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Shelter Bay residents face a weekend of board conflicts aired. Friday morning five Shelter Bay Community board of directors are in Skagit County Superior Court. Plaintiff’s Jan Henrie’s civil complaint accuses them of malfeasance and violating their statutory fiduciary duty. The lawsuit filed March 15, Jan Henrie vs. Wendy Poulton, Elaine Dixon Monte Hicks, Joseph1 Hurley and Louise Kari, has a March 31 hearing. Cases start at 9:30 a.m. The case number is 23-2-00221-29 The board filed a liability insurance claim and again has Seattle att...
Finding out who slew the Slough Swindler, the La Conner Chamber of Commerce’s participatory mystery theatre event last Saturday, was relatively easy. Several people figured it out and the winner was chosen by lot. He got a grand prize package of La Conner tourist goodies. Everyone went home happy. Solving the problems the Shelter Bay Community faces will not be nearly so easy, may not end at a prescribed time and the outcome is not certain. This is a drama still playing out. It may be dramatic but it is certainly a mess. The five executive c...
After my decision to run for the Shelter Bay Community board of directors a year ago, I set a goal to read all of the governing documents, including the association’s Rules and Regulations, cover to cover. I studied HOA educational videos and used my own funds to pay for seminars. I listened to attorneys’ lectures on the fiduciary duty of Care, Loyalty and Obedience. I familiarized myself with HOA infrastructure, liability insurance, management and current state statutes for Common Interest Communities, HOAs and Non-profit Corporations. I lea...
The officers of the Shelter Bay Community board of directors are called back to Skagit County Superior Court March 31 on a civil complaint that accuses them of breach of fiduciary duty. It alleges malfeasance and failure in their actions and conduct as directors for passing the “invalid budget in violation of both the bylaws of SBC Inc. and the Revised Code of Washington” for 2023. It also alleges that the board "failed to mail the budget to its members as required," so it was never properly ratified and that the board’s following of this...
“We will fail, / When we fail to try” — Rosa Parks A Message From the Dark Side … . I am a woman from the “other side” as the writers put it in last week’s page 3 “Show of Support” display ad for some members of the Shelter Bay board (Weekly News, March 15). I would like to make a few observations and comments in response. A board in charge of representing nearly 1,000 homes is a huge job! I’m sure that no resident has ever demanded “perfection,” however, along with the honor and privilege of representing our communities it is also...
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...
In 2023 the La Conner School District taxes will be $993,717 for operations and $1,300,000 for debt service. There are 2,313 taxpayers in the district. On average, each taxpayer pays $992 for schools. According to the school district’s budget, the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community contributes $500,000 to operations and nothing to debt service. Debt service is covered by non-Indians. According to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, 34% of the student population is Native American. The Tribe’s share of debt service is $442,000...
I agree with the writer’s statement (letter: “Weekly News story misreports Shelter Bay forum,” March 8) “We live in challenging times and a plague of misinformation stands in the way of finding solutions.” The writer then went at length to explain how the Weekly News provided misinformation in several ways – quoting social media, not providing direct quotes, attributing a statement to the board president who was not in attendance, failing to tell the readers that the board members in attendance did an excellent job of addressing some of She...
We live in challenging times and a plague of misinformation stands in the way of finding solutions. We are cautioned that instead of social media, we should seek truth in “real news,” traditional journalism. Sadly, this paper chose to cover the recent Shelter Bay town hall by quoting anonymous social media posts on Shelter Bay issues instead of reporting what actually took place at the meeting. The writer’s bias against the current board was not well concealed in the poorly written piece. Phrases like “sources did say,” “the Weekly News was to...
There has been a lot of discussion of late, with very good reason, on the matter of the age of the president and other elected members of government. First, there was Sen. Feinstein of California, soon to retire at 89, with some noting an obvious loss of mental acuity. And, of course, most prominently is our sitting president, Joe Biden. His latest physical, according to whomever the doctor was, seemed to indicate that Biden is in the pink despite numerous health issues, as one would expect for a man 80 years old. But if we take the doctor at...
About 100 Shelter Bay residents attended the latest in a series of monthly one-hour town hall forums at the community’s clubhouse Sunday night, where a wide range of topics – including recent sanctions imposed on two board members – were addressed. Other subjects covered in prior meetings, including perhaps the sorest of subjects – the unauthorized tree-cutting at Rainbow Park in 2020 that resulted in a stiff fine imposed by the Swinomish Tribal Community Planning Department – were discussed as well. So, too, was the status of Shelter B...
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...
Shelter Bay Community board of directors Judy Kontos and Dan McCaughan were sanctioned by their board Feb. 15 based on findings of an ethics committee appointed by the board. Kontos and McCaughan were provided “Board Sanction” memorandums by Board President Wendy Poulton Feb. 16. Shelter Bay residents were informed of the temporarily restricted roles for the two in a community Board Member Update email Feb. 17. The two were elected by Shelter Bay residents to the board in May on reform platforms critical of the board leadership. McC...
Accusations of ethics violations are being used by the Shelter Bay board of directors to silence and dispense with dissension. As a member of the community, I know I’m joined by many others in completely rejecting the actions they have taken against two elected board members. Sadly, the officers have been unable to lead the board in governing for the community. There are nine board members. Four are appointed, five elected. While the president is an elected member, the vice president, treasurer and secretary are all appointed members. This r...
A full moon didn't rise until Sunday, but a lot of crazy things happened in the La Conner area days prior. It started with a burglary at Pioneer Market and included a pair of power outages, the sinking of a boat on the waterfront and a car slamming into a house and flipping onto its top side off Shelter Bay Drive Friday night. The early Wednesday break-in at the Morris Street grocery store didn't net the burglars much. They got away with five cartons of cigarettes and apparently had their...
The most important thing most people can do to cut their electric and natural gas bills is reduce the amount of energy they use for heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC). This is because most – up to two-thirds – of money spent on energy in a home is for climate control. The rest is split between lighting, water heating, cooking, refrigeration, electronics like TV and computers and a variety of specialized devices. The HVAC system itself is probably the most important part of the HVA...
The coronavirus pandemic roared into 2022 but vaccinations slowed its spread and the story faded from the public consciousness. Fewer people reported their positive tests and infections. People are still getting infected and hospitalized, however. Skagit Count now over 15,000 COVID-19 cases Jan.12 New COVID-19 hospitalizations swamping county Jan. 26 Indoor mask mandate ends statewide March 21 Feb. 23 Skagit one of 12 state counties with high COVID-19 transmission Jul. 6 New Skagit COVID-19 cases drop dramatically Sep. 7 Wearing masks indoors...
He was born on family farm in Inman, Nebraska during the dust bowl and depression of 1933. Two years later, the sale of their farm, home and equipment netted $95 and paid the train fare for the family to California. The build up to WWII brought the family to northern California. Larry attended one and two room schools through 9th grade, then boarded with relatives in the Seattle area for high school. After graduation from Lincoln High in 1948 and knowing he would soon be drafted, he enlisted in...
Thieves tried turning the hiding of the golf cart they stole into an art form. The reviews to date have not been pretty. The cart, which belongs to North First Street resident Mit Harlan, was recovered last week after having been crudely spray-painted green, camouflaged and partially buried in thickets in the McGlinn Island area. Whoever was responsible apparently had use for the cart and was not looking to sell the hot wheels: They altered its appearance and concealed it in a remote area just...
The American judicial system isn’t always known for its swift action. But Skagit County Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Yost Neidzwski took less than five minutes Dec. 15 to dismiss with prejudice a complaint filed by Shelter Bay residents Wesley and Roberta Fontenot against Philip Buri, the residential community’s longtime legal counsel. Dismissal with prejudice means a plaintiff cannot refile the same claim in that court. Roberta Fontenot, previously an assistant federal public defender in Louisiana, did not appear in court. She had named Bur...
The Weekly News multi part series on energy transitions has spent many words telling us how we need to wean ourselves off of oil and go green. Admittedly I am no expert on these matters, but after nearly 70 years on this planet I have learned a thing or two. The author stated early on that "we can’t drill our way out of the energy crunch" or words to that effect. To this I say Baloney! We can and have drilled our way out of similar situations. Jimmy Carter pretty much said the same thing in the '70s. Must conserve, turn down the thermostat, put...
Today is the official start of winter. The seasons changed Monday, though, when La Conner and the Puget Sound region awakened to sub-freezing temperatures and light snow on the ground. Much of the same is forecast through Friday. The wintry conditions immediately impacted schedules. La Conner Schools Monday morning canceled Tuesday classes, the last day of school before winter break. The La Conner High girls' basketball game at Meridian Monday and the Braves' Tuesday tipoff with Clallam Bay...
Since 2015 talks had stalled regarding negotiation of a new master lease between Shelter Bay and the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community. Now folks are talking again. Shelter Bay and Swinomish residents and leaders last week attended the first of planned traditional Native American open floor discussions hosted by lease consultants Dr. Wil James and Ava Goodman at the tribal social services building. Most came away with a positive view of the three-hour session, which invited a frank but respectful dialogue stressing common ground approaches to s...
Shelter Bay community residents learned about their marina’s history, structure and financials at the second “Know Your Community” class held Dec. 12 at the clubhouse. The class began with interim community manager Pat McGarry saying he was “drafted” to the volunteer marina committee after moving here in 2010 based on his marina construction experience. The marina’s story started with Axel Osberg negotiating a lease agreement with Dewey Mitchell of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community in the 1960s to dredge a harbor and create a development...
"There are a lot of unique things in La Conner that you can't get anywhere else," noted Mark Hulst, director of the La Conner Chamber of Commerce last Thursday. The Swinomish Yacht Club's annual lighted boat parade may be at the top of Hulst's list. Once again, the town found every parking lot occupied, every restaurant full and, perhaps, every hotel room booked as evening descended and people from across the region crowded the boardwalk on the Swinomish Channel ahead of the 6 p.m. parade start....
