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Not much business was accomplished even in the face of a deadline at the September Fire District 12 Commissioners meeting Monday night. Commissioners Dennis O’Hern and Norm Jenkins approved the agenda and voted to adjourn, but in between could not reach agreement on their key need: appointing a candidate to fill the seat left vacant by Greg John’s June resignation. Since O’Hern and Jenkins did not agree on whom to appoint within three months, as prescribed in the state of Washington’s Revised Code, the Skagit County commissioners will fill th...
Skagit County’s seven public school superintendents were on stage at the Lincoln Theatre Thursday, September 21, sharing their districts’ progress in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education in their classrooms. Each emphasized critical thinking and collaboration equally with fact-based knowledge. Technology and team work are the keys to the jobs of the future and society’s prosperity or peril. That is why the evening was sponsored by EDASC, the Economic Development Alliance of Skagit County. The superintendents were introduc...
Standing up for America. What does that look like? Roger Pederson’s letter last week reminded us of Constitution Day. The Constitution was adopted based on compromise and change: slavery stayed and the Bill of Rights was added within a year. That is historical fact. The Constitution would not have been adopted without the Bill of Rights being added to it. The first right is the first amendment, guaranteeing freedom of speech. Patriotic Americans love what their country stands for. We stand for nothing if we do not stand for freedom of s...
The property lines are clearly drawn at and beyond the northern corner of Pearle Jensen Way: Every inch is privately owned. There is no public access. That is, there is no right-of-way owned by the Town or any other government entity. The path, worn by use and believed by custom, is on private property. Is it game over for dog walkers, bird watchers and the rest of us? That depends. As Bill Reynolds’ thoughtfully pursued, multiple-sides-asked article points out, folks seem ready for a lull, if not truce. Do we let, ahem, sleeping dogs lie? T...
When a family of four has to come up with a thousand dollars to go to one of today’s national football games, I believe they do so to cheer their team and hope they win. I don’t think they show up to watch a bunch of multi-millionaires vent their political views by kneeling during the national anthem and disrespecting our flag. At 81 years old, I’ve seen to many flags taken off a coffin, folded neatly and given to a teared mother who was then thanked for her son giving his life for his flag and country. Just my thoughts from an old Ameri...
It’s 2017 and still people are asking, “What is the best way to educate children for the 21st century?” The film, and book, “Most Likely to Succeed” provocatively suggest that it’s past time to reimagine schools; specifically, authors Tony Wagner and Ted Dintersmith suggest it’s time to emphasize critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity. Simultaneously, they advocate that reducing the focus on test scores and “stand alone” classes will help our students truly be ready for global success in the 21st century. It’s intriguing. Life in scho...
Thank you for your editorial “comments and musings” on La Conner’s Regional Library. I was thrilled when I read your two articles on the library’s goals and the Foundation Board’s progress in raising funds for a new regional library. We appreciate this type of publicity highlighting the need for a new, larger library and what it means to the community. We hope that the community will become more aware of the library’s Foundation Board and its fund-raising goals, which can be helped by everyone. We welcome editor Ken Stern as a new life member...
I have read your paper for several years now and have read a lot of rhetoric spew from Brian Cladoosby’s lips. His latest article regarding the release of Atlantic salmon into Puget sound waters only shows his arrogance and distain for sport anglers. He stated that “sport anglers may have looked like a good idea at first but the number of sport fishing boats are preventing the tribes from deploying more nets”. Let’s look at that logic, gill nets are indiscriminate; they capture ALL species of fish, Chinook, Coho etc. In an already stressed retu...
There is hope a sequel to the protracted Dog Beach drama north of town can be much more of a feel-good story than the original. Former Town Public Works Director Gordy Bell, a La Conner native with pioneer roots, has agreed to help mediate an often emotionally charged dispute whose script addresses a familiar local theme. That being the difficult balancing act between private property ownership, maintenance costs, and liability concerns on the one hand and safe public access to scenic pastoral and shoreline venues on the other. Many say the...
