Another day, another NJHL failed franchise. The Gibbons Pioneers have pulled a vanishing act in Gibbons Alberta. David Copperfield was not reported in the Gibbons area, but there are reports that Gibbons Pioneers leader Steve Arsenault had been seen walking through the arena with a top hat and cape last Friday night.
The story coming out of Gibbons Alberta is that the “crew” came into the arena, and emptied the dressing room, took all logos off the dressing room door, and removed any trace of the team’s prior existance in Gibbons. Haven’t we heard stories like this before?
Gone is the logo on the outside dressing room entrance, and the logo is not in the arena ice.
TJHN has uncovered that people within the Gibbons Pioneers organization over the last few years, are directly related to public officials in the Gibbons. People within the Gibbons community are now questioning whether certain officials received some benefits by granting the Gibbons Pioneers permission to operate in the arena from the beginning. A little quid pro quo perhaps?
The questions being asked now are just how much is the town of Gibbons owed, and how much damage has been done to locals who either bought advertising, season tickets, or have not been paid for billeting players?
Rumor is that it was representatives from the NJHL and the Gibbons Pioneers that went to Hinton Alberta to make a pitch to city officials about playing there.
Interestingly enough, community members in Hinton, and Gibbons are now contacting other elected officials and city managers in cities that are involved with the NJHL. The police have also been called to launch an investigation into the things happening in multiple cities in the NJHL.
Also of note is the High Prairie Red Wings, have had Head Coach Trent Meyaard resign and other key operational people leave the club. The team website has been missing for over a month, and new accusations of unpaid bills are being made.
Anyone finding a top hat and cape in Gibbons or High Prairie is advised not to touch it, call the authorities and not risk your own disappearance.
