Wednesday - Nov. 6, 2024 - Abbotsford school enrolment grows

🌤 High 10C

Good morning!

We’re trying something different in place of the Current Cam today. The feature has been going for something like 150 weeks and it’s getting increasingly hard to take photos of locations that are recognizable to some readers—but not everyone. So we’re going to take a different view of our region: in the coming weeks, we’ll be showing a satellite view of some place in the Fraser Valley. You can either tell us in your own words where the place is, or just hop on Google, find the spot, and then copy and paste the URL in the form.

We’re also still hoping more readers take our survey. You’ll be entered into a draw for a $100 gift certificate to Field House Brewing. Just remember that seventh question will only allow you to enter one response. You can take the survey here. Thanks so much!

– Tyler

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 (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

How Kent got $23 million to build a new pool

Big, shining windows. Gleaming blue water in two large pools, floaty toys peppering the rippling surface. Crowds of excited, cartoon swimmers.

That’s the vision that digital renderings present of a $23.5 million, 27,000-square-foot aquatic centre currently under construction in the Fraser Valley. When complete, the Lets’emot Regional Aquatic Centre will have a leisure pool and a lane pool, a whirlpool, a steam room, and a sauna, as well as space for community and activity rooms in a sleek, modern building. The new natatorium could be open as soon as 2026.

But it isn’t the size of the aquatic centre itself that’s most impressive: it’s the size of the town that’s building it—and (partially) paying for it.

• Today, Grace Giesbrecht writes about how Kent, one of the region’s smallest municipalities, got the money to build one of the valley’s largest recreation projects.

Related

Need to Know

📊 You can find the latest results for yesterday’s US presidential election here [CNN]

🚂 A train derailed in Abbotsford near the US border, but no damage was reported [CityNews]

❌ Mission’s mayor said the city cut its tourism arm after considering the limited benefits of attracting more outsiders to visit [Mission Record]

📚 A Langley teacher has published a kids’ book about a girl with diabetes learning how to grow and overcome self-doubt [Langley Advance Times]

🎬 A short film is being made about Chilliwack war hero Piper James Richardson, but more funding is needed [Chilliwack Progress]

🚔 Mission police say a man stole money from a Tim Hortons donation box in October [Fraser Valley Today]

🚑 A pedestrian was struck by a dump truck and seriously injured in Aldergrove on Monday [Aldergrove Star]

💨 A wind gust of 77km/h was recorded at Chilliwack’s airport on Monday; Langley’s wind topped out at 65 km/h [Fraser Valley Today]

🚓 Langley Mounties are now responsible for policing a small Fraser River island [Langley Advance Times]

🏥 BC Cancer Foundation is fundraising $30 million to equip a new, second BC Cancer Centre in Surrey with cutting-edge technology, transforming cancer care for families across the Fraser region.*

*Sponsored Listing

SPONSORED BY YOU

Your ad can be here

Advertising in The Current is easier than ever and supports our journalism. Just shoot us an email to learn how you can advertise.

The Agenda

Abbotsford records modest student increase

Enrolment in Abbotsford’s public schools increased by 250 students from last year, according to preliminary projections.

The 20,311 students are about 40 more than had been expected by planners, according to a recent report. But the district’s enrolment growth is slower than both the previous year and growth in neighbouring Langley and Chilliwack. Enrolment in Langley grew by more than 800 additional students this year—and that figure is lower than other recent years. In Chilliwack, enrolment growth has frequently exceeded 500 students.

Abbotsford, which has seen less development, has experienced slower growth, particularly among younger students, with soon-to-be graduates outnumbering kindergarteners. Enrolment did grow by more than 500 students between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years, but most other recent years have seen more incremental increases.

Share

You can share this newsletter by forwarding it or copy and pasting this link—https://fvcurrent.com/p/november-6-2024/—into a social media post.

Community journalism needs the entire community for it to succeed.

Become a Current member today and join 1,200+ other local supporters who help keep our lights on.

As part of a membership, you get our special weekend roundup of all the things you might’ve missed each week!

📸 Current 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 and paste the URL from your browser and paste it into the form here. Or just tell us the locations in your own words.

🗓 Things to do

Climate talk: Author Gwynne Dyer visits the Aldergrove Kinsmen Community Centre today to talk about climate change and planetary engineering. The talk will look at people's role as maintenance engineers, and artificial cooling for the planet. Admission is free. Details online.

Community awards: Archway Community Services hosts its 2024 Community Builders' Awards on Thursday at the Matsqui Centennial Theatre. The award will honour those who have made outstanding contributions to the organization. Doors open at 5:45pm and the ceremony starts at 6:30pm. People using the discount code FVC will get 10% off tickets. Details online.

Not-so boy band: Middle Aged Boy Band, a music parody and comedy show, comes to the Chilliwack Cultural Centre on Saturday. Details and tickets online.

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 ♥️ 

If you found something useful, consider forwarding this newsletter to another local.