Officials at Correctional Services Canada (CSC) hope the windmill at the Drumheller Institution will be producing power in the near future.
    The windmill, installed to generate a portion of the power used at the Drumheller Institution was purchased in 2008 and installed shortly after. In its short history most have seen it sitting idle, prompting rumours and coffee talk on why it is not running, and what it will take to get it going again.
    Mayor Terry Yemen requested that Crowfoot MP Kevin Sorenson help him get to the bottom of the windmill mystery once and for all. Last week an answer came from Paul Provost, director, environmental protection programs technical services for Corrections Canada. He shed some light on the problems.
    “The Drumheller wind turbine is not working because of technical difficulties relating mainly to the batteries and the inverter (electrical device that changes direct current to alternating current),” states correspondence from Provost.
    The cost of the 600-kilowatt unit at the Drumheller Institution is just under $1.4 million and the main component (wind turbine) was manufactured in Germany. While many have speculated that a Canadian manufactured unit could have cost less, Provost dispels the rumour.
    “There are no nacelle (turbine) manufacturers in Canada and only a limited number of manufacturers that make 750 kW turbines (i.e. comparable size to the Drumheller one) including Fuhrlaender (Germany), Aeronautica (USA), DeWind (Germany), Gamesa (Spain), Norwin (Denmark), Suzlon (Germany), Vestas (Denmark), and Enercon (Germany). Hence, given that there is no Canadian manufacturer for the same size of unit as the Drumheller wind turbine, a cost cannot be provided,” stated Provost.
    One of the reasons the repairs needed to get the generator up and running again are faltering is the company that won the bidding process no longer exists. Provost explains that Lorax dissolved before the final project commissioning was reached, and the manufacturer had a contract with Lorax and not with  Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC), who contracted the project.
    “PWGSC recently engaged the services of a Canadian consultant (technical expert in the area of wind turbines) in an effort to address and fix the wind turbine malfunction issues," said Provost. “CSC expects that the subject expert recently hired by PWGSC will evaluate, propose and implement the solutions so that the wind turbine problems can be resolved over the upcoming months but we do not have a more precise date at this point.”

 One of Drumheller’s local restaurants is being thrust into the national spotlight soon and they’re ready for their close up.
    Bernie and the Boys will be featured on You Gotta Eat Here, a Food Network show that profiles small eateries across Canada.
    Bernie Germain, owner and chef of Bernie and the Boys is excited to be on the show.
    “They asked me if I wanted to be on the show and I was like, ‘who says no to that?’” said Germain.
    The local restaurant came to the attention of producers via Urban Spoon, a website where bloggers can rate and review restaurants. Bernie and the Boys currently has a 92 per cent rating on the site.
    Germain was initially contacted last February in regards to appearing on the show.
    “They found us on Urban Spoon and there had been a few people who told them about us. They sent us a questionnaire we had to fill out, which took like three hours. Then we had to send in a video and interview. They really liked what we were doing here and gave us the go-ahead,” said Germain.
    The shoot begins on November 8 with a day focused on Germain in the kitchen with You Gotta Eat Here host John Catucci.
    “On the 8th, they want us to be in the kitchen, so I’ll be showing John how we cook the food. I’ll demo some of our most outrageous things, like the Mammoth Burger and the Megasaurus Pizza. They want me to bone out a turkey, because they heard that’s how we do our clubhouses. It’s something that’s not done usually,” said Germain.
    There will also be a few surprises in store for Catucci when he shows up for the shoot.
    “He’s not a chef, he’s a comedian. I’m going to have a lot of fun with him for sure. I’ve got some fake hick teeth, so I’m definitely going to pop those bad boys in when I greet him,” said Germain.
    “He’s definitely going to have to do the Blair Wing Project. If that’s not hot enough, we have hotter. We have Navajo peppers and scorpion peppers, which are the hottest peppers in the world.”
    On November 9, the final day of shooting, the restaurant will be open and patrons interviewed about their experience at Bernie and the Boys.
    “People can order their food and then John will sit down with them and ask them about what they ordered,” said Germain. “So, come down, have some great food and you could be on TV.”