KERROBERT – The Kerrobert Chamber of Commerce held an informational evening for the town council candidates to introduce themselves to the voters Nov. 4.
With six seats at the table, seven candidates have tossed their hats into the ring, all of who have never been on council before. The candidates are Connor Phillips, Kim Burgardt, Don Snell, Matthew Roblin, Regis Neumeier, Lisa Knorr and Cody Hall.
Each candidate was allocated 10 minutes to introduce themselves, giving a bit of background history and why they want to sit on council. While there were some laughs throughout the speeches, many of the candidates took the time to explain what they are passionate about in the community.
Five of the seven candidates were born and raised in Kerrobert and are now raising their families in the community. Some candidates have created their own businesses and see how important it is to retain staff and continue to build on what the community already has. Phillips, who is an instrumentation technician by trade, would like to bring the Saskatchewan Youth Apprenticeship (SYA) to the community.
“If you can keep your youth in town, you’re breeding your own workers, your own tradesmen. The SYA gets kids involved in trades in high school. In Grade 10, students are allowed to join the program, work hand-in-hand with all the trades we have available and decide which ones they like. By completing the program, they get their first two years of trade school paid for and are credited up to 2,000 hours, which is your first year of hours,” explained Phillips.
After the candidates spoke, the floor was opened to the public for any questions. A former business owner asked how the candidates would help entice businesses to come to Kerrobert and stay open.
Neumeier was first to answer, admitting he is not a businessman but would like to see some incentives put in place to draw companies to set up shop. Roblin, who is a contract operator with Strathcona Resources, agreed with Phillips with the SYA program, seeing it as a great opportunity for students interested in trades to continue to live and work in the Kerrobert area.
Knorr also spoke on the subject, saying residents and businesses alike need to support each other and have each other’s backs. Snell, who moved back to Kerrobert, recognized that for a community to thrive, there must be something for everyone.
“We need to have things for our children if we want to be the community of choice. That means we need to have art programs for those who like the arts, we need to have the facilities that people will be drawn to,” said Snell.
The other question that was put forth to the candidates was regarding tourism and how to draw visitors to town.
“We have some of the greatest facilities, like the reservoir. We just have to exploit them in a positive light that gets people to come to the community,” said Neumeier.
“I think we need to have more events. Tralapa is more Tramping Lake, but all the people that help put it on are from Kerrobert. I would like to see more sporting events, tournaments and maybe try to get other communities together and plan something bigger,” said Hall.
Voting will take place on Nov. 13 at the PCC Hall. Voters are reminded to select six candidates on the ballot to ensure your ballot counts.
