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It wasn't yellow flags that dotted dry and brownish Whittaker Field Friday morning. It was instead the orange shirts worn by La Conner students and staff that colored the school district's football field on Sept. 30 in honor of Native American youth who, over generations, suffered cultural trauma while attending residential campuses in the U.S. and Canada. La Conner Schools is one of the first districts in western Washington to observe Orange Shirt Day, which in Canada is a national day of...
As his job title suggests, Michael Davolio is a man with a plan. And in this case, it’s one not likely to stir debate or controversy. The La Conner Town planner has drafted a proposed impact fee ordinance that the Town Council began studying last week to bolster stressed department budgets. The plan is to add revenue to support the fire department and parks. After a lengthy discussion at its Sept. 27 hybrid meeting at Maple Hall, the council asked Davolio for further research so an impact fee schedule can be adopted on a yet wider scale. The k...
Because Jean Markert has always enjoyed reading and books, the next chapter in her career could not have been better scripted. Markert, previously an instructor at Skagit Valley College and manager of the Northwest Workforce Council, has been named the new director of the La Conner-Swinomish Library set to open on Morris Street in mid-October. The La Conner resident had served for just over a month as interim library director. That interim label is now lifted from Markert's job title, library bo...
Good news. The new La Conner Swinomish Library is on the move, literally, as volunteer book brigades shuttle its precious cargo from the old library site to the new building at 520 Morris Street. A new library, what a wonderful idea realized. Take part in making it happen this week. Call to volunteer. With the library closed and the Weekly News concerned about its – and the public's – access to Town of La Conner documents, this editorial against censorship and for celebrating access to all reading material comes after September's national wee...
An open letter to towns- people, town council, town staff and project developers: The town is growing. New construction is coming into neighborhoods. We as a town have long felt that infilling is the best way to grow rather than sprawling out into the farmlands. New projects need consistent guidelines from the town government on what specific regulations would apply to their developments. The guidelines that we would ordinarily depend on for 306 Center St. project have failed. The ensuing chaos has affected our beloved community. Although we,...
La Conner Maritime Service is a second generation La Conner family owned and operated business providing marine services since 1992. We employ about 30 individuals in living wage jobs. Several of those individuals, including myself, call La Conner home. I consider it a great privilege to work and live in such a beautiful area. Over the years our business has grown and attracted new clientele to the area, many with larger boats. With this growth we’ve realized a need for indoor space to accommodate larger boats and maintain year-round work f...
By Greg Whiting Where's the electricity for electric vehicles going to come from? Why has California recently asked people to stop charging electric cars and, at the same time, changed regulations so that only electric cars will be sold there in 2035? As EVs grow to a larger fraction of the vehicle population, they can be expected to help, not hurt, both power availability and grid stability. Most electricity for EVs can be produced simply by running existing power plants more. During non-peak...
By Roberta Fontenot This isn’t just about the clearcut of Shelter Bay’s Rainbow Park. This is about a legal obligation imposed upon the community’s board of directors by the state of Washington to meet certain legal standards of care when acting as representatives of the homeowners. Under the Revised Code of Washington, homeowner association board members are bound by law to act in accordance with the laws and regulations that govern the actions of officers of a corporation. This isn’t about feelings. It’s about a board that lacks the skill...
In May of 2022 Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau proposed sweeping gun control measures making it illegal to buy, sell or import handguns anywhere in Canada; a buy-back program for assault-style weapons; higher penalties for gun-smugglers and trafficking; increased red-flag laws for domestic violence offenders; and limiting guns to five rounds. “This is about freedom,” he said.” People should be free to go to the supermarket, their school or place of worship without fear,” (The Guardian). At the Seeds of Change event in Edison on Sept....
I will be writing a series of letters about La Conner residents I have met during my frequent walks around town. Today I am writing about Glen who lives on North Third Street and can be found most mornings walking from his home along Center Street to Sixth Street and back. Glen is in his nineties and when we encounter each other, we always stop and chat. He is bright and cheerful even if he is a little slow in his gait. We talk of many things. If I encounter him while he is walking back to his house, I always walk with him. Last week, he mentio...
The people have spoken. But unlike at the polls, where such voices are heard in the form of marked ballot choices, Maple Hall was filled with residents and property owners expressing views on a host of pressing issues last week. Public comments filled about 30 minutes of the two-hour Sept. 26 La Conner Town Council hybrid meeting. Nearly a dozen people addressed the council at the meeting’s start, covering topics ranging from zoning changes proposed by the Port of Skagit at La Conner Marina and the lingering controversy over a three-story c...
Residents Debbie Aldrich and Linda Talman are appealing the Town of La Conner’s Sept. 20 administrative determination approving a conditional use permit for condominium units at 306 Center Street. Monday the two filed a challenge of Town Hearing Examiner David Lowell’s May decision supporting owners Brandon and Katie Atkinson. The appeal disputes planner Michael Davolio’s decision that the 1986 contract rezone is unenforceable. It notes that the Town Council decision was a legislative act amending the comprehensive plan and zoning code and i...
Gary Ladd was appointed to the Shelter Bay board of directors in September, selected to fill the seat of Rod Proctor. Ladd was chosen from four candidates to finish Proctor’s term, through June 30, 2023. Ladd has been a resident of Shelter Bay since 2014 and chaired the Safety Committee for six years. He volunteers as community relations officer and Good Morning District 13 coordinator with Fire District 13. Source: Shelter Bay Community....
La Conner High School volleyball players have given their fans plenty of reasons to celebrate over the past three decades – starting with six state titles. Now the La Conner community has an opportunity to celebrate the Hall of Fame coach who since 1993 has been the program's guiding force. Suzanne Marble, who topped the 500-career win mark two years ago, again has her team aiming for top state honors in her 30th and final net campaign. In recognition of Marble's many contributions here as a t...
Build it and they will come. This famous line from a popular movie is also a mantra for the new Little Braves Preschool on the La Conner Schools campus. Eleven students attended last week’s reopening of the district preschool, which has been resurrected on a one-year trial basis following successful lobbying of the school board last summer. The school district had operated a Pre-K program but stopped it a year ago when the classes shifted to the Swinomish Tribal Community. Parents and school staff convinced the board earlier this year that a p...
There were no cracks in a Liberty Bell defense that held La Conner to 67 yards total offense – all on the ground – in an impressive 54-0 non-conference eight-man triumph at Whittaker Field Saturday, Oct. 1. The visitors amassed 339 yards in offense, almost evenly split between rushing and passing. La Conner struggled to generate offense all afternoon. The Braves managed just two first downs, one via penalty when La Conner quarterback Ivory Damien’s hard count drew successive encroachment flags during the first series in the second half. Brave...
With the main character’s name Ruby Fortune, the novel’s setting in the Arizona Territory at the turn into the 20th century and its title “Hardland,” the reader can guess this read is going to be quite a ride. And it is from the first page, when a woman who is more philosophical and self-assured than tough talking, introduces herself with the statement – not confession – that she killed her husband. She is wounded from that deed as well. While she wonders if she will ever be forgiven, she understands she would do it again. All that is in the f...
Tickets are still available for the Skagit Poetry Festival, which starts Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m. While a full Festival pass costs $300, you can purchase daily passes. Pick and choose and chase favorite poets and sessions on your schedule. For $50, you can attend the “Welcome to Indian Country” reading at 8:00 pm Thursday, featuring Washington state Poet Laureate Rena Priest, Upper Salish poet Sasha LaPointe, and Meskwaki (Red Earth People) tribal member Ray Young Bear from Iowa. Swinomish carver Kevin Paul and his daughter Katherine Pau...
A condiment I learned about while traveling in the south. Available in many restaurants, as a condiment on the tables of diners. Then, returning home, I found a similar brand in grocery stores. I began looking for hot peppers at area farm-stands. At one, a box of tiny hot peppers was $20. I couldn't understand the Spanish descriptions, except they were hot. Back at home, I had recently emptied some red wine vinegar bottles. This year I went shopping for food safe bottles. Washed them. Then...
Sunday, September 25 6:07 p.m.: Gun shot – One gunshot was heard in the area. The area was checked by a deputy but the source of the noise was not located. McLean/La Conner Whitney Rds, Greater La Conner. 7:30 p.m.: Lost kayak – Caller brought a kayak to the beach and left it for the tide to come in. Upon return to the location, the kayak was no longer there and was believed to have sunk. Similk Bay, Greater La Conner. Tuesday, September 27 5:53 p.m.: Suspicious Cadillac – A suspicious black...
