Rosebud founder committed to community development, despite challenges

Laureen F. Guenther
Times Contributor

 

“This year, more than any other year, I’ve found it a challenge to try to create a sense of community spirit and wellbeing,” LaVerne Erickson, founder of Rosebud School of the Arts told me, when we sat down to discuss the year 2015.
That, he said, is primarily because all levels of government have increased the number and complexity of their regulations.
In June, Erickson organized a volunteer work bee to build a community picnic shelter.
“That was a big challenge, to get it through the regulatory approvals,” he said.
And he’s since learned that, for future projects on county land, all volunteers will need to be fully trained, wearing steel-toed boots, harnesses and hard hats, “whereas, we as a group of volunteers just got out there and built something.”
The Rosebud community is also coping with government regulations as they work to replace their wastewater system, which was to be finished this June. Right now, a pumper truck comes to Rosebud two or three times daily to collect sewage.
“That has been slowed down due to what they call due process,” Erickson said. “You think you’ve got over one hurdle and you run into another.”
In the slowness of that process, Erickson said, he knows Wheatland County is simply coping with the regulations brought down by higher levels of government. And, as Alberta’s largest cities lobby for more autonomy, rural communities may be brought under the cities’ municipal management. If that happens, Erickson says, someone warned him, “‘If you think it’s hard to put in a housing development or start a business in a little place like Rosebud now, just wait for two years.’ Much of what we want to accomplish in this community will come to a standstill.”
The economic downturn and international conflict also weigh on Erickson, and added to that, “We’ve had some serious losses in our community with sudden deaths and key people that were very, very helpful in keeping the community vibrant.”
Yet, as the community deals with challenges, especially with government requirements, Erickson encourages fellow residents.
“Let’s pray for people … let’s be very considerate of these people’s hearts and souls … let’s make friends with them, try to help them with their job. They’re carrying a burden like we are, trying to implement all these regulations,” he said. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It’s such a fundamental rule if we’re going to build a good community.”
At a recent prayer breakfast, when people were discouraged about Bill 6, Erickson said, “I spoke up and I said, we’ve been through very troubled times in the past. We’ve been through world wars and things. The tools that we have at hand right now, we might not feel that those tools are adequate to deal with the present situation. But God’s built into us a creative spirit. If we focus on the problem, and let it overwhelm us, we’ll collapse. … If we try to think of some creative solutions, then maybe we’ll find a way through.”
He finds many rewards for that persistent, creative spirit. The new picnic shelter is enjoyed by Rosebud residents and visitors, even in December.
And Erickson enjoys “just going out in an evening in Rosebud and hearing all the laughter and the happy voices and the kids down there fighting on the baseball diamond,” he said. “I’ll go out on an evening and I’ll smell campfire smoke and I’ll hear people singing, and that’s always a joy.”