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It is 11 days since the massacre in El Paso and 10 days since the Dayton carnage, two preventable tragedies that have been on the minds of many. Some clarifying thoughts: First, this is not about guns. Guns are for hunting, self-protection and robbing banks. Weapons are for overthrowing governments and indiscriminate slaughter. Assault weapons are weapons of mass destruction. They are not guns. Second, this is about us, the 80 percent of the population comfortably under bell curves, the people who fit the 150 year old sentiment that “The only t...
In the six years that I’ve lived in La Conner, I have grown more and more concerned about the rising number of feral cats. I have lived here since second grade and am now going into eighth grade. I have tried to resolve this problem on my own in the past, but funding has always been an obstacle. If we do nothing, these cats will continue to reproduce and make their homes under your homes, digging holes in gardens and causing trouble for us all. The best solution I have come up with is to rescue, rehabilitate and release the ferals after they h...
To whom it may concern I’m writing a letter to the general public as a reminder of what it feels like to be treated poorly. I’m 93 years old and proud to still be a fully functioning member of society. However, recently in La Conner, I’ve been made to feel inadequate, almost worthless, when dealing with some people in business settings. I was raised to “respect my elders” and I expect to be treated the same. I ask you to understand that my hearing isn’t what it used to be, so please speak slowly and clearly and don’t act disgusted if...
I am fairly new to town and have found La Conner to be a very accepting and friendly town. Therefore, I find the events over the spring and summer between the school board, members of the community, the teachers’ union and the school superintendent very disturbing. To me it is a microcosmos of what is happening across the country. People are making decisions from a place of ramped up emotions while having incomplete or inaccurate information, creating great division and animosity. My life experiences have taught me the truth usually is s...
Isn’t it ironic that the man who rode down his golden escalator to announce his candidacy for president described immigrants as criminals and rapists? The criminals turned out to be some of his core base. And he continues to stoke and encourage at his rallies, the radical racism that wreaked havoc on El Paso and Dayton 10 days ago, as well as 29 other mass shootings since his June 2015 announcement with 363 senseless, defenseless deaths and 859 senseless, defenseless injuries AND all the families in grief left behind. It’s not only our ena...
“The Odyssey” is some 2,800 years old but Glenn Hergenhahn-Zhao’s “Homer’s Odyssey,” written for this summer’s series at Bellingham’s Sylvia Center for the Arts, is very 21st century. Its gods, looking down on mortals and interceding in their affairs, are helpful and hindering and offering commentary throughout. The tale of Odysseus’ ten year voyage home to Ithaca and his wife Penelope, an epic poem, is the second oldest piece of western literature, sequel to Homer’s “Iliad.” The play opens with the title character (Chris Cariker, in a Herculea...
The Skagit Public Utility District (PUD) started work Monday on its Phase II water line replacement constructions project on McLean Road, starting at Beaver Marsh Road and extending to Best Road. Digging up the south side of the road starts today. Flaggers will keep one lane of traffic open. The work schedule will be Monday-Thursday, 7:30 a.m-5:30 p.m., said Brandt Barnes, PUD project manager. The project will install some 10,053 linear feet of 12-inch, 8-inch and 6-inch diameter water pipes and 9,892 feet of 4-inch conduit pipe for fiber...
When Patsy Love runs into people she knows, they don’t ask about her. They ask about her car. Patsy drives a 1987 Chevrolet Caprice Estate Wagon. Almost 18 feet long and over 6 feet wide, it’s about half the size of Echo Summit, the wooden boat that brought Patsy and her late husband Hal to La Conner in the 1990s. For a decade, they lived part-time on their boat in the north marina. “The marina was its own neighborhood,” remembers Patsy. “Families lived aboard with kids and one baby came stra...
Ken Paul made his mark as a distance runner while growing up at Swinomish and attending La Conner Schools, often jogging across Rainbow Bridge from his home to town and back. More than four decades later he hasn’t lost a step. In fact, Paul has added a few – as a much in demand Native American grass dancer. Donning colorful regalia he made himself, the 1976 La Conner High grad, now 62, kept time with the singing and fast-paced drumming that highlighted powwow sessions at the annual S...
As a 1987 candidate for Mayor of La Conner, Marc “Zappa” Daniel was often unorthodox, frequently controversial and always quotable. He was, to use a trite cliché, one in a million. But, then again, he had a head start. Well before his somewhat accidental arrival in La Conner, Daniel had already been one in half a million – among the 500,000 people who trekked to rural New York state for what would become a defining moment for an entire generation. Devoted to rock-n-roll since his...
First a retreat, then some tentative steps forward. That’s the path upon which La Conner Schools Superintendent Dr. Whitney Meissner and leaders of two staff union groups that have rebuked her management skills now find themselves. All parties vow to move in the same direction, serving the best interests of students, but whether they can do so side-by-side remains unclear. The unions have issued votes of no-confidence in Meissner and called for her ouster, alleging she has created a negative work environment, concerns that arose last spring and...
I first met Betty Miles in her ditch. She loved to transplant roadside flowers along the ditch at her Samish Island property so she would have something beautiful to look at whenever she left her home. Creating beauty was a part of her life, whether in the yard, areas for visiting friends, or on the canvas; beauty was a value for Betty. Betty loved nature and animals and especially loved watching wildlife. Her deep desire was that critters have a place to live. She and her husband Gary made...
August 8, 2019 Dear Members of the La Conner School District and Community: Finding the right words to communicate what is on my heart and mind is not easy, yet I feel the time is right to reach out and share a bit of my voice and my thoughts with you. It is truly my hope that this is the beginning of the conversation. As superintendent, one of my most important responsibilities is to bring unity to our district and community. It is clear this is an ongoing area needing focus and attention. The pain, frustration and confusion being felt by...
Betty J. Foster passed away on Friday, August 9, 2019 at Skagit Valley Hospital at the age of 74. Betty was born on March 5, 1945 to William and Bertha (Jolley) Gwynn in Tacoma. On May 24, 1969, Betty married James “Jim” Henry Foster in Bremerton, WA. After graduating from the University of Washington School of Pharmacy, she worked at Waldo Hospital in Seattle where she became head pharmacist. She then went to work at Bracken’s Pharmacy, also in Seattle. She and Jim purchased the pharmacy in 1982 and sold it in 1994. They moved to Shelt...
