Tuesday - July 16, 2024 - Tea time in a Mission park

☀ High 29C

Good morning!

It still pays to shop in person. On Sunday, our family’s young puppy, who really is normally a very good girl, went to town on a puzzle we had just completed. The black-and-white puzzle came with a set of markers to allow kids to colour it. That had just begun when we briefly left the house the other evening. We came back to find the puzzle in tatters. My son distressed, I headed to the Internet, looking for a replacement. Amazon, inevitably, had one! But it was listed for sale for $72.

The discovery that our dog ate a $72 was alarming for a couple reasons, first and foremost that we do not pay that much for puzzles (and/or dog food). I worried that it was a gift from an overly generous relative, but my wife helpfully clarified that she had found the puzzle at a dollar store for $5. Which isn’t a bad price for a puzzle—or dog food.

My mind eased, I got to work rebuilding the puzzle. Only three pieces were unsalvageable, but I don’t think I can get $70 for it on eBay anymore

– Tyler

Support local journalism by supporting The Current. Become a Current Insider member today and help bring local stories to life.

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

The human-caused question

As BC’s heat wave continued, a small wildfire broke out Monday between Hope and Chilliwack, near Highway 1 and BC Hydro’s powerlines.

Despite the conditions, by the afternoon, the fire was classified as “being held,” which means that it’s not expected to spread any further.

We don’t know the specific cause, but because it wasn’t started by lightning, the blaze will be classified as “human-caused.” That definition, however, is more ambiguous than you might realize. It includes fires started by reckless humans, but also industrial activity, power lines, trains, and even birds.

• Last year, Tyler wrote about the complexity of ‘human-caused’ wildfires, and why simply stopping firebugs won’t solve BC’s increasingly fiery summers.

• The fire danger across most of BC is high or extreme. You can find today’s fire danger rating here.

• Two small fires near Spences Bridge grew considerably yesterday. Smoke from the fires was beginning to drift toward the Fraser Valley yesterday evening. You can find a smoke forecast map here.

Related

Need to Know

👉 A developer hopes to build six high rises on the site of the Langley Mall over the coming decades [Langley Advance Times]

🎣 A sturgeon more than 11 feet long was caught on the Fraser [Mission Record]

🚒 Several people in the Chilliwack River Valley were fined for violating the provincewide campfire ban [Fraser Valley Today]

🚧 Waste is finally being removed from a Columbia Valley farm property that has alarmed residents for nearly two years [Chilliwack Progress]

🚑 A Langley man was killed in a crash in Pitt Meadows last week [Delta Optimist]

👉 People living at the Bradner rest stop on Highway 1 have been told they’ll need to leave by the end of the month [CBC]

🔥 The owners of a Hope house destroyed by fire have been given two months to demolish the building [Hope Standard]

🚂 Chilliwack’s mayor met with CN officials to discuss train whistles [Fraser Valley Today]

🚗 The 264 Street onramp is one of the worst intersections in the entire Lower Mainland [Langley Advance Times]

🐟 The City of Abbotsford says clean-up work has concluded on a creek where nearly 1,000 fish died following a chemical spill [CTV]

Enjoying our newsletter? Help us make it even better!

Become an Insider member and help keep local journalism and storytelling alive in the Fraser Valley.

SPONSORED BY YOU

Your ad can be here

Advertising in The Current is easier than ever and supports our journalism. Just shoot us an email to learn how you can advertise.

The Agenda

Tea house set for Mission’s Centennial Park

A Japanese Canadian heritage organization has handed the City of Mission $400,000 to construct a small building inspired by tea house and Japanese architectural features.

The new building would be located in Centennial Park and aim to “commemorate and share the stories of Japanese Canadian families who helped build the farming and forestry industries in Mission.” It is inspired by a large 1992 Mission Community Archives exhibit that included a tea house in order to chronicle the Japanese Canadian community’s history in Mission.

Mission’s Arts and Culture manager Mark Haney told council that the Japanese Canadian Legacies Society had contacted the archives about the potential project because of the memories of that historical project from 32 years ago.

The building would be a “small-scale amenity” that recognizes the history of the area and provides a spot for small groups to gather.

“When I say I’d like to see this used for performances, the idea is, like, a one-person kids’ puppet show in the summer with 15 people on the grass watching it,” Haney said. “This is not for hundreds, this is not a large-scale thing. This is something small, approachable, accessible. It can also just be a contemplative space.”

He said the concept itself is far from finalized and can be adjusted as need be, now that the funding grant has been secured. The city would pitch in around $200,000 toward construction.

Share

You can share this newsletter by forwarding it or copy and pasting this link—https://fvcurrent.com/p/july-16-2024/—into a social media post.

🔓️ Become a Current Insider for 25% off today and get full access to this newsletter. Every Tuesday, members get exclusive information on events, food and drink, and local deals.

You’ll also get our weekly behind-the-scenes newsletter and roundup on Saturday. And most of all, your contribution will allow us to keep producing all the great journalism you already know and love.

Catch up

That’s it!

Thanks for reading Fraser Valley Current today ♥️ 

If you found something useful, consider forwarding this newsletter to another local.

And before you go, please let us know: