Calgary’s rodeo without the bull, Edmonton snowed over, Saskatchewan protects their late-night workers, and Winnipeg needs Big Brothers
One Yellow Rabbit/High Performance Rodeo
Calgary is getting ready for their wildly engaging 2013 High Performance Rodeo. Don’t let the name fool you, the talent here will be no cattle call. Instead brace yourself for Icelandic adaptions of Kafka novels, with 60-year-old transsexuals performing Belgian solos and digital puppet comic romps. This one-of-a-kind festival is a mash-up of music, dance, theatre, comedy and interdisciplinary art.
“This festival, I think, is all heart and soul with a little something to make your brain itch,” says 2013 Executive Producer Erin O’Connor.
This year’s festival will be nixing its outdoor snowblower event this time around. It’s less ice and more Iceland in a trilogy of Sonic Waves, Avatar, and Metamorphosis; which reinterprets a Kafka novel with music form Nick Cave. Rabbits gone digital like your eyes have never seen created through something called Photobooth. And, if you have ever asked the question what would happen if you mixed Glee and zombies, the act Ride the Cyclone by Atomc Vaudville answers it.
Tickets go on sale Thursday at www.hprodeo.ca/2013
Edmonton snow piles on collisions
Old man winter hit Edmonton with a vengeance Wednesday morning and the hits just kept on coming. Traffic delays, blocked roads and hundreds of collisions. According to Environmental Canada, Edmonton was expected to see 10-15 cm throughout the day while some areas could see up to 25 cm.
Between the hours of 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Edmonton police officers responded to 213 collisions, with 12 of those involving minor injuries. Crews will be working around the clock plowing and sanding starting with the priority routes and intersections.
“We had the rain turning to snow which is something that we’re not used to in Edmonton but it puts that nice, slick sheen on the road underneath the snow and then it is a fairly heavy, wet snow, accumulating very quickly,” said Bob Dunford, director of roadway maintenance with the city.
Source: http://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/heavy-snowfall-in-edmonton-area-causes-hundreds-of-collisions-1.1028351
Saskatchewan makes late-night shifts safer
There is a big concern when working the graveyard shift, and it’s not just staying awake, it’s being held up. Bill 23 was put into effect on Thursday, which enhances and clarifies current Occupational Health and Safety legislation. In a nutshell it will allow late-night clerks to breathe easier.
The NDP are pleased to see increased regulations for late-night retail workers, however they wish more safety regulations had been implemented. The NDP had been advocating higher safety standards to protect workers on the graveyard shift through standards promoted in Jimmy’s Law in memory of Jimmy Wiebe, who was shot and killed in a robbery while working the graveyard shift at a gas station in Yorkton in June 2011.
New regulations for late-night retail premises will include the use of video camera and good visibility and signage. Staff on shift will all have undergone safe cash handling training and procedures. Regulations will also see that a check-in system is in place, as well as personal emergency transmitters.
Big Brothers, Big Sisters seeking role models
Not all kids have Sturdy Wings to fall back on, but all could all use some wind at their back. Every boy needs a man to look up to; to answer their questions, to teach them things, and to just share positive experiences with them. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Winnipeg has a long list of boys waiting for a mentor and are asking men of Winnipeg to step up.
Jeff Penner and Matt Chrunyk, volunteer spokesmen for the organization’s 30 Men in 30 Days Challenge, are a true testament to the very real impact of male mentorship. Their friendship, which began at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Winnipeg, has spanned nearly two decades.
More Winnipeg men should aim to follow the leading footsteps of Jeff Penner this November. Penner was 24 when, when he decided to volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Winnipeg. He had just recently returned from serving the military and was a new husband and was missing the male camaraderie.
“I needed somebody to play sports with, throw the football around and talk, probably just as much as Matt did,” says Penner.
To learn more about the 30 Men 30 Day Challenge and how you can get involved, please visit the Big Brothers Big Sisters website at http://www.bigwinnipeg.com
Source: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/Many-boys-wait-for-a-mentor-177289051.html
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Chadd Cawson is an intern at Spectator Tribune. Follow him at: @ChaddCawson
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