Thursday - Sept. 26, 2024 - New Langley cricket field in the works

🌧 High 15C

Good morning!

I was first introduced to Stuart McLean in my high school writing class, with a printout of one of his Dave and Morley short stories. But I never really got into his work until adulthood, when I discovered the Vinyl Cafe recordings of McLean reading his own stories. I knew his writing was good. But I didn’t know how good until I listened to it in his own voice, with his own, particular cadence and rhythm.

After that rediscovery, McLean became one of my favourite Canadian writers. My husband and I purchased every CD of his stories we could find. We gave out copies of his work to guests at our pandemic wedding.

For those of you who are not familiar, I highly recommend listening to one of my favourite stories: Dave and the Sourdough Starter. (My absolute favourites are all Christmas stories, and it may be a little too early for those yet.)

– Grace

NEWS

FVX is full, but Coulter defends government transit record, warns of Conservative cuts

Chilliwack wants funding for more buses, and the Fraser Valley Express doesn’t have enough room for more university student riders, but Dan Coulter insists that his government has done plenty to expand transit in the region.

Coulter has served for years as BC’s Minister of State for Infrastructure and Transit. In an interview with The Current just prior to the writ dropping, the Chilliwack MLA said his government was working to create more reliable transit in the region by adding bus lanes to a widened Highway 1, boosting HandyDART service in Chilliwack, and adding more hours to the overcapacity Fraser Valley Express will bolster transit in the valley. But he said some investments, like those that would serve “transit-oriented development areas” will depend on demand and BC Transit decisions.

As for any hope that rail service could be extended to Abbotsford or beyond, Coulter declined to say whether there would be enough room in the Highway 1 corridor to accommodate tracks along the route in the future.

• Today, we have Tyler’s full recent interview with Coulter, in which he presses him on the future of rail in the valley, funding for local transit systems, and the state of the Fraser Valley Express.

Related

Need to Know

🌤 Local forecast: Langley | Chilliwack | Abbotsford | Hope

💔 The family of a Langley woman who went missing seven years ago is still looking for answers and information [Aldergrove Star]

🚑 Care at Abbotsford Regional Hospital is deteriorating, with too few resources and too many patients, doctors say [News1130] / The hospital is the most overcrowded large hospital in BC; we will have more in a story next week

💸 Another Langley property owned by a financially-troubled developer will be sold to pay off its debts [Langley Advance Times]

👉 The IIO is asking for witnesses to an Abbotsford arrest that left a man with injuries last Saturday [CTV Vancouver]

⛑ Langley Search and Rescue volunteers are looking for a man who went missing in Langley City Wednesday [Langley Advance Times]

🔎 Mission Mounties are asking for help to find a man who has been missing since July [Mission Record]

🚔 A man was found dead in the water at Manuel Park across from Sardis Elementary in Chilliwack Tuesday [Chilliwack Progress]

🎤 Country star Riley Green and legendary Canadian rock band Our Lady Peace are coming to Abbotsford next year [Georgia Straight]

👧🏼 #1 GIRLS' NIGHT COMING! Menopause The Musical arrives in Chilliwack on October 4, and Mission on October 7. Tickets are selling fast!*

*Sponsored Listing

🗳 Election 2024

The BC Election campaign continues until election day on Saturday, Oct. 19. Advance voting begins Thursday, Oct. 10. Find everything you need to know by visiting one of our local election hubs:

Chilliwack, Hope, and the Eastern Valley | Abbotsford and Mission | Langley

The latest

👉 A number of BC Conservative candidates have come under criticism for their online ‘jokes’ about White nationalism and posts highlighting far-right views [The Tyee]

👉 A breakdown of where each of BC’s parties stand on climate issues [National Observer]

The Agenda

Langley OKs new cricket field

The sound of cricket—the sport, not the insect—will soon be coming to a southern Langley park.

On Monday, Langley Township council approved the construction of a cricket bowling pitch base at Bell Park. The cricket bowling pitch—which is simply a strip of concrete in the middle of a large field—will be relatively cheap, as sports facilities go, costing the Township just $31,000. Local cricket clubs will pay for the turf and its installation.

The new park will serve as a home field for the Langley Eagles cricket club. The Township already has one cricket field, at Brown Park in Hopington. But a staff report says participation in cricket is rapidly increasing and that a second field is necessary—particularly because Brown is also used for slo-pitch throughout the spring and summer.

Bell Park was deemed the best fit. The park has a soccer field with dwindling usage following the construction of newer, better pitches elsewhere in Langley, according to Township staff. The new cricket base will be installed on that field and the pitch will be narrower than a typical regulation field. Eventually, the Township hopes to be able to create two full-sized cricket pitches at the park. Expanding the first pitch to a regulation-sized field could also follow, but would cost upwards of $650,000.

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🗓 Things to do this week/end

🔪 Cooking class: The Langley Arts Council hosts a cooking workshop on Saturday, Oct. 5 starting at 12:30pm. Learn how to use tofu in three Chinese recipes. Register online by Sept. 28.

🌱 Plant sale: The Fraser Valley Conservancy is holding its Fall Native Plant Sale now until Sunday, Sept. 29. Buyers get an email explaining where to pick up their plants on Oct. 5 in Bradner. Details online.

📄 Paper shredding: Friends of the Abbotsford Libraries host their annual shredding fundraiser at the Sevenoaks Mall on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 10am. The first bag or box is $10; the rest are $5 each. The money raised supports library programs and services in Abbotsford. Contact Gwen Settle (604-864-7414 or [email protected]) for details.

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.

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