A sizable crowd of about 75 people, some of whom travelled from Calgary and beyond, gathered at the downtown plaza on Saturday, September 30 to commemorate the third annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Local Indigenous liaison Lynn Fabrick organized the event, along with Mike Fabrick and Leslie Masson, among others. Elder Margaret Good Eagle performed an opening prayer and smudge. Dancers performed traditional dances in regalia, including the ladies’ jingle, traditional, and fancy, the mens’ grass, traditional, and chicken dances, and there was even a tiny tots performance to a rendition of Old MacDonald’s Farm which brought the crowd together in laughter. There were several speeches throughout the day—Elder John Sinclair spoke about his experience with racism and intergenerational trauma, and how learning about his culture and heritage helped him combat addiction; Greentree School teacher Molly Moar and her nephews performed a poem about the importance of recognizing National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day; and Drumheller Knox United Church Reverend Rachel Nadon gave an emotional reading of an apology from the United Church of Canada for its role in the Indian Residential School system. At the end of the event, those gathered were welcomed to join in a round dance and a feast of traditional Indigenous foods.

The indoor pool at the Drumheller Aquaplex has been closed to the public since July 10 of this year due to substantial repairs required after a potential leak discovered by facility staff led to the discovery of a medium-sized void.
Initially it was anticipated these repairs would be completed and the facility reopened in October, however, during an update to Drumheller Town council during the regular Tuesday, October 3 council meeting, it was noted that this reopening date has been pushed back to at least the third week of November due to a number of factors, including material delays.
Along with repairs to fix the void, there has also been other work ongoing during the closure, including the relocation of the northwest door due to flood mitigation work in the area, and replacement of the facility’s make-up air handling unit.
The door has been delivered and, at this time, has been sent for coating prior to installation. However, there have been delays in procuring the make-up air handling fan and grates; these are expected to arrive on site the week of October 9, with installation to begin shortly after these are received.
Knibb Developments Ltd., who were contracted to complete the void repair work, began removing concrete flooring on September 27, and the new backwash system is expected to be ready for testing the week of October 23; if all goes well during this testing, it is estimated another two weeks of construction will be required to backfill and pour the new concrete floor.
Once this is complete, one of three sand filters will be repaired. This cannot be done until the void repair is completed as the mechanical room does not have enough space to allow two contractors to work simultaneously. The sand filter repair is expected to be completed the third week of November, after which time the Aquaplex could be reopened.