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New councils gear up
 Thomas Sierzycki, new mayor of La Ronge.
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 Gordon Stomp, returns as mayor of Air Ronge.
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“The glamour’s over;
now the work starts,” La
Ronge’s newly elected
mayor, Thomas Sierzycki,
said at celebrations
following municipal elections
Oct. 28, which resulted
in the Town of La
Ronge electing a new
mayor with only one of the
previous council returning
- five new councillors
out of six positions with
Doreen Polischuk the only
incumbent returning to
Council.
“I think the community
is hungry for change,
across the political spectrum
that’s been the theme.
I think it’s quite exciting;
I think there’s going to
be a lot of energy to get
things done for our community.”
Sierzycki is excited by
the prospects of working
with the new council.
He said he’s appreciates
of the support he’s
received and “for those
who didn’t vote for me I’ll
do my best to gain their
support.”
But the work starts
now.
“In the campaign the
focus is personal because
you are running a campaign,”
but the perspective
changes once the campaign
ends, Sierzycki said.
The fi rst step is ensuring
council members are
“briefed on past projects,
current projects and future
project” and the workings
of council. Training will
be available to councillor
in the near future and as
part of the SUMA conference,
which will be held
in the new year, Sierzycki
said.
“I think once everyone
is brought up to speed we
should be a very effective
Council. It’s quite a
variety of people elected,”
Sierzycki said, acknowledging,
what he sees as
a balance of gender, age,
along with professional
and life experience among
those elected to Council.
“I think everyone will
introduce their own issues,
but we’ll collaborate and
come up with a vision that
is best for La Ronge.” Sierzycki
said adding he also
has a vision for the Town
of La Ronge and will work
to “accomplish some of
that vision for sure.”
He also plans to initiate
a public consultation or
town hall meeting process
to make council more
accessible to the public
and to gain public input
into decision making. But
everything takes time and
he wants to foster a team
approach between himself
and the council members,
Sierzycki said.
Work began right away
for Sierzycki; in the fi rst
couple of days after the
election, he slated councillors
into committee positions,
both committees of
council and the outside.
He’s plans to initiate a
process to develop comprehensive
plans for community
planning, business
development, the environment,
which include
addressing social issues
such crime, homelessness
and addictions.
For people in the community
concerned about
Sierzycki’s youth he notes
he got a strong mandate
from the people, he hopes
he’s demonstrated his abilities
through his previous
three years on Council,
his campaign and through
his energetic and youthful
approach.
“I think being young
gives you a unique perspective
to governance
and hopefully a youthful,
open approach to work
with a variety of people …
The Town will continue to
be fiscally responsible and
we will find innovative
ways to complete projects.
We have an excellent administration
and we will
seek information when required
in making financial
decisions,” he said, adding
one of the challenges will
be fi nding infrastructure
dollars to complete projects
such as the paving of
the roadway that passes
the hospital.
Sierzycki said he sees
the need to balance addressing
both social and
economic development
issues in La Ronge.
And he sees the importance
of working regionally
with the Northern
Village of Air Ronge and
the Lac La Ronge Indian
Band.
At 21 Sierzycki brings
much experience; he’s
worked with the La Ronge
Fire Department and La
Ronge Emergency Medical
Services since he was
18; he started riding along
at 16.
“(Working on) EMS
and the Fire Department
have done a lot in shaping
my perspective; you
see the inside of people’s
lives … it’s one thing to
hear things but totally different
to see for yourself,”
he said, talking about the
social issues, such as violence,
addictions in the
community.
Sierzycki is a fourthyear
NORTEP student;
along with being mayor
he sees the completion of
his Education degree as
a priority in his life right
now; he plans to continue
working with EMS and the
Fire Department until he’s
completed school, then he
will evaluate his career
options.
And to find balance
in an otherwise hectic
schedule, Sierzycki turns
off the cell phone, sets it
aside and goes out for a
run; running is something
he loves along with curling
and “hanging out with
good friends.”
“I will always balance
my professional life with
my personal life; I look
forward to bringing energy
and motivation to my
new position as mayor.”
Joe Hordyski held the
position of mayor for 12
years – four terms; he
stepped down deciding
not to seek a fifth term
in the Oct. 28 municipal
elections.
New faces on Air
Ronge Council.
Gordon Stomp, returned
as mayor of Air
Ronge, said he’s happy
with the councillors elected
in the Oct. 28 municipal
election.
In his almost 40 years
as overseer and mayor of
Air Ronge, it’s not the fi rst
time he’s seen an almost
new council elected. But,
Stomp said, he’s pleased
with the people elected to
council.
“I really feel we have
some good new councillors
… I feel good about
the people that were elected.
They are enthusiastic,
capable and caring about
the development of our
community.”
Terry DesRoches is
the only councillor to retain
his seat in the recent
election. New councillors
include Karla Hardcastle,
Gregg Merriman and David
Smallwood.
Filling the administrative
position heads the list
of priorities for the Air
Ronge council along with
orientation for the council
members, Stomp said.
“I’d like to see the new
council more comfortable
with the process; they have
a bit of a learning curve.
Speaking of Louise Baht,
the administrator for the
Northern Village of Air
Ronge, who is leaving the
position in November,
Stomp said, “she’s been
an excellent administrator;
she’s going to be hard to
replace and it will be hard
to fill her shoes.” A search
is underway for a new administrator,
he said.
The next step is completing
long-term projects
already in progress, Stomp
said.
The ball diamonds,
new village offi ce, a new
subdivision are the priorities,
Stomp said, adding he
hopes the projects will be
completed by spring.
But he also wants input
from Council and community
on these projects and
any future development;
it’s a high priority Stomp
said, citing the need for Air
Ronge to move forward
on community development
including attraction
of new businesses to the
community, completion of
larger projects,
“We have to look at
more of a regional base
to accomplish that. As
long as we can attract
businesses to set up here
somewhere in the region
we are all going to get the
spin off. Regionally we
can accomplish a lot of
things,” Stomp said.
For example, he said,
the construction of a new
multi-plex with swimming
pool, conventions centre,
although the idea is in its
infancy, he sees the development
of such a project
as something that would
be better approached regionally.
“Something they and
we can afford and run after
(it’s built) run (afford
from) our tax base … I
think we will have a committee
working together
before too long too look
at the feasibility.”
Stomp said he sees the
three communities needing
to work together on
such projects as completion
of the new water system,
it’s completion and
“how the facility is going
to work successfully.”
When talking about
working regionally with
the other two communities,
the Lac La Ronge
Indian Band and the Town
of La Ronge, Stomp made
it clear he’s not talking
amalgamation.
“We want to be our own community … There really is no advantage to amalgamate,
but there are advantages to working regionally because of affordability,” he said.
Stomp, 62, reminisced about the early days of Air Ronge; he was 23 or 24 when
he fi rst took a leadership role in the community, as overseer and mayor with only
one break when Lynn Riese served as mayor for part of one term.
No infrastructure, i.e. water or sewer, existed in the community, “the roads were
trails … there wasn’t many housing units and Marina Bay was not there. The people
at Sanderson Point were isolated; there was no road access to that area. They used
to access their residences by boat or walk through the bush … there was no access
for fi re or ambulance or anything,” Stomp said, adding he’s seen a lot of changes in
the intervening years.
The new highway, which bypasses La Ronge had not been built when he came
to the area in 1967.
The highway was rough that went to Sucker River; a highway didn’t go quite as
far as Stanley Mission and the road north ended at Otter Falls, Stomp remembers.
He also remembers taxis and Bombardiers on the lake “on a regular basis.”
For Air Ronge Stomp sees the need now to develop the economic base and attract
new business to the community.
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