A new municipal emergency coordinator's been working for the RM of St. Laurent since the start of February and is just what the RM called for to prepare the RM for potential flooding. That's from Reeve Cheryl Smith in speaking about Paul Blair.

"He owns a couple of places along Laurentian beach in our municipality," explains Smith. "So, he's well aware of what the flood of 2011 and the high water event in 2014 meant for property owners along the lake. He also has four children that were born and raised in St. Laurent, and some of them still attend the school here. The older ones are out of school but they all still live in St. Laurent."

Smith notes he's like a jack-of-all-trades with experience in computer work, electrical, plumbing, and carpentry, with the ability to read a situation, comprehend it, and put things into motion. Smith adds his municipal plan's already been signed off by the RM and is now on its way to the province.

She adds he's quite interested and efficient in his job and they're happy to have him onboard.