Town & Country

WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2016 5 R O S S B U R N A bright future is being built on a glowing past in Rossburn Munici- pality this autumn. Municipality CAO Cheryl Melnyk says community growth is a current council mandate that's translating to a range of initiatives: Efforts to merge mill rates for more affordable taxes; better quality water for residents; possible expansion of resort areas; incentives for new permanent ratepayers; investment in tourism; accessible sidewalk and municipal structures; improvements to Internet services, and more heritage and community events. This past August featured one of those always popular community events: Dukefest. The music festival was created in 2014 after a great response to the music portion of the Rossburn Centennial celebrations. "The area has strong roots to music and the amount of talent that the committee can find every year is a testament to the love of music in the area," says Melnyk. The festival was named for "Duke," the area's famous black bear. Melnyk says it's rumoured that Duke was not unlike John Wayne in that the 812-pound bear — the largest ever recorded in the world — could clear the town just by walking down Main Street. "Shockingly, in 1992, Duke was shot just outside of Rossburn by poachers for his gallbladder," she says. "The residents of Rossburn were alarmed that such a waste could happen in our backyard so when the need arose for a new mascot, Duke the bear was voted in." A bronze statue of Duke is an attraction in Rossburn's Memory Park and the bear is prominent on the Rossburn Municipality logo. This year's Dukefest saw a crowd of roughly 750 people over the weekend, an audience that was chuffed to see headliners like Shania Twin (a Shania Twain tribute artist), Jerry Sereda, and '80s hard rockers Snake Oil. From Roblin, fan favourite Ryan Keown appeared, and from Winnipeg, Manitoba's king of country music: Ray St. Germain. "Rossburn is always thrilled when a real 'local' shows off their talent and youth performer Haley Chuchmuch had family and friends cheering, clapping and enjoying her beautiful voice this year," says Melnyk. "In addition to the shows, a KidsZone was available for younger attendees and the Community Market was open during Saturday so fest-goers could check out our local food talent as well." Melnyk says crowd numbers hit the anticipated goal and there are rumours of a parade for next year. But before that happens, there is still plenty in store for this year. "We're proud to showcase local events like the Community Market on Oct. 15; ReConnect to Rossburn on Oct. 19; Halloween Haunt on Oct. 31; our Nov. 11 Remembrance Day Services; Home Connections at Gone Scrapping In Bloom from September to April 2017; and Candy Cane Lane Market in December," she says. "Most of our events have been around for a while and they are tried and true and we're hoping that the ReConnect to Rossburn will be added to that list — it's a combination of Welcome Wagon, Small Business Week and Mass Registration." Even more is happening in the coming months. "The municipality is opening up the Agri Rec doors and showcasing the Rossburn area and we've asked all parts of our community to get involved including the rec department, senior services, volunteer organizations, schools, Chamber of Commerce, health region and parks," says Melnyk. "We're inviting people to come and check out our new handi-van, new businesses, new recreation programs and all the other great things we have to offer." Keeping on top of all those events is much easier now, with the re-launch of the municipal website (rossburn.ca) in 2015. Impetus to "start fresh" came from becoming one of the amalgamated municipalities in Manitoba. But Rossburn's more tech-savvy generation had something to say about it. "Some of the youth stepped forward and told the municipality that they could do it better and the municipality accepted that challenge and let the youth design the webpage!" says Melnyk. "The look was totally changed and all the comments have been positive." Melnyk says the website is more user- friendly and they are looking to incorporate their business directory in time for October's Small Business Week. "We'll tie it into our municipality's BizPaL launch and our ReConnect to Rossburn event and in November 2016, we're going to be looking for some good people as we're getting ready for the National Fly Fishing Championships in May 2017," she says. As busy as the municipality is, Melnyk wants to remind people that Rossburn is still in a rural setting. "We invite anyone to 'Discover Our Nature' and enjoy the quiet sounds of the wildlife at our lakes, and the friendly people welcoming you to our community." 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