Just over 18 months after the original town hall and fire hall were destroyed in a fire, the brand new building was opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday afternoon.
“It’s honestly amazing,” said the chief administrative officer for the town, Amanda Wolter. “Just finally being able to get into this new office. I mean, we get to come in and sneak peeks every so often, but it’s just a bittersweet ending. That fire was devastating, and it took a lot out of us just to try and figure out what the new normal was, so to be able to come into this office, and actually function on a regular basis is amazing, and it’s, honestly, it’s gorgeous. It’s stunning in here.”
When the fire happened, as you would expect from the people of Saskatchewan, neighbouring towns and rural municipalities did what they could to help out. The business that the town office would need to handle would be taken care of in the cold storage building. The planning on the new building began right away, and construction started in 2023.
The fundraising for the new facility didn’t fall onto the shoulders of the people of Radville. The mayor of Radville, Rene Bourassa, had previously said they would rely on insurance and help from outside the communities.
Donations for the new facility came from around the province. K+S Potash donated a fire truck for the Radville Laurier Fire Department. The furniture for the town office came from SaskPower and the R.M. of Weyburn. Then, there was the overall effort of the community to rebuild.
“It was pretty emotional for me, especially because of course this going through the fire and everything that went along with it,” Wolter said of her emotions when the ribbon was cut. “Just seeing all the community members that were here because this community was so supportive of us. We constantly had people checking on us, and even bringing us coffee or just a donut, or just stopping in and saying, hey, how are you guys making out?”
While the town hall is now built, the grand openings in the community are not over just yet. Wolter noted the new pool is opening to the public on Monday, with an official grand opening up on July 12th.
“That’s when they’re going to do the official ribbon-cutting ceremony,” Wolter said. “There’s going to be a free swim. There’ll be beef on a bun. There’s slowpitch, a cornhole tournament, there’s a cabaret. For us as the town as well, it’s just going to be finding out our new normal in this office, which is going to be pretty easy.”