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Being members of the group likely to suffer the most from our current health crisis, Barb and I have been trying to practice “social distancing” during our day to day activities, and in most instances we have succeeded. Grocery shopping was when we felt vulnerable until we learned that Pioneer Market willingly accepted phone orders with deliveries to the trunk of our car. I ordered over thirty items, and slightly over an hour later they called that my order was ready for pickup. Except for a couple of out of stock items, all fresh and good qua...
Robert Bibeau, a long-time resident of Shelter Bay, died in Burlington, WA, on March 15, 2020. He was born in Somerset, MA on February 2, 1934. Robert went on to have a successful career as an aeronautical engineer working in Florida, Utah and Washington State. He was proud of working on the first space program while in Florida and with the Green River Space Program in Utah. Bob completed his career working for Boeing until his retirement in 1990. In 1991, he built a home in Shelter Bay and live...
Saturday Nikki Hamilton, a friend of mine from church, died of the COVID-19 virus. She was a member of the Skagit Valley Chorale, which made the decision to practice earlier in March. That decision was based on public health guidelines. Now the group of 60 is a “cluster” and Skagit County Public Health has found thta “more than half of attendees who were at this gathering are now confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19.” Sunday folks from at least Seattle and Everett were shopping on First Street and picnicking at the pocket parks on the boa...
The variety of restaurants and coffee shops had a variety of sales volume in the week since Gov. Jay Inslee ordered they cease serving sit-down customers. They are an essential business under Inslee’s Monday declaration telling everyone to stay home, except for a short list of approved activities, including picking up take-out meals, getting groceries and medicines, seeing doctors and getting exercise. Social distancing – keeping six feet distance – is always necessary. Car and foot...
The idea of homework being a drag is so old school these days. Now it’s helping La Conner students battle cabin fever and occasional boredom as they wait out campus closures through April 24. Teachers here have lined up relevant on-line and other at-home learning options for students while also mindful of the stress families might experience coping with restrictions imposed to stem the spread of COVID-19. “Our teachers at the school,” said parent Sarah Walls, “have been wonderful at keeping...
La Conner is operating under a Declaration of Emergency proclaimed by Mayor Ramon Hayes March 17 and approved by the Town Council March 24. Tuesday’s Council meeting was conducted by teleconference without the public present. Residents could call in. “The declaration of emergency allows us to access additional authority if it becomes necessary and may allow us to access state and/or federal funds if they become available,” Scott Thomas, Town Administrator, wrote in an email March 17. Town Hall was closed to the public that day. Staff have...
Joyce was granted her angel wings on February 22, 2020, one month shy of 90 years old. She was born in Detroit, MI on March 22, 1930 to Otto R. and Rose L. Seilaff. She attended Mercy College in Detroit, then graduated from Marygrove College in 1952. She moved to Seattle in 1953 where she met Francis John “Jack” Nagel. They were married Oct 16, 1954 in West Seattle. After moving to Portland, OR they welcomed their son, Francis John Nagel, Jr in 1955. She taught elementary school for 37 years, most of that in the Edmonds School District. In the...
There’s no doubt coronavirus is a big deal. A really big deal. But so, too, is blood cancer. That’s why La Conner residents turned out in force at Santo Coyote Friday night to dine and support a local benefit for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The event was organized by friends of La Conner High alum Mike Ritchie, a lymphoma survivor who has been training for the annual Big Climb fundraiser in downtown Seattle. Ritchie will take part in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s steep stair climb...
Large and small gatherings alike have been nixed statewide and around the nation due to the evolving coronavirus outbreak. But a rare scheduled event that came off as planned took place here in La Conner last Friday. It was the bi-annual tour of La Conner’s award-winning wastewater treatment plant, which not only transformed the town when built in the 1970s but has in recent years embraced composting biosolids to generate a much-in-demand product sought by commercial and residential users. M...
Since moving here a bit over a year ago to make Shelter Bay my residence I have met many fine folks in my neighborhood and on walks around town. Since living here I have appreciated the photos, musings and editorial comments the editor of this paper has put in this Weekly as so many of them have spoken to my sense of self. I subscribe to the paper because I feel it is an important vehicle for folks to read and interact with other community members, if only in the comfort of their own homes. And I like to know what’s going on around this area of...
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...
Cheryl Westlake, a longtime Shelter Bay resident, passed away from complications of cancer on January 6, 2020. She will be dearly missed by her beloved pet Sarah, and her longtime friends in the community. Cheryl was an active member of the Shelter Bay Community for many years, serving on various committees and the Board of Directors. Cheryl was preceded in death by her parents Robert and Pat Westlake. In lieu of a memorial service, donations are suggested to be made in Cheryl’s honor to the S...
The reason Marcus Lamb isn’t seen often at his Shelter Bay home is because he’s out making his presence felt around the globe. And doing so in a big way. Lamb, an information technology systems specialist, was recently named one of six recipients of the U.S. Secretary of State Award for outstanding volunteerism abroad based on his work in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The award honors U.S. Foreign Service officers and family members for exceptional volunteer efforts while posted overseas. Lamb was re...
There is a different and special one percent in our midst: the very few among us who have sought out training and are ready to save themselves and reach out to help the rest of us in the aftermath of an earthquake, volcano or tsunami, a catastrophic event that will turn life as we know it upside down. This could happen any day in the next 200 years. The last Magnitude 9.0 earthquake in the region was around 1700. Researchers say one occurs every 300 to 500 years, so maybe tomorrow or maybe not in our lifetimes the earth will shake. If it is in...
The Legislature has only 25 days left in this session. I have been trying to get a bill passed that would stop the tax shift that has been going on for five years. That is the tax shift that occurred when Shelter Bay and Pull and Be Damned were removed from the tax rolls. Roughly $1.8 million in taxes were shifted to nine levy codes that make up the La Conner school district. In 2019 the average taxpayer in La Conner paid an extra $328 in taxes because of this shift. At the same time the Swinomish Tribal Community contributed money they had...
Like the successful café owner he was, Tim Fisher filled the place to overflowing his final shift: a memorial service for him at Maple Hall Monday afternoon. His 75 friends, family, customers, employees and his husband, Patrick Ball, had to take their chairs and move to the main hall from the Town Council meeting room. Fittingly, it was set for feeding the crowd, catered by Sliders Café, the restaurant he opened with Ball in April 2017. Fisher, 53, died Jan. 20 from cancer. Father Paul Magnano, pastor of La Conner’s Sacred H...
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...
Helena Marie Liddil passed away on January 7, 2020 at the age of 103. She was a native of Indiana and spent all of her life in Indianapolis until moving to Shelter Bay in 2004 to live with her daughter and son-in-law Nancy and George Conger. She is survived by three children, six grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren....
The holiday atmosphere in La Conner has been tree-mendous this Christmas season. Visitors entering town on Morris Street have been treated to a wonderful sight, a tall, striking and beautifully decorated lit Christmas tree adorning Gilkey Square. The 22-foot tree was donated by Town mechanic and maintenance specialist Pat Smyth from his property off La Conner-Whitney Road, Public Works Director Brian Lease told the Weekly News. The Public Works crew cut, loaded and delivered the tree to the...
Roy Horn literally wrote the book on the Hope Island Volunteer Fire Department. Now he is about to embark on a new chapter in life. Horn announced his decision to retire as chief of Skagit County Fire District 13 near La Conner in May, a post he has held for the past 17 years. Friday he will be honored with other long-serving district officials at a special open house, 1-5 p.m. at the Snee-Oosh Road station. The other honorees are: Horn’s wife, Maggie, the district’s administrative assistant for nearly two decades; Battalion Chief Ted Car...
William (Bill) Burr Ward, 87, of White Salmon, WA, passed away peacefully on Nov. 25th, 2019 in the care of family and Hospice. Bill was born in Seattle, WA to Jack & Fay (Pat) Ward on April 2, 1932. He attended K-12 in the West Seattle community, Seattle University, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Forest Management from the University of Washington College of Forestry in 1954. He married the love of his life Patricia (Patty) Lawrence on March 21, 1953 in Aberdeen, WA. He served in the United States Air Force Airborne Division as a...
Here we sit, giving thanks for what we have, hoping that our lives are lived in relative peace and harmony. I pray for this myself, daily. Unfortunately, prayer alone is not always going to do the trick; sometimes we have to educate ourselves about practical risks, and how we might prepare for them. Thus, this letter: It’s about the risk of our little beautiful town being torn asunder by the impending disaster that can’t be denied. I do not want to be a dooms-sayer, but a huge earthquake is headed our way and we are ill prepared for it and the...
When Georgia Powers and her late husband, Ray, first moved to La Conner in the 1980s, one of the first things they did was search for the local library. What they found was more than a building. They discovered a calling, one that Powers, an avid reader, will continue to embrace even as she relocates to southern California to be near family, having undergone a series of leg surgeries. From more than a thousand miles away, and as she regains strength following those operations, Powers plans to ke...
GEORGIA’S ON MY MIND – Now it’s time to say good-bye to Georgia Powers at an Open House at the Civic Garden Club 2-4 p.m. Monday, Dec. 4, sponsored by the Friends of the Library. Powers is a founding member, having helped start the group 35 years ago. She has also been a member and president of the Shelter Bay Community Board of Directors. Powers is moving to California, where she will be close to family. – Photo by Ken Stern...
While La Conner’s 2020 proposed budget is smaller than last year’s, with reduced expenditures, revenues are even smaller. Just over $1 million dollars, tapped from the general fund balance, plugs the operating budget shortfall. The estimated $4.7 million in revenue will be 3.7% below 2019 and the $5.7 million in expenditures is 12% lower. Mayor Ramon Hayes submitted the preliminary budget to Council Oct. 22 and they had a special 5 p.m. meeting to discuss it. Revisions will be made before Council approves the budget at its Dec. 10 meeting.” Adm...
