The weather is quite often a topic of discussion for many people, but for Cassie Molyneux and the bride and groom she was photographing last weekend, it will be a memory that will last a lifetime.

Originally from Drumheller, Molyneux has been a wedding photographer for just over five years and is now based in Calgary. 

The couple, Helen Knight and Owen Chan, wanted their wedding photos atop Tom Campbell’s Hill Natural Park in Calgary because that is where the couple loved to walk their dog, said Molyneux. 

When the bridal party arrived on the top of the hill it, “was still beautiful weather and a great day, you would have never known that was coming by looking at the sky at that point,” she said continuing in saying that once she was finished with the bridesmaids she sent them back to the couples home and began pictures of just the bride and groom. 

“I knew we would only have a very short window to do that, but I really wanted to get a great shot of them with the skyline and all these crazy dark clouds moving over the city,” she said. 

“We stayed out there and got the shot and within 60 seconds after that it just started pouring down (rain) in buckets on us,” she finished. 

Molyneux recalls that one of the groomsmen had two small umbrellas with him at the time and she said they used one for the couple to help shield the brides hair, and the other to help protect her camera equipment. 

“We just booked it to the car and the bride got in there, I got in there, there was only room for a few of us. Some of the boys were still outside trying to shield themselves with the vehicle. Eventually they did all pile in so it was a car of seven people and we were all just laughing. We couldn’t believe it was actually happening,” she said with a laugh. 

She explained that once the rain stopped and they could see and drive they headed back to the couple’s home to get ready for their dinner. 

“Everyone just went into the recovery mode. The girls were blow drying Helen’s dress. Thankfully one of her bridesmaids was her hair dresser, so she fixed Helen’s hair. All the boys were tossing their suits in the dryer, whatever could go in there, and ironing and just doing whatever they could to get dry,” she said. 

“Leaving the house, it had looked like nothing had happened, everyone looked fabulous again. It was crazy. I didn’t think anyone was going to believe us that it had happened,” she told the Mail. 

“It was definitely just the right place, the right time, everything came together for that. It is really cool that it worked out,” Molyneux said. 

The Craigmyle Centennial Celebration is in full swing and all kinds of fun is still ahead.The day kicked off with a parade that wound its way through the community, and that is just the beginning. There are all sorts of activities planned for the for all ages. This includes a scavenger hunt, historic downtown walks, games, concession and entertainment.
The day caps off with a family dance and fireworks.

The Drumheller Emergency Services responded to a trailer fire in Greenwood Villa at approximately 11:35 p.m. Sunday night.
They responded with a pump, rescue and tank truck. About 15 fire fighters were on scene for approximately two hours, said Drumheller Fire Chief Bruce Wade.
It is a non-suspicious fire and he said the fire department had it under control “pretty quick.” A truck was kept overnight for fire watch.
The fire is still under investigation. 

Members of downtown businesses came down to Munchie Park on Wednesday to thank the crew members and supervisor for cleaning up and beautifying the park. The crew and businesses owners/operators were given a thank you pizza lunch provided by Pizza 249.

The 2015-2016 Rotary Club of Drumheller executive held a meeting on Wednesday at the Cretaceous Conference Centre. 

The members are: (Back row l-r) Jim Fisher, Wendy Benzon, Sylvia Adams and Stacey Gallagher. (Front row l-r) Vicki Wilton,  president Doug Stanford and Barb Campbell. 

Missing from the photo is: Cody Glydon, Tracy Kakuk, Michelle Kendell, Bev Krabsen and Linda Rietveld.

The new executive for July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016 is a mix of experienced and new people. 

Stanford told inSidethat the club will continue to make an impact in the community through donations such as the poppy fund and scholarships, and focus on the regular Rotary projects.
He added that the Rotary is working on a long-term project that will involve the Rotary Spray Park.

He also mentioned that members who have been with the club for 25, 40 and 50 years will be honoured in the fall. 

Starland County is ready to help residents and farms go solar.

The County has pledged $20,000 towards solar installations for residents. Those wishing to install solar in Starland County will be eligible to receive 20 cents per install watt of photovoltaic solar up to a maximum of $2000.

The funding will be available for solar installations completed in 2015 on a first come, first serve basis. 

“This level of incentive plus significantly lower turn key costs means that this is the best opportunity to install solar on your home or farm we have seen yet,” said Jordan Webber, Economic Development Officer for Starland County.

“About four residents have signed up for theprogram this year. Last year we had about 12 residents who did the program. If you want to be on the list make sure you contact us soon,” he said.

“Alternative energy is a huge benefit for the community. It has environmental benefits, and it also creates a sustainable power source that hedges us against inflating energy costs,” Webber told The Mail.

“But more so I think it is really a legacy for these farms and residents that will have alternative energy and a source of power and independence in some ways for 25-30 years because of this decision. It has been and will continue to have a profound positive effect on our community.”

Alternative energy is accessible to everyone. There are smaller lower cost systems available to get residences involved as well as cost effective large scale systems for farms and commercial applications. Starland County has example pricing and information for those residents who are interested.

In the last two years, Starland County has been successful in supporting the installation of over 100 kW of photovoltaic solar on residences in addition to Countyprojects. This year, Starland County plans to match that success.

Those interested in installing a photo voltaic solar system in Starland County or would like more information can contact Jordan Webber at 587-795-0503 or visit www.starlandcounty.com

The Village of Acme has rezoned a park in a residential area that has been the center of some recent controversy.

A Public Hearing was held on Monday, July 13, to amend the Village’s Land Use Bylaw to change the land known as the Tire Park from Community Service District to Residential. Mayor Bruce McLeod said the public meeting went smoothly.

“There were two individuals who showed up and spoke in favour of it. We had two letters that I read out for people who were opposed to it. These were both taken into consideration, and we adjourned the meeting,” said McLeod.

The Council then went into its regular council meeting and the bylaw passed second and third readings.

McLeod said Council put a lot of effort into the decision.

“It has been a long process, but from day one we wanted to do it right, and make sure it was correct according to the MGA (Municipal Government Act),” said McLeod. “We also wanted to make sure that the public had an input.  We received a lot of input and took it into consideration.”

The new designation will allow the land to be divided into four parcels for residential expansion. McLeod says this was a cost efficient way to allow the community to grow.

“Our CAO did some research on expanding Heritage Estates, which is part of a subdivision, and the difference was extraordinary. It was roughly $250,000 to develop this land, and Heritage Estate would have been up in the neighbourhood of $1.3 and $2 million. There was no way we could do that …any community couldn’t afford that nowadays,” said McLeod. “I think the salability of those four lots is tremendous because of the area it is in. It backs on to the school and there is access. They will be nice lots.”

The severe thunderstorm watch that was issued at 12:21 p.m. on Tuesday is no longer in effect for Drumheller.
The watch, which caused large hail, wind and heavy rainfall to areas near Drumheller, didn’t hit as hard as was expected.
Drumheller is expected to see some showers with a chance of thunderstorms throughout Wednesday. 

The U12 Carbon Crushers made it all the way to provincials before being defeated. They placed fourth in the province. They are (back; l-r) head coach Dan Clow, assistant coach Heather Clow, Connor Duguay, Dekin Benson, Hudson Gregory, Sawyer Still, Jayden Lawrence and Ethan Thiessen,  Adam Hodges with (middle; l-r) Matthew Clow, Draiton Goodhope, Gavin Hodges and (front) Trayton Harpell and  Brayden Nienaber.

submitted

The Carbon Crushers U12 soccer team had a storybook season that saw them finish fourth in the province.

The boys team, coached by Dan Clow, was tough from the get go, and went undefeated in their regular season. The team was dealt a blow by losing two of their key players to vacation as the team headed into the post season.

Undeterred the team went to districts on June 20 in Irricana. They brought up two U10 players to fill out their roster, and managed to keep their undefeated streak alive, winning gold.

This also won them a berth into provincials in Vermillion from July 10 -12.

The Crushers were undefeated in their first two games, but in their third, a bald bounce put them down 1-0 and dealt them the first defeat of the season.

“If we had won that game we would have gone to the final,” said coach Clow.

This put them into the bronze medal match. The boys left it all on the field but came up short, placing fourth overall.

“Not bad for the smallest team (not just in numbers but also in size) from the smallest town,” said coach Clow. “We are very proud of our team.”

Drumheller has experienced some severe weather over the past couple of days.
Environment Canada issued three severe thunderstorm watches and a tornado watch between 12:20 p.m. Tuesday and 4:40 p.m. Wednesday. 

Although the first severe thunderstorm watch and the tornado watch saw no storms in Drumheller on Tuesday evening, they produced golf ball size hail near Red Deer as well as torrential downpours and heavy thunderstorms.

Wednesday morning Drumheller was put under the second severe thunderstorm watch. At approximately 12 p.m. Calgary and surrounding area were put under a tornado watch and Environment Canada was advising those residents to take cover. Funnel clouds were seen just south of Calgary and at approximately 1 p.m. were seen near the Chinook Centre in Calgary.

The clouds over Drumheller began to get dark at approximately 2:20 p.m. and thunderstorms began in Drumheller and the surrounding areas followed by rain and strong winds. Shortly after the watch was cancelled.

At 4:41 p.m. Drumheller was put under another severe thunderstorm watch which was cancelled at 6:01 p.m. 

      
(Submitted photo)

The roof of the Alberta Pacific elevator, in Dorothy, was torn off the building Wednesday afternoon during the thunderstorm that passed over Drumheller. At least a quarter of the shingles on the roof of the historic Dorothy Catholic Church was also ripped off. The church was renovated recently. The debris landed near the buildings with some chunks of the roof from the elevator landing on the highway and at the side of the road.

(Submitted photo)

(Photo courtesy of the Alberta Golf twitter feed)

The champion of the Sunlife Financial Men’s Amateur Golf Championship has a Drumheller connection.
Brett Hogan, who was born in Drumheller, won the championship, which took place from July 20-23 in Spruce Grove at the Edmonton Petroleum Golf and Country Club.
He is the son of Jodi Hogan (Porter) and grandson of Rob and Rose Porter who are still residents in Drumheller.
Hogan’s had a first round of 67, a second and third round of 69 and a final round of 76 on Thursday, July 23 for a total of 281 during the championship.
Rose said she is “so pleased for him. He has worked hard.”
“I have been holding my breath for three days so now I can let go,” she told the Mail with a laugh.
“I do that with most sports, but when Brett is involved I do it even more. He is such a nice guy. It is not hard to root for him,” she said.
Tom Zariski, who is on the board of directors for the Alberta Golf Association said, “Brett has been one of the top junior golfers in Alberta for the last number of years. He is coming along as one of the best golfers in Alberta right now.” 

Local resident Dani Dooley has been growing lilies for about 30 years, and it has paid off. 

Dooley, attended the North American Lily Show in Calgary last week from July 15-19, and took home several ribbons including best arrangement and best stem. Dooley mentioned she also judges as part of the North American Lily Society, which is who put on the show in Calgary. 

The show, in its 68th year, only comes to Canada once every three years Dooley told inSide Drumheller, and usually when it comes to Alberta it is held in Edmonton so it was nice to have it close by, she explained. 

“Of the 13 stems that I took, I won nine first prizes and three second prizes,” she said adding that she also won for best design in the show with her spatial thrust floral design. 

“It was a surprise to me. It was really rewarding,” she said.

“The theme was Alberta black gold, so I made it look like (there was) a couple of oil refinery pipes coming up with yellow and gold lilies designed on the outside of it. My sister had given me an Alberta plaque so when I saw that arrangement I thought I should work that into it because it has the Alberta shape and it worked beautifully and turned out really nice,” she said.  

Her lily growing all started with her husband’s uncle bringing lilies to their farm, she explained.

“I just sort of carried on from there. I added new varieties as they came along.”

She mentioned that she still has some of the original lilies. 

“That is just testament to how strong they are and how many years they will last,” adding that they are not necessarily in the same location, because lilies need to be moved every few years. 

“(Lilies) have an amazing ability to suck up water and rehydrate themselves,” Dooley explained. “They can be wilted right down and the flowers can be flopped on the side and you just put them back into water and they will just come back up.”

She said this is a great way of getting lilies to shows. 

“The Red Velvet is my favourite all time lily and that is one I have been growing for more than 30 years,” Dooley said. 

“It is always on the show bench. It is a lily that shows up really well.”

She explained that some of the newer lilies don’t stand up to wind as well as ones such as the Red Velvet.  

“My guilty pleasure is coming out here (to the garden) first thing (in the morning) to see what is newly opened up,” she said with a chuckle. 

During the hail storm last July she said it was “devastating” to see the aftermath. 

“Stuff was cut down right to the ground... It just looked like lily salad, it was just horrendous.”

She said this year the lilies have come back “better than ever because when you do that, the bulb (in the ground) doesn’t have to do anything but store energy.”

“I grow lilies and I sell bulbs in the fall,” she said. “Lots of people have had their gardens added to with lilies from my garden,” adding that it has been a “rewarding” experience. 

“People love to come out to see the variety of colour and the new varieties that are coming out. It has been a long haul but has been very rewarding to do it,” she said.

Dooley is offering tours of her lily garden which is on the south side of Highway 10 just past the Hoodoos until August 8. Call 403-822-2144 to set up a time for a tour.

It’s already been an exciting year for emerging actress Brynn Linsey. Spring found her starring as Helen Keller’s stubborn tutor Annie Sullivan in Rosebud Theatre’s production of The Miracle Worker.

This summer she’s playing a variety of roles in the current summer show at Rosebud, The Wizard of Oz.

And now, to complete her education at Rosebud School of the Arts, Brynn is starring in her own production: a delightful musical entitled Holy Mo.

Holy Mo is the tale of Moses told like you’ve never heard it before: by three wacky clowns who bring new perspective, delightful music and zany humour to the classic story. 

“Holy Mo is an irreverent, yet very reverent rendition of the Moses story that entertains, delights and ultimately articulates a striking understanding of the intimacy of the story,” says director Morris Ertman. “It’s not just the story of deliverance, but of friendship.”

Holy Mo is a homegrown musical, written by Rosebud alums Lucia Frangione and Marie Russell. Twenty years later, the story still rings relevant. “I often find myself conflicted over my faith, about identifying as a Christian,” says Linsey. “This play offers me perspective.”

But don’t take the show too seriously, says Linsey. “It’s not just for Christians...It’s for people who want to engage in funny, playful, thoughtful storytelling.” The clowns poke fun at the classic story, turning the Pharaoh Ramses into a dud named Rambo who acts very similarly to his movie counterpoint. Theme songs and pop culture references pervade the script, throwing a new spin on an old tale.

“Theatre that tell these stories in a whimsical, playful way are exactly what I want to be doing,” says Linsey. “Life is nothing if not a playground for creativity and connection, and shows like Holy Mo are the perfect canvas to begin or continue playtime!”

Holy Mo runs July 23 - 26 at the Akokiniskway Gallery in Rosebud, AB. Theatre goers also have a chance to see Rosebud Theatre’s production of The Wizard of Oz while they’re in town. For information or tickets call,  403-820-0238 or email shipsunday@gmail.com. 

The Drumheller mixed slo-pitch teams will be wrapping up their 2015 season in a couple of weeks with a round robin style tournament.

The local league, made up of 22 teams has six teams in the competitive portion and 16 in the non-competitive.

Meredy Mielke, league organizer, said the teams play each other throughout the year and, “for the most part every team plays once a week.”

The teams play at the Newcastle ball diamonds as well as sometimes at the Rosedale diamond and play Monday to Friday.

“Our annual year end tournament will be August 8 and 9 at the Newcastle diamond,” she told inSide Drumheller. 

“There will be round robin style games and a home run derby Saturday,” she explained.

Bernie and the Boys will return this year to provide the league with food and beverages throughout the tournament, Mielke said.

 “Fingers crossed for some good weather. Everyone is welcome to come out and watch some ball or just to grab a bite to eat,” she said. 

  Mielke said the league would like to thank Kevin Blanchett and his maintenance team, “for working hard and keeping the diamonds in tip top shape for us, and to Judy Quintin-Arvidson for booking the diamonds.”

  With the year coming to an end for the teams, Mielke said the league is not taking players right now but the 2016 season will be open to new teams or players. 

At approximently 2:40 p.m. Friday, July 24 Drumheller Emergency Services responded to a single vehicle motorcycle accident near Nacmine heading towards the Carbon hill. 
Injuries are unknown at this time. 
Emergency Services have secondary highway 575 down to one lane while crews clean up debris. 
More details to follow as they become available. 

Strathmore was full of activity July 16-19 as over 1200 individuals gathered for a weekend of competition and friendship.

A culmination of more than two years of planning, buses arrived from the far north and south to deliver athletes to Strathmore and hundreds of cars and RV’s converged on the northern edge which housed the venues for the 15 sports and cultural activities which ranged from slo-pitch to pickleball to athletics and cribbage that were part of the Alberta 55 Plus Summer Games. 

The zone which includes Drumheller, Hanna and Three Hills were double winners. They won the Lieutenant Governor’s Cup which was awarded to the team that has shown the most improvement from previous Summer Games as well as the Spirit of Participation given to the zone team that exemplifies the true spirit of participation with personal integrity and sportsmanship both in and out of competition. 

Drumheller residents contributed to the 81 medals won by zone two. Phil Wade won a gold medal in javelin throw, setting a games record with a throw of over 29 m. Bob Friesen and Ian Jones both won a bronze medal in pickleball. This was a new sport in the games and was highly competitive. 

Other participants from Drumheller included Gus LeStrat playing crib, and Barb Barker, Mike Barker and Louise Paul in Creative Arts. Individuals from Oyen and Three Hills participated in golf, contract bridge, slo-pitch and floor curling.

More than 800 volunteers from the town of Strathmore and surrounding area made the games a tremendous event with young and old all pitching in to meet the needs of all participants. This included food, billets, people movers from site to site and rickshaw rides. 

Concerts were held on Friday and Saturday evening, including a one man play, a string  quartet, barn dance and Drew Gregory. 

On Sunday the games wrapped up with Her Honour the Honourable Lois Mitchell, CM, AOE, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta presenting the overall awards and closing comments. 

Calgary (Zone three) won the Alberta 55 Plus Zone Championship Trophy awarded to the zone team achieving the most points for the activity/sport competitions in the games with 126 medals won. 

The mission of the Alberta 55 Plus Association is to encourage individuals to remain active both physically and socially by seeking greater levels of physical, social, intellectual and creative achievement through friendly participation and competition while enhancing a sense of community spirit by bringing Albertans together. 

Zone two has recently provided two floor shuffleboard lanes to Drumheller and will be hosting a workshop to introduce this sport to Drumheller. Anyone wanting additional information on Alberta 55 Plus can contact Linda Traquair at 403-823-8460.

Dinny the Dinosaur is going to be getting some much needed repairs.
Ed Palm of Palm Engineering LTD inspected the dinosaur, located at the Rotary Spray Park, on June 8 to determine if the structure was still safe for the public to be near. Palm Engineering provided a letter to council of their recommendations for the dinosaur. Within the letter, it is mentioned that the structure was built from odds and ends pieces of rebar, expanded wire mesh, stucco wire, chicken wire, and concrete mortar and that the work was done over 60 years ago. The cracks have developed overtime from shrinkage, water penetration and vibration caused by high winds.
The town of Drumheller then invited quotes to refurbish the dinosaur based on the report. Two quotes for Stage one of the repairs were received, one by Frank Hadfield of Paleoprep quoted at $42,472.50 and one by Steve Vernon quoted at $6,700.
At the Monday, July 27 Regular Council meeting, Council passed a motion to award the quote for the dinosaur rehabilitation to Steve Vernon.
Stage one of the repairs will include removing sections of the dinosaur where large cracks are present and removing sections of mortar, which appear, displaced in large scales.
It will also include welding penetrating rods from the inner rebar cage through the mesh to a layer of mesh played on the outside of the hole. Dinny will also get repairs done to his surface concrete that has been broken away or otherwise needs attention. Lastly, all the cracks will be covered with a brushed on layer of latex emulsified rubber such as Elasto Seal and then the dinosaur will be primed and painted.
“He needs some major repairs. We are basically going to put a Band-Aid on him right now,” Drumheller Mayor Terry Yemen said.
“For now, he is still engineered, he is still safe. They are going to do some patches to prevent the water from getting in, clean it up, hopefully it will look good and it should give us the time we need to make an informed decision,” Yemen told the Mail.
“Council is going to want to hear from the community. That dinosaur, it is very iconic, and it is kind of where it all started from, but there is going to have to be a very significant amount of money spent on him. Is that the direction the community wants us to go? There have been some great improvements to the world of dinosaurs now, so there is some other options there,” Yemen said.
“Perhaps that is what the community wants us to do, something new or we do have the option of repairing this one but it is going to be at a significant cost. At a later time, we are going to have to ask the community and get some direction from them of what they want to do with him,” he said. 

As you drive toward Rosebud, Alberta, the blacktop prairie highway rolls under your wheels as you make your way to the Rosebud Chamber Music Festival. Bugs hit your windshield as the wide-open road becomes the seam through this patchwork of canola and wheat.

In the distance, a white towering cloud dumps rain on the grateful land. You open your window, turn off the radio, and breathe in the fresh air. The anticipation of harvest is thick. 

You don’t know it, but you’re forming a lifelong memory. Time seems to disappear as you lose yourself in the echoes of First Nations People and long-forgotten sod-busting pioneers. 

Only a few corners, over a hill, and then into a green river valley which holds the hamlet of Rosebud, Alberta, home of Rosebud Centre of the Arts. 

Brighter than a thousand points of light, classical music luminaries descend on Rosebud once a year for the Rosebud Chamber Music Festival. The tsunami of excellence and anticipation emanates from our guests for the festival, a company that includes multi-Juno recipient, John Stetch, a quartet of Canada’s most thrilling young string players and acclaimed pianist, Peter Longworth.

This year, the Rosebud Chamber Music Festival is bringing a brand new outdoor performance to the spectacular Passion Play Site in Drumheller. Don’t miss this amazing week of concerts!

Schedule of Events:

•July 27, 7 pm: Reading Party! - Rosebud Mercantile

•July 29, 7:30 pm:  Jazz with Pianist, John Stetch, Rosebud Church

•July 30, 7:30 pm:  Beethoven Returns to the Badlands! - The Canadian Badlands Passion Play Site, Drumheller, Alberta

•July 31, 7:30 pm: Three Hills Arts Academy, Three Hills

•August 2, 7:30 pm: Rosebud Church