The sounds of fireworks could be heard all through Drumheller on New Year’s Eve, heralding the official start to Drumheller’s centennial year.
    The New Year’s Eve party was only the first of a year’s worth of events celebrating Drumheller’s centennial.
    Planning for the official 100th anniversary of the day Drumheller was incorporated,  May 15, is already underway. However, plans are currently in their infancy.
    “We [the Centennial Committee] know we’re going to have a meal of some type. Up until now, we’ve been focusing on New Year’s. Our hope is to get as many people as we can to come out,” said Sharel Shoff, Chair of the Committee. “We’ll have more information later, because we’re going to keep the centennial going.”
    One event being considered is a repeat of the New Year’s Eve centennial celebration.
    “I’d like to see another one. It was a great way to start the centennial. We may do it again next to end the centennial year,” said Shoff.
    To help keep the centennial spirit going, the committee is also encouraging everyone to use the centennial logo, as seen on the front pages of inSide Drumheller and The Drumheller Mail, for their own events.
    “We hope people, businesses, and organizations will understand it’s our centennial and use our logo,” said Shoff. “If they can use it, we really encourage it. It’s our 100th year; it only happens once.”
    An electronic copy of the logo can be obtained from Bob Cromwell, Economic Development Officer for the Town of Drumheller, at 403-823-1320.
    On New Year’s Eve, the Badlands Community Facility was filled with  roughly 200 people, young and old, for Drumheller’s New Year’s Eve Centennial Celebration.
    “It was a great. Everyone had a good time, the food was good, and the band was good,” said Shoff.
    The children were having fun in the field house and the adults upstairs in the banquet hall for most of the night, but the two came together to share in some fireworks launched from the hills across from the facility.
    Keep checking inSide Drumheller and The Drumheller Mail for the latest on Drumheller’s centennial celebrations.

Check out inSide Drumheller for this week's Streeters section, where we asked residents what they wanted to see in the centennial celebrations!

    Football fans will remember the tassels of hair dangling above his number 33 Titans jersey as he raced into the end zone. Hockey fans can see the sweaty, matted mullet when the Raptor peels off his helmet when he leaves the ice.
    Cuts for Cancer will remember it for the good that it does those fighting cancer.
    Spencer Fournier’s mullet is a source of pride, even if the style itself is two decades passed its due date. Nonetheless, he has put it on the chopping block for this year’s Cuts for Cancer.
    The Grade 11 student will be going under the scissors on February 3 to raise funds for the Drumheller Area Health Foundation to support those with cancer. A few of his teammates are also pledging to lose their manes for a good cause.
    Spencer says he was inspired because cancer has affected his family. In fact, his grandmother has fought the battle with cancer twice.
    This is the eighth year for Cuts for Cancer and it has raised thousands of dollars to be used locally for those in the community and their families as they battled cancer. Others putting their hair on the chopping block include Jo Jensen, Kevin Lee and Walter Albrecht, who has participated every year.
    They have a goal of raising $30,000 this year, and while the have had a jump-start from a barbecue and a Christmas Party, they are still hoping for a momentous effort to put them over the top.
    This year’s event is in dedication of Krista Boyko.  Well known and respected, the 41-year-old Drumhellerite passed away last fall after being diagnosed with cancer in the spring.
    Boyko worked at WHIFS for 17 years, and the restaurant is doing their part. The staff will be donating their tips on the day to Cuts for Cancer in memory of Boyko.
     Cathy Morse, owner of Chop Shop, says there are still pledge forms available at the shop. As an incentive, she says every pledge sheet totalling $250 or more is eligible to be entered into a draw for three days and two nights in Vegas, courtesy the Roadhouse.
    For more information, contact Morse at 403-823-2466.