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The 2023 Shelter Bay Board of Directors campaign trail crossed Rainbow Bridge into La Conner Monday evening. A scheduled three-hour community members-only meet-and-greet with board candidates in the canopied Santo Coyote Mexican Kitchen outdoor patio area gradually shifted from mix-and-mingle to question-and-answer to a free-wheeling and often spirited discussion on a wide range of topics among attendees. About 50 people participated on a come-and-go basis. Seven candidates are vying for three...
The Solar Jam at Maple Hall Saturday could not have been timed better. The hottest day of the year, with bright sunshine drawing crowds of tourists to the town's boardwalk and other attractions, coincided with a program and concert promoting the advantages of solar energy attended by some 25 people. The La Conner-based Skagit Valley Clean Energy Co-Operative organized the afternoon, keynoted by Mason Rolph, Olympia Community Solar founder and president. It is a leader in solar installation devel...
Discussions are going on among La Conner residents advocating for development of a community garden at Jenson Field, as some are calling the property south of Pioneer Park and west of Maple Avenue Sybil and Tom Jenson sold to the Town of La Conner last September. When council voted to make the purchase, Mayor Ramon Hayes called it a gift: the $60,000 price was less than one-third its assessed value. At that council meeting resident Debbie Aldrich promoted the importance of green space and play areas for children after the loss of the Hedlin...
Like many of my neighbors, I made plans after work on April 25th to join in celebrating Matika Wilbur's anticipated new book release "Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America." I have followed Wilbur's amazing cross country journey, mostly through her beautiful imagery and riveting stories posted on social media the past ten years. So when I first found out there was going to be a book of her journey in visiting all 562 federally recognized tribal nations, I was really, really...
It is a tough choice for the residents of our little town – the citizens of La Conner – to make. The community was given a gift, nearly, when Sybil and Tom Jenson sold the Town of La Conner a half-plus acre of property under Pioneer Park and west of Maple Avenue. Residents now have to discern, discuss and debate the best way to use that sliver of land. The top choices are keeping it as a green space – organized into a community garden, as some are advocating – or building starter homes for first time buyers. This could sprout into a tiny ho...
Shelter Bay, as an organization and entity, is both an anomaly and a conundrum. It attempts to operate functionally as both a corporation and a homeowner’s association, and the lines of authority and responsibility between them have become irreconcilably blurred. The management of both entities has become the assumed responsibility of nine board of director members elected at large from the membership (residents) of the community. (In the case of an elected board member’s unfilled term – for example, as a consequence of a resignation -- indiv...
It’s election time in Shelter Bay – Online voting closes 4 p.m. May 19. In person must be done the early morning of May 20. If you intend to mail or drop off your vote, you must travel to the office to pick up a ballot. Mailed ballots must be received by May 19, 2023. Why is this information here in the paper? Because it is not clearly communicated to the residents of Shelter Bay. Shelter Bay residents: The selection of your board representation is more important this year than ever. Shelter Bay faces several issues requiring competent, unb...
For World Migratory Bird Day, May 13th, Skagit Audubon Society especially appreciated the leadership of U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, who is sponsoring a bill reauthorizing and bolstering the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act. As members of the Skagit Valley community, we understand the vital role that migratory birds play in our ecosystem and our economy. Our valley is home to myriad migratory bird species that rely on the region's wetlands, forests, and farmland as critical stopover sites during their long journeys. Without these...
Well-built houses last for centuries. Today’s decisions during construction of a new home can affect your grandchildren’s grandchildrens’ energy bills. If you were building a new house for maximum energy efficiency, what innovative technologies could you add during construction that wouldn’t add much to its cost today, but would keep energy costs down over its lifetime? Metering and monitoring: Design the electric circuits to monitor energy consumption. Incorporate the ability to monitor...
The national COVID-19 public health emergency ended May 11, as ordered by President Joe Biden. People covered by Medicare will continue to get COVID-19 vaccines at no cost. Medicare will cover COVID-19 PCR and antigen tests with no out-of-pocket costs when ordered by a doctor. Expanded telehealth services will continue through December 31, 2024....
La Conner residents are invited to attend a citizen engagement opportunity at the La Conner Swinomish Library Saturday, May 20, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. sponsored by the town council’s communications committee....
The Weekly News updated and corrected its May 10 story, “Shelter Bay lease negotiations continue,” on its website by deleting the final two paragraphs that incorrectly stated that attorney Paul Taylor’s statements were “mistaken” and he “erred” in his stating “that the Defendants herein voted to approve the Resolution to bind the Community to the proposed terms set forth by the Swinomish Tribal Authority without an appraisal as required by the Master Lease on Wednesday, April 19, 2023” and that “the Defendants passed a resolution acceptin...
After battling cancer with a relentlessly positive attitude for over 12 years, James Frank Ritchie, age 75, passed away peacefully on April 29, 2023. Jim was born October 7, 1947, in Denver, Colorado, to Frank G. and Elizabeth J. Ritchie (Young), joining older sister JoAnn (Ritchie) Griffin, five years his senior. The family moved to the Pacific Northwest in 1952, settling in Mount Vernon, WA where Jim spent most of his childhood. When Jim was just 13 years old, his father unexpectedly passed...
Our beautiful mother, grandma, sister and friend passed away peacefully at her home in La Conner, WA on March 1, 2023 at the age of 82. She was surrounded and cared for by her family and friends. Nancy was born to Clark and Mildred Simmons of Erie County, New York. Nancy lived most of her life in La Conner in the Skagit Valley. She was the director of the Burlington Senior Center for many years where she launched innovative programs and helped seniors find resources to meet their various needs....
With long-awaited warm weather hinting of summer arrival, La Conner Mayor Ramon Hayes told Town Council members that tighter fitting fashions will be the coming style at their May 9 Maple Hall session. “We’re going to have to tighten our belts this fall,” Hayes predicted, referring to next year’s budget, despite robust sales and hotel-motel tax revenues. “There will be pressure on our budget negotiations,” said Hayes. “Costs are rising, and we see inflation across the board. And labor costs are on the rise.” Councilmember MaryLee Chamber...
Shelter Bay resident Jan Henrie filed a motion in Skagit Superior Court May 5 asking for a default judgment in her lawsuit against the community’s board members Wendy Poulton, Elaine Dixon Monte Hicks, Joseph Hurley and Louise Kari because defense lawyers had not responded to Henrie’s motion for reconsideration. Her lawyer, Paul Taylor, argued that the court erred in ruling the defendants had no fiduciary duty to Henrie, and as a matter of law and ttat it applied the wrong standard of law. Defense lawyer Meredith Thielbahr responded that the...
La Conner School board members toured native plant gardens on Swinomish Reservation last week, a walking tour that appears to have brought the district one step closer to installing something similar as an outdoor hands-on classroom on campus. A school garden project in partnership with the Swinomish Department of Environmental Protection and Between Two Worlds indigenous science program has cultivated growing support since the concept was introduced several weeks ago by proponents Jen Willup and Morgan Brown. “The board is 100% s...
La Conner High School’s Tommy Murdock qualified for the 2023 Washington State 2B Track & Field Championships in Yakima May 25-27. Murdock captured top honors in the boys’ Northwest Bi-District 110 and 300-meter hurdles events in Coupeville on Saturday. He leads eight La Conner students into the three-day state trials next week. Murdock ran a 15.45 in the 110s and a 40.07 in the 300s. But that tells only half the story. The junior also secured state berths in the 100 meters, which he won with a 12.53 clocking and as a member of the Bra...
Which of these descriptions best describes the squirrels who pass through your garden? A lively, adorable, cavorting, wide-eyed, bush-tailed acrobat and is a joy to watch. Or the destroyer of flower beds and home irrigation lines, raider of bird feeders, disease-carrying rodent full of fleas and ticks. Washington has four native species of tree squirrels: the Douglas squirrel, the red squirrel, the Western Gray squirrel and the northern flying squirrel. In addition to our native squirrels, the eastern gray squirrel and eastern fox squirrel...
The Lincoln Theatre joined with the Skagit River Poetry Foundation to host an informative and inspirational evening with the Valley premiere of the film, "The Healing Heart of Lushootseed" last Friday. This is a personal story, in part, of the extraordinary life of Vi Hilbert, a dynamic elder of the Upper Skagit Tribe and her quest for 83-year-olds "to heal a sick world" through music, her response to the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001. It is directed and produced by Jill K. La Pointe,...
More than 70 local employers with job opportunities will be present at Skagit Valley College first career fair May 18, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. in the Knutzen Cardinal Center on the Mount Vernon campus. Local employers will be recruiting from all areas of study, with industries including diesel, automotive, manufacturing, welding, marine technology and health services. The public is invited. Bring bring resumes, dress professionally, have questions for employers and be prepared to follow up with companies and positions of interest. The campus address:...
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, I wrote a column in this paper bringing attention to a different public health problem sweeping the nation. While maybe not as physically deadly, the long-term impacts on the health of our communities were and are still as dire. I was discussing the very real pandemic of hate. The data is clear. While COVID-19 was a killer, the government's heavy-handed response was just as deadly. Deaths of despair via suicide and other destructive behavior have...
During the hectic, fluid and complex process of the 2023 legislative session, I wanted to keep our priorities front and center. I’ve been fighting to help our low-income and working families, support our veterans and military families, protect and preserve our environment, provide our students more opportunities and ensure our rural counties and cities have the resources they need to keep our communities strong. We’ve made significant progress and I wanted to share some successes we’ve had t...
