Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
Some Abbotsford residents will be able to return home after the city lifted an evacuation order for a portion of the Sumas Prairie as part of a "Return Home" plan unveiled on Friday. In a news conference, Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun lifted an evacuation order for around 240 properties in the north of the city effective immediately, as floodwaters dropped 12 inches — 30 centimetres — over the past 24 hours in the Sumas Prairie.
