Tuesday - Jan. 23, 2024 - Spuzzum's big resort plans

🌦️ High 6C

Good morning!

On the weekend, I was watching a bit of an old Pearl Jam concert. In the middle of the show, Eddie Vedder brought on stage two of his children’s teachers to thank them (and other teachers) for the work they do. (I’ll briefly pause here to note that while proofing, Grace wrote “who?” after the name Pearl Jam. I think she is trying to provoke me. It worked.) Vedder’s gesture got me thinking about what it means to make a difference through one’s work.

Because at some point, numbers don’t really matter. Vedder performs each year for millions. I publish stories read (sometimes) by thousands. And teachers focus their efforts on a couple dozen students. And yet, we all know the tremendous impact that can come from a teacher focusing their skills and knowledge on just a few students. The same goes for nurses and a huge number of other professions. Their jobs are even more impressive because there is no personal reward or benefit to do better than average. A teacher isn’t going to fill their bank account by going above and beyond to get through to their students. And yet many do try and make that difference. We’re all the better for it.

So while we’re thinking of teachers, let’s thank a few. Do you know a teacher who has had an amazing impact on yourself or someone you know. Tell us about that person by filling out this form and we’ll highlight some in a coming edition.

– Tyler

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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

Spuzzum First Nation plots large ski resort
near Coquihalla summit

A Fraser Canyon First Nation hopes to build a large ski resort near the Coquihalla Summit.

Spuzzum First Nation has submitted an expression of interest to the province—along with more than 100 pages of supporting documentation, maps, and studies—to build a resort the size of Interior destinations like Silver Star and Big White on the backside of a mountain ridge overlooking BC’s most famous highway (and snowshed).

Spuzzum hopes not only to build 11 chairlifts, but also mountain biking trails, a golf course and up to 3,000 homes turning what is now a remote, heavily logged valley into a four-season recreation mecca. Despite its proximity to the Coquihalla, the most likely access route would be through the Fraser Canyon and Highway 1.

Calling the project a showcase for reconciliation, Spuzzum says it has the backing (at least for planning purposes) from neighbouring First Nations. It’s now trying to rally support from nearby communities, with Chief James Hobart speaking to—and winning support from—Hope council Monday.

• Today, Tyler writes about a First Nation’s detailed proposal for a new ski resort in their traditional territory.

Related

Need to Know

🚍️ TransLink bus drivers on strike in Metro Vancouver will resume work on Wednesday—but the union says more escalation is in the cards [CTV]

👉️ An Abbotsford school district trustee has joined a group calling for a national brain-injury strategy [Abbotsford News]

🚒 Firefighters put out a house fire in Mission on Monday morning [Mission Record]

🪓 A Chilliwack axe-throwing business wants a liquor license [Fraser Valley Today]

🌎️ BC gangs are important parts of the international drug trade [Vancouver Sun]

➡️ A man died in front of a Langley Tim Hortons on Sunday [Langley Advance Times]

🕳️ It’s pothole season in Chilliwack [Chilliwack Progress]

🚔️ A 57-year-old man is facing charges after allegedly ramming a police car in Mission [Mission Record]

🏍️ A driver was sentenced to 10 days in jail after a dangerous pass killed a motorcyclist near Hope [Hope Standard]

😷 The Langley Hospital Memorial Foundation is raising money for operating room equipment with a gala next month [Langley Advance Times]

🎻 A Canadian cellist will play a concert at the Langley Community Music School [Langley Advance Times]

The Agenda

Chilliwack heritage inventory trimmed, but five more sites to be added

And then there were 92. More than three decades ago, the City of Chilliwack created a heritage inventory of 129 different sites. The inventory was created as a record-keeping and historical exercise, but didn’t mandate protection for the buildings. Since 1991, historical buildings have come down at a pace of about—or slightly faster than—one a year.

In 2022, we reported on 32 buildings that had been lost when the work began to update the inventory four years prior. Tomorrow, Chilliwack council will get a look at a new inventory with 92 buildings listed.

You can see the inventory here. Most buildings are located in downtown Chilliwack, but dozens of others are scattered around the city in rural areas. The report also recommends the city add five new addresses to the inventory. Those five have been legally designated by the city for protection:

• Jean McNaughton Park, at 45951 Victoria Ave.—now known as Central Community Park

• Yarrow Post Office, 4132 Wilson Rd. located at Majuba Heritage Park

• A portion of road previously known as Old Yale Wagon Road and now known as Majuba Hill Road

• Adanac House, 46860 Adanac Ave.

• Hazel House, 9865 Hazel St.

In 2021, we reported on Hazel House, and its new owner’s decision to ask the city to voluntarily restrict future alterations and demolition.

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Catch up

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