Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023 edition -

Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023 | Today: ⛅️ High 19C

Good morning!

Last month, we asked where I should visit for the next instalment of the Tourist in your Town series. Nearly 40% of you said you wanted me to see all the sights and sounds of Yarrow.

So that’s the plan! Let me know all your favourite spots, things to do, and places to see in Yarrow in this form. 

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

The cost of getting to school

Education might be free to all students in the Canadian public school system, but there can also be barriers to learning—like how to get kids to school safely and efficiently.

Districts are responsible for managing their own school buses. That includes hiring drivers, buying buses, dealing with logistics and determining what cost, if any, each student will bear.

And different rules means families across districts can face different bills—or decisions about how to get their kids to school.

• Today, Joti writes about the varying costs of riding the school bus across the Fraser Valley.

Need to know

🏆️ The manager of Kent-Harrison Search and Rescue received an award for his exemplary service [Agassiz-Harrison Observer]

🔫 Hundreds of people joined in family day at the Langley Rod and Gun Club [Langley Advance Times]

🚌 Drivers illegally pass school buses about once a day in the Chilliwack School District; officials call them ‘red-light runners’ [Chilliwack Progress]

⚾️ A “Pros vs. Joes” home run derby in Langley was organized to raise awareness about mental health [Langley Advance Times]

🤝 Mission councillors are planning to talk health care, among other things, when they meet with the premier at an upcoming convention [Mission Record]

💵 A garage sale host is hoping to find two women who lost an envelope of cash at his sale [Langley Advance Times]

🎃 The Harrison Pumpkin Festival will open at the end of the month [Fraser Valley Today]

🧹 The annual Chilliwack River Valley clean-up is scheduled for Sept. 24 this year [Chilliwack Progress]

🏢 A new development planned in Langley could add 1,600 new homes in Willoughby [Langley Advance Times]

👮‍♂️ A 25-year-old prolific offender was “removed” from his motorcycle and arrested in Abbotsford [Abbotsford Police/Facebook]

🚓 The RCMP broke up several crowds gathering to watch stunt driving in downtown Langley on Friday night [Langley Advance Times]

🏎️ An new driver may lose his license after he was caught speeding across the Golden Gate Bridge [Langley Advance Times]

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The Agenda

Overnight construction planned for Highway 1 in Langley

Construction on the Glover Road overpass will cause traffic delays overnight on Highway 1 for the next two weekends.

Eastbound lanes on Highway 1 will be closed between 216th and 232nd streets this weekend. Lanes will be closed Thursday, Sept. 14 and Sunday, Sept. 17 from 9pm until 5:30am and on Friday, Sept. 15 and Saturday, Sept. 16 from 9pm until 7am.

Traffic will be diverted from the eastbound lanes to one of the westbound lanes during the overnight closures.

Further construction will close the westbound lanes of Highway 1 in the same area the following weekend. Thursday, Sept. 21 and Sunday, Sept. 24 will see westbound lanes closed from 8:30pm until 5am. Friday, Sept. 22 and Saturday, Sept. 23 will see longer closures, from 8:30pm until 8am.

Highway comment period closes Friday

Residents, businessowners, and commuters have until Friday to provide input into the planned expansion of Highway 1 through the Fraser Valley.

Last month, the province provided new information about how Highway 1 will be widened from Langley through to Sumas Way in Abbotsford. (The Current wrote about those plans here.)

That information was released at the outset of a new round of public consultation. That consultation period closes Friday, Sept. 15. Residents can find out more about the project here, and can email feedback to [email protected]. The province says the current plans are based on previous feedback from residents and that new input “will be considered during design refinement and will form part of the engagement record.”

🤝 Now hiring

• Cemetery maintenance worker at the Township of Langley

• Stylist lead at Bella and Wren in Fort Langley

• Education assistant at the Abbotsford School District

• Line cook at Cactus Club in Abbotsford

• Barista at the Midtown Chilliwack Starbucks

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

🍔 Family festival: The Northwest Langley Baptist Church is hosting a free family event on Saturday, Sept. 16. Enjoy a free BBQ, carnival stations with prizes, bouncy castle, hot dogs, face painting and more. Proceeds from the silent auction will support New Hope Community Services. Details online.

🎖️ Walk for Veterans: The Fraser Valley Walk for Veterans will take place at Mill Lake in Abbotsford on Saturday, Sept. 23. The walk invites Canadians to learn about the lives of veterans after service and raise money through donations and sponsorships. Learn more or register here.

🍸️ Martini madness: Everything Wine in Abbotsford is hosting a mixology class on Friday, Sept. 15. Participants will learn to craft a perfect martini. Tickets are available online.

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