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COVID-19 sidelined the much-anticipated Northern Lights round-the-clock race scheduled here last weekend, but event organizer Yvonne Naughton still managed to stay on track. Naughton, a local physician and assistant La Conner High track coach, was at Whittaker Field on Saturday taking part in a virtual run fundraiser supporting the Seattle chapter of the NAACP and Campaign Zero, a police reform organization. Naughton was to have coordinated and participated in a major endurance challenge here...
The March Skagit Chorale COVID-19 outbreak has made headlines around the world. A study by Skagit County Public Health Department staff was published in the Centers for Disease Control’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) in early May. The study emphasizes the high-transmissibility of COVID-19 and explains new findings about the outbreak event. MMWR, often called ‘the voice of the CDC,’ is a series of scientific publications published by the CDC to provide timely, authoritative, accurate, objective and useful public health infor...
There were no complaints here about Sunday’s weather. But there was still reason to protest. About 20 people gathered with signs and placards for two hours under sunny skies that morning at the roundabout on the east edge of town to join the rest of the world in condemning racial injustice and police misconduct. The local event was intended to be small and was selectively promoted, primarily by private messages and texting, participants said. The reaction by passing traffic was mostly p...
I am Renee Stewart, Paisley’s mom. I believe a person has a right to their opinion/beliefs and they have the right to be heard. Renae Paisley only stated what half, or more, of America is thinking. There are many ways to view to the COVID-19 pandemic. I have heard people tell me how afraid they are and I’ve seen the extremes they are going to ensure their safety. I also know of people who have not changed any of their usual routine, except as forced by closures. I have heard many different beliefs related to COVID-19; it isn’t real, it isn’t...
On May 24, 2020 La Conner lost a dear friend, Marianna Jane Sisson Metke. Ever a source of color and brightness, we all lack for her presence in the world. Born October 5th, 1946 to Darrell Edgar Sisson and Rena Louise Bonlie in Bremerton, WA, Marianna’s childhood was spent across the Pacific NW. After graduating Michigan State University she returned to the Skagit Valley where the Sisson family has deep roots. There she met her husband Robert Lloyd Metke. Brought together by their mutual l...
The letter from Renae Paisley two weeks ago gave me chills – not the good kind – but the responses from our community gave me faith in humankind. Letter after letter admonished Paisley’s twisted view that we must put an end to social isolation and open up our streets and shops so we do not hurt our economy. I’m guessing that Paisley is a nom de plume for a person who self-identifies as an “entrepreneur” and thinks that a vibrant economy is more important than the lives of old farts like myself. One of the big problems we have no...
La Conner’s High School seniors, every one of them, graduate with this distinct honor: Never has anyone, or any school class, been rocked and roiled by a spring like this one. Before March it was impossible to imagine finishing school without going to class. Every ritual and tradition vanished: their senior trip, prom and graduation ceremony are just the tip of the iceberg of their losses. The one lesson, perhaps learned, usually takes years to master: Life is not fair. La Conner’s seniors got a crash course and were force-fed that coarse mat...
The COVID-19 pandemic has made masks part of the dress code at Town Hall. But what can’t be masked is the eagerness Town staff has for a return to business as usual, or something as near that as possible amid the ongoing virus crisis. “We’re glad to be back,” Town Hall Office Assistant Danielle Freiberger told the Weekly News last week. Freiberger’s mask didn’t muffle a sense of relief in her voice. Town Hall had closed earlier in March as La Conner enacted emergency measures to help curb spread...
Fifty-years-ago the La Conner commercial scene boasted canneries, full-service fuel stations and a major fish-food processing plant. All are gone now. But 1970 also saw the ribbon cut for launch of a new and key cog in the local economy – one that not only remains but has grown significantly over the past half-century. The first phase of the Port of Skagit’s La Conner Marina was dedicated in late May that year with a ceremony keynoted by U.S. Sen. Henry Jackson, of Everett, who twice sough...
Modify and adjust. It’s a common mantra in education and one the La Conner School District has tapped often while developing its graduation format amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The newest – and final – high school graduation plan allows the most people to hop along for what has been a wild ride navigating the uncertainties of the virus crisis. After first opting for virtual commencement exercises, school officials and senior class members have decided to instead hold a drive-thru graduation ceremony tomorrow (June 11) at 5 p.m. in the...
Skagit County’s commissioners and public health staff had to wait till 10 a.m. Friday for the Washington Health Department’s notice that the County was approved to move into Phase 2 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s Stay Safe COVID-19 order for phased re-opening of Washington’s economy. In La Conner, some businesses had been letting customers in all week. Others, eateries like The Slider Café, Santo Coyote, La Conner Brewery, Nell Thorn and Waterfront Café and The La Conner Pub and Eatery,...
Finally! Friday morning the Washington Department of Health gave approval to Skagit County’s application to move into Phase 2 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s Stay Safe COVID-19 order for phased re-opening of Washington’s economy. It was a long seven days, from the May 29 late afternoon County submittal and then the June 1 re-submittal, updating the application. Last Thursday Skagit County Commissioners were talking insurrection At a specially called meeting that afternoon, commissioners were all but saber...
Tuesday, June 16 10:22 a.m.: Slip sliding away – Rocks in the roadway. Public works was notified. Pioneer Pkwy, Rainbow Brdg.Tuesday, June 16 10:22 a.m.: Slip sliding away – Rocks in the roadway. Public works was notified. Pioneer Pkwy, Rainbow Brdg....
“Thank you for wearing a mask.” That’s how Nicole Garcia-Swanson greeted La Connerite Sandi Davidson when she purchased berries at the Swanson Family Farm on Monday. Affirming positive behavior is just one new habit adopted by La Conner-area farm stands as they conform to Department of Health rules. Add in masks, gloves, sanitizing, social distancing and plastic barriers, and family-owned stands look a lot different this year. Since Schuh Farms opened in mid-March, “our monthly safety training has been all about the virus and how to keep yo...
