ATHABASCA – For many children in the summer, basketball serves as one of their favourite ways to spend their time, whether it be playing a game of pick-up or Horse with friends or improving upon their own skills to be the next NBA star.
While this is an accessible activity for those in Athabasca, children in Colinton were left without the same access to public basketball nets until the Colinton Fire Department donated their money and time towards installing public basketball nets in the outdoor skating rink right in Colinton.
“We had some money saved up in our department, so we decided that (basketball nets) were a good thing to spend it on,” Colinton Fire Chief Bruce Bretzlaff said.
Between their allotted money from the county and donations given to the department, they were able to save up enough money to bring Bretzlaff’s idea to life.
“There's three of us here that are retired,” Bretzlaff explained when talking about who put the nets up after they were purchased.
With the help of two other members and a telehandler, also known as a boom lift or cherry picker, and an operator courtesy of Rosie’s Trucking the department was able to get the nets up in time for some summer fun.
Many have already made use of these nets such as firefighter Wade Czwil and his son, who have been hoping for somewhere to play basketball near their home for nearly three years.
These local firefighters are not only heroes when fighting fires, but also amongst the children of their community.
