Not giving up
Community group aims to bring activities for all ages to Louisbourg area
When George D. Lewis School shut its doors for good, many in Louisbourg and surrounding areas were sad, disgusted and defeated.
That’s the reason why a group of 12 dedicated community members living in Louisbourg and Catalone decided to start the Louisbourg Area Partnership for Programming Society (LAPPS) in September.
“The morale was quite low in town, we felt defeated … so we wanted to get more of the community engaged because they weren’t going out anymore,” said LAPPS chair Jocelyn Harris-Horne.
LAPPS members asked the community what they wanted and the message was loud and clear — more activities for all age groups, especially seniors.
“We work on activities that will engage and enhance the community life around Louisbourg (and surrounding areas),” she said.
“A lot of the seniors we talked to said there really isn’t anything offered to them and what little activities they had took place in the (school) gymnasium. Now that the gymnasium is gone, there’s nothing.”
It wasn’t only seniors who lost a space for events. Adult sports leagues, like volleyball and basketball, were also stopped because the school gym is closed. This is why people like Tim Bagnell like what LAPPS is doing.
“I think it’s very good for the community. It is definitely a step in the right direction,” he said.
“Mainly the stuff that goes on is in the summer and it is directed to the tourists. In the winter there isn’t much to do so it’s good they are doing this.”
Since forming, the group has hosted a haunted house, a community sing-a-long and partnered with Foggy View community theatre group for a show at the Louisbourg Playhouse.
About $720 was raised at the events and LAPPS donated it to the Louisbourg and area Christmas Helpers.
“We had good turnouts to those events, we had a lot of community support,” said Alison Bussey, LAAPS secretary.
“It’s (response) been positive for the most part, more people
are getting involved,” HarrisHorne said.
Currently the group is working on an outdoor ice rink, an initiative that was inspired by community input.
“This was one of the things we had before and it was very successful,” said Harris-Horne.
“(We have had) a lot of amazing community support and involvement. We’ve had a lot of people who stepped up
without hesitation helped us build and volunteered to help us maintain that rink.”
Louisbourg Seafoods donated the space for the rink, which is in the parking lot of their fish processing plant on of Main Street, the former National Sea plant.
Members of the Louisbourg Volunteer Fire Department also donated time to the project, flooding the rink when
needed.
Hopes were to have the rink up and running by Wednesday, but unseasonably warm temperatures and heavy rains have held things up.
LAAPS has big plans for the future. Hopes are they can secure funds to build a new playground and create an outdoor recreation space with walking track.
The group isn’t just focusing
on activities in Louisbourg. Plans are to bring events to community halls, legions and other venues in the communities surrounding Louisbourg.
“We are all rural communities. We’re all fighting to stay alive and we’re all have the same general goal of trying to engage our communities,” said Harris-Horne.