The greatness of the community was celebrated on Thursday Night, June 13, at Celebration of Excellence.
    There was a full house for the annual event at the Badlands Community Facility, where awards were presented to local individuals, businesses and organizations from the Drumheller Rotary Club, the Drumheller and District Chamber of Commerce and Travel Drumheller.
    The Rotary Citizen of the Year wen to Ray Ainscough, owner of Riverside Value Drug Mart. He may have also gotten an award for best cheering section as well, as employees of his business donned t-shirts with his likeness.
    Riverside Value Drug Mart has been in the community since 1980, and Ray has been a big part of that history. Today he operates Riverside Value Drug Mart and Peoples Pharmacy in the Riverside Medical Building. He is supportive of many community causes, including sponsoring scholarship awards for graduating students. He has coached and sponsored sports teams and sits on several boards, including DARTS, where he is currently president.
    The runner-up for Citizen of the Year was Lynn Fabrick. On top of operating her store Dry Canyon Collectables, she is active in the  Community Business Association, which is responsible for many events in the community where merchants collaborate. She has been a driver in the community for Indigenous awareness and has spearheaded many, including Dancing with the Dinosaurs Powwow, Red Dress Walk and National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
    The Rotary Club’s Most Courteous Employee went to Cheryl Spark of Drumheller Boston Pizza. Instantly recognizable to anyone who frequents Boston Pizza, Spark plays a key role in making sure her customers are treated with kindness while providing top-notch service.
The finalist in the Most Courteous Employee category was MacKenzie Cassidy  of the Badlands Community Facility.
    The final Rotary award was for the Athlete of the Year, and it went to Nevan Schille, a Grade 11 player on the Drumheller Titans.
    The Drumheller and District Chamber of Commerce also dispersed its awards. The Community Builder award went to The Drumheller and District Humane Society. The finalists were the Drumheller Community Learning Society and the Napier Theatre.
    The Employer of Choice award went to Hi-Way 9 Express. The finalist was Riverside Value Drug Mart.
    The Most Promising New Business was awarded to Heller Good Sandwiches, with the other finalists being Bubba T’s Bus Tours and JJ Deliveries.
    The Business Professional of the Year award was presented to Greg Manca of Drumheller McDonald’s. The runner-ups were Keri Looijen of Travel Drumheller and Dr. Ivan Chan of  Drumheller Chiropractic Centre.
    The Small Business of the Year was awarded to the Napier Theatre. Also nominated in the category were Badlands Photography and Riverside Medical Clinic.
    The Large Business of the Year was awarded to the Badlands Amphitheatre. Other finalists included Reality Bytes Inc. and Riverside Value Drug Mart.
 The Travel Drumheller Tourism Excellence Awards were also given out. Bikes and Bites was named the Tourism Business of the Year. Finalists included Rosebud Theatre and School of the Arts, and The Sunny Spot.
    The Hospitality Ambassador Award went to Deanne Zariski. Runner ups were BL Janzen and Jody Sunstrum.

 With El Nino bringing a dry winter this year, the Province of Alberta is at risk of a critical drought. In April, the Town of Drumheller (TOD) signed a Water Conserving Agreement with the Province for drought mitigation.
    The objective is to reduce consumption by five to ten percent based on the normal consumption the TOD uses from the Red Deer Basin per year.
    The Mail reached out to the TOD’s Chief Administrative Officer, Darryl Drohomerski to see if the Town is on track to conserving the water required in the agreement.
    “Right now the water in the Dickson Dam is in the normal range, however, the flow is at the low end as the Provincial outlook is calling for a warm and dry summer,” explains CAO Drohomerski. “We are looking at items like watering our parks less, and have introduced rain barrels for sale at reduced prices to encourage residents to use less water.”
    The recent rainfall has helped, and in order for the TOD to adjust conservation efforts as needed, the water usage levels and the weather conditions are being closely monitored.
    The Province is overseeing the implementation of the agreement also by closely monitoring the conditions. To ensure every drop is used in the event of a critical drought, the Province will optimize and mitigate water storage and operations in certain basins and reservoirs, and provide their updates to the water supply forecast every two weeks.