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.

RCMP were called to a single ATV rollover on a rural property north of Hanna on Sunday, October 22 at 1:00 PM. The subsequent investigation revealed that a 56-year-old man was the lone operator of a 3 wheel ATV. At some point, the ATV rolled over causing Injuries resulted in the man's death.The male driver was not wearing a helmet which is also believed to have been a factor in the level of injuries sustained.

The male driver was not wearing a helmet which is also believed to have been a factor in the level of injuries sustained.

Although rollovers are possible on both three and four-wheel ATV's, three wheel ATV's are inherently prone to rolling over because of only having one wheel in the front. When turning sharply, the single front wheel doesn't provide enough stability to keep the ATV upright and can result in the machine flipping over.

Alberta legislation doesn't require the use of helmets on private land but it is recommended that people wear helmets at all times when operating ATV's. It is also recommended, especially if riding alone, that you let someone know where you will be riding and when to expect you back.

(mailphoto by Terri Huxley)

The annual Badlands to Banff bike trip finished after a nine day journey across Alberta on August 20.

The Duke of Edinburgh program requires each participant to take part in a five day or longer “Adventure”. For Drumheller, the easiest way to achieve this is through the long-standing Badlands to Banff youth bike trip.

“It was actually really fun,” said Andrew Germain, a three year veteran of the trip. “I got to meet a whole bunch of new people there.”

The group consisted of 16 people riding for different things; one was leadership, another for the Duke of Edinburgh Program, and others just having a blast from the previous year.

“It was a fantastic group, everybody got along for the most part,” Germain said.

Thanks to the sunnier than usual season, the group was only delayed for less than an evening from an oncoming summer storm.

“We had some minor weather delays on our fourth day of biking but those were fun to bike through because it was mostly rain,” Germain said.

The trip wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows either. Mental strength is a key component in going the distance.

“After doing the trip for two years, you know what to expect but some of the days were a little bit more challenging than others, especially Big Valley road. That day is quite a rough day since you go up big hills,” explained Germain.

As for highlights, Germain gushed over the whole trip.

“There’s so many good things I can say about the trip,” Germain said. “I think the highlight of my trip was going in to the mountains because you can see how far you’ve come. The feeling of being enveloped in the mountains, it’s honestly such a great feeling.”

Anyone is allowed to join the challenging yet rewarding excursion.

“They gave us a lot of freedom and I would suggest people do it for next year.”

Day 1: Horseshoe Canyon

Day 5

Ghost Lake Reservoir "Secret Location"

Ghost Lake Reservoir 

The Drumheller RCMP conducted an investigation into child sexual interference allegations which has resulted in charges laid against a 21-year-old Drumheller man.

On June 19, 2017 Drumheller RCMP received a complaint from a parent against a local daycare worker at a daycare facility in Drumheller. A thorough investigation involving the Sheldon Kennedy Centre in Calgary and the RCMP Major Crimes Unit has resulted in charges being laid. Once an investigation was initiated, two other victims were identified, each involving a different offence date.

Anthony Piecowye has been charged with three counts each of sexual assault and sexual interference. He has been released with conditions and is scheduled to appear in Provincial Court of Alberta in Drumheller on September 22, 2017 at 10:00 a.m.

The identities, including the ages and sex of these young victims, will not be disclosed by the RCMP. These charges are now before the courts and further information will not be made available.

If you have information about this investigation, please call the Drumheller RCMP at 403-823-7590 or call your local police detachment. If you want to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers by phone at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), by internet atwww.tipsubmit.com, or by SMS.

A local woman has turned footage of a man etching words into the Hoodoos to the RCMP to investigate.

Paula Peake told the Mail she was at the Hoodoos at about 1 p.m. with her family Thursday, August 3, when she witnessed a man engraving letters on the site. She filmed the incident with her smartphone and followed the man and his party to their vehicles when they left.

“If nothing is done, it invites others to do the same,” Peake stated.

The man inscribed the word Metten into the site.

Peake said she reported the incident once she was home and had cell service.

She also posted the short video on social media where it was met with strong reactions.

This is not the first time an incident like this has happened. In 2011, the Mailreported that a Calgary man received a $1,000 fine from Judge Grieve for etching the word Columbia in the hoodoo. He too was observed by a civilian who passed the information on to the police.

The Hoodoos are protected under the Alberta Historical Resources Act and a violation of the act can result in up to $50,000 in fines. 

The video can be seen below. 

Shortly before 1:00 a.m. on Wednesday January 17, Drumheller RCMP responded to a residential break and enter in progress in Rosedale.
While en-route, police were informed the suspects left the residence in the homeowners truck with the homeowners travel trailer attached.
Police arrived in the area to see a trailer matching the description turn onto highway 10.
The vehicle attempted to flee from police and in the process overturned the trailer into a ditch, disabling the truck.
A male and female were taken into custody and face numerous charges related to the break and enter, driving and firearms offences. Both accused are known to police.

At approximately 8:30 a.m. on June 8, St. Anthony's School went into lockdown after receiving word from a youth that the possibility of firearms could be entering the school.

RCMP responded and arrived promptly to the threat at 8:40 a.m. The police investigation revealed the youth had posted a photo of his airsoft gun to social media the previous evening, showing off new decals he and his mother had applied.  

Another youth then made inappropriate comments online about bringing the gun to school.  RCMP have cleared the first youth of any wrongdoing and have spoken with the other youth believed to have made the inappropriate online comments.

Drumheller RCMP were pleased to see the quick, safe, and extremely effective lockdown as completed by St Anthony's School, and that no one was injured. The local RCMP have now resolved the issue.

The students are safe and calm and the school has resumed normal operations. There is no further cause for concern. These are always troubling situations, and we thank the parents, community, and RCMP for their patience and support.

A recipient will receive an email that will appear to come directly from Interac advising of a refund owed back to the recipient and provide a deadline to receive the money.

“There are different ways for them to approach you on an email and what they are trying to get from you,” said Drumheller RCMP Staff Sergeant Kevin Charles. “Basically it is tricking you into releasing your personal banking information.”

Sergeant Charles revealed to The Mail that most people are conscious if someone is sending or receiving money online.

“Most people know if you owe someone money or someone owes you money and how much so if you get this random email from some person saying ‘Oh, here’s some money for you.’ That should put up a red flag in your mind going ‘Hold on one second, nobody owes me money, what is the real purpose here?’”

It is recommended that if you're not expecting any type of money transfer via Interac E-Transfer to do the following: Contact the 'refunder' directly through another medium like a phone, a different email account or attend in person if possible. Do not open any attachments in the email and do not click any links attached to the email as it could share personal information. Lastly, do not provide any personal details via email in a response.

“A lot of times, you got to be careful about downloading attachments or opening attachments in emails because it could be a virus and lock up your computer,” Sergeant Charles said.

Although there are a variety of scams targeting people via email/regular mail/phone, there are many commonalities to be aware of.

They often involve a sense of urgency by using a deadline, an emergency or expiration date. This is intended to get the victim to act without thinking things through or conducting their own research into the subject matter.

It’s often disguised as something legitimate but will vary from how the legitimate Institute typically operates.

An email scam stating that CRA is sending the police to collect on an outstanding tax bill - the police don't act in this capacity and CRA sends their correspondence through the mail, not email.

The item being offered seems too good to be true like the Stars Lottery email scam where the victim is told they've won a significant prize but needs to pay in order to receive it.

If you find one of these scams come across your screen, a report can be made to the anti-fraud centre which is available online.

Whatever the case may be, always be prepared and be safe when conducting online financial business.

“The old rule of thumb is if it sounds too good to be true, it is,” Sergeant Charlstated.

 RCMP from Beiseker have arrested two suspects following a complaint of a suspicious vehicle and a lengthy foot chase. 

At 1:40 am on June 15, Beiseker RCMP responded to a complaint from a rural resident reporting a suspicious vehicle near Highway 566. When officers located the white Ford truck, it fled into a field where the occupants abandoned it and ran away on foot. The Ford was found to have been reported stolen out of Calgary a few days earlier. 

RCMP police dog services from Airdrie as well as Airdrie Rural members attended to assist. The police dog tracked the suspects for two hours before locating them hiding in a wooded area. 

Joshua METHOT, (28) from Whitecourt, AB, has been charged with assaulting a peace officer, resist arrest and possession of stolen property. He has been remanded into custody and is scheduled to appear on June 22 in Airdrie provincial court by CCTV. 

A 16-year-old female who cannot be named has also been charged with assaulting a peace officer, possession of methamphetamine and possession of stolen property. She was released to the custody of her parents and is scheduled to appear on July 20 in Airdrie Youth Court.

The Beiseker RCMP continue to request that any suspicious vehicles or activity be reported and wishes to extend a thank you for the tips already received.

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On Friday, June 9 at 7:36 PM, Beiseker RCMP, Alberta Sheriffs, Carbon Fire, Linden Fire Departments and EMS were dispatched to a collision on Highway 21, approximately 2 kilometres north of the Highway 9 intersection.  

Initial reports are that extreme weather, including heavy hail and rain was occurring at the time of the collision between a southbound vehicle with 3 occupants and a northbound SUV with 1 occupant. 

Upon arrival, it was determined that STARS air ambulance was required for one of the patients and an alternative landing zone was set up due to inclement weather in the area of the collision.

 Tragically, a 16-year-old female passenger was pronounced deceased on scene. A 67-year-old female was transported to the STARS landing zone and was then airlifted to a Calgary area hospital with critical potentially life-threatening condition.  A 43-year-old female was transported by ground ambulance to a Calgary area hospital in serious non-life threatening condition. 

 The lone 58-year-old female driver of the Northbound SUV was transported to Three Hills hospital in non-life threatening condition. 

A Collision Analyst was contacted and is currently on scene investigating.  Traffic on Highway 21 was rerouted for a short time and was cleared. 

The name of the deceased will not be released by RCMP.  Beiseker RCMP would like to express their condolences to the family during this time. 

The Drumheller RCMP arrested two people involved in the theft of a truck near Carbon last Monday night, September 4.

The RCMP were called at about 8:30 p.m. Police report a red Silverado, showed up at a farm. The culprits allegedly stole the complainant’s white GMC truck. They drove it a short distance before abandoning it, and then took a Dodge truck.

They tried to leave the area, but drove into a fence tangling and damaging the truck, causing it to smoke. They then crashed the truck in a coulee and fled on foot.

Because of the location, the Drumheller RCMP engaged the Three Hills detachment for support.

Police located a male and female lying in the grass and they were taken into custody.

A female youth was released and is facing two counts of possession of stolen property and a charge of mischief. An adult male is also facing these charges. Both are from the Drumheller area.

Staff Sergeant Kevin Charles says it is important for people to secure their property.

“I think people in rural areas have a more honest viewpoint and are more trusting and keys tend to be left in vehicles and vehicles tend to be left unlocked and that affords these criminals to take advantage of the trustworthy nature of people,” he said. “It used to be the big city where you had to lock up your stuff but now criminals know they can go to rural areas and small towns.”