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Daffodils have bloomed and tulips aren't far behind. Soon, thousands of people will descend upon the La Conner flats to enjoy vividly colored fields here. It's hard to imagine, any among the throngs of visitors appreciating the striking spring landscape more than Joyce Johnson, long a bright and engaging fixture with the La Conner Civic Garden Club and related organizations at the local, district and state levels. Johnson recently died at age 105. "Joyce was most certainly a treasure to all who...
You play how you practice. That was the mantra shared last Thursday by Skagit County Fire District 13 Commission chair Bruce Shellhamer, a former Sedro-Woolley High School sports standout. He wasn’t alluding to athletics. He was talking about the fire district’s upcoming March 30 windstorm exercise. The training will engage HAM radio operators, volunteers at the Shelter Bay Disaster Assistance Center, a mobile Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) trailer, and residents who will post “Help/OK” placards in their windows to inform emergen...
The La Conner High baseball team was in mid-season form for its home opener last Thursday. The Braves used sharp pitching, crisp defense and discipline at the plate to post an impressive 7-1 nonleague triumph over Evergreen Lutheran. Starter Nathan Bailey tossed three hitless innings and fanned five Wolverines hitters, then gained solid relief efforts from Charles Jackson, Kaleb Otis and Ivory Damien. Together, they limited Evergreen to five singles and a lone tally over the final four frames....
Tommy Murdock picked up where he left off a year ago. The La Conner High School senior, who is the reigning Washington State 2B boys’ 110- and 300-meter hurdles champion, swept his signature events during a 10-team season debut meet at Whittaker Field last Wednesday. Murdock cruised to triumphs in the 110 (16.00) and 300 (41.10), setting the tone for several solid performances by a slimmed-down La Conner track-and-field program that is focused on quality rather than quantity to kick off the 2024 campaign. Murdock picked up a third solo t...
It can be a fine line that separates comedy and drama. A versatile cast of La Conner student actors, often playing dual roles, showed last weekend that it can deliver multiple fine lines that deftly meld comedy and drama. The La Conner Drama Club did so with its well-received performances Friday and Saturday night and Sunday afternoon of Mark Dunn's "A Delightful Quarantine," literally the story of what people do when there's no place to go. Two more shows are scheduled at 6:30 p.m. March 22 and 23 at the Bruce Performing Arts Center on the La...
La Conner Schools officials are bracing for fewer students again this fall. School district financial chief David Cram is projecting 460 full-time K-12 enrolled students in 2024-25, 30 fewer than this year. “That’s the number we’ll use as we build our budget,” he said. The net loss of 30 students translates to a loss for La Conner Schools of about $330,000 in state funds next year. Enrollment is the main driver of support the state provides to its public school districts. Cram told school board members at their March 11 study session that hi...
A cold wind ripped up the Swinomish Channel, swirled around Gilkey Square on Saturday and undid plans for the La Conner Pet Parade's red-carpet walk. Still, around 50 registrants and a small crowd of intrepid pet lovers, their pets all dolled-up for photo ops, shivered down First Street from the La Conner Marina to Gilkey Square, up to Maple Hall and back to the square for judging. Mayor Marna Hanneman was on hand and the La Conner Chamber of Commerce "made a showing." Cameras were clicking,...
The season is over but La Conner High School basketball standouts are still scoring points with their conference peers. Seven players – four boys, three girls – have garnered All-League recognition in recent polling of NW2B/1B hoops programs. La Conner’s Ivory Damien and Brayden Pedroza were first team All-League picks on the boys’ side while Maeve McCormick was a girls’ All-NW2B/1B first-unit selection. Damien and Pedroza were reliable scorers all season for the Braves. Damien netted a game-high 38 points – all but three of those in the seco...
La Conner High School alumnus Emma Worgum, who won a state title her senior year with the Braves, led the Western Washington University women’s golf team during its recent season debut at the Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout in Alameda, California. Worgum, a WWU sophomore, placed 15th out of a 96-player field by shooting 6-over-par at the 36-hole event. The Lady Vikings finished 10th overall. Worgum carded four of her five birdies during the tournament’s first round. “Emma continued her solid play and finished the tournament with two consi...
The La Conner Kiwanis Club high school Student of the Month for February is Jaydin Clark, a junior. Jaydin's parents are Fred and Lori Cayou. Jaydin's favorite classes are lifetime fitness and science. He enjoys playing football and basketball with his friends. After graduation he is hoping to attend the University of Alabama with a major in business management. La Conner Middle School Student of the Month for February is Maicy Bowles. Her parents are Matt and Beth Bowles. Maicy is in eighth gra...
La Conner Schools officials tackled the status of Braves football and student enrollment to kick off a lengthy hybrid school board meeting Monday night. District financial chief David Cram reported to board members that K-12 enrollment had dipped from 497 to 485 full-time students since the start of the calendar year, with most of the losses coming in the fifth and 12th grades. “It’s not unusual at this time of year,” Cram told the board, noting that student movement tends to increase during semester breaks. Enrollment is a major driver when...
Word is getting out on one of Skagit County's best-kept secrets. That's thanks to La Conner High School alum and former Swinomish Tribal Community Senator Leon John, now the outreach director at Didgwalic Wellness Center northwest of town along Highway 20. The Didgwalic facility is a rehabilitation center for anyone, tribal and non-tribal, dealing with addiction or other challenges to mental and physical health. John outlined the Didgwalic mission as guest speaker for the second in a series of...
Longtime La Conner High School baseball coach Jeremiah LeSourd has a favorite saying this time of year. "You know it's the start of baseball season," he often notes at the end of February and start of March, "because there'll be snow on the ground." Mother Nature has been true to form this year. The first week of practice for Braves baseball, Lady Braves softball, and La Conner track and field and golf teams was met variously with snow, hail, wind and rain. All that plus a couple brief sun...
Abigail Udlock, a senior at La Conner High School, was recently chosen as the Soroptimist International of La Conner Honored Student for the month of March. Abigail is a very busy young woman, balancing school and the Running Start Program online at Skagit Valley College. Ceramics, sociology and psychology are among her favorite classes. Her studies have qualified her as a member of the Honor Society at the high school. Along with her academics, Abigail is the ASB executive treasurer. This follo...
In his all-too-short life, La Conner's Rich Watkins created a legacy to last generations. Consider pre-season baseball practices now under way at La Conner High School, where two decades ago Watkins was the team's head coach, an ideal role for the former Spokane area sports standout. His influence is still felt by current Braves' coach Jeremiah LeSourd, whom Watkins mentored. "He prepared me for the job," said LeSourd, who along with Andy Otis has since coached the baseball team to numerous post...
Oh how I wish I didn’t think about our little town’s budget, but as a businessman, I can’t help myself. I had to manage a small farm’s budget, and I didn’t get any grants from either the state or the feds, and I had to educate my employees, since they hadn’t been educated by the education system in place. I employed many college grads who had no understanding of economics, even with their four-year degrees. So, it was with great interest that I read La Conner Schools Superintendent Will Makoyiisaaminaa (Nelson)’s letter of recognition to our sc...
Norma LaMoyne Bryant (Bowdry-Bergeron), 93 of La Conner, passed away Jan. 21, 2024. She was born Feb. 4, 1930, in Dallas, Texas, to Clifford and Ethel (Lilly) Bowdry. LaMoyne was preceded in death by her parents, sister Shirley Bowdry, husbands Al Bergeron and Joe Bryant, daughter Teresa Bergeron, son Gary Bergeron, and daughter-in-law Penny Bergeron. She is survived by sons Ronnie Bergeron of Austin, Texas, and Chip Bergeron of Mount Vernon, grandchildren Heather (Bergeron) Kendrick and Laura (...
Shannon Lee Bowerman February 5, 1964 February 1, 2024 Shannon Lee Bowerman (O'Fallon) passed unexpectedly but peacefully on February 1, 2024, surrounded by her family. Shannon was the first born daughter of Thomas "Tom" Edward O'Fallon and Diane Marie O'Fallon (now Keller). She was born in Huntsville, Alabama, where her father worked for the Boeing Company. Tom's work with Boeing moved the family from Huntsville to Slidell, LA, and then to the Northwest. By the time the O'Fallon family settled...
The La Conner High School girls’ basketball team took two different routes last week to reach the same destination – Victory Lane at Coupeville. The Lady Braves netted top honors on the girls’ side of the NW2B bi-district tournament with a lopsided 52-15 win at home over Northwest Christian of Lacey on Feb. 13 followed by a tense 46-42 triumph over league rival Friday Harbor last Thursday in Coupeville. They were two totally different games that produced a single result. La Conner, 16-7 overall and with no seniors on its roster in an expect...
It’s Sweet Sixteen time for La Conner High School’s basketball teams. Both boys and girls teams have qualified for the round of 16 of the state 2B hoops playoffs. The girls’ team drew a No. 13 seed and have drawn No. 12 Toutle Lake in a first round, loser-out regional pairing. The winner will advance to the Round of 12 at the Spokane Arena on Feb. 28. The boys’ team won two of three bi-district tests and is seeded 15th. It faces a loser-out contest with No. 10 Adna. The La Conner-Adna winner also moves on to Spokane for the round of 12. The...
Nizhoni Slowman, a senior at La Conner High School, is the Soroptimist International of La Conner January Honored Student. She has a varied range of interests. She loves to experience the outdoors for play and to learn more about science and her environment. She is a passionate reader for pleasure and science. Her constant companion is her 19-year-old Dachshund whom she has grown up with. He is a lucky dog who gets to go everywhere in a front snuggly pack. Nizhoni's favorite subjects are biology...
Community members and La Conner Schools officials met Thursday to kick around ideas on how to structure the high school football program given fallen enrollment. Unless 25 La Conner High students firmly commit by mid-March to playing football this fall, only three viable options remain for the upcoming season – eliminate football, play an eight-man schedule with no post-season opportunity, or combine with the 2A state championship 11-man Anacortes High School program – La Conner secondary principal and director of athletics Christine Tripp sai...
On Nov. 2, 2023, after a short but fierce battle with cancer, Carmen Spofford died in Anacortes at the age of 79. Carmen was born on June 7, 1944, in the village of Seeshaupt, Germany, to Margarete Horney. Carmen's father was a French POW who disappeared before she was born. Margarete was an actress and Carmen was raised by her grandparents until the age of 5, when she and her mother moved to the U.S. in search of a better life. They settled in Plattsburgh, New York, where Margarete met and...
Shirley Steinman passed away peacefully surrounded by family and friends at her home in Trout Creek, Montana, on Nov. 6, 2023. Shirley grew up in Stanwood and was a graduate of Stanwood High School. Some of the other places Shirley called home were La Conner, Mount Vernon and Trout Creek, Montana. Before retiring and moving to Montana, Shirley worked for many years as the Office Manager at Northrup King Seed Co. in Skagit Country and as Manager of the Mount Vernon RV Park. Shirley loved to...
A pair of double-digit wins over league rivals last week clinched a No. 1 bi-district tournament seed for the La Conner High School girls’ basketball team. La Conner (14-7 overall; 7-1 in league) closed out the regular season, defeating Coupeville 46-30 Feb. 6 at Landy James Gym and winning 41-29 at Friday Harbor on Saturday. With the wins, the Lady Braves secured the top seed to the bi-district tournament, which opened last night at home opposite Northwest Christian of Lacey. La Conner moves on to the second round Thursday in Coupeville a...
