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The Swinomish Medical Clinic is again hosting a drive-through COVID-19 testing site after tribal public health officials confirmed seven positive cases for the coronavirus in a public notice released Monday. “Several of the individuals are asymptomatic, meaning they do not have any symptoms of the illness,” the release stated. Testing ran last Wednesday-Friday and started Tuesday. An end date has not been set, staff on the site said Tuesday. The Swinomish Public Health Team is contact tra...
Necessity is the mother of invention. It’s an old phrase, but one that has given birth to a new normal in the La Conner business district as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Local merchants have had to adapt, innovate, and as Mayor Ramon Hayes told the Weekly News last week, “step up their game with an internet presence” to off-set the impact of state mandated commercial restrictions intended to curb spread of the coronavirus. A dozen La Conner businesses are either closed or planning to close or sell. Others have reduced hours and staff to s...
July started with 0.4” of rain the first three days, but that was a tease. There was almost 0.2” more on the 9th, and that was it: 0.6” rain for the month. After a whisper of wet on the 11th, the skies turned blue. There has not been measurable precipitation in 25 days. Rainfall was 10% below the month’s average rainfall of 0.67” in this century. Still, this was only the tenth driest July this century. Less than 0.60” rain has fallen nine years, with six years below 0.11”. Seven of the 10 dri...
Coronavirus cases in Skagit County topped 800 – 826 – Monday. County deaths are at 21, a 40% increase in four weeks, from a total of 15 on July 7, a figure that had held steady since May 15. These are both high and increasing numbers. This is bad, and bad news, and not just for the infected people and their families, friends and employers. An early July outbreak at the Mira Vista elder care facility accounts for the deaths. The huge jump in cases – the count was 449 on June 5, the day the County moved into phase 2 of the...
The 42 new cases of coronavirus reported Friday-Monday in Skagit County raised to 826 the number of COVID-19 cases recorded since reporting started in February. The death toll has climbed to 21, up five in the two weeks since July 19. And on Monday seven cases were confirmed by the Swinomish Public Health Team of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, some of whom are asymptomatic, without symptoms. In response, the Tribe has opened a testing site for community members and staff. They started...
I am writing because of things written about Bill Bruch. I want to share with you what I know about Bill. I am a retired criminal attorney. I moved to Washington five years ago. A friend from the church I joined asked me to attend a Republican meeting in Skagit County. After that meeting I went to the Republican Office where I met Bill, the Chairman of the Skagit County Republican Party. In the past five years I have had many conversations with Bill, including when I did not agree with him on an issue. Bill always listened. Bill is very...
In its final issue before Tuesday’s election, the eight-page La Conner Weekly News published a cover story and four letters attacking – and even slandering – a candidate for the state legislature. With no chance of rebuttal, Bill Bruch, a La Conner resident running for the state House of Representatives, was targeted by known Democrat operatives. This is because Bruch, a Republican, along with the more than a quarter million people who signed the R-90 petition, is opposed to the mandatory sex education law pushed forward by his r...
Dear Editor: Every two years democratic representatives tell us how much they support our veterans. This reminder always seems to coincide with the election cycle. Their advertisements are filled with platitudes towards veterans. These carefully scripted words are aimed to get the veteran’s vote but are soon forgotten after the elections only to be recycled for the next election. As the wife of a retired veteran of 28 years, I have witnessed this behavior over and over again by the Democrats. I am reminded of the poem by Rudyard Kipling, ...
Dear Editor: I just read the hit piece you printed in your paper on Bill Bruch, candidate for Legislative District 10 regarding his position on the mandatory sex education bill. It was clear from the article that its author had not done a thorough review of the actual curriculum being mandated. The point of view expressed was that the curriculum was age appropriate. I would hazard a guess that most of the folks supporting this appalling curriculum have never looked at it much less taken the time to read the entire thing. While there are some...
(Sent to La Conner Town Council and Mayor Ramon Hayes) I have been a long time resident (1986) of La Conner, although right now I live outside the town limits. I wish to encourage you in your plans to create a new park and residences on the property where the “ball fields” are presently located on Maple Street. I have always been impressed with how the residents and business owners of La Conner have managed their diverse and similar concerns over the last 40 years. There has been the creation of Maple Hall complex, the La Conner Retirement Inn...
Dear Editor: Your editorial sounded like a disgruntled Clinton supporter searching for a way for Vice President. Joe Biden to win. The truth is our Founders (you know the ones whose statues are being torn down by “peaceful” far left protesters) created the Electoral College to ensure that all state residents were represented fairly. They did not think it would be fair for a few densely populated areas to speak for the whole nation. There are 3,141 counties in the U.S. and Trump won 3,084 of them. Abolishing the electoral college would in eff...
“‘Stay away.’ ‘Biggest petri dish in the world.’ The view from Canada, of us, isn’t so nice.” That is the title of Danny Westneat’s column published in the Seattle Times July 26. Its essential point: Even though Canadians are friendly and hospitable, they don’t want visitors from here until we’re able to get the pandemic under control. Currently, every American is seen as a loaded vector of disease, and an overwhelming majority of Canadians want to keep the border with the U.S. closed through 2020. [link below] This is relevant to La Conn...
Outdoor burning is banned on all forest lands within the state under Department of Natural Resources fire protection through Sept. 30. Using charcoal briquettes and prescribed burns are banned. The end date may change based upon ongoing fire conditions. There are exceptions for prescribed fire for ecological benefits and recreational fires in approved fire pits. Fire danger is rated high in Skagit County by the DNR. Source: Washington Department of Natural Resources...
Budget stress and Zoom meeting fatigue have Town leaders in search of remedies to mitigate local coronavirus impacts. Town Councilmembers discussed the feasibility of limited in-person meetings either at Maple Hall or Pioneer Park and Town Administrator Scott Thomas outlined the status of municipal finances during separate video conferences last week. Thomas addressed the annual La Conner Chamber of Commerce review July 28 attended by local business owners and service organization reps. The prospect of alternative Council meeting sites was...
Good things come to those who wait. And on at least one front the waiting game is starting to tip in favor of the Town of La Conner, despite a lingering pandemic testing everyone’s patience. Two long-awaited local public works projects, each of which has been years in the making, are active. Equity Builders of Bellingham has started on the first major overhaul of the Caledonia Street pump station since 1987. Meanwhile, just up the street at Maple Hall, ThyssenKrupp of Everett is replacing an elevator that has been grounded for four years. When...
La Conner Schools is bracing to enter a virtual new world this fall. A local blue-ribbon Back-to-School committee has recommended starting with an on-line model with the option of small groups meeting in campus buildings. This is in response to health and safety concerns raised by the COVID-19 pandemic. The panel has received input from parents, students, school staff and Swinomish Indian Tribal Community representatives since its mid-July start. The committee suggests a slight delay in opening to provide teachers and families opportunities to...
La Conner High head volleyball coach Suzanne Marble and her players will have to wait to pursue a rare state title three-peat. The two-time defending champions will not defend their state 2B net crown until next spring under a modified high school sports schedule unveiled recently by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The WIAA executive board has adopted a sports calendar divided into four seasons with moderate and higher-risk activities –volleyball, football, and soccer...
As an alternative to the canceled Seattle Art Fair this year, the Seattle Deconstructed Art Fair, 2020 (SDAF) brings art to the public in a blend of online and physical art displays. Margy Lavelle and Ries Niemi, from the Skagit Valley, are two of the 47 artists participating as Northwest artists and galleries team up. Lavelle will provide her work online and display it in the windows of her Edison gallery, i.e., while Niemi’s work will be on display at his outdoor site on a date not yet determined. The show serves as an alternative to Paul A...
Conducting day-to-day affairs online is working well for local government and business leaders – with a few exceptions. The Town Council’s pledge of allegiance, for instance. When the Council meets at Maple Hall, everyone stands to salute a flag that all can see. On Zoom, there’s no central flag for the dozen or so participants to salute. And with computer cameras in a fixed position, “if I stand, everybody is looking at my belt buckle or my stomach,” says Town Administrator Scott Thomas. Town staff, along with staff of Fire Distric...
This year has brought numerous challenges requiring new visions, including Rotary Club of La Conner’s annual auction on Aug. 20. Typically held at La Conner’s Maple Hall, this year’s virtual, online only auction’s theme is “Through the Looking Glass: 2020 Vision.” Proceeds from the La Conner Rotary auction support La Conner High School scholarships, dictionaries for third graders, a book a month from birth through age five for all children in the La Conner School District through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, bookmobiles in Guatemala a...
The Skagit County Historical Museum is tasked with preserving and presenting the wonderful history of our County. While we often think of history as something that happened many years ago, in reality what happened yesterday is history! So, our plan is to capture your story and the stories of many other Skagitonians as we navigate this time of Coronavirus. It is historic and will be discussed and researched by generations to come. To gather these stories, we want your answers to the five questions below. For purposes of demographics, we are...
SR 11/Chuckanut Drive north of Old Samish Road is closed through Aug. 17 for replacing a 24-inch concrete culvert with a 12-foot round culvert. This “will allow fish and other aquatic species to use nearly a mile of habitat upstream for the first time in nearly a century,” states a Washington Department of Transportation website page. Hoag’s Creek runs under SR 11 just south of Fairhaven. Fish passage is blocked by the small culvert above the creek’s surface. “Removing a single barrier can improve fish access for miles both upstream and downs...
