Thursday - Oct. 31, 2024 - New Hope path to cost $2.7M

🌤 High 12C

Good morning!

Several weeks ago, I lamented that I had news I couldn’t share, despite working in an industry predicated on telling people interesting things. I am very happy to say I can now share both bits of gossip with you all. (Drumroll please.)

The first is that my husband is back working on a boat he loves, and is sailing with his younger brother too. (Exciting for the family and for Coast Guard members, but maybe not for the rest of you—although the ship was in the news recently.)

The second piece of news is that I am writing a book! Nimbus Publishing in Halifax will be publishing my juvenile non-fiction book about Canada’s endangered animals in the spring of 2026. Writing a book has been a life-long dream—as it is for many writers—and I am so excited to have an opportunity to make it a reality.

The book will focus on some animals we have covered in The Current before, like the northern spotted owl and the Oregon spotted frog. Other animals are from elsewhere in Canada, which will be a fun challenge for my valley-focused self.

I will likely be sharing some updates on book-related progress with you all here, and Insider members might get a behind-the-scenes look at the publishing process, including some fun facts from my research. Brain worms and caribou are up first.

– Grace

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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

Your ghost stories

There are ghosts among us. At least, a majority of FVC readers who responded to our poll think so.

In this month’s FVC Perspectives callout, we asked readers to take a stance on ghosts and spirits. In our poll, 39% of respondents said ghosts were real. Another 26% said they might be, while 35% said ghosts did not exist. And sure, the poll might be unscientific. But these are ghosts we’re talking about. Of course, it’s unscientific.

We also asked our readers to share their ghost stories with us. You can read about a friendly spirit who helped save a toddler from being injured when falling down the stairs, a ghost who just wouldn’t stop fiddling, and a spectre who didn’t want to be left in Mission’s old health facility, among others.

• Today, FVC readers share their stories of the supernatural.

Related

Need to Know

🔎 Police released new images of Jane Whitehouse, the 82-year-old woman who was last seen on Oct. 25 in Aldergrove; Central Fraser Valley SAR is now helping with the search [CityNews Vancouver]

⚰ An Aldergrove volunteer has finished recording the unmarked graves of local veterans at Aberdeen Cemetery [Abbotsford News]

🧙‍♀️ A Chilliwack hiking group performed a ‘witch dance’ in the woods to raise money for Chilliwack Search and Rescue [Melanie Arnold/YouTube]

🚒 No one was injured during a Tuesday night barn fire in Abbotsford [Abbotsford News]

🚲 A cycling competition that is like ‘Mario Kart on bikes’ is coming to Chilliwack this weekend [Chilliwack Progress]

🍔 Kids will get a free Halloween meal at A&W restaurants on Oct. 31 [Fraser Valley Today]

📸 Mission Mounties will be using body cameras by this winter [Mission Record]

🎟 The Fraser Valley Health Care Foundation is auctioning off two Taylor Swift tickets at its annual fundraiser later this month [Abbotsford News]

🌲 People can help reduce long-term mental trauma after climate disasters by establishing local support networks, researchers have found in the wake of Brazil’s recent floods [Nature] / The Current reported on the trauma experienced by Fraser Valley residents after the 2021 floods, and how community groups helped people overcome some of their struggles [FVC]

👩‍🔧 Your Red Seal is closer than you think. Become a certified technician at KPU Langley with hands-on training from industry experts. Registration now open!*

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The Agenda

Hope’s new Silver Creek multi-use path will cost $2.7 million

It’s going to cost nearly $3 million to build a new two-kilometre multi-use path in Hope.

The Richmond Hill multi-use pathway, a project that was awarded to an Agassiz-based construction company, Timbro Contracting, last month, will connect the residential neighbourhood of Silver Creek to downtown.

The $2.7 million project has been in the works for about five years and will be backed by a pair of $500,000 grants from Trans Mountain and the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. The city is expected to cover the remaining $1.7 million.

The path will be three metres wide and its construction will take Flood Hope Road from three vehicles lanes to two. Hope Mayor Victor Smith hopes the new route will encourage residents—seniors who use e-scooters and young cyclists—to take alternative forms of transportation.

“We want them in the outdoors,” said Smith, adding that about half of Hope’s population is people over 50, many of who use e-scooters. “Don’t sit there and hibernate at home. This thing will open up things to make a healthier lifestyle for people.”

• Read the rest of Josh Kozelj’s story about Hope’s multi-million dollar path here.

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🗓 Things to do this week/end

🧶 Fibre art: The Langley Weavers' and Spinners' Guild hosts its Beyond Fibre annual artisans sale on Saturday, Nov. 2 and Sunday, Nov. 3. Check out woven, felted or knitted items for sale, watch demonstrations, and support local artists. Details online.

🎵 Hindustani song: The Chilliwack Cultural Centre hosts Vocal Tapestry, an evening of Hindustani music, on Sunday, Nov. 3 at 7:30pm. Details and tickets online.

🦅 Wild stories: Earthwise Agassiz shares Stories of the Wild on Saturday, Nov. 2 from 10am to 2pm. The event is part of the Season of the Wild event, and will include a family-friendly guided story, a cultural workshop, and a seasonal scavenger hunt. 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

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