NewsDrumheller’s Jaydee Bixby nominated for country Rising Star award
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- Published on Thursday, 05 August 2010 01:00
- Written by Kyle Smylie
Talking from a tour break in Vancouver, Jaydee Bixby was unaware that he had been nominated for the Canadian Country Music Association Rising Star award.
Bixyby’s sophomore album Easy To Love was released May 25 of this year, gaining him eligibility for the award.
“It’s great,” says Bixby, 19, “this is my third time attending so I’m hoping the third time’s the charm!”
Finishing off a western Canada tour early this August, Bixby has had a heavy schedule since he rocked onto Canadian country airwaves after finishing runner-up in 2007’s Canadian Idol competition. The show is currently on hiatus.
“The more connections you start making the more doors you open,” he said about the success of his touring over the last couple years.
Bixby says he may be opening for country star Allan Jackson in Montreal.
He says the biggest support of his success is the country fans.
“When I went on the show, I sang what I knew- the songs I grew up to. No matter who you are everyone has a little bit of country in them. For me, country fans are the best kind of fans.”
“You can’t ask for more than that- no pun intended,” the Drumheller native laughs in reference to the song of the same name on his new album.
When asked about the competition for this award, Bixby says he has yet to check out the competition but believes whoever was nominated deserves the Rising Star award as much as him.
“While touring everyone asks me when I’m going to Nashville, when will I record there. But Canada alone, the talent is so abundant- anyone up for the award must deserve it. I’ll just hang on tight and hope for a positive outcome.”
“Either way, a Canadian will win it and that’s all that matters.”
The winners will be announced at Rexall Place in Edmonton, on Sunday, September 12.
Bixby says he’s looking forward to stopping in Drumheller soon. The last show he played here was in January of this year at the Stampede Grounds.
“To everyone in Drumheller, I say, ‘stay classy’.”
Manitoba delegation visits Drumheller on a best practices mission
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- Published on Wednesday, 04 August 2010 01:00
- Written by Pascale Taylor | © DrumhellerMail.com
What would a town like Morden, Manitoba, with a population of just over 6,500, want to learn from Drumheller?
Well, they have a museum, the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre (CFDC) that has big plans: to build a state of the art facility, comparable to the Tyrrell Museum.
Early in June, the town received a visit from a delegation from Manitoba travelling the region on a “best practice mission”.
So what did they learn from their visit?
“The recurring theme that came up at every location we stopped at was the power of partnership and how it is essential to be working together with those around you,” said Tyler Schroeder, general manager of CFDC.
A year ago, the CFDC, along with the regional tourism partner, the Pembina Valley Travel Association, approached Travel Manitoba to get help with their new project.
“We said to them, ‘we have a lot to learn, why don’t we go and learn from the best?’ and that was to go to Drumheller, learn how the Tyrrell Museum built their product, learn how the region has developed around the Tyrrell, and learn about all the intricacies and partnership and all the strategies that have come into play to turn southern Alberta into a major tourism destination.”
Travel Manitoba agreed to help, through their best practices mission, and opened the opportunity up to the province.
The focus of the mission was called destination development, and 31 people signed up.
The delegation visited Rosebud, Drumheller, Fort Macleod, Lethbridge and Vulcan, meeting with leaders in tourism in each community, touring their identified highlights.
“The main factor for us to visit Drumheller is we house a collection of fossils that is the under water version of what the Tyrrell Museum have. A number of our fossils are on display there,” said Schroeder.
The museum being a hub in the area, Schroeder said the group was impressed to see how the town had developed the dinosaur product, particularly with the creation of the World’s Largest Dinosaur as a way to drive tourism traffic through town.
“We recognized that in order for us to succeed we need our local business people to buy in to our product.”
“I think the best example of that was the attitude of the executive director at Tyrrell Museum, Andy Neuman, a friendly, engaging guy who was interested in working with those around him. He wasn’t working in isolation or in a vacuum or thinking that the Tyrrell was an island. He realized the necessity for integrating himself and the museum to the community around him.”
Back home, the Pembina Valley Travel Association is working on developing new tourism strategies as a result of the visit, which has re-invigorated their approach to tourism said Schroeder.
Meanwhile, he returned back to his museum with an unexpected bonus: an offer from the Tyrrell to help them in their big plan.
“One of the great things that we learned as a museum is that we can rely on the support of the Tyrrell Museum. They have offered their support to us as we pursue building a state of the art museum and we look forward to a long term relationship with them.”
He added although their museum will never be of the same size as the Tyrrell, it compliments the Tyrrell’s dinosaur collection, helping to paint an overall picture of what prehistoric life was like in this country.
Shroeder said a feasibility study suggested a $25 million building for their new museum.
Major grow-op discovered
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- Published on Monday, 02 August 2010 13:47
- Written by O.R. Sheddy | © DrumhellerMail.com
A marijuana grow-op worth an estimated $4.8 million was discovered by RCMP officers at an acreage some 60 kms north-east of Drumheller, early Sunday morning, August 2.
Approximately 3800 plants were seized
The site is less than a kilometer north of the old Springwater School site on Range Road 19-0 and Township road 33-0, in Starland County.
“Despite its size, this grow operation was fairly low tech,” said Sgt. Jason Graham, a member of ALERT’s Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of Medicine Hat.
“In Alberta, most grows are found indoors and supported by sophisticated lighting systems and stolen electricity and water. This one relied solely on the sun and a garden hose.”
Ten aluminum-framed greenhouses were adjacent to the residence on the property, hidden behind newly-constructed, 8 foot high barnwood fences.
This made the operation virtually invisible from the road, however, it was in plain site from the air.
Around mid-June information was provided to the Drumheller RCMP which related to some suspicious activity occurring on the acreage.
This search was conducted with the participation of many agencies/units, including Medicine Hat ALERT, Calgary ALERT, Calgary Police., Calgary RCMP Sections, Emergency Response Teams, and Drumheller RCMP
An anonymous source near the scene told the Mail, “We couldn’t see anything from the road, and nothing from the field, we didn’t know anything was going on there.”
According to the same source, the 7 acre site was purchased through a law firm earlier this year, for $279,000.
Visit www.drumhellermail.com for more photos and updated information.
