With health measures slowly dropping as Alberta moves into its lastest Phase 1 of reopening the Town of Drumheller is supporting local businesses with the installation of new patios.
On Tuesday, June 1 Alberta has allowed outdoor dining. Earlier this year the town helped to facilitate this by expediting patios applications and waiving the development permit application fee. They are also lending local businesses amenities to make this happen.
In the downtown core, there are a few businesses that now have patios to facilitate outdoor dining, including in front of Au Croque Monsieur and Black Mountain Roasters.
“We lent them stuff to have their patios,” explains Drumheller CAO Darryl Drohomerski. “In some cases, we lent them furniture, and provided them with the wood, and helped create those places.”
“It was an early piece that came out of our downtown revitalization plan.”
The most recent one is at Vintage Tap House. He explains in this case, they are closing the sidewalk and allowing a space for pedestrians to walk around safely. This is similar to designs in Calgary.
‘‘If at the end of the day it is really well regarded and everyone thinks it’s a really good thing, it would continue on as a bigger part of a downtown revitalization project.”

Hanna RCMP is warning residents of a couple of different scams designed to separate people from their money.
One scam, Sergeant Trent Sperlie says is going around, is where the suspect contacts the potential victim through email about a refund.
“In the most recent case, the targeted victim was told they had an Amazon refund in the amount of $718,” he said.
The email provides a phone number the victim is to call. When calling the number the suspect confirms there is a refund owing and then requests account information to make the deposit. The suspect then deposits into the victim’s account greater than the quoted refund and requests they send the extra back as they “accidentally” deposited too much. In this case, they deposited $4,718.and then requested $4,000 be sent back.
In this case, the scam was caught before money was lost. However, if it had not been caught, the victim would have been out $4,000.
He says if someone contacts you asking for any financial information, never give it until you have had time to verify who the person is and the transaction is legitimate. Talk to family, the bank, or the local detachment. If anyone ever pressures you to make a transaction quickly before verifying, it is a scam.
He is warning residents of yet another common scam, that often happens in the summer months.
Sperlie sent out a notice to remind residents to be vigilant of the tied and true paving scam.
He says the biggest clue is the person offering paving tells the consumer, “we are doing work in the area and have leftover product.”
He says this is often a scam, and if the service is accepted, the final product is substandard and will not last.
The Government of Alberta has issued a consumer protection alert, and often by the time the person who has had the work done realizes what is happening, the company has moved on from the area and cannot be reached.
If you suspect a paving contractor is contravening Alberta’s consumer protection laws or is avoiding work commitments, report it at 1-877-427-4088 (toll-free).