Thursday - Aug. 8, 2024 - Fraser River debris trap does its job

🌤 High 31C

Good morning!

Tyler and I mention this often, but you guys are some of the nicest readers of journalism we have ever met.

For many organizations, the comment section on news stories is a vile, unsavoury place, full of misanthropic statements and petty finger pointing. The comments on our stories, however, are shockingly positive. On nearly every story we publish, someone is thanking us for informing them, delighting in the content of the article, or making an interesting suggestion (like naming a new school after the subject of Friday’s story).

Thank you, lovely readers, for being so unexpectedly, and consistently, positive. It makes our jobs more enjoyable to know that you are appreciating what we do.

And a special thank you to all of you who support us with your money as well as your kind words. As the saying goes, a journalist can’t live on praise alone—we need a little financial support too. (If you aren’t yet a member, you can join them here.)

– Grace

Support local journalism 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

🚘 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

A family recipe and an old cookbook

For the last 17 years, the fruit pie contest has been a beloved element of the Chilliwack Fair. Started by Iris Friesen in 2007 as an apple pie contest, the competition has seen dozens of Chilliwack bakers unearth their best pie recipes in an effort to win a coveted medal.

In advance of the 2024 Chilliwack Fair, we met up with Debora Soutar—five-time winner and current organizer of the fruit pie contest—to learn about how she makes her perfect apple pies.

Her foolproof apple pie filling and pastry recipes comes from two sources: the New Cookbook and a family index card.

• Today, we share those recipes with you, and offer a few tips for making pies and entering the fair.

Related

Need to Know

💔 A mother and her child died in the six-vehicle crash that closed Highway 1 in Chilliwack Tuesday; another child from the same vehicle was taken to hospital and is expected to survive [CityNews] / A GoFundMe has been set up for the family of the victims [GoFundMe]

🏠 BC is aiming to take ownership of four Lower Mainland properties connected to an Abbotsford drug-trafficking and murder-conspiracy investigation [Abbotsford News]

⏳ Chilliwack tech services company Concentrix is set to shut down at the end of September [Chilliwack Progress]

✈ A plane almost hit three other aircraft during its flight from Langley to Pitt Meadows [Langley Advance Times]

🏀 Mission basketball champ Kim Smith Gaucher coached her Olympic team to a fourth-place finish [Mission Record]

⛔ New pot shop regulations in Langley City would restrict stores to commercial areas along the Langley Bypass, the Fraser Highway one-way, and Glover Road [Langley Advance Times]

👉 Fraser Health is now offering safe consumption supplies like naloxone and fentanyl screening strips through an online shopping portal [Fraser Valley Today]

🗳 Fred Talen, a former NWT official, will run for mayor in Harrison’s upcoming byelection; former mayor Ed Wood has announced he will run for a council seat [Agassiz Harrison Observer]

🎣 BC chefs are struggling to find all kinds of local ingredients this summer, particularly seafood, but Fraser Valley produce has been in plentiful supply [Vancouver Sun]

📷 CURRENT CAM: Congratulations to John, who was the first to identify yesterday’s Current Cam as the buildings on Railway Avenue across from the West Coast Express station in Mission.

The Agenda

The Fraser River debris trap a success, minister says

Yesterday, we published a story wondering if the Fraser River debris trap would have enough space to capture all the wood floating down the river from the Chilcotin landslide. That afternoon, we got our answer.

“Overnight success at the Fraser River Debris Trap!” Ministry of Emergency Preparedness and Climate Readiness Bowinn Ma wrote on Twitter. “It trapped 30,000 m3 of woody debris from the Chilcotin landslide. Huge thanks to the facility operator for sharing this update. Gratitude to Shxw’ōwhámél First Nation, who co-manage this debris trap with the Province.”

You can read our story about the debris trap and its history here.

Chilliwack funeral home loses license to cremate after misappropriating funds

A funeral home run by a former Chilliwack councillor has been told to stop its activities after an investigation had found it misappropriated its clients’ funds—and people who had planned to use the company’s services are being told to find other end-of-life options.

An investigation by Consumer Protection BC found that McLean’s Funeral Service had not properly managed the money future customers had given them, according to a release from the regulator. Instead of putting the money in trust for future funeral services, the money was used elsewhere. The company is owned and run by Stewart McLean, who served on Chilliwack council between 2008 and 2014.

There is no criminal investigation yet. A spokesperson for Consumer Protection BC told The Current: "At this stage in our investigation, we have not uncovered evidence of criminal intent or fraud. If that changes as our investigation progresses, we may notify law enforcement so they can decide whether to pursue their own investigation."

An RCMP spokesperson said "no report has been made to police at this time."

McLean’s Funeral Service provides end-of-life services to customers, including funeral planning, burial, and cremation. As a result of the investigation, the company had its licenses revoked, meaning the company will no longer be able to provide any of those services. Consumer Protection BC also issued a freeze order on its assets.

Families who were actively receiving funeral services when the announcement was made at the end of July would continue to receive those services. But anyone who had prepaid will likely not be able to get their money back. Consumer Protection BC said that it is looking into whether a small group of customers may be able to get partial refunds, but that it can’t guarantee if that will happen.

People who had been planning to use McLean’s Funeral Services are encouraged to fill out this form in case refunds are possible. (You can also give Consumer Protection BC your information by phone at 1-888-564-9963 and press 5.) Customers are also encouraged to make alternate end-of-life plans.

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🗓 Things to do this week/end

✈ Abbotsford Airshow: The Abbotsford International Airshow returns to the airport from Friday Aug. 9 to Sunday, Aug. 11 with aerial performances, a twilight pyrotechnics show, flight simulators, and more. Details and tickets online.

🌱 Nature journal: The Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve in Chilliwack hosts a nature journaling workshop on Saturday, Aug. 10. The three-hour workshop will have tips and tricks to help you observe and record your surroundings. Register online.

🧘‍♀️ Free yoga: Cat Williams hosts a yoga playtime at Langley’s Willowbrook Mall each Sunday starting at 10am. 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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