Wednesday - Nov. 13, 2024 - Lytton worker housing complex nears completion

🌧 High 9C | Wind warning (for Langley)

Good morning!

Sometimes we—or at least I—don’t sufficiently appreciate how much our lives are influenced by the timing of events outside of our control. This weekend, en route to a weekend guys’ getaway, I turned onto the highway only to immediately encounter a deer. Or rather, the deer encountered me. It plowed into the side of my little car. I was displeased—though surely not as much as the deer, which bounded away but must have had a heck of a headache. If our timing had been a little different, the entire course of the weekend would have been altered. As it was, I was able to carry on, albeit with two dented doors. Then came the weekend rain. as predicted. But miraculously, it was one of those wet weekends when the rain only seemed to pour during the night—at least where I was. Call it luck, coincidence, or sheer randomness, sometimes it takes a close call (or two) to allow you to fully enjoy health and happiness.

– Tyler

Traffic & Weather

🌤 Local forecast: Langley | Chilliwack | Abbotsford | Hope (We have had to temporarily change our forecast links to the Weather Network due to a technical error.)

🚘 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

Bison. Bats. And Rats.

Imagine a hotel, but for thousands upon thousands of bats.

Hayward Lake Recreation Site in Mission is a huge draw for boaters, families and hikers. Apparently, it’s also a favoured place to spend a night for thousands of bats—and the scientists hoping to save their lives.

Today, we’re sharing three different animal-based stories from our colleagues at Hakai Magazine and The Narwhal.

• Quinn Bender writes in The Narwhal about how researchers are hoping that dousing the wings of bats with a probiotic can help build resistance to white nose syndrome. Much of the research is taking place at roosts and “metacolonies” like that at Hayward Lake.

• Rats are under-rated. Yes, rats. In an award-winning piece in Hakai Magazine about the benefits of coexisting with rats, J.B. MacKinnon makes the case for coming to grips with an old foe of humankind.

• And back in The Narwhal, former FVC intern Kayla MacInnis visits the prairies to understand how First Nations are bringing buffalo back to their natural home on the range.

• If all goes to plan, tomorrow’s Current will include the first part of a two-part series on railroad fatalities in the Fraser Valley.

Related

Need to Know

👉 Former premier John Horgan has died [CBC]

🏥 A Fraser Valley teenager is in critical condition with avian influenza; they’re the first human in Canada diagnosed with bird flu [CBC] / The infection is not believed to have occurred on a poultry farm [CTV]

👍 Five-year-old twin brothers from Langley are in remission after three years battling cancer [CTV]

🥊 An Abbotsford broadcaster will provide play-by-play for the upcoming Mike Tyson boxing match on Netflix [Abbotsford News]

🚍 Buses have resumed using downtown Abbotsford’s Montrose bus exchange; construction on the new transit hub is expected to finish in the winter [City of Abbotsford]

🚑 A 19-year-old UFV student has been identified as the person struck and killed by a truck in Langley last week [Tri City News]

🚧 A small ongoing rockslide on Union Bar Road in Hope has prompted a warning [District of Hope/Facebook]

🏒 Changes to NCAA rules that allow major junior players to play may impact BCHL teams like those in Chilliwack and Langley [Vancouver Sun]

📞 Thieves have plundered phone lines servicing the Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve, leaving the site without service [Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve/Facebook]

⏰ A Langley condo developer who has spent years in jail for fraud will be released in January [Langley Advance Times]

🔎 A 44-year-old Agassiz man has been missing since going fishing Sunday [Agassiz-Harrison Observer]

SPONSORED BY KWANTLEN POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY

Discover Your University in Your Community

At Kwantlen Polytechnic University, transformation happens where challenge meets opportunity. With over 140 hands-on programs across campuses in Surrey, Langley, and Richmond, KPU gives you the skills you need for the career you want.

Whether you’re pursuing an education in Arts, Business, Design, Health, Science, or Trades & Technology, you'll benefit from real-world experience through co-ops, practicums, and paid internships, graduating career-ready and prepared to make an impact in the community you call home.

If you’re looking for a place where bolder and braver is just the beginning, your future is closer than you think. Discover what KPU has to offer and join a community where the impossible becomes possible.

The Agenda

Construction is progressing on a 100-plus unit worker camp near Lytton to provide housing for those involved in the community’s rebuilding efforts.

In May, The Current reported that the Village of Lytton had approved the construction of a large dorm-like housing facility with as many as 120 bedrooms for workers. The site would be the first major temporary housing project built since the village burned down in 2021.

The first phase of construction on what is called Tlkemcheen Lodge was completed earlier this year and created 36 bedrooms. Construction of the second phase of the camp, which is located near Lytton’s airport, has ramped up over the last month. When complete, the site will have 108 bedrooms for workers.

Longlegs + Chilliwack-shot films highlight festival

The director of the Nicolas Cage smash horror movie Longlegs will be in the valley this month for a special showing of his flick at the Chilliwack Independent Film Festival.

Director Osgood Perkins will take audience questions after the showing of his film on Nov. 22 at the Cottonwood Cinema. Perkins will also take part in a behind-the-scenes industry talk the following day at Cowork Chilliwack. Tickets for both events cost around $13.

The three-day film festival returns to the Cottonwood later this month. Among the events are a collection of six films, all produced by young Chilliwack filmmakers—Daniel Crabb, Zoe Ellis, Abigail Mascher, Kael Christopher Alan Gough-Johnson, Mason Thomas Fraser, Josiah John Williamson, Nate Ross, and Daniel Walker.

A schedule of other events and film showings can be found here.

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SPONSORED BY HOPE CASCADES & CANYONS

2nd Annual Fog Fest™ - Hope, BC

This November, we invite you to lose yourself in the mystery and beauty of Fog Fest™! Whether you’re capturing the perfect shot, indulging in comfort food, or exploring misty mountain trails, you’ll discover new ways to experience the magic of Hope, Cascades & Canyons.

📸 Current (Satellite) Cam

We are trying something new. Can you find the location depicted in this satellite image? You can start here on Google. If you find the location, copy the URL and paste it into the form here. Or just tell us the location in your own words.

🗓 Things to do

Bez folk: Folk artist John Wort Hannam comes to the Bez Arts Hub on Saturday at 8pm. Details and tickets online.

Salmon celebration: Chilliwack's Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve hosts its Fall Salmon Celebration on Saturday from 10am to 4pm. Come to learn about salmon biology and habitat restoration, or participate in a family art class. Pre-registration for the art class is required. Details online.

Mission market: Mission's Farmers Market hosts an indoor market, its last of the year, at the Clarke Theatre on Saturday from 10am to 2pm. Details online.

Catch up

That’s it!

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