Running through malls, online checkouts, price shopping, overindulgence, growing lists and shrinking timelines.
    Christmas can be a mystical magical time of family and celebration. That can sometimes get clouded by the demands of the season. The irony is that our quest to make it a perfect Christmas is what adds to the stress of the season.
    Rosebud Theatre seems to have an uncanny way of creating a venue that strips through the stress, the worry, and the distractions and lets you immerse yourself in the good feelings that Christmas should bring.
    Rosebud’s Christmas musical May and Joe is a Rosebud original, and could be destined to be a Christmas classic. It is co-authored by Heather Pattengale and Morris Ertman. The music and lyrics were written and performed by Paul Zacharias each night of the show.
    They find the Christmas spirit this year on a cold road, somewhere in Northern Ontario. On this cold road are a pregnant teen, a skeptical young man and a bitter angel.  All are a little damaged, but help is just a miracle away.
    In fact, it’s the miracle that plays a role in most Christian thought that is also the centerpiece of this play.
    ‘You’re pregnant? How? Oh, a miracle?”
    As the young innocent couple struggle to reconcile, they are helped along by an angel whose wings have long since withered.
    Rosebud always does Christmas right, and in fact, it’s home grown production,  outshines some of the classics. The story is comical, poignant and moves long well.
    The craftsmanship of the music is what builds the character of the show and sets it apart. Many of these songs can stand alone and act less as devices to carry the action or highlight, but the simple arrangements with a guitar, piano and bass carry the emotion. 
    Sometimes we need a reset button to refocus during the holidays and Rosebud continues to provide that outlet for another holiday season.
    May and Joe runs until December 22.

    Drumheller Town Council is aiming to have the Town’s water and sewer utility rates finalized early in the new year.
    Before settling on what the new rates will be, Council was presented with different options they could pursue.
    The goal of the rates, as mandated by the Municipal Governance Act, is for the Town to recover its costs for the utilities.
    “Tonight, we were presented with a couple options; a three per cent cost of living increase, a five per cent increase, to a possible seven per cent increase,” said Mayor Terry Yemen. “Historically, our budget has been three per cent...but it’s a decision Council will make after meeting with the consultant. He’s going to take us through the whole process and answer any questions that Council has.”
    For example, with a three per cent increase, the fixed rate for water would go from $10.50 to $10.80 and the metered rate would go from $1.36 per cubic metre to $1.39.
    A five per cent increase would result in a fixed rate of $11.00 and a metered rate of $1.41 per cubic metre.
    In the Town’s budget, calculations were made assuming a three per cent increase.
    The Town is on track, with a three per cent increase, to raise roughly $2.8 million from its utilities. That amount covers the operating costs of the Town’s utilities, but leaves little leftover.
    Increasing the utilities rates further would give the Town extra to put towards reserves and fund repairs or capital projects.
    “The way the province has it set up, they say we should be collecting a whole lot more money to put into reserves,” said Mayor Yemen.
    Other options presented to Council included different ratios between fixed and metered rates for utilities. However, decreasing one would necessitate an increase in the other to generate the same amount of revenue.
    “We can eliminate the fixed rate, but the meter rate goes up. For example, if we lowered the fixed rate to $5.00 per month, the meter rate goes up to $1.59 per cubic meter,” said Yemen. “There’s still a cost to have that line and that meter, so you want to do it as fairly as possible.”
    Council will be meeting with their consultant tomorrow to discuss the utility rates further. From there, Council will make a decision early in the new year. Until Council makes their decision, the 2012 rates will still apply.