A Drumheller man has put his life on to the page in a compelling work sharing his formative years.  
Nathan Banda, an RN at the Drumheller Health Centre, has self-published his book called Moments That Shaped My Life. Born and raised in Malawi, a small land-locked country in East Africa, Banda brings a unique perspective.  He wished to share this perspective.
    “I was born and raised in Malawi, and I have my wife and three boys. When I am playing with my boys they ask about my childhood,” he said.
    He explains his 11-year-old is a curious sort and to satisfy some of these probing questions, he began working on the book.
    “I thought if I could put something down that he could read, perhaps I can answer more of these questions, instead of one by one,” said Banda.
    He has a compelling story, and he has faced challenges.
    “Especially because Malawi is a poor country, it has its own challenges, but secondly, even though there are these challenges there are a lot of good things which helped shape who I am today," said Banda.
    The book is focused on the formative years.
    “It is from the ages of six or seven to about 14, so it is only seven years, not a whole lifespan. That is the most critical time in the growing up process. It is when you are supposed to be growing up and absorbing everything without realizing you are,” he said.
    He said the influence of parents and the community all factor into a young person’s development on the conscious and subconscious levels.
    “If a person becomes a good citizen it’s because of all these values they are given. If you are instilling the element of hard work, it is at this time, if you are instilling an element of laziness, or rudeness, or what ever, it is at this time,” said Banda.
    Like the journey of discovery he wrote about, the journey towards self-publishing was pleasantly surprising. He learned others wanted to hear his story.
    He was in contact with a few publishers to print the book, including  WestBow Press. After a six-minute conversation, the company, said they were interested. Banda was skeptical, but the company persisted and compelled him to send his writing to them. He sent it along in March, and on June 19 it was released.
    In fact, the publisher is asking when the next book is coming.
    He also forwarded his work onto some peers for review and was very happy to receive positive feedback.
    Today Banda's book is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Chapters and WestBow’s website. It is also available electronically.
    Banda is hosting a book signing July 26 at the Drumheller Public Library, and then another on July 28 at Chapters in Shaughnessy.

    One of the biggest proposed construction projects near Delia is sitting in limbo.
    The proposed Handhills wind turbine project is currently awaiting decision from the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) on their proposed 80 Megawatt, 54 turbine construction south of Delia.
    “The application was received last December, but we’re still waiting for information responses, so in our view, the application is incomplete,” said Jim Law, external relations with AUC.
    Despite the wait, Suncor is still committed to the project and hopes to have the Handhills littered with wind turbines in 2015.
    “We are working with them whenever they have information requests. We don’t have a timeline on how long that would take,” said Nicole Fischer, media relations with Suncor. “(2015) is the goal, but timelines are dependent on a number of things. Right now, our commitment is working through the application process with the AUC.”
    In August last year, Suncor held an open house in Delia to get feedback on the project from area stakeholders.
    Some hope the turbines will help revitalize Delia, while others raised concerns about bird depopulation, noise and visual pollution, and decreasing property values.
    Once the Suncor application to the AUC is complete, the public will be asked once again to give their feedback on the project.
    “All of the feedback from the open houses would’ve gone to the AUC and they can use that to contact people for more information. The public’s questions and our responses are taken into account during the application,” said Fischer.
    The AUC will initially schedule information sessions to inform stakeholders how they can get involved and submit their opinion.
    “When we have a complete application, we issue a public notice to inform residents and at that point we would likely conduct an information session to explain how the review process works and how they can become involved in making sure their views were known,” said Law. “If, somewhere down the road, there is an unresolved objection from someone we feel would be greatly affected by the project, then we would schedule a public hearing.”
    Once the AUC makes their decision, the project could move forward and construction would commence next year.