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Sorted by date Results 684 - 708 of 1887
Each October La Conner Public Works Director Brian Lease and his crew begin bracing for all kinds of wintry conditions anticipated in the weeks ahead – heavy snowfall, icy streets and sidewalks, high winds, steady rain and standing water. They dealt with all those in the last few days alone. A fierce winter storm that brought up to nine inches of snow was followed by record low temperatures making for hazardous travel and then rapid melting marked a wild weather week leading up through C...
The American judicial system isn’t always known for its swift action. But Skagit County Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Yost Neidzwski took less than five minutes Dec. 15 to dismiss with prejudice a complaint filed by Shelter Bay residents Wesley and Roberta Fontenot against Philip Buri, the residential community’s longtime legal counsel. Dismissal with prejudice means a plaintiff cannot refile the same claim in that court. Roberta Fontenot, previously an assistant federal public defender in Louisiana, did not appear in court. She had named Bur...
When it came time for state officials to choose a Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Athlete of the Week for girls’ 2B basketball, the decision was pretty much a slam dunk in mid-December. La Conner’s Josie Harper was the clear choice. The senior point guard helped lead the high school Lady Braves to convincing wins against three larger schools, opening the ’22-23 campaign with an impressive 7-2 record despite playing a tough early non-conference schedule. Harper scored a game-high 30 points in a home triumph over 4A Jacks...
During her three decades at La Conner Schools, Suzanne Marble has established a level of excellence unrivaled satewide. Now the entire nation is aware. Marble, a member of the Washington State Coaches Association Hall of Fame who has guided La Conner teams to seven state volleyball titles---four since 2018---has been named a 2022 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Co-Coach of the Year. She shares the national honor with Diana Kramer of New Bremen High School in Ohio. Kramer’s teams have captured three Ohio state crowns in the p...
Sponsors of La Conner's giving tree projects are always thrilled with the level of participation in the popular holiday season campaigns. But nothing can – or likely will – compare to the excitement generated by the La Conner Kiwanis Club's Christmas Food & Toy Drive 40 years ago. That's when a loaded handgun was discovered in the main Kiwanis donation box at the then Rainier Bank branch –today's The Fork at Skagit Bay Restaurant on First Street. The late beloved Rev. Jon Skiffington and his f...
Jack Whittaker did not single-handedly put La Conner High School athletics on the map, but the legendary one-armed coach was such a force of nature that there was no doubt 50 years ago that the school's new football field should be named in his honor. Whittaker Field, home to the football, soccer and track teams, opened in the fall of 1972, completing a four-year quest to build a lighted sports venue on campus. Its namesake, who often scrimmaged with his teams of the 1940s and 1950s – Whittaker...
Today is the official start of winter. The seasons changed Monday, though, when La Conner and the Puget Sound region awakened to sub-freezing temperatures and light snow on the ground. Much of the same is forecast through Friday. The wintry conditions immediately impacted schedules. La Conner Schools Monday morning canceled Tuesday classes, the last day of school before winter break. The La Conner High girls' basketball game at Meridian Monday and the Braves' Tuesday tipoff with Clallam Bay...
Since 2015 talks had stalled regarding negotiation of a new master lease between Shelter Bay and the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community. Now folks are talking again. Shelter Bay and Swinomish residents and leaders last week attended the first of planned traditional Native American open floor discussions hosted by lease consultants Dr. Wil James and Ava Goodman at the tribal social services building. Most came away with a positive view of the three-hour session, which invited a frank but respectful dialogue stressing common ground approaches to s...
La Conner Schools Transportation Supervisor Kim Pedroza is leaving the school district for a similar post with the Stanwood School District. School Board President Susie Deyo formally recognized the many contributions Pedroza has made at the panel’s monthly hybrid meeting Friday morning. Pedroza will be hard to replace, a point underscored by transportation staff member Randy Swift, who juggles driving, maintenance and classroom instructional assignments. “Our coach has gone to Stanwood,” Swift lamented, “and we’re in the process of finding s...
'Tis the season to put-up Christmas trees. At school, it's also the time of year to remove diseased trees and trim back others that are intruding on campus buildings. La Conner School District staff will take out "five sickly trees" plus trim several more over the upcoming winter break. "Three of these sick trees will be removed from the front of the high school," district staff stated in a release last week, "and four others will be limbed back in that area. One tree will be removed from...
Mount Vernon Christian played well but needed an almost miracle to edge La Conner 65-61 in boys' hoops action at their home court Saturday. The Braves (3-5) had seemingly won the game when Isa Gonzales-Rojas sank two of three free throw attempts for a 56-55 lead with two seconds remaining in regulation. He had been fouled on a desperation three-point heave from midcourt. The winds of fortune then shifted in favor of the Hurricanes. Referees nixed the second of Gonzales-Rojas' made free throws...
Big school programs on the La Conner High School girls' basketball schedule have posed few issues for the Lady Braves. Not so with nearby small school rival Mount Vernon Christian, however. The Lady Hurricanes overcame a five-point halftime deficit to hand La Conner a 46-45 NW2B/1B setback at DeKok Court Saturday afternoon. La Conner was playing its third road game in three nights, having bested 4A Kamiak 68-45 Thursday and 2A North Kitsap 52-40 Friday. Mount Vernon Christian, the defending...
If patience is indeed a virtue, Skagit County Fire District 13 Commissioners and staff at manufactured home retailer Coach Corral have certainly earned their way onto Santa’s nice list this year. Commissioner John Doyle reported tangible progress in a lengthy permit process for the addition of a modular housing unit at the Snee-Oosh Road station at the panel’s meeting Dec. 8 “It’s been a rocky road with the permit process,” Doyle acknowledged, citing “bureaucratic stuff” and changes in the floor plan to three bedrooms and an office from f...
Just a handful of games into its schedule, the high school girls' basketball team is already in mid-season form. La Conner passed crisply, defended and rebounded tenaciously, repeatedly scored in transition and executed its high post-low post half-court offense to near perfection in an impressive 73-57 non-league triumph over 4A Skyline at Landy James Gym Saturday. Ellie Marble scored a game-high 25 points, Makayla Herrera registered a double-double and Josie Harper tallied 17 points – i...
The La Conner High School state championship volleyball team is truly in a class of its own. The netters were selected the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Team of the Month for November among all 2B athletics programs in the state. "It's an incredible group that worked so hard to improve every day and their hard work and determination paid off by capping their 2022 season with a state title," said head coach Suzanne Marble. La Conner captured league, district and state crowns...
Another week, another slew of post-season honors earned by the state 2B champion La Conner High School volleyball program. As expected, senior outside hitter Ellie Marble, who led the Lady Braves to their fourth state title in five years, was named the 2B Player of the Year. The 6'-0" Marble is a top Central Washington University volleyball recruit. She dominated play at the 2022 State 2B Tournament in Yakima last month, totaling 92 kills and 101 digs and was 68 of 72 on serve receive over four...
They took silver, but La Conner Middle School players in the Skagit-Whatcom-Island-Snohomish-Hoops league girls' basketball tournament here Saturday were good as gold in the eyes of coaches Robert Hancock and Jamie Lam. The local team, comprised of seventh graders, advanced through a double-elimination bracket before falling to an eighth-grade entry in the finals of the SWISH championship tourney. La Conner got off to a strong start with a convincing 42-20 win over Sedro-Woolley. "I think this...
Few people knew La Conner history as well as the late Thomas Robinson. Thanks to his exhaustive research and the editing magic of Carl Molesworth, the town's early development is between a book's covers. Robinson's voluminous manuscript, "Steamboat Town," which Molesworth, John Kamb, Jr. and other members of the Skagit County Historical Society's publications committee have pored over for about a decade, was launched in book form last Thursday. Kamb moderated the informal evening program at the...
An olive branch appeared here Thursday on a cold and wintry afternoon and in the most unlikely of settings – he appeals hearing addressing Kate and Dr. Brandon Atkinson’s bid to develop a 20-unit three-story residential complex behind The Slider Café. The 45-minute session before Town Hearing Examiner David Lowell took an unexpected turn when Atkinson indicated he might be willing for the project to undergo an historic design review. La Conner residents Linda Talman and Debbie Aldrich had filed the appeal to deny the Atkinsons a cond...
Some attending the late November Shelter Bay town hall forum were surprised to learn the community has retained $10,000 per month consultants for more than two years to negotiate a new master lease with the Swinomish Tribal Community. Few, if any, should be surprised now, given the release by those consultants, Dr. Wil James and Ava Goodman, of the first two in a series of educational videos addressing key Shelter Bay topics, including the lease due to expire in 2044 and rent adjustments...
Those attending the Port of Skagit’s open house Thursday at La Conner Marina lost their marbles. That was the plan, it turns out. Port consultants handed people Zip-Lock bags containing seven marbles each as they entered the Swinomish Yacht Club for the two-hour event, which offered an opportunity to share ideas and learn more about Marina redevelopment plans. Attendees were asked to indicate preferences by placing marbles in jars matching the respective Port proposals presented on illustrated placards. They ranged from pedestrian and r...
The La Conner High School girls' basketball team brought more than its "A" game to last week's home and road openers. The Lady Braves, under first-year head coach Joe Harper, bolted out of the gate with their "2A" game, easily downing Northwest Conference non-league foes Squalicum 50-23 at home Nov. 28 and Anacortes 62-42 Dec. 1. Ellie Marble and Josie Harper each scored in double figures to highlight the season debut at Landy James Gym. The hosts broke it open with a 32-11 run that buried...
La Conner and Wahkiakum are longtime foes in the athletic arena. Soon they might be allies on the judicial front. La Conner School Board President Susie Deyo raised that prospect during the panel’s 90-minute Nov. 28 hybrid meeting. Deyo asked that the board later this month support a resolution and modest financial contribution – perhaps $3,000. The Wahkiakum School District is suing the state government to extend the McCleary decision mandating basic education funding to include campus capital improvement projects. The state Supreme Court in...
The La Conner High School boys' basketball team broke into the win column Saturday with an 84-15 non-league home romp over Cedar Park Christian of Bothell, a multi-campus school with an enrollment topping 1,000 students. Isaiah Price scored a game-high 26 points and Ivory Damien added 24 to lead the victors, whose suffocating full-court pressure defense forced 21 steals enroute to a wire-to-wire triumph. The Braves shot 38 of 80 from the field – 34 of 58 inside the three-point line, mostly layup...
La Conner school board members approved a new district civility policy promoting mutual respect and a positive learning environment throughout the district at its Nov. 28 meeting. This builds on an earlier policy addressing student use of telecommunication devices as part of a campaign to curb bullying. Student school board representative Taylor-Rae Cayou said bullying issues related to uncivil behavior and mental health awareness were topics of discussion at the Washington State School Directors Association conference. “I’m excited you went (t...
