Being safe on the farm takes the knowledge to understand and follow best practices. This means doing the right thing first and making it a habit, a safe habit.
    The Delia Agriculture Society has made safety a priority, and making sure they spread the word to the young.
    Jason Reed says the Ag Society hold a safety forum for youngsters every two years in the spring. This gives them a run down on safe practices.
    “We try to target ages 10-14,” said Reed. “It is for any kids that take interest in it.”
They dedicate a whole Saturday to the course covering everything from basic first aid to fire safety with the local fire chief and department. They talk about handling of farm chemicals and airborne hazards. They also touch on quad and machinery safety, big and small. ATCO Electric comes out for the course and does its high Voltage power line presentation.
    “They get a kick out of that because they actually fry wieners with high voltage” chuckles Reed.
     To end the day he says they often bring a variety of farm machinery and have local farmers demonstrate how the machinery works and identify the hazards the machinery poses.
    “We try to make it broad, and try to touch on all basic aspects of farming in our community,” he said, everything from ranching and dairy to grain farming.
    He says the course is making a difference and he sees kids coming each year with a good basis of knowledge of safety. He says it also makes adults more conscientious about safety.
    “Kids take some stuff back and if mom and dad learn some stuff it is great for the whole family,” he said.

    The Village of Delia is getting behind the dream of post-secondary education in the Drumheller Region.
    Last Wednesday, March 6, Delia Mayor John Rogers presented a cheque for a $1,000 to Jon Ohlhauser, the President of Hope College. 
“We are a small Village”, said Rogers, “but we are big supporters of post-secondary education close to home. “
    The donation amounts to more than $5 from every man, woman and child in Delia.  Statistics Canada reported in the last census that 187 people live within the Village limits.
    These funds are part of a three year, $3,000 pledge over three years  the Village made to the college. Ohlhauser is happy to see the support.
    “Two years ago the community leadership in Delia saw the value of Hope College and pledged an amount of financial support,” said Ohlhauser. “Now that we are closing in  on the launch of Hope College, we need the pledged support of all our supporters to begin to be transitioned into actual donations.”

 Delia Mayor John Rogers, left presents a cheque for $1,000 to Dr. Jon Ohlhauser, president of Hope College.

    He says the business model for the school anticipates  needing about $600,000  to cover costs associated with the launch.
    The Village of Delia sees their investment as an investment in their local students. Delia School has 11 teachers at the school who  instruct 130 students from Kindergarten to Grade 12. However, once the students graduate, they are forced to leave home to pursue their studies.
    “It is going to give them more chances,” says Acting School Principal, Allan Doel, “and increase the odds that kids who are graduating from our school are going to go to some sort of post-secondary, which is going to lead to them having better jobs, better careers, and hopefully, long term, a better province and a better community.”
    Most of the students at Delia School come from farming backgrounds. They want to be able to help their parents run the family farm. That can make it difficult to go to a college hundreds of kilometers away.  A fifty kilometer commute would mean, as Doel points out, “...more opportunities at less cost and more convenience for our graduates.”
    “It’s a sense of balance” continues Doel, “their loyalty to the family combined with where they want to go as individuals, so to have something nearby that would allow them to balance that would be hugely valuable.”
    Ohlhauser is grateful for the support from Delia.
    “We are so thankful for the leadership of the community of Delia to stand behind this project. We know the value for students in this region will be tremendous if they are able to consider getting their college completed locally. That is one of our primary goals.