Monday, August 14, 2023 - Tourist in Clearbrook

Monday, August 14, 2023 | ☀️ High 33C | Heat warning

Good morning!

I spent the weekend taking in the Abbotsford Airshow for the first time in many years. I didn’t actually attend but visited some family who have a great view of the annual event. The airshow was a big deal when we were kids. And now we get to see the next generation in awe as they watch what I estimate to be a 30,000-pound jet cut through the sky—it never gets old.

Are you a current or former school bus driver? Or someone hired to teach in schools last year without certification? We want to talk to you about your experiences for two different upcoming stories! Get in touch by emailing us back!

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WORTH KNOWING

🌤 Local forecast: Langley | Chilliwack | Abbotsford | Hope

⚠️ Here’s the current smoke forecast / Check the BC Wildfire Dashboard here

🚘 Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google, and find DriveBC’s latest updates.

NEWS

Ponds, parks and a library: an afternoon in Clearbrook

Clearbrook, a neighbourhood and commercial area in west Abbotsford, is not trying to be a tourist destination.

In previous instalments of this tourist-in-your-town series—where I, a newcomer to the Fraser Valley, take readers along with me to explore different neighbourhoods with your recommendations—I had no trouble knowing where to go. The place I’m visiting has always told me exactly where I’m supposed to get out of the car and start walking. The streets get tighter. Parking gets harder to find. The shopfronts, whether charmingly worn or brand new and brightly coloured, tug at my eyes and ask me inside.

Clearbrook doesn’t do that. It isn’t designed to make you stop and look and linger. Its commercial centre stretches along the busy South Fraser Way. But just because it doesn’t demand your attention doesn’t mean it doesn’t deserve it.

• Today, Grace explores an underappreciated neighbourhood with your suggestions.

Need to know

🚔 Mounties are investigating the ‘strange circumstances’ of a 55-year-old missing Mission man [RCMP]

🌡 Officials are warning about a heat wave expected to hit BC this week [CBC]; Find a list of cooling centres in Abbotsford and Chilliwack online [City of Abbotsford/City of Chilliwack]

👉 Some members of Spuzzum First Nation are asking for their chief to resign [Hope Standard]

🗳 Five candidates are in the running to fill a Harrison council seat in a September by-election [Agassiz Harrison Observer]

🚑 First responders were called to a reported drowning at Lindeman Lake Saturday [Chilliwack Progress]

🚓 Police are asking for witnesses to a suspicious arson to an Abbotsford home [Abbotsford Police Department/Facebook]

⚡️ BC Hydro is considering raising rates at public electric vehicle charging stations [CBC]

⚾️ Abbotsford pitcher Raine Padgham helped earn Team Canada a win against Mexico at the Women's Baseball World Cup qualifier [CBC]

👍 A 52-year-old woman, whose car was found in the Othello Tunnels parking lot, was found safe [RCMP]

🥇 Abbotsford, Mission, and Chilliwack are running competitions for the worst lawn [CBC]

👮🏻‍♀️ Chilliwack RCMP are searching for a 32-year-old missing woman [RCMP]

💻 Eligible LifeLabs clients can file a claim in proposed class-action settlement over a 2019 cyberattack [CBC]

🏀 The Toronto Raptors are holding a training camp in BC [CTV]

🏠 With affordability in the Fraser Valley under ongoing pressure, Abbotsford Tech District will mean affordable housing, high-quality education, and well-paying jobs close to home.*

*Sponsored Listing

The Agenda

More walls for the future of the Chilliwack Mural Festival

Chilliwack’s mural fest could see a future beyond the downtown area.

The festival last weekend saw several new pieces of art added to businesses and buildings in the small downtown core. But while discussing placement of the year’s final mural—a second piece by UK-based artist Curtis Hilton—questions were raised about why the murals are concentrated in one section of the city.

Mayor Ken Popove asked about the last mural’s placement—and the placement of future pieces. Currently, the 26 murals from the festival’s previous years are all centred in the downtown core.

“Has there ever been any thought given to some murals on the south side of the highway?” He asked.

The mural festival began as a downtown initiative, and it isn’t run by the city. But several councillors said they would like to see the colourful paintings in other sections of the city in the future, as early as next year’s festival, and would be open to approving murals outside downtown.

Borrow $25M? Langley Township residents to vote

Residents opposed to Langley Township borrowing $25 million to fund Brookswood’s new fire hall have until the end of the month to cast their opposition ballot.

In May, council endorsed the construction of a new fire hall in Brookswood to replace Fire Hall #5 with a price tag of $25 million funded by debt. But the Township needs approval from its electors before borrowing the cash. But only those in opposition to the borrowing need to vote as part of the alternative approval process.

The borrowing will not be permitted if at least 10% of the Township electors sign a response form confirming their opposition. (The Township estimates that to be 9,639 electors.) Those in opposition can request a response form by mail by calling 604-533-6100. Signed forms must be received by mail or submitted in the drop box at city hall on or before 4:30pm August 31.

Things to do

🍗 RibFest: Langley RibFest returns to McLeod Athletic Park from Friday to Sunday. Details online.

👶🏻 Pioneer kids: The Agassiz Harrison Museum will hold a “Day in the life of a pioneer child” event designed to introduce kids aged five to 12 to the way children lived in pioneer times. Details online.

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