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Money doesn’t grow on trees, but generosity does. Especially in La Conner. Christmas joy for dozens of families here has been assured thanks to strong support for a pair of local holiday giving tree projects, one coordinated by La Conner Kiwanis and Edward Jones Investments, the other by La Conner Soroptimists and WaFd Bank. Edward Jones and WaFd customers returned armloads of packages after selecting children’s gift wish tags from holiday trees on display in the offices of the two La Conner bus...
Though sidelined all fall by the COVID-19 pandemic, La Conner High’s two-time defending state title volleyball team has still been able to show its championship mettle. Team members have served up two major public service projects in response to the virus crisis, designing and creating custom La Conner Braves face coverings benefitting the Skagit Valley Hospital Foundation and delivering holiday goodie bags to La Conner Retirement Inn. The team has also shared a Zoom Christmas card with the L...
The Christian Christmas story starts with a young traveling couple, Mary heavy with child, Joseph carrying the burden of knowing the baby is not his. Jesus was born on the road, in a barn, homeless. There are over 1,800 homeless in Skagit County this Christmas season. Close to 75% of them are Skagitonians, neighbors, friends and family. The apartment vacancy rate is effectively zero here for low income people. The Skagit County Public Health Department reports that one-fourth of renter households pay more than 50% of their income for housing...
Dear Community, For those of you following the alphabet of “Soul Primer,” which has appeared in this paper every week for the last six months, here is your last letter: Z is for Zen … . I hope you have enjoyed these bits of weekly inspiration. In the spring, when it became clear that COVID-19 would impact us all profoundly, I pondered what I could do to make a difference? My book had just launched, a creation to help each individual – and our world – become a better place, but how to get it out, with bookstores now clo...
Once again, our national election for the president of the United States is in shambles. This has happened a number of times in the history of elections in the U.S. What I do not understand is the complex election rules that currently exist. Since the office of president, members of the house of representatives and senate are all federal government personnel, they should be elected by a set of rules created by the federal government. As it is now each state sets their own rules, which can change with each new state administration. To make...
A number of letters to the editor concerning guns have been published recently. I thought I would add my view. There are currently about 400 million guns in private hands in the United States. Increasingly these are semi-automatic versions of military weapons. These guns are designed specifically to kill people and they are terrifyingly effective. The second amendment is not absolute. Few of our constitutional rights are. The Constitution is not a suicide pact. The U.S. government has limited the type of firearms citizens can own several times,...
The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting people mentally, as well as physically, across the world, and in our local communities. As a 16-year-old high school student-athlete, I feel the isolation of not being with my peers and the anxiety that comes with not being able to participate in activities that I love. While I understand, rationally, the reason why I am not able to attend school or participate in sports, I wonder about the social/emotional health of our nation’s youth. According to the New York Times, “The proportion of children’s emerg...
Kirby Walter Johnson, 79, beloved husband, father, and grandfather, and lifelong Skagit Valley resident, died at home in La Conner on Thursday, December 10, 2020. Kirby was born on March 13, 1941 to Curtis and Dorothy Johnson. He graduated from La Conner High School in 1959, then earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Stanford University in 1963. Kirby then served in the U.S. Air Force from 1963 to 1967. In 1965, he married Pam Dalan at the Methodist church in La Conner. They first met in 1949 at Karen Irvin’s ballroom dancing class in...
Over the years, Hedlin’s Ballfield has been site of countless close games. Another tight contest played out Dec. 15 when Town officials weighed the future status of the nearly two-acre public-use property abutting Maple Avenue during a tele-conferenced public hearing. By a 2-1 margin, with one abstention and a recusal, the La Conner Planning Commission forwarded to the Town Council its recommendation that the ballfield be rezoned to make possible a mixed-use development of new residences and park area. Commission Chair Liz Theaker and member B...
BURLINGTON —The City of Burlington’s heart has grown three sizes larger with Mayor Steve Sexton’s decision to commit to building permanent shelters and offer social services for perhaps 125 unhoused people on city-owned property on Pease Road. It will be the first facility providing permanent shelter in Skagit County. In a call with the Weekly News Friday, Sexton noted there is no cold-weather shelter in the county. “We have done too little for too long,” he said, referencing governments and community organizations. He termed the 1-acre...
Santa gave his La Conner elf contingent a special assignment: reach into their hearts to pull out Christmas memories, snapshots of the present moment and hopes for the future. They were to write these down and share them with each other to buoy their spirits. Here’s hoping they buoy yours, also. Merry Christmas! 1950s CHRISTMAS MEMORIES Sledding down 4th Street in Anacortes on my red Western Flyer (I still have it). Stringing popcorn and cranberries to drape around outdoor trees for the birds with my mom. Dabbing a paste of water and Bon Ami c...
While closing the books on 2020 during a briskly paced hour-long teleconferenced meeting Thursday morning, Fire District 13 officials took time to salute a La Conner native whose career in emergency services spanned more than three decades. Skagit 9-1-1 Project Coordinator Faye Whitney, a 1976 La Conner High grad, is retiring after 34 years, during which time she filled roles ranging from dispatching to management, said Fire District Chief Wood Weiss . “Faye has been a huge help to us,” Weiss said. “She is going to be sorely missed.” Whitney...
Dear Parents and Guardians, When I began as La Conner’s superintendent in July and August, we faced a decision about how to safely serve our La Conner students during the COVID emergency. In late August, the school board approved a remote learning plan that indicated we would not make any major changes in our remote service model until the trimester or semester. We have followed that plan. With the escalation of the number of infection rates, currently over 350 per 100,000 county resients, it looked like we would need to remain remote longer. F...
Before COVID-19, Back to School was a late summer ad campaign. But now, with winter having arrived, the key issue remains the conditions for making schools safe enough for students to return on a limited basis. La Conner Schools, like districts around the nation, has conducted on-line instruction this fall to stem spread of the coronavirus. Just how much longer that format will remain in place remains unclear, but key decisions could be made next month. They were discussed at the Dec. 14 teleconferenced La Conner School Board meeting. Based on...
Monday, Dec. 14 3:45 p.m.: Ducks and cover – Report of duck hunters in the area possibly hitting a residence. The call was transferred to Wash. Department of Fish and Wildlife. Rawlins Rd., Conway. Tuesday, Dec. 15 1:39 p.m.: Slept tight – Hotel reported that a guest left a firearm under a pillow. The guest was on their way to pick up the firearm. N. 1st St., La Conner. Wednesday, Dec. 16 11:31 a.m.: Junk left behind – Request for assistance with a junk vehicle. Bradshaw Rd., Greater La Conner. 4:26 p.m.: After the fact...
Poaching eggs brings me back to my childhood. Among my toys was an aluminum egg poacher that poached 4 eggs at a time. You set it in a shallow pan with water that was brought to a simmer. My mother loved my poached eggs. Soft and warm. Over the years I have poached eggs, sometimes with an egg poacher and sometimes like this recipe. Ingredients Eggs, 1 to 2 per person Water Preparation For this, I use a regular skillet and a large metal serving spoon. Fill the skillet half full of water and...
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the La Conner Schools campus has been a remote location this semester. That changed for a couple hours Wednesday afternoon. The La Conner Elementary School parking area morphed into a festive convergence zone with teachers donning favorite Christmas garb – and, of course, masks – while lined up to greet students and families as they drove through the school’s circular drop-off zone. Kids hung out of car windows, waving joyfully, and sharing gleeful s...
