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Dear Editor: By proclamation of the governor, January is School Board Recognition Month. It’s a great time to recognize our elected community members who selflessly give their time and energy in support of high-quality public schooling for our youth. School board members in LaConner are entrusted by this community with responsibility for an annual budget of $12 million, 600 students, 117 employees and 10 buildings. School boards are charged with making decisions that can sometimes be quite difficult or require sifting through a great deal of i...
On January 14, I had the honor of being sworn in as one of your representatives for the 10th district. I look forward to addressing tough issues like transportation infrastructure development, strengthening our public schools and developing effective and diverse college and professional-training pathways. The last topic is very important to me. I have taught in higher education for 20 years. The last 10 years, I have helped students at Skagit Valley College earn a degree or certificate that leads to a living-wage job or allows them to transfer...
They came in through the bathroom window, but first the thieves had to get over the fence behind the Library Thrift Store or slip in between or over the gate near the store’s entrance. One thing is certain: they were successful in taking the Morris Street store’s week’s receipts. They, or others, were not able to enter the Edward Jones office two blocks east, at 708 Morris Street. An email Monday from Joan Scarboro, president of Friends of the La Conner Library, to its members, shared that the b...
In a one-hour meeting Jan. 22, the Town Council heard three presentations, consented to the reappointment of four parks commissioners, set 2019 sewer rates with the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and agreed to a contract for fixing the elevator in Maple Hall. The last had a rare dissenting vote, by Councilmember Jacques Brunisholz. Council agreed to have Mayor Ramon Hayes enter into a contract for $83,709 with thyssenkrupp Elevator Corporation “to modernize the elevator equipment” as described in the company’s proposal. The Maple Hall eleva...
The Pacific Northwest Quilt & Fiber Arts Museum has received a bequest of well over $500,000 from the estate of Norada Shanafelt of Edmonds. Shanafelt passed away Oct. 4, 2017. She was a master quilter and a passionate supporter of the Museum. The Museum was one of her favorite places to visit and she wanted her bequest to help preserve its art and beautiful quilts for generations to come. Her close friend Cheryl Clarke said, “She created some of the most beautiful quilts I have ever seen. And she shared her beautiful creations with many of u...
Some people grow up looking into the heavens wondering if there is intelligent life out amongst the stars, but Dr. Kaeli Swift thought intelligence was for the birds, literally. A wildlife scientist, she studies cognitive behavior in birds, in the Corvid family. What kind of birds are in the Corvid family? Keynoting the La Conner Birding Showcase Saturday, she told the over 200 person audience that the common American crows, ravens, magpies and jays are all in the same family. Many heads nodded...
IT ALL STARTED IN LA CONNER – Lavone Newell Reim, an artist herself, pointing out a statement from John Simon, organizer of a 1986 art show in La Conner. That show evolved into the annual “Barn Sales Show.” With husband Dick Reim, Lavonne hosted the annual exhibit of local artists at their barn for 17 years. Sunday they hosted “The Barn Shows ‘ Book On The Walls’ Preview Party” to provide a peak of the book Lavonne and Cathy Stevens will be publishing this summer. – Photo by Ke...
The wave of the future rode traditions as old as the tides at the 20th Storming the Sound Conference in La Conner on Thursday. About 200 people, including environmental educators and representatives of ecology-related agencies and organizations from the North Puget Sound region, gathered at Maple Hall for the all-day event. They spilled into the Civic Garden Club, and La Conner United Methodist Church for class sessions. Presentations covered a wide range of marine environmental topics, with...
We elect presidents and representatives to govern: to meet and agree on policies to move the country forward. Legislation is decided upon and passed by majority votes. Presidents are not elected to rule by fiat. Whatever is promised to supporters in an election campaign becomes law through the give and take of the legislative process. Not all rhetoric becomes law or national policy. Being insistent and banging loudest on the table does not make a president right. George W. Bush was 125 percent all in for war with Iraq in 2002 and 2003. He was...
For La Conner students, back to school time was last fall. Adults got their chance last week. La Conner campuses played host Wednesday to a first-ever Principal for a Day, designed to give business leaders and community members a first-hand look at the daily goings-on at local schools. Participants toured classrooms, spoke to students and teachers and conferred with administrators. They even received homework assignments. “I’d like to hear what you’ve observed,” La Conner Superintendent of Schools Dr. Whitney Meissner said as the group prepare...
It is levy “season” again for some Skagit County public schools, including La Conner. Some unique circumstances affecting the La Conner school district need to be examined before the proposed levy deserves community endorsement: First, the “McCleary Fix” was supposed to reduce/eliminate local school tax levies by “fully funding basic education.” To pay for McCleary, the state’s share of local property taxes was increased. The LCSD committed the majority of new state monies to raise teacher salaries – the highest in the county, as I...
