into office space.
Again, while I can appreciate the business behind the move is on the lookout for a new home, surely there is space elsewhere in the community to erect yet more office space and leave one of Bonnyville's oldest past times alone.
I myself have taken in the facilities at SpareTime Bowling a number of times since my arrival in February 2013. While its closure won't be a huge blow to me, there are many in the community that will really feel its loss.
All you have to do is glance towards the far inside wall of the facility to see all the members of the Bonnyville bowling teams over the past few years. What will they do now the only alley in town is closing? I've covered several Special Olympics events at SpareTime over the past year, what will those people do now?
There are a lot of people that this closure will affect. I know it's probably too late to do anything with this particular facility now, but I think, if not the new owners of the facility, someone should look into the merit of keeping a bowling alley in Bonnyville.
