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It's a cloudy Wednesday in Langley, with the temperature topping out around 15 degrees and a 40 per cent chance of rain.
On the municipal government front, the Langley City Crime Prevention Committee has been renamed to the Community Safety Awareness Committee, acting on a recommendation from the Citizens' Assembly on Community Safety.
Pile driving for the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain extension begins Thursday on Industrial Avenue, and Langley City First has rounded out its slate with three new candidates ahead of the fall election.
Provincially, BC Nurses Union members voted 98 per cent in favour of authorizing strike action, while three small wildfires were sparked by lightning west of Harrison Lake.
Closer to home, Council also approved a salmon habitat sign at Pleasantdale Creek, and there are two community events to flag this month: the free Beers and Braids hair-skills meetup for dads on Sunday, and a youth baking class at Timms Community Centre starting May 26.
Langley City First Adds Three Candidates for Fall Election
Langley City First has added three new candidates to its slate ahead of this fall's civic election.
Heather Jenkins owns 1 Fish 2 Fish Fresh Seafood Market in Downtown Langley and serves on the Downtown Langley Business Association board.
Shawn Caldera is a digital economy strategist, and Jeff Jacobs is a longtime municipal worker and labour leader who narrowly missed a council seat in 2022.
The three join Mayor Nathan Pachal and Councillors Paul Albrecht, Mike Solyom, and Rosemary Wallace on the slate.
SkyTrain Pile Driving Begins on Industrial Avenue Thursday
Pile driving for the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain extension begins on Industrial Avenue this Thursday, May 14.
Crews will work between 200 Street and 203 Street, starting at 200 Street and moving east.
The work may cause noise and vibrations strong enough to sway light fixtures, and will be the second major pile driving project in the area after the 203 Street station construction.
Major work runs from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Saturday and is expected to continue intermittently into early 2027.
Pedestrians and cyclists will be limited to the north side of Industrial Avenue, and traffic on the road remains eastbound only.
Council Renames Safety Committee, Adopts Zero Waste Plan
Langley City Council has renamed its Crime Prevention Committee to the Community Safety Awareness Committee.
The change acts on a recommendation from the Citizens' Assembly on Community Safety, which spent months gathering input from more than 3,000 residents to reshape how the City approaches public safety.
The renamed committee will participate in the Resilient Neighbourhood Networks program, contribute to the Social Streets Program and Village Cafés Series, and continue working with the RCMP, businesses, and residents on programs like Block Watch.
Council also gave the committee a $2,500 annual budget for its work.
In other business, Council adopted a Zero Waste strategy starting with waste-sorting stations at Community Day and three outdoor movie nights this year, and approved four FIFA World Cup viewing parties at Timms Community Centre funded by a $40,000 provincial grant.
Timms Community Centre Offers Youth Baking Class
Timms Community Centre is offering a five-week baking class for youth ages 11 to 17.
Students will learn kitchen safety, measuring, and recipe basics while making cookies, muffins, brownies, and pastries.
The class runs Tuesdays from 4:30 to 6:00 PM, starting May 26 and ending June 23.
Six spots remain at $110 each, with registration open until June 9.
Beers and Braids Teaches Langley Dads Hair Skills on Sunday, May 17
Dads in Langley can learn the basics of braiding hair at a new social event this Sunday, May 17.
Beers and Braids runs from noon to 2 p.m. at Mad Italian Pizza and Pints in Willoughby Town Centre.
Organizer Shaun Magee, a former Township firefighter, took four years off work as a divorced dad to raise his kids and realized he was not the only father missing basic hair skills.
That experience led him to launch Divorcestorage.com, a free site to help parents stay organized, and later the B.C. Lower Mainland Parents Hub on social media.
Attendance is free but registration is required through the website or the parent hub's Facebook page.
Langley City Council Approves Salmon Habitat Sign at Pleasantdale Creek
Langley City Council has approved the installation of a sign at Pleasantdale Creek marking it as a salmon release site, a small but meaningful step for watershed awareness in the community.
The request originated about a year ago from the Nicomekl Enhancement Society, which releases salmon into local tributaries and has long advocated for better public recognition of these habitats. Council referred the proposal to its Environmental Sustainability Committee before giving final approval this week.
The sign will be located just south of the 49A Avenue trailhead. Salmon are a keystone species, and the health of the Nicomekl River system, which flows through Langley, is a direct indicator of the broader ecological wellbeing of the region.
It is worth remembering that everything that washes off roads and driveways into local storm drains eventually ends up in these creeks. Protecting salmon habitat is community work, not just a government responsibility.
Three Wildfires Sparked by Lightning West of Harrison Lake
Three small wildfires ignited west of Harrison Lake on Tuesday evening after lightning strikes hit the area, according to the BC Wildfire Service.
The fires are currently listed as small, but the early season timing is notable. As climate disruption continues to stretch wildfire seasons longer and make them more intense, communities across the Fraser Valley are right to be on alert.
The province is also recommending residents prepare grab-and-go kits in case of sudden evacuations, a reminder that emergency preparedness is no longer a theoretical exercise for much of B.C.
Those kits should include essentials like medications, important documents, water, and supplies for at least 72 hours.
BC Nurses Authorize Strike Action in 98% Vote
BC Nurses Union members have voted 98.2 per cent in favour of authorizing strike action.
The result clears the way for job action after six months of stalled bargaining with the Health Employers Association of BC.
Union president Adriane Gear says nurses are fed up with crushing workloads, unsafe staffing levels, and workplace violence, pointing to thousands of vacancies and a 25 per cent rise in workplace injuries since 2019.
Gear says walking off the job is a last resort, with steps like working to rule and banning non-nursing duties likely to come first.
Both sides returned to the bargaining table Tuesday.
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