A 26-year-old male who brandished a pitchfork in an attempted robbery in downtown on Halloween made a brief court appearance last Friday.

Carl Estacio appeared in provincial court in Drumheller on Friday, November 9. He was charged with robbery, possession of stolen property and unlawful harassment. These charges stem from complaints received by the Drumheller RCMP that a man attempted to rob them in the early afternoon on Halloween. In one attempt the suspect brandished a knife, and in another he pointed a pitchfork at a victim, attempting a robbery.

This was Estacio’s first appearance and the judge agreed to put his next appearance over to December 14.

Drumheller residents have a great way to kick off the Christmas season and that is helping those in need at the Annual Red Bag Food Drive.

Drumheller’s annual food drive will take place on Thursday, November 29. This is a one-day blitz throughout the Town of Drumheller and surrounding communities in an effort to fill the shelves of The Salvation Army Food Bank in time for the Christmas season.

“Everyone pulls together for the community and fills that need for food,” said Kim Suntjens, one of this year’s organizers. She adds that she likes how whole families, sports teams, service clubs and even coworkers will band together to go out collecting.

In the spirit of community, many volunteers go door-to-door to collect the donations. There are muster points throughout the community where volunteers can meet at 5:45 p.m. on November 29 to comb the neighbourhoods.

In this week’s edition of The Drumheller Mail there is a red bag. Residents can fill the highly visible red bags with their donation and leave it on their doorstep, so volunteers are able to quickly and easily pick up the donations. Red bags are also available at Freson Bros., McDonald’s Restaurant and the Salvation Army Thrift Store.

One major change this year is the depot for the food will be at the new Salvation Army Church. In previous years the collection and sorting space was at Greentree Mall. This year drivers are asked to drop off at the church at 90 South Railway Avenue West.

For more information, contact Summer Manca at 403-821-3163 or Kim Suntjens at 403-820-2100.