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Poor John Cline; he seems to be unhappy that La Conner Weekly News isn’t in lockstep with the right-wing element of his preferred political party. I don’t know John, but if I did here are a few questions that I would pose to him. Each of these talking points is prefaced with the question; Are you proud of your affiliation with the GOP for any of these facts of historic events? George W. Bush’s fifteen year incursion into Iraq in search of weapons of mass destruction, where nearly 5,000 U.S. service members lost their lives, began in 2003....
The nightmare scenario for reporters today is watching a nearly completed article vanish from the computer screen, lost in the grasp of cyberspace. Nearly as dire is not receiving time sensitive responses to emailed interview questions, again because the electronic gods chose to defy the sanctity of deadlines. Neither, however, was an issue back in the day, as the kids say. That’s because newspaper composition – as were most writing tasks throughout the business world – was done o...
Having spent decades devoted to feeding the hungry, Virginia Good-Vlahovich found herself on the receiving end of praise at the annual “Leaders Inspiring Leaders” forum at Skagit Regional Airport on Saturday, June 25. The 1975 La Conner High School grad was recipient of a special “Community Champion” award at the two-hour program that also featured remarks from former U.S. Secretary of Defense and Central Intelligence Agency Director Robert Gates, a Big Lake resident who, in retirement, has bee...
Two weeks ago 60 seniors graduated from La Conner High School in an old fashioned indoor ceremony. The 54 students graduating last year did so in an outside ceremony at the football stadium. In 2020, each of the 33 graduating seniors was delivered to the parking lot ceremony by their parents in the family car. The last two graduating classes have been huge. Future classes will not be that big. For the fall, the La Conner School District is projecting a 11% decline in enrollment, maybe 530 students, down 56 from this year’s 586 students. This w...
Kurt Bassford quietly goes about his business each day – whether at work, tending to family obligations or lending a hand to friends and relatives – but his example doesn’t go unnoticed at Swinomish or in La Conner. A 1976 La Conner High School alum who works for Dunlap Towing and as a commercial fisherman, Bassford twice has received honors voted by the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community for his commitment to maintaining a healthy and sober lifestyle. His plaques are displayed at t...
It’s rhubarb season. I let mine grow until there is a special occasion. Then I bake a dessert to enjoy with family. On this occasion, it was the dinner party to celebrate the graduation of our grandson Finnegan Ellsworth from La Conner High School. Finn came into our lives when our daughter, Katherine, married his father, Camas Logue, in 2019. They moved as a family, with younger Oliver Currin Logue, to La Conner and settled in town. We share numerous family meals together. They loved this r...
The La Conner High School graduating class had to adapt during the COVID-19 pandemic and then one last time Friday evening. The 128th annual commencement exercises were moved from Whittaker Field to Landy James Gym when forecasts predicted rainfall. There were few dry eyes among families and friends of the graduates during the emotional 90-minute ceremony. “COVID was not kind to this class,” stressed co-valedictorian Delaney Cobbs, one of several student speakers. “By the time we hit our junio...
Few have shown the can-do spirit on a sustained basis as well as Shegay Vanderpool. The career educator, after all, has proved since the early 1970s that she can do just about anything in the classroom, at all grade levels. Same with the campus music hall. And auditorium. Not to mention the counseling office. In baseball parlance, said her longtime friend, retired La Conner Middle School principal Maureen Harlan, Vanderpool is the ultimate utility player – someone versatile and skilled...
The school district honored its volunteers – a vital group of more than 70 strong – along with retirees and colleagues not returning here in the fall with a reception and awards program at the middle school gym June 7. The 90-minute event led off with school administrators and staff praising the volunteers, who lent their time and expertise across academic activities at all grade levels. “Just think of all that volunteer time,” said Superintendent Will Nelson, serving as the afternoon’s master of ceremonies. “I can’t imagine that yo...
Cindy Masters Clausen is the reigning Washington state women’s horseshoe pitching champion, a crown she has held since 2017. She is also a two-time state doubles title winner and has captured top honors at numerous other tournaments. Clausen most recently was part of a four-member Washington pitching team that placed sixth out of 24 entries at the Team World competition in Beloit, WI. The quartet played 96 games and threw 3,840 game shoes. “It was our first appearance at Team World and a gre...
Sunday, June 5 11:06 a.m.: Stray kitten – A stray kitten was picked up and taken to the pet emergency center. McLean Rd., Greater La Conner. 10:06 p.m.: Oh deer – A vehicle collided with a deer. No injuries were reported by the driver. The deer did not survive and was removed from the road. Best Rd., Greater La Conner. Monday, June 6 11:32 a.m.: Gun threat – A student reported being threatened by another student at the high school on a previous day. The threat mentioned using a gun to shoot the student. A student was arrested...
La Conner high school's graduating class. Graduation Friday, June 10 at 5 p.m....
La Conner High School has held annual commencements for more than a century but the 5 p.m. June 10 graduation at Whittaker Field will offer something new. Those attending will be officially welcomed in four languages, Lushootseed, English, Spanish and American Sign Language. “We’re excited about that,” La Conner Middle and High School Counselor Lori Buher told the Weekly News. In another all-time first, the Class of 2022 boasts co-valedictorians and co-salutatorians. Charity Dakota Jordan, who r...
Ryan Hiller and Beth Clothier were instrumental in helping La Conner schools navigate uncharted waters posed by a global pandemic. The couple, members of the La Conner High School Class of 1987, were formally recognized as the school’s Outstanding Alumni for 2022 at the La Conner Alumni Association’s annual banquet and program in the middle school gymnasium June 4. “These two individuals are very important to the school district,” said association vice-president Susie Deyo. “During the pande...
Friday 60 La Conner High School students graduate, a great accomplishment and the real start, certainly not the end, of their education. Four times editorials on this page have saluted and extolled La Conner’s graduates, lifting them up as the hope of the world, pointing out the monumental challenges all adults are facing and extolling them to be brave and sensitive and thoughtful and to peer into the future to find a sane, sustainable world that their elders have refused to grasp. Not this year. This year, it is graduates, be aware. High s...
Roberta B. Nelson, age 83, passed away Monday, May 23, 2022 at home in Burlington, Washington. She was born Sept. 6, 1938 to Robert and Helga (Knudsen) Bell in Mount Vernon. She graduated class salutatorian from La Conner High School in 1956. On Feb. 22, 1957, Roberta married Roger F. Nelson, the love of her life, in La Conner. Roberta was a woman devoted to family and active helping others and using her gifts as a Cub Scout, Blue Birds and Campfire Girls leader. She was a member of the Skagit...
Sixty years separate La Conner High School students and a group of local senior cyclists. But their shared commitment to exercise has seen them frequently cross paths here. On June 7, they enjoyed a downtown rendezvous at Calico Cupboard. Members of teacher Suzanne Marble’s lifetime fitness physical education class met with the seasoned riders over homemade cinnamon rolls for which the First Street café and bakery is famous. Still, the big treat was bonding over their health and f...
Even though Eleonora Libé got sick her first days here after what seemed to her an endless flight, she is living her dream since then over the last nine months. The senior exchange student at La Conner High School turned 18 years old this April in Washington state, away from her family. This is the adventure she chose to live back in 2020, when she saw on social media other exchange students from her country in American schools. Stressed with Italian school and eager to travel and...
A La Conner High School exchange student considering a career in filmmaking is becoming something of a celebrity himself. While Aurelien Ali learns more about the local area since his arrival from Belgium last summer, teens in La Conner and around Skagit County are well acquainted with him. “My friends here tell me they’re always asked: ‘Do you know Aurelien from Belgium,’” Ali, 18 and a member of the senior class, told the Weekly News. “I don’t know them, but everyone knows about me.” Perhaps it’s because of Ali’s engaging personality and wil...
Heather Carter, who planted the seeds that germinated into La Conner’s Daffodil Festival, is leaving the Chamber of Commerce to help grow a new Camano Island non-profit venture. Her last day as director is June 17. "I have real mixed emotions,” Carter, told the Weekly News. The spokesperson for the La Conner business community since 2013 said she has thoroughly enjoyed her time in La Conner and finds the move bittersweet. The new job allows the 23-year resident of Stanwood to work closer to hom...
Monday, May 30 7:01 a.m.: Utility pole accident – A vehicle collided into a utility pole in the road. Wires were reported down in the roadway. La Conner Whitney Rd., La Conner. 12:39 p.m.: Fraud – Report of possible unauthorized use of a bank card at a market. Morris St., La Conner. Wednesday, June 1 10:41 a.m.: Horses on the loose – Report of two horses running loose in town. The owner was able to coral them and walk them back to their pasture. 4th St., La Conner. Thursday, June 2 7:06 a.m.: Gun threats – Law...
The on-edge tensions communities nationwide are experiencing became a crisis among La Conner High School students last Thursday and continued Monday. On June 2, a 15 year old student was arrested on three counts of felony harassment threats to kill and a count of threats to bomb or injure property, Skagit County Sheriff’s Office Undersheriff Chad Clark stated in a press release. A second student was taken into custody the afternoon of June 6 at the high school when sheriff’s deputies developed probable cause for felony harassment/threats to...
The weather was iffy, but the timing couldn’t have been better when Memorial Day ceremonies at the Swinomish Tribal Community Cemetery concluded Monday morning. Almost as soon as the tribal canoe family closed the solemn 90-minute multi-denominational prayer service with its Warrior Song, two eagles and four U.S. Navy jets soared across gray skies overhead. The symbolism was not lost on Brian Cladoosby, serving as master of ceremonies. He noted how Memorial Day, like the images that filled t...
Winning has long been par for La Conner High School senior Emma Worgum. The Lady Braves’ senior golf standout has excelled throughout her high school career, including summer tournaments. She capped her fantastic four-year run by capturing the Washington 1B/2B girls’ state championship at Deer Park May 25. She carded a two-day score of 144 – highlighted by a three-under-par 69 during Thursday’s second round – to win the title by 17 strokes. “Emma played great,” golf coach Jamie Car...
La Conner School Board members dealt with topics from A to Z during their two-hour hybrid meeting May 23. During public comments, a series of speakers stressed the value of preschool instruction being accessible to all children. They said it helps build a lifetime foundation of academic and social-emotional skills and that a district program will make sure children unable to attend private preschools not “fall through the cracks.” Members said they will consider it. Counselor Lori Buher reported that 24 seniors plan to attend four-year pub...
