New board for Little Miners daycare as construction nears completion
August 18, 2025, 9:30 am
Ryan Kiedrowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
It’s been a busy summer for the Little Miners Community Daycare in Esterhazy, with some big changes to their board. Many board members had already reached two years of service with the board, allowing for the option to step down.
“They gave us a couple years of their life in volunteering and going through the chaos with us of trying to start something,” said new board president Desiree Herperger. “We were lucky to have them, and they have lives, too. Sometimes you can only commit so much.”
Herperger joined as a member at large in February, 2024, and decided to give the president role a try after previous board chair Marissa Porter decided to step down.
“She is potentially going to be our director of the daycare, so she can’t be a member of the board technically if she’s going to do that,” Herperger explained.
Rounding out the executive are new member Mattison Fiala as Vice President; Cassandra Zimmer as Secretary; and Shaelynn Sarich as Treasurer. Members at Large are Mackenzie Flatt, Shauna Rakochy, and new to the board are Jaelynn Prazma, Hayley Johnson, Jenna Karras, Megan Boutin, Shaye Dube-Ironstand, and Shayna Zubko.
“We ended up having six new members join, which was nice—we didn’t have to hunt too hard,” Herperger said. “They’re new and they’re eager to do all the things.”
In the future, the Little Miners board plans to hold annual general meetings in February where board position changes will occur
Construction almost finished
Another big question on the minds of many local families is how much more work is left on the physical daycare space. Back in March, TIMCO Construction from Churchbridge was awarded the general contract to convert a portion of the Esterhazy High School into rooms the daycare can utilize.
“We’re at the point where mudding and taping is done or should be wrapping up here pretty quickly,” Herperger said, adding that she had a recent sneak peek where most of the rooms appear to be almost finished. “We have our painter on board and waiting for the go-ahead, and then we should have flooring in pretty quick, too.”
In addition to all the indoor work, there’s some outside items that will be added soon.
“We have a fence that will be going up and we’ve ordered a play structure that will be coming as well,” Herperger said. “We’re kind of racing to get that all done, too, before everything freezes, but we’re hoping by the end of October because I think that is due to ship out in September.”
The completion target for all the construction work is slated for sometime in October, but a few pending logistic hoops including building inspections might push an opening date into mid-December.
“We won’t open it right up to all of the kids immediately, we’ll probably take a room a week or something and bring in a few kids, even if it’s 30 at a time, and do a soft launch so we can prepare our staff,” Herperger explained. “But once we know for sure our date, we’ll start having our postings for hiring, and start opening up a sign-up sheet for the children to get in there.”
Fundraising continues
Another large task the Little Miners board has before them is fundraising $500,000, which goes towards everything from operational costs, bills, rent, supplies, and the outdoor space as well. Right now, the group has raised about 24 per cent of their goal—or $122,475—but fundraising opportunities continue. The recent Smile Cookie campaign at the Esterhazy Tim Horton’s raised $5,957.64 for the daycare, and Herperger spoke with the World-Spectator just moments after the annual barbecue and petting zoo event at Twin Valley Veterinary Health Services.
“It’s a big drawing point, that’s for sure,” Herperger said of the petting zoo. “I have three little ones myself, and it’s always something that we’re looking forward to going to because there’s goats and horses and calves and the whole shebang. I’m secretly in the back with my arm out, too, waiting to give everything a pat!”
Little Miners will likely repeat their Christmas dance that was held last year based on how successful the fundraiser was in Esterhazy.
“It’s good exposure for the daycare because we’re out there and we’re in the community,” Herperger said, adding that the other benefit is simply having another event to look forward to on the calendar. “It’s something for people to do, and it’s also something good for us for exposure.”
There have been some very generous local sponsors that Little Miners Community Daycare is pleased to partner with, including both Mosaic and Nutrien, who have sponsored rooms as part of their commitment to the project.
“We have a couple more rooms left for companies if they want to sponsor a room, and then that room gets named after them as well,” Herperger said. “We have a few organizations asking where we could use the help; we need all of our supplies for our rooms, like tables, chairs, bookshelves, and change stations for diapers—stuff like that.”
When Little Miners Community Daycare does open its doors, they will be licensed for 70 spaces in total between 55 government-funded spots and 15 before and after school spaces.
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