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New La Conner High School head volleyball coach Pam Keller is succeeding a legend and her young team is following in the footsteps of the four-time defending state 2B net champions. But optimism was clearly in the air – and on the freshly painted floor at Landy James Gym – when the Lady Braves opened pre-season workouts last week. "This crew is working pretty dang hard," Keller, who assisted retired state Hall of Fame coach Suzanne Marble for more than two decades, told the Weekly News pri...
Sweet Sixteen. A milestone birthday, for sure. But it has added significance for the La Conner High School football program. Sweet sixteen is the number of players on the Braves’ preseason roster this year. That’s about twice as many who turned out at this time last August. Ultimately, head coach Charlie Edwards and his staff were able to cobble together a young group with enough depth – though, barely – to complete its 2022 11-man grid schedule, forging a respectable 2-6 mark given the circumstances. Edwards, who began his third season...
In recent years, scrapbooking has become a popular hobby. But for a La Conner area resident it has long been more than that. Anne Waldron has over time filled several of her old-school hardcover photo albums – the ones reinforced by clear protective overlay pages – with an eclectic collection of local and national news articles, favorite cartoon strips, advertisements bearing images of celebrities and treasured family memorabilia. They are assembled in no particular order. Even so, none see...
Good fences make good neighbors. That adage is being put to the test – at least for the short term – at the 306 Center St. construction site, where safety fencing installed ahead of mandated soil removal has blocked nearly a dozen parking spaces of several businesses, including two cafes, at the adjacent commercial building. The fencing went up on Aug. 15. Since then, employees and customers of businesses in what locals refer to as the Station House Building, have sought parking elsewhere. Opt...
A hazy blanket hovered above La Conner last weekend as smoke from multiple wildfires in north central Washington and southern British Columbia drifted into the area, shrouding typical summer views of the snow-capped Cascades but providing brilliant red sunsets over Swinomish Channel and Skagit Bay. By Monday, though, local air quality was much improved as weekend north winds returned to onshore flows, bringing relief in the form of slightly cooler morning temperatures and easier breathing. At 3...
La Conner is taking a novel approach when it comes to celebrating the best things in life. The town will be the scene for "Tom Robbins Day" Sept. 2, an event designed to promote fun, friendship, wit, whimsy and positive vibes, all reflective of themes and characters in books penned by La Conner's famed best-selling author. It will also be an opportunity to support mentoring opportunities in the arts for local youth at the new La Conner Swinomish Library. A full slate of activities is planned, in...
Maddie Huscher has swapped out her rock-climbing boots for soccer coaching cleats this fall. Huscher, the reigning Northwest Region Teacher of the Year and who has sponsored the middle school climbing club, will spend the next few weeks on flat ground as La Conner High School’s new girls’ soccer coach. Huscher greeted a young but enthusiastic roster to pre-season workouts this week. In a way, though, Huscher will be employing climbing techniques with the Lady Braves. She will be looking to help guide the youthful Lady Braves up NW1B/2B sta...
A year ago, the best offense for the La Conner High School boys’ soccer team was a good defense. That script will flip in 2023, however, as a deep roster with plenty of playmakers will be more aggressive on the offensive side of the pitch. Blessed with a solid core of returnees from a club that dropped tight 2-0 and 3-0 matches with Mount Vernon Christian and highlighted the 2022 campaign with a 1-0 shutout win over NW2B/1B rival Coupeville, head coach Galen McKnight envisions a more robust attack this fall. “We have a big incoming junior class...
They say there’s no such thing as a free lunch anymore. Unless, of course, you’re willing to race canoes on Swinomish Channel all day in the August heat, often doing so while pulling against the current. Canoe club members and elders braving the summer weather to watch the weekend races were treated Saturday to a free salmon luncheon prepared as part of the festive annual four-day Swinomish Days cultural celebration. “We did about 400 pounds of salmon,” Marty Cladoosby, part of the fish cooks c...
Town officials remain focused on mitigation of flood conditions ahead of king tide season in the fall. La Conner Town Council members last week endorsed recommendations proposed by Public Works Director Brian Lease for immediate short-term saltwater flood protection remedies along the town’s waterfront. Lease had earlier shared with the emergency management commission a priority purchase list for materials and equipment – ecology blocks, sandbags, a sandbagging machine and forklift. “I’d like to have sandbags filled and on pallets by Oct. 1,...
Gary Ladd was bare headed on Thursday, though figuratively he was wearing two hats that morning. A Skagit County Fire District 13 officer, he also serves as an officer of Skagit Bay Search & Rescue – and he spoke for the latter during the fire district’s monthly commissioners meeting at the Snee Oosh Road station. The SBSR leadership proposed to Commissioners Bruce Shellhamer, John Doyle and J.J. Wilbur that the fire district partner with the search and rescue group on emergency calls. SBSR is currently aligned with the Skagit County She...
A former marathoner, La Conner Schools Superintendent Dr. Will Nelson knows the value of committing to a plan for the long run. He Is also familiar with having to negotiate different routes leading from Point A to Point B. But more than that, Nelson has learned to cover ground separately and simultaneously along equally challenging paths. During his first two years as administrator he has overseen implementation of several innovative academic programs, overseen the launch of a five-year...
La Conner's Pioneer Park basked in sun, salmon and song last Thursday, a perfect combination for the 119th annual Skagit County Pioneer Association Picnic and Business Meeting here. Ideal conditions drew more than 300 people on a sun-splashed day that honored championship La Conner High School volleyball coach Suzanne Marble and members of the Benson/Berentson family, who association president Peggy Stowe said "have been connected to every vocation imaginable" since emigrating from Norway to Ska...
There was much to cheer about at the Pioneer Picnic in La Conner last Thursday. But the loudest and most heartfelt ovation of the afternoon was given to beloved local centenarian Joyce Johnson, who at 105-years-young was recognized as the oldest person in attendance. Skagit County Pioneer Association President Peggy Stowe saluted Johnson as a 70-year member of the La Conner Civic Garden Club, which serves the picnic’s trademark salmon luncheon. Her Garden Club friends and admirers join others elsewhere in marveling at how Johnson has lived not...
When she first ran for U.S. Senate in 1992, Patty Murray described herself as a mom in tennis shoes." Her newest pair of New Balance footwear came in handy when the six-term senator, who serves as Senate president pro tempore, hiked revered Lone Tree Point and the beach area below the Thousand Trails La Conner RV Resort on Monday. Sen. Murray spent an hour touring and receiving updates on collaborative marine environmental protection projects undertaken locally by the Swinomish Indian Tribal...
A trained classical pianist, La Conner Mayor Ramon Hayes has great appreciation for a variety of musical genres. He naturally keeps tabs on those playing keyboards. And one of his favorites is La Conner's own Terry Nelson. "Terry is the epitome, the soul, of La Conner," Hayes told the Weekly News recently. "He's so forward thinking." A longtime proponent of green energy, having for more than four decades advocated solar heating options, Nelson is also one of a handful of home-grown La Conner...
The status of short-term rentals will get a long look as the La Conner Town Planning Commission seek public input while updating what has become a hot button topic in La Conner. During their discussion of the issue last week, commissioners endorsed holding a community roundtable in September and collecting comments on the Town’s website. Assistant Planner Ajah Eills suggested the public dialogue after short-term rentals were addressed at the Aug. 1 hybrid meeting at Maple Hall. Short-term rentals are permitted in La Conner’s commercial zon...
At first glance, comparing La Conner and Kirkland is akin to apples and oranges. But when it comes to affordable housing incentives, it is a comparison that might bear fruit. Planning department staff shared with the La Conner Planning Commission during their July meeting at Maple Hall research into how Kirkland, a Seattle suburb of nearly 100,000 people, has sought to increase its stock of affordable housing. Assistant Planner Ajah Eills provided a seven-page report on how La Conner might implement some of the measures adopted in Kirkland....
Key steps were taken last week – both literally and figuratively – to mitigate saltwater flooding on La Conner’s north end. Public Works Director Brian Lease led members of La Conner’s emergency management commission on a one-hour July 25 walking tour of low-lying spots along the north waterfront from the Washington Street-end past Channel Lodge on North First Street. The six-member advisory panel. chaired by Bill Stokes and established in response to severe saltwater flooding here last December, will soon be making a recommendation to the tow...
Less is more yet again. In this case, addition by subtraction involves the long-awaited removal of a 65-foot abandoned and partially submerged sailboat from nearby Similk Bay on Swinomish Reservation. The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, Washington State Department of Natural Resources and Northwest Straits Commission partnered July 20 to remove the Windjammer and another smaller derelict vessel from within tribal boundaries. The Windjammer was pulled from intertidal waters north of Kukutali...
Over the years, many ideas have been floated to solve La Conner's parking problem. An Anacortes man may have the best solution yet. At least it works for him. Michael Rudd rarely if ever has trouble parking his vehicle when in town. That's because his wheels are somewhat non-traditional – a small bright orange European-built velomobile in which he has cruised Skagit Valley roadways since 2017. Rudd was here in July to make a quick pit stop at One Moore Outhouse before returning to the La C...
La Conner School Board Directors bit the bullet Monday in approving a barebones, $12.9 million annual budget whose target is to realize a positive fund balance by next summer. This budget is about $1 million leaner than that adopted a year ago and reflects painful staffing and program cutbacks tied to declining student enrollment and loss of federal COVID-19 emergency funds. The 2023-2024 budget was developed by Director of Finance and Operations David Cram, who was given the mission of restoring the school system’s fiscal health when he return...
What's old is new again tomorrow: the 119th annual Skagit County Pioneer Association Picnic, a longtime La Conner summer tradition. Starting at 11 a.m. Thursday at Pioneer Park, everyone is invited to attend. State Hall of Fame La Conner High volleyball coach Suzanne Marble and members of the Benson/Berentson Family will be special honorees. Marble will receive the Pioneer Spirit Award for her tireless efforts on behalf of students and athletes here over the past 30 years. Descendants of Atlag...
Focused on the future, Town officials have taken the long view to address La Conner’s most pressing needs. Town leaders highlighted a handful of top-tier issues in a 5-year strategic plan crafted during an all-day retreat July 24 in Mount Vernon. Priorities include a mandated upgrade of the wastewater treatment plant, robust investments in fire protection and safety, providing public access on South First Street to Caledonia, securing a permanent home for the public works department, developing long-term flood mitigation measures, replacing agi...
It was a current event on a Swinomish Channel steeped in history. Tribal canoe families from throughout the region arrived here just before noon a week ago Tuesday as part of the Paddle to Muckleshoot, the continuation of a cultural tradition dating to when the Salish Sea was a Native American superhighway. The 2023 Canoe Journey was the first such celebration in four years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Swinomish and Samish nations were on its route. The display of handsomely painted canoes on...
