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The article from Nov. 15 about the Skagit County water outlook (“Skagit County water outlook complicated”) pointed out that the challenges related to low water flows on the Skagit River are becoming more complex. This is a big deal for both irrigation and energy production. With droughts and extreme weather events becoming more common, the Skagit River is under increasing pressure to meet the demands for irrigation, electricity, and instream-flows. One solution to ease this pressure is to support local solar power. It’s a quick and easy alterna...
It's been a busy fall quarter in the La Conner School District. Owing to hard work and some long hours, La Conner School District staff, faculty and administration have successfully applied for and received grants that will benefit La Conner students and the community. $16,000 grant provides new oven The district's food service department received a $16,000 grant to purchase a new oven. Food service supervisor Kelly Kjarstad reports that the ovens at the elementary school went out last year,...
In late autumn on the cusp of cool winter days, snow comes early to Washington when thousands of aloft avians, snow geese, land here in a flurry of white feathers. "We call it a snow storm, they just will move as one," said birder Julie Hagen. "It's just this chaotic whirlwind of birds, they move like a cloud and then they just lift up in the air." In late October, as the snow geese began landing in the Skagit Valley, Hagen went out to enjoy the sight that many Western Washington birders look fo...
With a degree of urgency appropriate for the planetary catastrophe we face today, Pope Francis’ latest exhortation, Laudate Deum, “to all people of good will on the climate crisis,” builds on his 2015 encyclical letter, Laudato Si’, “On Care for our Common Home.” That the pope has explicitly described the current state of the climate as a “crisis” could be viewed as affirming what climate activist Greta Thunberg said in her 2019 address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland: “Our house is on fire. I am here to say, our house is...
Can you imagine the Pacific Northwest without salmon? Their life cycle feeds many beings in the whole ecosystem. Salmon have been the center of spirit and community here for centuries And yet – they are at the brink of extinction in the Snake River. Research by the Nez Perce Tribe shows that: “About 40% of spring and summer Chinook populations from the Snake River are at the threshold for quasi-extinction, meaning they will likely go extinct.” And, at last count, only 110 individual coho salmon and 46 individual sockeye salmon returned to spawn...
Skagit County Public Health is offering up to $200 in rebates for septic system inspection, pumping or riser installation to qualifying residents (one per household). A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant funds this rebate program for residents who pay a certified septic system provider to inspect, pump, or install riser to raise tank lids to the surface. All residents of Skagit County whose homes or businesses are served by a septic system require annual inspections, unless the system is conventional gravity (three-year inspection...
Unity is a key part of the word community. That theme was stressed throughout the annual La Conner Young Life Dessert Fundraiser held Sunday night in the elementary school commons area. A wide cross-section of folks from in and around La Conner, representing the town, agricultural, Swinomish, Shelter Bay, Snee-Oosh and Fir Island communities attended the two-hour event, supporting the faith-based program that provides summer camp and monthly social and personal growth opportunities for local...
For years, La Conner has been a thriving center of small-business commerce in the Skagit Valley. For Mark Hulst, director of the La Conner Chamber of Commerce, who has also served on the Mount Vernon City Council since 2011, it is his job to attempt to foster growth for not just La Conner, but for the prosperity of the wider community as well. Hulst is contested in his bid for a fourth term on the Mount Vernon City Council by progressive candidate Andrew Vander Stoep. Hulst sees being both a council member and the director of the La Conner...
A Skagit County resident was exposed to rabies recently by picking up a bat, which later tested positive for rabies, with bare hands. The person sustained a scratch when handling the bat and called Skagit County Public Health, who directed them to medical care, where they received the first doses of rabies prophylaxis the same day. Bats and animals ill on the ground should be left alone or safely moved with a shovel to where people and pets will not come in contact with them. In Washington, bats are the only mammal known to carry rabies. Any pe...
Sea level rise and its impacts to the Skagit will be discussed by scientists at the Museum of Northwest Art Saturday, Oct. 28, 1:30-3:30 p.m. Audience participation is encouraged as part of the “Surge” exhibit. Topics discussed include sea level rise estimates in the Skagit, hydrological changes and impacts to the environment including birds, salmon and estuarine wetlands, as well as to infrastructure in the Valley. Skagit County has the largest area around Puget Sound at risk from sea level rise inundation. Plans to address these impacts in...
In the 1950s bird migration information was sketchy without a good format. Most banding research was done with metal tags as leg bands on waterfowl. Not much information was useful. The leg bands counted birds killed in the field by hunters. Passerine research was provided by field birders who knew the flight songs of Swainsons’s thrush and other more common night migrants. On full moon nights spotting scopes were used to count birds passing through more reflective light arcs. Mist nets and aluminum bands were used on smaller birds. The problem...
Skagit County will host a free tire-round up for county residents Thursday-Friday Oct. 5-6 at the Skagit County Fairgrounds. Residents must register online. There is a limit of twelve road tires per household, including car, truck, motorcycle and semi-trucks. Tractor tires will not be accepted. Drop-off is at the north entrance of the fairgrounds, 1410 Virginia Street, Mount Vernon 98273. In the 2022 collection, over 40 tons of used road tires were dropped off in one day. County staff hope to collect at least that quantity again. Proper tire...
Skagit County will host a free tire-round up for county residents Thursday-Friday Oct. 5-6 at the Skagit County Fairgrounds. Residents must register online. There is a limit of twelve road tires per household, including car, truck, motorcycle and semi-trucks. Tractor tires will not be accepted. Drop-off is at the north entrance of the fairgrounds, 1410 Virginia Street, Mount Vernon 98273. In the 2022 collection, over 40 tons of used road tires were dropped off in one day. County staff hope to collect at least that quantity again. Proper tire...
Pope Francis will release a follow-up document on the environment on Oct. 4, providing an update to his 2015 encyclical “Laudato Si’,” “On Care for Our Common Home” – a landmark papal letter that offered a rallying cry for global action in the fight against climate change. Francis said the new document is an effort to help “put an end to the senseless war against our common home” and comes after a summer of record-breaking rising temperatures, wildfires and storms. The pope’s remarks came during his general audience at the Vatican on Aug. 3...
TOWN OF LA CONNER NOTICE OF APPLICATION/NOTICE OF HEARING PRELIMINARY MITIGATED DETERMINATION OF NON-SIGNIFICANCE (PMDNS) Date: September 12, 2023 Application File #: LU23-30CU-IV, LU23-31SEPA Applicant: La Conner Maritime Services Owner: Port of Skagit Town Contact Person: Michael Davolio AICP, Planning Director; P.O. Box 400, La Conner, WA 98257; 360-466-3125 Project Description: New 8,000 sq ft pre-engineered metal building for maintenance and repair of boats. The project is in an area identified as 100 year flood plain. The parcel is...
After slogging through a spring and summer beset with budget woes, La Conner Schools officials and staff shifted gears last week to focus on what they do best – create priceless memories for local students and families. The 2023-2024 year launched with a soft-start half-week of instruction beginning with Aug. 29 Braves Day orientation activities. Building principals Heather Fakkema-Hovde and Christine Tripp said Braves Day, which provided a relaxed atmosphere for students to meet teachers and advisors, obtain class schedules, pose for photos an...
First term state lawmaker Clyde Shavers (D, Oak Harbor) brought plenty of energy to a downtown La Conner appearance last Thursday. And for the 10th District Democrat it was a case of substance matching style. That's because Shavers also brought with him to the 75-minute afternoon stop at Ravens Cup Coffee & Art Gallery on First Street a detailed update on clean energy legislation and policy measures both in Olympia and around the country. His audience, primarily founders of the La Conner-based...
The Port was honored to host the Tom Robbins parade this past weekend! What a spectacle! It was a lot of fun, though, and many of our guests were able to see La Conner put on quite a show. We found a rowboat in Sullivan Slough last week. It has some small damage in the stern but it is otherwise a beautiful little boat. If anyone knows whose it is, please have them call the office at 360-466-3118 and we will be happy to return it. We met with the Army Corps of Engineers recently and they told us...
In mid-August Bob Raymond and I met with Rep. Clyde Shavers over coffee. Wow, what an impressive guy! He thinks five years ahead. Green hydrogen. Agritourism. Affordable housing. Financial education in our high schools. Investing in our rural communities. Services to our veterans. The environment. Electrification of school buses. He is working on 13 bills right now that he will push forward in the next session. He knows how to get things done in Olympia. Where does he get the energy? When he asked for input, I handed him my study of the tax...
Some people, no matter how dire the situation, always see things with a glass half-full perspective. And then there's Tom Robbins. The acclaimed La Conner author, who famously quit his gig at the Seattle Times by calling in "well," has during his more than 50 years here earned repute as a joy hunter, always seeking and cherishing life's "cup runneth over" moments. That tireless devotion to optimism, regularly punctuated with wit and whimsy, will be saluted during "Tom Robbins Day" festivities in...
A district court judge in Montana handed down a landmark decision Monday, ruling that the state violated its own constitution by failing to consider fossil fuels' contribution to climate change. Sixteen young people sued the state over its promotion of fossil fuel-based energy, saying it violates their right to a clean and healthful environment under the Montana Constitution. Their case was the first of several youth-led lawsuits against states for failing to address climate change to go to...
Some readers, surely, were among the over 500 people crowding Mount Vernon’s Riverwalk Plaza last Wednesday, raffle tickets in hand, as Skagit Valley Food Co-op General Manager Tony White called out winner after winner, giving away prizes donated by local businesses and the Co-op in recognition of the 13,000 members who make the Co-op the amazing success it is today. Residents from Samish Island and Sedro-Woolley came and others from perhaps as far away as Vancouver, B.C., and Seattle. It may be possible and is certainly true that pound for pou...
Less is more yet again. In this case, addition by subtraction involves the long-awaited removal of a 65-foot abandoned and partially submerged sailboat from nearby Similk Bay on Swinomish Reservation. The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, Washington State Department of Natural Resources and Northwest Straits Commission partnered July 20 to remove the Windjammer and another smaller derelict vessel from within tribal boundaries. The Windjammer was pulled from intertidal waters north of Kukutali...
The guest docks are full most nights this week. We have seen visitors from all over the area and up and down the west coast. We had three larger vessels that came up from Portland and they reported the ocean journey was really nice, with mild weather and relatively calm seas. This, while one of our other regular visitors is held up in southern California due to storms through Oregon and northern California! Hard to believe sometimes how varied the ocean can be. We have had four nights this summe...
SUPERIOR COURT OF WASHINGTON FOR SKAGIT COUNTY No. 23-4-00387-29 PROBATE NOTICE TO CREDITORS (RCW 11.40.030) In the Matter of the Estate of Gunnar Pedersen, Deceased The personal representative named below has been appointed as personal representative of this estate. Any person having claim against the decedent must, before the time the claim would be barred by any otherwise applicable statute of limitations, present the claim in the manner as provided in RCW 11.40.070 by serving on or mailing to the personal representative or the personal...
