The ice plant at the Drumheller Memorial Arena is back up and running  after crews were able to replace a chiller unit. Despite this, the Dragons Hockey School has been postponed until August 11-15.

    The Drumheller Memorial Arena is back up and running and making ice, it just was a little too late for the Drumheller Dragons Hockey School.
    The annual summer youth day camp to brush up on hockey skills and have fun has been postponed because of lack of ice. Originally the camp was set to begin last Monday, however a breakdown of the ice plant at the arena has forced organizers to set the camp dates to August 11-15. So far they have also had to cancel the shooting and checking clinics.
    Director of Infrastructure Services Al Kendrick told The Mail one of the chillers on the ice plant broke down and needed to be replaced. It could have been a catastrophic breakdown, but contractors and town workers were able to expedite the needed part and get them installed.
    “We were very fortunate to find one and secure it because if we had to order one… we wouldn’t have been making ice until probably December,” said Kendrick.
    By the end of the weekend, the plant was up and running again.
    “We managed to get it running. We had a few problems part way through but we are now making ice,” said Kendrick.
    He says the cost of the repair has yet to be fully determined.
    Kendrick explains they have had two major repairs over the last two seasons that were not scheduled maintenance. Last season one of the compressors went down.
    “We were hoping to get another five or so years out of those units, but when you hit that 10-plus year window things can start to go,” said Kendrick.
    There is still space available for the Dragons hockey School. For more information call  the Dragons office at 403-823-2022.

The Village of Rockyford is spending $280,000 this year as part of its street improvement program.  This year’s work will have gravel streets throughout the village completely resurfaced, though not paved. Council aims to revisit the issue in the future.

    The Village of Rockyford is moving ahead with some major road repairs now that the annual Rockyford Rodeo has come to a close.
    Starting soon, gravel streets throughout town will be given an overhaul. However, they won’t be paved quite yet.
    “We’re going to see some extensive roadwork across the village. We looked at doing some paving this year, but it would have used up all of the funding available for dust control. We thought it would be better to start with this project. In future years, we can budget for paving those three blocks,” said Mayor Darcy Burke.
    The Village has set aside $280,000 for the street improvements this year.
    The plan is to resurface the gravel roads, albeit with gravel.
    “We’re going to excavate 100 millimetres off the top of the street, then bringing in some road crush, packing it, and then adding an oil surface on the top,” said Burke.
    The resurfacing will be done in such a way to help facilitate any future plans to pave the streets.
    “The reason Council chose to go this way was we did three blocks of underground infrastructure in 2011. This will be the first step in getting those streets paved,” said Burke. “With the base done, paving can take place sometime in the future.”