Flags at the Town of Drumheller at half mast today, April 28, to mark National Day of Mourning.

Christina Gray, Alberta Minister of Labour issued a statement to mark the day:

“Last year, 166 Albertans didn’t come home, or succumbed to workplace injuries or illness. On April 28, we remember those we lost and we stand with those they left behind. We honour the memory of the dead and we recommit ourselves to safe and healthy workplaces.

“When Albertans go to work in the morning, their loved ones deserve to feel confident that they will make it home safely at the end of the day. Tragically, far too often that’s not the case.

“When it comes to the health and safety of workers, we know that there’s always more for us to do. That’s why it’s so important that starting June 1, workers across the province will finally have the right to know about hazards in their workplace, the right to participate in health and safety discussions and, most importantly, the crystal clear right to refuse unsafe work.

“Today, I ask all Albertans to take a moment and remember those who lost their lives due to workplace illness and injury. I ask all Albertans to commit to making our workplaces safer and healthier across our province.”

    Come June another production company will be in thevalley shooting a web-based series.
    Three emerging Albertan filmmakers; Griffin Cork, Morgan Ermter, and Josef Wright are hitting the road this spring to shoot Abracadavers, a comedic road tripping series. The team begins production on May 7, and will be shooting throughout the province and some locations in British Columbia.
    The team has shot a pilot for the show and they took it to the Banff World Media Festival. They were able to drum up local and international interest. They have also received support for the project from the TELUS STORYHIVE Program, which has allowed them to go into production.
     “We, as a team, are big fans of what STORYHIVE is doing,” Cork says. “Especially as emerging filmmakers, it’s nice to have somebody like TELUS or STORYHIVE give credit to young bucks like us and see that there is merit in the work we create. We have a passion to create original Canadian content, and it’s amazing to have that opportunity.”
    The series is based around a young man named Chris, whose mom died in a freak hair salon chair accident. Ever since then, he has been attached to the chair responsible for her death. Gabriel, his closest friend, believes this is more than an obsession and along with their group of friends kidnaps him on a trip. On the road-trip, everyone discovers, as Chris had previously begun to expect, the salon chair gives those close to it superpowers.
    Chris, on the other hand, comes to understand he is, in fact, struggling with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and learns, along with his friends, that dealing with super-human abilities is sometimes easier to grapple with than what’s going on in your mind. The group trips, stumbles, but ultimately works and grows together to understand their new-found abilities and more importantly, themselves.
Cork says the production will be in Drumheller from June 4-6, shooting throughout the valley as well as on John Barry Graham’s land near East Coulee.
    The episodes will be available on TELUS Optik TV On Demand and online towards the end of the same summer for more information go to www.abracadavers.tv or check out the Abracadavers Facebook page.