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Sorted by date Results 201 - 225 of 1887
La Conner High School senior Tommy Murdock continued to set the gold standard for the state’s Class 2B boys’ hurdlers on Saturday. For the second year in a row, Murdock swept the 110- and 300-meter hurdles events at the Washington State 2B Track and Field Championships in Yakima. Murdock capped his amazing Braves career – one in which he collected five state gold medals dating to the 2022 campaign – by leading the La Conner boys to an eighth-place finish out of 31 schools competing in the 2024 2B trials at Zaepfel Stadium. Murdock account...
Strange as it may sound today, there was a time when having a parking problem in La Conner meant more cars were wanted on First Street to spur retail shopping – and when retail meant purchases for home use. It was also a period when home builders were being actively recruited to develop vacant lots to grow a town census that barely rose above 625 residents. The year was 1957. Dwight Eisenhower was in the White House. The space race was launched with Sputnik 1 orbiting the earth. The Fortran c...
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Through more than a century, as La Conner has evolved to its present state as a major tourist destination, its schools have remained a cornerstone. That is perhaps best symbolized by the La Conner High School Alumni Association, the oldest active organization of its kind in Washington state and which holds its 110th annual banquet and program at 5 p.m. Saturday, June 1, at the middle school gym. La Conner alumni from across the years will gather then to honor the graduating class of 2024 and...
The La Conner Town Council last week chose to forego the path of least resistance when dealing with future downtown traffic flow and parking. Rather than table action and extend discussion of options for S. First Street, council members voted 4-0 during their May 14 meeting at Maple Hall to convert the historic and narrow route along the town’s popular waterfront to single lane one-way traffic with parking on both sides. Councilor Ivan Carlson was absent. Town Planner Michael Davolio suggested the change go into effect this fall, which would g...
He was raised and again resides on a diversified century-old farm north of town, but more than any single crop it's been goodwill that Dean Swanson has spent a lifetime cultivating. "I've been lucky to have grown up in a community that really cares," Swanson, 67, told the Weekly News. "I had all the support I ever needed. That's why I've always chosen to give back and (my wife) Becky, who's the rock of our family, is in on that with me." Because he mastered the concept of "paying it forward"...
A Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist will look to maintain the chemistry enjoyed by the Town's Emergency Management Commission since its inception in 2023. Three-year town resident Jonah Keith was confirmed last week by the La Conner Town Council to fill a commission vacancy created by the death of Duane Carpenter, who had been the advisory panel's chief meteorologist. Keith brings to the board not only his extensive background in science and marine biology, but also the...
Math can be serious stuff, but it's also a great vehicle for fun and games. That was spelled out at La Conner Elementary School during the annual campus Math Night celebration May 1, when parents, students and staff geared up to experience the magic of numbers. "It's great that people can come in and see how math is fun," said Beth Clothier, La Conner School District's director of teaching and learning. "It's nice to see so many families here to do math games." The mood was festive, akin more...
Three of six La Conner High School golfers advanced from Northwest Tri-District 2B competition to state brackets this week in Tumwater. Seniors Abigail Udlock and Sammy Williams and junior Corran Eisen represented La Conner in state 2B/1B play, a two-day contest that began yesterday (Tuesday) morning at the Tumwater Valley Golf Club south of Olympia. Udlock teed off on the girls' side of the state tournament at noon on Tuesday. She was grouped with Chloe Anderson-Cleveland of Orcas Island a...
Kendall Lee has brought her A-game – as in Anacortes – to area tennis courts this spring. The La Conner High School junior has competed in 2024 for Anacortes head coach Jeff Leer and the 2A Seahawks since tennis is no longer offered at La Conner. The arrangement has paid dividends for Lee, who qualified last week for the Washington State Girls' 2B/1B Tennis Championships May 24-25 in Yakima. Playing for Anacortes during the regular campaign kept Lee sharp for 2B/1B post-season action May 17 at...
The La Conner High School baseball and softball teams fell short in their respective league title races this spring, but they were winners nonetheless. Both programs were recipients of 2024 Team Sportsmanship Awards in recent balloting by their NW2B/1B rivals. The softball team, coached by Loran James and Taysha James-Sherman, also garnered two individual honors. Infielder Taylor-Rae Cayou, who enjoyed a monster day at the plate during La Conner’s late season conference doubleheader sweep of Concrete, was a first unit All-League selection. P...
In the walk-up to Mother's Day, supporters met at John K. Bob Ball Park Friday to march in honor of missing and murdered indigenous women. Marchers from as far as British Columbia walked shoulder-to-shoulder through Swinomish Village, raising awareness to the disproportionate risk Native American, First Nations and Alaska Native women face when it comes to experiencing violence, murder or going missing. They make up a significant portion of North America's missing and murdered cases, a fact not...
There are several directions town council members can take when it comes to future traffic flow and parking schemes on South First Street. The La Conner governing panel was scheduled last night to hear separate recommendations from its planning staff and planning commission for options for downtown traffic and parking as part of an ongoing update of the transportation element of the town’s Comprehensive Plan. Planner Michael Davolio and Assistant Planner Ajah Eills have proposed South First Street be converted to one-way southbound traffic w...
There’s supply and demand, but it can be demand and supply. The latter condition has led Skagit County Fire District 13 to assign two emergency medical technicians for 12-hour shifts two days per week at the Summit Park station near Highway 20 starting in mid-June. “We need to be out there,” Fire Chief Wood Weiss told district commissioners via Zoom during their hour-long May 9 meeting at the Snee-Oosh Road station. Weiss was in Leavenworth. He said staffing that station full-time twice weekly will help response times to a growing number of ca...
Tommy Murdock, Yandel Rosales-Rojas, Kiana Jenkins and Morgan Huizenga each won multiple events and four eighth graders teamed to win the girls’ mile relay to lead the La Conner High School track teams to second-place finishes at the Northwest District 2B Track Meet in Coupeville on Saturday. Murdock, the reigning Washington State 2B boys’ hurdles champion, claimed titles in the 100- and 200-meter dashes and the 110- and 300-meter hurdles. The senior hit the tape in the 100 in 11.5 He ran 23.14 in the 200, 15.21 in the 110 hurdles, and 39....
La Conner High School senior Tommy Murdock, the defending state 2B champion in the 110-meter hurdles and two-time state title winner in the 300-meter hurdles, is reaching new heights this spring. Murdock, who set a new school mark in the 110s at the recent NW2B/1B Championship Meet, was named the Skagit Valley Herald Boys' Athlete of the Week following his stellar performance at the recent league trials in Mount Vernon. Not only did Murdock establish a new La Conner High School standard in the...
Six La Conner High School students will be doing their course work outdoors today. They will do so while exchanging textbooks for scorecards, having qualified for the May 15 Northwest 2B/1B Tri-District Golf Tournament at Tulalip’s Battle Creek Golf Course. Seniors Abigail Udlock, Ella Simpson and Hallie Walls will represent La Conner on the girls’ side of the Tri-District tourney. Senior Sammy Williams, junior Corran Eisen and sophomore Brooks Bushey are the boys Tri-District entries. All six La Conner golfers qualified for Tulalip tee times b...
Friday was a Lucky day in La Conner, and not just because of the Northern Lights. An upbeat, hour-long morning program at La Conner-Swinomish Library by award-winning author and musician Lucky Diaz made the day special as well. Diaz, a bilingual force of energy, came to celebrate with area children and parents the wonder and joy that can create magic in the lives of young people. "I do this for the kids," Diaz told the Weekly News. "I started doing this to entertain my oldest daughter. I'd...
The La Conner School District should enjoy a smooth leadership transition as the school board on Monday appointed finance chief David Cram to succeed Will Nelson as superintendent for one year, starting July 1. Nelson, who is completing his third year leading La Conner schools, announced in April that he will leave the district June 30 for a teaching post at Western Washington University in Bellingham. Rather than conducting a potentially costly external search for Nelson's successor, the board...
Christmas came early for more than 40 La Conner Elementary School fifth graders. Rather than waiting to awaken Dec. 25 to find a new bicycle under the tree, students ended their school day May 2 with a bike of their own. They earned it – in both name and deed. The bikes were presented as part of a three-tiered, school-based Bicycle Safety Education program and its Earn-a-Bike initiative. Earn-a-Bike is an equity opportunity allowing youth to apply their new cycling skills in the real world by p...
The La Conner High School track teams show they have a finishing kick. The Braves and Lady Braves posted strong performances at the NW2B/1B League Championship Meet in Mount Vernon on May 1, a prelude to Bi-District trials in Coupeville on Saturday, May 11. La Conner teams placed second on each side of the five-school league title showdown. The Braves were runners-up to Coupeville on the boys’ team leaderboard. The Lady Braves were silver medalists behind Mount Vernon Christian. “I was super proud of how everybody competed,” La Conner head trac...
The La Conner High baseball and softball teams lost their regular season finales at home last week, but each program still had cause to celebrate. For the Braves and Lady Braves, all wasn't lost last Thursday despite suffering tough setbacks to NW2B/1B archrival Coupeville. That's because La Conner coaches and fans had occasion to honor senior players who in four years have overcome hurdles imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic to resume their spring pastime. "This senior class lost time to COVID...
Turnout was low but engagement high at a one-hour community mingle April 25 addressing possible future uses of the Jenson property. About two dozen people gathered at the Civic Garden Club to suggest how the town could best use the half-acre field on La Conner's south end, acquired in 2022 for $60,000, about one-third its assessed value. Participants reviewed maps of the property, a fact sheet and an informational pamphlet provided by La Conner artist Maggie Wilder outlining features that would...
La Conner's iconic fish slide is temporarily closed and awaiting repairs, but visible progress has been made on another key feature of Conner Waterfront Park. The Town Public Works Department has installed column foundation posts and construction has resumed on a long-sought pavilion at the shoreline park below Rainbow Bridge. Work on the project was suspended for a few weeks due to wet weather and other department priorities, some of which were carried out while crews were shorthanded. Town...
Town Administrator Scott Thomas is known for his occasional use of dry humor, but there wasn’t anything funny about his report to Town Council members last week regarding drought conditions this year. “We’re already in a state of drought,” Thomas told the council during its April 23 meeting at Maple Hall. “So, we may be looking at water restrictions down the road.” Thomas reported that Washington’s snowpack, based on state Department of Ecology statistics, stands at just 68% of its average levels. “With chances for significant additions to the...
It was cold, damp and gusty in La Conner last Saturday, a perfect day for the La Conner Braves softball and baseball teams. The Lady Braves were especially thankful their home doubleheader with Concrete wasn't rained out as head coach Loran James' charges broke into the win column with convincing 22-13 and 21-13 triumphs. It was a case of déjà vu. A year ago, La Conner had also swept a pair of softball slugfests with their Skagit County rivals, winning those battles by 35-27 and 32-27 m...
