The chatter on social media was prevalent. Was it possible the Butler Dek Hockey rink’s future was in jeopardy?

A rumor about how the dek hockey rink could be replaced with additional pickleball courts spread so quickly that the township addressed the topic before its Monday meeting.

“It has been brought to our attention that there is a rumor circulating that the dek hockey rink is being replaced with additional pickleball courts. This rumor is completely false and not based in fact,” the township said in a May 2 Facebook post. “We’re unsure where this information originated from but it’s not happening.

“Butler Township is proud to host the dek hockey league and plan to continue well into the future.”

The post was shared 46 times and had garnered 29 comments as of 3 p.m. Tuesday, May 7.

The origin of the message that caused such concern for the future of the South Duffy Road rink is unclear. Whether or not there was ever a need to be concerned, we will applaud the Butler Township residents who made a point of making their voices heard about an issue that concerned them.

The concern was so widespread the township posted on social media to clarify the situation.

That being said, the meeting that followed that post on Monday had less of a showing. If social media translated to the meeting, the room would have been packed.

Simply, though a conversation happened on the topic at the township commissioners’ meeting, it wasn’t as well attended as we might have anticipated given the chatter on Facebook.

One resident, Rodney Zaliponi, asked the commissioners about the status of the dek hockey rink.

“Nothing is gong to happen to that hockey rink,” township Commissioner James Lokhaiser said during the Monday meeting.

Lokhaiser then alluded to the possibility of the township building an additional rink in the future, but even if that’s the case, nothing would happen to the current rink, he said.

Maybe the post by Butler Township resolved much of the concern, and it seems township residents have succeeded in advocating for themselves, but it’s often important to show up to the public meetings, too, where concern can be recorded, on the record.

— TL