The Town of Drumheller has an ambitious slate of road work projects this season.
    Director of Infrastructure Services, Armia Mikhaiel, charted out the work that is to be done on Drumheller roads this spring and summer, and the list is extensive.
    One major project will be an overlay on 2nd Avenue between Centre Street and  2nd Street West. This stretch has seen much more traffic in recent years, as it is the first entry into downtown Drumheller heading south off the  Gordon Taylor Bridge.
    Residents on Hunts  Drive will also see some work this year. In previous years the town completed the west part of the road.
    “This year we are doing the south-east portion,” he said.
    This project is paving Hunts Drive from 11th Ave SW to a lane crossing on Hunts Crescent. This will leave the center portion of Hunts Crescent to be completed. Mikhaiel explains the centre portion will be completed next year. This is because of drainage issues, as the middle section has weeping tile that needs to be connected.
    “So it will have to be done last to make sure it is connected and draining properly,” he said.
    The town will also be doing some extensive sidewalk repairs. One section that is badly needed is along South Railway Avenue north of the Quality Inn Hotel.
    He is also aware of some of the province’s projects including the milling and overlay from north of Gordon Taylor Bridge, to near Fountain Tire. This will be an overlay in the driving lanes and median construction.
    There will also be repairs on Highway 9 to the asphalt and median in front of Westergard Motors and Subway.
    “This portion was recently done, so they are just doing a repair,” he said.
    The province will also be undertaking the replacement of a culvert on South Railway Avenue near the PetroCanada Petro Pass this season.
     Mikhaiel says in the long run, he believes residents will appreciate the work. In the short term, he asks for patience.
    “Please obey the traffic controls and follow the signs. The Town will be publishing the construction details and the areas that will be closed or detoured, so follow up with the  Town’s website,” he said.
     Costs for the project will not be realized until the Town receives tenders for the projects.

    In the years when men risked their lives daily to eke out a living from the coal in the valley, 210 men perished in the mines.
    Now every year the Drumhellercommunity honours them.
    The annual Miners Memorial ceremonies are coming up on Sunday, May 20.
    Jay Russell of the Atlas Coal Mine says this year they are approaching the celebration a little bit differently than last year.
    This year there will be no march. Rather the Memorial will begin at 11 a.m. Sunday morning at the Miners Memorial Park beside Drumheller Town Hall on Centre Street.
    Russell says there will be some guest speakers, music provided by Marie Anderson Russell and the reciting of the 210 names of the miners who died in the Valley’s mines.
 Following the ceremony, there will be a reception at the Atlas Coal Mine. There is a full slate of activities planned including pony rides, kids games, and light refreshments.  
    At 2 p.m., there will be a special screening of the short feature “In My Bones” at the East Coulee School Museum. The film by Dennis Envoldsen debuted at the Miners Memorial a couple of years ago, and Russell says it is back by popular demand. The Valley and its miners are featured heavily in the short film.