Baby Opal, the eight month old girl the Town of Drumheller showed great compassion for this summer, is home and happy, but her medical journey is far from over.
     In August of this year, Baby Opal, daughter of Wendy and Chris Walsh was taken to the Alberta Children’s Hospital with what her parents thought at the time may be an allergic reaction. What started as a day trip turned out to be an eight-week stay.
    Opal was diagnosed with stage 5 kidney failure. She underwent numerous procedures and operations to help drain the excess fluid she was retaining. This was on top of her daily round of dialysis.
     It was an ordeal for the family as they spent day after day taking care of their youngest. The family’s business was disrupted in a summer when they were planning to take possession of their new home.
    While the Walsh family was away, the story of their plight was spreading among friends and colleagues in the valley.
    It started as small gestures, but soon they became bigger as those who cared about the family staged fundraisers including luncheons, barbecues, a silent auction, bottle drive and donations for services.
    The impact of the efforts of Drumheller residents was a powerful statement to the family when they were able to return home to the valley in October, and they are grateful beyond words. The funds raised have helped the family prepare their home for their new reality and to make it through day to day.
     Today Opal remains on peritoneal kidney dialysis.   For 10 hours a night she is hooked to the machine as it performs the function her kidneys are no longer able to do. She is also on a number of medications and is fed through a nasogastric feeding tube.
    Opal is struggling to keep her food down which is a grave concern for the family. Before the youngster is able to receive a transplant, she needs to grow. Currently she is about 9 kilograms, but needs to be 12-15 kilograms before doctors would be able to perform a transplant.
    The optimal conditions for a transplant are when a family member is able to be a donor. Both Wendy and Chris are undergoing the screening process in hopes both will be matches when she is ready.
    In the very near future Opal will be undergoing a nephrectomy  (kidney removal) and will be back in hospital for an undetermined amount of time.
    While Opal faces struggles on a daily basis, her parents say she is facing it with a happy demeanour, describing her as a beautiful, amazing little girl.

    A heritage inventory of the Town of Drumheller has been completed and has identified 50 priority sites of significance.
    The Town of Drumheller has undertaken a heritage management program. Heritage Consultant Laura Pasacreta, for Donald Luxton and Associates led the project and has been working since September to compile the inventory. Last Thursday night the heritage committee held an open house to present their findings.
    “It was an enormous amount of work in a short amount of time, but the resources are actually amazing,’ said Pasacreta.
    She explains that when the town undertook creating a heritage management program, it made a list of potential heritage sites. It was up to the heritage consultants to pare the list down to 50. These are structures that have heritage value, community value and an owner who is interested in being a part of the inventory.
    “We had no problems, the community is very supportive,” she said, explaining that Drumheller had participated in a Mainstreet Program in the past and many were aware of the process. This inventory takes a slightly different approach.
    “We are coming from a different angle, this is called values based heritage management and it differs from an architectural focus view of heritage…this takes in a larger range of heritage resources. This takes in bridges, trails, viewscapes, things that you would not normally think of heritage are included in a value management system.”
    The list of resources is diverse. Of the inventory, 41 are in central Drumheller while six are in East Coulee, and one each in Wayne, Rosedale and Nacmine. 
    Many expected sites, like a number of downtown business buildings, churches and schools are included. 
    A number of homes including the Mr. Drumheller residence, the Somerville residence and the Toshach residence, and the St. Angela’s convent, now a residential home on 3rd Street West were included in the inventory. Other resources such as the  Atlas Coal Mine Tipple, East Coulee Train Bridge, Jesus statue, Dinny the Dinosaur at the Rotary Splash Park, and the Drumheller Cemetery are on the list.
    She explains that any site that goes into a heritage inventory goes on a National Heritage registry, and this is often used for tourism.
    Being a heritage resource allows the owners of the building more resources to maintain the building.
    “There are some opportunities up to $50,000 per year in provincial funding, and it is renewable. It is on an annual basis and they use a lottery system, but it does give you funds when you didn’t have access to funds before. The problem with a lot of heritage buildings is that it costs more to restore a heritage building, so to have these extra funds available actually offsets the amount that it does cost to maintain,” said Pasacreta.
    “At the end of the year there are going to be 50 buildings on the heritage inventory. So that means the owners still have the right to do what they want to do. They do have to have a conversation with the Town if they want to make any major changes,” she said. "What it means is that any alteration to the building has to follow standards and guidelines of conservation of historic places in Canada.”
    She said this could lead to more employment.
    “This is a job creation program because instead of actually buying products from out of country, you are going to need local trades to do restoration,” said Pasacreta. “It happens very quickly, working with communities that have done an inventory last year and already there is a demand for heritage trades.”