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La Conner’s Town Council will have to decide the fate of the 306 Center Street condominium project by determining if a 1986 contract rezone agreement signed by town officials and then property owners Donna and Gerald Blades is valid and enforceable. Hearing examiner David Lowell issued his decision on the four May reconsideration requests challenging the 306 Center Street condominium project last Wednesday, July 20, but found he did not have the “additional information” in the materials of record to determine the site’s zoning requirements. He...
The actress Bo Derek was famous in the 1970s for being considered a perfect 10. Shelter Bay’s Jean Collins has her beat 10-fold. She’s a perfect 100. Collins, famed for her regular one-mile walks at Whitaker Field, was honored Thursday, July 21 at Maple Hall on her 100th birthday. She didn’t get her laps in at the track, but Collins kept up her step count circling the room, greeting the many well-wishers who gathered from near and far to share her special milestone. As proof, shortly after enjoy...
Some 50 mostly masked and generally partisan western Skagit valley residents came to the La Conner Civic Garden Club last Thursday to hear State Rep. Debra Lekanoff (D-Bow) extol her colleague, State Rep. Dave Paul (D-Oak Harbor) and praise the qualities of candidate Clyde Shavers. The two candidates for Legislative District Positions 2 and 1 might have gained a few votes but they definitely increased their campaign fundraising totals as State Rep. Alex Ramel (D-Bellingham), speaking last,...
This dot, dot, dot cliche begins “just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water ... .” The breaking news last Thursday morning was President Joe Biden having tested positive for COVID-19 and had mild symptoms. If this president of the United States, 79 years old and champion of getting this nation through the coronavirus pandemic, was infected, how can anyone in the country believe they have foolproof protection? Who can have more precautions in place than this president? The virus continues to mutate. Your fellow Americans &nd...
The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision. Clearly, the recent Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision was a landmark and long overdue. However, those who believe in a woman’s right to choose should take heart. The option of being pro choice is still very much alive. To wit: A woman can still choose whether or not to have sex with this individual or that one. She can still choose whether or not to use birth control. And, if she chooses poorly on the...
I spent a beautiful Sunday in Pioneer Park, listening to bluegrass, blues and ballads, poetry from folks around the valley, supporting my people at the Skagit River Poetry Foundation as they offered the day up. For those of you who drive over the bridge often, as I did for 30 some years and rarely set foot in the park (only for the Pioneer Picnic, parents/graduates picnic attendee), I say you are missing a lovely combination of what nature and humanity have to offer. There is no place like it, no place where a cool breeze floats off the...
Driving around on garbage pickup day in my neighborhood, I noticed a tremendous amout of cardboard stacked up alongside the recycling bins. Hmmmm. What’s going on? Then I realized how much cardboard I had put out myself because of the many orders my wife had made via Amazon and other online retailers. Obviously, COVID-19 has had a tremendous effect on in-person shopping. For the past couple of years, the numbers of home deliveries have skyrocketed. For many of us, that is a big relief because we...
Mount Vernon police investigators have determined that three male juvenile gang members had a confrontation with rival gang members at Walmart in Mount Vernon July 17. Multiple shots were fired, injuring three of those involved. Additionally, a 76-year-old male customer was struck in the leg as he was fleeing. A 24-year-old security guard was also shot numerous times. Investigators have identified the suspects involved in the shooting. On Friday, July 22, search warrants were executed at two locations in Mount Vernon. Numerous firearms and...
Residents of the La Conner Retirement Inn celebrated life in the fast lane Friday, July 22. The seniors were treated to a three-hour classic car show that featured a dozen vintage vehicles. The event’s People’s Choice Award winner was a 1930 Ford Model A entered by Shelter Bay resident Colin Banks. Balloting was by Retirement Inn residents, said show coordinator Bob Ferari, also of Shelter Bay, who entered “Bella,” his 1957 Chevy Bel-Air. “Since it was the residents who voted,” Ferari told the W...
The 118th annual Skagit County Pioneer Association Picnic is 11 a.m. Thursday, August 4 at Pioneer Park. There will be live music provided by the Leif & Sunnie Accordion Duo, historic photographs and biographical accounts displayed for this year’s Pioneer Family of the Year, Skagit County historical information and opportunities to reminisce with old-timers and newcomers. All are welcome to attend. The $20 entry provides a commemorative ribbon, event program, memorial pamphlet and ticket for the barbecue salmon dinner prepared by the “Good Gir...
These dispatches came into the Weekly News last week July 20, 2022 8:35 AM I came up to La Conner to work on my mother’s beach house July 19 and noticed there is a 40 to 50 foot yacht on its side for the last day in the Swinomish Channel at the west end of Goat Island. I got out the spotting scope and could see that there is a jetty that it is stuck on and it is stuck on the shallow side of the jetty. There were three boats and a few guys working on what appeared to be uprighting it. From the l...
It helps being well-grounded when soaring with eagles. Alex Bouwens, a 2022 La Conner High School grad, and Andrew Villard, an incoming senior, have parlayed self-discipline, perseverance and a commitment to public service into achieving Eagle Scout status, the seventh and highest rank of Scouts BSA. It is an achievement only 5% of scouts attain. To earn the Eagle rank, scouts must exhibit sustained leadership in their troop while earning 21 merit badges, 12 of which are required. Those badges r...
Faced with a projected drop in student enrollment, La Conner school board members on Monday unanimously approved a $13.8 million dollar budget that includes forced staff reductions in the new academic year. The amount is only down slightly from last year’s $14 million. Three full-time teaching positions were cut. At the same time the board also approved a two-year labor agreement negotiated with the La Conner Education Association (LEA) during the 45-minute session July 25. It includes state-funded cost of living support and a 1.5% per annum lo...
Could there be a more beautiful spot for poets and poetry than the sylvan glade of Pioneer Park? Georgia Johnson doesn’t think so. “For 37 years I’ve driven across the bridge and past the park thinking, ‘we’ve got to get poetry happening here,’” she told listeners from the bandstand at the free “Make Me Wanna Holler” celebration sponsored by the Skagit River Poetry Foundation. “And now it’s happening!” About 100 people of all ages enjoyed live music, live poetry and lunch in the park on Su...
You cannot tell a book by its cover, but you can tell that the new La Conner Swinomish Library is topflight by viewing the ground outside its doors. The perimeter of the building on the southwest corner of Sixth and Morris streets, recently enhanced by installation of a stunning story pole fashioned by master carver Kevin Paul and his son-in-law, Camas Logue, now has 300 native plants placed Thursday, July 21 by area master gardeners, including Weekly News photographer Nancy Crowell. It was all...
There are activities going on inside and outside of your local library. Here is this month’s update. Summer Reading The children’s summer reading program is in full swing. Children’s specialist Katryna Barber has been providing a variety of ocean themed programs and encouragement for children to keep reading throughout the summer months. The next summer program on the schedule is sea life mural painting at the library 12:30 p.m. Saturday, July 30. Looking for something new to read? Check out the list of ocean themed books provided as part...
On an otherwise calm summer evening July 15 we saw a long trailer load of portable toilets heading for the La Conner schools campus. Our curiosity became aroused when moments later a seemingly endless parade of white passenger vans streamed down sixth street to the school grounds. That many toilets and all those vans meant that something special was about to take place in our little town. Fearing that we might miss something, we headed for the campus and discovered that La Conner was the rest...
This could be served as a spicy condiment with rice and your choice of meat. I eat this as a snack, to carry me over while our dinner meal is prepared. When I began preparing Korean dishes, I started keeping a hot pepper paste. A small tub lasts for months in the refrigerator; so, I learned to shop around for the best price and longest date of expiration. This recipe uses half-tablespoons for several of the ingredients. I measure the dry ingredients first, then the liquid ones; and last, the...
The Nelson family is not only deeply rooted in Skagit County but also boasts many branches covering a wide range of achievements near and far over the course of more than a century. A case in point is told by Reggie Nelson, a retired teacher and La Conner High School alum, who will be among the main speakers when he and his relatives are honored as the 2022 Skagit County Pioneer Family of the Year on Aug. 4 at Pioneer Park. “My uncle, Duane Smith, was an honest-to-goodness rocket scientist,” Nelson told the Weekly News. “He graduated from...
