News | DrumhellerMail

Rotary White Elephant Sale coming up July 24,25

    After a few years hiatus the Rotary Clubs White Elephant sale is back this July.
    This was a mainstay of the Rotary Club for many years, and this summer it returns Saturday and Sunday, July 24 and 25.
    The concept is simple. Residents are invited to donate Items they no longer use, and the Rotary Club will come and pick it up. On the weekend of the event, everyone is invited to come and wheel and deal the best buy they can. The proceeds from the sale go toward the many local projects the Drumheller Rotary does in the community.
    This year’s event will be held at the former Liquidation World space in Greentree Mall donated by the Drumheller Co-op
    Historically the White Elephant Sale was held at the Drumheller Memorial Arena, and the Town of Drumheller and the Rotary Club worked hard to make that happen again, however, they just couldn’t make the timing work.
    “The vacant space at Greentree Mall will be excellent for our purposes, and we’re grateful to the Drumheller Co-op for this donation,” said event chair Jay Garbutt.
    Garbutt said now is the time to book an appointment for members of the Rotary Club and volunteers to pick up a donation to the White Elephant Sale. They will be available in the evenings on Monday to Thursday next week preceding the sale to pickup items. Residents can make an appointment by calling 403-823-4407 or 403-823-0680.
    “We’ll also be open at the mall to accept drop-offs that week for anyone able to bring in their items,” adds Garbutt.
    This is the perfect time for residents to rummage through their basement or garage for useful items they no longer need.
    Garbutt explains while they are appreciative of all donations, however there are some stipulations. He says the Rotary cannot accept mattresses, cribs, children’s car seats and computers for safety, sanitary and security reasons.
    That leaves myriad of other items ranging from housewares and large appliances to clothing, tools and sporting goods.

Tourism Master Plan expected to complete by January 2011

    Identified as part of Council’s top five priorities for 2010, the Tourism Master Plan for the valley is expected to be completed by January 2011, according to a press release.
    Malone Given Parsons Ltd (MGP), appointed to work with the tourism industry in Drumheller to develop the plan, will be reviewing the town’s and their partners’ current economic development and tourism strategies with a view to creating a new, single consolidated and revised document that encompasses all tourism components and responds to the shifting economic climate.
    In the press release, Mayor Bryce Nimmo stated, “As one of the hubs for the Canadian Badlands we need to ensure that we are leaders in the tourism industry. We have close to a half a million visitors to the valley every year and we have a large role to play in growing this industry.”
    Funded through the Rural Alberta Development Fund obtained from the Canadian Badlands Ltd, some of the components in the Tourism Master Plan will include:
Providing recommendations for planning, operational and capital investment requirements to realize tourism goals.
Include recommendations for green space or parks buf    fer areas to minimize negative impact on residents as a result of increased tourism visitation.
Include Way Finding Signage.
Identify market opportuni    ties (art and culture tourism, shoulder season business)
Review and make recommendations regarding streetscape    improvements, parking, traffic flow, pedestrian/cyclist areas, lighting, additional washroom facilities and capacity for motor coach turn arounds.
Recommendations for the    feasibility of connecting the     commercial district south of the rail lines to the downtown.
Work with a specialized planning consultant to make recommendations for a sustainability component to the Town’s Master Plan. Green planning will include but not be limited to reviews of suitability for a shuttle service, the landscaping and downtown/riparian environment, business and residential density, architectural design and tourism zoning standards for the community and improved trail and pedestrian connectivity across the town and downtown.
The strategy will need to    create a realistic implementation plan for both private and public sector to establish goals (both short and long term) identify roles, responsibilities, timing, funding requirements, necessary partnerships and relationships, and linkages to other plans currently underway in the community.

Oldest Women’s Institute in Alberta entering Small Town Heroes contest

    The Small Town Heroes contest run by the UFA serves to celebrate the people they describe as the backbone of rural communities, people who do all the right things to make their town a better place.
    Nominees enter the competition in the hope of hosting a free concert from country singer, Paul Brandt and receiving $2,500 to use within the community.
    A recent nomination for this contest was a group started on May 18, 1912 by nine ladies, then described as “non-persons”, who formed the Women’s Institute of Verdant Valley.
    Those women were Mrs. Carl Dayton, president, Mrs. John Brown, vice president, Mrs. Willard Bixby, secretary treasurer, Mrs. John Ewing, Mrs. Stephanson, Mrs. Sylvester, Mrs. Rodseth, Mrs. Herman Morrow and Mrs. Bob Morley.
    To battle their isolated loneliness, the women got together and worked hard to put life into the new homestead and turn it into a community.
    They organized community events, such as picnics, chicken suppers, concerts, dances, box social and plays. The money they raised helped fund the school library, Christmas concerts and many other worthwhile causes. During the war, they helped any way they could, by knitting, making bandages, raising money for the Red Cross, and help men overseas.
    The women also started to educate themselves, by studying farming methods, homemaking, raising children, and livestock, canning and lobbying the government for agriculture and social improvements in the Province.
    In 1916, the women became “persons” with the passing of the Equal Suffrage Bill in the Alberta legislature.
    The legacy of these women lives on to what is now called the Verdant Valley and Dorcas Women’s Institute and is the oldest one in Alberta.
    As a tribute to what those nine non-persons achieved nearly 100 years ago, the institute is entering the contest, and hope to use the prize of $2,500 to go towards the centennial celebrations of the group in 2012.

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