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2 p.m.: Problem or not? – Report of suspicious individuals in dark clothing hanging around Pioneer Park. S. 4th St., La Conner. Tuesday, December 7 8:04 a.m.: Evidence lacking – Initial report of a subject who had shot a deer on the property. Deputies contacted a work crew at the property and they did not see or hear anyone shooting. McLean Rd., Greater La Conner. Wednesday, December 8 4:05 a.m.: Not sealed tight – Caller found their door open in the middle of the night. Deputies checked the residence and did not locate anyone...
Unbeatable if you love eggnog. A few simple ingredients and you have a quick dessert. I used whole nutmeg with a spice grater to add the finishing touch. For the families who love pies, it Is fun to have a variety available for the holiday meal. Ingredients - Graham cracker crust, pre-made - Eggnog, - 1 ¾ cups - Vanilla pudding mix, - 3.4 ounce boxCool Whip - 1 cup - Nutmeg, a few sprinkles Preparation Pre-bake the graham cracker crust, 375 degrees for 6 minutes. Cool thoroughly. In a...
In a two-page memorandum to La Conner’s town council Dec. 6, planner Michael Davolio provided a status update on the proposed 20-unit apartment development at 306 Center Street. This followed 12 correspondences from residents by the Dec. 1 deadline in response to the town’s November public notice of preliminary determination of non-significance. A thirteenth letter came Dec. 8. Davolio noted council members “have been inundated by comments from residents regarding this proposal.” To briefly summarize comments, artist Maggie Wilder shared...
What must have been a record crowd came to La Conner’s boardwalk Saturday evening to watch over two dozen boats invited and organized by the Swinomish Yacht Club cruise slowly up the Swinomish Channel in the annual lighted boat parade. There were smaller boats and larger boats, together in a combination of rainbow colors from green and red through blue and, of course, white. There were all kinds of blown up lawn ornaments, from deer to Santas, snowmen and more. Music came from some boats, y...
Longtime Shelter Bay manager David Franklin dropped a metaphorical bomb of his own on Pearl Harbor Day with the surprise announcement of his resignation as manager of the local residential community. In his Dec. 7 missive Franklin announced he is stepping down Jan. 28 from the high-profile role he has filled here for eight years. Franklin, with more than two decades experience in community and resort management, wrote that he is “leaving Shelter Bay for a new opportunity and a new chapter in my career.” Franklin told the Weekly News on Mon...
Many Shelter Bay residents’ responses are critical of the Shelter Bay board of directors paying $92,513 in fines and penalties against the Shelter Bay Community, Inc. and Steve Swigert, a resident and board member, for Swigert’s clearcutting trees in Rainbow Park in September 2020. The Shelter Bay Town Hall group is considering lawsuits and recalling board members. Their research, and the documents provided for the Swinomish Planning Commission appeals case, many from the Shelter Bay board, track the sequence of events and Swigert’s role....
There was a grand convergence in last week’s edition: Reporting on the Swinomish Planning Commission upholding the Tribal planning department's $92,513 fine against the Shelter Bay board of directors and resident Steve Swigert meshed with the Weekly News annual subscription drive delivering the paper to every address in the La Conner school district. That includes some 900 homes in Shelter Bay. Credit the Shelter Bay Community's staff for sending its members an email with the planning commission's decision and order. Everyone could read the 1...
Dear Folks of La Conner, So, the rains came … and then they came some more, it even came through the door! Floodwaters submerged the not-too-distant town of Sumas, and it could have easily happened here, and it might yet! Just because the Mount Vernon floodwall worked to protect a one-mile section of town, doesn’t mean the levee is secure. This warmish wet weather has delivered more rain in November, than any November ever. The river has been at or above flood stage for at least half the days of the month. Water has been slowly s...
Every time I drive down Maple Street these days past what used to be the little league ball field, see all that heavy equipment tearing up the soil and try to envision a bunch of tacky little houses jammed in there, it turns my stomach. Yes, I know this is beating a dead horse, that the train has left the station and won't be returning, but it doesn't alter my feelings. I have no history there other than years of observation; no children of my own or that I knew ever played ball there; but the property was always an asset to the community as...
In the face of challenges like the pandemic, climate change and racism, large numbers of Americans are reporting symptoms of anxiety, depression and exhaustion. Things certainly feel bad, but focusing on doom-and-gloom stories often crowds out the more positive ones. For instance, poverty has been drastically reduced thanks to the generous provisions of the American Rescue Plan. The passage of the Infrastructure and Jobs Act has paved the way for the country to begin repairing its crumbling roadways, bridges and transit systems. And the...
Just a couple more details to add to the well written article (Dec. 8, Weekly News) regarding the Swinomish Planning Commission’s Decision ordering that Shelter Bay be fined over the 2020 clearcutting at the community’s Rainbow Park below 95 Samish Place. In July 2020 Mr. Swigert applied to the Shelter Bay Greenbelt Committee for a permit for “view restoration” on his property and a separate permit for “Greenbelt maintenance” of common land adjacent. In a letter dated Aug. 18, 2020, the Greenbelt Committee denied Mr. Swigert’s application f...
As a recent Shelter Bay lessee I was not present for the physical portion of the Rainbow Park debacle including Labor Day 2020 and into the following week. Watching and participating in dialogue along with review of the available documents over these past months allowed me to form and voice a firm stance on the position the board of Shelter Bay (SB) embarked on. SB has internal bylaws, covenants, rules and the standing committees to enforce them. Many of these controls and procedures were not exercised, and remedies are further muddied by the b...
For over two decades, Ed Johnstone has taken on tough tasks in his leadership role with the Quinault Nation. His next assignment could rank among the most challenging. Johnstone has been elected chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, succeeding the late Swinomish Tribal Community leader Lorraine Loomis, who died in August. Loomis and her predecessor, the late Billy Frank, Jr., were viewed by many in Indian Country as virtually irreplaceable given their decades of work on behalf of Pacific Northwest treaty tribes. Johnstone,...
It’s been quite a year for La Conner High School volleyball. And no month reflects that better than November, when the team captured its third straight state 2B tournament championship. They did it dropping only a single set at Yakima to cap yet another undefeated season. Because of that, and their winning ways off the court in terms of community service and academic excellence, the Lady Braves were selected by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association and Les Schwab Tire Center a...
The La Conner Braves were truly road warriors last week. The Braves played some of their best basketball of the young season at Concrete last Tuesday, posting an impressive 67-16 NW2B road triumph behind double-figure scoring from Isaiah Price, Miles Sydzik and Ivory Damien. The La Conner trio combined for 44 points and led nine teammates in the scoring column. Price paced all scorers with 20 points, including a perimeter trey. Sydzik delivered a game-high four three-pointers enroute to a 14-point effort. Damien finished with 10 points on...
Two La Conner High School wrestlers are again more than holding their own wrestling on a co-op basis with the 2A Burlington-Edison girls’ mat program. Delaney Cobbs and Kaliana Bill, who have wrestled regularly for Burlington Edison High School because La Conner no longer offers the sport on campus, have returned to the Burlington- Edison fold for the 2021-22 campaign. They made their presence felt on several levels Saturday. The two seniors turned in strong showings at the Everett High School Girls’ Wrestling Tournament, an event that dre...
The Bookworm You knew this was coming. You knew that you were going to have to finish your holiday shopping soon but it snuck up on you, didn’t it? And even if you’re close to being done, there are always those three or five people who are impossible to buy for, right? So why not head to the bookstore and look for these gifts. Here is my fiction list: Fans of thrillers will absolutely want to unwrap “Bullet Train” by Kotaro Isaka, the story of five assassins who find out that their respective assignments have a little too much in common...
J.J. Wilbur’s plate has become a little less full and a place at the Fire District 13 meeting table is set for his successor. Veteran firefighter Bobbie Scopa, whose background includes roles with the U.S. Forest Service Fire Program and recently as host of a local firefighting and leadership podcast, was sworn in Friday to succeed Wilbur as a commissioner. Scopa was administered the oath of office that morning during the district’s monthly hybrid meeting. Wilbur attended remotely while in Seattle on business as a senator of the Swinomish Ind...
A member of a local pioneer farm family played a key role in growing the La Conner volleyball program into a perennial state title contender. Julie Hulbert Marble is now a dental hygienist at Skagit Valley Family Dental Center. She helped La Conner High School enjoy a steady diet of wins, including state net crowns in 2006-2007 and then majored in nutrition at Central Washington University, A 5’-11” middle blocker who was a four-year high school letter winner, she played for the school’s back-...
Harry Everett Smith was neither born nor died in Anacortes, but he did live there for about 10 years as a youth before and during the Great Depression. Salmon canneries brought his family, and his father, R.J. Smith, to Anacortes and cannery work took the Smith family to Bellingham, where Harry Smith graduated from high school. After living in Seattle, he left the Puget Sound area, never to return. As a high school student Harry Smith studied Salish Sea traditions, recording and collecting tribal songs on 78 rpm shellac records. He went on to...
