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Voters living in the La Conner School District have one choice on their ballot in the school board race for the District 2 director. John Agen, elected to the District 1 position in 2019, has moved into the district. Janie Beasley, defeated in her 2019 reelection for that seat, is running again. No other local race is contested. Residents have to decide to vote their approval or not mark their ballots in these local elections: La Conner School District Alana Quintasket, District 1 Kim Pedroza, District 4 Town of La Conner Marna Hanneman, mayor...
Like loons calling across the water, like Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," the Swinomish Canoe Family hushed the crowd of 150 people as they sang and drummed a blessing prayer, the chorus meandering its way from the majestic totem outside into the La Conner Swinomish Library Saturday afternoon. The building felt just a little more hallowed. And crowded. Whew! There were a lot of people there. The pole, made from a 400-year old western red cedar, carved by Kevin Paul and assisted by his son-in-law...
Candidates responded to these issues: 1. School District's greatest strengths. 2. Curriculum and policies valuing student voices. 3. Schools' unique features to maintain. 4. How to best support Superintendent Will Nelson. 5. High school's future if enrollment remains low. 6. Your experiences and qualities. John Agen 1. Community: La Conner has a long history of great support for our students and schools. Diversity: We have a wonderful blend that includes significant numbers of Native, Hispanic a...
The candidates in La Conner's only contested 2023 election shared their views and personal backgrounds at a Skagit County League of Women Voters forum in Mount Vernon Monday night. John Agen, elected director in District 1 in 2019, is the La Conner school board's legislative liaison. Janie Beasley served a decade on the five-member governing body until 2019. Each shared prepared statements and answered a set of questions. Candidates for seats on the Sedro-Woolley and Mount Vernon school boards p...
Ballots will be arriving in the mail soon. We have very few choices in this year of municipal elections. There is only one contested seat: the La Conner school district Director 2 position. The rest of the positions in greater La Conner, for school director positions 1 and 4, Port of Skagit commissioner position 2 and Town of La Conner mayor and council positions 1 and 5 are all decided when the candidates cast their ballots. That is our bad, residents and constituents of those jurisdictions. It may be that school board member Kim Pedroza and...
I was disappointed when I opened the Skagit County voters’ pamphlet only to find that none of the candidates for La Conner School Board had submitted statements. To Alana Quintasket, John Agen, Janie Beasley and Kim Pedroza: What is your excuse? Voters need to read about why you are seeking election. I don’t care if you are the most popular person in the district, you still need to make a statement. And if the voters pamphlet deadline was too much for you, how can we be assured that you will do your job on the board? Gale Fiege Pleasant Rid...
On Aug. 15 our motor home was parked in La Conner while my husband and I took a walk. A few minutes later we heard fire engines and walked back to see, as it was near our motor home. It was our motor home and we were so fortunate the firefighters did a terrific job, as it was near the ice cream stand. We just want to thank Kevin and Carla Little for their phone numbers in case we needed to stay overnight. We also want to thank the nurse that came by and gave us her phone number. The support we had was phenomenal. People came by with food,...
The Oct. 10 La Conner Town Council meeting was full of comings and goings. Council will meet jointly with the planning commission Nov. 28 to hear a presentation from representatives specializing in paid parking systems. “This will give you information on what some of the options are,” Planning Director Michael Davolio told them Planning Commissioners John Leaver and Bruce Bradburn have spoken to two companies. They reported to the commission, noting Leavenworth and Bellingham have committed to paid parking. Town Emergency Management Com...
Since money doesn’t grow on trees, Town officials and the La Conner Chamber of Commerce hoped reversing the process might pay off in support of a civic beautification campaign. Alas, grants written to plant trees on Morris Street and remove trees and related cleanup work at Pioneer Park were not funded, so no money to repair the iconic salmon slide at Conner Waterfront Park, either. Chamber director Mark Hulst and Parks Commission Chair Ollie Iversen vowed last week to try again despite the competitive nature of applications. “We’ll conti...
Flood Awareness Week runs through Friday, Oct. 20. Serious flooding generally occurs between October and March. The Skagit County government offers a variety of alert tools for residents. Sgn up for CodeRed Alerts, follow @SkagitGov on Twitter, or sign up for news releases to receive key emergency information before, during and after an event.. Information: skagitcounty.net/flood or contact Skagit County Department of Emergency Management, 360-416-1850. Source: Skagit County Department of Emergency Management...
Pumpkin spice lattes, football, leaves starting to change color, the approach of Halloween … it’s time to talk about vampires and phantoms. Vampire and phantom electric loads, that is. Many consumer electronics today are on even when they’re off. Clocks seem to be built into just about everything, though not used; they’re often just blinking 00:00. Computers, televisions and gaming consoles have standby modes to allow them to start up quickly, apparently because manufacturers think we’re t...
Dave is gone. For someone who was consistently late to every appointment, he left this world way too early. David Francis Ehman was born to Shirley Ehman and Marvel Brodt Ehman on October 21, 1950, in Dayton, Ohio. He joined sisters Kathy and Marilyn. Later, Julie would join them. He attended public schools in Dayton, Ohio through high school, and went on to attend and graduate from Valparaiso University in Indiana with a Political Science degree. Beginning as a teacher's aide, David was...
It is with extreme sadness that we announce the passing of Robert "Bob" Abrams. He was a bright spark in our world and will be deeply missed by many. Bob passed away Oct. 11, 2023, in his home in La Conner. He was 92 years old. Bob was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Jan. 22, 1931. After being discharged from the Navy in 1953, he attended the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and upon completion was offered a position with Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. He attended the Art Center School...
The La Conner High School Lady Braves brought their ‘A’ game to the soccer pitch Saturday. Actually, they brought their better than ‘A’ game. Lydia Grossglass took a well-placed pass from Kendall Lee to break a scoreless tie and forge a thrilling 1-0 La Conner non-league triumph at 1A Sultan, taking the sting out of twin 5-0 setbacks earlier in the week to Friday Harbor and at North Mason. “I’m so proud of the team for performing at such a high level with back-to-back-to-back away games,” Lady Braves coach Maddie Huscher said after her cha...
The 2023 Friday Harbor Film Festival offers 25 feature films including notable award winners and nominees next week, Oct. 27-29 in Friday Harbor. Showings start Friday morning and the evening ends with the Friday Night Gala honoring filmmakers at the San Juan Community Theatre. Deborah Giles will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for her work as research director for Wild Orca, which monitors the Southern Resident killer whales population. Giles has a Ph.D in biogeography. There will be an impressive variety of food and drink and the...
Washington State Dept. of Health has lifted the following closures for recreational shellfish harvesting :West Fidalgo Island,South Skagit and Similk Bay Harvesting remains closed to butter and varnish clams at Samish Island. Call 1-800-562-5632 to check for closures. Source: Skagit County Government...
Seed saving and sharing can save you money and open the door to learning about plants. First, always save seeds from open-pollinated plants: plants pollinated openly by wind, rain or flying critters. Heirloom seeds are included in this category because the saved seeds have produced “true to type” plants for fifty years or more. Hybrid plants are sterile and the seeds will not grow true to form. Harvesting self-pollinating seeds such as beans and peas: Let them dry on the plant, then pick the pods to shell. Thresh the pods by hand. The cha...
This recipe bakes slowly all day. Perfect fall dish and great to take to family dinners. For the canned beans, I used what I had on hand. The larger can is Van Camps pork n beans in tomato sauce. The smaller can is great northern beans. Ingredients Canned beans, 29 ounces Canned beans, 15 ounces Barbecue sauce, ½ to ¾ cup Molasses, ¼ cup Ketchup, ¼ cup Yellow mustard, 1 tablespoon Ham, ½ cup diced Bacon, ½ pound Preparation Using a covered casserole...
When Port of Skagit officials unveiled preliminary plans last year for long-range re-development at La Conner Marina, workforce housing was a key variable for future investment. Port leadership emphasized that its maritime tenants are engaged in growth industries and will better expand their labor forces to meet market demands when more local housing is available. Consider American Tugs, on Pearle Jensen Way, a boatbuilding firm whose top-of-the-line pleasure craft feature rugged hulls like...
Sunday, October 8 8:30 p.m. Dog lost; owner found – Lost dog found in La Conner. Owner was found on the reservation and the dog was returned. Morris St., La Conner. Tuesday, October 10 9:14 a.m. Busted memory– Employee of the Conway Pub called in a burglary and stated a window was broken and there was damage to the lock on the door. The owner arrived and stated it was him who had broken in after forgetting the code to the new lock box. No crime as it was his property. Main St., Conway. 10:12 p.m. Burned –Deputies responded to a vehicle fire...
