Tuesday - Feb. 20, 2024 - The Fraser Valley's favourite teachers

🌦️ High 11C

Good morning!

My grandpa tells a story about how he used to keep a bucket of boxing gloves in the corner of his classroom. When the middle and high school boys he taught got into fights he would point them towards the bucket and tell them to fight safely (or at least, safer.) He was a big hit in the ’70s. Pun intended.

Today, we’re featuring the stories of some of the Fraser Valley’s favourite teachers. I don’t think any of them involve boxing but, hey, you never know.

– Grace

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

The Fraser Valley’s favourite teachers

A good student shows initiative, creativity, determination and—sometimes—a willingness to take risks.

Being a great teacher, apparently, requires the same sort of spirit.

Recently, we asked Current readers about teachers that had made a difference in their lives. Today, we’re highlighting 13 of your responses. They include a woman honoured for war heroism, a music teacher who enlisted students to create an internationally recognized album of cover songs, and teachers who sparked a love for geology, history, nature, and sports in their pupils.

• Today, Tyler writes about 13 terrific teachers who left a legacy.

• We’ll roll out a second bunch of terrific teachers next week.

Related

Need to Know

📕 How a Chilliwack bookstore is funnelling money to local non-profits in a commitment to ‘bad capitalism’ [CTV]

🚔 A car was hijacked in Abbotsford and the owner shot; two men were eventually arrested in Coquitlam [CTV]

🥕 The Salvation Army in Chilliwack is asking local gardeners to make plans to grow extra fruit and veggies to donate this summer [Chilliwack Progress]

🔥 An apartment fire in Chilliwack destroyed several vehicles and forced six families from their homes [Global]

🎒 Langley City is asking the province to fund more schools as community grows [Langley Advance Times]; read our story about increasing school enrolment here [FVC]

🚚 The Aldergrove trucking company whose trucks have hit six overpasses has lost its licence [Langley Advance Times]

🚓 The body of a man was found in a drainage ditch in Chilliwack Saturday [Chilliwack Progress]

🚔️ A 63-year-old received a life sentence for a murder in Mission in 2020

👉️ Premiere David Eby visited Fort Langley for a conversation with residents [Langley Advance Times]

🏒 A Langley recreational hockey player blinded during a game has sued the Township, the person whose stick hit him, and BC hockey organizations [Vancouver Sun]

The Agenda

More funding for new firefighter training facility coming to Kent

The District of Kent is getting nearly $400,000 to build a new live fire training facility for firefighters. 

The project is part of a provincial plan to build regional hubs for live fire training, which allows firefighters to practise and train with real fire. The province is spending $1.75 million on the project across nine communities in the province.

Previously, rural or more remote firefighting departments have had to send firefighters on long road trips to access live fire training facilities. Regional hubs, the province said, should keep travel costs down and improve public safety by ensuring firefighters are well trained. 

The District of Kent also received $180,000 towards a new regional fire training centre last February. Then, last fall, a bidding process opened for a modular fire training facility, which will involve six large metal containers. Live fire will be part of this facility’s capabilities; firefighters will also learn high angle operations, searches, and evacuation operations, among other things. It will also have theatrical smoke-generation capabilities. 

SPONSORED BY ABBOTSFORD TECH DISTRICT

With people and families facing an ongoing affordability crunch, it's time to catch up

An upcoming Official Community Plan amendment will enable Abbotsford Tech District to build affordable housing for young people and families, while unlocking high-quality education and well-paying jobs to support an economic rebound.

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Catch up

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