Tons of upgrades and additions coming to Waskesiu

“Like any strategic plan, this should get renewed again, but basically as you go down that list of items, lots of them are capital related. So we’re building things or improving things, but there are other items like reconciliation for example that don’t involve capital, but they are intended to try to improve our community.”

One of the biggest projects they’ve undertaken was the refurbishment of the Paul Horne Arena. The biggest focus was on the lobby with upgrades to seating and the washroom, but anyone who walks into the Paul Horne Arena when it reopens on December 14 is going to see a very different rink than the one they were in before.

“Out in the rink itself, both the ceiling and the walls as happens with rinks were showing their age. It’s all been reframed in terms of new wood placed on the side boards, right up to the ceiling, it’s all been repainted and a new a new coloured base around the bottom of it, and the ceiling has been repaired where there were cracks and other things, so overall it just looks really shiny and new again and it was much needed.”

Photos from inside the Paul Horne Arena. (Submitted/Jim Kerby)

A lot of the improvements that have been made have been focused on outdoor recreation, and that trend will continue for the new year. In summer of 2025, there will be a few new things to join the mini golf, sports court, outdoor volleyball court, and adult fit park that have already been added in recent years.

“We had removed the old recreation building and are building a new one that will be ready to go in May of 2025. We’re adding two new pickleball courts that are dedicated pickleball courts, professionally finished, they’ll be ready in June of 2025, and we’ll also be adding much needed sort of vegetation improvements in the recreation area. So that’s about a $650,000 project that was fundraised through partnership of the Waskesiu Foundation and the Waskesiu Recreation Association this last summer, and all the work is being done this winter.”

Since the Waskesiu Recreation Association took over upgrades to the recreation area at Waskesiu in 2016, Kerby estimates they have somewhere between $1.5-2 million in upgrades to the park.

“The recreation area in downtown Waskesiu has just turned into a hub of activity for people, and it’s so family oriented. There’s something to do whether you’re three years old or you’re 93 years old, and we see every generation represented there so we’re really, really happy with the way that the public has responded.”

Another item on the Vision 2028 plan outlines the possibility of adding a hiking trail that would take you from Waskesiu over to Elk Ridge, just 8.8km away from each other by highway. While this is something that they have looked at, it isn’t in the works for any time soon.

“That’s moved slowly. I would say right now there are a lot of things that need to be addressed in order to make something that significant happen. There have been discussions, but I haven’t seen much progress unfortunately in relation to that. It is an interesting concept, that’s for sure.”

There are also talks around building a new community stage in Waskesiu that could see small concerts, but that won’t be ready any time soon either. With decisions still to be made on whether it should be a fixed stage or a portable one, and with other more pressing projects like to upgrades to the Paul Horne Arena taking presidence, this point is one that will stay on the back burner for now.

Another area outlined in the Vision 2028 outline is around reconciliation with the First Nations people and recognizing their heritage on the land in Waskesiu. While there haven’t been any specific displays added, Kerby is proud of the efforts to include Indigenous people and traditions into the events they’ve hosted like their annual music festival and their parade. With the music festival in particular, the folks at Waskesiu are proud to have had Rebecca Strong on their stage before she won $1 million as part of Canada’s Got Talent.

“It’s just an example of trying to make sure that there’s an opportunity to showcase indigenous talent as part of our annual music festival. We’ve also made sure that for our Canada Day parade, in addition to the Canadian flag, we proudly have represented as carrying the Metis flag and the Treaty 6 flag where I think you’ll see a lot more visible representation of indigenous people throughout the community of Waskesiu and we’ve got a number of other plans in place that hopefully will be coming to fruition before the the 100th anniversary.”

If you’d like to support these upgrades and projects coming to Waskesiu, not only can you donate your money to the Waskesiu Foundation but you can also choose which projects you want your money to go towards.

“We have some other people that have given us $40-50-60,000 or more and said ‘look, you just put that into the endowment fund’. Those monies will never be spent, but they’ll be invested and the income off them will always be available to improve Waskesiu. You’ve got the whole range of choices where you can have people say, ‘hey, I want to support this camp kitchen’, versus ‘I trust you guys, you do great work, here’s some money. Put it away and let it earn something for future generations’.”

If you wish to make a donation to the Waskesiu Foundation, you can do so by following the link here.

The Foundation also spends some of that money in protecting the environment around Prince Albert National Park, and Kerby said that there is going to be an extra focus this year put on preventing invasive aquatic species, such as Zebra Muscles, from entering their waterways this year.

by Nick Nielsen

Tons of upgrades and additions coming to Waskesiu

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