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Bigger isn’t necessarily better. La Conner High School’s Tommy Murdock proved that statement beyond doubt Friday, punctuating it with an exclamation point by sweeping the hurdles events at the Bedlington Twilight Track & Field Meet in Lynden, where the reigning State 2B champion fended off challengers from larger schools. Murdock, competing against 1A-3A hurdlers, cruised to twin wins in the 110s (0:16.23) and 300s (0:41.46), a feat all the more impressive when you consider he had done the same just two days prior at an NW1B/2B League meet at...
Kennedy Miller, a La Conner High School senior, is the Soroptimist Honored Student for the month of March. Kennedy is a very hardworking student and volunteer. She helps coach her younger sister, Maddy's La Conner Middle school basketball team. She also is a National Honor Society member and a member of the Swinomish Tribal Youth Council. As a Tribal Youth Council member, Kennedy works on beach clean-up teams and helps to serve at Swinomish elder dinners. She has been playing volleyball since mi...
Former La Conner High School state golf title winner Emma Worgum is back on the links after a superb fall freshman season with the Western Washington University women's team. Worgum and the Lady Vikings placed ninth out of 15 teams entered in the spring opener Fujikura Invitational Tournament hosted by Cal State-San Marcos in Vista, CA. earlier in March. Worgum tied for the second best finish on her team and was 40th overall by carding a two-day score of 160, shooting 80 (8 over par) each...
Sarah Cook was a multiple sports standout at La Conner High School, and she is enjoying similar success as a freshman at Skagit Valley College. After a stellar volleyball season with SVC last fall, Cook joined the Lady Cardinals basketball team and helped Skagit post a 17-12 mark and secure a Northwest Athletic Conference playoff berth. As a result, Cook was a second unit selection to the 2023 NWAC North All-Region Team. She filled the SVC stat sheet much as she did while at La Conner. Cook...
La Conner High School junior Tommy Murdock has picked up where he left off last year. Which is in the winner's circle. Murdock, the reigning Washington state class 2B 300-meter hurdles champion, opened the 2023 track and field season by sweeping two hurdles events in a 10-school invitational meet at Whittaker Field last Wednesday. Murdock captured his signature event, the 300 hurdles, with a 0:42.75 finish. He also took top honors in the 110-meter hurdles, clocking a winning time of 0:16.32. He...
He may not have realized it at the time, but nearly 70 years ago the late famed Swinomish artisan Andrew Joe began carving a special and lasting niche in the history of La Conner Schools. And it is a part of campus lore and tradition literally and figuratively standing the test of time. It is the life-sized carving of the Native American chieftain fondly known to generations of La Conner students as "Kolidja," now in a secured display area at the entrance to the middle school building. But...
Sunday, March 12 3:07 p.m.: Stolen Vehicle – A suspicious vehicle was parked partially in a driveway of a residence. The vehicle turned out to be a stolen vehicle out of Bellingham. The subject was arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle. McLean Rd., Greater La Conner. Monday, March 13 1:16 a.m.: Possible prowler – A suspect walked onto a citizen's driveway and was looking in their vehicles and carport area. The suspect appeared to be waiting for the opportunity to prowl the vehicles. Myr...
School boards, by their very nature, are tasked with hard choices, tough decisions involving families’ children and money. The La Conner school board last Thursday faced a tough choice of a different kind – whom to select to fill the unexpired term of Swinomish director district representative Amanda Bourgeois, who resigned in February after three years. The decision was hard, board members said afterward, because all three applicants were well qualified. Yet, ironically, it was also an easy assignment, given that the board felt it couldn’t go...
La Conner High School families filled the library Wednesday evening to celebrate the successes of their students. Twelve sophomores and juniors and one senior accepted the invitation to join the La Conner Chapter of the National Honor Society. This organization requires that students be of good character, practice leadership skills, value academics (students must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or better) and are committed to service to their communities. Former LCHS National Honor...
The Kiwanis Club of La Conner High School Student of the Month for February is Andrew Villard. Andrew's parents are Lucas and Shaye Villard. He is a senior. Andrew enjoys his leadership, automotive and wood shop classes. He is a teacher assistant with the special education class and helps with maintenance in the school bus barn. Outside of school he is an Eagle Scout and a volunteer fire fighter with the Mclean Road Fire Department. After graduation he plans to work toward being a diesel mechani...
Wednesday, March 8 was a red letter day for the Soroptimists International of La Conner. They hosted their annual awards dinner for the first time since 2019, the break in continuity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The five winners who attended the gala and accepted their awards, are Kristie Williams and Dana Marie Obey, who earned the 2023 Live Your Dream Award which is given to women, single head-of-household, to help meet education and career goals. Suzanne Marble was honored with the 2023 Ruby...
During a week in late February which saw snow, wind and rain amid occasional sun breaks, Town officials and residents turned their attention to climate change. At the Town Council Feb. 28 meeting, members and Mayor Ramon Hayes lauded the community’s embrace of solar energy and progress made in establishing a Town Emergency Management Commission in response to recent saltwater flooding, a perfect storm weather. event A joint session with the planning commission was short, consisting almost entirely of planning staff outlining the two-year p...
Ouch. Ouch everywhere, for everybody. New La Conner Schools Deputy Superintendent of Finance Dave Cram's initial assessment is that 490 students will enroll in the school district next fall. That is down 35 kids from today and 100 from 2021. It is not good news that the pain is nationwide, that national and local media are reporting on drastic drops in the numbers of pupils attending public schools, with no upturns in sight. This sea change is no more anyone's fault than a flood or a wild fire. There are larger reasons, root causes, as carbon...
The high school girls' basketball team saved its best for last in Spokane last week. The sixth-seeded Lady Braves, fueled by a monster second half from game-high scorer Ellie Marble, erased a 10-point fourth quarter deficit to beat Adna 52-46 Saturday morning to claim fourth place at the Washington state 2B Hardwood Classic. Down 39-29 early in the final stanza, the team staged an improbable comeback to match the team's finish at Spokane last year. "It was fantastic and so much fun," said first...
Public education has evolved far beyond the traditional three r’s – readin’, ritin’ and ‘rithmetic. At La Conner Schools three other letters – C, T and E – are helping spell success for students. CTE is the abbreviation for Career Technical Education, an increased district emphasis the past few years, most notably Daniel Castillo’s home construction class that is building a tiny house. The program’s mission hasn’t gone unnoticed. The La Conner Rotary Club donated $1,000 to the district’s CTE curriculum, gratefully accepted by school bo...
Dave and Lynette Cram caught themselves coming and going at the La Conner school board meeting Monday night. The couple traded places as district leaders when Lynette Cram stepped down after eight years on the board and David Cram was hired as the new La Conner Schools deputy superintendent of finance, human resources and operations. The board's senior member, Cram resigned to avoid possible conflict-of-interest issues with her husband returning for his second tour as the school's fiscal chief....
With March's arrival are a flurry of activities, not late winter snow but opportunities to join together in fun and games, literally, and, in one instance, to change, literally. There are also very real storm clouds hanging over Shelter Bay. The month's first joyous get together is the La Conner Rotary Clubs’ annual farmer and merchant dinner on the 6th in Maple Hall. All farmers and merchants get dinner and an evening of hearing from organizations of community plans and projects, ventures toward a more sustainable future. The La Conner Chamber...
They hit a roadblock in Chehalis Friday, but the path to Spokane this week is again clear for the La Conner High School girls' basketball team. The No. 6 La Conner Lady Braves fell 52-44 to third-seeded Napavine in state regional basketball action at W.F. West High School over the weekend, sending head coach Joe Harper's charges into a loser-out round of 12 matchup today at 3:45 p.m. against No. 11 Northwest Christian of Colbert at the Spokane Arena. The winner advances to the state...
The Stanwood-Camano Branch of the American Association of University Women is pleased to announce the opening of the 2023 Scholarship season. Applications for university students in their junior or senior year or in Master’s Degree programs will be accepted through April 29. Scholarships of $10,000 will be awarded to three applicants who are current residents of La Conner, Stanwood, Camano Island, Arlington or Lakewood areas or are high school graduates from these school districts. Applications are at:.aauwsc.org/scholarship. Source: A...
Turnabout is fair play. After having lost two tense games to conference hoops foe Coupeville – one on a desperate three-point buzzer beater – the underdog La Conner Braves avenged themselves with a dramatic 63-61 triumph Thursday, securing an improbable bi-district title and state tournament berth. La Conner, seeded 15th out of 16 state entries, faces No. 10 Chief Leschi this weekend in a loser-out contest. The winner advances to the state 2B Hardwood Classic round of 12 March 1 at the Spo...
At its study session Feb. 13, the La Conner School Board heard and accepted Amanda Bourgeois’ resignation from their body. The board continued its examination of declining student enrollment numbers, accepted two major cash donations and met with and sought feedback from middle school and high school students. Board President Susie Deyo presented a spread sheet showing 56 students from outside the district have enrolled. Forty-seven students have left for other districts or remote learning programs. Despite the net gain, K-12 enrollment has f...
La Conner Soroptimist honored student for February Taylor Rae Cayou has demonstrated an aptitude for leadership in several significant ways. As a member of Peer to Peer at La Conner High School, Taylor and 8-10 other students work on addressing important issues affecting the high school population. During suicide prevention month, they presented a lunchtime slide show explaining how to talk about suicide. They also are creating a movie, "Most Teens Don't Vape." As a school board student...
La Conner High School construction class students are building their skills by following a blueprint that addresses the area's housing crunch. The 10-member class, taught by instructor Daniel Castillo, is constructing a small house the students plan to turn over to a tiny home village in either Burlington or Bellingham at the end of the school year. "This is a great chance to serve our community while affording the students an opportunity to build their carpentry skills," Castillo told the...
It was an up and down night for La Conner High School basketball teams at Coupeville to end the regular season Feb. 7. The girls team improved to 17-4 overall and 7-1 in league action with a convincing 48-22 triumph despite resting Skagit County leading scorer Ellie Marble, who is nursing a lower back strain in advance of bi-district playoffs this week. With Marble, a 6'-0" senior power forward scoring at a 22.0 point per game clip unavailable, coach Joe Harper's charges did much of their...
Before there was a Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, there was a La Conner Tulip Show. And before the tulip show here, there was a La Conner Rose Show. Plus a fall dahlia show. All because, as the late Philena Dunlap noted 40 years ago this August, La Conner has long had the good fortune of having "a group of women who were dedicated in their desire to work together for the benefit of all in the town they loved." That tradition took root with the founding in 1909 of the Civic Improvement Club of La...
