Fire won’t stop Rossburn Rodeo
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Volunteers plan to use tents at the Rossburn Rodeo this year after a suspected arson burned down a key building at the fairgrounds.
Community members have donated two tents to use at the September event, Rossburn Ag Society president Neil Carson told the Sun.
Ag Society members will use the tents to do jobs that were usually done in a building that burned down in June.
“The rodeo will be good, Carson said. “All the events will be fine. It’s just, it’s a little more inconvenient for the members of the Ag Society.”
The team will have to find a new way to store drinks and keep them chilly, he said, and provide shelter from the sun.
Instead of using a building, volunteers will also have to erect tents and take them down.
“It was nothing elaborate, but it was well needed during the fair,” Carson said of the burned building. “It’s completely gone.”
Three people were caught on camera at the fairgrounds on June 2. A fire broke out and consumed the wood building, which Carson estimated was about six by 12 metres.
Police believe the fire was arson, RCMP Sgt. Paul Manaigre told the Sun in an email in July. Officers at the time were investigating a lead that involves three youths.
Pictures of the flames were captured by nextdoor neighbour Kelly Shannon White Hunter.
“I got a whiff … Not even 10 minutes later it was a huge smell of fuel,” she wrote on Facebook.
Hunter posted the photos online, showing the fire engulfing the structure, and firefighters on scene dousing it with water.
“This is heartbreaking to see, especially with all the work put into the buildings by volunteers to fix them up and bring back the rodeo fair to town,” she stated.
With the Rossburn Rodeo and Harvest Festival scheduled for Aug. 29, 30 and 31, there was not time to rebuild. Short term plans were made with some help from the community.
The local Home Hardware and the Rossman Lake Golf and Country Club donated tents. When reached by the Sun, Home Hardware owner Dennis Oliver said they wanted to support the effort.
“We decided to help,” he said. “We feel the community event is an important thing.”
Carson said the team plans to fundraise and apply for grants for a new building on the same property and improvements to the area.
“The bank account tells us what we can do,” he said. “We don’t have a lot of money in the bank either, so it’s gonna, you know, take some volunteers and fundraising and whatnot to rebuild.”
The destroyed structure was historically a place for horse betting when races were held at the grounds, Carson said. Another nearby structure that is typically used for a petting zoo during fairs was also damaged. A tent covering was also destroyed in the fire.
»cmcdowell@brandonsun.com