LUSELAND — We began the year with below-normal temperatures and then entered a cold snap mid-January. This resulted in a substantial water main break Jan. 16, causing a two-and-a-half day interruption of water services before the break could be located and fixed. We were thankful to all our town citizens for their patience during this time. We know it is frustrating and our town crew and contractors tried to work quickly to get services back online.
We welcome some new staff to our team this year. Dwaine Scheuerman started in January as our assistant foreman, filling the vacancy that we had since Kirk Meyers left at the end of September 2023. We also hired Caitlyn Jahner as new assistant administrator, who began employment Jan. 22. She will replace Krystal Bazylinski who will soon fill the administrator role when Karyl Richardson retires at the end of February. We also signed a contract with Ty Kohlman of Cactus Lake, whom the Town of Luseland has hired as police chief. Kohlman started police college Jan. 8 and will return to work for the town after the completion of college and several months of training with former police chiefs Nate Ekstrand and Jason Mochoruk. In the interim, policing needs will be met by the Kindersley RCMP detachment.
The Luseland Rink Improvement Committee had approached the town about using the un-developed subdivision owned by the town, which had been getting seeded and the money used to help pay off the remainder of the pool loan and finding a similar business arrangement to fundraise for upgrades to the arena. The town agreed that they would consent to the rink improvement committee organizing and seeding the subdivision and using this as a fundraising opportunity for the arena.
The committe has also taken over the Trip of the Month draw and will use this to fundraise for rink upgrades. Updates on their progress can be found on social media.
The Town of Luseland will be holding a strategic planning meeting Feb. 6 at the town office. Office staff have conducted a survey, asking for resident input on a multitude of areas to help identify service needs and the priorities of our tax base. We will use this information for strategic planning and in the budget process; aligning plans through taxpayer engagement. If you have not seen the survey, please visit the Town of Luseland Facebook page. A paper copy can be picked up at the town office.
The town was successful in obtaining a Provincial Traffic Safety Fund Grant through SGI to install a crosswalk system to improve pedestrian safety at the main entrance to town, which crosses Highway 31 over to the fairgrounds. Minor ball numbers have significantly increased in the past year and foot and bike traffic to the fairgrounds has gone up exponentially since use has increased. We hope that the push-button crosswalk system will help keep our citizens safe. The town was awarded $12,621 to install the crosswalk.
