News | DrumhellerMail

Town still investigating water discolouration

Water discolouration that Drumheller residents and businesses may have experienced recently has the town puzzled as to its origin.
Al Kendrick, director of Infrastructure Services told inSide Drumheller they are investigating all avenues as to what might be causing this issue and are looking for a contractor to do a full investigating on the line in question.
He confirmed the problem comes from the main line from the treatment plant and they have had issues with that particular line before.
“We know it was thoroughly flushed last year and you didn't expect to have any more issues with it for a number of years,” he explained.
Kendrick said the problem appears to be intermittent and a few businesses along the main line seem to have experienced the problem.
He confirmed the water is safe to drink, adding that they have re-sampled everything along the line.
If people experience discolouration, he recommends running the tap for five or ten minutes and it should run clear again.

Badlands sports complex aims at green certification

    Construction on the Badlands Community Facility officially began last week with a facility ground-breaking, and it has now been announced the building will strive to reach green certification from an international company.
    The sports complex design will be aimed to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification.
    “It’s fabulous for us to have a building at this level in the (LEED) program,” says Mayor Bryce Nimmo.
    Nimmo explains that LEED is a world recognized system and was the best choice for environmental requirements.
    LEED is a third-party green, non-partisan, non-profit certification system to label buildings which aim to be green.
    Traits include improved performance, energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity of their impacts.
    It also means the building may be far more economical, as well as environmentally friendly, than another building.
    An aspect the Badlands Community Facility will focus on is energy efficiency. with aims like becoming 50 per cent more energy efficient than a standard building through heavy insulation.
    Bike racks will be installed to support good health and emission free transit.
    The water system will use efficient-technology to reduce typical water use by a third.
    Physical materials for construction will have as much recycle content as possible. Wood will be used from sustainable sources. Waste from construction will also be recycled where possible.
    LEED is based on a number of credits or measures where they identify and set targets for the main environmental issues.
    "We absolutely will follow this trend of building green in the future," said Mayor Nimmo.
    "You'll find that every new building built will try to get some sort of level in LEED."
    This specific criteria is part of the requirements for the LEED SILVER certification. The process of obtaining the SILVER certification involves the collection of information (evidence of compliance) for submission to the Green Council to achieve as many credits as possible.
    There will be a third party verification and commissioning agenda that will ensure the mechanical systems work together as it should.
    If requirements are met, the Town will receive a plaque with the LEED Silver designation for the facility.
    The highest LEED certifications are platinum, then gold.

No home for skateboarders in Drumheller

    Being a skateboarder in Drumheller today is a grim prospect.
    Rough roads, a rougher “skatepark”, and no plans for a new park in the Badlands Community Facility have left some youth with no other choice then to find a new hobby.
    “People quit,” says skater Aaron Danchek, 16.
    “They move onto biking because skateboarding in Drumheller is pointless really.”
    While construction is underway on the community facility, the Kinsmen skate park was moved to a tennis court behind the Memorial Arena.
    Its cracked pavement and small size make riding impossible; hazardous even.
    The gaping cracks are in front of the biggest ramp there, but not exclusively.
    Hitting one with the skateboard’s little tire would inevitably cause the rider to eat pavement.
    “And skateboarding isn't the safest sport to begin with,” says Aaron’s mother Darlene Danchek.
    “Aaron’s resorted to building his own park at home and leaving town to skate.”
    Die-hard boarder Sonny Spooner, 20, burns a tank of gas a week to support his skating need.
    In a week he’ll drive to Strathmore, Three Hills, and Langdon; the latter two having a population roughly half of Drumheller’s.
    Three Hill’s park is more than enough to quench Spooner’s thirst, and during the day it’s even run by senior volunteers.
    “The town needs to listen,” Spooner says. “It doesn’t even seem like they looked at the pavement when they moved the park to the courts.”
    Yet it’s open, which implies the town believes it’s fit for use.
    Allan Kendrick, Infrastructure Services director, said Friday the town will have their playground inspector take a look at the skate park.
    By Sunday a “temporarily closed” sign was hanging on the fence, with the gate locked.
    Paul Salvatore, Community Services director for the town said they do recognize an interest in improving the skate park, but a concrete group of lobbyers will need to make themselves heard by the town.
    “The focus has been moving forward with progress on the community facility,” Salvatore says.
    “We need skateboarders to tell us what makes sense to them.”
    Salvatore says the possibility of having skateboarding incorporated into the Badlands Community Facility is there.
    “We have just scratched the surface of the plans for the facility.”
    With a lack of free, simple summertime activities like usable tennis courts or basketball courts, it causes kids to find different ways of spending their long summer hours says Darlene Danchek.
    “We need things like an outdoor basketball court, all they need is a ball to play. Many families can’t afford to enroll their kids in hockey or other sports.”
    Skateboarding thrives as a sub-culture. It's a lifestyle, if you skate, you're brethren. Inspiring new moves, techniques, and camaraderie is an aspect missing from Drumheller.
    “We just need somewhere to skate," says Aaron.

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