A decision by Town Council on October 9 aims to make the Badlands Community Facility and Aquaplex more accessible to Drumheller families.
    At the meeting, a request for decision was presented by the Director of Community Services, Paul Salvatore, asking that the Town amend their definition of ‘family’.
    The working definition used until now was two adults and their two children, or one adult and their three children. Family memberships were capped at four people per family. Any additional children were required to pay as an additional dependant.
    The definition was felt to be too restrictive.
    “When we did our price reviews, we decided to change it. Some concerns had been brought forward. We had some feedback for quite awhile, so we went back and did some research,” said Guy Latour, business manager of the Badlands Community Facility.
    Salvatore hopes the new definition will make family memberships more accessible for larger families.

    The new definition is based on the Government of Canada’s and reads as follows:
    A family is defined as a married couple and the children, if any, of either or both spouses; a couple living common law and the children, if any, of either or both partners; or, a lone parent of any marital status with at least one child living in the same dwelling and that child or those children.
    All members of a particular family live in the same dwelling.
    A couple may be of opposite or same sex. Children may be children by birth, marriage, or adoption up to the age of 18 (unless attending a post-secondary institution full-time with supporting documentation to a maximum of the age of 25) as long as they live in the dwelling and do not have their own spouse or child living in the dwelling.
    Grandchildren living with their grandparent(s), but with no parents present also constitute a family by this definition.

    “It’s about making sure a family of varying shapes and sizes can be included. In some cases, we’ll have larger families greatly benefit. We didn’t want to have a scenario where family members are excluded from family fitness,” said Salvatore.
    The old definition was in use at the Aquaplex prior to the Community Facility being built.
    “There was a working definition we used when were just operating the pool. It had been loosely in place for 20 plus years,” said Salvatore. “It was based on a number, rather than a family more loosely defined.”
    At the time of the change, six families had paid for extra dependents. Those families will be given a credit on future recreation transactions, such as renewing a membership or sign up for a fitness program.
    To be eligible for the newly defined family membership, families may be expected to sign a document to verify who is in their family. The change has already taken effect. “Having activities that families can participate in is a key to building a strong community,” said Salvatore. “This policy supports that.”

    Mayor Terry Yemen has an opportunity to serve in an international capacity, safeguarding democracy in the Ukraine.
    Yemen has been selected as a short-term observer for the 2012 Ukraine Parliamentary Elections.
    Citizen of the Ukraine go to the polls on October 28. Yemen will be part of the CANADEM Mission. According to briefing materials, Canadian observers will be stationed in locations that would benefit from independent validation that the voting process is free and fair. They will also be in locations where there is a legitimate concern about voting irregularities.
    CANADEM is a non-government organization that promotes democracy through activities such as observing elections. In the last 10 years it has deployed more than 4,500 observers to points around the world. CANADEM was requested by the Canadian Government to observe this Ukrainian election.
    This is a short-term mission for Yemen. He will be first heading to Ottawa for a briefing on October 18. This is a large mission with in the area of 500 observers. On October 19, mission staff will be arriving in Kiev. They will return home November 1.
    CANADEM describes the experience as rewarding, but a lot of work.  It says volunteers can expect to put in one or more 24 hour-plus days. Accommodation will be simple, and in some instances there could be security risks.
    Election observers are expected to maintain impartiality throughout the whole process. They are not to interfere with the election process, polling day procedures or the vote counting.
    According to CANADEM, observers may wish to bring irregularities to the attention of local officials but must never instruct an official or go against decisions of election officials. They will participated in a post-election debriefing and base conclusions on well-documented verifiable evidence.