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Legislative District 10 Democrats from Island, Snohomish and Skagit counties came to La Conner’s Pioneer Park Saturday, holding a salmon lunch fundraiser to buy metaphorical political bricks to elect Democrats, strengthening a blue wall they have been building since 2017. State Democratic Party Chair Tina Podlodowski told the 75 party activists she had a two word job description: “Elect Democrats.” The 14 elected officials and candidates for office speaking to the crowd highlighted their accom...
In response to “A letter I should not need to write” Aug. 28: I have to admit, when I read the first paragraph, I thought to myself, as a flaming liberal, “Oh good, someone who agrees with me.” Here’s how that letter began: “My country is under attack. I cannot remain silent any longer. The words and actions of some of my fellow Americans are viciously tearing at the fabric of this Republic. Every day I hear, see, and read about the hatred, unfounded accusations, venomous attitudes, unfounded blame and distortions from citizens, including e...
It was while selling doors for a living that Heather Fakkema realized doors were also opening for her to pursue a career in school administration. She had by then already spent two years as a teacher before stepping away from the classroom to start a family and engage in several other ventures, including a children’s ministry. The light bulb flicked on during her time with a family-owned window and door distribution firm in Seattle. Business management introduced Fakkema to concepts her t...
New Nell Thorn co-owner and chef James Donahue has a simple ambition for greater success for the signature restaurant: make it known statewide, though he realizes that won’t happen overnight. The soon-to-be-30-years-old executive chef understands the opportunity in front of him. He and Albie Bjornberg are partners in Nell Thorn with Ted Furst, owner of Le Grand Bistro Américain in Kirkland. Furst is the majority partner, but Donahue and Bjornberg are at Nell’s full time. Furst comes up on...
August 19, 2019 La Conner teachers and support staff have the best interest of our students at heart, which is why we continue to firmly believe that our school district needs a new superintendent. Last week the La Conner School Board issued an open letter regarding the vote of no confidence against Superintendent Meissner. The leadership of the La Conner Education Association and Public School Employees unions were pleased to see the board accept responsibility for responding too slowly to this critical situation. However, we were...
Both sides in the La Conner School district turmoil agree that the administration has, at the least, not done a good job in their job of managing the staff or communicating clearly to them or to the community. Superintendent Whitney Meissner has acknowledged that she has not brought unity to the district and community. The school board realizes it took too long to respond to staff at summer’s start. The administration side hopes to repair the damage by commitments to empathy and relationship building. The unions, teachers and support staff, f...
First a retreat, then some tentative steps forward. That’s the path upon which La Conner Schools Superintendent Dr. Whitney Meissner and leaders of two staff union groups that have rebuked her management skills now find themselves. All parties vow to move in the same direction, serving the best interests of students, but whether they can do so side-by-side remains unclear. The unions have issued votes of no-confidence in Meissner and called for her ouster, alleging she has created a negative work environment, concerns that arose last spring and...
A school district that ended the 2018-2019 school year in dispute has not resolved its differences as the summer turns toward the next school year. The La Conner School District Board of Directors had their summer retreat last week. They invited the staff unions, the La Conner Education Association and the Public School Employees, to participate for a 90 minute session. That is good to hear. But the distance between staff and board over Superintendent Whitney Meissner’s tenure has not shrunk. The unions’ overwhelming June no confidence vot...
The Navy’s recent increase of low altitude flights on Whidbey Island has resulted in noise levels high enough to cause pain, deafness and ill health. Prolonged exposure to high level noise is linked to increased risk of heart attack and stroke. (see: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5898791/ ) Senator Barbara Bailey’s column in the Whidbey News Times has it wrong. As a resident under an Outlying Field Coupeville (OLF) flight path, I can inform Ms. Bailey that these Growlers’ jet noise permeates the indoor environment of our home,...
LWN headline, 7/17: Lawsuits may ground Growlers. LWN editorial, 7/17: “Grounding the Growlers.” The alliteration is appealing, but really? I don’t think so! The cause celebre leading to such wishful thinking surfaced when the Navy announced the plan some months ago to add 36 more EA-18G Growler jet aircraft to the fleet already based at NAS Whidbey Island. This announcement raised the hackles of a few very vocal individuals and groups who have promoted every objection possible including noise, pollution, adverse effects on health and envir...
This is a spot on summation ["Grounding the Growlers," editorial, Weekly News, July 17]. I got the chance to ask our Congressman Larsen once “We can’t afford to educate our children, we can’t afford to do anything for our homeless people, we don’t have the money to supply adequate healthcare to our population, and we can’t afford to protect our environment, yet we have trillions to spend on defense. Then what, precisely, are we defending?” He stuttered a couple of seconds then launched into “well you know that there’s this crazy guy in No...
Dear School Board Members, Your letter to the community does not address the damage that has been done to individuals and the larger culture in La Conner schools. It’s clearly an attempt to assuage the public without any substantial change being made. It appears that you are attempting to protect the superintendent at the expense of the school district, its employees and students. It’s the employees and students that need protecting. It is time for action. There needs to be an investigation of the “leadership” that perpetrated intimid...
Two lawsuits were filed July 9 against the U.S. Navy’s expansion of Growler jet operations at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. Attorney General Bob Ferguson, for the state of Washington, asserts a failed environmental review process for the expansion which “unlawfully failed to measure the impacts to public health and wildlife in communities on and around Whidbey Island” and historic properties on the Ebey’s Landing National Historic Reserve, according to a press release from his office. The Citizens of Ebey Reserve filed suit the same da...
I am concerned. To use the metaphor of a F/V (fishing vessel), our La Conner School District is currently running like a boat whose crew and Captain are misaligned, this of course quite dangerous on many levels. A no confidence vote with the goal to have the Captain leave the boat is extreme. A Captain that does not develop courage and leadership in its crew suffers from a dysfunctional environment. They all experience a loss in morale, and by virtue, income. Worse, they risk the potential sinking of the ship. I have listened to various entitie...
Nell Thorn is under new ownership. Seattle restaurateur Ted Furst and his wife Cathy Conner, with two partners, filed papers for the restaurant and property sale Monday. The restaurant, closed since Monday for staff training, reopens Friday. The deal’s details were worked out by now former owners Casey and Susan Schanen and the new owners in March, but assigning Department of Natural Resources leases for the state-owned aquatic lands beneath the building took the entire spring, delaying the s...
The Skagit County Historical Museum has partnered with San Juan Cruises to introduce narrative tours of both the North and South Swinomish Channel, launching from La Conner. Each is hosted by a local historian well versed in the history and the natural environment lining the Channel’s shores. “You’ve got someone there telling you what you’re seeing,” said Ann Maroney, the Museum’s office manager. Maroney said Museum staff approached San Juan Cruises to implement the tour after Whatcom County had success with a similar idea with the company. Th...
To the Editor: Dave Paul is the kind of representative every voter looks for. He knows and cares about the people in his northern Washington district. From young to old and in between, his constituents benefit from his passions that are also the cornerstones of our community: healthcare, public education, affordable higher education, jobs and the issues that span generations, such as social justice, prosperity and fair treatment under the law. Since Dave Paul’s election last November, he has collaborated with other legislators to introduce a...
The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community will contribute $750,000 toward the construction of a new library, the La Conner Regional Library District announced Monday. The facility, located at 520 Morris Street, will be named the La Conner-Swinomish Library. The grant supports the building’s construction over the next two years. Projected opening date is in the fourth quarter of 2021. The library is designed to be a multi-cultural resource center for information and learning. It will double the size of the current building, be wired to provide h...
Mayor Ramon Hayes pitched a $500,000 proposal for Skagit County economic development funds for a new library in La Conner as a catalyst that will bring new businesses that will revitalize Morris Street. In his five minute presentation Monday, Hayes said the library will “foster an environment for advancement, providing workforce education, tech and vocational workshops, meeting space for enhanced collaboration.” Hayes told the County Commissioners their grant would complete funding, and that without it the project “will lose the state and t...
Governing is hard. In the middle of governance are policy making and administration of that policy and direct responsibility for the executive staff of the organization, here the La Conner School District’s. For a school district’s board of directors, governing starts with a personal vision as well as endorsement of the district’s vision. Each director starts with an election – or an appointment until an election. School board directors represent the district’s residents, overseeing the school system for them. It is not a paying job, bu...
At this time of year, we remember and honor our war dead, especially those who have died in vain on various far flung shores. Our military personnel have been in too many battles in too many places over too many decades of our country’s history. The dead need to be remembered. All who have been in service to this country need to be remembered. Some of our bravest and most patriotic citizens have dedicated their lives to this country by insisting on saying no and incessantly asking why. They, too, are patriots serving the nation. The early 2...
A critical decision of the La Conner School District Directors was not discussed or decided at Monday’s monthly board meeting. Last week the Directors had a resolution before them that “resolved as follows: 1. The Board of Directors hereby finds that just and sufficient cause exists for the termination of Georgia Johnson.” The recitals supporting that were: “2. The administration has recommended that Georgia Johnson’s employment be terminated. “3. The Board of Directors has reviewed the adminis...
On Monday 20 students from La Conner High School took to the grass outside the elementary school with not one purpose, but many. Led by Samantha Nelson, a junior, students walked out during their first period class to protest not only what they considered to be an unsafe environment, but also the looming notion that their voices and opinions are seen as nothing more than trivial by district administrators. At 8:20 a.m. the 20 congregated in the Freshman Commons, and after quick deliberation, mad...
One day an earthquake off the coast will trigger a huge tsunami that will reach into La Conner. Sometime in the next thousand years Mt. Baker will blow its top, sending a flow of lava perhaps 70 feet thick into the Skagit River, where it will makes its way to the sea. Someday, absolutely, those disasters will devastate us. Just as certainly, the effects of climate change on our environment dramatically change our lives. Do you feel adequately prepared? Are our community and state preparing? Equally close to home, in this, the best of all...
Thinking globally and acting locally. That’s been the annual Earth Day game plan for a committed corps of La Conner area volunteers. Monday was no exception, despite it being a regular work day beset with gray skies and chilly wind gusts. Coordinated by Kelly Harper, the group met at Snee-Oosh around 5:30 p.m. to collect debris and trash littering the beach and surrounding neighborhood. The focus this year was on plastic and styrofoam, both of which are harmful to the marine life of Skagit Bay a...
