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Greg Ellis sees big things ahead for La Conner by going small. The Shelter Bay resident and Braves Club after-school program volunteer, who submitted plans for seven full-sized homes behind Pioneer Market in 2021, now proposes constructing tiny condos there. “I want to do the best thing I can for the community,” Ellis told the La Conner Planning Commission during their 90-minute June 20 hybrid meeting at Maple Hall. “There’s such a shortage of affordable housing here, especially for a workforce.” Ellis is revamping his plans for lots he has ow...
America’s national bird may stump part of a tree-thinning project at Pioneer Park. The Town of La Conner has been advised by an urban forestry services consultant that more than 40 trees in the park, a popular trail hiking and public events venue – including the annual Pioneer Picnic – have structural defects or are in decline, posing potential isolated hazards. A large winter windstorm during the COVID-19 pandemic uprooted a handful of trees in the park, some of which crashed onto the roof of its historic sheltered community kitchen build...
Retired La Conner High School championship volleyball coach Suzanne Marble has netted some impressive awards including induction into the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Hall of Fame and national coach of the year recognition. One more honor awaits this summer. Marble will be feted at the annual Skagit County Pioneer Association Picnic in La Conner Aug. 3 as the organization’s 2023 Pioneer Spirit Award winner. The Pioneer Picnic, held annually on the first Thursday in August, has been a La Conner summer tradition for more t...
While budget woes have gotten much attention at La Conner Schools lately, those concerns were balanced by a long list of district celebrations cited at the school board’s summer retreat last Wednesday. Second-year superintendent Will Nelson cited key achievements realized during 2022-2023. He noted that the district piloted a secondary level mastery-based learning program, saw middle school science instructor Maddie Huscher named regional teacher of the year, began implementing the research-based Universal Design for Learning framework that a...
In his many roles as an educator, lawmaker, state official and in private business, the late Duane Berentson was hailed as a team player. And family man. The well-documented devotion to service and consensus building that defined him has been a blueprint for others in the Benson/Berentson lineage. The family will be honored at the 119th annual Pioneer Picnic in La Conner Aug. 3 as the Skagit County Pioneer Association Family of the Year. For three decades a key figure in Olympia, Duane...
Halloween was in the air on summer solstice weekend, which goes to show all things are possible in La Conner. It was a truly spellbinding weekend here – perhaps best embodied by upbeat witches' dance flash mob performances at Maple Center's Spirit Wheel Courtyard – with ideal weather greeting those taking part in an array of events on both sides of the channel. La Conner cast its spell on locals and visitors alike with an eclectic brew of attractions. There were traditional go-to activities lik...
La Conner School board members did something Monday night that they haven't done in a very long time: They approved hiring a new counselor for the middle and high school campus. Eric Crinklaw, most recently with Bonney Lake High School in the Sumner School District, will succeed Lori Buher, who is retiring after 27 years. The decision took place during a 75-minute hybrid session ahead of its annual retreat scheduled from 2-8 p.m. today. "It's an honor to be here," said Crinklaw, who has ties to the Concrete and Friday Harbor school districts....
A major sports website has confirmed what La Conner fans have known for months. That being Ellie Marble, who just graduated from La Conner High School and will attend Central Washington University on a volleyball scholarship in the fall, was the best girls' 2B senior athlete in the state this past year. Marble, who played in a combined six volleyball and basketball state tournaments – it likely would have been eight had it not been for the COVID-19 pandemic – has been named the SBLive WaFd Ban...
Town officials are charged with regularly updating La Conner’s comprehensive plan, the document that determines community goals and aspirations going forward. But the plan’s new verbiage won’t consist of their words alone. Residents are having a say in the process, Planning Director Michael Davolio and Assistant Planner Ajah Eills assured planning commissioners – including the panel’s newest member, Summer Holt – last week. Davolio and Eills visited the La Conner Senior Center recently to outline details and field questions. “We had some inte...
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Swinomish Indian Tribal Community took filling in the gaps to a new level at the aging McGlinn-to-Goat Island rock jetty south of La Conner. The M/V SeaHorse was contracted for just over two weeks in late May and early June to remove fill material several times a day from a loading area north of the jetty to the work site to plug gaps impacting spring outbound salmon runs. The emergency repairs, designed to reduce Skagit River flow velocities through the jetty, were completed June 9. The work involved...
La Conner will again act locally while thinking nationally on July 4. The town is site once more of Independence Day festivities with something for everyone – from a holiday parade to food and beverages to live music to a fireworks display over Swinomish Channel. The fun starts with the always popular 12 p.m. parade down First Street. Parade staging is set for 11 a.m. on State Street, in front of the Port of Skagit’s La Conner Marina south basin parking area. The parade traditionally draws an array of motorized, non-motorized and even fam...
There's one excuse that will not fly for anyone parking in front of about two dozen fire hydrants on Swinomish Reservation. That being they weren't visible. Instead, you can hardly miss those hydrants anymore. By Saturday afternoon 22 fire hydrants had been adopted and most repainted – many with distinctive bright colors and designs – as part of a Skagit County Fire District 13 fundraiser. The district's Adopt-A-Hydrant campaign was coordinated by firefighter Logan James. Participants paid $10...
La Conner’s iconic fish slide may not be fin-ished, after all. Town of La Conner Parks Commissioner Ollie Iversen made an impassioned plea last week to town council members asking them to reverse their recent decision to scrap the slide due to ongoing maintenance and safety issues. The slide, a favorite at Conner Waterfront Park with locals and tourists alike, has been closed since last year. But for several years volunteer spring touchup and repair work by Iversen and former town administrator John Doyle kept it open. Their efforts involved g...
La Conner Schools administrator Andy Wheeler has quietly tended to his heavy workload here for the past nine years. But now, as he transitions to retirement, Wheeler will finally be able to toot his own horn. Never one to boast, the soft-spoken Wheeler – an enthusiastic trombonist – is headed next month to the Humboldt State College Brass Chamber Music Workshop in northern California. It's a fitting sendoff for Wheeler, who has been something of a one-man band during his tenure here, han...
The first day of summer vacation was a time of reflection for La Conner School board members, who while grappling with difficult budget issues going forward, found time at their June 12 study session to honor the achievements of student leaders and athletes and middle school science teacher Maddie Huscher. Huscher was recognized as a Regional Teacher of the Year, one of nine finalists for top state teacher accolades. “It’s a really big deal,” La Conner Superintendent of Schools Will Nelson said of Huscher’s selection. “She’s getting a l...
Change has defined the La Conner Schools Transportation Department the past year. But one thing hasn’t changed. The department continues to earn high grades from the Washington State Patrol and Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. State schools chief Chris Reykdal’s June 15 letter states the district “has again completed the inspection of school buses with exceptional results. For the past two years the results in your district have been outstanding.” La Conner Schools Director of Operations and Planning Bobby Vaughn, over...
A La Conner teen who for six years has been fighting rare neuro-immune axis disorders knows he isn’t waging the battle alone. Frank Scott, III was surrounded by family, friends and admirers who opened their hearts to the young man’s plight at the Waterfront Café Friday evening. They also opened their wallets and purses – to the tune of $5,300 – to help pay for his upcoming visit to the Metrodora Institute near Salt Lake City where Scott will receive treatment for the chronic debilitating symptoms that have plagued him for nearly a third of...
A class that weathered a slew of obstacles, in particular the COVID-19 pandemic, was blessed with warm, sunny conditions and a clear view of snow-capped Mount Baker for La Conner High School's 129th annual commencement exercises Thursday evening at Whittaker Field. That scenario of emerging from clouds of uncertainty into the bright sunshine of hope and optimism was emphasized in remarks by Class of 2023 Valedictorian Hadley Shears, among a handful of graduating seniors speaking at the...
Gov. Jay Inslee enjoyed a taste of Skagit Valley on several levels when he toured the Puget Sound Food Hub Cooperative near La Conner last Tuesday. The state's three-term chief executive, who recently announced he would not seek re-election, nonetheless modeled all the ingredients of a campaigner as he spoke with and listened to area farmers and food hub General Manager Andrew Yokom. Inslee repeatedly praised the cleanliness and efficiency of the warehouse site, a former potato shed located...
With the completion of an on-site soil analysis, applicants Kate and Brandon Atkinson stand on firm enough ground to seek county building permits for their proposed condo project on Center Street, Town of La Conner Planning Commissioners were told last week. “The applicants have expressed a desire to apply for building permits before the end of June,” Planning Director Michael Davolio said as part of a regular status report on the 306 Center Street proposal during a one-hour June 7 hybrid session at Maple Hall. Davolio said two soil boring tes...
Summer vacation likely will be an oxymoron for area firefighters. Forecasts place Washington state at the epicenter of regional wildfires from July to September. “The outlook for Washington state is not all that great,” Skagit County Fire District 13 Assistant Chief Jamie Jurdi conceded last Thursday. “Washington is in the red throughout the whole wildfire season. Not just eastern Washington, but also western Washington.” Fire District 13, serving Swinomish Reservation and the rural La Conner area, regularly mobilizes personnel and equipme...
A good idea never goes out of style. Thirty-four years after its inception, the concept of an inclusive scholarship program supporting La Conner High School graduates still remains a perfect fit for a community that values education. The La Conner Community Scholarship Foundation, which evolved from a 1989 Dollars for Scholars campaign launched by then-school administrators Ken Winkes and Norm Hoffman, the local Parent-Teacher-Student Association and civic leaders, including Gail Thulen, Maureen Harlan, John Hastings, Maude Misner and Melphine...
Jo Wolfe knew it would take a lot of energy to reorganize the extensive Native American Collection at the Skagit County Historical Museum. Fortunately, there was someone perfect for the job. Intern Maggie Telford, a 2022 University of Washington graduate in anthropology, used her technology skills and love of history to inventory, identify, document and care for the 804 Native American items at the La Conner museum over the course of an eight-month assignment. She shared her mission Thursday evening with an engaging presentation before a...
Moving several tons of rocks and boulders by hand and dolly at Kukutali Preserve on Swinomish Reservation last week inched the local tribal community ever closer to a significant milestone. A large work party did the heavy lifting to extend rock walls that create terraces in tidal flats to optimize clam production and increase species diversity at the site of the nation's first developing modern clam garden. The assembly line was comprised of Swinomish members and staff plus representatives of n...
A La Conner High School senior class that was separated and isolated for parts of two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic will join together for the school's 129th annual commencement exercises tomorrow (Thursday) at 5 p.m. at Whittaker Field. The class, which adapted to remote learning during the early portion of its high school sojourn, features 10 National Honor Society members, including valedictorian Hadley Shears and salutatorian Josie Harper. "We continue to be proud of these students for...
