Thursday - Aug. 1, 2024 - Want to buy a murder station?

☀ High 31C

Good morning!

The last few days of rain have been a pleasant change from the searing heat of the past month. The plants needed it. The firefighters needed it. And although it never got that cold, it almost got me into a fall mood. But not for long. If the forecast for today is correct, we’re in for a return to scorching summer weather. Don’t forget your sunscreen!

– Grace

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Traffic & Weather

🌤 Local forecast: Langley | Chilliwack | Abbotsford | Hope

🚘 Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google, and find DriveBC’s latest updates.

🛣 Click here for links to road cameras across the Fraser Valley, including those for the Coquihalla, Highway 7, Hope-Princeton, Fraser Canyon, and Highway 1 in Langley and Abbotsford.

NEWS

Free this month: music, movies, yoga, and dancing

It’s music to your ears—and your wallet.

There are more than a dozen free concerts happening this month in the Fraser Valley, and we’ve created a new list for August, helping you figure out how to fill your evenings with music without draining your bank account.

We’ve also collected a few other fun free events, including starlit movie nights, community dance lessons, and outdoor yoga classes.

• In July, we shared a number of free concerts taking place across the Fraser Valley. Today, we’ve updated that list to include more than a dozen free concerts—and 14 other free events—taking place this August.

Related

Need to Know

⚠ BC has issued a flood watch along the Fraser River from Quesnel to Hope because of a landslide upstream on the Chilcotin River [Emergency Info BC] / The landslide created a temporary lake, which could burst and cause flash flooding downstream [Tyler Olsen/X]

🚓 One person is dead after a collision on Highway 1 near Hope; BC Highway Patrol wants to talk to anyone who may have driven past the accident on July 29 [RCMP]

💧 Abbotsford is continuing to monitor Stoney Creek; the first rainfall since the foam spill has shown no impacts to animals in the creek, consultants say [Abbotsford News] / We profiled Stoney Creek’s dedicated reporter Dave Rutherford last week [FVC]

🎸 A convicted killer at Kent Institution will not be allowed to have an electric guitar in his cell, a judge has ruled [Agassiz Harrison Observer]

🌟 Meteor watchers won’t be able to camp out at Aldergrove Regional Park to watch the annual Perseid Meteor Shower this year [Langley Advance Times]

🤼 Chilliwack teen Elizabeth Latulippe is starting a low-cost wrestling camp for athletes of all ages and experience [Chilliwack Progress]

🎾 Langley Township is considering more pickleball courts in the area, but still decided to shut down two courts in Fort Langley due to noise complaints [Langley Advance Times]

🏘 Abbotsford has approved the development of two apartment buildings and a townhouse complex in the city [Abbotsford News]

👉 Matsqui First Nation is calling for a study of flood management on Sumas Prairie, including the option of restoring Sumas Lake [Abbotsford News]

📵 Nearly $850,000 in contraband was seized at Mountain Institution in Agassiz, including crystal meth, steroids, nicotine patches, and cell phones [Agassiz Harrison Observer]

☕ Yarrow has a new mom-and-pop style coffee truck downtown Tuesdays through Fridays [Fraser Valley Today]

💕 Mission has a new peer support group for people grieving those lost to unregulated drugs [Mission Record]

📷 CURRENT CAM: Congratulations to Dianne, who was the first person to identify yesterday’s Current Cam as the turtle at Sardis Park.

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The Agenda

Want to buy a murder station?

Nearly 100 years ago, train engineer Jesse Magoon was killed in his bedroom at the Sumas Substation in Abbotsford. Today, that same substation is up for sale for a cool $2.9 million.

The Sumas Substation was built in 1906 as one of five identical power stations along the BC Electric Railway, which moved people and goods from New Westminster to the Fraser Valley. The station converted power from nearby dams into electricity to run the railway. The substation also acted as homes for railway employees and a gathering place for the community. The railway stopped passenger traffic in the 1950s, and the substation was largely abandoned. It was later purchased and converted into a private home.

Today, the Sumas Substation is a luxury mansion, complete with 10 bedrooms, nine bathrooms, a wine cellar, theatre room, and three dining rooms. It has been on and off the market for several years. It was listed for sale in 2018 for $3.75 million, and relisted again in 2020 for $2.995 million. It is on the market again today for $2.899 million—close to its assessed value of $2.837 million. (Its assessed value went up from last year.)

In a Vancouver is Awesome article from 2018, the owners said they wanted to find a buyer who would respect the building’s history. As we reported in June, that history not only connects to the Fraser Valley’s rail heritage, but also includes an unusual murder mystery. You can read the story of that murder here. Pictures of the renovated substation are available on the property listing.

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🗓 Things to do this week/end

💃 Social dance: Langley's Rock Step Swing Dance Society is hosting its monthly swing social dance at Murrayville Community Hall on Friday, Aug. 2. The night starts off with two free swing and salsa lessons, and continues with a ticketed two-hour dance. Tickets and details online.

🧩 Puzzle competition: Join the Sardis Library for a competitive puzzle evening on Tuesday, Aug. 6. Register as a team, or ask the library to pair you up. The 500-piece puzzle competition is best suited for adults, although kids under 13 can participate if an adult joins them. Register online.

🚲 BMX races: The BMX Canada Borderline National are coming to Langley BMX from Friday, Aug. 2 to Sunday, Aug. 4. The races are free to watch, but members from ages 3 to 78 can join in on the action. Details online.

Want even more? Insider members get a comprehensive events listing every Thursday, plus a weekly Saturday round-up edition with behind-the-scenes content. Becoming a member costs less than $2 a week and helps support the ongoing production of The Current’s newsletters and in-depth journalism. Become a member here.

Have an event to tell us about? Fill out this form to have it highlighted here.

Catch up

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