Long time volunteer in Drumheller and beyond, Becky Kowalchuk, was named 2013 Drumheller Rotary Club Citizen of the Year.
    The annual Celebration of Excellence was celebrated on Saturday, May 25 at the Badlands Community Facility.  Kowalchuk and Bev Krabsen were the finalists for the prestigious award.
    “I feel so truly honoured by this, especially considering it’s Drumheller’s Centennial. The Drumheller Rotary Club is a highly regarded group of citizens and to be recognized by you is a great honour,” said Kowalchuk.

Becky Kowalchuk was named 2013 Citizen of the Year at the Annual Celebration of Excellence last Saturday night at the Badlands Community Facility. Marina Flater was named most Courteous Employee of the Year. At the presentation are (l-r) Most Courteous Employee Marina Flater, Mayor Terry Yemen, Citizen of the Year Becky Kowalchuk, runner-up Bev Krabsen, MP Kevin Sorenson, Rotary President Brent Pedersen and Most Courteous Employee runner–up Stacy McLean.

    John Sparling put Kowalchuk’s name forward and her resume shows a 30-year history of volunteerism in the community. This ranged from volunteering with sports clubs when her children participated in school activities, to arts and cultural projects such as Kaleidoscope Theatre and the East Coulee Spring Festival. Most recently, she was part of the Olympic Torch Relay Drumheller Organizing Committee and is part of the Dinosaur Valley Half Marathon organizing committee.
    “Becky has actively and effectively contributed by assuming various roles on community associations and projects,” said Sparling at the ceremony. “Regardless of what role Becky has in associations, she has unbridled enthusiasm and gives her all. Becky is task oriented and always does more than what is expected of her.”
    Kowalchuk is a long time employee of the Royal Tyrrell Museum and Sparling says she is often “loaned out” by the museum to contribute to community projects. She never comes single handed either, often inspiring others, be it family, friends or coworkers to support whatever the project is. Sparling quoted Colin Kloot, who worked closely with her on the Dinosaur Half.
“Becky’s list of contacts in the community is of immense worth to our committee, as it is very apparent  she has built a legion of people who are willing to give their time to her or whatever her cause may be.”
    Kowalchuk wasn’t the only winner. Marina Flater was named Most Courteous Employee. She was a finalist along with Stacy McLean for the award.
    Marina described the honour of being selected as “ridiculously amazing.”
    Flater’s enthusiasm for whatever she does is infectious. She has played many roles in the community, and most recently is part of the team at the Badlands Community Facility, working as a booking specialist.
    “She is equally skilled at meeting the needs of frantic brides as she is with corporate officers,” said her nominator, who wished to remain anonymous. “Marina makes you feel listened to and understood and then she bends over backwards to try and accommodate all the important details of your special occasion. She is a problem solver with a common sense approach.”
    This year saw a return to a partnership with the Rotary Club and the Town of Drumheller for the Celebration of Excellence. The Leaders of Tomorrow awards were presented at this year’s celebration. These awards honour the contribution of youth in the community.
     Ocean Anthony-Bossert of St. Anthony’s School, Madison Colberg and Travis Molzan of DVSS were named winners of the Leaders of Tomorrow Award, as was Rayann Soledad, who graduated from DVSS last year.

The Town of Drumheller presented the Leaders of Tomorrow Awards at the Celebration of Excellence. At the presentation are (l-r) director of Community Services Paul Salvatore, Rayann Soledad, Ocean Anthony-Bossert and Mayor Terry Yemen. Missing is Travis Molzan.

Madison Colberg was named one of the recipients of the Leaders of Tomorrow Award. While she wasn’t able to attend the Celebration of Excellence last Saturday, her proud grandparents accepted the award in her stead. At the presentation are (l-r) director of Community Services Paul Salvatore, Irene and John Kohut and Mayor Terry Yemen.

    Residents in the Rosebud area are rallying together to express their concerns about the possibility of a racetrack in the area.
    The Drumheller Mail told readers about plans for the Badlands Motorsports Resort development in its April 3 edition. At that time, Kneehill County had passed the first reading of its Area Structure Plan that could allow the project to move forward.
    A number of residents in the area are concerned with the project.
    Rick Skibsted farms in the area and says he has a number of reasons to be worried.
    “I don’t think it has a warm reception by anyone so far anyway,” said Skibsted. “We are concerned about just about everything. The noise, the environmental aspect, and the fact they are taking agricultural land out of production.”
    He says the site is considered an environmentally significant area, and is not an area that is meant to be developed.
    “The County and rate payers should be concerned about the environmental part of it, so should the province,” he said.
    Wendy Clark’s family has property in the area and she is concerned about the environmental impact of the project.
    “It is a pristine location, it is basically untouched, it is fragile and in an environmentally sensitive area,” she said, adding the area has a local, provincial and national significance.
    The motorsports park has an Area Structure Plan that includes a Biophysical Impact Assessment as well as an Environmental Noise Impact Assessment for the site.  A third party assessment of the Biophysical Impact Assessment found issues in the report and this is included with the Area Structure Plan.
    Clark said she too is concerned with this type of development in an agricultural community. The site includes a plateau, which is farmed, as well as rolling hills, wetlands and the Rosebud River Valley. There are many native species of plants in the unbroken land.
    “It is in the middle of agricultural operations and there are 145 acres of highly productive farm land. It would be taken out of cultivation,” said Clark. “As farmers, these are back roads we need to move our machinery on. If we have a highway there, we have a lot of trouble.”
    Skibsted also sees increased traffic as being troublesome.
    “It is going to bring a lot of traffic into the area, it is going to bring a lot of noise into the area and we figure problems with trespassing and infringement on our own private land,” said Skibsted. “It will also impact our agricultural practices.”
    He said there could be issues with dust, spraying and moving machinery.
    To Clark, it doesn’t make sense to build the track in the middle of agricultural land, miles from existing infrastructure or significant populations.
    “When you have a Municipal Development Plan there are exceptions, but from an economic point of view, ask yourself how much better would those benefits be if it were in a proper location?” she said. “If this was in a proper location, maybe it could see even better benefits.”
    On June 11 there will be a public meeting to provide feedback on the application. Skibsted says a good number of residents are planning to attend the meeting and share their concerns with Kneehill County.
    “It will really disrupt the lives of a lot of people in this area for one guy who wants to build a motorsports park,” said Skibsted.

The project map for the proposed Badlands Motorsports Resort.