After running unopposed in the mayoral race for Roche Percee, incumbent Jay Riedel is looking forward to his next term in office. Being elected in 2020, he had big goals for the small village outside of Estevan -- goals that he was able to achieve.
"Basically, what I wanted to see happen down there was...that stretch of road, or access road, that comes in [to the village] was in deplorable condition and it was something that I knew that we had to figure out a way to get it fixed. So when I came in 2020, that was on my list. Also to do some revitalization at the Roche Percee Rocks Historical Site. I wanted to see things progress out there because nothing much has happened in a long time -- just bring the place back to where it should be."
He recounted a Roche Percee before 2011 when a flood ravaged the community. Many people were displaced and recreational facilities were destroyed in the process. Riedel added that the community that stuck around had taken it upon themselves to improve the village, as help from federal and provincial governments was scarce at the time.
Riedel said that the community has bounced back since the incident. He admits that the previous council before his were able to discover and apply for grants to help fund projects needed for the village. After his election in 2020, he continued collaborating with other agencies to bring more money and attention to necessary projects, while keeping the costs low for the residents. "Since 2011, we lost a lot of our tax base and we lost a lot of our beautiful residents that lived down there along the floodplain area. So they basically [had] no choice but to move out of there," Riedel explained.
His marquee project upon getting elected in 2020 was the revitalization of the Roche Percee Rocks Historical Site. A site that meant a lot to Riedel growing up, he pointed to the rich history it holds. With pre-contact carvings, cultural significance to First Nations and Indigenous people, connections dating all the back to the Northwestern Mounted Police, and even Al Capone running liquor through the rocks in the Prohibition days, the historical site was a cause Riedel and the community rallied around. In the midst of applying for grants, the site was vandalized in 2021.
After collaborating with various government agencies like SaskParks, Ministry of Highways, Southeast Transportation Planning Committee, PrairiesCan, and SSEP, Roche Percee was able to get the funding to revitalize the historical site. In his time, Riedel was able to get the road near the rocks paved, added benches and picnic tables for families, and added a permanent light fixture to keep the site lit at night.
"To me, it's been my little dream for years to keep that place revitalized and, you know, make it the best place for people to come visit."
This was only one part of his plans for the village. His next project for the upcoming term is to add to the rec centre. After being severely affected by the 2011 flood, the community has fought hard to bring it back to its former glory. With more grant funding, heating was added to the facility. Riedel is looking to add more bathrooms and a kitchen moving forward. He hopes to open up the town for more events like cabarets, concerts and car shows to liven up the community.
With the ballot now only electing councillors for Roche Percee's civic election, he has a piece of advice for the two elected officials he'll be working with in the new term: prepare to work hard.
"Be prepared to do some work because we're gonna push, push, push to try and get some things done down there. It's nice that we got done what we did on this term because that took a lot off the plate and now we can kind of focus in on just running the place and keeping things going."