Frankly Speaking

I want to say a big thank you to all who offered thoughts and prayers for me today as I underwent umbilical hernia surgery at Langley Memorial Hospital today. I was a bit nervous, having not had a general anaesthetic since 1979. I had found it challenging to come out of at that time. My experience today was simply great on all counts. My thanks to surgeon Dr. Scott Cowie, anaesthetist Dr. Colin Sinclair and the terrific nurses in the surgical daycare centre and operating room. I am pleased to say that all went well and I was able to come home five hours after surgery. My loving and supportiuve spouse Bonnie Bucholtz is now pampering me to help me heal as quickly as possible. We often complain about our health care system. and it does have problems at times with timely diagnosis, long waits at busy emergency rooms (such as LMH) and an inability of many people to obtain a family doctor. On the flip side, the treatment we get at hospitals is superb, the staff are extremely prof...

The Langley Good Times Cruise-In has attracted huge crowds to Langley City over the past 20 years. Langley Advance file photo The suggested relocation of the Langley Good Times Cruise-in to Aldergrove would be great news for Aldergrove. It would not be good news for Langley City. It appears that there is no chance Cruise-In will take place in the City this year. Society president Wayne Patterson has stated his group will either move to Aldergrove or not operate the highly successful car show and community event at all. It may well be the end of the line for the event, if it does not work out to move to Aldergrove. He said the City was simply asking Cruise-In to absorb too many costs. In particular, asking the society to pay a portion of policing costs for Friday night was too much for the directors to stomach. Considering that Cruise-In does not have any Friday night activities in Langley City, their reluctance to pay for any policing costs is completely reasonable. W...

The issue of bridge tolls should be an important one in the May provincial election, particularly in the 19 seats between Chilliwack and Delta where drivers are most directly impacted. Gary Hee is running as an independent candidate in Surrey South, specifically on a promise to remove the tolls. Photo copyright nobridgetollsinbc.com A review of bridge tolling policy won’t happen until after the next election. The decision by Transportation Minister Todd Stone is clearly in the interests of the current BC Liberal government, but it may not be in the interest of bridge users. The best time to apply pressure to any government is just before an election ­- not afterwards. Stone said last month there is no rush to do such a review. The province has decided it is going ahead with the Deas Island bridge which will replace the Massey Tunnel, and it will be tolled. “If they (the Mayors’ Council) move forward with a tolled bridge to replace the Pattullo, that would leave the...