As St. Anthony’s School students head back to classes today, there have been new exciting developments at the school to serve valley students.
    Leading the way is the new entrepreneurship program being offered at the school. Introduced, and to be delivered by principal JoAnne Akerboom, there are 23 students registered to take the first class.
    “I am very excited about that,” said Akerboom.
    While the final numbers have not been confirmed Akerboom says enrollment is consistent.
    “Our goal is to grow a little bit and overall our school division is. Christ the Redeemer is one of the fastest growing school divisions in the province,” said Akerboom.
    Part of growth is retention and new programs like entrepreneurship could help see more students graduate from St. Anthony’s.
    To that end, Akerboom said the school also secured a new position funded by the school division to fortify its science and math offerings.
    “We want to offer the right amount of courses to have students keep coming to the school,” said Akerboom.
    Paula Schuck has been hired to teach math and sciences.
    Another premier for St. Anthony’s is this year it will be the first school in the division to offer an electrical program.
    “That is thanks to one of our parents. Neil Duncalf has agreed to be a mentor for our teachers and our board has agreed to that. He (Duncalf) actually helped define what we needed in terms of materials and everything,” she said.
    Akerboom explains this is a component of the construction program through Alberta Education. She says it is challenging for schools to offer such programs because there are not many teachers with experience in the trades. Teacher Greg Lemieux will be delivering the program.
    “We have three more bays and our plan is to get these things off the ground so we’ll have electrical, welding plumbing and small engine repair in the next few years. These are hugely hands on and impactful.”
    She adds she wants to continue to build partnerships in the community that could lead to more opportunities for students to pursue careers and opportunities for businesses to bring on students.
    There have been some changes at the division 1 level. Maris Weir has been hired to teach Kindergarten and Katelyn Jepson has been hired to teach Grade 1. Melissa Dionisio came to St. Anthony’s last year to fill a maternity leave, and will continue on filling another.
    The school division has been greatly affected by June’s flooding. While St. geographically is removed from some of the most affected schools, it showed it cares for those who are still struggling today.
    “At the end of last year we raised $4,500 from our little school, it is pretty significant,” said Akerboom. “A number of our teachers went and helped. Our board organized work crews throughout the summer.”
    ‘This is a really action can-do kind of province and it is wonderful to be here.”

    Residents of Drumheller will have the chance to speak directly to the Government of Alberta regarding the town’s post-flood recovery tonight (Wednesday, August  28).
    Starting at 7 p.m. at the Badlands Community Facility, the province is hosting a Community Information Session.
    “This is the opportunity to have your questions answered. The press release (from the province) cleaned up a lot of questions, but not all of them,” said Yemen. “They may not have the answers, but if we ask, they will get them for us.”
    On Monday, August 26, the province released a statement officially recognizing Drumheller and Fort McMurray, which are both largely located in floodways, to be exempt from the proposed provincial development ban in floodways.

The Government of Alberta is designating Drumheller an exception to the development ban in floodways, citing the town’s extensive mitigation, such as at Newcastle Park. The province is holding an information session for residents of Drumheller today at 7 p.m. in the Badlands Community Facility. The meeting will allow residents to ask the province directly any questions regarding flood recovery.

    “Having developed in a floodway for decades, these municipalities face unique situations that require unique solutions. We need to put measures in place to protect the community, but it would be fiscally unreasonable to move entire urban areas or not allow for future development. This decision ensures the best outcomes for everyone,” said Doug Griffiths, Minister of Muncipal Affairs, via press release.
    The Government of Alberta is recognizing the mitigation efforts and the development policies outlined in the Town’s Land Use Bylaw, which already restricts development in flood risk areas. The province and Town will be working together to finalize approved development areas and providing adequate mitigation.
    “We are pleased to see the province’s recognition of the flood mitigation efforts in 2005 and 2013 were effective. We will work with the province to take additional steps to improve our flood control systems, while protecting our citizens and their property in the future,” said Yemen.
    However, the Town is hoping the province will step up and help provide further mitigation, particularly in Rosedale and Lehigh.
    “There are some areas where we have to do flood mitigation, so we want to know the province’s plan and the timelines they have on these areas. There is work needing to be done in Rosedale and Lehigh,” said Yemen. “These are the people (the province) who can build the dykes. We’re working on reports on all the hot spots in Drumheller that need mitigation and we’ll be presenting that to the province in two weeks.”
    Last week the province released a list of flood impacted communities and how many homes are eligible to be relocated in each. No homes in Drumheller were identified as being eligible.
    “They’re taking into consideration all the mitigation. They’re not relocating homes, because of all the mitigation and the ability to do more,” said Yemen.
    Two weeks ago, the province backtracked on their intent to implement location notices on land titles located in floodways. Disaster Recovery Program notices will be placed on land titles for properties that received funding from the Disaster Recovery Program.
    All residents are encouraged to attend the meeting today at 7 p.m. in the Badlands Community Facility.