The Valley received four out of five blooms from the Communities in Bloom judges when they rolled through the valley last summer. For some it is a victory, for some it is not as sweet.
    The Drumheller Communities in Bloom Association entered the non–competitive category. The community earned a score 73 per cent to earn the four blooms.
    “We did really good, actually,” said Councillor Sharel Shoff, who, along with Lisa Hansen-Zacharuk, are board members of Communities in Bloom.
    Shoff was joined by Patricia Parker, who was Communities in Bloom chair at the time and Councillor Doug Stanford when they toured with two adjudicators through the valley on July 31.
    Communities in Bloom judges recognized the challenges the valley faces and offers praise for some of its recent accomplishments including the Badlands Community Facility, that the new Town Hall will be renovated to meet Silver LEED standard, and the upgrades to the water treatment plant and landfill.
    They did see that lack of funding to some areas has put the community behind.
    “Some expected grants were not available which has resulted in budget tightening for some services, especially in parks and grounds maintenance. Unfortunately it is starting to show,” stated the report.
    Heritage conservation received the highest marks, earning about 80 per cent of the possible marks, lauding the preservation of the prehistoric heritage, as well as the coal mining history. Their criticism is that the community is not recognizing the influence of first nation people and agriculture.
    The areas judges felt most in need of help were urban forestry, floral displays and landscaping.
    “Initial impression was that Drumheller had a good tree cover. Upon closer examination many of the trees, especially along the river, were mature aging poplars that are going to need careful observation and pruning to reduce the chance of branch breakage and property damage,” states the report.
    Judges were also understanding to the more than 270 acres of grass that needs mowing in the valley and how much of a drain on resources it is. It notes that the town does not have any floral displays due to tight budgets, however it praised some businesses, especially in the industrial area and along roadways that have attractive displays.
    “Perhaps the Communities in Bloom Committee could initiate a program for downtown businesses to subscribe to hanging baskets or boxes in front of their stores. Maybe a prize could be awarded for the largest, best maintained or most colourful,” states the report.
    Shoff explains the town’s resources are taxed and crews do a great job with what they have.
    “I know the town and the park budget, and it is not really very big and they do what they can,” said Shoff. “One of the problems with Communities in Bloom is the [penitentiary] cut back on what they could do with the inmates and that is why we suffered quite a bit, but I think it will get better because we’ll get more in the budget next year.”
    Since the judging, the chair of Communities in Bloom has stepped down, and indications are the organization may be sighing its last breath.
    Patrice Wolf helped out Communities in Bloom with the presentation and with other projects such as the annual Earth Day Clean up. She feels the community should be grateful for the marks they received.
    “I think the judges were very generous. I know they feel for us… and I am sure just to cut the grass in the ditches is a full-time job,” she said. “We have a long way to go and it is too bad that we may be losing Communities in Bloom.
    Shoff said the group is always looking for volunteers. This doesn’t simply mean laborers but people with ideas on how to make the community vibrant. For more information, contact Shoff at (403) 820-1644.

On Tuesday, July 31, judges on behalf of Communities in Bloom made their way to Drumheller. In the photo (back l-r)  Al Kendrick, Infrastructure Services Director, Paul Salvatore, Director of Community Services,  Carol Stanford, Councillor Doug Stanford. (front l-r) Councillor Sharel Shoff, Trish Parker, President of Drumheller Communities in Bloom, Brendan Casement and Collin Carmichael, Communities in Bloom judges, Mayor Terry Yemen and Councillor Lisa Hansen-Zacharuk.

    One man’s trash is another’s treasure they say. However, farmers in Starland County may have a little trouble finding someone to treasure their used grain bags for the foreseeable future.
    Starland County was close to entering into an agreement with Merlin Plastics to recycle grain bags. However, recently Merlin Plastics informed the county they could not guarantee their facility would accept plastic, leaving Starland County nowhere to dispose of used grain bags.
    “We have a lot of bags used in the area…so, we decided to make a drop off facility. People could bring their bags in and then we’d ship them to Merlin Plastics. We, as a county, didn’t want to be sitting on a mountain of plastic. I was pretty much told by one of their representatives that they wouldn’t be accepting any plastic,” said Alan Hampton, Agricultural Foreman with Starland County.
    Merlin Plastics has a recycling facility south of Drumheller. Prior to the proposed agreement with Starland County, farmers had to bring their used grain bags in themselves.
    Farmers are asked to take their used plastic to the Drumheller landfill, store it themselves, or, if they have no other alternative, bury it.
    The amount of plastic, which cannot be recycled, is considerable.
    “I know some farms deal with 30 or more bags per year, which is about 10 tonnes. Then there are a pile of farms that don’t use any. We did a survey two years ago to get a sense of how many grain bags we’d probably be dealing with. It was about 500,” said Hampton.
    The bags cannot be burned, for they release toxic fumes and residue in a wide radius around the burn site. The residue can enter the surrounding soil and then be transferred up the food chain.
    Grain bags are used by farmers to temporarily store grain. Their use has grown as storage capacities for grain have become relatively smaller.
    “Farms have gotten to where they are bigger and storage is usually limited. Farmers are renting land, they’re going farther, have two or three combines, and bin capacity can’t keep up. With the bags, you can have a couple combines go pretty much constantly. You put your grain in, it expands, and then to pull your grain out you have to cut it open with an auger. By the time you’re done, you’ve got quite a pile of plastic,” said Hampton. “You use it once and then deal with the plastic after.”
   Various authorities, including Starland County, are working on a solution so that farmers may dispose of their used bags.
   “I’ve been assured they’re looking for a resolution,” said Hampton. “Service boards are pushing Crop Life Canada and the Government of Alberta to make something happen.”