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It's not over till it's over. While the future of the La Conner Weekly News remains uncertain after this issue under Publisher Ken Stern, he remains hopeful. He is more so after a Tuesday morning phone call with Andrew Ashmore, board chair of the La Conner Community News community group that's seeking to buy the Weekly News. At a meeting with Ashmore, Washington Newspaper Publishers Association director Ellen Hiatt, and retired publisher Dave Gauger on Friday, Dec. 13, Ashmore tendered Stern an...
The old saw – cliche – is that freedom of the press is limited to those who own one. Like all cliches, there is some truth there. Communities do better when the local newspaper has ethical journalistic stewardship, but publishing a paper is half the equation, at most. The people holding the paper in their hands, reading the news, absorbing it, discussing the going ons in the community and then – vitally – participating to move the community forward creates the whole process entailed in the phrase “freedom of the press.” Press freedom is...
A detailed presentation, insightful questions and dreams of the future for La Conner's south waterfront and long underutilized former industrial area marked a nearly two-hour Dec. 11 public forum at Maple Hall. A large audience – at one point requiring Town Administrator Scott Thomas to set up additional chairs – attended the workshop, which explored potential zoning and code revisions and design concepts for the four-acre site commonly known as the old Moore-Clark property. Consultants Tom Bec...
The La Conner School Board on Monday endorsed and approved a four-year replacement levy on the Feb. 11 ballot to bridge the gap between state funding and the cost of staff, materials, services and facilities during a briskly paced 40-minute meeting. The proposal seeks $ 4,745,000 starting in 2026, $1.11 per $1,000 assessed valuation, the present tax rate. The levy and contributions from the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community offset a $1 million shortfall between state funding and rising costs in...
La Conner Schools officials joined colleagues throughout Skagit County Dec. 5 in assigning homework to state lawmakers for the 2025 legislative session. The county’s school administrators and board members asked legislators during an hour-long webinar on Thursday to explore strategies for increased funding support of crucial academic services. Anacortes School District Superintendent Justin Irish moderated. La Conner Superintendent David Cram spoke directly to the lawmakers, citing fiscal stress caused by soaring costs related to special educat...
Antonio “Tony” Ruiz passed away on Dec. 3, 2024. Rosary services will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 12, at Kern Funeral Home. Funeral Mass will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Dec. 27, at Immaculate Conception Church, followed by Committal Service at Pleasant Ridge Cemetery. You may share memories of Tony and view his full obituary at www.kernfuneralhome.com....
for battery energy storage system The Skagit County hearing examiner will hold a public hearing 9 a.m. Dec. 20 to consider a special use permit application from NextEra Energy to develop a battery energy storage system near the Port of Skagit. The project would be located on 22.6 acres, on property zoned Bayview Ridge Heavy Industrial in the Bayview Ridge Urban Growth Area and would be capable of storing up to 200 megawatt hours of energy for a 4-hour duration. The BESS would provide increased power capacity and grid resiliency for Skagit...
It was a La Conner Town Council meeting that nearly wasn’t. The Nov. 26 session at Maple Hall was almost scuttled due to lack of a quorum among the five-members. Councilmembers Ivan Carlson, Mary Wohleb and Annie Taylor were absent as the 6 p.m. start time approached. Fortunately, Taylor – who Mayor Marna Hanneman said was under the weather – shook off the effects of fatigue and illness and arrived to save the day 10 minutes later. “We’ll try to make this as short as possible,” the mayor stressed, as Taylor took her seat, “so that Annie ca...
Like parents or counselors for a 900-member family, Mayor Marna Hanneman, the La Conner Town Council and staff, primarily Town Administrator Scott Thomas and Finance Director Maria DeGoede, are wrestling with short, medium and long term funding needs as they advance the town’s 2025 $8.4 million draft budget. Hanneman reflected on the challenges of the past five years in her Nov. 12 budget message: the COVID-19 “pandemic, flooding, extreme weather events and the highest inflation in half a century.” Hanneman, Thomas and DeGoede discussed the p...
Fire District 13 Chief Wood Weiss got the green light on Thursday to commit up to $700,000 toward purchase of a Pierce tender truck that would bolster an aging District 13 emergency response fleet. District commissioners authorized Weiss to pursue acquisition of a new tender shortly after approving a preliminary 2025 draft budget that projects a fund reserve exceeding $1 million. “That sounds like a lot of money, until you have to buy some equipment,” commission Chair Bruce Shellhamer cautioned when referring to the seven-figure bank bal...
TOWN OF LA CONNER SUMMARY ORDINANCE NO. 1251 Notice is hereby given that the Town Council of the Town of La Conner, Washington, passed Ordinance No. 1251 at the November 12, 2024 Town Council meeting. A summary of Ordinance No. 1251 is as follows: An Ordinance amending the 2024 Budget. Complete copies of Ordinance No. 1251 are available at La Conner Town Hall, P.O. Box 400, La Conner, WA 98257 Dated this 13th Day of November, 2024 /s/____________ Maria DeGoede, Town Clerk Published in the La Conner Weekly News, Nov. 20, 2024. TOWN OF LA CONNER...
The largest ugly sweater party in Skagit County was an evening of substance over style. About 200 people proudly donning garish holiday sweaters attended, officially designated the 2024 Anacortes Salvation Army Red Kettle Kickoff Program, at the Swinomish Casino & Lodge on Nov. 9. Because the Anacortes Salvation Army service area covers La Conner, local donors in attendance included Mayor Marna Hanneman and her husband, Leroy, and Swinomish Indian Tribal Community civic leader Janie Beasley....
Skagit County officials invite the public to attend a community meeting from 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12, in the Hearing Room, 1800 Continental Place, Mount Vernon. County Commissioners and representatives from Planning & Development Services, Public Health, Public Works, Department of Emergency Management, Facilities Management and the Sheriff’s Office will provide updates on relevant topics and answer questions. Updates from commissioners and staff representatives include: - Housing - Cold-weather shelters - Emergency weather ...
The annual Skagit County Pioneer Picnic in La Conner is not only steeped in history but also benefits local historical preservation. That was reinforced Nov. 1 when the Skagit County Pioneer Association Board of Directors approved presentation of $4,500 in proceeds from August’s pioneer picnic to the Skagit County Historical Museum. The picnic, in addition to serving as a fundraiser for the county museum, has been a summer tradition in La Conner for more than a century. It features a program that honors a Skagit Pioneer Family of the Year a...
HEADS UP Free veterans appreciation dinner, 6-8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8, at Camano Chapel, 867 W. Camano Drive, Camano Island. Keynote speaker Mary Pilkington will share POW/wartime experiences of her late husband, Col. Fred Pilkington. RSVP to 206-550-4409 or email [email protected]. Indicate your choice of salmon or prime rib. LEND A HAND Pioneer Park ivy removal: Join a volunteer work party to remove invasive English ivy at Pioneer Park, 9-11 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 9. Info: [email protected]. LIBRARIES La Conner Swinomish Library. 520...
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5. Help get all ballots counted quickly: * Vote and return your ballot now * Sign your ballot return envelope * Mail your ballot by Oct. 30 so it’s postmarked no later than Nov. 5 Place ballots in a Skagit County drop box by 8 p.m. Nov. 5. La Conner-area election drop boxes: * 614 Morris St. (in front of the old library) * 17337 Reservation Road (Swinomish Indian Tribal Community Social Services Building) You can register to vote on Election Day. For voting information, check VoteWa.gov or call Skagit County E...
If not heartwarming, it was at least a homecoming when the potentially painful topic of property taxes was discussed during the Oct. 22 La Conner Town Council meeting at Maple Hall. First-term Skagit County Assessor Danny Hagen, a former Shelter Bay resident who in a past life was a La Conner High School athlete and later a Braves basketball coach, provided an update on local property value changes at the outset of the 90-minute public session last week. Hagen, who played hoops for Cal Lutheran...
Though Halloween is trick or treat time, La Conner School District officials aren't masking their glee that the district is enjoying more of the latter than the former this year. Superintendent David Cram cited for school board members at their meeting Monday night three examples of good news as sweet as any candy haul Halloween trick-or-treaters can expect. First, Cram announced that K-12 student enrollment, the key factor that drives state school funding, is higher than expected. Cram projecte...
HEADS UP Saturday with the Mayor. Come to the La Conner Swinomish Library at 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, for an open conversation with Mayor Marna Hanneman. Topic: “Preparing for an Unplanned Event” by Gerry George of the town’s Emergency Management Commission. Free veterans appreciation dinner, 6-8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8, at Camano Chapel, 867 W. Camano Drive, Camano Island. Keynote speaker Mary Pilkington will share POW/wartime experiences of her late husband, Col. Fred Pilkington. RSVP to 206-550-4409 or email [email protected]. Indicate your...
This is the last week of National Co-op Month. This year’s theme is “The Future is Cooperative.” Of course, the future for all of us is cooperative. Either we get along together and join hands in brotherhood and sisterhood or we will die. We can choose to make our future cooperative, or not. Without a doubt, the future is relentlessly pressing itself on us all. While many of the 1,650 agricultural co-ops with almost $300 billion in annual revenue are some of the largest of the over 30,000 co-ops nationally, even they offer the oppor...
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5. Help get all ballots counted quickly: Vote and return your ballot now. Sign your ballot return envelope. Mail your ballot by Oct. 30 so it’s postmarked no later than Nov. 5. Use a county dropbox. Place ballots in a drop box by 8 p.m. Nov. 5. La Conner-area election drop boxes: 614 Morris Street (in front of the old library) 17337 Reservation Road (Swinomish Indian Tribal Community Social Services Building) You can register to vote on Election Day. Voting information: register at VoteWa.gov. Skagit County E...
The Mount Vernon Library Commons library opened Tuesday. Hours are 10 a.m-6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 10 a.m-4 p.m. Saturday. Use the main entrance on the corner of Kincaid and Second streets. Park in the lot at the old library on Snoqualmie Street. Visit and use the library. Some services may be unavailable until construction is completed. The parking garage and conference center are closed....
YOU CAN HELP La Conner Kiwanis and the La Conner High School student body are sponsoring a Halloween blood drive from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29, in the Landy James Gym. Your donation will preserve a life. Visit bloodworksnw.org, then go to its donor portal and search for La Conner. Please call if you have clinical questions, Dorothy, RN 360-431-9234, or about required registration, Lori, 360-630-0809. HEADS UP Skagit Habitat for Humanity will break ground on three new affordable homes in La Conner. Come to the corner of S. Third and Cal...
The candidates vying to represent Washington in the U.S. Senate went head-to-head Oct. 8 at a debate in Spokane, sparring over affordability, immigration, foreign affairs and fentanyl. Democratic incumbent Maria Cantwell and Republican Raul Garcia, a Yakima emergency room doctor, met at the Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center at Gonzaga University for a debate hosted by The Spokesman-Review in partnership with Gonzaga University, KSPS, the Black Lens and the Washington State Debate Coalition. It was the first debate between the two...
