A Drumheller woman is hoping someone will come forward with information on the disappearance of an item, which is a treasure to her, and possibly the whole valley. In March of 2008, the original Drumheller High School building on the corner of 5th Street East and Railway Avenue burned. After the fire was put out, great care was taken during demolition to preserve the stone above the main entryway, which was stamped 1928, the year the original Drumheller High School opened.However, the owner of the property is upset as someone has removed it from the site. Liana Obuck says there have been a number of items taken from the property, but this was by far the most precious.“Someone walked on to private property and helped themselves. It (the lot) was marked for sale,” Obuck said. “Often when there is a for sale sign on a property and someone wants something, they will phone the realtor and ask them to contact the owner.”“I am not a greedy person, but of the many things that have been stolen, it hurts they took that.” After the building was torn down, the stone, as well as a broken stone that read “school” were set aside on the site. Obuck had designs on picking up the stone after the snow had cleared, and she monitored the site throughout the winter, however recently she noticed it was missing.“The only reason I left it there is that I couldn’t physically lift it, it’s a three man job,” she said.The stone may have been picked up by someone who collected it for nostalgic reasons, or to sell. She hopes the stone is still intact. “People do like these architectural things, and they do go through auctions for quite a bit of money,” she said. “But for all we know the same type of vandals who burned down the school could have taken it and broke it into a million pieces, we don't know. But if someone took it, and it is in their rock garden, they need to give it back.”Directly after the building burned, Obuck didn’t know what she planned to do with the stone. Today she says her wish is to donate it so it could be preserved and taken care of, perhaps by the town or an area school. “It is now my intention to donate it to the town, but it is very hurtful someone took it,” she said. “If it is donated to the town at least it will be preserved and someone won’t steal it again. If I want to go look at then I could drive by it and see it.”If anyone knows the whereabouts of the stone, or observed suspicious activity on the site, to contact Obuck at 403-823-2623.
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