As the wrap-up of the past year in the news pages of The Times has shown, it was a very eventful year in Langley.
As reporter Dan Ferguson noted in the year in review story, it could be labelled “year of the backlash,” as many of the most enduring stories involved pushback.
Perhaps the most dramatic story was one that did not even involve Langley — except in the fertile minds of some members of the media. This was the case of the six dogs who were found dead in an Abbotsford ditch — but only after a frenetic week of searching for the dogs, who had supposedly gone missing at the Brookswood dog park.
In fact, dog walker Emma Paulsen wasn’t even at the dog park, nor had she taken the dogs to Langley. The dogs apparently suffocated to death in her vehicle while she was in Richmond, and she then dumped the bodies in Abbotsford. She brought Langley into the story as part of her fabrications about the event, and some members of the media continued to buy into that narrative, long after it was disproved.
The municipal elections in Langley were more meaningful than usual, and in both Langley City and Langley Township, turnout improved, although it remained at very low levels. Most people voted for things “to remain” as it by not voting or participating in any way.
The push by Langley Township council for a new community plan for Brookswood was resisted vigorously, and although the plan was defeated, the whole process led to significant attempts to get rid of several members of council. There was significant success on that front — three of the five specifically targeted by several groups lost their sets. However, Mayor Jack Froese (who was targeted as well) was an easy winner. His quiet but determined approach to his job won support from most voters.
In Langley City, several vacancies led to a significantly new look for council, and acting mayor Ted Schaffer earned the title by winning election decisively.
MP Mark Warawa was part of one of the biggest national stories of the year — the storming of Parliament by a gunman who was short and killed by Sergeant-At-Arms Kevin Vickers in October. Warawa and most other MPs were locked down in caucus rooms and other offices for hours, until it was deteremined there were no more gunmen.
Rampant growth in Willoughby, which was a subtext in the Brookswood discussions, became more of an issue when it was revealed that a new high school in the area is far from a certainty, due to new provincial requirements that a significant portion of the capital costs be paid for by the local school district. R.E. Mountain Secondary is already overcrowded, and the area urgently needs more high school space.
The importance of Langley Events Centre in attracting people and dollars from outside the community to Langley was emphasized when the National Lacrosse League’s Vancouver Stealth became the first professional sports team ever to be based in Langley. The Stealth are now in their second season. The BC Seniors Games in September, which attracted more than 3,800 athletes, showed just how much economic activity comes into Langley from sports and athletics.
The beating of Chris Lafrenier after he got off a bus at Langley City bus loop in November attracted a great deal of attention, and will lead to better lighting and security at the bus exchange. Thankfully, the community pitched in to make Christmas better for Lafrenier and his family.
However, many issues involving unruly bus passengers remain to be dealt with.
And the opening of all the remaining overpass projects in Langley during 2014 has offered significantly more alternatives to drivers who, in the past, have been stuck waiting for trains to pass. Still to come are advance warning signs along major Langley streets, which will alert drivers to an oncoming train and suggest alternative routes — usually involving one or more of the overpasses.
The new year will likely be just as busy and diverse as 2014 has been.