Thursday, April 27, 2023 edition - A world-class wrestler

Thursday, April 27, 2023 | ☀ High 22C(!) | Forecast

Good morning!

Our world is full of symmetry (or, at least, attempted symmetry.) But I love seeing moments where that symmetry breaks down under the strain of time and repetition. Take a person’s buzz cut: a barber (or a guy cutting his own hair) might try their best to make everything even out. But the fact that you are right- or left-handed—traits reinforced and strengthened by years of repetitive use of the stronger hand—means the haircut will be at least a little different on each side.

Once you start looking, you see these elements everywhere: in your couch; in your sink; in your footwear. You can see similar, but very different impacts in nature too. A river that starts out straight starts to wobble when a boulder shifts. A valley looks different depending on its position relative to the sun. A tree bends to catch light. Sometimes asymmetry is described as a sign of imperfections. But more often than not, it’s just a reflection of our universe as a whole, and the fact that our galaxy, our sun, our planet, and bodies themselves are spinning objects hurtling through space.

Thanks to our newest members—Margaret, Christine, Lisa, Derek, and Andrea—who are making a difference as they spin through space with all of us. You can be a member and support our work here.

NEWS

The wrestler

When Rupinder Johal first started wrestling roughly eight years ago few would have projected worldwide success.

“Every tournament I would go to I would lose,” she recalled about her early days in the sport.

She was also often met with a discouraging message: “girls don’t really wrestle.”

Rupi (her nickname) disagreed.

“The more people told me I couldn't do it, the more I wanted to.”

It took years of hard work, but Rupi began to find success and by the age of 14, she reached the finals in a provincial tournament.

Since then, Rupi has dominated her opponents across Canada and the globe. Last year, the five-foot-eleven powerhouse went undefeated in BC high school competition, carried the flag for Team BC at the Canada Summer Games, and was named top female athlete at the Pan American Championships.

• Today, Joti talks to Rupi about her rise to wrestling stardom, what’s next for her in the sport, and what it means to be recognized as one of BC’s top female athletes.

Related story

Need to know

🐶 Langley firefighters plucked two men and a dog from a flipped motorhome in Glen Valley last week—and a local photographed the pooch’s rescue [Langley Advance Times]

🥽 Kent Mayor Sylvia Pranger’s walk to Chilliwack last week raised more than $30,000 for the community’s leisure centre [Agassiz-Harrison Observer]

😐 A sketch has been released of a man alleged to have exposed himself to a woman in an Abbotsford park [CTV]

🚑 One driver died in a collision involving three commercial trucks in a construction zone between Chilliwack and Hope on Tuesday [Vancouver Sun]

🚓 A Mission man with a gun was arrested after being involved in an argument [Mission Record]

🖋 Langley Township and its unionized workers have ratified a new labour agreement [Financial Post]

⛑ The Agassiz Fire Department will get $25,000 to buy new water rescue equipment [Agassiz-Harrison Observer]

🎂 The Township of Langley turned 150 years old yesterday; it was incorporated the same day as the Township of Chilliwack [Langley Township; City of Chilliwack/Facebook]

🚔 Langley RCMP are investigating the actions of an Abbotsford officer who was caught on film punching a man after a concert in November [Abbotsford News]

☺ CURRENT CAM: Loreen Falys was first to identify the photograph of the large vertical banner outside of the Coqualeetza Cultural Education Centre and Stó:lō Service Agency in Chilliwack

🏘️ Fraser Valley Realtor Tana McNicol walks you step by step through the home selling process, at TanaMcnicol.ca.*

*Sponsored Listing

The Agenda

New chemical plant seeks air discharge permit

The operator of a new chemical distribution plant in Abbotsford is seeking a permit to regulate air emissions, and anyone adversely affected has two more weeks to add their comments.

Univar Solutions Canada has built a $50 million, 75,000-square-foot facility on McClary Road, just south of Highway 1 in Abbotsford. The site would function as a distribution hub for chemicals and products used by agriculture businesses. Abbotsford council green-lighted the facility in 2020.

Now the company has served notice that it will seek an air discharge permit from the provincial government for emissions from their new plant. The emissions will come from the storage of chemicals and acids in tanks, transportation of the material, and “repackaging of solvent and acids from bulk into various size packaging.”

Details on the amount of emissions have been posted online, along with notice that anybody wishing to comment on the application has until mid-May to provide the province with relevant information.

The Fraser Valley Regional District has long warned about the vulnerability of the region’s funnel-like air shed and declared in a 2021 plan that “air quality is recognized as one of the most important environmental issues” in the region.

Langley Township to review park safety measures

Langley Township will review safety measures at all its parks following significant vandalism at a community field during the April long weekend.

Earlier this month, vandals cut the locks off the gates at Noel Booth Community Park in the Brookswood neighbourhood and drove onto the field, tearing up the green space. The damage interrupted the start of the Langley Fastball Association season.

During a recent council meeting, Coun. Steve Ferguson suggested a full review safety measures across all township parks. The idea was supported unanimously by council.

Coun. Margaret Kunst also noted a similar incident happened in Mission after the long weekend, where a man drove his truck through a field to avoid police. He was later arrested.

Throwback Thursday

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