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Aldergrove delivers new home to burned out duo
Let it Snow
KURT LANGMANN Black Press
The Aldergrove community went all-out to help a man and his dog who lost their humble home in a fire on Dec. 12. By Saturday afternoon, a fullyrefurbished camper filled with groceries and goods was delivered to the homeless duo. Aldergrove firefighters had responded promptly to the fire about 8:30 p.m. as the camper was parked on the Aldergrove Mini Storage property just across Fraser Highway from Aldergrove Fire Hall #3. They arrived just in time to douse the camper before the diesel pickup truck also was destroyed. The first fire lieutenant on the scene, Robert Vinette, said, “Flames were coming through the roof when we pulled up to attack it. The camper was clearly a write-off but we thought at least we could save the truck.” The owner, Greg Laing, had only briefly left the camper to help a friend at the mini storage and ran back in time to save his dog from inside the camper. However, he lost all his material possessions in the fire. It’s believed that the dog had knocked over a candle, which then caught the curtains on fire. “After we put the fire out he was standing with his dog, almost crying; he lost everything he had,” said firefighter Jamie Shaw. “We were spreading out what we could salvage from inside the camper but there was really nothing left.” Laing had no insurance and nowhere else to go. Firefighters arranged “personal disaster assistance” from Langley Township, continued, PAGE 3
Dan FERGUSON/Langley Times
A pedestrian trudges through damp snow in Langley City Wednesday morning. More photos at langleytimes.com.
School shooting prompts review of Langley emergency procedures MONIQUE TAMMINGA Times Reporter
The Langley School District has taken some steps in the wake of Friday’s tragic school shooting in Connecticut, including reviewing its emergency procedures. Grief counsellors are available and school administrators have spent time debriefing on the incident and identifying which students and colleagues might require additional support, said Langley school district spokesperson Sandy Wakeling. The district is also offering advice to parents on the best way to deal with such a tragedy. The specific response the district has varies by school, depending on the grade
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range and ages of the students, said Wakeling. Generally however, the following will apply: • There will understandably be some anxiety around this incident and staff and students may have some level of emotional impact from the news. Staff and parents have been asked to watch for any changes in children’s behaviour in the coming days, particularly among vulnerable students, and refer appropriately to school counsellors as needed. • The district has recommended that parents limit their child’s exposure to the media footage of the incident and limit any discussions to the basic facts. • Staff have been advised to refrain from
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sharing images or video footage of the incident with students, the district recommends that any discussions be limited to a brief sharing of facts. • The district has shared additional information received from the Ministry of Education with all schools regarding crisis/ trauma response. • Staff have been reminded to wear proper ID tags when visiting other schools, and to be vigilant in ensuring all visitors to their schools sign in and wear identification. • The safety and well-being of students is always the District’s top priority. Staff have been requested to review emergency response procedures and ensure they are up to date.
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