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The five Shelter Bay Community board directors sued by former community resident Jan Henrie almost a year ago are making another attempt to dismiss Henrie’s Skagit County Superior Court civil complaint alleging breach of fiduciary duty and malfeasance. Defendants Wendy Poulton, Monte Hicks, Louise Kari, Elaine Dixon and Joseph Hurley filed a motion for reconsideration Feb. 20, arguing she has no standing, or right to bring her claims. Their attorneys’ motion for reconsideration follows a Feb. 8 order by Judge Laura Riquelme stating “the Court...
Shelter Bay Board of Director Dan McCaughan resigned in late February. An email to residents from the Shelter Bay Community announced his resignation Feb. 28 and broadcast the “immediate board position opening” seeking applicants to replace him. The deadline is no later than May 25 for a term through June 30, 2026. An earlier deadline may be set to fill the seat sooner. McCaughan resigned for personal reasons, the email said. At its Feb. 21 board meeting, the Shelter Bay Company directors – the same as the Community’s board – sanctione...
During his celebrated career as an award-winning newspaper columnist and author, Timothy Egan has traveled the globe in search of the stories that connect him to his readers. For a much longer time – dating to childhood – he has made shorter treks to public libraries and rural bookmobile stops to discover stories that would shape and define Egan as one of the nation's most powerful voices on behalf of literacy. The University of Washington alum, a former op-ed writer for the New York Times and...
The public got to peek into the Mount Vernon Library Commons Project, under construction across from the Skagit County Courthouse, with a series of tours on Saturday afternoon. Designed for climate resiliency and as an integral community hub for the next 100 years, the $53 million facility will feature a 4,000-square-foot children’s library, the largest one north of Seattle; a teen and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) center; study rooms; a computer lab; and quiet reading spaces. The building’s commons area will be highlighted...
La Conner Schools officials tackled the status of Braves football and student enrollment to kick off a lengthy hybrid school board meeting Monday night. District financial chief David Cram reported to board members that K-12 enrollment had dipped from 497 to 485 full-time students since the start of the calendar year, with most of the losses coming in the fifth and 12th grades. “It’s not unusual at this time of year,” Cram told the board, noting that student movement tends to increase during semester breaks. Enrollment is a major driver when...
Word is getting out on one of Skagit County's best-kept secrets. That's thanks to La Conner High School alum and former Swinomish Tribal Community Senator Leon John, now the outreach director at Didgwalic Wellness Center northwest of town along Highway 20. The Didgwalic facility is a rehabilitation center for anyone, tribal and non-tribal, dealing with addiction or other challenges to mental and physical health. John outlined the Didgwalic mission as guest speaker for the second in a series of...
Suddenly, the fields around La Conner are puddling up. February's 3.2 inches of rain is the third above average rainfall month in a row. There was over 2 inches of rain the last six days: 1.2 inches Feb. 28-29 after 0.8 inches Feb. 24-25. With three days of sprinkles, 2.2 inches fell Feb. 19-29, 71% of the month's precipitation, and continued March 1-3. Most of the rest, 0.5 inches, came down Feb. 11-12. Rain came down on 17 days. No measurable snow fell. This was the seventh-wettest February...
It was a four-letter word that defined a briskly paced, 45-minute hybrid Town Council meeting at Maple Hall on Feb. 27. That word was code. As in the council’s approval of both a formal town code of ethics and update to La Conner’s uniform development code. The ethics code was one of Mayor Marna Hanneman’s first initiatives upon taking office in January. “In this climate of people not being civil to each other – not that this is happening here – I asked for a code of ethics,” Hanneman said. Upon adoption of the code, following a motion by cou...
By Laurel Demkovich, Grace Deng, Jerry Cornfield and Bill Lucia OLYMPIA – Three citizen initiatives designed to lift restrictions on police vehicle pursuits, prohibit income taxes and establish a “bill of rights” for parents of K-12 students are set to become law in Washington after winning approval in the state House and Senate on Monday. The initiatives do not require the governor’s signature. They will take effect 90 days after the legislative session ends – so in early June if lawmakers wrap up their work for the year as expected on Thursd...
To those wondering whatever happened to that March 2023 Skagit County Superior Court civil complaint against five Shelter Bay Community board members, alleged to have breached their fiduciary duty and for malfeasance by a property owner, an update is on page 1. It was last April that the court denied an injunction and temporary restraining order that would have prevented the board members from making financial decisions. But Judge Laura Riquelme did not dismiss the case, though in August she issued a stay, preventing the plaintiff’s attorneys f...
Attending the Mount Vernon Library Foundations fundraiser in support of building the Mount Vernon Library Commons got me thinking – again – about libraries in my life. And right, I wrote about libraries within the first 90 days I was in La Conner. Here is that musings. Lucky me. I keep getting to find out new things. Did you know September is Library Card Sign-up Month? I learned about this reading the Weekly News. Nerd or not, I love libraries. I remember going with my family as a kid. Weekly, I stacked the books to be returned on the sta...
As our communities face harsher climate effects including droughts, heatwaves, and floods, it is important for all of us to work together towards ensuring a healthier environment. That’s why we are dedicated to pursuing two approaches to environmental protection. First, I am committed to investing in clean energy technologies that create good-paying jobs, lower energy bills and support a path toward energy independence. House Bill 1924—which supports fusion technology—passed the Senate and will be signed into law. By incorporating this techn...
On Feb. 7, 16 year-old sophomore Nex Benedict went into the girls’ bathroom at the high school in Owasso, Oklahoma. An altercation occurred in the bathroom which ended in Nex receiving a serious head injury. Three students were involved in the altercation. The school did not call an ambulance nor did they report the incident to police. Nex had been consistently bullied since school started last fall because they identified as non-binary. This means that Nex considered themselves neither a boy nor a girl. Nex was just Nex. Family members took Ne...
Much concern has been raised regarding the former president’s attorneys’ attempts to delay, delay, delay his pending criminal trials. Some fear that unless the former president is convicted in a court of law prior to election day, the conduct alleged against him may not be considered by voters. As a retired prosecutor, I believe the law applies equally to all. Also, the due process clause of the Constitution accords every criminal defendant the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. As a conscientious cit...
The Town of La Conner’s Public Works Department will be picking up yard waste the week of March 25-29. The crew will pick up small branches, clippings and other yard waste, but cannot take large limbs, grass clippings or anything in a plastic bag. If you live within the town limits of La Conner and are interested in scheduling a pickup, call Town Hall at 360-466-3125 by Wednesday, March 20. Your one-time pickup is not to exceed one pile measuring 5 feet by 4 feet by 3 feet (60 cubic feet)....
I've always been a bird lover. I grew up with birds in cages in my house and now I have feeders in the front and the back of my house. My dog Rosie loves to sit by the window and watch the birds come and go. When you drive around Skagit County, you see many photographers holding cameras with very long lenses patiently waiting to get wonderful shots of birds. Bird populations have been decreasing on a regular basis, but lately I've noticed enormous numbers of white birds gathered in the fields...
Phyllis Fiege, mother of Gale Fiege of Pleasant Ridge, and grandmother of Jesse Mann and Emilie (Mann) Snitily, died Feb. 26 at Skagit Valley Hospital. A longtime Snohomish County resident, Phyllis had lived with Gale and son-in-law Jon Bauer for nearly four years. A local memorial gathering is planned for Sept. 14, which would have been Phyllis’ 100th birthday. A full obituary is online at www.kernfuneralhome.com under obituaries....
Donna Kay Cushing (Griffin), 79, of La Conner, passed away in the evening of Feb. 21, 2024, of heart failure. Donna was the second child of four born to Jack and Elva Griffin on Jan. 19, 1945, in Kalamazoo, Mich. Donna spent her young years in Otsego, Mich., attending school, enjoyed dancing with friends at the town hall, and visiting her dear grandparents in Otsego, and up north in Mikado, Mich. Donna married Richard Cushing in 1971. Their marriage lasted 53 years. Donna enjoyed a 30-plus-year...
Duane Allen Carpenter, 64, passed away on March 1, 2024, in La Conner, Washington. Duane was born on Oct. 10, 1959, in Hamlin, West Virginia. Duane had a passion for travel and made many lifelong friends during his adventures around the globe, and while living in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Alaska, Indiana, Hawaii, Maryland, and Washington. His career as a cartographic technician at Minerals Management Service and later as a meteorologist at the National Weather Service showcased his love of maps...
Tracy Lynn Winder (née Page), age 61 of La Conner passed away on Feb. 26, 2024. Tracy was born on Dec. 4, 1962, in Olympia. She was a beloved wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend. Tracy was a vibrant soul known for her happy, funny, friendly and outgoing personality. She was generous, helpful and popular and she cherished her family, friends, and life. In her career, Tracy started in the grocery business working for her father before transitioning to waitressing. She worked locally at...
Longtime La Conner High School baseball coach Jeremiah LeSourd has a favorite saying this time of year. "You know it's the start of baseball season," he often notes at the end of February and start of March, "because there'll be snow on the ground." Mother Nature has been true to form this year. The first week of practice for Braves baseball, Lady Braves softball, and La Conner track and field and golf teams was met variously with snow, hail, wind and rain. All that plus a couple brief sun...
Abigail Udlock, a senior at La Conner High School, was recently chosen as the Soroptimist International of La Conner Honored Student for the month of March. Abigail is a very busy young woman, balancing school and the Running Start Program online at Skagit Valley College. Ceramics, sociology and psychology are among her favorite classes. Her studies have qualified her as a member of the Honor Society at the high school. Along with her academics, Abigail is the ASB executive treasurer. This follo...
“I blackmail people now! You gotta show up [for the pet parade] – or you don’t come into my shop!” joked Gina McCarthy, owner of Enchanted Locks and volunteer coordinator for the La Conner Chamber of Commerce’s third annual Daffodil Pet Parade scheduled for Saturday, March 9. “This is the Daffodil Festival – but each year nothing happens – so this year we are having this [the pet parade,] then the firemen’s ball and then the Murder Mystery event – all part of the festival,” said McCarthy. “It’s the perfect opportunity to get the community toge...
So much is happening at the La Conner Swinomish Library this month! March is Women’s Histroy Month. Come check out our Women’s “Herstory” display to find a good selection of nonfiction books about spunky, smart women. We are participating in Library Giving Day, now through April 4, and invite you to join in keeping the library a vibrant, welcoming place for all. Your gift, through our Foundation, will benefit your library as we look toward the youth summer reading program, ongoing use of our meeting space, author readings, musical events,...
IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF WASHINGTON FOR KING COUNTY In Re The Estate of: MARLENE A. NELSON, Deceased. No. 24-4-01132-1 SEA PROBATE NOTICE TO CREDITORS (RCW 11.40.030) (NTCRD) The person named below has been appointed as Personal Representative of this Estate. Any person having a claim against the decedent must, before the time the claim would be barred by any otherwise applicable statute of limitations, present the claim in the manner as provided in RCW 11.40.070 by serving on or mailing to the Personal Representative or the Personal...
