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  • Forum tackles solar energy, emergency preparedness

    Bill Reynolds|Feb 7, 2024

    The future is looking brighter for solar energy in La Conner. “You have a big advantage,” Markus Virta, managing partner and co-founder of Cascadia Renewables, told two dozen people attending a community solar storage feasibility study meeting at La Conner Swinomish Library last Saturday. Virta said collection and analysis of detailed energy usage data at La Conner Schools and the La Conner fire station, could lead to future state grant funding for installation of clean energy systems and backup generators at both venues This is his fir...

  • La Conner slams Hurricanes in key road win

    Bill Reynolds|Feb 7, 2024

    C.J. Edwards scored a season-high 17 points to go along with his usual deft passing in leading La Conner to a convincing 56-39 NW2B/1B boys’ basketball win over Mount Vernon Christian at a packed DeKok Court on Jan. 30. Edwards, the reigning Skagit Valley Herald Boys’ Athlete of the Week, threw several dazzling overhand baseball passes from backcourt to ignite a lethal La Conner transition game that was especially effective in the decisive second half. The 5-10 junior point guard drained two of his three perimeter treys during a 16-7 fou...

  • Braves point guard C.J. Edwards is Herald Boys' Athlete of Week

    Bill Reynolds|Feb 7, 2024

    C.J. Edwards is used to making his teammates look good, repeatedly feeding them for baskets as the La Conner High School boys’ basketball team’s assists leader. Edwards is looking pretty good himself these days as the Skagit Valley Herald’s Boys’ Athlete of the Week award recipient. Edwards, a 5-10 junior who runs the point for his team, received the SVH honor after scoring seven points and dishing off six assists in a 77-69 league triumph over Orcas Island on Jan. 23. He followed that up with a season-high 17-point effort Jan. 30 at Mount Vern...

  • Hurricanes blow away La Conner girls

    Bill Reynolds|Feb 7, 2024

    Youth will be served. Sometimes, but not last week. The La Conner High School girls’ basketball team, with several eighth graders in key roles, fell 56-30 to a solid and veteran Mount Vernon Christian lineup before a large Jan. 30 Senior Night crowd at MVC’s DeKok Court. La Conner has no seniors. It started eighth graders and sophomores against the Lady Hurricanes, who enjoyed a considerable size advantage across the front line. MVC bolted to an 11-0 first quarter lead and never looked back enroute to the NW2B/1B triumph. Senior Allie Heino led...

  • Photo of Wild West at dock.

    Matt Johnston's boat Wild West featured in National Fisherman

    Bill Reynolds|Jan 31, 2024

    A Swinomish fisherman has netted national attention for his 47-foot crabber built from an in-house design at Full Time Fabrication in Sedro-Woolley. Matt Johnston's new boat, Wild West, is featured in National Fisherman magazine, which covers the U.S. and Canadian fishing industries and whose target audience includes commercial fishermen, academics, government staffers, sport fishermen and environmental advocates. Wild West was to begin sea trials in late January. National Fisherman...

  • Image of Moore-Clark building with fencing around it.

    Concern: Moore-Clark site a fire hazard

    Bill Reynolds|Jan 31, 2024

    Emergency management has been a priority here since channel flooding in 2022 swamped waterfront and low-lying areas. Attention turned last week to fears of catastrophes and disaster at the dilapidated former Moore-Clark warehouse building at South First and Caledonia streets. A fixture in La Conner since before the turn of the century – to the 20th century– and once part of a bustling hatchery fish food processing plant and longtime local industrial hub, it was constructed as a grain war...

  • Forum: solar energy grant progress

    Bill Reynolds|Jan 31, 2024

    More people are seeing the light solar energy offers. Members of the La Conner-based Skagit Valley Clean Energy Cooperative are hoping to see that number grow Saturday after a 10 a.m. forum at the La Conner Swinomish Library. The program explores solar and energy storage and how they help build climate resilience and support community needs. They will discuss their approved feasibility study for a grant to fund solarization and energy storage at the La Conner fire station and school campus. If funded, both venues will serve as emergency...

  • Attendees under the banner in the gym.

    Banner night at gym: 1968 grid team honored, Lady Braves win

    Bill Reynolds|Jan 31, 2024

    The La Conner High School girls' basketball team enjoyed a banner night on Friday, routing The Northwest School of Seattle 64-11 in non-league hoops action. So did a group of special guests at Landy James Gym. The members of La Conner High School's undefeated 1968 football team and their families and friends were honored during halftime ceremonies highlighted by the unveiling of a banner bearing a photograph of the players and their coaches, the late Jim Frey and Vince Sellen, who now resides...

  • Winter cold snap closes La Conner

    Bill Reynolds|Jan 24, 2024

    So much for El Nino. The climate pattern linked to warmer than normal sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean and which led to forecasts of above average temperatures this winter went AWOL for more than a week. A major storm swept into Skagit County last Wednesday on the heels of an arctic blast that had earlier plunged thermometers and wind chill gauges into single digits. The result was an extended stretch of icy and snowy roads and streets that forced local business closures and pushed...

  • One vote determines a tribal senate primary

    Bill Reynolds|Jan 24, 2024

    Every vote counts is no mere cliché. Just ask Bruce James, Jr. James advanced to the Swinomish Tribal Senate general election next month by a single vote, edging incumbent Brian Wilbur 84-83 and placing second in primary balloting last Saturday. Myrtle Rivas, who received 97 votes, will face James in the Feb. 10 contest for the Swinomish Senate Seat No. 10 that Wilbur had held for three terms. Meanwhile, Rodney John and incumbent Eric Day will vie for Seat No. 11 in the tribe’s general election. John polled 103 primary votes while 88 voters se...

  • Forum on parking set for Feb. 20

    Bill Reynolds|Jan 24, 2024

    Hours before snow hit outside, the La Conner Planning Commissioners plowed through a busy agenda during their 80-minute Jan. 16 hybrid meeting at Maple Hall. The pile of issues addressed were housing and parking issues, the status of the Talmon Project at 306 Center Street, population projections for the town and the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community’s plans to convert its Maple Avenue apartment complex to a staffed home recovery facility. The tribe has designed a program for persons and families who have completed treatment at the Didgwalic W...

  • High school seniors seek funds for June class trip

    Bill Reynolds|Jan 24, 2024

    La Conner High School seniors started their freshman year wearing masks and learning from home in front of their computers. Three years later they’re still playing catch-up from the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus the La Conner’s Class of ‘24 has lagged in fundraising, not possible with the campus closed. The class must still raise about half of the estimated $25,000 needed for its June trip to Disneyland. Senior class advisor Theresa James apprised school board members at their Jan. 22 meeting that despite the yeoman effor...

  • Braves hoop team blister nets, win 2

    Bill Reynolds|Jan 24, 2024

    Braves hoop team blister nets, win 2 With a frigid winter cold snap outside, the La Conner Braves turned up the heat inside gyms at Coupeville and Darrington for a pair of key NW2B/1B high school hoops triumphs last week. Fittingly, given the plunging temps, La Conner’s 69-68 victory at Coupeville Jan. 16 was a classic barnburner. The Braves then scorched the nets Friday night enroute to a lopsided 76-35 decision at Darrington. “It was a good conference win after two days off for weather,” coach Lance Lopez told the Weekly News after the route...

  • Lady Braves ace 2 league road hoops tests

    Bill Reynolds|Jan 24, 2024

    The La Conner High School girls’ basketball team saved its best for last at Coupeville. Entering the fourth quarter deadlocked, the Lady Braves finished with an 18-4 spurt that secured a 46-32 NW2B/1B triumph Jan. 16, extending their winning streak over the hosts to 11 games dating to 2018. Coupled with a 51-25 road victory over Darrington Jan. 19, the team is unbeaten (5-0) in conference play before last night’s clash with Orcas Island. For La Conner, the road trip to Coupeville was Valentine’s Day a month early. With head coach Joe Harpe...

  • Repainting Rainbow Bridge may be a dream

    Bill Reynolds|Jan 24, 2024

    When the iconic Rainbow Bridge, the often-photographed arched orange span synonymous with La Conner opened in 1957, it looked like a million. Fast forward to 2024 and the now faded local landmark requires several millions – as in dollars – to reclaim its original bright orange appeal. The estimated cost of repainting Rainbow Bridge, which links La Conner and the Skagit County mainland with Fidalgo Island and Swinomish Reservation, is about $4 million, town resident Linda Peterson learned fro...

  • Swinomish Channel search for missing woman unsuccessful thus far

    Bill Reynolds|Jan 17, 2024

    Extreme tide changes on Swinomish Channel have made difficult the efforts by multiple agencies to find a 27-year-old Kirkland woman whose last known whereabouts was the La Conner waterfront early on New Year’s Day. “At this time,” Sgt. Brad Holmes, who administers the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office La Conner Detachment, said on Sunday, “the missing female has not been located and most search efforts have been maxed out.” Intense searches involving divers from throughout the Puget Sound region have been conducted during low tide periods on...

  • Marna Hanneman leads first town council meeting as mayor

    Bill Reynolds|Jan 17, 2024

    A new year, a new mayor. It's been a long while – going back to January 2008 – since that sentence has applied to the Town of La Conner. Now it does. Former planning commissioner Marna Hanneman, who has spent the past six months prepping to succeed retiring four-term mayor Ramon Hayes, transitioned into her new role at a Jan. 9 hybrid town council meeting at Maple Hall that ended with a half-hour executive session. Council members Annie Taylor and Mary Wohleb also took ceremonial oaths of office...

  • GOP presidential caucus met in La Conner

    Bill Reynolds|Jan 17, 2024

    Politics can get quite heated in this day and age. But on Saturday Mother Nature cooled more than campaign rhetoric. Extreme cold weather, with temperatures plunging into the low teens and below throughout greater La Conner, greatly reduced turnout at a Skagit County Republican Party caucus at the Civic Garden Club Building that morning. A couple dozen GOP and independent voters arrived the first hour of the caucus, which ran from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., and chose delegates to the county and state Re...

  • FD 13's CARES program reduces stress on 911 system

    Bill Reynolds|Jan 17, 2024

    Skagit County Fire District 13 cares. In both deed and name. The district has implemented a proactive injury and illness prevention program that is providing medical care and assistance while reducing strains on the 911 system. Its coverage area includes Swinomish Reservation and rural La Conner, Early statistics show the effectiveness of District 13’s CARES (Community Assistance Referral and Education Services) program, staffed by three full-time paid personnel. Medical officer Capt. Drew Farrell presented graphs at the Jan. 11 District 13 m...

  • Brayden Pedroza nets statewide hoops award

    Bill Reynolds|Jan 17, 2024

    Brayden Pedroza has been a scoring machine for the La Conner High School boys' basketball team this season. He is also scoring points with the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association leadership. Pedroza was selected as one of its Athlete of the Week Award recipients after he meshed 22 and 27 points, respectively, in Braves' victories over Concrete and Sound Christian Academy the weekend of Jan. 5-6. Pedroza, was named a Skagit Valley Herald Athlete of the Week in December. He is...

  • Ivory Damien earns Skagit athlete of the week

    Bill Reynolds|Jan 17, 2024

    Ivory Damien has a name not easily forgotten. But it is his polished game on the court that has given La Conner High School boys' basketball fans plenty of lasting memories. Damien, a guard equally adept at passing and scoring, made a name for himself beyond La Conner with his outstanding play at Concrete and against Sound Christian Academy. The Braves' senior netted 24 points in a 59-31 NW2B/1B win Jan. 5 over the Lions, then added another 21 the next afternoon when La Conner defeated...

  • La Conner boys, girls b-ball teams beat by 2A North Mason

    Bill Reynolds|Jan 17, 2024

    La Conner had the home court advantage, but North Mason had the student enrollment edge when the schools’ basketball teams tipped off at Landy James Gym last Friday. The hosts came up on the short end of both non-conference tests, though the boys had a potential game-winning shot at the end of regulation before falling 82-72 in overtime. North Mason is a 2A Olympic League high school with over 700 students. La Conner enrolls less than 500 students in grades K-12. Still, the boy Braves had the higher numbers on the scoreboard through a s...

  • Two search and rescue boats in the Swinomish Channel.

    Swinomish Channel searched for missing woman

    Bill Reynolds|Jan 10, 2024

    The popular La Conner waterfront, usually a place for leisurely board-walk strolls, outdoor dining and festive selfie photography, became a grim scene last week as a search was undertaken in Swinomish Channel for a missing 27-year-old Kirkland woman. Several search and rescue agencies from throughout the Puget Sound region, coordinated by the Skagit County Sheriff's Office, descended on La Conner after family members confirmed evidence located in the channel was linked to their relative,...

  • Poster of 1952 players

    Large turnout at Concrete anniversary hoops night

    Bill Reynolds|Jan 10, 2024

    La Conner High School's annual basketball road trip to Concrete on Friday covered more than the usual hour-long drive time. This one spanned seven decades. La Conner fans filled the visitors' bleachers on a night commemorating the 1952 opening of the iconic Concrete High School gymnasium and the century-old hoops rivalry between the two Skagit County schools. The evening was billed as the "70-Plus Years Celebration" of the Concrete gym. And it was only fitting that the host Lions had La Conner...

  • Bud Reynolds wearing letter sweater from UW.

    Bud Moore rowed for champion Husky crew

    Bill Reynolds|Jan 10, 2024

    During his many years of local public service, both as La Conner's mayor and president of the Chamber of Commerce, Bud Moore often showed a knack for getting people to pull together in support of major projects. Construction of the public restrooms on First Street and the major renovation of Maple Hall into a multi-event community center are just two examples. Now an active and energetic nonagenarian, Moore embraced that sense of teamwork while attending the University of Washington, where he...

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