The votes are in and the decision has been made.
    At Monday night’s regular council meeting, council voted to accept the Aquaplex retrofit project as what the town will apply for as the Canada’s 150 birthday grant application.
    Deputy Mayor Jay Garbutt said residents have to remember that this is just an application, there is no guarantee we will get the money.
    “That is the truth for every application that we make for funding. In this case, I can’t speak for the amount of capital that was made available by the federal government to in their way celebrate Canada’s 150 birthday, but what I can tell you is, I know that every other community will also be on the hunt for those same dollars. We went forward with what we think will wind up being a very successful application candidate, as to whether or not that application is successful is of course completely beyond our control. You don’t get what you don’t ask for so I am pleased that we are moving forward with the application,” he told the Mail.
    “We are, whether the application is successful or not, still going to do some retro fitting to the Aquaplex within the next 12 to 18 months to at a minimum bring in the zero entry that everyone has hoped for, for some time now to make it more accessible to younger swimmers,” Garbutt explained.
    “If we are successful in the grant application, now that will give us even more capital to expand to sort of a leisure park type atmosphere along with the actual infrastructure that we are required to do.”
    “All together we are really hopeful. The application goes out in just a couple of days but at the same time we want to make sure the community knows every one of the eight or nine projects that administration put forward as the potentials to be considered that then council brought down to the three choices that were (in return) presented to the public are still on the radar,” Garbutt said.
“They are still on the capital plan, we just need to re-focus on what is going to happen this year, next year and the year after… Our trail system and many of the other projects that were brought up for consideration for this funding will definitely remain on the front burner,” he said.

While farmers are looking at the ground for signs of life, they are also looking to the sky for help.
    While there was sporadic showers throughout the area over the weekend, for most in agriculture, they are hoping for rain, and soon.
    Ag Fieldman for Starland County Al Hampton says the most affected so far appears to be beef producers as the dry weather has stunted hay growth.
    “In general, in the hay land the rain didn’t come in time, so that might not rescue it too much, unless we get something phenomenal in the next month.  But right now the hay crop looks in big trouble,” he said. “The pasture, if we catch some rain might be alright.”
    He said so far in the county he has seen a little bit of precipitation south of Highway 9, south to Drumheller and a little in the Hand Hills.
    “It has been in pockets, little bits and pieces, but nothing in general,” he said.
     Crops are also thirsty.
     I don’ think we are in a dire situation yet, there are some areas where germination wasn’t so good, and this is a bit of a concern,” he said. The rain would probably spruce everything up.”
    Russell Muenchenrath, Agricultural Fieldman for Wheatland County is also hoping for some moisture.
    “Through the weekend it had been threatening here and there and chasing dark clouds, but not a whole lot of rain,” he said.
    He adds the dry conditions, combined with cold weather has set progress back.
    “Our spring has been dry and fairly cold through the evenings through seeding and that is part of the reason pasture was so slow getting started. For annual crops, germination was a little patchier, and slower, so that impacts annual yields as well.”
    His concerns too mostly lay with animals feed.
    “Pasture and hay are the big issue right now for guys with cows,” he said. “It is becoming desperate from a couple different standpoints, not only for grazing for the cows you have over the season, but also how you will feed them over the winter and the cost.”
    This may prompt some ranchers to head to market.
    ‘I haven’t heard of anyone really selling just yet, but if we don’t get rain soon, guys will have to sell their cows.”
 He says there is no reason to panic just yet.
    “There is still time. I guess it depends on how long you have been farming on whether you panic or not, what kind of personality you have,” he chuckles.