LangleyAdvance
Furry tail ending pg A11
Your community newspaper since 1931
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
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Act of kindness
Family benefits from helping hands
Businesses and volunteers teamed together Saturday, to spruce up the property of a family in need. by Troy Landreville
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tlandreville@langleyadvance.com
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An Aldergrove family had plenty of reasons to be thankful this Thanksgiving weekend. As many as 50 volunteers got their hands dirty in an act of kindness, for a family in need of some community support. The project was spearheaded by the Langley RCMP detachment’s Community Safety Officer (CSO) Paul Walker. The residents/co-owners of the Ford family residence are four siblings – three sisters and one brother – all of whom are hearing impaired. Passed down to them from their parents, the property has been home to the Ford family for more than 40 years. Over the past four to five years, the property fell into disrepair and came to the attention of local authorities. Over the years, one relative (not a resident) who is known to police brought his criminal element association to the property. “We’ve been dealing with this property, I’d say, going on two years, now,” Walker said. “It was kind of an untidy, unsightly premise due to a family nephew who had brought a whole bunch of stuff and garbage onto the property. We’ve been working with them to get some voluntary compliance. The nephew is unwelcome to the property and has since left.” With the piles of garbage, scrap metal, and computer bits, among other things, the yard resembled a homeless camp. In addition to the trash littering the property, there was an old wooden garage and a fence that were rotting and unsafe, a concrete foundation from an old chicken barn, and much
Dozens of volunteers worked hard to give an Aldergrove property a make-over. of the land was overgrown with blackberries Walker recognized there was no point in continuously serving violation tickets, as the family did not have the funds to pay them, nor did they have the means to get out of the situation they found themselves in. So Walker set about asking community partners to assist in a clean-up project in the hope of re-instating the yard as usable space. “They [the Fords] were trying to basically get back their lives, for the most part,” Walker said. “They would kind of get a step forward, and then it would get so overwhelming that they couldn’t get past that. So I figured the best solution was to give them a hand, and put something like this together, and reinstate their property.” The result was beyond expect-
Troy Landreville/Langley Advance photos
www.dbmlaw.ca 604.534.2131 Good advice. Good law. Good people.
Members of the Ford family, including siblings Edward and Sharon, reacted to the work done on their property, after arriving home Saturday evening. An RCMP officer (left photo) admired the newly landscaped back yard.
Troy Landreville/Langley Advance
the property early in the morations. What started out a small ning, there were about 50 Good idea blossomed into a comSamaritans standing on their munity coming together to do exterior landscaping and fencing, street, ready to go to work. “Seeing their and to put in a new reaction – it’s a lawn and garden for Contributors to the good feeling,” the family. project included: Walker said. More than $20,000 • Pit Stop Portable Toilet Services “There was a lot worth of product • Waste Management of emotion, a lot and in-kind dona• GLE – Green Landscape Experts of thankfulness. tions was offered • Valley Pulp & Sawdust Carriers The willingness in this outpourfor the community ing of support. As • Diamond Bar Equipment to come together well, dozens of • Driving force was just amazing volunteers, includ• Target Products for them.” ing church mem• Lafarge Canada When the family bers, local business • All Seasons Garden Center members arrived owners, Langley • Life Soils home under a RCMP, and other • CLA Church heavy mist of rain people who had • Norm-Ron Excavations Saturday evening, heard about the pro• Valley Traffic they were awash ject and wanted to • Bos Sod Farm with emotion. help out, gathered • Cat Rental Store “Awesome! I at the home early • Aldergrove Credit Union think you guys are Saturday morning. great! I’m going to Walker said • West Coast Metal Recycling cry again,” Sharon Christian Life • Surrey Cedar Ford told the volAssembly supplied • JD Farms unteers. “It won’t “a lot” of the man• Eagle Wind RV be so hard, now.” power involved in • Tim Hortons (Aldergrove) Referring to her the project. • White Spot ( Aldergrove) newly landscaped CLA also pur• Coca-Cola and manicured chased the required • XHale Beauty Lounge backyard, Sharon, fencing material. • Seasonal 56 who shares the “It’s about a • The Old Spaghetti Factory home and prop$20,000 renova• Country Lumber erty with her tion in a 12-hour • Ralph’s Market brother Edward span,” Walker • Freybe and sisters Diane told the Langley Advance about and Peggy, said, • Krause Berry Farms mid-day Saturday. “I can really rest • Urban ECO Landscaping “Absolutely not a back there.” • Tyam Group dime is coming from Sharon said • George Flath Excavating the family.” the family had Walker called the planned on cleanproject, and the day, “an amazing up the property, “but not ing experience.” this great. We were just going to He said when the family left do a little bit at a time.”