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On the Run
The Langley
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Good Samaritan struck while helping stranded driver MONIQUE TAMMINGA Times Reporter
A Langley man is fighting for his life and may not walk again, after trying to help a woman whose car had broken down in the middle of the night on Saturday. While the man was connecting jumper cables to her car, another vehicle slammed into the back of his Mazda, pinning him. The force of the crash at 176 Street and Fraser Highway saw the vehicle end up on top of the Langley man’s vehicle, crushing the roof and seriously injuring a teenage girl and child inside. Just before 2 a.m., Brandon Gullickson, 23, was driving his Mazda with his girlfriend Cassy Dryden, 18, and his sister Gabby, 12. They came upon a BMW stopped in the curb lane of Fraser Highway, with an older woman inside. While Gullickson watched others drive around the stranded BMW, he decided to help, said Dryden’s aunt Patsy Davis. “Brandon got run over by his own vehicle and Cassy and Gabby were seriously hurt, all for helping someone out,” said Davis. Gullickson, a Langley PetSmart employee, jump started the woman’s BMW. She then asked them to follow her for a bit to make sure it would drive. They did so, but the woman panicked as the lights on her dashboard began to flicker. She pulled to the side and shut the engine off. Gullickson also pulled over, putting on his four-way flashers, and jump started the vehicle again. That’s when a Mercedes Benz, driven by a 48-year-old Surrey man, struck Gullickson’s vehicle with such force that the Mercedes landed on top of the Mazda. continued, PAGE 5
Dan FERGUSON/Langley Times
From left: Langley Township mayor Jack Froese watches First Nations drummers Louise Campo, Patti Victor and Andrew Victor sing a traditional song at the dedication of the Glen Valley forest that will be preserved because of a donation by the Blaauw family. About 80 people attended the Tuesday afternoon event.
Family saves a Langley forest Dedication ceremony for Glen Valley lands honours memory of Thomas Blaauw
DAN FERGUSON Times Reporter
A large memorial stone honouring the memory of the late Thomas Blaauw has been positioned at the 257A Street entrance to the trail that runs through the Glen Valley forest. It will soon bear a message that remembers the local farmer who passed away in 2012 as a “loving husband, father and grandfather, forever loved — forever missed.” The engraving will include a short poem that reads in part, “A good life, a simple life, that’s what he led./He’d struggled like most, but came out ahead.” A hundred yards down the trail, another memorial has been placed, a bench for visitors to rest on. At the Tuesday afternoon ribbon-cutting ceremony to dedicate the 25-acre
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parcel of land as a public forest preserve, the entire Blaauw family was there; wife Ann Blaauw and children John, Janet, and Jennifer. Janet spoke for the family, explaining why they chose to make the donation that allowed Trinity Western University to make the $2.5 million purchase. “He [my father] loved the green space, the trees, the animals, the trails. He would always remark and say what a nice piece of property,” she said. “He would just love to have that piece of property, but it was never for sale.” As her mother stood by her side, Janet looked up at the sky for a second. “Dad, here’s that property you always wanted,” she said. About 100 people attended the dedication. Township Mayor Jack Froese praised the family’s decision, saying the gift
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of land was “extremely special.” Under the terms of the agreement between the university and the Township, the woods will be preserved for environmental research, education, and recreational purThomas poses. Blaauw A restrictive covenant only allows buildings that “enhance the use of the conservation area on the property.” Trinity Western interim president Bob Kuhn said the gift is a legacy for future generations. continued, PAGE 4
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