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Maddie Huscher has swapped out her rock-climbing boots for soccer coaching cleats this fall. Huscher, the reigning Northwest Region Teacher of the Year and who has sponsored the middle school climbing club, will spend the next few weeks on flat ground as La Conner High School’s new girls’ soccer coach. Huscher greeted a young but enthusiastic roster to pre-season workouts this week. In a way, though, Huscher will be employing climbing techniques with the Lady Braves. She will be looking to help guide the youthful Lady Braves up NW1B/2B sta...
A year ago, the best offense for the La Conner High School boys’ soccer team was a good defense. That script will flip in 2023, however, as a deep roster with plenty of playmakers will be more aggressive on the offensive side of the pitch. Blessed with a solid core of returnees from a club that dropped tight 2-0 and 3-0 matches with Mount Vernon Christian and highlighted the 2022 campaign with a 1-0 shutout win over NW2B/1B rival Coupeville, head coach Galen McKnight envisions a more robust attack this fall. “We have a big incoming junior class...
Douglas K. Otis, age 85, of La Conner, Washington, died on Aug. 7, 2023. Doug is preceded in death by his parents, E. Donovan Otis and Gayle (Hancock) Otis; wife of over 50 years, Dixie (Maloy) Otis; son, D.J. Otis; brother, David Otis; granddaughter, Michelle Howard; and great-great grandson, Bowen Stidman. Doug is survived by his children: Cindy (Rick) Moore, Chris (Wayne) Ceradsky, D. Scott (Barbara) Otis, Megan (Brian) Masonholder, and Andrew (Kelli) Otis. Doug had 13 grandchildren, 15...
The foundation board would like to take this opportunity to share with you some of the people and organizations in the community that have given us the means to award scholarships each year at La Conner High School. We are pleased to share that the general foundation fund has grown to $1,100,000. This endowment was created solely by the generosity of you folks in the community. Many alumni have given one dollar for every year post-graduation. Many of our neighbors from Shelter Bay, past...
La Conner's Pioneer Park basked in sun, salmon and song last Thursday, a perfect combination for the 119th annual Skagit County Pioneer Association Picnic and Business Meeting here. Ideal conditions drew more than 300 people on a sun-splashed day that honored championship La Conner High School volleyball coach Suzanne Marble and members of the Benson/Berentson family, who association president Peggy Stowe said "have been connected to every vocation imaginable" since emigrating from Norway to Ska...
A trained classical pianist, La Conner Mayor Ramon Hayes has great appreciation for a variety of musical genres. He naturally keeps tabs on those playing keyboards. And one of his favorites is La Conner's own Terry Nelson. "Terry is the epitome, the soul, of La Conner," Hayes told the Weekly News recently. "He's so forward thinking." A longtime proponent of green energy, having for more than four decades advocated solar heating options, Nelson is also one of a handful of home-grown La Conner...
The status of short-term rentals will get a long look as the La Conner Town Planning Commission seek public input while updating what has become a hot button topic in La Conner. During their discussion of the issue last week, commissioners endorsed holding a community roundtable in September and collecting comments on the Town’s website. Assistant Planner Ajah Eills suggested the public dialogue after short-term rentals were addressed at the Aug. 1 hybrid meeting at Maple Hall. Short-term rentals are permitted in La Conner’s commercial zon...
At first glance, comparing La Conner and Kirkland is akin to apples and oranges. But when it comes to affordable housing incentives, it is a comparison that might bear fruit. Planning department staff shared with the La Conner Planning Commission during their July meeting at Maple Hall research into how Kirkland, a Seattle suburb of nearly 100,000 people, has sought to increase its stock of affordable housing. Assistant Planner Ajah Eills provided a seven-page report on how La Conner might implement some of the measures adopted in Kirkland....
La Conner School Board Directors bit the bullet Monday in approving a barebones, $12.9 million annual budget whose target is to realize a positive fund balance by next summer. This budget is about $1 million leaner than that adopted a year ago and reflects painful staffing and program cutbacks tied to declining student enrollment and loss of federal COVID-19 emergency funds. The 2023-2024 budget was developed by Director of Finance and Operations David Cram, who was given the mission of restoring the school system’s fiscal health when he return...
With a stack of fresh newspapers in hand, Ken Stern is making one of his first stops of the day at La Conner’s local office supply and business center. He greets the owners, Christina and Robyn Burdick-Good-Rubenstein – and their dog Clover. Stern knows exactly what they want, as the chanting begins: “Crossword day! Crossword day!” Stern is publisher and editor of the La Conner Weekly News. He doesn’t always deliver papers himself, but today he’s playing tour guide while he restocks local shops and newspaper boxes scattered across the two mai...
Our beautiful Gloria passed away Monday, July 24, 2023, surrounded by love and admiration. Her courage and grace, regardless of what life threw at her, never ceased to amaze the many who loved her. Dementia may have seized her mind, but her heart and soul put up quite a fight. Gloria was born to Anna and John Lotz on August 17, 1942, in Jordan Valley, Oregon. She often spoke about her childhood adventures, with her many beloved cousins, and about her interesting Basque culture. After the...
Margery Zimmerman passed away on July 22, 2023, in Burlington, WA. She was born on March 7, 1933 to Gene and Teresa (Wells) Dunlap, and grew up in La Conner, first at the Dunlap house on La Conner-Whitney Road, then on Kiket Island, at a beautiful residence and grounds known as "Flagstaff". After graduating from La Conner High in 1951, she traveled the world with her father and sister Gerry. A highlight was attending the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. She attended the University of...
Beset with declining student enrollment and the loss of federal emergency pandemic funding, La Conner Schools officials are bracing to adopt what finance chief David Cram has termed a “bare bones” budget July 31. A 9 a.m. public hearing in the campus administration building precedes the vote. The fiscal plan is designed to rebuild the district’s dwindling fund balance, shrunk in large measure by reduced state financial support resulting from a decreased student population. But it comes at the cost of painful personnel cuts across the board...
Tiny houses were a big topic at the La Conner Town Planning Commission meeting July 18. Planning Director Michael Davolio shared a revised draft proposal that would amend Town regulations to allow high density residential development as a conditional use with commissioners at their hybrid meeting in Maple Hall. The amendment is in response to developer Greg Ellis wanting to site 44 tiny home units on Whatcom and Washington streets behind Pioneer Market. It will be considered separately. He said he will continue tweaking the draft proposal and o...
When given a real-world assignment last school year, La Conner High School students nailed it. Both literally and figuratively. The school’s construction class, taught by Daniel Castillo, built a tiny house as part of career and technology curriculum and the finished product was recently delivered to the tiny home village on Pease Road in Burlington. Burlington Mayor Steve Sexton and representatives of the Low Income Housing Institute, which paid for the materials used on the project, were present when the student-built house arrived. “My onl...
La Conner High School championship volleyball coach Suzanne Marble, a member of two separate state-level halls of fame, is about to add another honor to a thick resume. Having retired after 30 years from the coaching ranks and on a leave of absence, Marble will receive the 2023 Skagit County Pioneer Association Spirit Award. She will be recognized Aug. 3 during the business meeting segment of the 119th annual Skagit County Pioneer Picnic in La Conner. Marble led teams to seven state crowns – a likely eighth title was denied when COVID-19 forced...
The grass, they say, is always greener on the other side. In the case of C.J. Woods, that is even true of the Arizona desert. Woods, the youthful and personable La Conner High School boys’ head basketball coach and athletics director, has stepped down to assume a similar dual position at Chinle High School, which boasts top-flight sports facilities. The Apache County, Arizona school is the subject of an acclaimed Netflix documentary. “It’s a really bittersweet feeling,” Woods, 28, who last winter led the underdog Braves to a Northwest 2B Bi-D...
Monday, July 10 9:56 a.m.: Road rage fight – Deputies responded to a fight in progress being reported by a SKAT bus driver. The physical altercation was the result of a road rage incident. Both involved drivers did not want to pursue charges. McLean Rd., Greater La Conner. 10:40 a.m.: Left high and dry – Deputies responded to a boat equipment theft. Deputies determined a 15hp Suzuki outboard motor had been stolen off the back of the victim’s boat during the night. Washington Ave., La Conner. 4:49 p.m.: Dropped their shopping, cart – Deputie...
With the last name Holmes, it was only natural that he entered law enforcement. And with interests in boating and basketball and a knack for building relationships, the La Conner detachment office seems an ideal assignment for veteran Skagit County Sheriff's Sgt. Brad Holmes. Holmes, who has worked nearly a quarter-century in a wide range of police services, has succeeded retired Sgt. Beau Montgomery as lead officer in La Conner. "I put in for La Conner a while ago," Holmes, who has an...
As has been the case for more than a century, history comes alive in La Conner this summer. The 119th annual Skagit County Pioneer Association Picnic and General Meeting will be 11 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 3, at Pioneer Park near the Rainbow Bridge. The time-honored event promises something for persons of all ages, especially those interested in Skagit County and its rich history. There will be live music on the grounds provided by John Anderson and Friends, historic photographs and biographical accounts displayed for this year’s Pioneer Family o...
Lori Buher retired in June after 27 years with La Conner Schools and even longer as a La Conner School parent. Her long career can be divided into three chapters. In Chapter 1, she joined the La Conner Co-op Preschool when Eric and Anne enrolled in 1987, serving until 1992. By 1989, she was also on the board of the La Conner Elementary PTA. Soon she was helping lead the school’s Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts. “It was a lot of fun, and I had great support from other parents, but I was def...
Retired La Conner High School championship volleyball coach Suzanne Marble has netted some impressive awards including induction into the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Hall of Fame and national coach of the year recognition. One more honor awaits this summer. Marble will be feted at the annual Skagit County Pioneer Association Picnic in La Conner Aug. 3 as the organization’s 2023 Pioneer Spirit Award winner. The Pioneer Picnic, held annually on the first Thursday in August, has been a La Conner summer tradition for more t...
While budget woes have gotten much attention at La Conner Schools lately, those concerns were balanced by a long list of district celebrations cited at the school board’s summer retreat last Wednesday. Second-year superintendent Will Nelson cited key achievements realized during 2022-2023. He noted that the district piloted a secondary level mastery-based learning program, saw middle school science instructor Maddie Huscher named regional teacher of the year, began implementing the research-based Universal Design for Learning framework that a...
In his many roles as an educator, lawmaker, state official and in private business, the late Duane Berentson was hailed as a team player. And family man. The well-documented devotion to service and consensus building that defined him has been a blueprint for others in the Benson/Berentson lineage. The family will be honored at the 119th annual Pioneer Picnic in La Conner Aug. 3 as the Skagit County Pioneer Association Family of the Year. For three decades a key figure in Olympia, Duane...
