Distinct Honour page 24
Times
Eye on the Ball
The Langley
T u e s d a y ,
Walking the walk
M a y
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page 30
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www. l a n g l e y t i m e s . com
Crown wants eight years
THAT’S A WRAP
As the 50th annual Langley Walk approaches, a long-time participant takes a look back MIRANDA GATHERCOLE Times Reporter
A bad sunburn and a pair of blistered and swollen feet are what Dorothy Humberstone remembers most from the first year of the Langley Walk in 1963. The 22-mile trek from Aldergrove, through Glen Valley to Fort Langley and back to Downtown Langley, took the 15-year-old Humberstone and her family nearly eight hours to complete. Though the walk has now shrunk in size to only 7 km (equivalent to about 17 laps at the McLeod Athletic Park track), 50 years later it continues to enrich the lives of thousands of Langley residents. The idea to host a walk for families to encourage exercise and healthy living was extremely innovative in its day. Created by Pete Swensson, the Parks and Recreation Director of the Township of Langley at the time, the walk was the first of its kind in North America, and predates the charity marathons that are popular today. Even though there was no fundraising effort attached to the event, its popularity in the early years came from the challenges put out to the schools and civic groups. As a result, groups of school kids would band together to walk the course. In some cases, young lovers would take the opportunity to walk hand in hand on a spring day with their transistor radios pumping out the latest Beatles tunes to keep them going. Humberstone has many fond memories from the more than 40 walks she has completed over the years. She boasts a sash of 32 Langley walk badges, dating back to 1967. In the very first year, some girls showed up in nylons and high heels, clearly not realizing the distance of the walk, Humberstone recalled with a laugh. Their shoes were quickly removed and they did the majority of the walk in bare feet. “At the water stations they also had Band-Aids available for the blisters we all got on our feet,” she said. “But despite all of the pain and torture it was still fun.” The Humberstone family has always made the Langley Walk into a large event, and each year they try to win in the category for most participants from one family. They have taken the title the last five out of six years.
Man who ran down and killed Silas O’Brien has 64 driving convictions MONIQUE TAMMINGA Times Reporter
Miranda GATHERCOLE/Langley Times
Kailey Jackson performs an acrobatic dance number to the song E.T. during the Langley Has Talent semi-finals, which were held earlier this month at Christian Life Assembly.The top 13 acts from the competition — including Jackson — will perform again at the May 5 finals, which will also held at the church on 56 Avenue. Like last year, the second annual Langley Has Talent — co-sponsored by Langley’s Rotary Clubs — will raise funds for a new performing arts theatre in Langley. Tickets for the finals are available at the Langley Times office, 20258 Fraser Hwy., or online at langleyhastalent.ca.
Two years to the day after 21-year-old Silas O’Brien was killed in a road rage incident in South Langley, the man convicted of causing his death was caught driving 45 km/h over the posted speed limit on the same road. The shocking accusation came in New Westminster’s B.C. Supreme Court Friday, as Brent Parent, 43, sat in the prisoner’s box with his head down, while prosecutors argued for a driving ban, citing Parent’s 64 driving convictions. Crown counsel Donna Ballyk is seeking an eightyear jail sentence and wants Parent to be prohibited from driving for 15 years. O’Brien died in the early hours of March 13, 2008 on the shoulder of 16 Avenue after he’d been run over. Earlier this year, a judge ruled that Parent, who was driving a diesel Ford F350, became enraged when he thought that the Chevy Silverado O’Brien was riding in had deliberately flashed
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