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In veterinary school, Dr. Amber Itle learned to "look for horses, not zebras" when examining an animal. She means "horses" are common, endemic diseases seen often in clinics, while "zebras" are one-offs, "the ones nobody is looking for." As in bird flu, aka, "highly pathogenic avian influenza" (HPAI). As Washington's State Veterinarian, Itle and her regional veterinary staff are working to keep this "zebra" away from domestic birds, cattle and people. The risk of HPAI transmissions increases in...
La Conner Schools has put its STEAM into student creativity and critical thinking. The district last Wednesday hosted STEAM Night, an interactive and fun event for families to solve puzzles, play games of chance, enjoy dessert treats and experience countless ways of applying classroom lessons to everyday life. STEAM is the acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math. Students and staff manned activity-oriented stations so engaging that two hours seemingly passed in the blink of...
Summary: Thirteen-year-old Mary Agnes Coyne, forced from her home in rural Ireland in 1886 after being accused of incest, endures a treacherous voyage across the vast Atlantic alone to an unknown life in America. From the tenements of New York to the rough alleys of Chicago, Mary Agnes suffers the bitter taste of prejudice for the crime of being poor and Irish. Digging deep within, Mary Agnes discovers strength and worth as she re-defines what it means to belong while grappling with the clash...
All elections in Skagit County and the state’s 10th Legislative District were long settled when the counties certified Nov. 5 election results yesterday, Nov. 26. State Sen. Ron Muzzall’s (R-Oak Harbor) was re-elected to the LD 10 Senate seat. His margin after Snohomish County election staff counted ballots Monday was 2%, 50.9% to 48.9%, and 1,798 votes ahead of Island County Commissioner Janet St. Clair He has led by increasingly large margins since the third day. This race had the highest voter turnout among the three LD 10 seats, 89,946 tot...
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. How can we be thankful together, as families, as communities, as a nation? Thanksgiving, along with July 4th, are the foundational American holidays. Thanksgiving is more than bedrock: the holiday honors English-speaking Europeans surviving and starting to take root on the Massachusetts shore of what would become the United States. Thanksgiving. By definition giving thanks is plural, communal. It recognizes the others in the community, those we are showing appreciation for the help they have given to us. We are... Full story
The La Conner Weekly News will continue in 2025 only if its readers become its funders. To assist those who will have to provide the major dollars needed, here is this incentive: For every $100,000 donated to the La Conner Community News organization, I will add $10,000. There are 10 households in our Valley that can invest $20,000 each and 20 households that can offer $10,000 to ensure the future of the community’s weekly newspaper. Now is the time to decide and to do that. These will be the heroes among us for maintaining a major thread t... Full story
Most people agree that actual facts matter – in such activities as debate, discussion and reporting. Once facts are gathered, verified and distributed, informed decision-making can proceed in such important exercises as voting. But what happens when important, verified facts are published and broadcast widely, yet the resulting impact proves underwhelming – or even meaningless? If vital facts fail to affect the news audiences they intend to inform? This is the conundrum facing American journalism after Nov. 5, 2024. As a former journalist and...
The Skagit Board of County Commissioners are drafting the 2025 county budget. Comments are sought ahead of plans to pass it at the commissioners meeting Dec. 9 at 11:30 a.m. A public hearing to consider the budget is Monday, Dec. 2, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. Written comment will be accepted through the close of the hearing. Emailed comments may be sent to [email protected] and mailed letters to 1800 Continental Place, Mount Vernon, WA 98273. For questions or additional information, contact the commissioners’ office: 360-416-1300, c...
If I remember correctly, in one month you will be officially retired from the La Conner Weekly News. If that is so, I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate your editorials and will miss them once the newspaper is in someone else’s hands. Although I’ve only been a subscriber for a short time, I found the entire newspaper informative and well worth the read. I have my fellow League of Women Voters members, Wende Sanderson and Barbara Carson, to thank for encouraging me to subscribe. I know they, too, will miss you. Wishing you a wel...
Re Mr. John Cline’s very uncivil letter to the editor in the Nov. 20 edition (“The incredible shrinking newspaper editor”). It sounded like a school boy’s triumphant “neener, neener, neener.” Of course, what else can we expect from Trump supporters? They can’t just win, they have to rub it in with sarcasm and name-calling. It is to be hoped that one day, in the near future, Mr. Cline and his ilk are as adversely affected by Trump’s insane lies and truly heinous cabinet nominees as the rest of us will be. Maybe they will then realize the error o...
John Cline’s letter to the editor calling Ken Stern’s editorial (“The incredible shrinking newspaper editor,” Nov. 20) “shrill ideologue” and cheering his retirement was appalling. The La Conner Weekly news is our only local source and Ken had done an admirable job. He has kept us informed and gives a voice to all who are lucky enough to live here. Ken’s editorials are insightful, informative and as editor, he has a right to express his own opinions, whether you agree with them or not. We will become another of the thousands of local newspapers...
From our wonderful La Conner Swinomish Library I checked out “An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States” by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. Not a happy read, but edifying. Chapter four, “Bloody Footprints,” begins with a quote from historian John Grenier’s “The First Way of War.” “For the first 200 years of our military heritage, then, Americans depended on arts of war that contemporary professional soldiers supposedly abhorred: razing and destroying enemy villages and fields; killing enemy women and children; raiding settlements for captives;...
Only 26 shopping days remain until Christmas. But another significant deadline looms even sooner. The Town of La Conner will hold its second public workshop on proposed revitalization of the four-acre former south end industrial zone on Dec. 11 at 6 p.m. at Maple Hall. That's just two weeks away. Draft concepts for the area will be presented. Planning Director Michael Davolio confirmed that a spokesperson for property owner Triton America, whose focus is aviation, has been invited to all...
Jerry George vowed for several months that a draft La Conner Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan would be completed by year's end. The town's Emergency Management Commission approved and sent the 36-page document to the town council at its Nov. 19 meeting. It includes a risk assessment for potential natural disasters and spells out emergency response procedures, operations and communications policies. Ironically, the hour-long session at Maple Hall was held just ahead of a bomb cyclone that...
Bonita Kay Baker, affectionately known as Bonnie, passed away at 63 on Nov. 17, 2024, at Skagit Valley Hospital in Mount Vernon. Born on April 21, 1961, in Boston, Mass., to Newton D. and Diane Lee Baker, she spent her formative years in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she developed a fondness for Skyline Chili and Graeter's ice cream. Bonnie's adventurous spirit shone through her love for cycling, which saw her take a three-week break from her busy schedule to ride across the United States. Her passion...
Having all five starters return to the La Conner High School girls' basketball team should help the program tackle a tough 2024-25 schedule. "It feels like we've joined the Northwest 1A/2A/3A League this year as we play Ferndale, Mount Vernon, Anacortes, Lakewood, Burlington-Edison, Bellingham and Blaine," La Conner head coach Joe Harper told the Weekly News on Saturday. But Harper sees the tough non-conference slate in positive terms ahead of La Conner's chase for a 2B playoff berth. "I think t...
Despite returning four starters, the La Conner High School boys' basketball team will sport a new look this winter. The Braves will don new home and away jerseys with a tribal motif and red accents, harkening to the 1970s, along with backpacks bearing the player's number and the district's stylish blue thunderbird logo. Second-year head coach Lance Lopez, who guided La Conner to a 16-8 mark and state regional berth last season, said the varsity squad will make its much anticipated fashion...
November is the month to be thankful and the library has so much to be thankful for. First, we are so thankful for all our faithful patrons. It is such a joy to see each and every one of you in the library attending programs, checking out books, working on homework or just simply relaxing with a good friend or a good book. We are also thankful for the amazing support we continue to receive from our community who helped us build our beautiful new library and continues to support us through our...
You can find these woodpeckers in coniferous and mixed forests in this region. Their consistent and quiet drumming on trees will give them away, and so do the small holes all in a row. They wait until the sap runs out, then return to feed on sap-trapped insects. Hummingbirds have been known to get a free meal from the sap and insects, too. During wintertime they are quiet, eat insects and berries. In spring, they excavate a hole just for their nest. During this time, we have heard them drum on...
Theater Arts Guild presents “The Secret Garden, the Musical” with performances on Dec. 6-8, 12-15 and 19-21 at the Lincoln Theatre 712 S. First St., Mount Vernon. Advance reserved seating tickets: $34 1st section; $32 2nd section; $26 3rd section; $20 4th section plus applicable fees. Discount night Dec. 12: $20 all seats plus applicable fees. Tickets online at lincolntheatre.org/live-theatre-secret-garden-musical. La Conner Swinomish Library offers holiday ukulele classes, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Thursdays, Dec. 5, 12, 19. Learn to play easy...
SUPERIOR COURT OF WASHINGTON FOR SKAGIT COUNTY No. 24-4-00491-29 PROBATE NOTICE TO CREDITORS (RCW 11.40.030) IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF MICHAEL W. LOVERN, DECEASED The personal representative named below has been appointed as personal representative of this estate. Any person having claim against the decedent must, before the time the claim would be barred by any otherwise applicable statute of limitations, present the claim in the manner as provided in RCW 11.40.070 by serving on or mailing to the personal representative or the personal...
I grew up picking and eating wild cranberries in Alaska. Here's a simple, last-minute recipe you could throw together for Thanksgiving. You can substitute honey for the sugar. Ingredients Fresh cranberries, 2 to 3 cups Granulated sugar, 2/3 cup Cranberry juice, 1/2 cup Mini marshmallows, 1 to 2 cups Preparation Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix cranberries, juice and sugar directly in baking dish. Cover, bake 30 minutes. Remove baking dish and uncover. Reduce heat to 300 degrees. Stir...
HEADS UP Kiwanis Annual Holiday Craft Show, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 7, Maple Hall, 104 Commercial St., La Conner. Christmas shop with locals. Ornaments, bags, stickers, jewelry, tablecloths, toys, cards, wall art, cookies and pies for sale. Come early for the Rotary Club Santa Breakfast and stop by the vendors on your way out. Town of La Conner public workshop on the use of the Commercial Transition Zone, aka. the Moore Clark Area, 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 11, in Maple Hall, 104 Commercial St. Info: www.townoflaconner.org. LIBRARIES La...
The more things change, the more they stay the same – even for an iconic half-century-old La Conner business that will have new ownership in January. A downtown fixture since 1972 when it was launched by Jack Wilkins and Jim Reynolds, Nasty Jack's Antiques has carved out a unique niche in the Puget Sound region with its eclectic selection of gift and novelty items, vintage toys, collectibles, housewares, tin signs, decorations, political and sports memorabilia and much, much more. That won't c...
A favorite La Conner Thanksgiving tradition is on the menu once again. The Waterfront Café will provide its free community Thanksgiving meal from 12-3 p.m. As always, it is an opportunity to dine with friends, family and neighbors in a relaxed holiday atmosphere. Those facing financial challenges, are alone on Thanksgiving, or who simply want to celebrate the afternoon with Waterfront Café patrons and staff are invited. The cafe, located at 128 South First Street, will provide a turkey dinner w...
