City of Merritt mayor and council donned jerseys in support of the Humboldt community at Tuesday’s general meeting.
The meeting began and ended with the council’s condolences to the junior hockey team. Mayor Neil Menard began, saying the accident hit close to home.
“This is a hockey town. On behalf of the city, [we’re] sending our condolences out to the Humbolt Broncos, to the community and to the parents,” he said. “A lot of those young men had their lives brought up short because of the accident in Saskatchewan, actually few miles from where I was born and where I started my hockey career — in Nipawin Saskatchewan,” he said.
Councillors also expressed their regrets that the hockey team was involved in a bus crash on their way to a playoff game in Nipawin.
Coun. Mike Goetz acknowledged the Broncos players during his report, saying that it’s a “tough pill to swallow” when you play the game.
“I played a lot of junior A, junior B, and we rode a lot of buses, and it’s always a concern,” he said. “This tragedy has affected me greatly.”
He stressed the need to support all those involved in the accident.
“To lose so many young people all at once, and a bus driver, and a trainer, and and a coach, and the truck driver who drove the truck. He will need some support,” Goetz said. “I know there’s a lot of people jumping all over the place about that, but I don’t think he woke up that day intending to have that happen.”
“I’m really having a hard time with it, and it will take me a while to get over it,” he said.
Menard affirmed Goetz’ sentiment.
“Know you have 100 per cent support of this council on every word you did say,” he said.
