Monday - March 3, 2025 - New house post for Cultus Lake school

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Good morning!

I hope you had a chance to enjoy that sunshine over the weekend!

I wanted to start the week off by saying thank you to all the new members who joined our Insiders crew during our membership blitz last week. It has been so heartening to hear all the reasons why you decided to support our journalism—from our investigative work to our history stories. One reader also pointed to what he called our “repetitive but polite requests for support,” so I’m sorry non-paying folks, those will keep coming. (Avoid them by becoming a member here.)

Today we’re taking a look at this month’s events—including a story on spring break camps for all you parents out there who, like Tyler, have left things to the very last minute. If your organization is hosting a spring break camp (especially if it has a lot of room or is low cost), please let us know! We’ll add it to the story so we can build a better list for parents of school-age kids.

– Grace

Keep local journalism alive 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

March’s many events

March holds the promise of a new season, and the hope that spring is around the corner and sunny days are not far behind.

The warmer weather is also a reminder that taxes are due and kids on spring break need something to keep them entertained.

This month, we’ve compiled events from across the valley to help you celebrate the coming arrival of spring, and tackle the more mundane chores of everyday life too.

• Today, we showcase nine things to do in the Fraser Valley this month.

• We’ve also collected a number of spring break camps for school-age kids across the Fraser Valley.

Related

Need to Know

❎ Former Chilliwack MLA Laurie Throness won Saturday’s school board by-election [Chilliwack Progress]

🙄 The Americans now say tariffs will go into effect Tuesday—not in April—but might not be 25% [CTV]

🚑 One woman is missing and two people are in critical condition after a Langley home exploded last week [Global]

🐻 A Mission man trying to avoid a black bear fell into Hayward Lake, from which he had to be rescued [Mission Record]

👉 A man was arrested in Abbotsford last week after pulling a gun-shaped lighter on a stranger [Abbotsford News]

⚖ A Chilliwack man was convicted of the murder of a 64-year-old Mission man [Mission Record]

🧸 A new store selling vintage toys and collectibles has opened in Abbotsford [Abbotsford News]

🔎 A BC audit has found there has been no co-ordination on implementing child care promises [CityNews]

🧮 The Township of Langley has passed its budget, but is warning of a ‘fiscally challenging environment’ [Langley Advance Times]

👉 A confrontation between middle school students and a man living in a tent in Heritage Park in Mission sparked a police investigation [Mission RCMP]

✉ The District of Hope is sending another letter to the province about a proposed gravel pit expansion [Hope Standard]

🥚 More people are trying to smuggle Canadian eggs into the United States; border agents say egg seizures are up 40% from last year [CityNews]

👀 Surgeons performed Canada’s first tooth-in-eye surgery to restore a patient’s sight [CBC]

🐮 An Abbotsford 4H member is pushing for ‘meat tastings’ to promote buying local [Country Life in BC]

🌼 An intense pollen season is on the way this week [CBC]

⚙ Interested in being an industrial mechanic? Become a Millwright apprentice in just 24 weeks. Join KPU's free info session on March 6 to learn how.*

*Sponsored Listing

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SPONSORED BY FORT LANGLEY JAZZ AND ARTS FESTIVAL

Experience the ultimate blues event of the year

The Cool Blues Show returns to Fort Langley Community Park on July 25!

Featuring JUNO-award winners and nominees Angelique Francis, Steve Marriner, and Brandon Issak, along with blues legends Jimmy D. Lane, Robert Connely Farr and one more act to be announced!

Plus, enjoy food trucks, a beer garden, an artisan vendor market, and more!

Don’t miss this unforgettable night of blues and great vibes in beautiful Fort Langley.

Early Bird tickets are on sale until April 30.

The Agenda

House post gifted to Cultus Lake Swílhcha Community School

Cultus Lake Swílhcha Community School has a new house post, thanks to the efforts of Indigenous artist and father Kwalhxameleq (Bill Davis).

Kwalhxameleq’s carving depicts a figure with their hands outstretched. He included an orange shirt to acknowledge the losses and survival of residential school students, and had the figure feature two different-shaped hands.

“The two different-shaped hands show that our children with special needs might appear different, but they're still the same,” he told the Chilliwack School District. “They need the same love and attention as any undiagnosed child."

Kwalhxameleq put the finishing touches on the carving at the community school last Tuesday. His four children, who attend the school, were in attendance. Kwalhxameleq said he was “compelled” to carve the house post in recognition of the care given by staff to both his kids and other students at the school.

“Families trust us to build a place of belonging for their children and we take that responsibility very seriously,” school principal Lisa Wallace said in a release. “We’re humbled by this gift.”

Cedar hat placed on Cheam memorial gazebo

A gazebo honouring residential school survivors is set to be complete by mid-March, the Cheam First Nation says, but has already seen a major component finished.

The roof of the gazebo looks like a Stó:lō cedar hat; it was placed atop the gazebo last Thursday. You can see a video of it being positioned here. A ceremony will take place when the gazebo and surrounding landscaping are complete.

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🤝 Now hiring

• Electrical manager at the Abbotsford School District

• Chief executive officer at Inclusion Langley Society

• Administrative clerk at Fraser Valley Aboriginal Children and Family Services Society in Chilliwack

• Line cook at Browns Social House in Mission

• Health care aide at Sts’ailes First Nation

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

🗓 Things to do

Diversity awards: The Fraser Valley Cultural Diversity Awards ceremony takes place on Thursday in Abbotsford. The awards honour people, businesses and organizations that promote inclusivity and diversity. Details and tickets online.

Community yoga: Abbotsford’s Open Space hosts a midweek yoga session with instructor Jess Hart on Wednesday evening. Registration is $10, with funds going to Archway Community Services. Details online.

Have an event to tell us about? Fill out this form to have it highlighted here.

Catch up

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