Friday - Feb 6 - Top FV athletes

🌤️ High 14C

Good morning!

Thanks to our readers who reached out with suggestions for local Black History Month events. If you’re looking for an event next week, the Abbotsford Local Immigration Partnership is hosting a get together on Thursday at the Matsqui Centennial Auditorium with local Black-owned businesses, refreshments, and diverse performances.

Reader Earla also suggested Invisible Boy by Harrison Mooney for the book lovers amongst us. In his debut memoir, the best-selling Abbotsford author details his experience as a Black child adopted into a white, religious family.

– Emily

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Traffic & Weather

🌤 Local forecast: Langley | Chilliwack | Abbotsford | Hope | Mission

🚘 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 & Features

Two Fraser Valley students named BC's top high school athletes

The Fraser Valley is home to British Columbia's best high school athletes.

Sport BC and BC School Sports announced that W.J. Mouat Secondary School's Elijah Black and Mennonite Educational Institute's Adrianna Buitelaar have been named the province's Male and Female High School Athletes of the Year.

Buitelaar's breakout year in track and cross country saw her set a new all-time BC School Sports Provincial Record in the 1500m and win gold at the BCSS Cross Country championships with the fastest female time in any division. She went on to capture national titles in the 3000m and U20 cross country, earning a spot on the U20 Athletics Canada National Cross Country Team.

Black had a record-setting season as quarterback, leading his Hawks to the Championship Game at BC Place in December while shattering multiple BC high school passing records. The 2025 BC School Sports 3A Football Player of the Year also played for the WJM varsity basketball team and served as starting quarterback for Team BC at the Canada Cup—all while balancing academics, leadership responsibilities, and work.

Both athletes represent the highest standard of high school sport in British Columbia, excelling not just in competition but as leaders in their school communities.

Sport BC will celebrate the athletes at the Athlete of the Year Awards on March 5.

SPONSORED BY BC DAIRY

Growing food system resilience, organically

Certified organic producer Annelise Grube-Cavers runs Fresh Valley Farms near Armstrong, B.C., raising livestock through rotational grazing and regenerative practices. Her work highlights how small-scale organic farming blends attention to detail, transparency, and long-term thinking—offering practical solutions for food security, climate resilience, and stronger local supply chains in an increasingly uncertain agricultural landscape. Read her story.

Need to Know

🐟 Langley Township is seeking public feedback on upgrading the Salmon River Pump Station with fish-friendly pumps to improve year-round flood protection and reduce fish deaths. [Langley Advance Times]

🌊 BC's Emergency Management Minister Kelly Greene, Abbotsford Mayor Ross Siemens, and Semá:th Chief Dalton Silver travelled to Ottawa on February 4-5 to advocate for federal funding for Sumas Prairie flood mitigation infrastructure. [Province of BC]

🩺 UFV received $453,340 from the province to develop a nursing faculty mentorship program that will help clinical nurses transition to classroom teaching through interactive modules, workshops, and clinical support strategies. [UFV]

🚔 Abbotsford police arrested two men and one woman following a car chase that originated in Mission and ended near Harris Road and Ross Road on Wednesday afternoon, with two pellet guns found in the vehicle. [Fraser Valley Today]

☕ Ruth's Coffee, a social enterprise of Ruth and Naomi's Mission, opened on February 3 inside Yarrow Alliance Church, offering participants hands-on job experience while serving the community. [Fraser Valley Today]

🍝 Spirit of Hope Secondary School raised over $2,500 during a spaghetti dinner fundraiser to support prom for 76 graduates, the school's largest graduating class in five years. [Hope Standard]

🏗️ Harrison Hot Springs council approved awarding the $850,000 Lillooet Avenue beautification project to Element Excavating, with construction expected to wrap up before the summer tourism season. [Agassiz-Harrison Observer]

🚧 Mission council set a March 2 public hearing for a proposed soil washing facility near the RCMP detachment that would process over 300,000 tonnes of contaminated soil annually. [Mission Record]

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🗓 Things to do

Upright Beats Concert: The Bergmann Duo and award-winning jazz bassist Jodi Proznick perform classical and modern music from Bach to Jobim at Rotary Hall Studio Theatre on Tuesday, February 10 at 7:30 PM, tickets $35.

Galentine's Day Wreath Workshop: Create an everlasting wreath with dried florals guided by Twiggage & Bloom's Lexi while enjoying wine tasting and light bites at Everything Wine Abbotsford on Wednesday, February 11 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM, tickets $60 plus GST.

Galentine's Day on Mill Street: Grab your friends for a girls' night out strolling Mill Street on Wednesday, February 11 from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM, visiting local shops including Harvest store & Cafe, Fraser & Co., The Button Box Boutique, The Parisienne Market, and Marais Tea Co.

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