Thursday - March 20, 2025 - Langley Special Olympian wins gold

🌧 High 9C

Good morning!

The best part of having a husband with a cool sea-going job is when he comes home—especially when the kids attack him with hugs at the ferry terminal. The second-best part is getting to learn interesting things about the Canadian Coast Guard and marine science. (Which sadly I cannot report on, for conflict of interest reasons.) The third-best part, however, is when you’re chatting with your coworkers about his last trip at sea, and you pop into the living room to say “Honey, can you give us a mini-presentation on Station PAPA?” In retrospect, I should have also gotten him to bring the pressure-squished styrofoam cup—a souvenir from the science expedition—to add a bit of show-and-tell to our impromptu webinar.

– 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

Abbotsford planners plot big changes

Big changes are being considered for two Abbotsford roads: one a little-used street between the hospital and Mill Lake park, the other one of the city’s key commercial arteries.

Larger, mixed-use buildings might soon be allowed along Clearbrook Road, one of the city’s busiest north-south routes. The city is also considering how to create a vibrant “enhanced street” south of Mill Lake through what is today a low-density, and low-traffic neighbourhood.

The two proposals are being mulled as the city updates its 2016 Official Community Plan, the key document that guides every decision about what can and can’t be built in different parts of town. Although council has yet to formally endorse a revised plan, they broadly supported the direction laid out by staff at a meeting in late 2024.

Any changes along the two roads wouldn’t come right away. Although the OCP describes what planners would like to see happen, any changes would take place over time through private development. The city itself likely wouldn’t take an active role in building new structures.

• Today, Tyler writes about potential planning changes and unpacks how they could change two neighbourhoods.

Related

Need to Know

💔 Aldergrove’s Jane Whitehouse, 82, was found dead this week; Whitehouse had gone missing near Harrison Lake in late October [CityNews]

⛑ A five-year-old boy was found safe after wandering away from a day camp near Stave Falls Tuesday [Mission Record]

👉 China has executed four Canadians, but an Abbotsford resident sentenced to death in the country was not one of them [Fraser Valley Today]

🏠 Langley’s Ishtar Women’s Resource Society has received funding for 15 more shelter beds and a new temporary housing unit [Langley Advance Times]

🚫 The future of the Hudson’s Bay Company is uncertain, but a closure looks imminent for its Langley store [Vancouver Sun] / A decision on whether the company will close all its stores will likely happen at the end of this week [CBC]

🐓 The global outbreak of bird flu has reached an ‘unprecedented’ scale, a UN agency said Monday [Global News] / The Current reported on how BC is handling the ongoing outbreak of avian influenza earlier this month [FVC]

🍔 A Langley McDonald’s is one of three in the province now selling "‘McVeggies’ [Vancouver Sun]

🔎 Wastewater monitoring has provided people with accessible data about disease prevalence, but scientists are concerned future cuts could limit the program in BC [CBC]

🥚 Fentanyl seizures are down and egg seizures are up at Canada-US border crossings [CBC]

📸 CURRENT CAM: Congratulations to Gerry Borden and Allan M. for correctly identifying yesterday’s Current Cam as both the Fraser Valley Adventist Academy and RJT Blueberry Park in Aldergrove.

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The Agenda

Langley Special Olympian takes home gold at World Games

Langley athlete Kailyn Potomak won gold in alpine skiing at the 2025 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Italy last week.

Potomak, 29, has been involved in the Special Olympics for 14 years. She has won medals for basketball and skiing in four national competitions: gold for basketball in 2014, silver for basketball in 2018, two silver medals in alpine skiing in 2020, and one gold and two silver medals in alpine skiing in 2024. This year was her first appearance at the world level.

She competed in the intermediate slalom race, winning gold with a time of 32.89 seconds. She also raced in the intermediate super-G and the intermediate giant slalom.

Fellow Fraser Valley resident Donna Bilous was also in Italy from March 8 to 15, supporting the Canadian Special Olympics team as a speed skating coach. She became involved in the Special Olympics 18 years ago, when her daughter began playing with the organization.

Bilous, who hails from Abbotsford, saw her team bring home several bronze medals, although Ontario’s Ella Robinson-Renaud won gold.

“It is always an honour to represent your country on the world stage,” Bilous said in a press release. “I am so proud of Special Olympics Team Canada, not only for the successes they had on the field of play, but for the sportsmanship they displayed, their kindness to others, and the appreciation shown to the many volunteers who made the Special Olympics World Games possible.”

Special Olympics programs are for athletes of all ages with intellectual disabilities. Twenty-two British Columbian athletes participated in this year’s World Games, and competitors ranged from 15 to 66 years old.

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🗓 Things to do

Seed shop: Langley Seedy Saturday takes place at the Derek Doubleday Arboretum on Saturday from 10am to 2pm. Shop for seeds, plants, and fruit trees—and listen to guest speakers. Details online.

Newfie tunes: The Newfoundland band Rum Ragged comes to Harrison's Memorial Hall on Friday for a two-part East Coast show. The performance will feature two 45-minute sets, with a bar and concession during intermission. Details and tickets online.

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