Competing in the Bareback category of the Calgary Stampede, Carbon boy Cole Goodine competes against the best of the best.

Riding from July 7 to July 10 in the ‘A’ pool, Goodine was able to squeeze $3,000 out of the event.
Within the sport of Bareback riding, control and flare are a cowboy’s two favourite assets.

“The way to get the best marks is to show control but exposure while you’re still in control. So the longer the spurs stroke, the more wild it looks while you maintain control,” explained Goodine.

Goodine split his winnings three out of the four days. On the final day, he was able to take a decent amount of pay for his re-ride.

“The money got split up a lot, I never got one full cheque for myself.”

Initially, Goodine started team roping and calf roping before discovering his love for bareback riding.

Goodine got into the sport after he and a buddy tried it on a dare. After that, there was no going back.

“I was hooked as soon as I got thrown through the air,” said Goodine.

Rodeo runs in the family.

“My dad was a bull rider and my mom was a barrel racer and my grandpa was a bareback rider and my other grandpa was a calf roper”.

“My mom literally planned me and my sisters’ births so that she could still barrel race and not miss out on anything,” said Goodine. “I was born in the saddle.”

As of this past week, three generations of Goodine’s have now participated in Stampede.

“Unreal, it’s pretty exciting. It’s always been a dream just to have my dad there with me.”

Goodine got himself into ‘a bit of a wreck’ on the last day.

“The horse came down on me and then once I got out of it, I got offered a re-ride and I was about to get on the re-ride when my dad was waiting there behind the chutes to help me out – make sure I was okay.”

He rode the re-ride with ease, earning himself a cheque.

This is Goodine’s first year fully committed to the sport after being laid-off from work. “I thought I might as well go for it.”

This year he has been fighting with a number of minor to serious injuries due to the sport. He has a problem with the disk in his back as well as hip, rib problems, thumb dislocation, and a bone was put out in his foot.

Goodine was ranked #1 in Canada last year until the end. He continually pushes himself to do better to compete with the best, year in and year out.

“I typically train three to four hours a day, five to six days a week. I try to stay healthy and strong enough to compete with the best in the world. We’re all pushing harder and harder to be better and better and pushing the human limits.

"In order to compete against the best, you have to push that a little bit more all the time,” said Goodine.

When asked how it felt to compete on the world stage, Goodine smiled and fervently said “There’s not really words to describe it. It’s unreal to just be in the same category that they are.”

Out of the four draws for horses, two were great, and two not so much.

“There were two that didn’t work out as well as I had hoped.”

The first day, he got a horse that was difficult to ride but was able to regain himself on the next two.

“So I got a couple horses that really suited me and a couple horses that did not but I managed to fight through it and I’m really proud of myself for that.”

Despite the multiple injuries, Goodine has much more fight left in him for the rest of the rodeo season ahead.

“There’s a lot of rodeo left and I’m feeling foxy.”

Drumheller’s former RCMP Detachment commander has taken on some interesting roles as he transitions on to retirement.

Art Hopkins served with the Drumheller RCMP as Staff Sergeant for seven years.

He was transferred from the Drumheller Detachment in 2015 where he took on a supervisory role for Southern Alberta.

Today, he has a little more variety in his work schedule; from guarding the former Prime Minister to spending days on Central Alberta waterways.

“I retired as a regular member, but I was re-hired as a reservist,” explains Hopkins. “I am a fully qualified operating police officer, but I can kind of pick when and where I want to work.

One of the details he was assigned was as security for Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

“He (Harper) is entitled to have security and a driver for a period of time,” he explains. “Since there hasn’t been a former Prime Minister out in Western Canada, for some time, there wasn’t enough staffing here. So it was picked up by people that had the training.”

Hopkins spent about two days week beginning February 2016, up until October 2016 working with Harper. The RCMP have since made arrangements to have more staff to take on the responsibility.

This doesn’t mean that he has not been busy, and if you are boating in the area, you just might run into Hopkins out on the lake.

“I am the inland water transport coordinator for virtually every lake in central and Southern Alberta. So any RCMP vessels south of Edmonton, I check up on them, make sure they are being maintained and operated, and I go out and do patrols."

Last weekend he was everywhere from Crawling Valley to Prairie Oasis and then Chestermere.

In preparation of Canada’s 150th birthday, a silent auction has brought Mike Fabrick one step closer to reaching his goal of having a Powwow for Canada Day.

The silent auction held on June 3, raised approximately $4,000 towards the powwow competition.

“Overall, it went good but we could have done better,” said Mike Fabrick, Powwow event organizer. “There was so much going on in the valley that day.”

With Canada Day fast approaching, the next steps have been to extend to corporate sponsors for specific dances. More sponsorship opportunities like teepee village banners and prizes are now up for grabs as well.

Dancers are in eight different categories which they can compete for prizes.

Before Drumheller was founded, the actual location of Drumheller used to be a meeting place for tribes to trade and deliberate topics. The area acted as a neutral ground for everyone.

“It has a significance to it,” said Fabrick. “That’s where they would gather and celebrate and do their bartering, and then afterward they would go their separate ways and get back to life.”

Three artists were in attendance for the auction to give an authentic touch to the fundraiser.

The one Siksika Nation artist was doing behind the scenes work like organizing dancers and getting teepees ready for the event.

The second artist does rebranding of items and she creates pictures and paintings. The third artist does amber carving where he was able to demonstrate his craft outside the store on the day of the auction.

“It’s neat for people to come by and see,” said Fabrick.

Quality items were donated by the community for the auction, giving Fabrick a great opportunity to resell to raise funding.

“It was amazing how the community gave us donations for the silent auction, it was overwhelming of all the stuff that we had,” said Fabrick.

Besides the communities many donated items, the overall approval for the powwow has been nothing short of support.

“The community really stepped up,” said Fabrick.

The event is meant to be a large part of the day by allowing everyone to participate and enjoy.

“It is meant to be a celebration and we want it to be free for everybody,” said Fabrick.

This Saturday is parade day, one of Drumheller’s long-standing Canada Day traditions. However, to enjoy it to the fullest, there are a few things to remember.

This year the theme to the Drumheller and District Chamber of Commerce’s Parade is  Canadiana to Mark Canada's 150th birthday. An important detail to note is making sure know the route. It will muster and take off from the neighborhood of Riverside, but will conclude along Railway Avenue. This will hopefully alleviate congestion near the Drumheller Memorial Arena following the parade.

Because of the length of the parade, there are myriad of places to take in all the action. The parade begins winding through the valley at 10 a.m. so it is a good idea to stake your claim early. Please be respectful of property owners.

A great way to start the day is with a hearty breakfast, and the Kinsmen Club of Drumheller is hosting its annual free pancake breakfast at Riverside Value Drug Mart.

Before heading o to the parade route a few good things to remember is to bring lots of water and make sure you lock up before leaving home.

For the little ones, make sure they have a bathroom break before leaving home and make sure they have hats and sunscreen. Rain is rare at Drumheller’s Canada Day Parade, but be prepared nonetheless.

The Canada Day parade is all about fun, so make sure you clap, cheer and have a ball. Also, be aware the parade has animals and vehicles, so keep an eye on younger revelers.

Once the parade is complete, the day has only just begun. Before heading out for the day, however please be courteous and clean up your area.

Enjoy your Canada Day and have fun!

The Drumheller Co-op Cardlock on South Railway Avenue has been a hive of activity as it undergoes a complete renovation.

Brent Walker, general manager of the Drumheller Co-op, tells The Mail that the project is progressing on schedule.

“The tanks are all in place, the piping is mostly in place and they are looking at doing backfilling this week,” he said.

“All the curbs are in place, and all the piles for the light standards and everything are concreted in.”

The project is a complete overhaul of the cardlock. This includes new tanks, pumps, infrastructure and increased capacity.

“We had four pumps and now we have seven,” he said. “I believe we had one pump for regular fuel and now I believe you can get it on four pumps. There shouldn’t be any more need to wait there anymore.”

The previous cardlock was installed in 1997. The renovation will bring the card lock up to modern standards and codes. It will also be more visually pleasing

“There will be some new signage, it will definitely be a lot cleaner,” he said.

The project is slated to be completed mid-August.

“We were off schedule by about five days, but I think we have caught the majority of them up,” he said.

“It will be nice to get it all up and running again.”

Drumheller is taking the lead in controlling feral rabbit populations growing in the valley.

In recent years, the feral rabbit population in Drumheller has skyrocketed, especially in the campgrounds.

As a way to prevent further populating the land, the Town of Drumheller has decided to hire a contract veterinarian from the University of Saskatchewan (UofS) Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon.

With an 85% success rate, veterinarian Dr. Will E. Wang has decided to bring in a technique used in provincial campgrounds across Saskatchewan as a short term solution.

The public has been asked to help keep the population under control by using this tested technique.

Wang has stumbled upon using a small contraceptive for the males to reduce birth rates amongst the tiny critters.

“The public must catch and apply the contraceptive device directly onto the external genitals,” said Dr. Wang.

In order to catch the rabbits, you must first spray the area with apple cider vinegar then leave chamomile tea soaked lettuce or other vegetables to lure them in.

“The chamomile tea acts as a relaxant and calms nerves that may arise when approached by a human,” said Dr. Wang.

“It basically subdues them enough to catch them without having a big fight.”

Once the rabbit has been caught, the trapper must identify whether it is a male or female.

If female, release immediately but if male (shows testicles), apply the device onto the external area.

“If you are completely unsure of its sex, put them in a cage of some sort and send them to the vet clinic for verification,” said Dr. Wang.

“We can take it from there.”

The contraceptive is designed to last the entire breeding period and will eventually fall off and fully decompose within one year.

The town is in the process of making arrangements with over five local businesses who will stock these items.

Councillor Jay Garbutt will be leading an open forum during the next council meeting on Monday, April 3 to voice your questions and concerns. If you are unable to attend, you can forward your concerns toGOTCHA@drumhellermail.com

Happy April Fools from the Mail :)

Drumheller Institution Correctional Officer and K-9 Handler Jeffrey Hood and his pup Cotton found a combined total of $36,800 worth of illicit drugs on June 6, 2017.

In their routine K-9 search, Cotton alerted Hood to what turned out to be 29 grams of Fentanyl as well as 24 grams of MDMA. The fentanyl alone was worth $20,000 in institutional value and the MDMA was an additional value of $16,800.

This latest seizure is Hood and Cotton’s largest. A massive part of the Drumheller Institution’s strategy is to eliminate contraband.

On the left is the seized Fentanyl which weighs approximately 29.69 grams. The right photo depicts the MDMA which weighed approximately 24.74 grams. 

The community of Riverside celebrated Canada’s 150th birthday with a community barbecue at Partici Park on Friday, September 1, The Heritage and Arts Committee supplied a grant for the barbecue and members of the community were able to cross a few items off their Canada 150 ParticipACTION Playlist including slack lining, sack races, and hula-hoop.

Megan’s Moves also did a Zumba demonstration and Nazirah Bellydance performed and guided a few potential dancers through some basic moves.

Garrett Holowath (20) of Rumsey, Alberta, will play baseball for the U21 Alberta team at the Canada Summer Games in Winnipeg from July 28 to August 13.

After one of the coaches in the same men’s league approached him to play for the team, Holowath made his way through try-outs to make the Alberta team.

“I’m left handed and that really helped me,” said Holowath. “I think it gave me a little advantage compared to the rest of the guys.”

After lots of experience and games, Holowath was ready to tackle something higher on the ladder.

“I’ve been playing ball for most of my life so it just kind of worked out and an opportunity presented itself to go and I took it and now we are in Manitoba,” Holowath said.

The team officially formed in October of last year and have been practicing ever since. They have competed at senior men’s tournaments for the last month and a half in order to prepare for the upcoming Summer Games.

For the next 17 days, Holowath will be playing at the John Blumberg Softball Complex in Winnipeg. Sure to be in the cheering section would be Holowath’s family as his grandparents reside in thecentre province.

“My grandparents live in Manitoba so I’ve been coming out here to Portage, Oakville area for my entire life every other summer,” said Holowath.

Holowath is excited and proud to be representing his home province of Alberta.

“It’s a great opportunity and I’m pretty pumped to be out here.”

Volunteers Dianne Snyder, and Dwight Constable join Jennessa McAuley Community and Family Services worker with the Salvation Army, Captain Jennifer Hillier and Shane Hillier of The Salvation Army in opening Sally’s Social Cafe, aimed to bring people together for lunch and fellowship each Wednesday at Knox United Church.

(Mailphoto by Patrick Kolafa)

The Salvation Army has found a great way for people to get together and have an inexpensive lunch.

On Wednesday, June 28, Sally’s Social Cafe was launched. Going forward, Knox United Church each Wednesday from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., will be the place to come for lunch and enjoy other people’s company.

   “We want to build strong community connections,” said Captain Jennifer Hillier of the Salvation Army. “It is open to anyone in the community.”

While it provides a nutritious lunch each week for just $3, Hillier says the goal is more to bring people together.

They have assembled a strong team of volunteers to make it work, and have also enjoyed some great donations to get it up and running. They could always use more volunteers.

“There will be some board games available for people just want to stay and have some fellowship time, some fun, laughter,” she said.