Local youth Maria Patterson is being recognized for her volunteer work by an organization supporting Alberta participation in assisting international development.
    Patterson, 17, has been named in the 2014 Top 30 Under 30 Magazine for The Alberta Council for Global Cooperation.
    “I’m really excited, I’m just so overwhelmed with emotion.”
    “I’m grateful to be recognized at this level as well.”
    Drumheller Valley Senior Secondary School teacher Monica Lund nominated Patterson for the magazine’s award.
    Patterson said her and friend Madison Colberg started the local youth Rotary Interact Club, which is now almost into two years with at least 15 youth involved.
    She says the club is run by the youth, “We can tackle any initiative, or anything we personally feel needs to be addressed, we can do - we’re in charge of the club. It opens a lot of doors for different activities.”
    She says they’ve had a lot of support from the Rotary Club and businesses in the community, and they were able to support the Morgan Jayne Project with a monetary donation.
    Patterson says she is passionate about both upholding human rights on an international level and helping others.
    Her next trip is to work at an orphanage in Nepal for two to three weeks, and the rest of the summer she’ll be working as it’s her last summer before university, she says.
    Patterson says she’s looking at an undergraduate program in International Development at the University of British Columbia, with an eye to eventually becoming a human rights lawyer.
    The Alberta Council for Global Cooperation describes itself as a coalition of voluntary sector organizations located in Alberta, working locally and globally to achieve sustainable human development.
    The magazine’s launch is February 1st in Edmonton and is co-hosted by the University of Alberta’s Global Education Program.
    International Development Week this year will be February 2 to 8, and Canadians are encouraged to learn more about international development and to share their experiences with others.

    January 1977, some thirty-seven years ago, Hellar Pylypiw assumed ownership of Western Chevrolet Oldsmobile  in Drumheller, and shortly after, became known as the Deal Makin’ Man.
    The dealership was located in downtown Drumheller then, and had some 14 employees. With eight years behind him in the car business at a Winnipeg dealership, the opportunity to purchase Western Chev prompted the move to Drumheller in the fall of 1976.
    It wasn’t long after that he started making plans to build a new dealership, moving from downtown out to the present location on Highway 9 South. That move was completed in 1980, and at the time was one of the most modern and spacious rural dealerships in the province. Hellar became known as the “Deal Makin’ Man” as the slogan for his advertising, and the message was heard and seen from Calgary to the Saskatchewan border.
    He readily recites the jingle, “Never met a man I couldn’t meet, never met a deal I couldn’t beat”.
    In 2001, Western Chev became an all line dealer, and began selling  the Pontiac, Buick and GMC lines. As readers well know, the Oldsmobile and Pontiac lines have disappeared, but the Chevrolet, GMC, Buick nameplates  have remained strong. Two General Motors brands, the totally revamped 2014 GMC truck, and the new 2014 Corvette, were recently named North American Truck and Car of the Year.
    Then in 2006, Western underwent a total re-development, with a multi-million dollar upgrading and expansion to better serve their growing clientele.  Sales staff worked out of trailers, while new showrooms, sales offices and service bays were added, and the fully-trained staff now numbers over 30. Plans are currently being made for further expansion of the busy dealership as the goal of the company is to continue to exceed the expectations of their customers.
    One of the things Hellar is most pleased to see improve over his years in vehicle sales, is the continual improvement in the quality of the products. “The fit and the finish of today’s cars and trucks is really exceptional, compared to that from 30 years ago”, he told the Mail. “Plus there are so many more safety features, built into new vehicles. Safety aspects are meant to prevent injuries and save lives.”
    Doug Lubinski will continue on in his role as General Manager, and he and the staff will continue the tradition of providing excellent service, exciting General Motors products and taking care of their customers to the level they have come to expect from Western. “With that”, Doug continued, “Western is committed to supporting the community with solid history of staff volunteering, and donations back to where we work and live”.