Just like every year in Alberta, there are always two seasons: Winter and Construction.
    For Drumheller, the latter is just around the corner.
    Darryl Drohomerski, Director of infrastructure, has laid out all the roads that will be either reconstructed or simply overlayed with more asphalt over the two month period.
    One road to keep a particular eye on is the Highway 9 from McDonald’s to the Mac’s convenience store stretch. One lane will be fixed at a time as to still keep a flow of traffic through the mainstream area. That specific project will roughly take two weeks to complete, weather depending.
    “What everyone has told the contractors and consultants is that there is a bit of traffic coordination required for that stretch of road,” said Drohomerski. “The good news about it is that it’s maybe a total two weeks worth of time, maybe a bit less.”
    The local roads getting worked on this summer include: In front of the Drumheller Valley Secondary School (DVSS) North Railway Avenue from 17th Street East to 19th Street East, Second Avenue West from 7th Street West and 8th Street West, 6th Street West from 2nd Avenue West to Third Avenue West, Second Street SE from Hunts Crescent to First Street E, and 6th Avenue SW.
    “Some of them are going to be pretty quick, some of them are going to take a bit more time,” said Drohomerski.
    In the highway department, Highway 9 essentially from McDonald’s to First Street West by the Mac’s convenience store will be under construction as well as a new turnout on the south side of town when entering Drumheller. It will be made by the ‘Welcome to Drumheller dinosaur sign.
    “We are doing a turnout there on the roadside to get people off the highway when they want to take pictures and stuff like that,” said Drohomerski.
    The projects will take anywhere from two days to three weeks or better.
    As part of the Asset Management Plan, the Town does an assessment on the roads and rates the conditions as to how much more use the roads can handle.
    “We look at those roads and look at the money that is available and sort of look at the high priorities over the winter time and come up with a list in February and work towards getting that work done,” said Drohomerski.
    The workload is larger than normal due to the highway work on behalf of Alberta Transportation including the Highway 9 section and the roadside turnout.
    “It’s actually their work but they’re bundling it with the Town’s work in order to get a better price,” said Drohomerski. “You get one contractor to go in there to get all the asphalt as opposed to two contractors who do a little bit of work.”
    The Town of Drumheller spends roughly $1,000,000 a year on roads and with the added highway projects, the Provincial Government is able to fork over another $700,000. As well as paving, they do miscellaneous repairs around town like trail repair, isolated road section repairs, and sidewalks.
    “We are probably at a 1.1 million dollars worth of construction work this year,” said Drohomerski.
    The tender for the construction work is currently out and closes on Wednesday, May 10. Businesses will bid on the work and submit their prices. After that stage, the Town hires a consultant to do a background check to make sure they are capable of doing the work. Within a couple weeks, the new bidder will be chosen and prepare to work.
    When entering a construction zone, workers tend to be close to traffic so being cognizant of their presence can always be beneficial.
    “As we start into the construction season there will be other projects so there will be a lot of traffic around. We are reminding people to watch out for the workers and make sure they take their time,” said Drohomerski.
    “Our goal is to be done this as fast as possible to minimize the disruption to the public whether they be residents or tourists.”

At the Duke of Edinburgh bronze ceremony on May 8, recipients and community dignitaries stood for a group photo. Pictured (l-r) are Chief Supt.Tony Hamori acting district officer, Starland County Reeve Barrie Hoover, recipient Mya Russell, Const. Craig Nelson, Recipient Spencer Mammel, Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award executive director Ashley Tedham, Drumheller Staff Sergeant Kevin Charles, recipient Quinn Nelson, and Mayor Terry Yemen. Missing is recipient Hannah Mepham.

Drumheller’s own Mya Russell and Hannah Mepham as well as Starland County’s Spencer Mammel and Quinn Nelson received the bronze Duke of Edinburgh award during the ceremony on May 8, 2017 at the Badlands Community Facility (BCF).

Duke of Edinburgh Executive Director Ashley Tedham also speaks to the perseverance of the young individuals.

“For me, it's always about the community involvement and support,” said Tedham. “Having the RCMP there to support and honour the young people from the community is what it's about. These achievements represent a young person's commitment and connection to their community and also in what their future has to offer them.”

The awards program is broken into three tiers: bronze, silver, and gold. Each level consists of hours in which individuals must track in four categories of service, physical recreation, skill development and adventurous journey.

“The Gold Award is the highest accolade a young person can achieve in Canada,” said Tedham.

It is a non-competitive, non-academic award about sustainably making a commitment to the community as well as personal development. Over 500,000 Canadian youth have already taken part in the program.

It can be set at the recipients pace where they must be between the ages of 14 and 24 and have as much time to finish as they need before their 25th birthday. The award program caters to the individual's interests and can be applied to a range of abilities and skills.

The Award originated out of efforts from three men: The Duke of Edinburgh; Kurt Hahn, a German educationalist and founder of Outward Bound, and Lord Hunt, leader of the first successful ascent of Mount Everest.

After its launch in 1956 for boys aged 15-18, the program was focused on getting youth involved in a program where they could develop their skills and become more worldly. Its original sections were rescue and public service training, the expedition, pursuits and projects, and fitness.

By September 1958, a similar award was created for girls. From then on, it evolved into what it is today with four similar sections and an increased age limit to 24.

To sign up, call the office at 403-237-7476 ext. 1 or simply go online and visit the website here.

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Duke of Edinburgh bronze award recipient Quinn Nelson engages in conversation with Const. Craig Nelson after the ceremony in the Badlands Community Facility (BCF) on May 8, 2017. The award is received after a certain amount of hours within five categories and there is also the Silver and Gold Award to strive for once the Bronze is completed. (mailphoto by Terri Huxley)

Duke of Edinburgh bronze award recipient Mya Russell holds up her award with Mayor Terry Yemen and Barrie Hoover, Reeve of Starland County during the ceremony in the Badlands Community Facility (BCF) on May 8, 2017. The award is received after a certain amount of hours within five categories and there is also the Silver and Gold Award to strive for once the Bronze is completed.(mailphoto by Terri Huxley)

Duke of Edinburgh bronze award recipient Spencer Mammel holds up his award with Mayor Terry Yemen and Barrie Hoover, Reeve of Starland County during the ceremony in the Badlands Community Facility (BCF) on May 8, 2017. The award is received after a certain amount of hours within five categories and there is also the Silver and Gold Award to strive for once the Bronze is completed.(mailphoto by Terri Huxley)

Duke of Edinburgh bronze award recipient Quinn Nelson holds up her award with Mayor Terry Yemen and Barrie Hoover, Reeve of Starland County during the ceremony in the Badlands Community Facility (BCF) on May 8, 2017. The award is received after a certain amount of hours within five categories and there is also the Silver and Gold Award to strive for once the Bronze is completed.(mailphoto by Terri Huxley)