The construction of the site is nearing completion, Heide said, with Gordon Turner Construction finishing up details at this point. They are working on getting the building commissioned through authorities like the Fire Commissioner. As well, they have been able to start the hiring process for the staff who will make Cherry Creek Place come alive.
Heide said Kim Rickard will be the manager of the facility. From Boissevain, she will be in charge of all of the day-to-day operations at Cherry Creek Place. Heide said they have been working with Buhler Active Living Centre, an experienced group who built a facility like Boissevain’s in Morden-Winkler a few years ago, on hiring staff, a process started about a month ago. He added Rickard has been doing training and getting involved in the operations.
Also, they have a head chef, who is local as well. Donnie Sims will be moving on to that role. Heide said they were happy to hire local, although that was not their number one priority.
“It’s most who has been applying. It’s great if they can be a part of it, but we’re looking at hiring the best people. We looked at other people, and we are choosing the best we can. The goal is to have the best people involved.”
Presently, they are hiring for four other areas. Ads are out for housekeeping, cooking, a maintenance assistant and server. These positions will not be one each, with Heide saying there could be multiples of those. If all were filled, there could be in upward of 13 people working at the facility in different numbers of hours.
Heide added they just put out the ads and will be looking to start filling them in the next few weeks. They are not as critical to have completely in place, as the more senior leadership positions are.
At this point, they have been showing off suites to some of the people who signed up for them, following health protocols. Heide said there has been hesitancy by some on the list to commit immediately, so they do not expect it to be completely full by the beginning of next month. However, they expect it to be filled by the fall of 2021.
By then, the hope is they will be able to host some sort of open house to celebrate the achievement. With some luck, we will be in a better place in regards to restrictions, and everything will be completed.
“The focus of our attention right now has been to get everything running.”
As Cherry Creek Place is a not-for-profit, it will be governed by a board, with Heide expecting many of the people involved presently continuing on. The facility will be operating under the umbrella of Boissevain-Morton Municipality, so they will have the option of appointing volunteers to the board as well.
The committee got its start about six years ago to try and improve Westview Lodge care home. It moved over to developing this facility instead, and worked hard to promote, plan and fundraise for it. As they enter the home stretch, Heide said it is very gratifying to see where they are now after all of the hard work.
“It has worked out pretty well,” Heide explained. “There have been people on board the whole time. For the most part everybody is very excited with it. There was always a good community response. We have people who are aging, living longer. This place has a food service and the social interaction that is so important.”
“This will serve the community well for many years. We are very confident of that.”

by PAUL RAYNER, Recorder staff