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Less than two years ago Charlie Edwards was the architect of a stout defense that helped La Conner High School clinch a league football title. That was during a shortened, conference-only season shifted to the spring in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These days, Edwards finds himself in his second year as La Conner's head grid coach and back at the drawing board – this time to draft a blueprint for a successful rebuild of a Braves' program. The team suffered nearly a dozen losses to g...
La Conner residents aren’t just being encouraged to make their voices heard. They are also being asked to put their thoughts on paper, according to the Aug. 16 Planning Commission meeting at Maple Hall. The commission is urging those wanting to have input into potential municipal code changes to share their views in writing well in advance of the panel’s next meeting on Sept. 20. Those comments should be directed to Planning Director Michael Davolio. “If people can submit their ideas to Michael as soon as they can,” said Chair Marna Hannema...
Businesses leasing space – the “upland tenants of the Port” – will join commercial fishing boats at the La Conner Marina in having priority use of the P and R docks in the north basin over other charter or rental boats and recreational users in the east half of the commercial dock, Port of Skagit Commissioners decided at their Aug. 9 meeting. They adopted a resolution setting policies for the Marina’s commercial float that will take place in January. Staff recommended the policy change to better emphasize the Port’s mission of economic opportun...
Books clubs and bridge groups come and go, but the Harmony Birthday Club has been around for about 130 years. Honored with a Pioneer Spirit award at the Aug. 4 Pioneer Picnic, the club has been building connections and community since the 1890s. While the Harmony district lies east of La Conner, a number of its residents support La Conner schools and the library with their property taxes. You're in Harmony when you drive east on Calhoun Road from Best and Chilberg roads. While the heart of...
In the second paragraph of his 2015 encyclical letter, “Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common Home,” Pope Francis reflects on the ways in which the human species has mistreated and abused the Earth, which he calls our “Sister, Mother Earth” in the tradition of his namesake St. Francis of Assisi. The pope then states: “We have forgotten that we ourselves are dust of the earth (cf. Gen 2:7); our very bodies are made up of her elements, we breathe her air and we receive life and refreshment from her waters.” This single sentence says a lot. It ack...
Will there be any close races in November’s Skagit County elections? The closest primary result, County Commissioner’s Lisa Janicki’s 225 vote, 2.3 percentage margin in her district 3 position, was the biggest August surprise. Republican challenger Christian Burns will have to gain votes countrywide. This is the opposite of Republican Commissioner’s Ron Wesen’s 2020 victory against Mark Lundsten. The Democrat won that August’s primary. Lundsten was beaten by eastern county votes, swamped by then President Trump’s red tide turnout. Jani...
William Ripple is a professor of ecology at Oregon State University. In a paper published in BioScience this month, Ripple and 19 other authors suggest using portions of federal lands in 11 western states to establish new habitat for the beaver and gray wolf. They argue wolves and beavers improve biological diversity. Wolves by preying on grazing animals, which will allow more plants to grow. And beavers by creating ponds and wetlands. “The reason we want to do this is because wolves and beaver are considered keystone species. And that means t...
Dear residents, farmers and businesses, Mark your calendars. Sept. 20 for Planning Commission and Sept. 27 for Town Council. Both involve potential code changes. The town didn’t tell you. You would have had to wait until three days before and then they will you give three minutes only for pages of changes. It’s just not right. You should get three minutes for each item. This is important. Some changes being proposed by town: 1. The planner’s proposal is to allow 15 or 10 feet of that 25 feet currently required for agriculture set back so as to...
The La Conner United Street Fair on Saturday, Aug. 20 was a great day for selling planter boxes. It was a success largely because of the great people that helped. Rich Cushing and Rick Linton raised their hands when I asked for help. Susan Macek gave her approval to proceed. Tiger Construction of course made the whole project possible by donating the cut offs from the cedar siding left over. I appreciate the promotion that the Weekly provided. Joy Neal and the other members of Rotary and Kiwanis helped me set up at the site. Margaret Hillard...
A new commercial airport? Not in our backyard! The state Commercial Aviation Coordination Commission (CACC) is looking at ten sites for a commercial airport to accommodate 27 million passengers by 2050. Two of these sites are in Skagit County, one between La Conner and Mount Vernon and the other northwest of Burlington. Racquel Muncy reported in the Skagit Valley Herald the opinions of various local experts as to why these two locations would be a poor choice for an airport. Some of them were – 86% and more of the areas in question are in the o...
One of our esteemed senior citizens, Ollie Iversen, became a bit more senior Monday, adding another year to his long list of accomplishments Aug. 22. Congratulations, Ollie!...
Among its many gems, La Conner is home to a rare find, celebrating its silver anniversary this summer. It is the Pacific Northwest Quilt & Fiber Arts Museum, one of perhaps just a couple dozen of its kind in the entire country, and a major draw to town and its home base at historic Gaches Mansion on Second Street. Ahead of its time when launched in 1997 as the La Conner Quilt Museum by initial director Rita Hupy, the gallery and gift shop is now perfectly aligned with the growing popularity of quilting and fiber artistry. “There’s som...
Kerry Clavadetscher, a Seattle area artist specializing in photorealistic painting, is the featured artist for the 2023 Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. Clavadetscher's original watercolor captures one of the many sights and scenes visitors to the Tulip Festival experience every April. The fresh and vibrant piece invites people to experience the beauty of nature. "It's a big deal to me as a realist – depicting a true scene or experience someone can have – it's not a symbol, it's a real thing," Cla...
The Skagit County transfer and recycling station on Ovenell Road fully reopened Aug. 17, a County press release announced Aug. 16. “We would like to thank the public for their patience during this extended closure,” said Margo Gillaspy, Skagit County Solid Waste Division manager. “I know this closure derailed plans and cost people time and money.” The transfer station closed to self-haulers of garbage Aug. 11 due to equipment breakage at the rail spur operated by Republic, the County’s disposal contractor. “Without that equipment, we were una...
The La Conner School District Cabinet will hold monthly coffee hours at various locations and times to engage with the community, starting noon Thursday, Aug. 25 at Thousand Trails and 2:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 29 at Beaver Tales Coffee. This will be an informal opportunity for all to ask questions, express concerns or offer suggestions. Source: La Conner School District...
The roster has changed and so has the game plan for the La Conner High School boys' soccer team. The Braves opened preseason workouts Monday minus key players who graduated from last year's club that placed fifth with a 7-8 mark in the NW2B title chase, forcing La Conner head coach Galen McKnight to tweak his attack. "We're going to have play a different style," McKnight told the Weekly News. "We'll have to play smart and rely on a lot of passing rather than try to score quickly on each...
Folks at the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and Skagit Valley College (SVC) have plenty to smile about these days. After a decade of advocacy and planning, the tribe and SVC have formally partnered to launch the first Dental Therapy Education Program in Washington state. The new dexwxayebus (pronounced dahf-hi-ya-buus) professional dental program will be co-located at the Swinomish Dental Clinic and SVC’s Mount Vernon campus when the fall term convenes. Dexwxayebus is a phrase in Lushootseed – the traditional language of Coast Salish tribes...
It is low tide on the Samish River. A man pauses at his cabin door to watch a bald eagle soaring overhead. Across the way, a venerable red barn, once used to store pea crops, leans into the tall summer grasses. A peacock displays his royal plumage by a steel ramp leading to a houseboat tied to the dock. This is the floating studio of northwest painter and sculptor Todd Horton. Horton waves from his decommissioned houseboat on the river's edge of the tiny town of Edison. The artist has chosen to...
Of the jams and jellies I make and can at home, jalapeño jelly is the most requested. Even the years I do not make it, someone will ask for it. This year I bought jalapeños from La Conner Gardens farm stand and from Klesick's, of Stanwood. A few years back I invested in a battery operated kitchen scale. Measuring ingredients is one of the things I enjoy while cooking. Piling fresh jalapeños on top of the scale was just a small challenge but accomplished. I had the 12 ounces of jalapeños for thi...
He is a tireless champion of hope with a keen eye for history. And at age 80, Father Paul Magnano (pronounced Mun-yawn-o) is focused on both as he reflects on the beautiful stained-glass windows at historic Sacred Heart Catholic Church as vessels to cast light on what were the hopes and achievements of early local parishioners and clergy. Magnano, who grew up in Seattle, is especially fond of La Conner history and that of Sacred Heart, on the corner of Douglas and Fourth streets, where he...
Sunday, August 14 1:20 p.m.: Stranded on sand bar – A pleasure boat got stuck on a sand bar near Goat Island. The boat owner was able to contact a vessel tow service who assisted in getting the boat off the sand bar and underway. Goat Island, Greater La Conner. Monday, August 15 11:13 a.m.: Lost keys – A set of keys were believed to be misplaced at the tavern. There were no reports of turned in keys during the time frame they went missing. 1st St., La Conner. Tuesday, August 16 12:07 p.m.: Stole...
