“Man plans and God laughs,” chuckles Tim Gregorash, principal at St. Anthony’s School, summing up his entry into the profession of teaching.
    This is a career that spans 33 years, 32 of which were at St. Anthony’s School in Drumheller. This coming January, Gregorash will be handing over the reigns to a new, yet to be selected, principal.
    “After 33 years I am starting to look for a change” said Mr. Gregorash. “I have done what I wanted to do, I got the new school started and running and I feel we are in a great position for someone else to come in and take over with their vision of the school and lead it for the next few years.”    
    Gregorash studied at the University of Lethbridge and began at St. Anthony’s School teaching primarily Junior High science and math courses.  Like most teachers, he has gone on to teach everything from religion to building construction. In 1994, he became vice principal and then principal in the new millennium.  He was at the helm when St. Anthony’s reintroduced its high school program.
    With the high school came the need to expand, and it warranted the new school. Gregorash was part of this process from the design stage to the opening of the school. The school continues to steadily grow.
    It has been a great vocation,” he said. “Working with the kids has kept me in the profession for so long. It has been a dream, a lot of fun.
    “They say a good teacher will touch a child’s heart, but they never tell you how the kids will touch your heart.”
    This may be the most difficult part to leave behind.
    “I am going to miss the kids and the people I work with. We have an incredible staff, our parents are a great group of people, and that will be the one thing I will definitely miss,”  said Gregorash. “The school is strong and heading in a good direction. It is time for someone to come in and take it forward.”
    Christ the Redeemer School division has advertised to fill the position and the closing date is January 7. Gregorash will stay on until his replacement assumes the position. He is tight lipped on his future plans.
    “I’ll be taking a little time off and then I’ll be looking for something else to do. I feel I am too young to retire and will have too much time on my hands,” he said.
    For once in his life his schedule will not be signaled with a bell.
    “It is one profession that everything is so regimented in time… it is going to take a little getting used to, but it shouldn’t be that hard. When summer holidays hit I find it pretty easy to eat when I am hungry or sleep when I’m tired.”

    Wheatland County is taking an introspective look at its fire services in the coming months.
    Council recently approved the creation of a committee composed of elected officials from Wheatland County, Villages of Rockyford, Hussar, and Standard, and members of the Rural Fire Associations.
    The committee was tasked with putting together a proposal to hire a consultant and see the process through to completion.
    “There’s been a group struck from the villages, county, and fire associations and they’re putting together something to get a company to come in and do an evaluation of our fire services,” said Wheatland County Reeve Glenn Koester. “With all the associations involved...we wanted to have everyone on the board and they can all have their input.”
    The initiative will evaluate efficiencies, compliance with legislation, and determine if service levels are sufficient.
    “We have a bunch of volunteers and fire associations and we want to make sure everyone is protected. With all the people involved we also want to make sure it’s running as efficiently as possible,” said Koester. “This will be a way to educate everyone with what the government wants and make sure everyone is protected.”
    The review, according to Koester, is a natural part of running any government department.
    “We’ve had our challenges, but everything is working. We do it planning, public works, and everything else with the county. We want to make sure we’re current,” said Koester.
    The committee has met once already and will be meeting again in December to put together a proposal to hire a consultant. It is anticipated the review will officially begin in the early part of 2013.
    “They’ll have another meeting in December to put together the proposal,” said Koester. “There’s not much going on now, but it’s in the works and it will happen.”