Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper
Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper
Sorted by date Results 777 - 792 of 792
Development plans for La Conner’s new waterfront park are moving full steam ahead, with town officials working hard to secure grants for the project. Conner Waterfront Park will encompass the 600-foot stretch of land between Pioneer Park and the Swinomish Channel. La Conner Town Administrator John Doyle traveled to Olympia with architect Curt Miller to present the plans for the park to the state’s Recreation and Conservation Office, an agency that allocates grants to parks, trails, and other nature-oriented projects. The Recreation and Con...
Discussion at times devolved into debate during Tuesday’s forum on police services in La Conner. “Our conversation began as a review of police services today,” Mayor Ramon Hayes said near the end of an hour-long public hearing at Maple Center, “and it has obviously taken a turn.” But when all was said and done, the turn wasn’t completed. A slim Town Council majority opted to stay the course and remain contracted through 2016 with the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement and related services. Council members Bill Stokes, Jacqu...
Representatives of the Washington Coalition for Open Government awarded “La Conner Weekly News” editor and publisher Sandy Stokes with a Key Award on Thursday for advancing the cause of open government after the paper was awarded a $24,500 judgment in a lawsuit against Fire District 13 for violating the state’s Public Records Act and Open Public Meetings Act. “I want to say that it takes courage to stand up for open government and to advocate for transparency,” said George Erb, a director...
A La Conner Town Council member has gone the extra mile — and then some — to meet folks from all walks of life. Jacques Brunisholz is home after having completed a 500-mile section of the scenic Pacific Crest Trail, part of America’s famed Triple Crown of Hiking. The 61-year-old Brunisholz says it’s the toughest thing he’s ever done. Even harder than hitting the campaign trail in La Conner. “It’s just an overwhelmingly difficult thing to do, physically and mentally,” Brunisholz...
La Conner Town Councilman Jacques Brunisholz offered to resign so that he can fulfill a lifelong dream to hike the Pacific Crest Trail this summer. He had handed in a letter of resignation, but the council decided to place the letter on file and grant him an extended leave unless something comes up that requires a fifth member. Brunisholz said he will be leaving immediately to hike the trail starting in Southern California. He said he could be gone up to five months walking the trail, which extends 2,650 miles from the Mexican border to...
Frank Scott was recently named La Conner’s Code En-forcement Officer, filling a posi-tion that has been vacant more than a year. His duties include responding to calls for service and com-plaints, as well as issuing cita-tions for illegal parking and taking appropriate actions to enforce animal control, handling abandoned vehicles, upholding public nuisance ordinances, zoning and other municipal code activities as may be required by the town administrator, John Doyle. Town staff was delighted to see the position filled after trying to fill i...
With no public input, Mayor Ramon Hayes said he was unable to get any “weedback from the community” regarding marijuana gardens for medical use. Nevertheless the Town Council voted to direct Town Administrator John Doyle to craft an ordinance allowing collective gardens within the town limits according to state guidelines. The vote was unanimous. Since La Conner didn’t make the state’s list of municipalities where recreational pot outlets can be located, Town officials say it is unlikely the town will have a retail pot store. Because state l...
For the past several years, the Town of La Conner’s Public Works Department has spent a week each spring hauling yard waste for residents. “It was just a way to help people do a spring cleanup,” said Public Works Director Brian Lease. But what started out as a way to help folks who couldn’t haul their branches on their own has turned into a major week-long project, costing the town thousands of dollars. “Over the years, some people started stockpiling their yard waste throughout the year and then expect the town to come and get it,” Leas...
While muckraking is deeply rooted in journalism, it has branched out quite nicely into other fields as well. Horticulture, for one. That was the scoop shared last week by environmental engineer Tammy Thomas, who outlined findings from a local four-year compost field study during a briskly-paced 20-minute presentation before the La Conner Town Council, Mayor Ramon Hayes and other town officials. Thomas termed the use of compost in tree-cropping as “very promising” based on extensive trials conducted in the La Conner area. The La Conner Was...
In order to replace an ageing water main and keep La Conner’s clean, fresh tap water flowing, the Town Council has been asked to hike residents’ utility bills. The biggest increase will be in the water portion of the town bills, which also include charges for sewer and storm drain services. According to town Engineer Evan Henke, the water bill should go up 10 percent this year and by another 5 percent in each of the next two years to pay for necessary repairs and maintenance. Meanwhile, the town’s sewer bill has an automatic increase, accor...
On what appeared to be a unanimous vote, the four La Conner Town Councilmen on Tuesday appointed Marylee Chamberlain to fill the vacancy on their five-member panel. Troy Allen, who was elected in November, did not take office in January because he moved out of town for a job inOregon. Chamberlain has been a member of the town’s Planning Commission for four years, a volunteer position that has given her knowledge of town codes, land use and development issues, she said. The Planning Commission is...
In my 12th year as Mayor, I am very grateful for the community that we all share. I have always said that La Conner’s greatest resource is its people. It’s true, and La Conner has attracted an eclectic and vibrant group of individuals from a profusion of backgrounds and varying ages. The Town is also fortunate to have dedicated staff, organizations and hosts of volunteers that work intently to ensure and improve the high quality of life that we all enjoy. Further, La Conner’s elected Town Council is a serious group of individuals who don’t...
A second wave? Not yet – because COVID-19 never really went away. You cannot have a second wave if you haven’t properly dealt with the current wave of infections. Why are we so worried about a second wave of infections in the United States when COVID -19 infections have not stopped and they are escalating rapidly? Beijing China had 55 consecutive days with no new infections. Beijing now finds itself in another lockdown because new cases have suddenly emerged. Memorial Day in the United States seemed to be our rites of passage toward t...
As a Town Council person (2000-2004) when we hired John Doyle, I want to commend his long and conscientious service. He started with one job and did so well, he took on another! As planner and administrator, he has been clear, fair, judicious and mostly helpful in applying and enforcing Town ordinances such that all entities were treated equally, efficiently and knew what to expect in planning their projects. His experience is broad and deep. It will be difficult to find someone to fill his shoes. I wish him well in retirement. Joan Cross La...
The La Conner Town Council covered a lot of ground verbally at its Oct. 12 meeting but no items on their agenda required a vote. Thirty-four of the 74 page council packet laid out the 2022 town budget, which Mayor Ramon Hayes had sent council the day before. Hayes told council, “You have a small pool of people, under 1,000, living in a boutique community.” He emphasized their needs must be managed with limited funding, Staff wage increases were one of a few line items emphasized, with Finance Director Maria DeGoede explaining it is pegged to th...
Once they cast their ballots in November, all La Conner area government officeholders running for reelection will win. Not a single one is opposed. Two years after two incumbents for La Conner school district board of directors were defeated in the 2019 elections, three directors are running unchallenged. All were appointed to their positions. They now will win election when they vote for themselves in the fall. District 2 Director Amanda Bourgeois will fill an unexpired two year term, District 3 Director Jeremy Wilbur gains a full four-year...
