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A plethora of political signs there this election cycle has in the view of many turned the La Conner roundabout into an eyesore. But that is about to change. The roundabout area is getting a well-deserved makeover, the effects of which will be visible long after the polls close and candidate signs come down. Two local businesses and service club members have teamed up to launch a long-term beautification project at the roundabout at the east entrance to town. With the iconic Pioneer Monument,...
On December 27, 2018, Dave Paul drove to La Conner to talk to residents about their request for help in funding a new library. It was the holidays, he was not yet sworn in, but he was already on the job. He listened, asked questions, concluded it was a good investment of taxpayer money and then led the effort to allocate state funds to the project. As a result of his focus on the needs of his constituents, and his ability to work effectively with legislators of both parties (including Rep. Norma Smith), the La Conner and Swinomish communities...
I recently read in a brochure from the La Conner School District that the District is providing laptops to those children without. While that is an important and vital step, it is only a first step – as I’m sure the District knows. After all, a laptop does not do a child any good if there’s no internet connection from home. While the District advises that it has a few mobile hotspots to loan, the only other option the District has (and offers at this time) is WiFi from its parking lots. There is, of course, WiFi outside the town’s libra...
La Conner’s first Shop Local, Shop Late last Friday ahead of the Labor Day weekend bought some locals downtown. The largest congregation seen by this reporter was at The Stall, locally owned by Kay Trelstad. About 7 p.m. Jim Airy came out with a bag containing a pair of earrings for his wife Anne. Mary Wohleb was in the store, too, and moments later Barbara Brunisholz emerged from the back with a blue blouse. Trelstad pronounced the evening worthwhile. Bruce Bradburn was staffing FORUM Arts, his...
The La Conner Rotary Club’s 75th Diamond Jubilee anniversary is Thursday. In service to the community the Club has supported and fundraised for projects, raising tens of thousands of dollars for: the new La Conner Swinomish Library, Conner Waterfront Park, the Gilkey Square pergola, Maple Hall’s commercial kitchen and audiovisual system, and in Mount Vernon, McIntyre Hall and the new Skagit Family YMCA. Emphasizing literacy and education, the Club has awarded annual scholarships for high school seniors, provided dictionaries to all third gra...
The Rotary Club was originally founded in Chicago in 1905 by Paul Harris “so professionals with diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas and form meaningful, lifelong friendships.” The club grew quickly, spread over six continents in the first 16 years, and later adopted humanitarian service as part of its mission. The motto of Rotary International is “Service Above Self,” a spirit that guides Rotarians in facing down hard challenges such as the eradication of polio and alleviation of poverty...
This year has brought numerous challenges requiring new visions, including Rotary Club of La Conner’s annual auction on Aug. 20. Typically held at La Conner’s Maple Hall, this year’s virtual, online only auction’s theme is “Through the Looking Glass: 2020 Vision.” Proceeds from the La Conner Rotary auction support La Conner High School scholarships, dictionaries for third graders, a book a month from birth through age five for all children in the La Conner School District through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, bookmobiles in Guatemala a...
This year’s primary election has more candidates than can be covered in the Weekly News. Get past the 36 candidates for governor and drill down to the contested election contests close to home. You can send Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Everett, back to Washington or you can send him packing. At the other end of the ballot are three candidates for Skagit County Superior Court Judge, Position 3. The basic information here is a start for researching contenders for local and regional offices not highlighted the last two weeks. Voting can be hard work. C...
The Washington State Legislative District 10 is one of the few competitive districts in the state this election. The Position 1 seat has four Democrats and one Republican hoping to replace retiring longtime Rep. Norma Smith, R-Clinton. Dave Paul, D-Oak Harbor, holds the Position 2 seat, which he wrested from Rep. Dave Hayes by just over 700 votes in 2018. Sen. Barbara Bailey, R-Oak Harbor, retired last fall from the District’s Senate seat. Ron Muzzall, a farmer from Oak Harbor was appointed t...
It didn’t take Dave Paul long to make his mark in La Conner once he arrived in Olympia at 2019’s legislative session as a new state lawmaker. Within weeks, Paul, an Oak Harbor Democrat, teamed with Rep. Debra Lekanoff (D-Bow) to sponsor the Capital Budget Request that led to an allocation of $720,000 for the long-sought La Conner-Swinomish Regional Library. Paul, whose career path led him to higher education, proved a quick study when it came time to help the La Conner area write a key cha...
In Skagit County, the Board of County Commissioners is the legislative authority and administrators of several County operations. They adopt the annual budget, levy taxes and set five department budgets: emergency services, health parks, planning and roads. They legislate ordinances “concerning the general welfare of the County.” They also have quasi-judicial duties. The Commissioners are partisan elected officials. Candidates are nominated in the primary election, by ballots cast only the...
Ready, set, shop. Start Thursday at the Soroptimist Vintage Store on Morris Street, open for the first time since mid-March. Their high-quality goods have been dusted off, the volunteer staff has a safety plan, which includes customers: wear your mask, keep your distance and be patient with rationed entry and a set path to exit. Doors open at 11 a.m. daily through the 4th. A Vintage visit is practice for the La Conner event of the weekend: the blowout Independence Day weekend closing sale of the Friends of the Library Thrift Shop Friday and...
The COVID-19 crisis has taken its toll on La Conner businesses – including the nonprofits that rely on volunteer workers. The Friends of the Library and Soroptimists International Vintage La Conner thrift stores were deemed non-essential and forced to close this spring as part of statewide measures to curb spread of the coronavirus. But La Conner residents have long known the two stores are plenty essential. Proceeds from Vintage La Conner go to help women and girls here as well as in the...
The second annual Library Giving Day on Thursday is an event that gives library lovers like you a chance to support the new La Conner Swinomish Library. Last year 192 library organizations from 39 US States and four Canadian provinces joined the #LibraryGivingDay movement and more than 4,200 donors contributed a total of $737,000. In these unprecedented times, work continues here in La Conner on the planning and design for the new library. We’re still hopeful of breaking ground later this summer. And that’s thanks to the caring support of gen...
Technology is helping bring people and ideas together even as social distancing has become the norm in response to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. The latest example was an hour-long remote panel discussion conducted on the Zoom video conferencing platform in La Conner Thursday afternoon. Town, school and civic leaders logged on to share ways in which they are moving forward in the midst of a pandemic that has ground the economy to a halt. One theme that emerged is those not laid off or furloughed at present are actually working harder outside the...
The La Conner Regional Library Board of Directors is pleased to announce the hiring of Jared Fair as the new Library Director. Fair, the managing librarian for Yakima Valley Libraries, will join the La Conner Library on April 13. “Jared’s progressive managerial and leadership experience, which includes supervision of 12 libraries to date in the Yakima Valley Library District, impressed our board, staff and members of the community who participated in our interview process,” said Jean Marke...
An examination of Swinomish taxation for 2020 reveals that the levy rate remains the same at $14.3500 per thousand, but the assessed value of homes in Shelter Bay and Pull & Be Damned went up from $163,899,070 to $171,719,175. Taxes increased by 5%. Skagit County levy code 1580, which used to include Shelter Bay and Pull & Be Damned, is $11.6355 per thousand. Until last year, the Tribe used to use the same levy rate as the county. The Swinomish will collect $2,120,732 in taxes. They will contribute $974,072 to four of the nine taxing districts...
The design for the new La Conner Swinomish Library was approved by the Town’s Planning Commission Feb. 18. More than 30 library supporters filled Maple Hall’s meeting room, showing their interest in the project and the design, which was unveiled by Jake LaBarre of BuildingWork, the La Conner Regional Library Board’s architect. In his presentation the Seattle architect reviewed the 5,500 square foot one-story building that will fill the 10,000 square foot lot at Morris and Sixth Streets now occupied by the Friends of the Library Thrift Store...
Dear Ken, I am touched and honored by your recognition this month (as 2019’s unsung hero – ed.). Thank you. Many amazing unsung heroes in our community have come together over the years in support of the library. Our tiny town shares a big heart and a commitment to quality of life that is remarkable! When we planned our move to La Conner about 15 years ago, the presence of a library in town surprised me. Then I learned there has been a library here since the late 1920s. Volunteers made it all possible at the beginning with their time a...
In spite of tremendous support by members, the Rotary Club of La Conner is retiring the annual Smelt Derby. For the handful of smelt in the Channel, the Derby’s demise is good news. Not so for the humans who gathered each February to fish and frolic during the beloved late-winter community event. Longtime Derby committee member and judge Patsy Good has been doling out prizes for the largest smelt, the smallest smelt and the strangest catch since 1996. For the last several years, Smelt Derby f...
Some 20 people accepted the La Conner School District’s invitation to informally gather for a coffee chat to find out “what’s happening” in the district last Thursday, Jan. 23. School Board Chair Susie Deyo and Superintendent Dr. Whitney Meissner co-hosted the evening conversation in the middle school library. Newly elected board members John Agen and Marlys Baker joined them. The topics drawing the most animated conversation were “the dissension that sprung up between the two unions and the superintendent,” asked by an elder, and the look of...
It wasn’t just La Conner’s students who had the day off last Wednesday. It is not known how many owners or employees joined kids on the Washington Avenue sledding hill, but except for Pioneer Market and Stompin Grounds, where Kim Broadhead was engaged with her regular customers midmorning, Morris Street was eerily quiet early. The open sign was out at Vintage Lighting but it wasn’t certain that employees were inside. A much sadder sign was taped to the door of Sliders Cafe: They were closed Wedn...
Patricia McEniry Love of La Conner, age 94, died at her home on November 26, 2019. She is survived by daughters: Robin (Richard Tanner) and Sheila Connolly, 9 grandchildren, and 8 great grandchildren. No one will ever forget their “GG.” She was preceded in death by Henry Love, her husband of 60 years, daughter Ann Love Glick, and brother Michael McEniry. She was born Patricia Adele McEniry to James & Betty (Braga) McEniry on October 30, 1925 in Pasadena, California. The family moved to Seattle w...
The library at La Conner High School was buzzing with questions and conversations between 45 8th graders and 18 adults. They gathered together for two hours Jan. 8 to take part in “Pizza with Professionals.” This first-time event came about through the collaborative efforts of La Conner Schools Superintendent Dr. Whitney Meissner, Counselor Lori Buher and Susan Macek of the La Conner Rotary. The goal was to provide an opportunity for students in middle school to engage with local rep...
La Conner Regional Library Board Chair Jean Markert and Susan Macek, La Conner Library Foundation director and now interim library director, provided a start of the year update on all matters library last week. The new library design will incorporate and represent the library’s purpose: it will be an inviting and open space, light filled, a welcome space for everyone. “I see it as an exciting place for people to come, a place people want to come to,” Markert said. “We want to be a place where people are inspired to learn and to create and to...
