Friday - May 9, 2025 - Chilliwack students focus of new trades project

⛅ High 15C

Good morning!

We have already gotten so many great stories (and a few photos!) for our upcoming FVC Perspectives story on the playgrounds of your youth. You still have a few more days to share your stories of dangerous playground equipment and the spills you took: you can find the form to share them here. If you have any photos you want to share, feel free to send them to [email protected].

On another note, our main story today is about how to catch a passenger train from one of Fraser Valley’s many sign-post stations. The article began long ago with our train-mailbag series, and was started before I ever got on a train myself. However, I did use my recent experience on the Canadian to help piece together a few extra details. If you want more on what it was like actually travelling through the valley by rail, Insiders will have access to my story on that in tomorrow’s weekend edition. If you’re not already an Insider, you can sign up for a paid membership here.

– Grace

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

How to catch the train

Planes criss-cross the Canadian skies. Vehicles trundle along the country’s intertwining roads. But the third method of Canadian travel transportation—the train—is an often forgotten way of getting from A to B, especially in BC.

Although few may know it, the train isn’t only for tourists. Fraser Valley residents can ride the rails to Kamloops, Edmonton, and beyond—and it doesn’t always have to cost a lot of money.

Last year, Mission resident Ross Shirlaw took VIA Rail’s famous train the Canadian to Toronto. The train is a beloved travel choice among train fanatics, and those who value the slower approach to travel.

“If you've got some time and want to see the country in a way that you've never seen it before…it's a very relaxing way of travelling, I find,” Ross Shirlaw said.

But unlike most VIA passengers, who catch the train at eye-catching stations in Vancouver, Winnipeg, or Toronto, Shirlaw caught the train in Mission, at one of the Fraser Valley’s many nondescript sign-post stations.

• Today, Grace chats with Shirlaw about how, exactly, you can catch the train from the Fraser Valley, how much it costs, and what snags you might need to watch out for.

Related

Need to Know

🚒 Langley City’s fire department doesn’t have enough firefighters to meet its minimum staffing requirement [Langley Advance Times]

🚂 A 28-year-old man was killed by a train in Chilliwack Wednesday [CTV] / He died after being hit at the deadliest railway crossing in the Fraser Valley [FVC]

🔥 Boothroyd Indian Band near Boston Bar is conducting a 10-hectare cultural burn next week [Fraser Valley Today]

🛍 Chilliwack’s Cottonwood Centre is under new ownership [Chilliwack Progress]

🌲 Abbotsford’s Communitas Supportive Care Society has promoted its chief innovation officer to CEO [Abbotsford News]

👙 The Mission Leisure Centre will be open longer on weekdays and Saturdays [Mission Record]

👃 North America is experiencing record pollen counts this season, and seasonal allergies are expected to be worse than usual [CBC]

🚨 The Hope Fire Department is now using technology that delivers warnings to drivers on their vehicle dashboards or in certain apps [Fraser Valley Today]

⏳It’s not too late! KPU is still accepting applications for fall. Join a community that blends theory and hands-on learning. Start your journey today.*

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The Agenda

Construction associations target elementary schools in Chilliwack

Two BC construction groups are hoping to get more kids interested in the trades with a new pilot project starting in Chilliwack elementary schools.

The project, called Honour the Work, aims to bring curriculum-based resources to students in grades one through five in the district. The resources will focus on hands-on activities related to science, technology, engineering, and math. They will include lesson plans, digital resources, building materials, and kids books.

Honour the Work is a collaboration between the BC Construction Association and the BC Road Builders and Heavy Construction Association. Although the pilot project is starting in Chilliwack, the groups hope to expand the project into other school districts in future school years. They are aiming to fundraise $550,000 to expand the program to 500 classrooms across the province.

More details on the pilot project and the associated fundraising initiative are available online.

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MEMBERS ONLY

This week’s FVC Insiders’ Edition

In tomorrow’s members-only newsletter, Grace shares what she learned travelling through the Fraser Valley by rail, and includes a video of what she saw from the Skyline car window.

Get this weekend’s edition in your inbox tomorrow at 7am—and support our daily journalism—by becoming a member here.

🗓 Things to do

Slow fashion: Fox and Thistle Mercantile in Yarrow hosts its second annual Sustainable Fashion Celebration on Saturday. The event features displays of slow fashion, as well as handmade, upcycled, and vintage goods. Details online.

Paddle day: The Watershed Watch Salmon Society hosts a Paddle the Slough flotilla at Chilliwack's Hope Slough on Saturday. Participants are invited to canoe, kayak, or paddleboard on the slough starting at 10:15am. Details and registration online.

Mother’s Day: The Kilby Historic Site hosts a Victorian Mother's Day event on Sunday. Visit the historic general store, enjoy a sweet treat, and learn how the Victorians parented their children. Details online.

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

Catch up

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