Retirement

OGDEN — Ogden Preparatory Academy will be saying goodbye to its beloved principal, Kathy Thornburg, in June, but the school’s chief administrator is confident that the environment she helped create will serve students well in the years to come.

The academy, a charter school, will undergo a major change at the end of the academic year when it moves to a new location, and Thornburg took the change into consideration when she thought about retiring.

“This has been a work in progress for me. I had very seriously considered retiring about three years ago, but at that point, we decided to expand the school, nearly doubling in size. Not wanting to miss out on seeing it flourish like I dreamed it would, I said I would stay on until we build a new building, and at that point in time, I would call it quits,” Thornburg said.

NORTH OGDEN — Police Chief Polo Afuvai was filled with emotion Tuesday night as he stood before city officials, family and almost his whole department to bid farewell to a job he has loved for 31 years. Afuvai will retire this Friday.

The first time a story I wrote was printed in a daily newspaper, I went to the press room at 1 a.m. to watch.

It was 1970. I was an intern with the now-defunct West Palm Beach, Fla., Times and I couldn’t sleep, I was so excited. As I watched the endless stream of paper spinning around the giant press, I thought, “Somewhere in all that, is a little bit of me.”

Life didn’t get any cooler.

PLAIN CITY -- A full house recently came out to honor retiring firefighter Galen Lord, following his 30 years of service with the city’s fire department.

Chief Jeremy Crowton said Lord’s retirement was a monumental occasion because he was one of the founders of the department in 1982. Crowton said Lord has put in volunteer efforts for 30 years.

FRUIT HEIGHTS -- After nearly 26 years of service for the city, treasurer Helen Peay plans to retire in February.

The 66-year-old has served with five different mayors and five different city managers during her years of managing the city’s finances. Peay said she remembers when the city offices were originally located in a small section of the Rock Loft when she first began working for the city in 1987.

NORTH OGDEN — It’s hard to go anywhere with Dave Nordquist without running into someone he coached, taught or mentored in the Ogden area.

OGDEN -- The public is invited to celebrate the retirement of Weber County Commission Chairman Craig Dearden.

A retirement party will be held from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 19 in the Commission Chambers Breakout Room at the Weber Center, 2380 Washington Blvd.