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The best kept secret in La Conner, eight months in the making, was fueled by an appreciation for vintage cars. Jason Coughlin waved the checkered flag on a deeply personal covert mission with a classic Father's Day weekend surprise gift at Friday's annual La Conner Retirement Inn Invitational Car Show on N. First Street. From his childhood, Coughlin knew that his dad, Jim Coughlin, had always wanted a restored Chevrolet Chevelle. The younger Coughlin made that dream come true in dramatic...
Tommy Murdock hasn't slowed down since capturing twin state hurdles titles in Yakima last month. A week after graduating from La Conner High School, Murdock competed in an elite national meet at historic Hayward Field at the University of Oregon in Eugene. Murdock, who collected five state gold medals as a La Conner hurdler, took part in the 2024 Nike Outdoor Nationals and USA Track & Field U20 Championships on the same track where the U.S. Olympic Trials will be held starting Friday. Hayward...
Departing La Conner Schools Superintendent Will Nelson, who is leaving after three years to accept a teaching post at Western Washington University, was among special honorees during the year-end Swinomish Education Dinner at John K. Bob Ball Park on June 13. Nelson received a ceremonial blanket representing warmth and protection as part of a program that also honored the first-ever cohort of Swinomish-trained teachers, the tribal community’s corps of classroom student advocates, Swinomish K-12 students and college graduates, and La Conner Sch...
If ever someone was destined to be harbormaster at La Conner Marina, it's Charlie Knapp. And not just because he has an uncanny knack of finding smooth sailing after entering uncharted waters. "I've always enjoyed challenges," said Knapp, who grew up in Atlanta and launched his current gig with the Port of Skagit in mid-March. "I like trying new things," he told the Weekly News on Saturday. "That's how you grow." Consider that the graduate of Samford University in Homewood, Ala., has taught...
After four years of struggles and challenges, most notably isolation and remote instruction imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Class of 2024 capped its high school experience with a picture-perfect day. La Conner High School's graduating seniors, an accomplished group comprised of talented scholars, artists, musicians, public speakers and athletes, received their diplomas during seamless and briskly paced commencement exercises held in warm, sunny conditions at Whittaker Field Thursday...
There’s food for thought, and food for survival. Both were addressed during the 75-minute La Conner Emergency Management Commission meeting at Maple Hall last week. During their June 4 public session, commissioners invested more thought into their ongoing development of a Community Emergency Management Plan and studied the role the La Conner Sunrise Food Bank could fill should a local disaster occur. Food Bank board chair John Petrich, who has an extensive background in housing and utilities management, was the commission’s guest speaker. He...
In terms of solving a longtime housing shortage here, the town is being asked to make the impossible possible. It will take about 20 years to tell if La Conner is successful. Town Planning Commission chair Bruce Bradburn had some gripes when reviewing state and county mandates that La Conner prepare to add 124 new housing units – one-third of which would serve low-income residents – between now and 2045. Bradburn called that a “pipe dream.” “It’s fine to say we have a goal to provide more family housing in town,” he said. Town Assistant Pla...
Three graduating La Conner High School student-athletes will take their best shots at the collegiate level next year. Graduating seniors Abigail Udlock, Tommy Murdock and Morgan Huizenga signed letters of intent June 5 to compete in college athletics during a 30-minute ceremony at Whittaker Field attended by friends, family members, coaches, school administrators and fellow students. Udlock, a state qualifier in golf this season, signed to compete in 2024-25 at the University of Puget Sound in...
The seating chart is a tool used in school classrooms across the country. Same with the La Conner School District’s meeting room, where board members and administrators sit in order of seniority. That being the case, interim superintendent David Cram – now the district’s finance director – slid into seat formerly held by Superintendent Will Nelson during the board’s 90-minute June 10 public study session. Nelson, who officially departs the district June 30 after three years, isn’t attending this month’s board meetings and didn’t partic...
La Conner will again serve as host and the upriver community of Concrete will receive special accolades when the Skagit County Pioneer Association holds its 120th picnic and business meeting at Pioneer Park on Aug. 1. Concrete civic leaders Jason Miller, Valerie Stafford, Fred West, John and Gail Boggs, and Marty and Adrienne Smith will receive Pioneer Spirit awards during the event in recognition of their key roles promoting Concrete’s rich historical heritage and maintaining its envied quality of life while nestled amid some of Washington s...
Emergency management has been a hot topic in the La Conner area the past couple years. Tabletop disaster preparation exercises have become more frequent. An even more visible two-day emergency response activity staged from the Duane Berentson Twin Bridges boat launch on the north end of Swinomish Channel took place June 4 and 5. “The purpose of the exercise is to validate response equipment, practice our emergency response plan, confirm viable spill control points, and refresh personnel on response tactics,” a spokesperson with the Can...
Renewable energy is a key issue for state Senate hopeful Janet St. Clair, a two-term Island County commissioner with an extensive background in public education and social work. Renewable energy also defines her campaign style. St. Clair brought her energetic, bilingual approach to La Conner on June 3, meeting at the Civic Garden Club with local Democrats. State Rep. Debra Lekanoff, D-Bow, attended and offered a ringing endorsement of her candidacy for the 10th Legislative District seat. St....
The La Conner Pub & Eatery was so busy Wednesday that people joked the fire department might be called to red tag the place for exceeding its occupancy limit. Turns out, members of La Conner Hook & Ladder and the local firefighters' association were already on scene – en masse. They took over the downtown tavern and diner that night for a major fundraiser, collecting half the food and beverage receipts and all of the gratuities. Nor did their five-hour serving shifts represent a hostile t...
It was hats off to La Conner High School's tribal seniors Thursday, May 30. And hats on, too. That's because those members of the school's Class of 2024 were honored during the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community's annual Cedar Hat Ceremony at Swedebs Park, an upbeat outdoor evening event featuring tributes from speakers that included four Swinomish senators and departing La Conner School District Superintendent Will Nelson, a member of the Blackfeet Nation. The grads, donning their finely woven...
The countdown is on for La Conner High School seniors. Having wrapped up four years of classes, some of which were held remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Class of 2024 will participate in the school's 130th annual commencement exercises at 5 p.m. Thursday, June 6, at Whittaker Field. Nine graduates received National Honor Society recognition for their scholarship, character, leadership and service: Class President Josi Straathof (school board student representative), valedictorian...
An early lesson taught in La Conner schools is that it's far better to give than receive. It's a value that Dean Swanson not only learned but has lived for much of his life. June 1, Swanson, a 1975 La Conner High School graduate, found himself on the receiving end for a change when presented with the school's Outstanding Alumnus award in recognition of his remarkably generous spirit. Swanson's giving nature was highlighted by his grandson, Kenai Zimmerman, Class of 2024, who formally introduced...
La Conner leaders saw a shining example of solar power's potential during a two-hour tour of a state-of-the-art production plant in Burlington Thursday morning. Mayor Marna Hanneman, town councilor Mary Wohleb and resident Terry Nelson, who along with Wohleb is a founding member of the Skagit Valley Clean Energy Cooperative, met with Silfab Solar officials inside the firm's 220,000-square-foot automated facility where residential and commercial solar panels are manufactured for a growing...
There’s no such thing as a free lunch, even when grant monies are in hand. Town officials last week addressed the hidden and incidental costs linked to grant funding by adopting a new policy designed to assess which awards are most feasible to pursue and cost effective to administer. “Grants take an awful lot of time to apply for and to maintain when we get them,” Town Administrator Scott Thomas said. He told the town council at its May 28 meeting that he wants to develop a policy to determine which potential grant awards best fit La Conne...
Tommy Murdock was feeling a bit run-down at the recent Washington State 2B Track-and-Field Championships. But, in the end, it was his challengers in two hurdles title heats who felt run down. Murdock overcame illness to capture the 110- and 300-meter hurdles crowns in Yakima, repeating the success he had enjoyed at state trials the year before. "He got pushed at state this year," La Conner head coach Peter Voorhees said of Murdock, "but he was in control." Which has been the case since 2022,...
A La Conner High School alum has been a key factor in unlocking doors leading to the successful rebuild and recent state championship run by the Anacortes football program. Tyler Dubuque, a 2004 La Conner graduate, is the offensive coordinator and primary play caller for the 2A Seahawks, who set a state-title-round scoring mark with their 60-30 championship game victory over Tumwater last December. Dubuque's peers noticed. The Washington State Football Coaches Association has named Dubuque the D...
Busy lives paused Monday as local residents took time to reflect on the past during annual Memorial Day services at two area cemeteries. Somber holiday programs drew large turnouts to the Pleasant Ridge and Swinomish Indian Tribal Community cemeteries despite cloudy and chilly conditions. Rev. Don Robinson and Anne Basye keynoted the one-hour gathering at Pleasant Ridge, site of the oldest cemetery in Skagit County and where the accomplishments and sacrifices of veterans, pioneers and Native Ame...
Being prepared is no longer exclusively a Boy Scout thing. It works for senior citizens as well. That's why the Swinomish Senior Center was the site of a three-hour community disaster preparedness training program last Friday. Tribal Community Emergency Management Coordinator Brian Geer and Swinomish EMC specialist Keri Cleary led the interactive session, which focused on how to prepare for a wide range of disaster scenarios. "A disaster is anything that overwhelms your immediate resources,"...
Caravan Gallery on First Street has long been known for its unique vibe. That likely won’t change anytime soon based on action taken last week by the Town Planning Commission. The downtown retail outlet, which enjoys a loyal customer base drawn to its one-of-a-kind collection of ethnic artifacts, statues of Buddha and other deities, glass artwork, colorful scarves and trend-setting clothing, has received commission approval to install a permanent 12-foot-by-10-foot wood gazebo in its outdoor courtyard, according to Town Assistant Planner A...
When national Head Start budget cuts announced earlier this year spelled the imminent demise of the Little Braves preschool program, La Conner Elementary School Principal Heather Fakkema reacted with sadness. But not panic. Fakkema was among those who first floated the idea of following up the Little Braves mission with a new educational concept – transitional kindergarten. Transitional kindergarten, which serves students who are at least 4 years old, has been implemented in Washington state and elsewhere to help eligible children prepare fo...
La Conner distance runner Toby Walls caught up with some of the biggest names in track-and-field on May 25. Walls and his son, Sylas, an up-and-coming middle school racer, were part of the large crowd attending the annual Prefontaine Classic at legendary Hayward Field at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Ore. Named for late Oregon running icon and Olympian Steve Prefontaine, who from 1973-75 set American records at every distance from 2,000 to 10,000 meters, the Prefontaine Classic each year...
