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Having committed to a new K-12 math curricula that has already paid dividends in terms of improved student achievement, La Conner school board members Monday also reaped the benefits of that investment. The five-member panel was saluted as a School Board of Distinction among Washington state’s small enrollment districts for its embrace of the ambitious new math initiative and implementation of Professional Learning Communities, Universal Design for Learning and other innovative programs. The announcement was made via Zoom by Tricia Lubach, dire...
No. No more military aid to Israel, not $14 billion, not 14 cents. Write President Joe Biden, Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell and Rep. Rick Larsen and tell them more weapons will neither stop the killing nor end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Biden is wrong in his easy rhetoric. Sure Hamas is a terrorist organization. Yes their actions are absolutely despicable. Rightfully call the kidnapping and murder of innocent evil. But wars on terrorism are efforts to kill ideas, pain, anger and memories brought about by decades...
About a year ago, Jenelle and I drove from Victoria, on the south end of Vancouver Island, to Port Hardy, near the north end. We took a gasoline-powered car. We weren’t sure whether public charging stations would be readily available for her electric vehicle, a Chevy Bolt. We did pay attention to charging station availability. If we took the same trip again, we’d be totally comfortable in the EV. In downtown Port Hardy, there was a 50-kilowatt Level 3 charger. That’s a fairly fast charger that...
A Skagit County resident was exposed to rabies recently by picking up a bat, which later tested positive for rabies, with bare hands. The person sustained a scratch when handling the bat and called Skagit County Public Health, who directed them to medical care, where they received the first doses of rabies prophylaxis the same day. Bats and animals ill on the ground should be left alone or safely moved with a shovel to where people and pets will not come in contact with them. In Washington, bats are the only mammal known to carry rabies. Any pe...
Every year, we have a public Halloween festival – where kids parade through town in their outfits and go from shopfront to shopfront to get their candy loot. Sure, some families keep sweets at home in case anyone shows up in the evening, but trick-or-treating isn’t really a custom here. Newcomers are baffled by this. A lot of old-time residents just accept it as one of La Conner’s many quirks. Why do we have a public party instead of trick-or-treating? Only a few know the true origin story. Here it is: My grandfather and his friends got it ba...
It’s been heartbreaking for me to follow what’s happening in Israel right now. My cousin Yossi Drory lives in Tel Aviv and the last time I saw him in person I was four years old and he was five and he visited me in New York. We’ve been in touch ever since and he speaks perfect English. When things started to get very violent recently, I texted him and told him to come stay with me here until things calmed down. Yossi replied “We are staying in Eilat the southernmost city of Israel, on the sho...
There will be cheers and tears at La Conner High School's home football game Friday. That's guaranteed regardless of the outcome. The former will be led, as always, by the cheer squad. The tears, on the other hand, will reflect the bittersweet acknowledgement that La Conner cheer sponsor Theresa James is stepping down from that assignment – one of several hats she wears for the school district – after a remarkable 30-year run. James is being honored for what district officials laud as her "as...
Autumn has arrived and settled in. The leaves are falling, the snow geese are returning and farm stand stock is thinning. The fresh produce season is transitioning. The farm stand at Hedlin's Family Farm officially closes on Halloween, but it may open on occasion in the days following. La Conner Gardens remains open all year as long as they have produce available. It also will continue at the Anacortes Farmers Market through their season ending Oct. 28. This season has been good for area...
Admire the Judge’s Choice Best of the Festival art from the Pacific Northwest Quilt & Fiber Arts Museum’s 2023 International Quilt & Fiber Arts Festival held in Everett Oct. 6-8. The Best of Show winning piece and Awards of Excellence, People’s Choice, and first place winners in over categories are on display through Nov. 26. Closing Sunday are“Emergence: Fiber Art from Concept to Stitch,” from Oregon SAQA – Studio Art Quilt Associates amd “Modern Abstraction: a journey in paper + stitch,” featuring David Owen Hastings’ art. Information: .qfa...
Ten Washington poets will read from “I Sing the Salmon Home” Saturday, 7 p.m. at Pelican Bay Books, 520 Commercial Avenue, Anacortes. Poets include Luther Allen, Jane Alynn, Ronda Broatch, Randy Dills, Georgia Johnson, Mary Lynn Lyke, Jory Mickelson, Nancy Pagh, Caitlin Scarano and Richard Revoyr. “Sing” edited by Rena Priest, former state poet laureate, is published by Empty Bowl Press. The last Saturday of the month Madrona Poetry Series is hosted by Pelican Bay Books Source: A local poet...
David and Lynette Cram are united in both marriage and their shared love of La Conner Schools, where they first forged career plans and were taught the value of public service. The Crams, both La Conner alumni, have since college taken on various leadership roles with their hometown school district, he twice on the administrative team and she as a coach, sports trainer and school board member. David Cram began his second tour as the La Conner Schools finance chief in March, enlisted to stanch a bleeding budget pierced by successive years of...
Sunday, October 15 6:06 p.m. Gave up license – Subject leaving the area of the marina hit another car and left the area. A Deputy tracked down the driver who was an older male who did not know he had hit anything. It was determined that the driver would be put in for a retest for his driver’s license. The driver later called back and stated that after talking with family, he would voluntarily give up his license and quit driving. Morris St., La Conner. Friday, October 20 4:35 p.m. Lucky penny plus – Subject found a $100 bill on the groun...
The 2023 Friday Harbor Film Festival shows 25 feature films this Friday through Sunday in Friday Harbor. The Friday Nigh Gala honoring filmmakers. 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. Ticket and passport prices, schedules and all information: fhff.org. Source: Friday Harbor Film Festival...
This completes the two-part look at Ramon Hayes time as La Conner's mayor For 16 years while mayor of the Town of La Conner, Ramon Hayes has championed the successes teamwork has created, deflecting attention from himself. He did it again in August at the La Conner Rotary Club's annual dinner and auction. When the chapter presented the Paul Harris Fellow recognition to him, a $1,000 contribution to the national Rotary Foundation in Hayes' name, he recognized another accomplishment. He – t...
Sea level rise and its impacts to the Skagit will be discussed by scientists at the Museum of Northwest Art Saturday, Oct. 28, 1:30-3:30 p.m. Audience participation is encouraged as part of the “Surge” exhibit. Topics discussed include sea level rise estimates in the Skagit, hydrological changes and impacts to the environment including birds, salmon and estuarine wetlands, as well as to infrastructure in the Valley. Skagit County has the largest area around Puget Sound at risk from sea level rise inundation. Plans to address these impacts in...
It has officially been one year since the library opened our doors to the community and so much has happened in that year. We have welcomed many returning and new patrons to the library. We have been able to host great programs, including author talks and music in our meeting room and fun crafts and movie nights for the kids and kids at heart. We are looking forward to even more offerings this fall and winter. Be sure to stop by the library to pick up our fall events calendar or check out our website for more details. We have several big events...
Snow geese have returned to Skagit Valley, the flocks growing daily. Many welcome this seasonal pattern, but the spectacle of the thousands of wintering birds generate conflict, too. Several local organizations have partnered to promote responsible bird observation through a public education campaign called Be Bird Wise. The simple message of Be Bird Wise: "Respect Land, Landowners and Wildlife." Easy enough to say, but it battles against the many bad tourist practices common across the deltas...
It’s okay to feel scared and spooky in La Conner next Tuesday. In fact, it’s encouraged. That’s because Oct. 31 is Halloween, one of area residents’ favorite celebrations and the unofficial kickoff to the holiday season. The fun starts with the La Conner Parent-Teacher-Student Association costumed parade on First Street, at 3 p.m., after school. Parade participants are to meet immediately beforehand at the La Conner Marina south basin parking lot. The festive walking serpentine will start at the corner of First and State streets and proceed...
The new-look La Conner High School volleyball team rekindled memories of the recent past during two impressive matches last week. The net program, which has suffered heavy graduation losses in the wake of four straight state titles dating to 2018, flashed championship form with twin straight-sets triumphs over NW2B/1B rival Friday Harbor on the road and 3A Marysville-Getchell at home. The team defeated M-G 3-0 on Oct. 17 in its annual Dig Pink Senior Night event at Landy James Gym. Morgan Huizenga and Addison Keller fueled a comeback in the...
Zaira Najera-Davalos, a La Conner High School senior, is the Soroptimist International of La Conner Honored Student for the month of October. Zaira is a busy young woman both at school and home. She is the executive president of the high school's Associated Student Body (ASB). Her interest in student government began when she was the freshman class president. Now as spokesperson for all the students, Zaira excels with her strong speaking ability and mature outlook on life. Helping to sharpen...
A solid ground game supported by a potent passing attack led by quarterback Ivory Damien wasn't enough for La Conner to defeat archrival Coupeville in the Braves' Homecoming football game at Jack Whittaker Field Friday night. Seeking its first NW2B triumph of the campaign, the team fell 43-12 to the Wolves despite a strong start that saw the Braves reel off a methodical nine-play touchdown drive on their first possession. C.J. Edwards capped the 46-yard march, which came after holding...
Town officials and La Conner residents have spent a long time discussing short-term rentals. Which has been part of the plan all along – and going forward. The needle inched further toward defining short-term rentals and reaching consensus on whether regulations governing them should be modified during an Oct. 17 forum at the Civic Garden Club attended by more than 30 people. "We were excited about the turnout," Assistant Planner Ajah Eills told the Weekly News afterward. "We hope that the m...
Like La Conner, Langley is a tourist town on the Salish Sea, on the southeast coast of Whidbey Island. La Conner's planning commissioners, staff and Councilmember Marylee Chamberlain, along with a couple of citizens, met with architect and "pocket neighborhood" designer Ross Chapin Oct. 19 to hear his views on "strong towns: resliant small towns(with) great design (and) compact" based on his 40 year career, Planning Director Michael Davolio's goal was "to provide the Planning Commission with...
Our beloved Laura Bird departed this world at Skagit Regional Health, Mount Vernon, on October 4, 2023 surrounded by her son, Shane and many family and friends. Laura fought a righteous battle against breast cancer that had returned last spring. Laura was born at Renton, WA on June 11, 1973 and grew up on Pleasant Ridge (La Conner) with her parents, Allen and Gail Bird. She attended school in La Conner and Mount Vernon. Her adult years were spent traveling and working throughout the United...
Matthew Lawrence (Matt) Pratt was taken from a wonderful life much too early on Monday, October 2, 2023, at his home in La Conner, Washington. He suffered a heart attack while going out to feed his faithful dog companion, Danny. Matt was born on Nov..16, 1954, in Kennewick, Washington to Joseph C. (Jim) and Judythe S. Pratt. From the beginning he was an active and inquisitive boy which both aggravated and charmed his parents and older brother, Steve. He never tried to hide the outrageous stunts...
