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In the event of a disaster, the single most important factor for an effective response will be availability of information, La Conner Emergency Management Commission member Jerry George said last week. “And that information,” he stressed, “has to be accurate.” George and the advisory panel are attentive to communications and information systems well ahead of the next flood, earthquake, windstorm, cold snap or heat wave. At its Jan. 2 meeting at Maple Hall commissioners heard from Skagit County Emergency Management Coordinator Joan Cromley...
The La Conner Braves slayed Lions twice in hoops action last weekend. La Conner defeated the NW2B/1B rival Concrete Lions 59-31 on the road Friday, then returned home to Landy James Gym Saturday for a 67-52 non-league win over the Sound Christian Academy Lions. With the wins, the Braves improved to 8-4 overall and 2-0 in league play. Ivory Damien (24) and Brayden Pedroza (23) combined for 47 points at Concrete, which was celebrating the 72nd anniversary of the opening of its storied gymnasium. T...
They were in a foul mood throughout, but the La Conner High School Lady Braves were able to smile after grinding out a 57-29 NW2B/1B for a smashing hoops win at Concrete Friday night. La Conner (7-4 overall, 2-0 in league) won by double digits despite being assessed 21 fouls. Maeve McCormick led nine La Conner scorers with 15 points, including the team’s lone three-pointer. Jacqui Lam, Nora McCormick, Kim Williams and Kiana Jenkins – all eighth graders – finished with eight points apiece for the victors. Another eighth grader, Abi Poult...
The calendar has flipped from December to January; 2023 to 2024. That means it’s a general election year. And the first local polling are two Swinomish Indian Tribal Community Senate primary races later this month. Six candidates, including the incumbents, are vying for a pair of five-year terms on the 11-member tribal governing body. Sen. Eric Day, first elected in 2019, faces challenges from Rodney John and James Bobb for Senate Seat No. 10. Three-term senator Brian Wilbur is seeking re-election to Seat No. 10, opposed by Bruce James and M...
The Town’s newest advisory panel didn’t wait long getting to work in the New Year. The six-member Emergency Management Commission, which spent much of 2023 developing and implementing immediate saltwater flood barriers along the waterfront and in low-lying areas, met yesterday afternoon at Maple Hall. The main agenda topic was their ongoing efforts to craft a community emergency management plan for La Conner. Commissioners were scheduled at their Jan. 2 hybrid session to hear from Skagit Department of Emergency Planner Joan Cromley. “We need to...
The La Conner High School boys’ basketball team got pounded in Seattle over the weekend. But not on the scoreboard. The Braves split two closely fought, loosely called holiday tournament games with teams from larger schools, each contest decided in the final seconds. Ivory Damien and Brayden Pedroza scored 16 points apiece as La Conner edged The Northwest School, the tourney’s 1A host team, 44-41 on Friday night. The Braves led during much of Saturday’s matchup with 2A Black Hills, but fell 44-42 in Saturday’s title round of The Top of the Hil...
History stands to repeat itself in Concrete on Friday. Just as was the case in 1952, when the Concrete High School gymnasium first opened, visiting La Conner hoop teams will take the floor Jan. 5 in a rivalry that precedes the Great Depression. Members of the 1952 Concrete and La Conner teams will be honored as part of a “70-plus Years Anniversary” celebration at the iconic Concrete gym. The night’s events will also include a brief historical presentation and introductions of all-time Skagit County scorers Gail Thulen and Andy Otis of La Conne...
A member of La Conner’s O’Leary family will coach Team USA golfers at the 2024 Arnold Palmer Cup in Ireland next summer. Matt Thurmond, a son of La Conner High School alums Kathy O’Leary Thurmond and the late Joe Thurmond, was chosen last month to be the head coach at the three-day competition on Ireland’s west coast next July. Thurmond is head coach of the Arizona State University men’s golf team. He previously guided the University of Washington men. The Arnold Palmer Cup features the best men’s and women’s collegiate golfers against their...
A server at a La Conner restaurant isn't just singing the praises of Skagit County's musical community. She's lending her voice to it, returning to the stage after a lengthy hiatus, with the Skagit Valley College presentation of "The Music Man," Meredith Wilson's 1957 Broadway musical comedy. Noelle Ford, who by day works at The Slider Café, is rehearsing several nights weekly for the Feb. 23-March 3 run at McIntyre Hall on the SVC campus. She was thrilled to learn that tryouts for parts in...
A U.S. military veteran, John Alcorn knows the importance of a promotion. He does so as a martial arts practitioner and instructor as well. Alcorn, who teaches Taekwondo at USTA Martial Arts in La Conner, was recognized last month for having advanced from second to third Dan (or Degree) Black Belt, a level that requires years of practice at what is universally considered a challenging and physically demanding discipline. But for Alcorn and his students, who range in age from children to adults,...
In La Conner, there's always one thing you can bank on. Tami Mason can be counted upon to pitch in and help when a community need arises. Mason, customer service supervisor at WaFd Bank's La Conner branch, volunteers for several organizations – from the Skagit County Historical Museum and La Conner Sunrise Food Bank boards of directors to the Chamber of Commerce and La Conner Volunteer Firefighters Association. "I love giving back to others," Mason told the Weekly News on Friday, as she w...
La Conner Planning Director Michael Davolio has come up with a way to follow both the letter and spirit of a new state policy that limits to a single public meeting topics reviewed by a hearing examiner. He wants the planning commission to receive all pertinent information in advance of hearing examiner sessions so they can chime in before a decision is rendered. “I want to make sure the public and planning commission has an opportunity for input,” Davolio said at the 90-minute Dec. 19 hybrid meeting at Maple Hall. “I want the planning commi...
Cynthia Elliott isn't the retiring type. The proof is in her willingness – eagerness, actually – to become a La Conner Planning Commissioner, a role not for the faint of heart, just 13 months after wrapping up a 35-year career. Mayor Ramon Hayes announced his choice of Elliot during the Dec. 12 town council meeting to fill the seat vacated by Marna Hanneman, who becomes mayor Jan. 1. Hayes stressed that three "very qualified candidates" had applied and that he and Hanneman reviewed applications....
The new year is bringing a new opportunity for local public service. Pleasant Ridge Cemetery, Skagit County Cemetery District No. 1, needs a commissioner. Candidates must reside within the cemetery district, according to cemetery district secretary Lori Buher. “Interested persons can check their property tax statements to determine if they do reside in our district,” Buher told the Weekly News. “This position would become effective in January 2024.” The vacancy was created when Curt Miller moved to Anacortes. Duties include meeting with pa...
In recent months La Conner has leaned heavily on Langley as a model for community livability issues, from tiny homes and affordable housing to parking. Last Friday it was La Conner's turn to school Langley – on the basketball court. The high school girls' team drubbed South Whidbey 73-34 that afternoon at Landy James Gym while at the same time the high school boys routed the 1A Falcons 60-23 in Langley. "It was a good game on the road while on the holiday break," first-year Braves coach Lance L...
Throughout their shared histories, La Conner and Concrete high schools have been fierce foes vying for league, district and state sports titles. But when they next meet it will be a friendly rivalry in the truest sense of the term. La Conner teams and fans have been invited to participate in celebrations Jan. 5 honoring the “70-plus anniversary” of the opening of the Concrete High School gymnasium to coincide with that night’s girls’ and boys’ basketball games. La Conner was the visiting team in the first-ever boys’ high school junior vars...
The Grinch was on his best behavior at the Swinomish community dinner last Wednesday. The reclusive green grump, best known as the Dr. Seuss character intent on ruining Christmas for the cheery citizens of Whoville, showed his softer side during an appearance alongside beloved toymaker Santa Claus. The Grinch entertained dozens of children before and after they shared with Santa their Christmas gift wish lists. The spirit of goodwill was present throughout the gymnasium. A mountain of door...
There’s uncertainty about whether a happy, healthy 2024 is in the cards. But the numbers seem to indicate it is a strong possibility. Those who dish up black-eyed peas and cabbage or some other good luck fare on New Year’s Eve might do just as well to focus on the distinct numerical sequence of this Dec. 31 as a clue to what 2024 portends. This New Year’s Eve is 12/31/23. Or, more significantly, 123123. The experts in such matters see this as a good sign, noting that 123 and 123123 are sequences referred to as “angel numbers,” reflective of spe...
No building permit has yet been issued, but excavation began at the 306 Center Street condominium project site last week to find the water table on the property so that paperwork could be completed for removal of contaminated soil. Following that initial dig, a soil removal plan was drafted and submitted, according to Town of La Conner Assistant Planner Ajah Eills. Public Work Director Brian Lease approved the plan and soil removal commenced, Eills said. That work was completed and by early Friday afternoon all equipment had left the site. The...
Four-term La Conner Mayor Ramon Hayes chaired his final town council meeting Dec. 12, but it was a business-as-usual session with no celebration or reception. Hayes wouldn’t have had it any other way. “It’s just not my personality,” he told the Weekly News afterward on his reluctance to see the meeting morph into a retirement party. “Once something is done, it’s over,” he explained. “And we had a very long, grueling agenda to work through.” There was, however, mention during the meeting – which included a 20-minute executive session o...
It’s been said that an ill wind blows no good. In the case of the Skagit County Fire District 13 coverage area, which entails Swinomish Reservation and rural La Conner, a facsimile windstorm at the end of March is designed to do plenty good. Planning has started for a March 30 Emergency Operations Center Windstorm Disaster Exercise and unified command strategy. Captains Gary Ladd and Ted Taylor and Brad Reading of Shelter Bay summarized the training at the December commissioners hybrid meeting at the Snee-Oosh Road station last Thursday. ...
It’s often said that to everything there is a season. For La Conner’s emergency management commission, that means development of a comprehensive guide addressing all disaster scenarios. “We’ve been working on flooding issues hot and heavy for quite a while,” Town Administrator Scott Thomas said at the the commission’s Dec. 12 hybrid meeting. Now we need to develop a process and procedure for our (emergency management) plan.” Identifying groups within the community that will need extra assistancen is key. “How do we accommodate persons with di...
It was junior cheer night at Landy James Gym last Friday. And the La Conner High School girls’ basketball team gave both the youth cheerleaders and a large crowd plenty to applaud. Maeve McCormick scored a game-high 26 points, Shaniquah Casey filled the stat sheet with 16 points, six rebounds, six steals and two assists, Nora McCormick added six points and a half dozen steals and Jackie Lam finished with six points and eight boards in drubbing 1B Oakville 56-35 to improve to 5-2. Alyssa Forsythe and Laela Baker scored 10 points apiece for t...
The atmosphere was electric at the Dec. 11 La Conner School board meeting. Campus solarization options lit up the room. La Conner Town Council member MaryLee Chamberlain and resident Bob Raymond, of the Skagit Valley Clean Energy Cooperative, provided an update on local solar grant projects, including a feasibility study and analysis of energy consumption at the school district. They made a pitch, eliciting a positive board reception, for the school district to convert to electric buses. The two presented data that showed cost savings and envir...
Coming off his selection as the Skagit Valley Herald Boys’ Athlete of the Week, La Conner’s Brayden Pedroza provided Braves fans an impressive encore at Landy James Gym Friday night. The junior guard dazzled with an array of shots on his way to a game high 33 points, 10 of which came in the pivotal fourth quarter, to lead the hosts to a 69-51 non-league win over 1B Oakville. Pedroza found the hoop on slicing drives through the paint, mid-range jumpers, three-point bombs and at the free throw stripe where he converted five of six attempts. But...
