Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta has decided not to proceed with its Drumheller project and has turned over the land it secured to the town.
     Council agreed at its Monday, July 22 meeting to take possession of the parcel of land in North Drumheller that Habitat for Humanity had planned on building a duplex. In 2016 a local group was struck and began fundraising for the project.
    According to an update provided by Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta, at that time, it was thought this project would meet a need in the community and provide an opportunity for two families to purchase starter homes through Habitat’s affordable mortgage program.
    Unfortunately, this plan could not be realized. It became apparent by mid-2018 the economics of rental versus purchase in Drumheller had changed for local families.
    In late 2018 Habitat for Humanity made a concerted effort to find families that would be eligible for its unique program, including a mail-out campaign. Families purchase the homes through Habitat’s affordable mortgage program.  
    The parcel of land on Poplar Street, one of the largest expenses for a project such as this was donated by the late Albert Clark. The land has been donated to the municipality for “appropriate beneficial community use to be determined by the council.”
    The local committee set out to fundraise for the project and has amassed about $85,000.  According to the updates, Habitat has been in contact with the donors and sponsors and made appropriate arrangements. It states some funds have been returned while others have been reallocated to other Habitat projects.
    Drumheller residents who made a contribution to the local project and wish to learn more about the status of your donation can contact Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta at 403-253-9331.

An image shared online last week of a syringe found on 3rd Avenue West had people asking what they should do when they find discarded needles in Drumheller. Do you leave it? Should you pick it up yourself? If not, who do you call to take care of it? While there is no hard and fast rules for disposing of discarded needles, there are a couple of options if you come across one on the street.
    Drumheller RCMP Staff Sergeant Edmond Bourque says people should first check to see if the needle contains a substance. If it looks as if its filled with a drug, or whoever found it is extremely uncomfortable disposing of it themselves, they can call the Drumheller RCMP detachment on the non-emergency line (823-7590) and an officer will collect it safely.
    “You really have to be careful with items like that. If there’s any concern if a needle is located and has something in it, it would probably be in the best interest of everyone that an officer seize it and safely discard it,” he says.
    But there is always the concern children or pets might find the needle and get poked. If the needle appears empty and the RCMP are unavailable, you can safely dispose of the needle yourself with proper safety precautions says Jen McCrindle, a rural outreach worker with Turning Point, an Alberta charity responsible for sexually transmitted and blood borne infection prevention and support.
    She says while finding a used needle on the street is unsightly and not something we like to see, the risk of actually getting poked is “so low and the chance of contracting a bloodborne illness is microscopic” because viruses like HIV and Hepatitis C can only live for a short time outside of the blood stream. She says use gloves, tongs, and grab it from the plunger end and put it into a container that can’t be punctured, like a water bottle or coffee can. Pharmacies like Shoppers Drug Mart will accept discarded needles and also loan SHARPS needle containers to people.
    While finding needles on the street can be disturbing to some people, McCrindle says Turning Point is working on educating drug users and the public on reversing the stigma associated with hard drug use. When users discard their used needles on the street, it perpetuates the negative stigma around addicts, despite the fact she says, the “overwhelming majority” of users dispose of their equipment properly.
    “If people find needles on the street that just perpetuates the stigma. We try to teach we should take care of ourselves and take care of the community so people see us a little differently,” she says.  
    “I’m definitely giving out large quantities of SHARPS containers. From what I’m hearing, people feel ok to take them into the pharmacies so that’s where the bulk seems to go. Or we can take them.”
    And while there have been a spat of recent RCMP reports of fentanyl and carfentanil seizures in the area, Staff Sergeant Bourque maintains drug use is not actually increasing even if it may look that way.
    “Since we’ve started hearing about it we can’t say it’s ramping up, but by virtue of the intelligence we are receiving we are just in a position to seize it more.”
But the drugs have changed, as RCMP are encountering opiates like carfentanil and fentanyl, which are much stronger than heroin and can cause overdoses or severe health effects in people in minute quantities.
    “Fentanyl is prevalent as much as methamphetamine, cocaine -- all the ones that have been here for the last 20 years, but certainly we are seeing fentanyl and carfentanil seizures.”