At the Town Council meeting on Monday, October 17, it was decided to look at re-tendering the pool modernization project. After the current bid from Shunda Construction was revised to reflect the new timeline, the bid came back much higher than expected. 
    Mayor Terry Yemen said, “When the bid came back half a million dollars higher than expected and over our budget, we looked as to why there was such a change in the bid. Originally we only received three bids. Normally, we would get 10 or 12 bids back on a project like this. With Alberta’s economy the way it has been, bids have been coming back 30 to 40 per cent less so this took us by surprise. We hope to repackage and re-tender the project. We are hoping for a more competitive bid with more bidders.”
    Yemen reassured inSide Drumheller that the pool modernization was still a priority. With the pool liner arriving at the beginning of November, the modernization is seen as very time sensitive. 
    He said, “Council has identified this as a priority. The liner is already on a boat coming from Italy. Timing is critical. We have to look at the package and see if there is something we can adjust. We need to repackage it and get it out ASAP so we can stay within the timeline.”
    The Aquaplex modernization has been a long awaited project for the residents of Drumheller.  Stantec Consulting, the company hired to provide engineering, consulting and design for the Drumheller Aquaplex modernization, generated data through surveys that took place in a two week period in December 2015. They found the residents expressed a strong desire for the addition of a child-toddler pool or a gradual entry into the pool.
    Before deciding on a design, an open house was held with four different designs offered for the community to choose their preferred design. There was also an online survey to provide feedback for those who couldn’t make it to the Aquaplex to voice their preferences. Santec put together a design based on these findings. In February 2016, Council approved the Aquaplex modernization to be included in the 2016 budget and in March the pool was closed to measure and order the pool liner. 
    When it became apparent the project would not meet its original timeline, council voted to delay the project at the September 19 Town Council meeting. With the new timeline and new expenses coming back over budget, Council is looking to find a way to stay within budget.
    Mayor Yemen said, “We are still hoping to meet our original timeline and have the pool still go into renovations in May of 2017.”

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    The week of October 18, 1966, was a busy time for the Valley.  The front page of The Drumheller Mail featured a major gas well strike near Carbon, October 18 was a civic election date and the Drumheller Miner’s itinerary for their trip to Europe was released.
    The top story of the day, however, was the swearing in of 15 correctional officers, the first to be appointed to the Drumheller Institution.
     The appointment was held on October 14, 1966, at the Armories (now the Navy League Building) and performed by first Warden, Pierre Jutras. 50 years later, five of those officers gathered at a home in Drumheller to mark the occasion last Friday. They included Dan Worman, Gordon Smith, John Macy, Ron Goruik and Gerry Hatt.
    While 50 years have passed, the memories of the occasion are vivid. Worman recalls that not long after the ceremony, they headed up to the airport and were sent out for training, “It was probably the first time that any of us had flown!” said Worman.
    According to The Drumheller Mail article that appeared in 1966, the recruits were all from the Drumheller area.  Originally from Manitoba, Smith recalls that he was in the area working on the rigs. His rig was shut down, so a friend encouraged him to apply. Throughout his career, he was active with the union and served as a rep.
    For the next four months, the crew was in British Columbia where they worked at the British Columbia Penitentiary (BCP) in New Westminster for about a week before they were sent to Matsqui Institution in Abbotsford.
    “When we walked into BCP, none of us knew anything about a jail. It was an old building and when the gate closed behind us, that was pretty scary,” said Smith.
    The new recruits soon found their way and learned the ropes. They were gung-ho to get to work at their own new facility in February when they arrived home in the valley. However, it wasn’t quite as ready as it was planned.
    “We went to work there, and we had to get to painting and building fences before the inmates came,” said Goruik.
    It wasn’t until the summer of 1967 when the Drumheller Institution saw its first 25 inmates. Inmate number one was named Nesbitt, who was serving for murder.
    “When we got back from training, we were tiling, painting, and fencing. ‘We are trained now, we want to be guards, let’s get some inmates here!’ Well, as soon as the inmates came we had to do shift work,” laughs Worman.
    This launched the career of these men. Overall, the five combined have 149 years experience.
    At the time, Drumheller was a depressed region and the goal of opening the institution was to spur the economy. For the first crew, their starting wage was $3,100 a year. “I never had so much money,” laughs Worman.
    At times, it was a tough job, and at times, it was a fun job. Worman said at first they were bringing in younger first-time offenders, but they soon realized they needed more force to keep them under control, so they brought in some older convicts to help keep things organized.
    “If you had a couple tough inmates, they made your job a lot easier. They took care of a lot of the problems so staff didn’t have to worry about,” said Goruik.
    Over the years, the job got tougher, but Worman says that mirrors society outside the prison.
    “It’s a true reflection of what is happening on the street, respect for authority has really gone downhill,” said Worman.
    “I hear people say, ‘You working at a penitentiary? It must be dangerous.’ Well, it is and it is not. You go for days without anything happening and we actually had fun doing our job on good days. But then you might earn all your pay in one night,” said Worman.
    Smith adds that the ability to laugh would help them through the stress.
    “It helps to have a really good sense of humour, it kept us going,” said Smith.
    Goruik adds that sports were important, in the summer they played ball, and in the winter they played hockey.
    Worman said if he was in the same position he was in 50 years ago, and the job came up, he would do it all again.
    “It was a good job, and it gave me a great lifestyle and a great retirement,” he said.