The Drumheller Dragons ended the new year signing a new prospect for the coming season.
Defenseman, 16-year-old Keegan Beagle has committed to the Drumheller Dragons. He is currently playing for the Red Deer U-18 AAA Optimist Chiefs, and he has suited up for one Dragons game. The Rimbey native says it is a good fit.
“Drumheller is a nice place. I like the small-town feel because I’m from a small town,” said Keegan. “ I like the coaching staff and when I came to practice, all the boys were really nice and welcoming, and it’s a nice place to be.”
The defenseman says he brings a little bit of offense, even as a defender.
“I describe myself more as an offensive player, but I play strong defense and like to skate the puck a lot and make plays,” he said.
He spoke to a couple of other teams and Drumheller seemed like the best fit. Beyond earning a spot on the roster, he hopes to end his junior career with a scholarship to college or university.
Assistant coach Adam Redmon looks forward to working with Keegan.
“He’s going to add stability to our defensive end. He has great character and is a hard-working kid,” said Redmon.

Community halls continue to face numerous challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and nine community halls in rural Kneehill County will receive support following approval from council at the regular Tuesday, December 14 council meeting.
The request originally came before council during the Tuesday, December 7 Committee of the Whole meeting and was recommended to be brought back before council at a future meeting date.
“Our rural hall policy states (Kneehill County) pays them based on how many times per year they’re rented out; due to COVID they have not been able to rent out as many times as they used to, so funding levels would have gone down in 2022 if we don’t provide them with this,” explained Legislative Services coordinator Carolyn Van der Kuil during the meeting.
There are three funding levels for these community halls-Level A used year-round 20 or more times a year, Level B used year-round or seasonally 10 to 20 times per year, and Level C used fewer than 10 times per year.
Currently, there are seven halls classified as Level A-Huxley Community Association, Sunnyslope Community Association, Wimborne Community Centre, Torrington Community Centre, Swalwell Community Association-and two halls classified as Level C-Hesketh Community Hall Association, and Mount Vernon Community Association; there are no halls currently classed as Level B.
Along with the recommendation to maintain community hall funding at the 2020 levels, Chief Administrative Officer Mike Haugen also presented council with a recommendation to use a portion of unused community grant funds to give these halls a one-time COVID relief grant.
While the relief grant will not use up all remaining budgeted funds, CAO Haugen explained council will determine how the remaining funds are utilized, though the most likely course of action will be to put it into a reserve to contribute to a possible municipal surplus.
This relief grant would help these rural community halls to offset operating costs due to reduced revenue from fewer rentals throughout 2021. It was discussed by council the halls will need to provide accountability for what the funds will be used for.
Council unanimously approved providing the one-time COVID relief funds; the seven Level A halls will each receive $5,000 while the two Level C halls will each receive $1,650.