While Christmas is just around the corner, there are many in the community who will have trouble making the season joyous, or even making ends meet. It may be someone you know, it may be really close to home.
    The Salvation Army provides Christmas hampers to those in need; however, those needing support are required to apply.
    The church is holding a sign-up day on Thursday, December 8 at the church in downtown Drumheller. They will have staff on hand from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. to process applications, but they ask that those in need call 403-823-2215 for an appointment.
    While the Thursday date is optimal for the church, it will accept appointments on other days.
    Lt. Rachel Sheils says it is helpful if registrations happen sooner rather than later. This allows time for better planning, the ability to help identify the needs in advance and be able to construct the hampers to suit the needs of the families.
    So far, the Salvation Army’s Christmas campaign is going along well.  They are coming off a successful food drive, and this Saturday following the Santa Claus parade at 1 p.m. in downtown Drumheller, they are once again hosting a viewing of The Polar Express at the Napier Theatre at 2 p.m. Admission to the show is a donation of funds or food.
     Sheils said the kettle campaign is a little bit ahead of last year, but the rest of its campaigns are a little behind.
    They are still in need of volunteers to man the kettles. Shifts are about two hours in length.
    The iKettle program is also continuing this year. This is a safe secure online way to donate to the Salvation Army. Although the donation is in cyberspace, the funds will flow directly to local programs. She says this is an easy way for someone to donate using a credit card. Tax receipts are mailed directly to the person donating.
    Last hear the Drumheller Salvation Army finished in the top 10 in the country for iKettle donations, and this year they are right on track to do it again. To donate online go to www.salvationarmy.ca/ikettle, or go to www.drumsa.org and follow the link.
    To volunteer for working a kettle, to register for a hamper or more information contact the Salvation Army at 403-823-2215.

    Cooperation between Syncrude and the Royal Tyrrell Museum has produced another spectacular fossil. On November 14 Maggy Horvath, a heavy equipment operator for Syncrude, uncovered the remains of a long-necked plesiosaur.
    “I think it’s great that I’m part of this,” said Horvath. “It felt pretty good to call my son and let him know that I found a prehistoric fossil.”
    Long-necked plesiosaurs, more accurately known as elasmosaurs, were a group of marine reptiles that lived from the late Triassic period, roughly 210 million years ago, to the end of the Cretaceous, 65 million years ago, when they went extinct.
    The group is characterized by having  a large body, four flippers, a small tail, long neck, and small head. They would have eaten a wide variety of marine life, including fish and cephalopods. The long neck would have helped them ambush and quickly strike at prey.
    Horvath exposed a series of vertebrae and stopped digging  in the immediate area. Horvath then told Syncrude’s geologist, who notified the Tyrrell Museum.
    Last week the Tyrrell Museum dispatched a team of four to the site. Dr. Don Henderson, Curator of Dinosaurs, Jim McCabe, Preparation Lab Supervisor, and technicians Mark Mitchell and Joe Sanchez assessed the find.
    The team searched the site thoroughly for more material, but as of yet have not found anything more. Working with Syncrude employees, the team has been able to isolate the large rock, estimated to weigh in excess of 6 tonnes, containing the fossil.
    The latest find is the tenth to have been discovered on Syncrude leases. Other remains include an ichthyosaur, a dolphin-like marine reptile that oozed oil, and a short-necked plesiosaur skull. Both are on display at the Tyrrell Museum in the Alberta Unearthed exhibit.
    The last elasmosaur from the same area was recovered ten years ago and was given the name Wapuskanectes. The specimen was only represented by the shoulder girdle and part of a front flipper.
     “We are hoping that this is another specimen of the same kind of plesiosaur,” explained Dr. Don Brinkman, Director of Preservation and Research at the Tyrrell Museum. “The new specimen is particularly important because it looks to be nearly complete.”
    The new specimen is roughly 110 million years old, about 2 millions years younger than the previous specimen.
    “It may be something new, it may be the same thing, we’ll find out when we get prepared,” said Brinkman.
    Preparation of the specimen may take some time. Weather conditions have prevented the Tyrrell team from bringing the specimen to the museum until spring. When conditions become favourable, museum crews will be able to stabilise the massive fossil and safety transport it to Drumheller.