Winter is coming, and the warm up shack next to Nome’s ice rink will ready.
After an electrical fire erupted in the shack in July, the City of Nome decided to demolish and rebuild the structure instead of repairing it.
John Papasodora is part of the Winter Sports Association and one of the leaders in the rebuilding effort, which he described as a joint operation between the city and the association.
“The city took down the old building,” said Papasodora. “They’re paying for the materials. We’re providing the labor, and we’ve constructed a 20 by 24 [foot] building, which is about a foot wider than the old building. It’s about 75 to 80 percent complete.”
That means the building will be up and running in time for winter sports. Papasodora said the structure is used by the ice hockey team, the cross-country skiing program, and other winter activities.
He estimated that 50 man-hours of donated labor — from all across the community — have already gone into construction of the new building.
“We’ve had John Handeland from NJUS. He brought over one of the forklifts to help us get the roof trusses up,” said Papasodora. “We’ve had guys from here at the office — the Nome Police Department — help us do most of the framing. We’ve had a whole host of people. Anybody who wants to stop, who wants to spend some time — they’re more than welcome.”
Papasodora said he’s aiming to finish the structure by moose season. The plan is to paint the inside of the warm up shack soon, before finishing the trim and electrical work.
