A small town girl takes on Germany as she strives to make a difference with only Jesus and a basketball.
    Darby Andrus, 20, has had a passion for two things all her life: competing in the sport of basketball is one, and her love for Christianity the other.
    Andrus explains how her faith for God is a major part of her life.
    “I grew up Catholic. I went to a Catholic high school, and now I’m attending a Christian university.” Andrus states.
    After graduation, Andrus had the opportunity to play  on the women’s basketball team for King’s University College  in Edmonton, but never had the chance to share her other passion of God. When Andrus caught wind of News Release Basketball, a Christian  camp based out of the United States, she immediately started to contemplate attending the mission trip.
    Andrus sent her application in during January, received acceptance in March, and now, after all the stress, fundraising, and waiting, is looking forward to taking action.
    Starting on July 27, Andrus will be in Portland, United States, for a three day training camp.        The team’s  first destination in its month long adventure is Wundstorf, Germany, where they will host their first camp for interested youth. From there,  her team will travel to three other locations, including the nation’s capital, Munich.        The mission of News Release Basketball is to spread their message of Christ through the sport of basketball, and Andrus hopes that achieving the group’s goals will help  complete her own personal mission: to  enrich herself for further growth of  her own gratitude and perspective.
    “I hope that this experience will shape me to become more selfless,” says Andrus, “I want to make a change. I’m not expecting it to be drastic, but I’m hoping for something big enough to make a difference in their lives.”
    After four weeks of camps and mission work,  Andrus’ group mission will wrap up in Basel, Germany on August 17.

DORVA (Drumheller Off-road Vehicle Association) hosts the annual Alberta Motor Sports Association Championship and Mud Bog for dirt bike enthusiasts looking for a little fun... and dirt!
    The motocross track, east of the Stampede Barn, will be filled with the distinct sounds of dirt bikes August 2-4, as DORVA gears up for a competition that will bring in motocross racers from across North America.
    Tim Chatten, treasurer with the DORVA, has overseen this race for its four years.
    “It’s an open competition, the race series may be hosted in Alberta, but the riders come from all over. Previous years, we ended up with 300 entries on each of the race days, and our admissions gate last year counted 387 people. We had just about 1,000 people in one weekend,” says Chatten.
    Throughout the event days of August 2-3, one day will be spent practising while the last two days are spent as straight racing days. There are over 20 different categories, and age entries ranging from peewee to vet/master, along with a 40 and over class. The oldest competitor this year is 62.
    Chatten is enthusiastic about the upcoming race, and  looks forward to the race on the main track.
    “When the first full gate drops, and you’ve got 40 bikes  streaming into a corner at the same time- the sheer noise of it. That’s it. Right there,” an avid Chatten explains his favourite part of the weekend’s competition.
    Race registration is from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, and the dirt bike racing continues on Sunday and Monday.