Your Christmas tree may be the gift that keeps on giving this season.
    The Green Team at the Town of Drumheller has identified one of its goals in the new year, and that is not to landfill Christmas trees.
    “The Green Team has made this a priority,” said Tammi Nygaard of Drumheller Solid Waste.
     They have introduced a tree-recycling program to make good use of Christmas trees after the needles have begun to fall.
    For years the Kinsmen Club of Drumheller would pickup trees to use at the club's annual tree burn at the ski kill.  It may not have been the most environmentally sound way to dispose of trees, but it was popular.
    However for the last few years residents' only option was to landfill their trees.
    Now Christmas trees will be accepted free of charge at the landfill. Residents can drop their trees off between December 31 and January 18.  Residents are asked to ensure the trees are free and clear of decorations, especially tinsel. At that time, they can leave their name and be entered into a draw for a chance to win a rain barrel or composter.
    The trees will be chipped into mulch and it will be used by the Town of Drumheller in local parks and green spaces, or made available to residents to use in their own yards.

    The bus stops here.
    Residents of Hanna will now be able to reap the benefits of Greyhound service returning to town after Greyhound Canada reached an agreement with Willow Creek Bistro and Gift’s as their depot.
    The news came as a result of Town officials actively lobbying Greyhound to return to Hanna.
    “We actively solicited Greyhound for a depot and we worked with them to find a local business that would be interested in taking it on,” said Laurie Armstrong, Economic Development Officer for Hanna.
    Greyhound service to the area shut down last year when Greyhound Canada announced they would no longer be sending regular buses through Drumheller and Hanna to Saskatchewan.
    In that time, passenger service has resumed, but not all of Greyhound’s services were returned.
    “Ever since the Greyhound stopped, you could still get [passenger] pick up and drop off here, but you had to make arrangements through the contractor in Alaska,” said Armstrong. “The parcel service was very inconvenient. They’d have to be picked up in Youngstown.”
    Willow Creek will now handle both passenger tickets and parcel services out of their business.