A natural gas site can be a hazardous place for the uninitiated, especially for emergency services responding to an accident at a well site.
    To help give emergency services in the area the tools they need to be safe, Encana hosted the first presentation of an emergency services well site orientation aimed at RCMP, fire departments, and ambulance personnel.
    “The idea for the presentation was to bring awareness of the risk present at Encana work sites to our first responders. We identify all the hazards and risks they might encounter,” said Duane Bolin, Encana Safety Coordinator and volunteer firefighter.
    “If you have people who don’t really have any exposure to oil and gas work sites, they’re walking in blind.”
    Bolin outlined a few of the risks that could be present at an Encana site.
    “The big one is a hazardous atmosphere, so there could be a natural gas  or hydrogen sulfide leak, which could lead to an explosive atmosphere. High pressures and temperatures can also happen on site. A lot of our facilities have a lot of high power electrical lines,” said Bolin.

Constable Tom Bowden, Munson Fire Chief Steve Wannstrom, Dalum firefighter Junior Jensen, Encana Safety Coordinator and Drumheller firefighter Duane Bolin, and Drumheller Fire Chief Bill Bachynski get together to learn about safety and the hazards that could be present at Encana work sites.

    This is the first session Encana has held in Drumheller.
    “We’ve involved emergency services for training exercises before. That’s where we got the idea that maybe some weren’t as well-versed as we’d like,” said Bolin.
    In addition to teaching about the risks that could be present at a work site, it was also an opportunity for Encana staff and emergency personnel to get to know each other.
    “It’s good for us at Encana to assist our emergency responders. For me, it’s great to get to know the other responders, because usually the first time we meet them is at an incident,” said Bolin. “It’s good to have an activity like this where we can meet on a common ground and get to know each other and learn how we can compliment each other when responding to an incident.”

    After years of waiting, Golden Hills School Division is very excited to hear the  announcement from Premier Redford and Minister of Education, Jeff Johnson of two new area schools.
    Over the past number of years, the communities in East Wheatland of Hussar, Standard, Rockyford and Gleichen have been experiencing challenges with respect to shifting student populations and quality of school facilities.
    Last year, in order to provide solutions to this problem, a working group of parents representing each of those four school communities was formed to explore possible solutions for education in the area. After an involved process of collaboration and consultation that extended broadly to all four communities, this Working Group proposed closure of those four community schools and consolidation of all the students in the area to one K-12 centralized school.
    The GHSD Board of Trustees endorsed this proposal and with this announcement, the province has made the decision to support this area and these four communities with a new consolidated school to support all the students in East Wheatland.

Bevan Daverne…
Golden Hills superintendent

     “We are very excited with today’s announcements. I can’t say enough about the Working Group and the excellent job they have done in moving this whole situation forward,” said Golden Hills superintendent Bevan Daverne. “Truly, this is a solution that not only is good for students, but is also a model for rural sustainability. For the province to recognize that work and support all the communities in East Wheatland with a consolidated solution and to fund a state of the art facility where all our East Wheatland staff and students are able to work and learn together is fantastic news for all of us!”
   The second school announcement impacts the community of Three Hills, where, for the past eight years, the Prairie Christian Academy’s campus has been split between multiple campuses in a variety of leased space. This announcement provides funding to take the elementary campus and right-size it for the entire K-12 student population.
    The addition of teaching spaces would include support for high school program courses as well as a new gymnasium suitable for senior high athletics. This announcement will mean that all PCA students and staff will be able to learn and work together in a modern board-owned facility.
    Board chair, Dave Price, stated, “This is a wonderful announcement today for the community of Three Hills and parents, staff and students at PCA. From an educational and financial perspective – for the culture of that school community, this is an excellent solution and we are very appreciative of the support we have received from the province on this situation.”
    The projects are part of Premier Alison Redford’s promised investment in education infrastructure and the second major capital announcement this week.
    “We made a commitment to build new schools and we’re doing just that,” said Premier Redford. “This is about more than bricks and mortar — it’s about building strong communities so all our kids get the best possible start in life. By investing in schools today, we are investing in ourselves, and our province.”