The Northern Lights School Division student conference, which was to be held at the Bold Center this Thursday, has been moved to Bonnyville due to warranty work being done in the Bold Center fieldhouse.
The decision to move the student conference to Bonnyville’s Centennial arena by school division officials came after Lac La Biche County administration notified them that work was being done to the fieldhouse’s walls, and that the conference couldn’t be hosted in the fieldhouse.
The walls were taken down for the recent Sam Roberts concert, but LLB County staff say they noticed the walls were not fitting properly two months ago so they asked construction contractors Clark Builders to fix it before they re-assembled the boards and while the warranty is still valid, said county spokesperson Shadia Amblie.
“We realized they were not fitting well, so we decided to get them fixed now,” she said.
LLB County officials say they offered the arena to the school division for the student conference, which was supposed to see Grade 9 students from division schools come to the Bold Center, but were declined by school officials who say they were worried about sound issues in the arena.
“There were some concerns with acoustics so we decided to move it to Bonnyville,” said Nicole Garner, spokesperson for NLSD, adding that they want the students to be able to hear the speakers properly. She said school officials understand the issue the county is dealing with, but needed to make sure that all of the kids and the three special guest speakers were taken care of.
Students will hear from Free the Children founder Craig Kielburger, Me to We co-founder Scott Hammell and J.A. Williams graduate and motivational speaker Leanne Young at the event.
Organizers were able to book the Bonnyville facility for the conference but scrambled to find a sponsor to cover the facility rental and food costs that were going to be covered by the LLB County and by JAWS students. Luckily Bonnyville company Clean Harbors stepped up to the plate and offered to pay for the unanticipated costs.
School division officials are optimistic that the 2013 conference will be held in Lac La Biche and are looking forward to bringing the event held every two years to the Bold Center. The fieldhouse walls at the Bold Center are supposed to be fixed by Clark Builders by May 19.
