Long-time restaurateur Fran Nargang is the 2022 Rotary Club Citizen of the Year.
The best and the brightest in community and business leaders gathered at the Badlands Community Facility for Celebration of Excellence.
The annual event co-sponsored by the Drumheller and District Chamber of Commerce, Travel Drumheller, the Town of Drumheller, and the Rotary Club presented awards of excellence to community members on Thursday, June 9.
Nargang is the owner and operator of The Old Grouch’s Restaurant, which she founded with her late husband Garry. It is an eclectic addition to the community with a strong local clientele, as well as visitors who come for the home style cooking.
For 15 years, The Old Grouch has been host to the STARS Jam. This is a fundraiser for STARS air ambulance, a charity near and dear to her heart.
This was started after her grandson was hit by a car and STARS saved his life. In the 15 years she has held the event, it has raised over $100,000.
The Old Grouch has also been the launching point for musicians to get their careers started.
Known for her outspokenness, upon receiving her award, she simply said, “I’m usually not short of words, but I am tonight.”

The Rotary Club’s Most Courteous Employee Award was given to Emma de Guzman. She is a long-time employee of Subway in Drumheller and has taken the time to get to know her customers. She is also an employee of Dollarama.
The finalist was Sue Aisley of Riverside Medical.

The Rotary Club Male Athlete of the Year was presented to Grayden Ewing, and the Female Athlete of the Year award was presented to Kate Messom.

Travel Drumheller presented the Tourism Excellence Award to Valley Brewing. This award is for a business that reflects Travel Drumheller’s vision of Drumheller as an Iconic Destination.
The runner-up was Badlands Photography.

The Town of Drumheller Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) presented its Youth Leaders of Tomorrow awards. These are for students who have made outstanding contributions to their community through volunteerism.

In the Junior High category, Carys Teske and Bram Gradiansah of DVSS received the awards.

At the High school level, Cadence Olbrich of St. Anthony’s and Cassia Teske of DVSS were presented the awards.
The Chamber of Commerce also presented its annual awards.

MH Enterprises is the recipient of the Community Builder Award.

Freson Bros was selected as the Employer of Choice.

Barney’s Adventure Park was awarded the Most Promising New Business.

Ray Ainscough of Riverside Value Drug Mart was awarded Business Professional of the Year.

The Small Business of the Year Award went to Drumheller Registries and the Large Business of the Year went to Riverside Value Drug Mart.

The Town of Drumheller is actively monitoring the current and upcoming weather forecast. With an anticipated 100-150mm of rainfall expected in certain areas, our teams are working diligently with the Province of Alberta, the staff at Dickson Dam and local authorities to ensure we have the most accurate information readily available.
A cold low weather system is expected to bring widespread rainfall activity to southern and central Alberta from Monday, June 13th through to Wednesday, June 15th. Successive weather models have been variable with respect to location and amounts are still subject to change.
Currently, forecast amounts by basin, based on the latest guidance from Environment and Climate Change Canada anticipated rainfall in the Red Deer River Basin to be approximately 100-150mm (10-15cm or 4-6 inches) of rainfall with the largest amounts in the upper Red Deer and Little Red Deer basins.
Please be aware that the Dickson Dam has already increased the flow rate to 83 cubic metres per second (m3/s), from 26 m3/s of water from the Glennifer Reservoir downstream to increase storage for the anticipated rainfall over the next few days. It is expected that the released flow rate will increase over the next few days. This will increase the Red Deer River’s water levels and flow rate in Drumheller.
At this time, the Province of Alberta has indicated the Red Deer River at Drumheller as a “High Streamflow Advisory” and is subject to change as the storm endures.
Advisories, Forecaster’s comments, river flows and levels can be found on the Environment and Parks River Basins webpage at https://rivers.alberta.ca or the AB Rivers mobile app. You can also sign up for email and text notifications to be informed of any change of status.
The Town of Drumheller attended a Provincial Operations Centre (POC) earlier today and is now reviewing emergency management plans, operational readiness and inventories of flood management equipment. Crews started filling sandbags at noon today in preparation for a possible high-water event.
As the situation evolves and more information is made available, the Town will be posting updates on https://www.drumheller.ca/your-municipality/news.
Definitions as outlined by the Government of Alberta
High Streamflow Advisory: stream levels are rising or are expected to rise rapidly, and no major flooding is expected. Minor flooding in low-lying areas is possible. Anyone situated close to the streams affected is advised to be cautious of the rising levels.
Flood Watch: stream levels are rising and will approach or may exceed bank-full. Flooding of areas adjacent to these streams may occur. Anyone situated close to the river is advised to take appropriate precautionary measures
Flood Warning: rising stream levels will result in flooding of areas adjacent to the streams affected. Anyone situated close to the river should take appropriate measures to avoid flood damage.