Frankly Speaking

On Friday, Langley will become the latest Lower Mainland community to see two of its community newspapers become one. The Langley Advance Times will begin publication that day, with the amalgamation of The Advance  (which began in 1931) and The Times (which started 50 years later, in 1981). Both have been owned by Black Press Media since 2015. There is still another community newspaper in Langley - the Aldergrove Star , also published by Black Press Media. It is based in Aldergrove, and serves the eastern portion of Langley and western portion of Abbotsford. The move to amalgamate makes sense, and will actually provide better news coverage. The news staff at the two newspapers have laboured heroically since each went to once-a-week publication, but there is no doubt they have been stretched on many occasions. I have the highest regard for Roxanne Hooper, editor of the new publication. We worked together many years ago at the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows News , and she is not only ...

Photo by Liane Bisaillon Harry Hunt was a photographer for the Aldergrove Star for over 25 years, and for even longer than that, he was an advocate and encourager of young people in sports. He was almost certainly the best-known person in Aldergrove, as was attested by the crowd at his memorial service on Sunday. Harry Hunt demonstrated the finest elements of humanity in his 75 years. He cared about people, particularly young people; he did not betray confidences; he never stopped advocating for his home community of Aldergrove; and he worked until physically unable to do so. Even when dying of cancer and knowing he had just a little time left, he was pulling out the stops to make sure his family was fully taken care of. And in addition to all that, he was an outstanding representative of the community newspaper industry which I have been privileged to be part of for the past 38 years. For the past 25 years, he has been a freelance photographer for the Aldergrove Star ....