BARRHEAD - Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the County of Barrhead has had to make certain concessions, most notably the annual long-service celebration banquet usually held in the late fall.
However, county manager Debbie Oyarzun said at council's Dec. 1 meeting that councillors did not want to overlook the hard work and dedication it took for their employees to reach such prestigious milestones, and therefore they decided to recognize their accomplishments through a slideshow presentation throughout the meeting.
Devan Schlitter-Five years
Schlitter joined the county in May 2014 on the road construction crew, specifically as a 627 scraper operator.
"It was all new to him, but he figured it out quite quickly and would jump on other pieces of equipment, like the dozer, and was soon cutting ditches and trimming shoulders on top of his regular duties," said his supervisor and infrastructure director Ken Hove.
In 2016, Schlitter was promoted to a grader operator.
"Devan takes pride in the condition of his roads," Hove said, jokingly adding at times he seemed to take it personally when his roads are "beat up by farmers or industry".
Robin MacKenzie-Five years
MacKenzie joined the public works staff in the spring of 2016 as a heavy-duty mechanic.
Although he is a very knowledgeable and skilled mechanic, he now serves as utility officer looking after the municipality's water and sewer systems.
"But when the shop is stumped with a problem, Robin is one of the first people they turn to," Hove said.
MacKenzie also has his Class 1 licence and has years of heavy equipment experience so he can often be found in a truck or a grader lending a hand.
MacKenzie is also the person staff turn to when they need to be evaluated to keep their commercial driver's licence current.
Coun. Bill Lane asked if he had ever failed anyone.
"Not yet but it has been close," MacKenzie joked.
Blair Petruchik-Ten years
Petruchik started his career with the County of Barrhead in September of 2010 on the construction crew operating a 626 scraper. After three years, he saw the opportunity to become a loader operator and truck driver.
"We were sad to see him leave our construction crew because like everything he does, he is highly skilled and was our go-to-guy on the scraper.
As part of his duties, Petruchik loads the municipality's contract gravel hauls. One of the things he regularly does is give each truck driver a manifest that includes the precise location, as well as how much the truck is hauling.
"Everything is very organized since he began that role and took it upon himself to create the system," Hove said.
Petruchik's other duties include hauling gravel and moving the municipality's heavy equipment using a lowboy truck and trailer combo. In the winter after a snowfall, he switches to operating a grader or sander keeping the municipality's roads safe for travel.
In addition to those duties, he has become a proficient welder and is part of the Workplace Health and Safety committee.
Sheryl Arnemann-Five Years
Arnemann is actually celebrating her sixth year working for the county as a municipal clerk in the administration department but she was unable to attend last year's banquet.
Finance and administration director Tamara Molzahn said Arnemann is known for her cheerful disposition and can always be called upon to tackle the most difficult files.
"She is also willing to chip in, like all our staff, where ever she is needed," she said.
Patty Storseth-Wierenga-29 Years
By the time Storseth-Wierenga retires later this year, she will have been with the County of Barrhead for 29 years.
She started before the County of Barrhead and the Pembina Hills School Division were separate entities. For the majority of her time, Storseth-Wierenga has served in the finance assistant role, but before the two organizations separated, she was the secretary to the superintendent.
Molzahn noted that throughout the years, Storseth-Wierenga has taken on many duties, but the one that perhaps she is best known for and enjoys the most is helping staff with their HR needs.
"Whether it is onboarding new staff, helping people with their benefits or helping people with the difficult decision of when is the right time to retire, Patty is always there," she said.
Along with her other duties, Molzahn added that Storseth-Wierenga was responsible for the municipality's corporate health challenge to help improve employees’ overall health and morale. More recently she oversaw the county's efforts to modernize its finance and accounting systems.
"That was a huge undertaking and while we are happy to see Patty moving on to the next chapter in her life, we are definitely going to miss her," Molzahn said.
