Ice Rink

Abby Adelman's ice skates felt too tight yesterday. Some things are destined to remain constant from one generation to the next, and uncomfortable skates are apparently one of them. "They're not too tight. They're just stiff because they're not broken in," assured David Adelman, the father of the wincing 5-year-old from Columbia. Abby nodded bravely, then headed out on the ice, where her gleeful expression assured her dad that her moment of distress, like the recent Christmas snowstorm, had quickly passed.

Public skating in Westminster has been put on ice for the winter. After seeing five years of slush and puddles, Ronald J. Schroers, the city's recreation director, decided to stop using the portable ice rink acquired by the city in 1995. The rink, set up for two months each winter in Dutterer Family Park, did not have a refrigeration unit and was dependent on the weather. Warm, sunny winter days made for too many days of bad ice skating. "People were wanting to skate and they couldn't," said Schroers, who added that the rink was open seven to 20 days each winter.

It may be a far cry from New York's Rockefeller Center, but Glen Burnie Town Center now has an ice rink. The rink, in the 100 block of Crain Highway, opened Saturday, two weeks earlier than expected, when its operator, Annapolis-based Tri-State Rink Management Co., obtained an ice resurfacer from its rink in Reston, Va. The official grand opening, at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 11, will include a tree-lighting, caroling and a skating show. Weather permitting, the outdoor rink will be open daily. Hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Fridays; and 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturdays.

Managers at The Mall in Columbia are hoping to add ice skating to the list of things shoppers can do at the center this holiday season. But the outdoor skating rink that officials had hoped would prove a boost to the struggling entertainment plaza on the back side of the mall has been delayed by construction problems and missed its scheduled opening on Thanksgiving weekend. Tri-State Ice Management owner Robert Hauck said the site next to L.L. Bean has proven difficult because the soil is spongy and difficult to stabilize, but said he hopes to get the final phases of construction under way this week and open this weekend.

THE ISSUE: The Benfield Pines Ice Rink, a landmark destination in Anne Arundel County for ice skaters and hockey players, closed its doors this month after 33 years. A partnership is leasing the facility and plans to convert it to accommodate indoor soccer,basketball and volleyball. That leaves one year-round ice rink in the county, at Piney Orchard. Benfield owner Rick Pardew based his decision to close on competition, including that from two outdoor winter rinks that are funded by the county.

The Village of Long Reach in Columbia is being slighted in favor of the new Village of River Hill, Long Reach Village Board Chairwoman Cecilia Januszkiewicz said last night."

1990: Quiet Water ice rink opens It was an afternoon full of bumps and bruises at the new outdoor ice rink at Quiet Waters Park, which opened near Annapolis on Dec. 8, 1990. About 30 people ventured onto the ice at one time and skated to Christmas carols played over loudspeakers. Many people had waited weeks for the $900,000 rink to open; delays were caused by a spate of warm weather. Ice skating there was a cheap date. On opening day, it cost $2.50 to skate for two hours, and $2 to rent skates.

The Next Ice Age, Baltimore's ice dance company, opened its six-evening engagement at Columbia's Ice Rink last night.Choreographers/skaters/artistic directors Nathan Birch and Tim Murphy, along with guest artist Dorothy Hamill, have put together a program that blends the best of skating with modern dance, guaranteed to take the chill out of the ice rink temperature.The program of seven dances at the transformed ice rink -- there are wings, as with a true proscenium stage -- was split between the premier of Mr. Birch's nearly hourlong "Sisyphean Victory" and six shorter dances.

For now, it appears that the issue is moot over whether to build a Sandymount ice skating rink, but a disturbing undercurrent coursed through the arguments against the project. Some opponents objected that the facility would be a gathering spot for youths. Others expressed fears that "outside" or "rowdy" people would be drawn to Carroll County. In the minds of these opponents, an ice-skating rink was a synonym for crime.Such demagogy aside, there are good grounds to object to this particular venture.