Canucks Alumni Coming to Town PAGE 32
THURSDAY December 18, 2014 • www.langleytimes.com
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COMMUNITY Santa Tours the Grove
BUSINESS Facelift for Langley City Square
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SPORTS Pells Runs Into Hall
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Bus loop lighting upgrades coming
He’s Sticking With It
CITY, TRANSLINK TO SHARE COST OF INSTALLING MORE AND BRIGHTER BULBS BR ENDA ANDER SON Tim es Reporter
A savage attack on a man who had just stepped off a bus at the Langley City bus loop has jumpstarted efforts to improve both visibility and safety at the stop. On Monday night, Langley City council approved a plan to contribute $32,500 toward lighting upgrades at the City’s main bus stop, located at the corner of Logan Avenue and Glover Road. TransLink will contribute an additional $21,500, for a total of $54,000 in improvements, which will include new light standards and twice the current number of bulbs, which will be higher wattage than those now in place. The City had been in discussion with TransLink for several months about sharing costs to improve public safety at the bus stop, which is located on a dark street in front of a largely vacant mall. However late last month, the need for the upgrades took on a new urgency. On Nov. 28, Chris Lafrenier was beaten and robbed by a pair of teenagers near the bus exchange. He suffered a broken nose, a chipped tooth, a concussion and
lacerations to his head in the attack. Because of the extent of his injuries, Lafrenier will be unable to work for an indeterminate amount of time. After The Times reported his story, the public quickly stepped up, donating more than $12,000 to a GoFundMe campaign that had aimed to raise $5,000 for Lafrenier and his wife, in addition to several other funds set up on their behalf. (See separate story, page 3). In a briefing note, City engineer Rick Bomhoff indicated that council could choose to postpone the work until the spring, after the 2015 capital improvement plan has been approved. “However, there is an urgent need to upgrade the lighting at the bus exchange with recent public safety issues at the location,” Bomhoff wrote. “We’ve had issues in that particular area,” said Mayor Ted Schaffer, before calling the question on the funding allocation. With the money having been committed by TransLink, he urged council to move ahead on the upgrades. “Let’s light that place up like an airport runway,” he said. Continued Page 4
LSS closure considered DECISION ‘NOT A DONE DEAL’ – DISTRICT MONIQUE TAMMINGA Tim es Reporter
DAN FER GUSON L an gley Tim es
Aiden Moir, 6, of Langley, makes a velcro-to-velcro landing at one of the inflatable games at the Basics for Babies event, held at the Langley Events Centre on Sunday.
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Langley Secondary School could close. A notice of motion to consider closing Langley Secondary was passed by trustees at the Langley Board of Education meeting on Tuesday evening. The notice of motion will be discussed again at the next board meeting, but it was essential to make it now, because it shows intent of a business plan to the
ministry of education. But the notice of motion does not mean the closure of LSS is a done deal, said school district staff and trustees. “My hope is that the message is clear that this is a policy piece we must follow, not a decision,” said Trustee Megan Dykeman, who brought forward the notice of motion. Continued Page 4
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