The Badlands Community Facility received a boost on Wednesday morning as the Pylypiw and Lubinski, and Western Chev family made a $100,000 donation to the Badlands Community Facility.
    Western Chev has been a pillar in the community for many years with Hellar Pylypiw was at the helm for almost 40 years, retiring earlier this year.  Giving back to the community has been a priority for many years, both for his family and the company.
    “This community has been good to us,” Pylypiw told inSide Drumheller. “We always want to give back; from the  high school to baseball or hockey to the 4H.”
    With the donation, the gallery area in the BCF will now be named to reflect this donation. He said his family enjoys art. His family also utilizes the facility on a regular basis and feels it is an asset to the community.
    “We come here just about daily and it is tremendously good for us,” said Pylypiw.     
With this donation, he hopes that it will inspire other members of the business community to get involved in the fundraising efforts.
    “This is a nice facility for the Town of Drumheller and we feel we need to support it to get to the end. I would like to encourage more business people in town to contribute to it,” said Pylypiw.
    BCF Fundraising Cabinet Chair Hansine Kostelecky is  grateful for the donation
    “We cannot stress enough the importance of additional financial support as we drive towards our fundraising goal for the BCF, with a commitment to continuing with the next phase of facility development, which could include an additional hockey rink, new curling rink and/or improvements to the pool” said Kostelecky. “Large donations from local donors are critical to the success of the fundraising campaign. We owe it to our local and surrounding population to keep improving.”
    The Badlands Community Facility is in the midst of its 55 donors in 55 days campaign. For more information, call 403-856-8103.

 

Mother Nature demonstrated her strength on Sunday as the banks of the Rosebud River near Wayne sloughed, blocking its flow, raising its levels and the level of concern of residents.
    In the early afternoon of Sunday, May 18, a resident in the Wayne area of Drumheller  was mowing his lawn, when  he noticed a strange phenomenon. The flow of the Rosebud River has slowed considerably.
    They learned shortly after what had happened. A portion of the bank of the river and hill above collapsed under the weight of recent precipitation, tumbling into the river blocking its flow.
    The water backed up for a time before it found a path through the heavy mud and sod that had sloughed into the river, and flow resumed.

There were some tense moments Sunday afternoon when a hill slid into the Rosebud River near Wayne. No one was injured and the river was blocked for a short time before the water carved a new path through the material. See a video of the damage on the Drumheller Mail YouTube Channel and Facebook page.

    It could have been a  close call for a couple of kayakers who were enjoying the river that afternoon.
    Marcel Augey and Mike Dooley were kayaking down the river  when they noticed the water back flowing towards them. Not taking a chance, they decided to portage.  A few meters downstream they came across the blockage and a number of neighbours out assessing the damage.
    Augey acknowledged it was a narrow escape, but at the same time thought it was an interesting phenomenon to see.