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A school district that ended the 2018-2019 school year in dispute has not resolved its differences as the summer turns toward the next school year. The La Conner School District Board of Directors had their summer retreat last week. They invited the staff unions, the La Conner Education Association and the Public School Employees, to participate for a 90 minute session. That is good to hear. But the distance between staff and board over Superintendent Whitney Meissner’s tenure has not shrunk. The unions’ overwhelming June no confidence vot...
The Navy’s recent increase of low altitude flights on Whidbey Island has resulted in noise levels high enough to cause pain, deafness and ill health. Prolonged exposure to high level noise is linked to increased risk of heart attack and stroke. (see: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5898791/ ) Senator Barbara Bailey’s column in the Whidbey News Times has it wrong. As a resident under an Outlying Field Coupeville (OLF) flight path, I can inform Ms. Bailey that these Growlers’ jet noise permeates the indoor environment of our home,...
Peace is the answer. Not once is that mentioned by Citizens of Ebey’s Reserve (COER). They are putting thousands of dollars into politicians’ campaigns but not for peace. With peace the jets would fly less. I actually live in the Ebey’s Landing Historic Reserve, and the anti-military group, COER – does not represent the citizens of the reserve, or the citizens of central Whidbey. Most of what they put out is of their own interpretation of facts and events. In the past 30 years they have encouraged people to shine bright flood light...
The La Conner Schools budget for 2020 calls for $1,499,062 in taxes for servicing the debt on the bond that built the new middle school. The Swinomish Tribe does not contribute toward this debt, even though the Swinomish people voted for it. Given that roughly 16.2 percent of the school population is Native American, the Tribe should contribute $242,886 toward debt service. According to the County Assessor, there are 2,302 non-exempt taxpayers in the La Conner School District. Each of them must pay $105.51 extra to make up for what the...
Dear Editor: I am saddened by the ongoing turmoil within our school district. In my teaching career, in another school district, we had a divisive situation. I believe the lessons from that experience could be useful in La Conner: Our elementary principal died suddenly one morning, discovered when he didn’t show up for school. A retired principal was hired to finish out the year, and then a new, and unknown to us, principal was hired for the next school year. What the staff didn’t know was that “Mike” was hired to make some significant changes...
The Hunting & Gathering team captured another photo of a black bear on the Swinomish Reservation last week. Remember that most bears are inherently scared of people and will usually run from human encounters. We have no reason to think this bear will behave any differently. We have not had any reports of conflict (bear getting into garbage, etc.). Please review information from the Washington Department Fish and Wildlife website below on how to prevent conflict with black bears and help us keep this bear out of trouble. Primarily, manage garbag...
For Toby Walls, losing weight was a moving experience. A dozen years ago, at age 33, he re-connected with a former passion – distance running – and hasn’t looked back since. Or, more precisely, Walls hasn’t looked over his shoulder, having earned a slew of medals from various road races and running events on both coasts. Nor has he looked at his bathroom scale quite the same way. The trim, yet broad-shouldered 45-year-old weighs 60 pounds less than he did in 2006. Walls hasn’t done s...
The sky was the limit at La Conner Regional Library Friday. And all it took was an air pump, balloons, string and tape. Not the sort of technology one would expect at NASA or Space-X, but it was plenty enough for the Library’s Katrina Barber to introduce local children to the concepts of jet and rocket propulsion. Barber attached string to a long ladder laid over sawhorses, and extended still more string up the side of the library building on Morris Street for a 45-minute program she tied to t...
The La Conner School District’s summer retreat July 30 included a 90 minute meeting between the School Board Directors, Superintendent Whitney Meissner and representatives from the La Conner Education Association and the Public School Employees. The unions again made their “case for removing Supt. Meissner,” from her position, an Aug. 1 statement from Communication Specialist Suzann Keith, a district English teacher, stated. In their email summary to the community, the unions shared their bottom line: “We strongly believe Dr. Meissner cannot...
Warm weather made for warm memories at the 115th annual Pioneer Picnic in La Conner Thursday, drawing a festive group ranging from toddlers to local centenarian Joyce Johnson. A good time was had by all, especially those who have attended regularly through the decades. Don Wick, one of the more recognizable personalities in Skagit County, has marked the Pioneer Picnic on his calendar since the early 1970s. Wick, then working for radio station KBRC, was assigned to set up the sound system for...
We all love to complain about petty bureaucrats and regulations. They are quite annoying sometimes. I have been on both sides of the counter on this issue. I can tell you that it is sometimes not easy or pleasant to enforce standards, code and regulations; or tell someone that they can’t do something that they had their heart set on. As Americans, we like to tout our freedoms and independence. However, many times what makes communities unique and desirable (or undesirable) are the standards by which a community lives. Sometimes these s...
A new Skagit County Historical Museum exhibit highlights the area’s hometown sports heroes. Matt Thurmond, the reigning Pac-12 Men’s Golf Coach of the Year, fills a unique category in that regard. He’s a Hometown Hero 2.0. A graduate of Burlington-Edison High School, Thurmond is also claimed by La Conner, and rightfully so. His parents, Joe and Kathy Thurmond, are La Conner High alums, as are other of his family members. His sister and brother-in-law, Kate and Dr. Brandon Atkinson, recen...
