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In a quietly, lawyerly way, the issue of the Town of La Conner’s replacing its broken water main with a 16-inch pipe heated up last week. Mayor Ramon Hayes, in his March 13 report to Town Council, informed them that “Shelter Bay put it in writing: ‘we plan to leave the system in three to five years.’“ Hayes said his response was clear: “That will be a violation of the contract with the Town of La Conner. The contract is in perpetuity.” He explained that term was put in the 2011 Water Agreement at Shelter Bay’s request. “Termination is...
The Town of La Conner formalized its support for the Museum of Northwest Art by passing a resolution recognizing its “annual fundraising auction as an official local event” to cement the auction being held in La Conner. The Town Council authorizes partial closure of Second Street for Museum tent set up. Museum board and staff members cited problems getting permits as a reason the auction was held at the Swinomish Casino and Events center the last two years. Mayor Ramon Hayes summarized his February meetings with the MoNA board, telling Cou...
On an unusually sunny Saturday March 10 at the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, Swinomish Police Department’s Community Service Officer Brian Geer was spreading some sunshine of his own. Officer Geer stationed himself and waited alongside a locking strong box, at the SITC’s outdoor basketball court on the corner of First Street and Snee Oosh Road. He was there to kick off a new SPD “Prescription Drug Take Back Program” designed to collect and store unwanted or expired prescription medicat...
AN INVESTMENT IN OUR FUTURE – Skagit County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Tobin Meyer delivered the goods: a $1,000 donation to the La Conner Schools Braves Club after school program from the Skagit County Sheriff’s Benevolent Association. Director Marlene Brenton gathered help around her before receiving the hand-off. Wrote Sgt. Meyer: We want to encourage others in the community to donate to this outstanding program that is seeking to raise $80,000 to help cover the cost of tuition for und...
We really spring ahead this week. Sandard time is way in the rearview mirror, daffodils have long been in bloom, it’s light earlier and the sun sets obviously later daily and there is warmth, glorious warmth. Leaf buds that have been stretching, some since January, are increasingly leafing out on bushes and trees. So are the flowers of fruit trees and ground flowers. When I snuck into La Conner a year ago, early in the first week of March, my company was daily rain, overcast skies and temperatures that never hit 40 degrees. I visited snow on M...
In the letter from Mr. Ginn and in the Citizen’s View (March 14), both correspondents assign the causation of mass killings to people with mental health issues rather than guns. The Reagan administration initiated the closure and defunding of many psychiatric institutions, believing that many formally institutionalized patients could be treated in outpatient facilities in conjunction with newly de-veloped pharmacological drugs. Reagan’s and subsequent administrations have failed to adequately fund and staff these facilities. As a result, man...
In 2018, we mark the centennial of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the most powerful and important bird-protection law ever passed. In honor of this milestone, nature lovers around the world are joining forces to celebrate the “Year of the Bird” and commit to protecting birds today and for the next hundred years. Last month I brought a resolution to the Town Council to promote intentionally improve things for birds here in town. The idea is to have the Town choose plants that specifically help birds with either habitat or food sources. This wou...
Local farmer and writer Glen Johnson hosts, sponsors and has organized a public meeting at the Civic Garden Club March 22 at 7:30 p.m. He will discuss several different issues pertaining to flood protection, fund raising for expensive projects, slough dredging, along with other issues that concern local residents. Johnson has been a student of the Salish situation for more than fifty years, from salmon to soils, carbon management to school curricula. A passionate person, he has been homeworking these subjects since long before most community...
Why do smart and successful and experienced people set themselves up for heartache, strife and failure – and pain? A journalist in Akron, Ohio titled a book of essays about his people “The Hard Way On Purpose.” That’s the Akron of LeBron James and the Cleveland Indians and the Cleveland Browns, the rust bowl region where defeat gets snatched from victory year after year. Here, in our corner of the world, there’s a skeleton board of trustees at MoNA and across the channel a board of directors running the Shelter Bay Community. Each gr...
Representing Skagit County Fire District 13 at the Scott Firefighter Stair Climb on March 11 were Charlie Baldwin, Woody Weiss and Conrad DeGroot. This annual, national Stair Climb supports the mission of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, raising money through sponsorship, individual and department fundraising and entry fees. The event each year featured over 1,800 firefighters from over 300 different fire departments. Over a million dollars was raised for blood-cancer research and patient...
La Conner Middle and High School students walked out of their classrooms Wednesday morning, taking the first steps toward what many vow will be a lifetime commitment to civic involvement. They organized a march down Sixth Street from the local campus to Morris Street to protest gun violence and promote school safety. The La Conner march was one of hundreds that took place across the country a month to the day after 17 Florida high school students and teachers were killed by a teen gunman armed...
