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Because it’s never too soon to prepare for the future, La Conner Town Council invested an hour in a special session last week studying factors and strategies that could define La Conner decades from now. The 60-minute hybrid meeting, which featured online commentary from Seattle-based consultants, was a down payment of sorts ahead of a daylong July 24 council retreat. The topics discussed and identified as either community strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, or threats (SWOT) – some of which overlapped into more than one category – were...
The drought conditions for Skagit County? Not good. The U.S. Drought Monitor’s website’s weekly report lists almost the entire county in drought by area, 97.5%. Greater La Conner is in a small coastal slice of moderate drought, as is the Cascades region. Together, 11.4% of the county is in moderate drought. The rest of the county is in severe drought, 86.1%, except for the northeasternmost corner, 2.5%, measured as abnormally dry. Skagit River streamflow at the Mount Vernon bridge was measured as record low. The definition: “Estimated strea...
"I didn't realize Master Gardeners did so many things!" Skagit County Commissioner Lisa Janicki said as she addressed the standing-room only crowd in the Sakuma Auditorium at the Washington State University Extension Northwest Education and Research Center on Memorial Highway last Thursday. The audience chuckled knowingly, as Janicki listed some of the many community outreach programs handled by the volunteers. She had been reading the 50th Anniversary commemorative Master Gardener magazine...
Community members gathered around the Skagit City School Sunday, July 16, for the annual Skagit City School Picnic, hosted by the Skagit County Historical Museum. Live music filled the air as a breeze worked its way through the sunny front lawn of the school, dancing around attendees as they ate lunch provided by the La Conner Rotary and joined their community for an afternoon of talk, trivia and treasuring the legacy of the school before them. Picnickers cycled through the display room,...
It took a do-over, but the La Conner Town Council last week approved an infrastructure improvements plan for the construction site of a three-story, 19-unit condominium building on Center Street. The unanimous action – though some of the “aye” votes were barely audible – came during a special session in the Maple Hall’s Fireside Room Thursday morning and allows staff to begin a review process needed for project modifications. A motion by Councilmember Rick Dole seeking approval for the infrastructure plan died for lack of a second July 11....
Patriotism, matching the hot weather, was at a feverish pitch this July 4. But not everyone had a bang on Independence Day – or in the days leading up to and following the holiday. For La Conner area firefighters, already grappling with extended dry and windy conditions, fireworks activity lost some of its pizzaz. Their enthusiasm was dampened by the number of fireworks-related fires to which they responded. In fact, Skagit County Fire District 13 staff, which serves Swinomish Reservation and rural La Conner, are now suggesting limiting the l...
A time-honored adage says no job is finished until the paperwork is done. For the Town of La Conner Parks Commission, the reverse is true when it comes to installing a much-anticipated pavilion at Conner Waterfront Park. The pavilion project, on the drawing board for several years, has received approvals for both shoreline and building permits. Now, it’s just a matter of working out final details with the public works department and reaching a consensus as to exactly where at the park the structure should be located. “The pavilion is going to...
Mayor Ramon Hayes called a special daylong meeting of the La Conner Town Council for Monday, July 24 for the purpose of holding a retreat with a discussion only agenda. The meeting will be held in person only. There will not be public comments or public participation. Council will meet at the Vaux Retreat Center in Bakerview Park, 3011 East Fir Street Mount Vernon, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Source: Town of La Conner...
The grass, they say, is always greener on the other side. In the case of C.J. Woods, that is even true of the Arizona desert. Woods, the youthful and personable La Conner High School boys’ head basketball coach and athletics director, has stepped down to assume a similar dual position at Chinle High School, which boasts top-flight sports facilities. The Apache County, Arizona school is the subject of an acclaimed Netflix documentary. “It’s a really bittersweet feeling,” Woods, 28, who last winter led the underdog Braves to a Northwest 2B Bi-D...
Summer school is all about enhancing student performance. And at La Conner Schools, student performance comes in multiple ways, shapes and forms and is not limited to pencil and paper drills. Elementary school pupils provided a perfect example Thursday afternoon, presenting a rendition of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" before a standing room-only audience of proud family members and friends. Superintendent Will Nelson and Braves Club Director Marlene Brenton attended. They crafted the...
La Conner is known for having goal-oriented kids. And many of them can be seen soon on local soccer fields. Registration is now open for children to participate, with the La Conner Youth Soccer Association planning to field teams in several age categories. Micros, comprised of kindergarten through first graders, will play three-on-three matches on Friday evenings. Teams in U-8 through U-13 divisions will practice during the week and play their matches on Saturdays. “All are welcome to play, and scholarships are available,” says LCYSA reg...
The quickest way to step out of your everyday world this summer? Get tickets, bring your lawn chair, blanket and jacket and get thee to “The Taming of the Shrew” at the Rexville Blackrock Amphitheatre. It opened Friday, half of Shakespeare Northwest’s season’s theme of “Fathers and Daughters,’ in repertoire with “The Tempest.” No father, here Baptista (a mild, patient Devin Knowles), ever had a daughter like Katherine (Haylie Conchelos, properly strong and stubborn), though every parent wants a daughter like Bianca (demure, mild Ashleigh N...
Drip irrigation is a method of slowly delivering water to all types of plantings, from planters to gardens to greenhouses. In three not so difficult steps,you can design and build a drip irrigation system that places a precise amount of water where you need it, prevents overwatering, conserves water, saves money and keeps water off foliage, reducing disease such as powdery mildew. Drip irrigation eliminates hours of hand watering, can be fully automated with a timer and will reduce weeding...
Mount Vernon – The Skagit Valley Food Co-op is celebrating its 50th Anniversary with a Golden Jubilee on the Riverwalk! Golden Jubilee – a fancy way to say we’re celebrating our 50th Anniversary! And what better way to celebrate 50 years of cooperation than bringing together good people and good food for a really great time? The Co-op will be hosting a community celebration August 9th, from 4-8 p.m. on the Riverwalk. The Golden Jubilee will be a jolly good time with local food, drinks, live music, amazing prizes and family-friendly fun featu...
By Ken Stern This corrects the July 19 story headlined: “Solarize Skagit will power 129 homes.” That headline is incorrect. As the cooperative’s Vice President Mary Wohleb states in her letter on page 2 today: “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. This is the complete story, as corrected: The Skagit Valley Clean Energy Cooper...
The sale of the Portland Press Herald, and the rest of Masthead Maine’s newspapers to a national nonprofit puts to rest months of speculation about the papers’ fates. And it lines up with national trends that are seeing more media outlets get support from nonprofits. The pending July 31 sale of the papers to the National Trust for Local News was greeted with joy and relief from Masthead Maine CEO and Publisher Lisa DeSisto, who says it is the best possible outcome for the company. “I never could have imagined an outcome this incredible for M...
Folks are asking what's going on at the former COA Mexican Eatery at Maple and Washington. Town of La Conner officials are wondering as well. Unspecified renovations are under way at the building, which was transported to the site in the 1970s as the new Joe's Drive-In when that business outgrew its original venue at Maple and Talbott. The Town Planning Department wants to contact property owners Adrian and Ruth Ibarra to learn their intentions for the structure since it has been vacant and may...
Monday, July 10 9:56 a.m.: Road rage fight – Deputies responded to a fight in progress being reported by a SKAT bus driver. The physical altercation was the result of a road rage incident. Both involved drivers did not want to pursue charges. McLean Rd., Greater La Conner. 10:40 a.m.: Left high and dry – Deputies responded to a boat equipment theft. Deputies determined a 15hp Suzuki outboard motor had been stolen off the back of the victim’s boat during the night. Washington Ave., La Conner. 4:49 p.m.: Dropped their shopping, cart – Deputie...
The marina has been very busy. People love to visit La Conner! And it is not just boaters, although there is certainly a lot of them, but it is also the RV park. We have had several days this month where all spots in the park have been taken. This is really something for us, and our camp hosts have done a remarkable job of keeping up with changes and managing busy arrival and departure times. With the low tides of the summer we have had a multitude of questions about the depth of the channel....
Summer is well underway. It is hot, but not as hot as others have it around the country. It is not as hot – yet – as we experienced in 2021. We are fortunate that Skagit summers come with little humidity and cool evenings. For those of us who can afford it – and that might mean having the time – the calendar is full of entertainment to see, listen to and create from Stanwood and Snohomish counties up to the Canadian border and across it and east into the Cascades. For the adventuresome and patient, there is the hope ferries will arrive in Frid...
Thank you, editor, for your continued support of Skagit County Clean Energy Cooperative. I am compelled to correct some of last week’s front page article, “Solarize Skagit to power 129 homes.” Solarize Skagit had 129 homeowners sign up for the program. A “sign up” means the homeowner filled out an on-line form. Once “signed up” the homeowner receives a site visit from one of the three pre-vetted installers and if their home is conducive for solar the homeowner receives a cost estimate. At that point they make a decision to purchase sola...
I oppose the use of cluster munitions. Cluster munitions do not always detonate when deployed and civilians in countries like Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos have been killed and wounded by these explosive devices long after the end of the war. More than 120 countries have banned cluster bombs. The United States must do the same. I continue to stand with the Ukrainian people and for an independent and sovereign Ukraine. That is why I have consistently supported humanitarian, military, diplomatic and economic aid for Ukraine. That is why I have met...
About a month ago, I had to take my gasoline car into the dealer for routine maintenance. That cost about $2,000, and it needs more work. My car has been driven about 100,000 miles. It probably has at least another 100,000 to go before the end of its life. However, maintenance will be increasingly expensive from now on. I think $2,500 a year is a realistic estimate. My car gets about 20 miles per gallon. Even though I have a short commute here in La Conner, Jenelle and I visit family in Seattle...
