A year in review for the community of Luseland

LUSELAND— The Press-Herald has shared many great stories from Luseland this past year in the paper and on the new website SASKTODAY.ca.

In January, The Town  entered a joint municipal arrangement to create a district fire board. Effective Jan. 1, the Town of Luseland, Village of Denzil, RM of Progress, RM of Heart’s Hill, and RM of Grass Lake organized as a district fire board to oversee and manage the operational and capital needs of the fire department. The new fire board had meetings to develop policies and the board structure and create a funding formula to meet the requirements of the department. Municipal co-operation will foster capital growth and expansion for fire protective services in the future.

April was a fun month in Luseland as community business, Luseland Credit Union, hosted an Easter egg hunt with a pay it forward background. Over a 10-day period, the team at LCU hid 80 eggs all over town and would donate $5 per egg returned to the Luseland Garden Club. Additionally, a golden egg was hidden on random days offering a special prize to the finder. Staff also created special glitter eggs that were placed on specific doorsteps around town and included special thank you notes acknowledging excellent service at a business where they were employed or because of their stellar volunteer contributions.

May was an exciting month for the Luseland Bells Acres golf course as they opened their season by installing synthetic grass greens on all nine holes. As well, the interior of the club house received some renovations, and two golf carts were purchased to rent. All of this was possible with the continued commitment of community volunteers and donors.

Luseland welcomed a new community police officer, Nate Ekstrand. Following police college and training in the RM of Vanscoy and Corman Park Police Service, Ekstrand began his duties in Luseland in 2021.

Luseland graduates celebrated in another subdued manner that included a community parade.

As summer turned to fall, the community wanted to provide an opportunity for residents to celebrate the harvest and incoming season’s change by hosting a Harvest Festival. The one-day event included a number of activities, although some events were cancelled or toned down in response to a rise of COVID-19 cases in the province.

Team Flahr decided to enlist the community of Luseland to help them with the 2021 version of the MS Bike Tour, raising more than $30,000 in a well-supported event.

After 60 years in the pharmacy business in Luseland, Brenda Einarson was the last of her family to retire from this long-time community business. New pharmacist/owner, Vivek Raviya took over the business Aug. 1

A great local artist story was shared widely once posted on the SASKTODAY.ca website. Jared Fischer created a remarkable mural for the Luseland Museum. Fischer incorporated an existing mounted moose head into a 3D winter scene mural that is on display as part of the history displayed at the museum. The museum committee marveled at the spectacular addition.

The Luseland Guiding group continued programming throughout 2021 in a variety of creative methods. They are now looking towards 100th anniversary celebrations in 2022

Town councillor, Krystal Bazylinksi, outlined a number of goals for the new Luseland Hall Board which she is a part of. A successful paint night fundraiser kicked off fundraising to undergo some upgrades at this hall to help with maintenance and improvement.

Adrian Halter was another big local artist story as his story was shared on SASKTODAY.ca about his success in the film industry, earning a recent Yorkton Film Festival award.

The year finished off in Luseland with a distanced, drive through Santa Day activity held in town as well as the Luseland Credit Union showing off their team’s creative talents in their dough factory gingerbread village display.