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It was hats off to La Conner High School's tribal seniors Thursday, May 30. And hats on, too. That's because those members of the school's Class of 2024 were honored during the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community's annual Cedar Hat Ceremony at Swedebs Park, an upbeat outdoor evening event featuring tributes from speakers that included four Swinomish senators and departing La Conner School District Superintendent Will Nelson, a member of the Blackfeet Nation. The grads, donning their finely woven...
The countdown is on for La Conner High School seniors. Having wrapped up four years of classes, some of which were held remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Class of 2024 will participate in the school's 130th annual commencement exercises at 5 p.m. Thursday, June 6, at Whittaker Field. Nine graduates received National Honor Society recognition for their scholarship, character, leadership and service: Class President Josi Straathof (school board student representative), valedictorian...
An early lesson taught in La Conner schools is that it's far better to give than receive. It's a value that Dean Swanson not only learned but has lived for much of his life. June 1, Swanson, a 1975 La Conner High School graduate, found himself on the receiving end for a change when presented with the school's Outstanding Alumnus award in recognition of his remarkably generous spirit. Swanson's giving nature was highlighted by his grandson, Kenai Zimmerman, Class of 2024, who formally introduced...
La Conner leaders saw a shining example of solar power's potential during a two-hour tour of a state-of-the-art production plant in Burlington Thursday morning. Mayor Marna Hanneman, town councilor Mary Wohleb and resident Terry Nelson, who along with Wohleb is a founding member of the Skagit Valley Clean Energy Cooperative, met with Silfab Solar officials inside the firm's 220,000-square-foot automated facility where residential and commercial solar panels are manufactured for a growing...
An inch of rain May 21 led a total of 2.2 inches of precipitation over nine days and pushed the month’s total to 2.9 inches. That provided seven of the 10 days of measurable downfall. It is a marked contrast to last year’s 0.6 inches of rain. May’s rain total is 31% above the century average. This is the seventh wettest May since 2000. The six wetter years were each 3 or more inches, with only 2020’s 3 inches in the last 10 years. For the year, the 15.3 inches of rain is half an inch above the average for 2000-2024 and 8.6 inches, 78%, above 2...
There’s no such thing as a free lunch, even when grant monies are in hand. Town officials last week addressed the hidden and incidental costs linked to grant funding by adopting a new policy designed to assess which awards are most feasible to pursue and cost effective to administer. “Grants take an awful lot of time to apply for and to maintain when we get them,” Town Administrator Scott Thomas said. He told the town council at its May 28 meeting that he wants to develop a policy to determine which potential grant awards best fit La Conne...
The La Conner Parks Commission will dedicate, and Kevin Paul bless, the wonderful new pavilion at Conner Waterfront Park Friday June 14 at 2 p.m. It was built these last several months by staff of the town’s public works department. There are so many people, families, businesses and service clubs who helped fund this project and they will all be thanked. Mayor Marna Hanneman and Parks Commissioner Ollie Iversen will speak. See you there to dedicate this new building and thank you for being involved. Source: La Conner Parks C...
Tommy Murdock was feeling a bit run-down at the recent Washington State 2B Track-and-Field Championships. But, in the end, it was his challengers in two hurdles title heats who felt run down. Murdock overcame illness to capture the 110- and 300-meter hurdles crowns in Yakima, repeating the success he had enjoyed at state trials the year before. "He got pushed at state this year," La Conner head coach Peter Voorhees said of Murdock, "but he was in control." Which has been the case since 2022,...
A La Conner High School alum has been a key factor in unlocking doors leading to the successful rebuild and recent state championship run by the Anacortes football program. Tyler Dubuque, a 2004 La Conner graduate, is the offensive coordinator and primary play caller for the 2A Seahawks, who set a state-title-round scoring mark with their 60-30 championship game victory over Tumwater last December. Dubuque's peers noticed. The Washington State Football Coaches Association has named Dubuque the D...
La Conner Little Braves Preschool graduates broke through a tribute sign on the way to their outdoor graduation ceremony May 31. Each graduate received a diploma, gift bag and award certificate. The program is closing due to national Head Start budget cuts, perhaps to be replaced with a district transitional kindergarten next year. - Photo by Bill Reynolds...
Does director Alex Garland’s provocatively titled film “Civil War,” depicting exactly that in a near-future United States needlessly throw gasoline onto flames in a 2024 America that need no fanning? A newsreel playing in the background mentions the president (Nick Offerman) is in his third term. The U.S. Constitution limits presidents to two terms. Something is wrong enough that the nation is at war with itself. There is purposefully no background, no explanation. An improbable California-Texas secessionist alliance is battling the feder...
Cantabile Chamber Choir will perform “The Drop That Contained the Sea” at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 8, at McIntyre Hall. They will share the stage with the Kulshan Chorus of Bellingham, Sno-King Chorale of Edmonds, singers from Mount Vernon High School and a 53-person orchestra. Christoper Tin is the composer. His work captures a Sufi concept: just as a single drop of water contains the essence of the entire ocean, inside every human being is the essence of all humanity. Tin says, “Each movement is inspired by water in a different form, arran...
Mark your calendars for some upcoming fun activities. June 5 fun fundraiser for La Conner Fire Association: The La Conner Fire Association invites everyone to “take over the La Conner Pub & Eatery” from 4-9 p.m. Wednesday, June 5, 702 S. First St. Come out, enjoy a delicious meal with family and friends, and help make a difference in the community. Fifty percent of food and beverage sales and 100% of gratuities will go directly to support the La Conner Fire Department. 32nd annual MoNA art auction is now live: Visit the Museum of Northwest Art...
Sunday, May 26 5:29 p.m.: Swerve and run – Report of a van swerving that almost hit the caller. A deputy checked the area but did not locate the van. Best / Valentine roads, greater La Conner. Tuesday, May 28 11:39 a.m.: Wealth assumes privilege – A 40-some-foot sailboat was tied to a private dock and the dock owner wanted them to move on. The boat had also been there a few weeks prior but did not pay the moorage fee before leaving. An occupant was contacted and she said the boat would be moved when the owner returned. S. First St., La Con...
This simple recipe creates an extra special vinegar to sprinkle on your salads. Many home cooks grow chives in their gardens. Chive flowers will keep in the refrigerator for two days prior to making this recipe. Ingredients Chive flowers, 1 cup White wine vinegar, 1 cup Canning jar Glass weight to fit inside jar opening Jar lid Preparation Rinse and cut stems off flowers. Place chive flowers in a small canning jar. Pour white wine vinegar into jar to cover flowers. Carefully place a glass...
Thursday afternoon some 36 La Conner High School seniors will graduate in a ceremony at the football stadium. The weather forecast predicted sun and 71 degrees Sunday afternoon. In every way the ceremony, the parties afterward and through the weekend, the summer and the year and decades ahead ought to be a time of good weather, smooth sailing, enthusiasm and optimism as these students, like graduates from high schools and colleges all over the United States, move forward into adulthood, jobs, schooling, independence, relationships and the zilli...
Just a small rock face in town, not more than four stories high, slate or limestone. I don’t really know my rocks, but it is grey and adorned with flowers clinging to its face, flowers of many colors, Hesperus, California poppy, bachelor button, penstemon, oxeye daisy, moss and licorice fern, resilient plants making the best of it in clefts in the cliff, in pockets of soil blown up from the Skagit flats. Above is a ragged crown of juniper, twisted and gnarly. A gift, a thing of beauty that simple expanse of rock left unmolested for so many y...
A poem by Rabindranath Tagore is the epigraph at the beginning of Georgina Howell’s biography of Gertrude Bell: We are all the more one because we are many For we have made ample room for love in the gap where we are sundered. Our unlikeness reveals its breath of beauty radiant with one common life, Like mountain peaks in the morning sun. Bell, an English woman born in 1880, was a linguist, archeologist, author, poet and Arabist. She worked tirelessly on behalf of the Arab cause during World War I and helped establish a free and independent I...
On May 30 the New York City Criminal Court stepped on a rake with the ensuing pain to be felt the worst in 158 days by the Biden supporters of the nation. If past history is an indicator of what takes place after a resounding defeat and loss of power, the liberals usually resort to setting fires or worse. We can only hope the National Guard is strong enough to pinch it in the bud so a reelected President Trump can continue to make America great again. Denny Sather Mount Vernon...
Last week Donald Trump was convicted unanimously by 12 jurors, people much like you and me. They were selected by both the prosecution and the defense, each side with equal ability to remove individual prospectives from the jury pool. To tell me that the choosing of jurors and alternates was somehow “rigged” is nonsense. To tell me that you, the diehard Trumper, are certain that all of those chosen jurors were Biden/Dem supporters is more nonsense – because you cannot know that. (And it only takes one to hang a jury.) The jury heard and saw a...
About half to two-thirds of the average Western Washington home’s energy use is for space heating and cooling, and water heating. Normally, temperature management is either accomplished by burning gas or propane, or by using an electric resistance heater or air-source heat pump. There’s another, more energy-efficient option: Water-source heat pumps. These systems operate on the same basic principles as other heat pumps. They transfer heat from one side of the system to the other. In an air...
Olympia — The lack of affordable housing options has reached critical levels in communities throughout Washington, according to the recently released Affordable Housing Advisory Board five-year housing advisory plan. The AHAB report highlights the need for action, detailing that the state must add over 1 million new homes within the next 20 years to meet current need and accommodate population growth. The housing advisory plan emphasizes that nearly half of the new homes required in the coming decades must be affordable to households earning le...
SUPERIOR COURT OF WASHINGTON FOR SKAGIT COUNTY No. 24-4-00281-29 PROBATE NOTICE TO CREDITORS (RCW 11.40.030) In the Matter of the Estate of James E. Monroe, Deceased The personal representative named below has been appointed as personal representative of this estate. Any person having 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...
