I haven't written in my blog for ages. I have been sooooo busy, This is a little something that I wrote for the Calgary Herald. I am so glad that Frank was there to help me edit it.... As you may or may not know, My brother in law, Kevan, was killed in a workplace accident. on fathers day of this year. As it now stands, farmers have no rights / or protections. If you think you can help me change the legislation, let me know, I need all of the help I can get. So far we have worked with The farmworkers Union of Alberta/ some MLAS and numerous other people. Thanks!! Needless death leaves family to wonder why Patricia Williams For The Calgary Herald Sunday, October 01, 2006 Kevan Chandler died June 18, 2006, when an avalanche of grain buried him in a silo at Tongue Creek Feeders in High River. On Aug. 29, Chandler's wife, Lorna, and her sister, Patricia Williams, joined MLA David Swann at the legislature in protesting the provincial government's refusal to include farm workers in occupational health and safety regulations, as has been done in eight other provinces.Canadians share the same goal -- we go to work to earn money to provide food and shelter for our families and ourselves. This is the story of one Canadian who had the same goal.Kevan John Chandler entered our lives in 1997. Like a knight in a fairy tale, he swept my sister, Lorna, off her feet. It seems as though it was love at first sight. After nine years and two beautiful children, Kevan had evolved into the most caring, generous father and husband.Lorna and Kevan had their storms as everyone does, but they had just come through one and had found the rainbow. They both worked hard to make ends meet, and to save for their own home. Lorna had been working two jobs, and Kevan worked full time at the feed lot. Last April, he learned he would be promoted. He was overjoyed because the promotion came with a pay raise.I still remember the day that he called, and the joy in his voice, as this would allow Lorna to quit one of her jobs. He was so enthusiastic.On June 18, as Lorna was preparing to take their two children, Josh and Jada, shopping for a Father's Day present, there was a knock at their door. It was Kevan's best friend, Pete, with news of an accident.Kevan had been asked to climb inside of a silo to chip away some grain that had compacted. While inside the silo, the grain collapsed on him, burying him alive. Since the farm was not required to meet adequate safety standards, he had not been provided with a safety harness. As a result, the only way to save him was to drain the silo. Unfortunately, this was a slow process. It took approximately five minutes to drain the silo. Only then, were they able to remove Kevan and begin CPR.When I walked into the emergency room that afternoon, I saw Kevan's lifeless body lying on the stretcher, with my sister beside him, weeping and holding his hand. My heart broke a thousand different ways, and I prayed to God that this was not really happening, that Kevan would simply wake up and in no time be able to tell the tale of his brush with death.In that moment of grief and disbelief, I made a promise to Kevan in my heart, that his death would not be in vain. I promised my sister and her children that I would work my hardest and do my best, not only to see them through this storm, but to try to prevent a needless death like this from happening to any other family.As I sat silently with my sister in my arms, she gently brushed remnants of the grain from his body and softly whispered words of love to him. I wondered, how will we tell Josh and Jada that their dad has died? Where do we go from here? What do we do now?July 16 would have been Kevan's 36th birthday. Instead of celebrating with a family dinner and a few rounds of pool, we buried Kevan's ashes. We sombrely stood, and each of us thanked Kevan for the ways in which he had blessed our lives, and taught us things important to becoming the people we are now.The sun was shining down that day as we bid farewell, hoping and praying we would all meet up again someday, and as we descended Cemetery Hill in Black Diamond, we knew. Kevan will always come with us, in our hearts. We were so blessed to know such a man, who, with his generous spirit, would have given anything, for anyone.After thousands of hours of grief and a million tears, here we are. Nothing has really changed and we still haven't any answers as to what we should do. What we do know is that Kevan is gone, a tragic result of trying to save his family from hardship and trying to provide his children with such a life that they would not go without.Not a day goes by that his family does not cry for him. They cry for the fact that he is no longer there to teach and learn from his children. No more will he be able to help Josh with his homework or teach him to play chess. No more can he patiently and carefully listen, as Jada tries to read to him each night. Never again will he take Josh bowling, or to the go-carts. He will never have the opportunity to see his children graduate, or walk his daughter down the aisle.No new memories will be made with them and their father, Kevan John Chandler.Farm workers are not second-class citizens. How many more will have to die before we see change?