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To Our Respected Shelter Bay Customers: The Town of La Conner is pleased to announce that the installation of the Town’s Phase 1 water main replacement project, which extends from Young Road to Mclean Road, has been successfully completed. The size of the line was determined by our engineer and will supply sufficient quantities of water to meet the needs of the Town and Shelter Bay. Phase 2 of the water main replacement, extending from Mclean Road to the La Conner roundabout, is not anticipated to be necessary for approximately 10 years. P...
However the Big One comes: earthquake, tsunami or volcanic eruption, we won’t be ready and we can’t outrun it. It may be in five days or five decades away, but geography and history proclaim its certainty. That was retired geology professor Gene Kiver’s matter of fact assessment, made Saturday at the “Anacortes Disaster Preparedness Expo: The Really Big One and You.” Kiver’s 50 minute presentation included slides illustrating fault lines in the eastern Pacific Ocean and magma flowing in...
I am concerned with the future of our community, especially in regard to sea level rise. Given the science regarding climate change it seems likely that in as few as 100 years sea levels will have risen around 3 ft at a minimum and it is my understanding that those estimates are now considered to be conservative. This will result in a considerable challenge to keep not only La Conner from flooding, but the entirety of Skagit Valley. I remember a day in the mid 80’s when the barometric pressure was very low and tides were very high when I was t...
Donald Richard Henkle passed away peacefully at age 90 in La Conner, WA on April 6, 2019 after an eight year battle with multiple myeloma. Don was born in Auburn, WA and grew up in Seattle with his parents, Tolly Henkle and Marion (Hostetter) Henkle. He attended Seattle’s Fairview Grade School, John Marshal Junior High School, Roosevelt High School (class of 1946) and graduated from the University of Washington with a BA in Business Administration in 1950. During high school, Don played the trumpet in the dance band “Gentlemen of Rhythm” and w...
Jan Franklin Young, 73, a resident of the Shelter Bay community in La Conner, passed away at his home on March 22, 2019. Jan was born on January 2, 1946 in Great Falls, Montana, the son of Jess & Louise (Quinlan) Young. He was raised and attended school in Great Falls, graduating from Great Falls High School with the class of 1964. He joined the Naval Reserves in 1963. He then attended Montana State University until he was called to active duty with the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War, serving one year in Vietnam and one year on a ship in...
Skagit Valley citizens wanting the Mueller Report released to the public gathered on the steps of the County Courthouse in Mount Vernon on Thursday. Indivisible Skagit organized the rally. Signs included “We Paid for It” and “Let us read the damn report.” Sue Bloomfield organized the event. She wants U.S. Attorney General William Barr to release the unredacted report to Congress, the House Judiciary Committee and the public. Deb Hubenthal and her husband Graham came from south Conway to join th...
Kenneth Ray Taylor, 71, gained his wings on March 18, 2019, when he passed of natural causes at home. He was born in Ellensburg, WA to Kenneth R. Taylor and Bettie (Reed) Taylor on December 2, 1947. After moving back to Skagit Valley, Ken attended Mount Vernon schools, participated in HS wrestling and band, and graduated in 1966. He attended SVC, began his career in precast concrete, loved duck hunting on the flats and played bass guitar and sang backup in several local rock bands; LITTLE DICKIE AND THE DELEGATES, THE UNDERTAKERS, and THE...
Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Everett, shared coffee and conversation with 40-plus people at the Civic Garden Club Saturday. He started with a summary of Congressional and House of Representatives accomplishments, touting a Land and Water Conservation bill authorizing permanent funding that is awaiting President Trump’s signature. The House has passed two pieces of legislation on gun violence and voted to terminate the national emergency Trump declared Feb. 15. These measures becoming law is uncertain. H...
Collection of taxes was $1,928,815 from Shelter Bay and Pull & Be Damned this year. The levy rate of $12.3500 per thousand is higher than the levy rate in the county’s tax area 1580, which, before the Great Wolf decision, used to include these two areas. That levy rate is $11.4983. In previous years the Swinomish always used the same levy rate. The Tribe contributes $660,000 to the La Conner School District. Using the levy rates from area 1580, the Swinomish will contribute $141,000 for Fire District 13, $25,764 for the La Conner Library, a...
This is my response to Chairman Cladoosby’s and Superintendent Meissner’s “levy facts” statement in the Feb. 13 Weekly News. McCleary Fix: The Legislature increased the state property tax to “fully fund basic education”. It also capped the permissible levy tax rate and restricted levy monies to non-salary expenditures. Last August teachers in many school districts around the state, including La Conner, threatened to strike at the behest of their union, demanding substantial salary increases drawn on McCleary funding. Analysts and news editor...
It’s official: The La Conner School District replacement educational programs and operations levy’s approval was certified Feb. 22 by Skagit County. The final vote count was 1,135 to 487. The 70 percent yes vote was the highest ratio of the three county school districts approving replacement levies. The 1.5 mill levy will raise some $874,000 annually in 2020 and 2021. It is a reduction of almost one dollar of assessed valuation. It is not a new tax but replaces the expiring two year levy. Interestingly, the La Conner precinct’s 65 percent appro...
“Happy Birthday” wasn’t the only song sung during Sybil East’s party in Shelter Bay on Saturday. Those gathered in Dallas and Nancy Burlison’s living room heard the guest of honor sing several tunes, including “You Are My Sunshine,” “Amazing Grace,” and “A Long Way to Tipperary.” The latter melody dates to World War I, which had begun a mere six months before Sybil’s birth in rural Illinois. Sybil, who was born Feb. 18, 1915 – the mid-point of Woodrow Wilson’s first term in the White H...
The three points raised in Bruce Elliott’s letter are incomplete to say the least. Please allow the La Conner School District (LCSD) and the Swinomish Tribe to jointly set the record straight. State funding does not fully support LCSD’s budgetary obligations With regard to the “McCleary Fix,” the state has made significant progress toward meeting its legal duty to fully fund basic education. Paying teachers a living wage is unquestionably a part of funding basic education. In addition, school districts are required to provide – and pay...
As snow piled up in La Conner, so did meeting agendas. A rare extended winter storm, which blanketed the local area with an estimated eight inches of white, led both La Conner Schools and the Town of La Conner to shelve regularly scheduled meetings this week. La Conner Schools cancelled budget and board of directors planning meetings Monday, plus that night’s Tri-District ‘B’ basketball game between the Lady Braves and Orcas. Campus classes were nixed on Monday and Tuesday, the latter cance...
The Lantern (the school’s winter edition) only tells part of the story about taxes. The total tax for schools is made up of the enrichment levy, the bond levy, and the State levy parts I and II. The levy rates per thousand look like: Enrichment $1.5000 Bond $2.5515 State part I $1.7492 State part II $0.6968 Total $6.4975 If you own a home with an assessed value of $300,000, you will pay $1,949.25 in taxes for La Conner schools during 2019. The State tax part II is the new tax, called the McCleary solution, which is merely a tax shift. The o...
In a one-hour meeting Jan. 22, the Town Council heard three presentations, consented to the reappointment of four parks commissioners, set 2019 sewer rates with the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and agreed to a contract for fixing the elevator in Maple Hall. The last had a rare dissenting vote, by Councilmember Jacques Brunisholz. Council agreed to have Mayor Ramon Hayes enter into a contract for $83,709 with thyssenkrupp Elevator Corporation “to modernize the elevator equipment” as described in the company’s proposal. The Maple Hall eleva...
It is levy “season” again for some Skagit County public schools, including La Conner. Some unique circumstances affecting the La Conner school district need to be examined before the proposed levy deserves community endorsement: First, the “McCleary Fix” was supposed to reduce/eliminate local school tax levies by “fully funding basic education.” To pay for McCleary, the state’s share of local property taxes was increased. The LCSD committed the majority of new state monies to raise teacher salaries – the highest in the county, as I...
Tami Mason, branch supervisor at the local Washington Federal bank, heard at 7:45 a.m. Saturday, Jan 12 that the La Conner KeyBank will be closing April 12. Her comment last week was “It’s going to get busy. The line was out the door on Monday.” Area residents with KeyBank accounts were mailed a notice dated Jan. 11 informing them “KeyBank will be consolidating your La Conner Branch into the Mt. Vernon Branch on April 12, 2019.” Mayor Ramon Hayes heard about the closing secondhand Jan. 17....
Tiny Bubbles was a big hit for singer Don Ho in the 1960s. But his feel-good signature tune was about tiny bubbles in wine, not water, as was the case for some La Conner-Whitney Road residents when their homes were recently connected to a new water main between Young Road and McLean/Downey roads. Short of turning water into wine, the issue was addressed last week by flushing lines to rid them of the air bubbles that can cause tap water to appear cloudy, said Town Public Works Director Brian...
With “Proclamation for Janna Gage” on the Town Council’s agenda last Tuesday, it wasn’t a surprise, just richly deserved. Mayor Ramon Hayes made the presentation, first reading a short list summarizing a few of her contributions to the town, including 15 years as volunteer director of its senior center. Gage came to the Council table and, like the historian she is, gave a brief analysis. In summarizing the town’s social richness, she gave partial credit to the strong ongoing participa...
John Franz Feichtinger of La Conner, Washington (1965 – 2018), beloved father, son, brother, and friend, left us too soon. John was born in Seattle, grew up in Ballard and Kent before he moved to his chosen home of the beautiful Skagit Valley. An unfailingly kind man, John’s love of nature grew from the forests and waters he dearly cherished. In recent years, John was thrilled to explore the coastlines and waters in Alaska, where he found incredible joy. With pockets full of friendship and dog treats, whether it was someone in need, a p...
Kimberly Oldis rooted hard for the University of Washington football team from one of the best seats available at the storied Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day. The underdog Huskies came up just short in a frantic fourth quarter comeback bid against Ohio State, the only time Oldis didn’t pick a winner during her time in Pasadena. The Shelter Bay resident, a nationally renowned floral designer, was one of three persons selected to judge the 40 floats entered in the annual Tournament of Roses Par...
A friend sent me your article on Skagit Plastics and its association with Guy Lombardo. I have personally been associated with Skagit Plastics boats since my childhood. My dad, brother and I got a tour through the plant in the summer of 1957. That tour and trip to la Conner was the first time I saw the plug for what Skagit Plastics called the largest all fiberglass production cruiser in the world. I saw the completed Skagit 31 Saratogan at the 1958 model year boat show in Seattle in October of 1957. I was eleven years old and thought it was the...
Curt McCauley lives the adage, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” The 75-year-old seventh degree black belt and teacher is once again on the mend: He is recently back home in Shelter Bay following 12 days at the University of Washington hospital in Seattle for pneumonia. In his 34 years of practicing and teaching the Korean martial arts Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan, he has probably voiced that sentiment in class. Reflecting on his avocation last September, McCauley quoted his mentor: “we do...
The problem with Swinomish taxation lies with the Washington State Department of Revenue. Now that Shelter Bay and Pull & Be Damned are withdrawn from the tax base, the $154,161,500 assessed valuation, and the $13.0988 levy rate, and the $2,019,333 in taxes (2018 figures) are shifted to the remaining taxpayers. This affects the following taxing districts: the state levy, county roads, county general, conservation, La Conner library, the Port of Anacortes, Medic 1, Fire District 13, and the La Conner school district. It should have been that...
