It has been a lonely existence for Gus the Dinosaur on the corner of 3rd Avenue and Centre Street. Sure, he gets dozens a visitors coming to take photos with him, but he was looking for a deeper, less fleeting relationship.
    The DinoArts Association realized this and last Friday introduced him to a cute triceratops charmer right across the street.
    This is the fourth installation by the association, and the third manufactured by Studio Y Creations.
    “A new one every year is kind of the game plan,” said John Shoff. “We are thankful to the group, the fundraisers and the supporters, we couldn’t do it without any of those people.”
    Already she is turning heads, including Gus’s. There has been a steady stream of traffic coming to visit her.
    To bring her to the Valley the Association launched a gofundme campaign, which has so far raised $800, and is still active. The work continues to realize the $16,000 price tag.
    “We are still working on raising the funds One of the fundraisers is the Ultimate Pieing Championship,” said Shoff. On November 28, a number of notable residents will be getting pied at a Drumheller Dragons hockey game. See story on page 4.
    This is not the only initiative of the DinoArts Association. They continue to look for ways to beautify the community. Last spring volunteers did an incredible job of repainting the historic dinosaurs throughout town, including the “nurse” triceratops which was moved to the Gough Building on Third Avenue to make way for the new installation.
    The DinoArts Association is also continuing its planning of the Dino Walk of Fame, an idea to encourage foot traffic in the core.
    Now that she has arrived, before she can be formally introduced to Gus, she needs a name. Shoff says they may have a contest in the future to determine the name. In the meantime, the two will continue to stare longingly across the street.

    It appears area schools are pleased with the budget released by the Alberta government.
    The government dropped its budget on October 27. While Alberta is facing a crunch in light of the resource prices, the budget wasn’t shy about spending. One of the priorities outlined was the stabilization of the public service. This includes schools.
    “We didn’t have any surprises in the budget,” said Golden Hills School Division superintendent Bevan Daverne. “I think the government has followed through on a number of promises in their campaign.”
    Some of these included restoring funding for enrolment growth. They also followed through in honoring the provincially negotiated bargaining agreements with teachers.
    “It is a budget we had expected based on the campaign in the province, so it is one we can certainly work with and we are appreciative of the support from the government on those fronts,” he said.
    Golden Hills School Division saw an increase of 3.3 per cent, or $2,064,000 in projected operational funding for 2015-2016. Christ the Redeemer School Division saw a 3.4 per cent increase to its projected operations funding, or another $2,984,000. Prairie Land Regional School Division saw an increase of $112,000, or 0.5 per cent
    These amounts are projected based on student enrollment and the courses taken by high school students.
    Beyond operations, Daverne says they are seeing support for their construction and modernization projects, including the new East Wheatland School currently under construction.
    “We also feel very good about the support from the province for the projects we have underway and are planning,” he said. “We are excited about the impact those projects are going to have in the areas we have enrollment growth.
    The Division broke ground on the East Wheatland School in June of 2014, and progress has been steady.  Daverne said the foundation is all in and the gymnasium walls are being erected. Work to other areas of the school is underway.  They are still projecting a September 2016 opening.
    “We are really looking forward to new schools and our modernizations and the school in East Wheatland. Those are solving problems, longstanding problems, we have had in those areas,” he said.