The East Coulee School Museum received a gift from the Drumheller Family Fund to warm their heart and warm their building.
    The East Coulee School Museum has been without heat since January when its ancient coal-fire heating system gave up.  Over the last year they have been focusing their fundraising on replacing the heating system.  On Thursday the Drumheller Family Fund presented the Museum with $9,930.
    Manager for the East Coulee School Museum Owen Thompson said this was by far the biggest step they have taken in raising the funds needed to heat the building.
    “It is like Christmas came early,” said a grateful Thompson.
    He explains the museum will need about $50,000 for the replacement and over the last half-year they have instigated a concert series to help raise the funds. Other events including a family dance, and the quaint Christmas in the Coulee, all dedicated funds to the capital project.
    Brent Noland, president of the Dinosaur Valley Heritage society says they are grateful for the donation, and he hopes the funds they received this week will provide a spark to get the fundraising effort rolling. They are looking into some grant programs in the new year.
     Thompson said the will continue the concert series into 2013. The Drumheller family Fund was established in 1994. The Drumheller Family donated an endowment to the Royal Tyrrell Museum Cooperating Society to be focused on youth .The Co-operating Society invested the endowment with the Calgary Foundation and each year they invest the net revenue of the interest on to a community initiative.

(l-r) Bridget Unland, vice chair of the Royal Cooperating Society and the Chair of the Drumheller Fund, presents East Coulee School Museum manager Owen Thompson and Dinosaur Valley Heritage Society president Brent Noland with a donation of $9,930 from the Drumheller family fund  to help the  Museum purchase a new heating system.

    The Town of Drumheller this month began periodic trapping of cats in the downtown core in response to complaints.
    The Town of Drumheller made mention to the program on its Facebook page on December 4.
    “There are some businesses that have cats hanging around,” said community enforcement supervisor Greg Peters.
    He said so far they have trapped one feral cat and it was relocated to a rural residence to live as a barn cat.
    He said they are placing the traps only during the day so if an animal is caught it is not exposed excessively to the elements.
    He said while feral cats can be a problem, not all the felines hanging around downtown are wild.
    “Some of them are really friendly and well fed, these are domestic cats,” he said adding that in one instance a cat was so “well fed” it couldn’t fit into the trap.
    “So keeping with the new Responsible Pet Owner Bylaw draft I am completing we want to stress to people to keep cats at home,” said Peters. “I know cats want to go outside, but there are a lot of well-fed friendly cats just walking our streets.”
    He understands it is a controversial subject and recognizes the usefulness of feral cars with pest control, and often at night he would see them catching mice. But he also understands they can be nuisance. Keeping cats at home is also the best way to keep cats safe.
    Peters says if any residents have questions or feedback to feel free to contact community enforcement at 403-823-1363.