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Amber waves of grain are beautiful, until you can't sell them. Dave Hedlin's barley fields along Chilberg Road – labeled "Spring Malting Barley" on crop signs – will be ripe in about a week, along with several other fields tucked in around La Conner. Unfortunately, Hedlin's barley buyer, Skagit Valley Malting, closed abruptly on Friday, June 16. Hedlin grows about 100 acres of conventional barley and 100 acres of organic a year for Skagit Valley Malting, which turned locally grown barleys int...
This corrects the July 19 story headlined: “Solarize Skagit will power 129 homes.” The headline is incorrect. As the cooperative’s Vice President Mary Wohleb states in her letter below this article: “A 'sign up’ means the homeowner filled out an on-line form. … A sign up is not a commitment to go solar.” Wohleb also clarifies she did not provide information about the 30% federal tax or that it is applied to the $2.81/wt negotiated rate, in paragraph four. Her letter will be on page 2 of the... Full story
With the last name Holmes, it was only natural that he entered law enforcement. And with interests in boating and basketball and a knack for building relationships, the La Conner detachment office seems an ideal assignment for veteran Skagit County Sheriff's Sgt. Brad Holmes. Holmes, who has worked nearly a quarter-century in a wide range of police services, has succeeded retired Sgt. Beau Montgomery as lead officer in La Conner. "I put in for La Conner a while ago," Holmes, who has an...
Finally, five new homes are complete and ready for move in at Channel Cove, at the south end of Park Street in south La Conner. Construction started last December on the one duplex and four single homes, but it has been four years since Home Trust of Skagit Executive Director Jodi Dean announced that funding had been assembled for the project. The two story homes, pre-sold to buyers qualified by Home Trust, are priced at $260,000, but appraised at $500,000, Dean wrote in an email. They are...
onner resident Linda Talman has crafted an enduring legacy through long service on the Town's planning commission, tireless advocacy of open government and access to public records and support for retention of local green spaces and creation of non-motorized transportation options. Now that legacy might also be linked to something not of her choosing. In an ironic twist, the infrastructure improvement plan submitted for the 19-unit condo building proposed for 306 Center Street that Talman has...
Good but not a record may become the new normal for 2023 Town of La Conner tourist tax revenues. The June sales tax revenues of $53,130 reported to town council by the state’s Department of Revenue are the third highest total for the month, but again below the record amounts of 2022 and 2021. The Special Use Fire Tax revenues drop tracked the sales tax pattern. At $5,297 it was well below 2022’s total but only $272 below 2021. Sales and fire tax monthly totals are over double 2020, the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, and 10% above 201...
Buying a house in Western Washington seems out of reach for many wage workers. Affording rent is a struggle for many as well. The state minimum wage is $15.74, but in Skagit County a two-bedroom apartment may cost $1,407, requiring an hourly wage of $27.06 to comfortably make that payment. That is the analysis in the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s annual report, which finds Washington is the fifth most expensive state in the nation for renters. A one-bedroom Skagit County apartment can be $1,111, requiring a “housing wage” of $21.3...
If you often drive over the Rainbow Bridge between La Conner and Shelter Bay, you are likely to have seen a man pushing a disabled tribal member in a wheelchair and they both seem to be very comfortable. Bob Grace has spent his life being a caregiver. In 2013 he connected with Francis Sylvester, whose mother is a member of the Swinomish Tribe. As bystanders, we witness one of the most positive challenges of Grace's caretaking responsibilities, pushing Sylvester across the bridge to La Conner, bu...
Home-grown talent Matika Wilbur has spent years traveling the country to exhibit her critically acclaimed photography and compile narratives for her ground-breaking book "Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America." But last Thursday afternoon her happy place was Gilkey Square in La Conner. Wilbur exchanged laughter and shared fond memories with a steady stream of local admirers, who included civic leaders, fellow artisans and retired teachers and school administrators, during an...
At the July Fourth parade, the townsfolk of La Conner greeted a tractor driven by Farmer Steve of Schuh Farms towing his trailer of loved ones down First Street during the annual celebration of America's independence. Seeing Schuh smiling to the crowd and the excitement of the event was a display of a heartwarming show of community. Among the locally owned businesses in the vibrant Skagit Valley, Schuh Farms stands as a familiar face in local events. Established in 1963 by the Skagit-based...
As has been the case for more than a century, history comes alive in La Conner this summer. The 119th annual Skagit County Pioneer Association Picnic and General Meeting will be 11 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 3, at Pioneer Park near the Rainbow Bridge. The time-honored event promises something for persons of all ages, especially those interested in Skagit County and its rich history. There will be live music on the grounds provided by John Anderson and Friends, historic photographs and biographical accounts displayed for this year’s Pioneer Family o...
At times shrouded in mystery after its closure in the early 1970s, Northern State Hospital and its unique history will be revisited during a July 29 public program at the former mental health facility's campus four miles northeast of Sedro-Woolley. The daylong event (10 a.m.-4 p.m.) invites those attending to share memories, scan photos, take self-guided tours and listen to stories and reminiscences of former employes and family members of Northern State. The program, billed as a "public history...
Given national and international news, you may be thinking that it would be great to build a self-sufficient cabin in remote northeastern Washington. My grandfather did that, about 120 years ago. However, my grandparents’ cabin wasn’t very comfortable by today’s standards. They had to collect firewood to cook. The outhouse was a few hundred feet away from the main house, so grandchildren were warned about bears prior to bedtime. One might think that was just grandparents having fun at their...
The Grant County Journal published its final edition June 29. Its front page was a reproduction of the Oct. 18, 1907 front page of the old Ephrata Journal. A story inside on page 2 told the story: “It’s like a death in the family,” said Managing Editor Randy Bracht. “With the people who read the newspaper, there’s a real sense of loss.” The closure made news across the state. Rufus Woods, publisher emeritas at the Wenatchee World, devoted his regular column to the closure. “I was saddened to hear that longtime publisher Jeff Fletcher had made t...
Recent research out of Oregon State University found micro plastics in some mega-fauna. Scientists estimated gray whales off the Oregon Coast ingest between 6.5 and 21 million micro particles per day, including micro plastics and fibers from clothing. To get to that number, they looked at the micro-particles in two things: the tiny zooplankton that whales eat and the whale’s poop. Susanne Brander is an associate professor at OSU. She said the effect of the toxins on whales isn’t known, but her research with fish and other organisms shows som...
The Town of La Conner’ s emergency management commission will start meeting monthly after half a year of bi-weekly sessions. It has made some progress and is settling into a routine. The town council and mayor moved quickly to form the commission after December’s Swinomish Channel flooding got their attention. Maybe emergencies are required to form commissions and plan solutions to past problems. Will it take a flood of homeless people floating into taking up residency in Pioneer Park to engage town leaders to move toward significant developmen... Full story
In Seattle in June I had an opportunity rarely considered, much less repeatedly realized: I went up in more elevators, stepped onto more escalators and craned my head up at more buildings in two days than I have in two years – indeed – ever, in La Conner. Wow. As Dorothy might have exclaimed, it certainly isn’t Kansas. I was staying on the 34th floor of the downtown Sheraton. Up and down I went. I took my friend Dick to the Smith Tower, for decades the tallest building in the country west of New York City and we went to the 35th floor obser... Full story
In looking at the U.S. Supreme Court decisions at the end of June, it is heartening to see they are finally abiding by the Constitution and common sense instead of shooting from the hip regarding affirmative action. If today’s court had been in office in 1974 there would be no such thing as the George Boldt decision giving one percent of the population fifty percent of all harvestable resources from state waters. The backers of the Boldt decision pointed to the Point Elliot treaty of 1855 giving those rites to native tribes. The Point E...
In 2010 Christchurch, New Zealand was devastated by two magnitude 7 earthquakes only days apart. Buildings were shaken to the ground; roadbeds overturned; water pipes snapped, etc. Nearby, the hamlet of Littleton, a town somewhat larger but like La Conner, was similarly shaken. But Littleton had a secret: a neighborly system of sharing services hour for hour they called a “time bank.” When Littleton’s 300 time bankers heard about an elderly couple being left homeless by the quake, the time bankers found the couple a temporary home and tappe... Full story
For a while I was googling for an engineer named Talmon for the 306 Center Street project. But now I see that the name of the project is the Talmon Project in drawings submitted by the developer to the Town of La Conner. Since projects are usually not named after engineers, I assume that the name is joke. Kind of funny. As is the project. It is still too big. Still lacks enough parking. Still has bad contamination on the western portion of the property. And it is still a design that is cookie cutter. It is an insult to the historic nature of... Full story
News that President Biden intends to permit the release of cluster bombs to the war in Ukraine needs to be challenged on moral and legal grounds and I would ask that we reach out to Rep. Rick Larsen as a member of the House Armed Services Committee to ask him to oppose the cluster bombs transfer. Cluster bombs are some of the worst weaponry of war, especially on the citizenry. The cluster “bomblets” are designed to detonate in the air, but many fail to do so and fall to the ground leaving them especially vulnerable to children who are mai... Full story
I recently had the pleasure of visiting La Conner for an impromptu girls’ trip. This was my first time here and it was so enjoyable that I booked another visit before I left! We came to watch our friend in the Pretty Woman polo tournament at the La Conner Polo Club. We had dinner that night at the barn with the other players and the tournament hosts – everyone was so kind and welcoming and the views were unbelievable! That night we stayed in a corner room at the La Conner Channel Lodge. From the moment we got there the staff was warm and wel... Full story
The June 28 story, “Construction started on La Conner Heights homes” did not correctly name the company, BYK Construction, Inc., the contractor building for the development entity, Snapdragon Hills Estate, LLC, which owns the property. Construction started in October 2022....
Cucumber Radish Salad. After slicing the cucumbers, lightly salt them. No need to drain off the salted cucumber juice. You want it to mingle with the fresh squeezed lemon juice. The result is refreshing. The cucumber and radish slices are crisp. I used baby radishes from my garden. But larger radishes will do. Persian cucumbers have a thin skin; it's not bitter. Other slicing cucumbers may be substituted but you might peel them first. Now a special thanks to my readers. To Connie who said my...
The Fourth of July was just fantastic! We had so many people contribute their time and efforts I can’t possibly name them all, but I will say our marina maintenance staff and dockhands were everywhere all the time and I could not have been more pleased with how they represented the Port of Skagit. We see all types of travelers passing through the La Conner Marina and RV Park. One example is an RV couple who is trying to be out for an entire month. They want to see if they enjoy actually l...
