A building, beloved by many, the St. George Anglican Church in Loon Lake has burned to the ground.
It happened at about 5:00 a.m. Saturday morning according to former resident of Loon Lake, Tim Kostiuk, who went home to visit family for the weekend. He provided our newsroom with pictures of the church’s charred remains.
He says his family holds a strong personal connection with the church, including a custom stained-glass window that was installed to recognize his mother’s contribution to the congregation after she passed.
George Rothenburger is a Loon Lake resident who is heavily involved with the church. He says there is nothing left of the 85-year-old building. He adds that this is just one of many incidents that residents have had to deal with in recent months, such as robberies, threats, and even homicides, referring to the recent death of a man on the nearby Makwa Sahgaiehcan First Nation.
“We’ve had many deaths now and arrests and things of this form. I think there’s a lot of frustration in that a lot of people are caught, but the justice system isn’t going anything about remedying it.”
Residents have put up security cameras, but Rothenburger says they are often left vandalized.
He says he is starting to notice a pattern when it comes to church fires.
“And, of course, you’d realize that we are on the weekend of Truth and Reconciliation. And the (other) fires in churches were a year ago.” He refers to the Our Lady of the Smile Catholic Church that burned down in 2023 in Waterhen Lake First Nation.
Rothenburger also claims that whoever is committing the crimes in Loon Lake seems to know the schedules of those they are targeting.
“They seem to know when you leave, when you’re coming back… They have too much information on people.”
Rothenburger says increased police presence won’t help the situation, what’s needed is a change of attitude and an increase in respect from those responsible.
The Saskatchewan RCMP have now confirmed that no one was injured in the fire, and an investigation into determining how the fire was caused is underway. They are asking anyone with details to contact them or Saskatchewan Crime Stoppers.
When it comes to property offences, the RCMP state that as of the end of July, the Loon Lake RCMP jurisdiction has seen a 51 per cent increase in reports of break and enters, a 30per cent increase in reports of theft, and 35 per cent increase in reports of mischief. Also, as of the end of July, persons offences have also increased by 13 per cent in that jurisdiction.
The RCMP add that these spikes in reports aren’t just summer-specific, as the detachment has experienced high rates since the beginning of January.
Officers are doing more in the region to combat offences like these, such as conducting patrols. Over 100 patrols have taken place since mid-August in the area. Officers also engage and speak with residents of Loon Lake and community leaders in order to get a better idea of the level of crime that grips the town.
In addition to those measures, Loon Lake RCMP is creating a voluntary video surveillance registry. It will aim to let investigators know where surveillance cameras are in the detachment area, and if a video will help with an investigation, police can approach the owners of the home or businesses for their tape.
