Fire Prevention Week activities did not only allow the department and other agencies to meet with the public, but also honoured some of the men who have dedicated themselves to the safety of the community.
    In all, 10 members of the Drumheller Fire Department, comprised of the Drumheller, Rosedale and East Coulee Halls, were honoured Sunday afternoon with Alberta Emergency Services Medals.
    “Being a member of this organization requires a great deal of personal commitment, and in dedicating your time to the safety of others you often jeopardize your own,” said Mayor Terry Yemen at the ceremony at the Drumheller Fire Hall Sunday. “You have made Drumheller a safer place to live and you should all be proud of your accomplishments.”
    The Alberta Emergency Services Medal has been awarded to qualified emergency personnel since 2003. To be eligible, the personnel must have served on or after January 1, 2000, and the “personnel must have undertaken all required phases of training and duty prescribed by their respective municipalities and ministries, and must be certified by their administrative authority as efficient and in every way deserving of the award.”
    To be nominated the candidate must have at least 12 years of service.
    Firefighters including Chief Bill Bachynski, Deputy Chiefs Bruce Wade and Luigi Vescarelli, Captains Duane Bolin and Peter Gruber, Blaine Zacharuk and Gary Greaves all received the award. Vince Seitz of the Rosedale Hall and Barry Edwards and Cliff Deitz of the East Coulee Hall each received the award.
    According to the Alberta Emergency Management Agency website, the Alberta Emergency Services Medal is a 3.5 cm diameter polished nickel disk with a clasp mounted on top.
    The inverse side of the medal has an Alberta Wild Rose circumscribed with the words ‘In Service Of Albertans’. On the obverse side of the medal is the Alberta Shield circumscribed with the words ‘Emergency Services Alberta’.
    The medal is suspended by a 3.5 cm wide blue ribbon with three thin white stripes. The blue colour represents the Province of Alberta and the white for good service, loyalty and conduct.

    Rotary International has been actively working to eradicate polio around the globe.
    Today the club and its partners are on the verge of success, but a strong push is needed to root it out once and for all.
    This is why the Drumheller Rotary Club is participating in the Pennies for Polio Campaign.
    Residents can support the campaign to eradicate the debilitating disease by donating their pennies during the week of October 17, leading up to World Polio Day on October 24.
    Pennies can be dropped at the Drumheller Health Centre, the ScotiaBank or at the Rotary Radio Auction coming up at Greentree Mall.
    Rotary has a goal of raising $200 million to match a $355 million in-challenge grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. The club has until June 30 of next year to reach that mark.
    Polio is an infectious viral disease. If it enters the central nervous system, it can cause anything from muscle weakness to paralysis. Vaccines were developed in the 1950s and the World Health Organization, UNICEF and Rotary Clubs have worked hard to eradicate the disease. The Americas were declared polio free in 1994, and Europe in 2002. The number of cases in 1988 was 350,000. The best year on record is 2001, with only 483 cases.
    The resulting $555 million from the Pennies for Polio and matching grant will support an immunization campaign in developing countries that have seen it reintroduced, or have pockets where it is still present. As of 2006, it is still and epidemic in India, Afghanistan Pakistan and Nigeria.
    According to a release, if polio is not eradicated, it is estimated that 10 million children will be paralysed in the next 40 years.