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For years he was the face of the Pioneer Picnic, one that always bore a smile. Pat Good (1928-2008), whose forebears settled on Fir Island a century and a half ago, was a longtime mainstay at the annual picnic in La Conner’s Pioneer Park, where he prepared salmon as the main course of a luncheon that often drew more than 300 people. He did so gladly. Good was immensely proud of his Skagit heritage, part of which – a large part, in fact – was based on volunteerism and public service. “Nobody was more giving of himself,” says his s...
To the Editor, The average home in La Conner consumes 324 cubic feet of water each month, and pays a sewer bill of $53.41 per month. The average inflow and infiltration (ground water) is 37.76% at the sewer plant. If I&I could be reduced by 50%, the bill for sewer service could be reduced to $40.72. At 25% the bill would be $42.69, and at 10% it would be $43.68. There is a 97% correlation between rainfall and I&I. Maybe some of the homes have their roof drains connected to the sewer. That is a no-no. The Town Council allocated $50,000 in 2020,...
Twenty-six percent of Skagit County’s population, 30,180 people, were affected by drought for the first time last week, the National Integrated Drought Information System reported on July 8. Moderate drought conditions cover 25.8% of Skagit County. The flats and east into the Cascade foothills face increased fire danger, low river flow and possible dust storms. Abnormally dry conditions cover 59%, more than the entire eastern half, of the county. The 1-month outlook forecasts a 33% probability of below-normal precipitation with drought d...
Hot, dry conditions forecast through the summer is a troubling omen, Skagit County Fire District 13 Chief Wood Weiss cautioned last Friday. “It looks like it will be a busy year for wildland fires,” Weiss told fire district commissioners during their July 9 monthly meeting, a hybrid in-person session also accessible remotely via the Zoom teleconferencing platform. Weiss noted that district firefighters snuffed a small wildland fire over the holiday weekend that may have been fireworks rel...
If the COVID-19 pandemic has proved anything, it is good things are worth waiting for. That includes the annual Swinomish Days summer festival. The local celebration of Coast Salish culture normally held in August and which regularly draws visitors from throughout the Pacific Northwest and beyond, has been postponed at least one month, “until possibly September 2021” as a public health precaution Swinomish Tribal Community Cultural Affairs Director Aurelia Bailey confirmed last week. “With new (virus) variants recently hitting Skagit County,” B...
First there was the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020, then a hip injury this spring. But La Conner alum Matty Lagerwey, now a pre-med student at Western Washington University, remains on schedule to compete in national track and field trials within the next two years, she told the Weekly News July 5. Lagerwey, a multiple State 2B title winner while at La Conner High School, had improved her speed, recorded an 18’3” long jump, and posted a 35’-9 ¼” triple jump during her freshman indoor track season at WWU. Then came the pandemic. COVID-1...
As a Fulbright Scholar, La Conner alum Ryan Booth visited, toured and studied on the Indian subcontinent. Now the Washington State University Ph.D. candidate is doing the same across the United States, his summer travels including a stop at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois, a July 4 fireworks show in St. Louis and presenting a July 14 program at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, New Mexico. “I had three major purposes for the t...
For golfers, their sport is often good for the soul. And perhaps never more so than at the third annual Camp Korey Classic, held June 21 at Avalon Golf Links in Burlington, where over $175,000 was raised for children with life-altering medical conditions. Proceeds enable those children to experience the joys of camp and to fund Camp Korey operational costs. “The contributions of founder Tim Rose, event sponsors and the more than 190 golfers in attendance will benefit campers and their families through year-round camp-based programming,” said Ca...
On the basketball court in high school and college, Danny Hagen would be called upon to block shots. Today one of the Shelter Bay man’s callings is to make sure the disabled get a fair shot at fully participating in community life. Hagen, a residential appraiser with the Skagit County Assessor’s Office, last week joined the Chinook Enterprises board of directors. Chinook Enterprises provides job training, employment assistance and related services for people with disabilities or facing oth...
Matika Wilbur’s fame continues to grow. The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community member and La Conner High School grad, one of the country’s leading photographers, was interviewed on national television Sunday in her role as co-host of a critically acclaimed podcast addressing key Native American issues. Wilbur appeared with Desi Small Rodriguez on a segment of the Yasmin Vossoughian Show on MSNBC. Wilbur and Rodriguez, a Northern Cheyenne tribal member, are hosts of the “All My Relations” podcast that explores contemporary and cultural Native...
Monday, July 5 8:09 p.m.: Left boat behind – Ten foot boat abandoned on the rocks for the past several days. State parks will handle. Deception Pass Bridge. 9:20 p.m.: Cold shot – Report of a family member that drove by the caller’s property and fired a gun at a trail head nearby the day before. Farm to Market Rd., Bay View. 10:58 p.m.: Usual suspects – Report of fireworks in the area. The deputy sat in the area and only saw fireworks from the reservation. S. 4th St., La Conner. Tuesday, July 6 11:03 a.m.: They don’t sho...
Last night’s La Conner town council meeting, the first in-person community discussion in 16 months, promised to be a crowded, long and loud affair as pushback by area residents again put before council demands that the Town follow the commitments it made for a 24,000 square feet park for public use and open space when it bought the Hedlin family’s Maple Avenue property in April. On the council agenda was “Release of Easement – Maple Ball Field.” Council approval will mean terminating the easement across a portion of this new park, p...
