A Rosedale resident has found something in a new house he is constructing that has created quite a buzz.
    Shawn Bulechowsky has been busy this summer building a home in Rosedale. Last week he was in the basement working on some of the new plumbing when he noticed a bee, then a few more.
  Quickly this grew to thousands of bees swarming the basement.  Because the framing was still open, the insects began to spread into the upper floors where others were working on the house.
    They evacuated the property as the bees began to build a hive between their floor joists.
  Bulechowsky told the Mail that he has never seen anything like this and needless to say, construction was halted while they regrouped to find a solution.
    Enter Ron Davies of the Cambria area. He and his family have recently started their own hive of honeybees and have about 4,000 in a colony on their property.  They took it on as a cottage industry.
    “Right now we have them for personal use, but eventually we want to sell honey,” Davies tells the Mail, “It is also a good thing to be doing, we need bees.”
    Bulechowsky called on Davies and he assessed the situation.
    He concluded quickly the insects in question are honeybees, and because of their docile temperament, were probably a strain from New Zealand. Davis surmises the bees are from a hive in the area that might have been upset, causing the bees to swarm and take up a new residence.
    Last Thursday evening, Ron and his son Parker scooped up the bulk of the bees into pails and took them to a new hive and a couple of days later, picked up the stragglers. John Moerschbacher of the Rosebud area came and collected the remaining bees.
    Because it is impossible to identify where the bees came from, Davies and Moerschbacher have now added about 5,000 more bees to his own population to make honey and continue to pollinate and Bulechowsky can continue to work on his home.
    Bulechowsky is grateful to the beekeepers who came to help clear his property of the bees.

The annual Rockyford Lions and Ag Society Club Rodeo celebrates 57 years of action this year over the weekend of July 25, 26 and 27.
    Rodeo attendees will now have a clear field of view of chuckwagons and chariots on the track at the rodeo grounds.
    Rockyford Lions Club President Justin Geeraert said  the 25 to 30 each of chuckwagon and chariot racers will be now be camped outside the race track rather than inside of the track, after the rodeo was able to secure a lease agreement with an adjacent landowner.
    Also new this year is the group the rodeo has hired to do a pre-show on the grounds Saturday and Sunday nights.
    McMorrin FMX freestyle motocross from Penhold, Alberta will be showcasing their stunt riding skills to kick off the evening’s chuckwagon performances.
    The evening’s chuckwagons and chariots run all three evenings starting at 6:30 p.m.
    “One thing about being here in Rockyford watching the rodeo - you’re right in front of the action,” said the town’s Mayor, Darcy Burke.
     “The fans like it, they’re part of it.”
    The population of Rockyford vaults from about 400 people to about 3500 people over the weekend, Burke said.
    Friday’s rodeo slack starts at 11:00 a.m., and Friday night is a Family Dance at 9 p.m.
    Saturday is the busiest day for the event, kicking off with a free 7 a.m. pancake breakfast on Main Street, where Burke figures they’ll put through a thousand people, followed up by the annual and popular parade at 10 a.m., and the rodeo officially kicks off with the 12:30 p.m. opening ceremonies at the rodeo grounds.
    Fill your belly with prime Alberta beef before the chucks begin at the barbecue beef supper at 5 p.m.
    Sunday’s rodeo starts at 12:30 p.m., and there is a barbeque beef on a bun supper available.
    All the rodeo events are sanctioned through the Foothills Cowboy Association (FCA) for amateur rodeo.
    “Every year there’s the FCA finals in Red Deer and a lot of the cowboys come to Rockyford because there’s lots of prize money up for grabs,” said Geeraert.
    “It’s one of the bigger small town rodeos, so usually you get quite a few contestants that are trying to get their earnings up to make it to the finals.”
    He said the prize money is based on the number of entries plus Rockyford Rodeo adds $1,500 per event.
    Geeraert said the rodeo happens because of the hard work done by all the volunteers with the rodeo, the majority of which are long time volunteers from Rockyford.
    This is his fifth year on the Lions Club, but he thinks he was about ten years old when he started helping out with the rodeo, when his Dad was a member of the Lions Club.
    Geeraert and Burke are both appreciative that rodeo sponsorships are up this year.
    Geeraert said that includes a new sponsor that came on board with a $5,000 contribution.
    “We’re really grateful for it. Every dollar generated from the rodeo from sponsorships and spectators is put right back into our community here, “ said the Mayor.
    He adds that after 57 years, it’s good to see how everything comes together for the rodeo so nicely.