KERROBERT — The Press-Herald and SASKTODAY.ca, covered a number of great stories for the community of Kerrobert in 2021
The prolonged pandemic wreaked havoc on rink season and Kerrobert Recreation Director Bobbi Hebron announced that the ice plant at the arena was shut off Jan. 29. A combination of ice plant issues resulted in leaning on natural ice provision. Minor hockey wrapped up their season Feb. 11, the SWHL cancelled their season Jan. 16 and the West Central Rage were undecided on the remainder of their already disrupted season.
The 101-year-old Kerrobert Courthouse will see upgrades thanks to a grant from the Saskatchewan Heritage Foundation. A $9,400 grant will be used for removal of damaged wood steps that were placed over the concrete main entrance staircase, as well as for the repair of the exterior concrete stairs. The grant represents approximately half of the cost of the overall project, with the community looking towards donors to help with the remainder.
Kerrobert town council rolled out a three-phase plan to replace old iron-cast waterlines, sewer lines and install new paving once the lines have been replaced. It will be an expensive project, but a necessary one. The lines are 100 years old and are well past their life expectancy. The town was awarded a couple of grants totalling $4.5 million from the federal and provincial governments, but the overall project will require more funding.
The Kerrobert Wildlife Federation recognized 50 years of service by Joe Dubielewica and Lyle Busch. The gentlemen taught firearm safety to more than 1,500 students from Kerrobert and surrounding district in their five decades of service.
Kerrobert Composite School was once again forced to subdue graduation celebrations which included a community parade.
Kerrobert ball players experienced success at provincial championships across the province.
Goose bumps were felt in Kerrobert when the iconic large goose that called Main Street’s end its home for a decade or more, went on a mysterious flight the evening of June 19. A local Kerrobert business aided in the return home of this famous bird much to the appreciation of the community’s residents.
A short number of days later, the Kerrobert Pool also experienced a bout of mischief and vandalism. Sometime in the evening of June 23 damage was done to the pool by throwing a variety of debris including batteries, vapes, dirt lumps and other garbage into the pool. Thanks to some deep cleaning and deep diving by town employees and pool staff, the pool was reopened in short order.
Aug. 21, the community of Kerrobert hosted a car enthusiast event that began with new, classic and muscle cars cruising down the highways of west central Saskatchewan with 30 drivers participating. The event started and finished in Kerrobert and wrapped up with a car show with 17 different prize categories awarded.
As the Kerrobert arena season was set to begin again, users would notice some changes. Some updates were completed over the summer including water heaters replacement, lighting improvements and some painting.
Thanks to community contributions, a new Zamboni was funded for the rink.
The major change for the fall/winter season was the absence of the West Central Rage who took a one-year leave of absence from the PJHL.
A story on the purported paranormal activity at Kerrobert Courthouse went viral on SASKTODAY.ca.
The Kerrobert Courtroom Gallery continued to host artist series as well as a revised version of their annual festival of trees earmarked for fundraising for the ongoing restoration work at the courthouse.
Jacob Ambros, playing for the Saskatoon Hilltops as a receiver is a former Kerrobert Rebel football player. Nov. 14, Ambros played in the Prairie Football Conference championship, playing the undefeated Regina Thunder. The Hilltops won the PFC and advanced, however were not able to re capture a Canadian Bowl title.
Kaden Johnson, former Kerrobert resident, continued training with the Team Canada bobsled team.
A Kerrobert business will move into a new home in early 2022. Residents were excited at the arrival of the new building that will house Bick’s Drugs, a long-standing business in Kerrobert. Current owners, the Bazins, say the continual need to modernize in order to provide up-to-date, quality pharmacy care necessitated the decision for a new building.
