Monday - March 17, 2025 - New trail open in Mission

🌧 High 5C

Good morning!

A certain reader (who may or may not live in the same house as me) has brought an item from last Thursday’s newsletter introduction to my attention. And now, I must issue a correction. In this section last week, I erroneously stated that I was the one who decided to glue my broken hairbrush back together. The truth is that my husband was the one who glued the brush to its base—I merely gave my approval to his efforts. I deeply regret the error and henceforth promise to make sure my reporting of personal life in this section does not oversimplify the stated events. (Journalism: it’s all about transparency.)

– 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

Vitalus expansion to come online in 2027

The expansion of an Abbotsford plant aimed at turning milk into proteins, prebiotics, and butter is likely to be complete by the fall of 2027—and local dairy farmers have been told to prepare to up their production.

• Today, Grace looks at the long-awaited Vitalus expansion, and what it will mean for dairy farmers and consumers as construction nears its end.

Related

Need to Know

🔪 A healthcare worker was attacked at Langley Memorial Hospital earlier this month [Langley Advance Times]

👉 More people in Abbotsford were killed by toxic drugs this January than in all of 2014 [Abbotsford News]

⚖ A former corrections officer has been sentenced to five years in prison for smuggling drugs into Kent Institution and accepting bribes [Agassiz Harrison Observer]

🚓 A man who was prohibited from driving was arrested after driving over a spike belt in Chilliwack [Chilliwack Progress]

🦠 BC’s measles vaccination rate is lower than a Texax county where two people have died of the disease; the article includes details on how to check if you are fully protected [The Tyee]

🚑 Six people have died on the Fraser Valley’s roads in a little more than a month [Chilliwack Progress]

✅ Abbotsford council gave a tentative go-ahead to three proposed apartment buildings with a total of more than 400 units [Abbotsford News]

🏫 Agassiz Elementary Secondary School was gifted a house post from Sts’ailes carver Peter Prevost [Agassiz Harrison Observer]

⛷ Cultus Lake skier Reece Howden finished second in a World Cup ski event in Ontario [CBC]

🌲 Prime Minister Mark Carney eliminated Canada’s consumer carbon price as his first act in office [CTV] / BC has announced it is preparing legislation to remove the provincial version of the tax [CBC]

⚠ A UBC professor is advising Canadians to use caution when crossing the border into the United States, after a Vancouver woman was detained there for nearly two weeks [The Tyee]

✨ Find your voice in KPU Arts. Small classes mean big discussions, personalized learning, and real connections. Explore diverse programs from Asian Studies to Political Science.*

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The Agenda

New trail linking Rolley Lake to Devils Lake now open in Mission

Mission's forestry staff have quietly wrapped up work on a new trail that connects two popular hiking routes north of town.

The new Roli Poli Oli Trail links established loops around Rolley Lake and Devils Lake. It runs roughly parallel to Florence Lake Forest Service Road. It starts, at its south end, near Rolley Falls. You can find maps of the trail, and others in the area, here and here. Now that the trail is completed, those wanting to hike around both lakes in a single trip can make a 14-kilometre trek without using a road.

The project is one of several in the Stave West Forest and Recreation Area. A new report to council reveals that the city—which also oversees activities in the sprawling municipal-run community forest north of town—is adding 60 sites to the lakefront Kearsley Creek campsite. Work has also begun on a new trail to Mt. Crickmer.

Mission's forestry operations ended 2024 with a profit of just over $600,000. That's much larger than the anticipated profit of $627,000, but less than the previous year, when the city's forestry operations raked in more than $7.5 million. Forestry officials say tariffs on softwood lumber could impact revenues in 2025. But the city also has the option of harvesting trees in future years, if prices this year are too low.

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🤝 Now hiring

• Museum assistant at the Agassiz-Harrison Museum (applicants must be under 30)

• Winemaking production and customer service employee at Fraser River Wines in Mission

• Diagnostic medical sonographer at Langley Memorial Hospital

• Recreation therapist at Sienna Senior Living in Chilliwack

• Post office assistant at Canada Post in Lytton

Hiring in the Fraser Valley? Reply back and let us know!

🗓 Things to do

Free youth hangs: Youth 12-18 can attend free drop-in sessions at the Abbotsford and Mission recreation centres today until Friday. Both centres will be open from 12:30 to 4:30pm, and have activities, snacks, and fun events. Details online.

Science café: UFV is hosting a Science Café on Tuesday at its Chilliwack campus library between noon and 1:30pm to talk about wildfire smoke and health. Attendees will also learn how to build their own air purifiers. Details online.

Seniors meeting: Langley Seniors in Action hosts their March meeting on Wednesday at the Langley Senior Resources Society (20605-51B Ave) starting at 10am. The guest speaker will be Heather Scott, the executive director of the Langley Community Health & Hospital Foundation. For details, email [email protected].

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Catch up

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