A number of area organizations are optimistic in light of the Alberta Government reinstating the Student Temporary Employment Program (STEP).
    The Alberta Government cancelled STEP in 2013. This program was relied on by a number of attractions to hire students over the summer. When it was cance.led, they had to search for other revenues to hire staff, or go without.
    Julia Fielding, executive director of the Atlas Coal Mine is encouraged by the news.
    “We used it a lot,” said Felding. “It was a big help for us.”
    In fact, Atlas used the program to hire students from 2010 to 2012.
    According to a release, the program will support employers by providing wage subsidies for more than 3,000 student positions starting in summer 2016. STEP will help students gain valuable work experience while helping small businesses and other employers access a new workforce.
    “Students hold the future in their hands. Their success is Alberta’s success, and we need to provide every opportunity to succeed. That’s why our government is following through on our promise to reinstate STEP. We are helping to open doors for students to gain the skills and on-the-job experience they need to enter the workforce and be successful,” said Premier Rachel Notley.
    Fielding said in the three years they have used the program it has benefitted local students.
    Not only has the program been resurrected, but expanded. In previous years the program was restricted to municipalities, not for profit groups, school boards and post secondary institutions. Now it has been expanded to include small business.    
    Heather Bitz Executive Director of the Drumheller and District Chamber of Commerce said it too used the program in previous years. She is encouraged about the expansion.
    “I am pleased to see the return of the Summer Temporary Employment Program. It is a great opportunity for employers to access funding for seasonal summer student positions,” said Bitz. In addition, STEP will provide opportunities for young people in our workforce to develop skills and critical job experience to ensure their future success as productive citizens in our economy. The addition of small businesses as eligible applicants is also welcomed, especially with the recent minimum wage increase.”

     Christmas has come early to Rosebud with this week’s launch of A Wind in the Willows Christmas in Rosebud, Rosebud Theatre’s final production of the 2015 season.  
    A Wind in the Willows Christmas in Rosebud features the music of the incomparable John Rutter as sung through three fables written by David Grant and Rutter himself, and told by the iconic characters from Kenneth Grahame’s novel The Wind In The Willows.
    A wild and reckless car ride adventure ends on Christmas Eve, when Toad of Toad Hall arrives home just in time for Christmas Eve. The evening festivities take Badger, Ratty, Mole and their orchestra on a storytelling journey through fanciful tales of battles with reluctant dragons and of monks with their singing donkeys.
    Director and Artistic Director of Rosebud Theatre, Morris Ertman, believes that this production will prove to be festive fun for the whole family.
    “There is such joy in John Rutter’s music, and it has led to some pretty silly staging that will tickle everyone’s funny bone,” says Ertman. “Then we arrive at the most beautiful expressions of Christmas through the music and staging, underlining our desire for family, peace in the world and the possibility of miraculous happenings. This show has it all - like a hand-made Christmas card in music and story.”
    Bill Hamm serves as Musical Director and pulls double duty as a member of the company.  
    “Since my college days, I have enjoyed singing Rutter’s music. It is much beloved, particularly by choral organizations, colleges and churches. It’s instantly accessible to singer and listener, but has staying power as well. The songs carry both the feeling and the thoughts of the characters. The stories are filled with fantastical creatures who take us on quite a meaningful Christmas journey.”
    Ertman explains “A Wind in the Willows follows the story of Mr. Toad’s misadventures, leading him on an eventful journey that brings him back home to Toad Hall on Christmas Eve. He discovers the value of friendship and the simplicity of home. But he doesn’t want the evening to end, so the Willows characters tell the second of John Rutter’s fables, The Reluctant Dragon, and the final fable, Brother Heinrich’s Christmas.  The sentiment of this show is so sublime that it will settle a soulful Christmas into the spirits of all those who come to Rosebud to experience it.”
    The cast is led by Rosebud Theatre Resident Company stalwarts Hamm, David Snider (The Wizard of Oz, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe, Anne of Green Gables) Marie Russell (The Wizard of Oz, The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe, Anne of Green Gables) and Joel Stephanson (The Wizard of Oz, Chickens, Freud’s Last Session). Stephanson, Russell, and Snider are excited about being back on stage together.
    “Marie and Joel and I had a great time in The Wizard of Oz and Marie and I have worked together so many times now. We click. There is a lot of excitement in the rehearsal hall, both from discovering the hilarious and whimsical characters in the three stories, and taking on the ensemble challenge to master such fantastic, harmonious music. We are having a ball, and I think the warmth and joy of the show will be memorable for our audiences during the holiday season.”
    The cast also features Rosebud School of the Arts graduates, Alix Cowman  Lauren de Graaf, and Natalie Gauthier. Current student, Kaitlyn Sloboda and newcomer to the Rosebud scene, Aaron Lau round out the cast. Lau’s impressive credits include nine seasons at Vancouver’s iconic Theatre Under the Stars stage, last seen in their production of Legally Blonde.
    “There is nothing like Christmas In Rosebud opines Rosebud Theatre Managing Director, Mark Lewandowki. “Come and experience one of the best winter wonderlands in Alberta. Come as you are - but don’t expect to leave that way.
    A Wind in the Willows Christmas  opens on November 6 and plays until December 19 on the Rosebud Opera House Stage.