Thursday - Nov. 14, 2024 - Indigenous Fashion Week to showcase Fraser Valley designer

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Good morning!

People with small children may be familiar with the book If you give a mouse a cookie. Today’s story began like that. If you give a journalist a dataset, they’ll want to make a chart. If you let them make a chart, they’ll want to interview some experts. Then, five months and 7,000 words later, they’ll want to publish a two-part story with interactive elements outlining why Chilliwack is one of the deadliest cities in Canada when it comes to railways.

I am very grateful to Tyler for letting me take so long to work on this article. I hope it exposes some of the challenges associated with railways in the Fraser Valley—and the reasons why those issues won’t simply go away. Tomorrow, you guys will be the first to see part two of the story, where I look at 40 years of national train fatality data.

This is definitely one of the biggest stories I’ve ever written, and I’m grateful for all the Insider members whose support ensured I had the time I needed. In this weekend’s member’s newsletter, FVC Insiders will find a discussion between Tyler and myself about the data and the series. If you have any questions about the story process, shoot us an email and we’ll see if we can answer it during our talk.

If you want to listen in on our conversation, and support stories like this more generally, you can become an Insider member here.

– Grace

NEWS

The Fraser Valley’s deadliest tracks

This story discusses train fatalities, including death by suicide. If you or someone you know are thinking of suicide, help is available. Call or text 988 for Canada’s suicide crisis hotline. Call 911 if you are in immediate danger.

Over the last four decades, trains have killed an average of three people a year in the Fraser Valley. They died while driving over crossings, while walking on the tracks, or in suicide attempts with an oncoming train. Almost half of the fatalities happened in Chilliwack, according to an analysis of 40 years of train fatality data.

Some of the fatalities were well-publicized in the community. They include the 2018 death of Matthew Jarvis, whose wheelchair became stuck on the tracks on Broadway, and the 2016 suicide of Thomas Hudson, who stepped in front of a train at Young Road. But many, many others died with little recognition, only the screeching of the train’s airbrakes marking the moment they passed.

No other place in British Columbia is as deadly as Chilliwack when it comes to trains. In fact, Chilliwack has the fourth-highest number of train-related fatalities in the country, exceeded only by Toronto, Montreal, and London, Ont., according to the data reviewed by The Current.

• Today, Grace analyzes 40 years of data on train fatalities in the Fraser Valley, examines a particularly deadly section of track in Chilliwack, and asks officials and experts what can be done to make Chilliwack’s railways less deadly.

• Tomorrow, Grace looks at railway deaths across Canada, and examines what is happening on the tracks at a national scale.

• On Saturday, Insider members can listen to Grace and Tyler talk about the series, the train fatality data, and the process of putting together the story. Become a member here.

Related

Need to Know

💧 The City of Abbotsford has ended its boil water advisory for central Abbotsford [City of Abbotsford/X]

👉 BC’s opposition MLAs were sworn in to the legislature earlier this week; Abbotsford-Mission MLA Reann Gasper is the first Black woman elected since 1972, while Chilliwack-Cultus Lake MLA Á’a:líya Warbus is the first Stó:lō representative [CBC]

🚒 A fire at a vacant Langley house Tuesday took three hours and 20 firefighters to subdue [Langley Advance Times]

🐻 An Abbotsford man has pleaded guilty to trafficking black bear paws [Toronto Star]

🏭 BlueTriton is closing its Ontario water bottling plant, but says it will be staying in Hope [The Narwhal]

🦋 The Aldergrove zoo has won two awards for its butterfly and turtle conservation efforts [Aldergrove Star]

⚖ An Alberta man has been charged after the semi he was driving rolled and shut down the highway near Chilliwack last Friday [Chilliwack Progress]

🔍 History Channel show Deadman’s Curse wrapped up its second season with a search for gold at the north end of Harrison Lake [Agassiz Harrison Observer]

🌧 Sem:áth councillor Murray Ned says communities need to learn to live with water; two deadly atmospheric rivers in three years show we aren’t there yet [The Narwhal]

📸 CURRENT CAM: Congratulations to Jordan Nobel, who was the first person to identify this week’s Current Cam as Rees Lake in Langley.

⚽ Take the Sports Field and Sports Court Strategy online survey TODAY! Attend a pop up info session on Nov 15 (MRC) and Nov 29 (ARC), 2-5pm.*

*Sponsored Listing

SPONSORED BY CHILLIWACK PLAYERS GUILD

Pride and Prejudice by Kate Hamill

Welcome to our bold reimagining of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, a classic often cloaked in genteel romance.

Brace yourselves: we’re about to plunge into the delightful realm of a farce. In her adaptation, Kate Hamill takes Austen's tale of love and social hierarchy and spins it into something... unconventional... quirky... offbeat... BUT, Austen’s message remains: love is but a zero-sum game.

The Agenda

Local Indigenous designer to show collection at Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week

Fraser Valley designer Rebecca Baker-Grenier will take the stage at Vancouver’s Indigenous Fashion Week later this month.

Baker-Grenier is showing her We Are Warriors collection, which references the traditional armour of her ancestors in the Kwakiutł, Dzawada'enuxw, and Skwxwú7mesh First Nations (communities based on Vancouver Island and in Squamish). The Current sat down with Baker-Grenier last May to talk about runways, regalia, and Indigenous resilience. (You can read that interview here.)

She has been designing regalia for her family since she was 11 years old, but she entered the world of couture fashion nearly three years ago. Since then, she has shown work at Toronto and New York fashion weeks.

Vancouver’s Indigenous Fashion Week takes place from November 20 to 30 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver.

— Grace Geisbrecht, Local Journalism Initiative

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Classifieds

• We love to help Seniors! Sonvalleycompassioncare.ca

• Abbotsford Children's Theatre presents classic tale, Charlotte's Web, Dec 6&7. [LINK]

Annual FVC members can find a link to submit their annual classified in the weekly FVC Insiders Edition. Become a FVC member here.

🗓 Things to do this week/end

💬 Veteran research: The Mission Genealogy Club hosts a talk on researching and honouring veterans today at 1pm. The talk will focus on lesser-known sites and information about Canadian veterans of Indigenous, Chinese, Japanese, and other ethnic minority backgrounds. Details online.

💛 Gratitude talk: UFV hosts TedX Abbotsford's The Power of Gratitude event on Friday from 5 to 10pm. Come to listen to a series of talks about the power of gratitude. Details and tickets online.

🎄 Craft fair: Langley Meadows Elementary School hosts its 12th annual Winter Craft Fair on Saturday from 10am to 2pm. Enjoy a complimentary hot chocolate while browsing. Details online.

Want even more? Insider members get a comprehensive events listing every Thursday, plus a weekly Saturday round-up edition with behind-the-scenes content. Becoming a member costs less than $2 a week and helps support the ongoing production of The Current’s newsletters and in-depth journalism. Become a member here.

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

Catch up

That’s it!

Thanks for reading Fraser Valley Current today ♥️ 

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