Wednesday - Oct. 16, 2024 - Apartment complex proposed for Chilliwack

🌦 High 13C | Local forecast

Good morning!

Amidst all the pre-election chaos, I have some exciting news to share about our staff here at The Current.

Many of you will remember Grace Giesbrecht (aka New Grace, Grace 2), who replaced me during my maternity leave and was an integral part of the FVC team during that time. And some of you long-time readers may also remember Josh Kozelj, our 2022 intern who wrote some amazing stories about sturgeon and running.

Well, we are now very excited to welcome them back into our newsroom as Local Journalism Initiative reporters. Together they will be covering the Fraser Valley’s smallest municipalities and Indigenous communities—and in the coming weeks, you’ll start seeing some of their reporting in the newsletter. Let’s give a big welcome back to Grace and Josh!

We couldn’t have brought them on board without funding from the Local Journalism Initiative, a federal program that provides money to eligible news organizations to cover underserved communities. (The non-profit News Media Canada decides who gets the funding—the feds only buck up the cash.) You can learn more about the initiative here.

– Grace (aka Old Grace)

Keep local journalism alive by supporting The Current. Become a Current Insider member today and help bring local stories to life.

NEWS

What happens to BC’s extra eggs?

The Fraser Valley’s egg farmers are planning to build a massive new facility to turn broken and surplus eggs into useful ingredients for people, and sometimes pets.

Egg Solutions - Vanderpols, a company partially owned by a farmers’ co-operative, has plans to build a 65,000-square-foot plant near Abbotsford International Airport. 

The new building is part of the company’s plan to move its operations out of the dairy processing facility where it currently operates—and to give the company space to expand while solving other challenges. Among those challenges is the pending elimination of mink farms, which have traditionally served as the end of the line for the thousands of litres of egg waste each day.

The proposal to construct the new facility pulls back the curtain on what happens to the millions of eggs that never make it into a carton.

• Today, Tyler writes about broken shells and new opportunities in BC’s egg industry.

Related

Need to Know

🌲 Abbotsford police say they are ‘deeply’ concerned with the allegations of foreign interference in crimes towards the South Asian community [Abbotsford News] / The federal government recently expelled several Indian diplomats after accusing the country of supporting violent crimes in Canada [CBC]

🔎 Police are looking for a 43-year-old man who went missing while driving from Chilliwack to Clinton on Thanksgiving Day [Chilliwack Progress]

🩺 More than $35,000 in medical equipment has been donated to Mission Hospital [Mission Record]

📚 Three Chilliwack women have been shortlisted for the Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s awards this year [Chilliwack Progress]

🍻 Cheers to 10 award-winning years! Celebrate KPU’s renowned brewing program anniversary with a Friday pint at our Langley brewery. Fresh brews on tap weekly!*

💻 Interested in tech? Vancouver Tech Journal provides the most complete coverage of Vancouver’s innovation ecosystem and events. Subscribe for free.*

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🗳 Election 2024

The BC Election campaign continues until election day on Saturday, Oct. 19. Advance voting ends today. Find everything you need to know by visiting our general election hub.

The latest

👉 The BC NDP have promised that Langley Memorial Hospital will get an upgrade to its operating rooms ‘right away’ if the party is elected [Langley Advance Times] / The party has also promised to build a patient-care tower as part of already-planned upgrades to the hospital [Langley Advance Times]

👉 Election night results will come in quick, poll workers say; the goal is to have half of all votes counted within half an hour [Vancouver Sun] / You can bookmark our election results pages to see the votes as they come in on Saturday: Langley | Abbotsford and Mission | Chilliwack and beyond [FVC]

👉 All of Chilliwack’s MLA candidates talked about business-oriented issues at a recent all-candidates meeting [Chilliwack Progress] / Chilliwack’s BC Conservative candidates attended, unlike many in other parts of the Fraser Valley [FVC]

SPONSORED BY THE TYEE

The election stories you won’t find anywhere else

Confused about what’s happening in B.C.? Make sense of the political moment by subscribing to The Run. The Tyee’s award-winning election newsletter is back, aiming its laser focus on the political future of the west coast. Twice weekly this fall we’ll bring you the story behind the headlines, and break down key election themes happening across the province. It’s a free newsletter full of smart voices unpacking key issues, fact-checking politicians and exposing disinformation to clarifying light. Know what’s at stake when you cast your vote by subscribing today to The Run.

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The Agenda

Developer aiming to build massive apartment complex in Chilliwack

Chilliwack’s South Vedder neighbourhood could see a major change in the future, with the construction of a six-storey apartment complex.

A developer is aiming to build 218 apartments and several commercial spaces between Vedder Road and Viola Street. The complex would include two six-storey buildings—one with commercial space at ground level and the other featuring only apartments. The complex would include a two-level underground parking garage, and a sidewalk along Vedder Road.

The developer is offering the city up to $90,000 to purchase parkland, if Chilliwack agrees to create a new comprehensive development zone for the proposal. (The zone would allow the developer to forgo a common amenity area on site and pave the entire lot, among other things.)

The people living in the homes on the properties that could be redeveloped will need to find new places to live. Demolition permits have been issued and eviction notices delivered already. The city said it wasn’t sure if the developer was establishing a relocation plan for the existing residents.

The proposal was given first and second reading by council, and the application will move forward to public hearing.

📸 Current Cam

Each week we showcase a different photo from across the valley and invite readers to share their best guesses about where it was taken.

Think you know where this week’s Current Cam was taken? Fill out this form.

Classifieds

• 98” custom made green leather sofa, $200 Chilliwack [EMAIL]

• Senior requires housework help 6042266830

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

Horror festival: The River's Edge Horror Short Film Festival is taking place at the Clarke Theatre on Friday, Oct. 18 from 7am to 9pm. Details and tickets online.

Floral show: The Floral Artists of the Fraser Valley host their fall show at the Cottonwood Mall in Chilliwack on Friday, Oct. 18 and Saturday, Oct. 19. The show will be located by the BC Liquor Store, and admittance is free.

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

That’s it!

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