Heide said there have been a few challenges in regards to getting materials that he has heard of elsewhere due to the confused state of everything in 2020, but so far they have done well here. Everyone involved in the construction is pulling together with the trades’ people all doing their part.
The walls are up and the roof was going on this week. Heide said once that is done, they will be able to start putting the windows in and then they will be able to put siding on. At present, the plumbers and electricians are already inside starting their intricate work, and have been for about 10 days.
“It really started to come along pretty quickly. There are a lot of guys working there putting a lot of time in.”
The idea of the assisted living project is for seniors to have a place where they can live safely and semi-independently. They have their own suites of different sizes, but have amenities like meals and laundry on site. Work on the project has been going on for several years.
It has been a popular concept in the community. By the end of 2019, the committee was able to raise $2 million in donations from the public and businesses, a large chunk of the $6.7 million necessary for the facility. As well, when they called for people to sign up for the suites, they received at present 62 interested parties. There are 35 suites in the building, so obviously not everyone will get in, or are even thinking of doing so immediately. It does show a great deal of interest, however.
One of the ongoing fundraisers for the project is the cropland. The assisted living committee has taken advantage of the Municipality of Boissevain-Morton’s farmland near the landfill site north west of town to plant a crop the last two years, with proceeds going to the project. Last year, they suffered, as all farmers did, the rain and snow-out of the harvest. They were able to get their wheat off this spring and despite the bad circumstances, Heide said they were able to sell it and do as well as they could.
“We did okay,” he stated. “Considering what we were up against, we were fortunate. We didn’t lose anything.”
This year, they planted a canola crop. Heide said it looks good, despite a little hail damage. If we get a better fall than 2019, they hope to have harvested by the end of September.
Overall, the assisted living building is still on track for completion by the spring of 2021.
“So far, so good. We are really happy to have local people there doing the work. They are so great to work with.”

by PAUL RAYNER, Recorder staff