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The La Conner Braves had extra motivation to defeat Vashon Island in its football season home opener at Whittaker Field Friday night. It wasn’t just because the Braves had suffered a 64-24 loss to Pomeroy in their 2024 eight-man grid debut a week earlier. Returning home, La Conner players were joined on their sideline by celebrated motivational speaker Curt Marsh, the former University of Washington All-American and Los Angeles Raiders Super Bowl champion. He now resides in Shelter Bay. “What I liked a lot about tonight is how you played for...
NOT TO BE MISSED Skagit Valley Giant Pumpkin Festival, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21. It ends with pumpkin and squash entry weigh-offs for prizes. It starts with fun for kids of all ages and food, drinks, a hay maze and plants. Christianson’s Nursery & Greenhouse, 15806 Best Road, Mount Vernon. Get out your bibs, it’s the Skagit Tidewater Boil! Celebrate the food, farming and fishing communities of Skagit Valley with fine food, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, at the La Conner Marina. Tickets on sale at genuineskagitvalley.com. COM...
I can recommend two books: The Bible and “The Anti-Communist Manifesto” by Jesse Kelly. Because our homeland is in such crises, it is difficult to know how to briefly say what is in my head and heart. So, just this: Truth is under attack. Deception is the name of the game today. Lies are repeated and repeated and many Americans are deceived by those who are working to change, destroy this constitutional republic. If we can’t discern truth from lies, we are easily deceived. Also, platforms are available for us to read. What does the Repub...
At Saturday’s Meet the Mayor session at the La Conner Swinomish Library, Mayor Marna Hanneman ended the hour upbeat, telling the seven assembled they were awesome and that she was encouraged. “I keep saying it takes a village,” she said, suggesting, “let’s take it on the road,” to Shelter Bay and other communities, in a collaborative effort to tackle greater La Conner’s problems. And while she noted, “It’s all of us, farmers, merchants, the Tribe, Shelter Bay,” everyone at the table had faithfully attended most of these near monthly meetin...
It is with heavy hearts that we share that, on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, Douglas Shannon "Doug" Snider passed away at the age of 79 while boating with his wife. Doug was born on Oct. 27, 1944, in Colorado Springs, Colo., to John and Elsie Snider. The family moved to Medford, Ore., a year later. After graduating from Saint Mary's School, he attended the University of Notre Dame where he received a degree in architecture. Shortly afterwards, he entered the Navy where he spent the next four years. Du...
HEADS UP IMPORTANT! Wednesday, Oct. 9, S. First Street traffic shifts to ONE-WAY SOUTHBOUND. Commercial Street will become ONE-WAY EASTBOUND. Info: Call 360-466-3125. NOT TO BE MISSED Free docent-led tours at Museum of Northwest Art. Join a docent for a public tour of exhibitions at MoNA, 11-11:45 a.m. second Saturdays, 121 S. First St. RSVP at monamuseum.org/docent-led-tours. Sept. 23-27 is Fall Prevention Week at the Anacortes Senior Center. Daily presentations include Safe Walking; Core Strength; Life Events and the Risk of Falls; Safe...
Cruising over from Shelter Bay for scoops of ice cream at O'Neil's Confectionery and Soda Fountain seems the perfect way to end a Labor Day afternoon in La Conner. And what better way to putter over, literally, than in a bright red mini tugboat complete with to-scale tire fenders? That is what Keri and Michael Palasz did about 5 p.m. Monday. Rum raisin was her first choice while he was planning on mint chocolate chip. Keri was piloting their recently acquired boat, bringing it into La Conner's...
Elaine Stewart, longtime resident of Skagit County, passed away July 31 with family by her side, leaving behind a legacy of service, dedication and love. Following the untimely death of her mother, Elaine lived with the Diehl family, graduating Bellingham High School, class of 1949. After graduation, she went to visit the Stewart family on Decatur Island. It was there she met her husband, Robert Alan Stewart. They married in 1949, living for a time on the historic property before moving to Anacortes. Elaine worked as a meat wrapper, retiring...
A celebration of life will be held for Mike Chevalier from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, at the Shelter Bay clubhouse. Soft liquor will be served and Santo Coyote will cater a taco bar. Please come and share a favorite story about Mike....
HEADS UP The La Conner wastewater treatment plant will close at 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 6 to septage hauling, yard waste dumping and compost pickup. The plant is expected to be closed most of the day. NOT TO BE MISSED Saturday with the Mayor, it’s open mic. Come and talk with Mayor Marna Hanneman at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 7 at the La Conner Swinomish Library. Join local poet Susan Rich for a short introduction to writing poetry about visual art, 4-5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, at the Museum of Northwest Art. Get inspired surrounded by art and o...
Nancy Llewellyn may not have known it at the time, but her years at La Conner High School in the late 1960s and early 1970s were a prescription for future success. A positive prognosis was quite apparent even then to fellow students and faculty members alike, all of whom admired her keen academic skills, especially gifts for solving tough math problems and writing bold pieces for the campus newspaper. The 1972 La Conner grad would go on to medical school at the University of Washington and a sub...
Dredging in the Swinomish Channel will begin Sept. 9 and continue until mid-February, says the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Last dredged in 2018, the 11-mile long, 100-feet wide, 12-feet deep federal navigation channel is dredged every four to six years because “navigation through the channel is essential for commerce in the area,” said Sara Young, executive director of the Port of Skagit. Most of the work during the round-the-clock, six-days-a-week project will take place at the entrances of the channel. At the south end, the Skagit Rive...
A celebration of life will be held for Mike Chevalier from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, at the Shelter Bay clubhouse. Soft liquor will be served and Santo Coyote will cater a taco bar. Please come and share a favorite story about Mike....
HEADS UP The La Conner wastewater treatment plant will close at 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 6, to septage hauling, yard waste dumping and compost pickup. The plant is expected to be closed most of the day. NOT TO BE MISSED Join local poet Susan Rich for a short introduction to writing poetry about visual art, 4-5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, at the Museum of Northwest Art. Get inspired by art in MoNA’s galleries and other poets writing around you. You will have the opportunity to have your work published on MoNA’s website and to read it at the Poetry Ope...
I am sympathetic to your recent view article questioning the value of our present two-party system to our election process. The criticism can apply to either side. The parties gain total control by holding the purse strings and thus keep things in uproar as an easy way to generate funds. In this game, money talks loudly. The whistlestop train campaigning may be too outdated, but the undergirding of what we stand for may still be there. Namely: 1. That truth is the most sustainable way to keep us free, safe and fair in our interactions. 2. That...
NOT TO BE MISSED Annual Summer Concert. Hear the Skagit Community Band at 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 24, for its annual summer concert at Gilkey Square in La Conner. As always, the concert is free. Bring lawn chairs and sun screen. Animal, landscape and rural travel photography by travel photographer Terry Divyak is on display at Caravan Gallery, 619 S. First Street, La Conner. Open daily. LIBRARIES La Conner Swinomish Library. 520 Morris St., La Conner. 360-466-3352. www.lclib.lib.wa.us. Open 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday....
Volunteering has paid off handsomely and repeatedly for Gary Ladd, the rewards proving every bit as valuable as a paycheck. "It's been fun," Ladd stresses, citing the sense of self-fulfillment realized from public service. Over the past decade, Ladd has lent his time and expertise to Skagit County Fire District 13, Skagit Bay Search & Rescue and the Shelter Bay residential community, filling a variety of roles for each. "I always had the spirit for volunteerism, but never had the time," said...
New hire, familiar face. John Tanaka, who was its assistant chief a decade ago, is returning to Skagit County Fire District 13 near La Conner as a paid consultant to help develop long-range plans for expanded services. Tanaka's resume is filled with fire service experience. Along with his stint with District 13, Tanaka has been a fire captain in Everett, a fire response lecturer and instructor, a consultant to several other departments and consulted on a project to rebuild statewide...
NOT TO BE MISSED Annual Summer Concert Hear the Skagit Community Band Saturday Aug. 24 at 2 p.m. for its annual Summer Concert at Gilkey Square in La Conner. As always, the concert is free. Bring lawn chairs and sun screen. Animal, landscape and rural travel photography by travel photographer Terry Divyak on display at Caravan Gallery, 619 1st Street, La Conner. Open daily. LIBRARIES La Conner Swinomish Library. 520 Morris St., La Conner. 360-466-3352. www.lclib.lib.wa.us. Open 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. Storytime...
The public hearing held on July 29 by the La Conner school board revealed that next year the district is going to levy $1,434,000 for debt service on the bond that built the middle school. That will be paid by about 4,400 non-Native American taxpayers who live in the school district. The Swinomish do not pay taxes. Yet, they account for 38.7% of the student body. They should contribute $554,958. The tribe can afford it. They will collect $1,958,197 extra cash from their tax on Shelter Bay and Pull & Be Damned residents this year. One of the...
La Conner’s town government – elected officials and staff – created a long task list for the second year of implementing the five-year strategic plan they adopted last September. Credit them for being ambitious: 31 tasks came out of their June retreat, with over half of them placed on Mayor Marna Hanneman and Administrator Scott Thomas’ shoulders. The fire department, with five tasks, has made progress, getting a $150,000 commitment from the town council to buy a fire boat. Public works and finance staff are assigned these tasks: improving inte... Full story
With the expected finalizing of Kamala Harris to be the Democratic presidential nominee, our planet has hope for remaining livable. Earth will of course remain no matter what, but the four years that Trump occupied the office set back actions to limit climate change by 10 to 15 years. No one can argue that our weather has become more hostile to humans and animals. Many cities are passing the temperature threshold for outdoor activities plus the number of severe storms and wildfires has gone beyond any expectations. By Trump eliminating the... Full story
The Federal H-2A Temporary Farmworker Program was designed to provide “temporary workers/guest workers” in areas where industrial agriculture can request a cheap, flexible and deportable workforce with no labor rights. This program relies on cheap and exploitable temporary workers working on farms at the expense of local farmworker communities displaced from secure jobs to support their families. Local workers work/live in Skagit County (some for decades), have families, pay taxes, pay for housing, buy clothing and groceries, and support the... Full story
What a difference a year makes. Last summer, La Conner School District officials required a budget extension that forecasted a negative general fund balance, the result of declining student enrollment and loss of pandemic-related federal dollars. That dire scenario landed La Conner in binding conditions, essentially giving the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction oversight of La Conner’s finances. On Monday, the school board approved what it called a “lean” $13 million budget for 2024-25 that projects revenues exceeding expen...
NOT TO BE MISSED Anacortes Arts Festival, Aug. 2-4. More than 220 artisans will have booths filling Commercial Avenue in downtown Anacortes. It’s one of the largest arts festivals in the Northwest. Music on the Jazz Stage all three days. Free admission. Join Firefighter/EMT Natalie Baker for coffee at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 10 in the La Conner Swinomish Library conference room. She’ll discuss fire safety topics and will have some firefighting equipment for the community to try out. This event will end with a Q&A. Bring your coffee mug and que... Full story
