Sir Elton John is on his farewell tour after one of the most prolific careers in pop music. He is on stage in Edmonton this Friday and Saturday. His name was on the lips of many in Drumheller this week with rumours that he may be visiting the valley.
On Thursday evening, September 26, a vehicle that appeared to be attached to his tour was outside the Canalta Jurassic Hotel in Drumheller. This prompted many to speculate that perhaps the musician was staying in the valley.
The idea is not so far fetched, after all, Drumheller has seen its fair share of famous people visit; including Aerosmith, not to mention Brad Pitt and Angela Jolie, who had taken in the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology.
Of course this summer with the filming of Ghostbusters and Let Him Go, star spotters are out in full force hoping to catch a glimpse of Hollywood.
The online speculation turned to rumours, and rumours turned to news tips coming into the office of The Drumheller Mail. This included tips that Elton would be touring the Royal Tyrrell Museum with his family and that a CTV crew were coming to capture it as well.
The Mail inquired with Royal Tyrrell Museum and it was indicated they had not been contacted.
The Mail also reached out to Canalta Hotels, and marketing manager Ryan Semchuk confirmed the vehicle was indeed attached to the tour, but it was not Sir Elton.
“Elton John is not staying in Drumheller. The truck and trailer are part of the productions and stage crew on tour. The performers do not travel with the crew,” he said.
Since the Mail normally does not report on rumours, this one seemed to captivate the community.
While the truck has come and gone, and hopes of seeing the music icon are dashed, we can only extend an invitation to Sir Elton next time his Yellow Brick Road winds through Canada. We hope he will consider coming to see the valley, with its extensive Badlands, the hoodoos, the World Largest Dinosaur, and one of the most extensive collections fossils anywhere at the world famous Royal Tyrrell Museum. Maybe he could even try out one of the new community pianos downtown.

    A Drumheller family who has been searching for a kidney donor for years is “in shock” after finding out this week an anonymous Calgary woman is stepping up to donate one of hers. 

    The Vogel family got a call from the woman Thursday at noon saying she was a match and willing to donate one of her kidneys to James Vogel, whose diabetes had caused his kidneys to start to fail over three years ago. His wife Tanya says the woman had already gone through testing to donate to a different recipient, when it was found they were not a match. The Calgary woman was camping in Drumheller recently when she saw the family’s billboard on Highway 9 asking for a type A+ donor.

“It was kind of meant to be,” says Tanya. “She said she creeped my Facebook and she kind of laughed about it a little, and then she was like ‘yeah, I’m going to do this for you and the kids.’ She knows our story and we know her story, and now we’re just waiting for the day to come.” 

James began suffering from complications from diabetes over three years ago, when he started developing vision problems and required eye injections and other treatments in Calgary. Tanya, James and their two pre-teen kids, spent many hours travelling back and forth to the city for doctors appointments and treatments. James was put on an organ donor list, but with a wait time of about five years, the family decided to get proactive in their search for a type A+ donor. 

The search started three years ago when the family printed bumper stickers, which slowly evolved into a board at the hockey rink, advertisement on Hi-way 9 transport trailers, adverts at the theatre, and then the billboard that brought them to a donor -- all of which was sponsored or donated by members of the community. 

“The community played a major part in this. It’s been amazing to see a small town come together. My phone has been ringing constantly.”

Surgery for James and the donor is scheduled for October 16, and James will have a long recovery time afterward. 

“It’s been a long journey but it’s not done -- we have a long road ahead of us,” Tanya says. 

The family wishes to thank the community for supporting them in their search.