Monday, June 19, 2023 - How to survive getting lost

Monday, June 19, 2023 | ☁️ High 18C

Good morning!

The Aldergrove drive-in theatre is closing. (We have more on that in today’s newsletter below.) I was saddened by the news. When I lived in Aldergrove we frequented the drive-in during the summers. It made me think about all the memories other families have likely made while visiting the old-timey theatre. If you have a particularly special memory of the theatre, reply back and share it with me!

Thanks to Ernest and Paul for supporting The Current. Learn how you can join them and become an Insider member. 

WORTH KNOWING

🌤 Local forecast: Langley | Chilliwack | Abbotsford | Hope

⚠️ Here’s the current smoke forecast / Check the BC Wildfire Dashboard here

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

NEWS

How to stay safe while exploring the outdoors

Summer and time spent outdoors goes hand-in-hand.

Adam Laurie recently spoke to The Current about life as a Chilliwack Search and Rescue member. (Read that story here.) We also asked Laurie for tips on how to stay safe while exploring the great outdoors.

• Today, we hear from the expert outdoorsman about how to prepare and stay safe while enjoying nature.

Need to know

👉 A coroner's inquest will investigate the death of Barry Shantz, a prominent former Abbotsford homeless advocate who was killed by police in Lytton in 2020. [BC Government]; Shantz left behind a complicated legacy [Abbotsford News]

🎆 Canada Day fireworks in Harrison have been cancelled due to the fire ban [Tourism Harrison]

👍 Mission council is moving ahead with plans for six pickleball courts [Mission Record]

👏 More than 2,000 UFV students celebrated graduation during convocation ceremonies [UFV]

👉 The province and the Shxw’ōwhámél First Nation signed a contract to manage a piece of river infrastructure that stops woody debris from flowing further downriver [Fraser Valley Today] / The trap is composed of a set of floating booms [ Fraser Basin Council]

🔥 The Chehalis River wildfire west of Harrison Lake is no longer out of control [BC Wildfire Service]

🧯 The fire danger for the region is now low-to-moderate [BC Government]

😟 A free store on Skwah First Nation is closing after complaints that non-members were using it [Chilliwack Progress]

⚖ A fire that followed the 2020 killing of a man in Mission was deliberately set, a judge ruled [Mission Record]

🚆 The West Coast Express is back to pre-pandemic service levels as of today [Daily Hive]

🎓 Dr. Bonnie Henry received an honourary degree from UFV [UFV]

🐰 Crews discovered an unlikely cause to a recurring sinkhole in a Langley City sidewalk—a rabbit [Langley Advance Times]

🚂 West Coast Express service levels will improve beginning today with the addition of a fifth train [Daily Hive]

☺ TODAY’S SMILE:

SPONSORED BY FORT LANGLEY JAZZ & ARTS FESTIVAL

Jazz legends open Fort Langley Jazz Fest

Kick off the 2023 Odlum Brown Fort Langley Jazz & Arts Festival with a concert you won’t forget, featuring Phil Dwyer’s Connections Quartet.

Phil Dwyer’s Connections Quartet brings together premier musicians in a one-of-a-kind concert including JUNO-award winner, saxophonist and pianist, Phil Dwyer; Juno-award winner Brad Turner on trumpet and piano; renowned international drummer Alan Jones; and Phil’s son, Ben Dwyer on bass.

The quartet will perform new and other works from over 40 years of playing in various configurations together. This illustrious group of artists will perform as two trios and a quartet, all in one with Phil and Brad taking turns at the piano with their alter egos performing on saxophone and trumpet.

Thursday, July 20, 7-10pm at Chief Sepass Theatre! Get your tickets today!

The Agenda

Region’s last drive-in theatre closing next year

The region’s last drive-in theatre will be closing next season.

The landlord of the Twilight Drive-In Theatre will not be renewing the lease of the Aldergrove business after a significant increase in property taxes, the theatre owner posted online. 

“Due to a 260% increase in property taxes over the last three years, and with 72% this year alone, our landlord has informed us that they will not be renewing our lease.”

The reason for the tax increase is linked to the fact that the assessed value of the property has tripled in five years—an increase much more dramatic than the Langley Township average. Last year, the owner of the drive-in property paid more than $378,000 in various property taxes, according to online records. That figure rose by about $100,000 from the previous year.

Jay Daulat opened the Twilight theatre in 2005 and was a “firm believer of the business,” the Aldergrove Star reported in 2012. “There used to be lots of drive-ins in the Lower Mainland but unfortunately most were forced to close, not because of attendance but because the land became too valuable to the owners,” he told the local paper.

Fans or first timers will have until the end of the 2024 season to enjoy the unique movie-watching experience. (The Current previously reported on the uncertain future of BC’s independent cinemas.)

Langley Township Mayor Eric Woodward wrote on his Facebook page that has asked staff to look into how the Twilight Drive-In might be saved.

Jackass construction underway, but won’t be done for another year

Eighteen months after the 2021 atmospheric river disaster severed Highway 1 in the Fraser Canyon, work has finally begun to restore a still-damaged section to full operation. But work to fully fix the highway isn’t expected to be completed until late next year, three years after the historic event.

The 2021 landslides wiped out a large section of highway at Jackass Mountain/Falls Creek, midway between Lytton and Boston Bar. A torrent of water blasted apart a huge section of highway, creating a massive new ravine. Months after the event, BC’s transportation ministry built a 80-metre-long temporary steel bridge over the new ravine. The bridge, though, has only one lane, requiring significant traffic stoppages on either end of a four-kilometre-long stretch of highway.

Little has changed since the temporary bridge was installed. But in recent weeks, engineers and work crews have begun new work at the site.

BC’s Transportation Ministry says current construction includes site facility set-up, utility relocation, embankment work, excavation and pile driving for a permanent bridge.

Correction

Friday’s newsletter incorrectly stated Agassiz’s council approved funds to upgrade a dike around Harrison Lake. The funds were approved by Harrison council. Apologies for any confusion.

Things to do

🎬 Auditions: Gallery 7 Theatre in Abbotsford will be holding open auditions Tuesday for its production of A Tale of Two Cities, a play based on the famous Charles Dickens novel. Details online.

🚒 Fire Hall Family Night: Langley Township is hosting a Fire Hall Family Night Tuesday and Wednesday. Meet local firefighters, climb aboard fire trucks, and join hands-on demonstrations of fire fighting equipment.

🌱 Garden tour: Chilliwack Rotary returns with its 19th annual garden tour on Saturday. Tour stops at a number of locations in Chilliwack. Tickets online.

Find more events in our members-only weekly calendar.

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