Downtown Rockyford has undergone some big changes over the past year and there are more in store.
    When the snow melts, the Village of Rockyford will be renovating some of the sidewalk on main street. The plan is to install an environmentally friendly rubber sidewalk.
    “We’re going to add some very nice curb appeal. It’s going to be an environmentally safe, rubberized product,” said Mayor Darcy Burke.
    The total cost of the project is estimated to be roughly $80,000. The Tire Recycling Management Agency has given grant funding, which will cover 25 to 35 per cent of the cost. Local businesses will also be involved in the project.
    “Late last year our administration got in  contact with businesses, because those businesses will have to close for a small period of time. They are supportive of the project and have agreed to provide some funds to help cover their own portion of the sidewalk that would go to their doors,” said Burke. “We’re really excited about it and through our budget deliberations, we’ll be taking a serious look at it.”
    The decision to install the rubberized sidewalk was made after considering other, more traditional, options to restore the decaying sidewalk were considered.
    “We have identified our sidewalks are in very poor shape. Council looked at different toppings. We first looked at tearing them out and replacing them, but given the vintage of some of the buildings on main street and them being right up to the sidewalk, removing the sidewalks can be a problem for the integrity of the buildings. We looked at various proposals, such as putting a rock product on top. Recently, we learned of a rubberized, pour and place product,” said Burke.
    The rubber sidewalk has advantages over other materials. Walking on it is more comfortable, water drains easily, and removing the sidewalk to do any work underneath it (such as repairing a broken water line) is easily done.
    It is hoped work on the sidewalk will commence after the budget has been finalized and in the spring of this year.

    Home–grown post secondary education in the Drumheller area is quickly becoming a reality, now that Hope College has been approved by the Alberta Government to offer two programs come this September.
    The college announced on Thursday, January 10, it has the approval to offer two diploma programs in business administration and tourism.  They are already accepting applications.
    “We are thrilled to announce the approval of these programs for Hope College.  It has been a long journey and we are very thankful for the patient support of the people who live in this region.  The first two programs will help lay a solid foundation for the development of future programs, particularly as we look to add specializations in rural and preventative healthcare,” said Dr. Jon Ohlhauser, president, Hope College.
    He explains the courses are  “made in Drumheller” and unique to the needs of the area.
    “We have developed this in house, and it is being taught by local instructors, so this is our program,” said Ohlhauser.
    “In the business administration, you will receive marketing courses, accounting courses, business law courses. There are 20 courses and 30 credits, and we are looking at making  them transferable to the University of Calgary or the University of Lethbridge for a full degree,” said Ohlhauser.
    “Out of the 25 courses, 15 are shared. There are five unique courses related to tourism and rural tourism. That is what differentiates the two programs,” he said.

Dr. Jon Olhauser, president of Hope College, announcing the new clases now being offered by the school.

    He adds, Hope College has also submitted a proposal for a Justice Studies diploma program and is waiting for its approval.
    “It is for people who are interested in an entry level education to get into positions at the Penitentiary or in law enforcement,” said Ohlhauser.
    If approved, it will also commence in September 2013.
    These courses come on the heels of the Hope Health Initiative’s first major step in hiring a naturopathic practitioner to begin at the Hope Health Clinic.  While the initial vision for the Hope Health Initiative was for the college to provide   a health-based post secondary education, it is still its end goal. This does pose some challenges.
 “So many of the programs in health carry a professional designation at the end, you get a license to work in the system. They are requesting us to do that in partnership at the beginning, and the systems aren’t in place to make that easy,” he said
    He explains this mean working with another institution such as Bow Valley College or Campus Alberta. This model may be more cumbersome and expensive.
    “We know that our business model directs us toward being a healthcare college in order to achieve long-term sustainability.  This is where we are committed to going for immediate and future program development.  We desire to establish mutually beneficial relationships with existing programs at other Alberta Colleges/Universities but the structures that currently exist with the Provincial Government makes that a unique challenge.  These first 2 – and hopefully 3 – non-health programs help us get going on a solid foundation but the new programs we will be bringing on will have a definite healthcare orientation,” he said