Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023 - How BC fails evacuees

Wednesday, October 4, 2023 | Today: 🌧 High 16C

Good morning!

I cracked my head on a large tree limb Sunday while doing a twilight house project. I’m fine, but it’s strange how the brain processes an event like that. For the last two days, anytime I go through a doorway or pass near an overhanging cupboard, I automatically duck—even for things obviously too high to actually do me damage. It’s the subconscious impulse that gets me. Like my brain’s self-functioning computer has concluded that Whether To Duck Or Not is not a decision left up to the idiot human side of my brain. It’s kind of like a city changing all its yield signs to stop signs because one driver too many has caused an accident.

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WORTH KNOWING

🌤 Local forecast: Langley | Chilliwack | Abbotsford | Hope

⚠️ Here’s the current smoke forecast / Check the BC Wildfire Dashboard here

🚘 Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google, and find DriveBC’s latest updates.

NEWS

Evacuees & volunteers failed by outdated emergency support system, Ombudsperson says

Two years after 2021’s atmospheric river and wildfires, some British Columbians continue to wait for financial support and the help they need to rebuild.

BC’s Ombudsperson delivered a new report Tuesday that declared the province’s emergency support programs are built upon the backs of overworked volunteers and unable to handle the current frequency of today’s prolonged and recurring climate-driven disasters. BC Ombudsperson Jay Chalke said the province must overhaul its emergency systems to help those who will need them in the years to come.

• Today, Tyler writes about the report, what it says about the province’s handling of the 2021 flooding and wildfire, and what Chalke says must be done to prepare for future emergencies. 

• You can read the report for yourself here.

Need to know

🏒 If you want to see the Vancouver Canucks before their preseason game this evening, they’ll be at Gate 1 around 4pm [Abbotsford Canucks]

👮‍♀️ Foul play is suspected after a body was found in a Langley City park last month [Langley Advance Times]

🐻 A bear was euthanized after being struck by a vehicle on Highway 1 [Abbotsford News]

👍 Two years after devastating flooding, Castle Fun Park’s ‘Underwater Adventure Golf’ has opened [Castle Fun Park/Facebook]

👉 Mission school officials are considering erecting a fence to keep kids from jaywalking near a school [Mission Record]

🔥 A corn harvester caught fire twice over the long weekend in Chilliwack [Fraser Valley Today]

🚑 A young woman was pinned under a pickup truck in Langley after being struck in an intersection Monday evening [Langley RCMP]

🏈 Abbotsford NFL receiver Chase Claypool has been told to stay away from his team’s practices [Sportsnet]

🐟 Sumas First Nation has installed a large fish trap to study salmon in the Vedder River [Abbotsford News]

The Agenda

Chilliwack seals deal on $9 million road widening and sidewalk project

Chilliwack’s council has chosen a builder to widen Tyson and Keith Wilson Roads in the Garrison Crossing area.

B&B Heavy Construction will be paid nearly $9 million to widen Tyson Road from Stevenson to Watson Road and Keith Wilson Road from Hipwell Place to Garrison Boulevard. Bike lanes, sidewalks, and a multi-use path will also be built.

The project will be a milestone because it will turn Tyson into the first city artery with continuous north-south cycling and pedestrian infrastructure. The last one-kilometre of Tyson will create an 8.5-kilometre pedestrian corridor through Sardis area.

B&B’s bid for the project scored lower on technical rating, but came in more than $1 million cheaper than two competing proposals.

🤝 Now hiring

• Journalist at Chilliwack Progress

• CEO at The BC Bud Co. in Langley

• Emergency Shelter Worker at Mission Community Services

• Executive Director at Abbotsford Restorative Justice and Advocacy Association

• Park Operator at Chilliwack Lake Provincial Park

Hiring in the Fraser Valley? Reply back and let us know!

📸 Current Cam

Each week we showcase a different photo from across the valley and invite readers to share their best guesses about where it was taken.

Any guesses as to where this week’s Current Cam was taken? Fill out this form with your best guess—or with a picture we can use in a future edition.

Things to do

🗓 Autumn teachings: Spiritual Path to Awakening will hold a session on autumn teachings Oct. 4 led by Darla Rasmussen, a Red Elk Singing Woman from Siksika Nation, in downtown Abbotsford. Find more information and register online.

🗓 Pro soccer: Vancouver FC hosts its final match of its inaugural season on Friday at 7:30pm against York United FC. Tickets online.

🗓 Lunch ‘n clean: Help the Fraser Valley Conservancy remove litter and invasive plant species from Lane Creek in Mission on Oct. 7 in preparation for planting 1,000 trees and shrubs. A free lunch will be provided. Details online.

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