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Tuesday marked the longest number of consecutive days on record that Seattle has been without rain since 1951. While La Conner encountered a light shower July 20, it was not considered measurable precipitation. Extreme dry heat is affecting most of Western Washington, but the smoky haze from the wildfires in British Columbia and the Chuckanut Mountains, has saved La Conner from the high temperatures seen in other communities. That haze comes at a price: Last week the Skagit County Public Health...
Last week over 300 people from seven countries and 23 states came to the seventh annual Great Grains Gathering. Bakers, brewers, millers, researchers, scientists, home and backyard varieties of the above, and at least one La Conner organic farmer came, to learn, admire, copy and take home techniques, tips, samples and business cards. Washington State University’s bread lab team is breeding and harvesting its vision of turning the Skagit Valley’s barley and wheat crops into high demand flours, malts and whiskey feedstocks sought for their fla...
As with an Olympic marathon, the Skagit Valley Family YMCA fundraising drive is looking for a strong finishing kick as it nears the finish line. The latest strides in a campaign to build a modern YMCA facility near the Skagit Valley College campus were taken in La Conner last week. Campaign Director Renata Maybruck was here Wednesday, poised to start the final---and perhaps most crucial leg---of a race to line up donations toward construction of a new two-story multi-million dollar family...
Today, I was honored to attend the Swinomish Awards Luncheon. I was there to accept the Swinomish Nation’s grant award toward the building of Conner Waterfront Park, which is the Park Commission’s featured project at the moment. The idea to take a place which was previously an industrial site, and develop instead a beautiful place for families of both La Conner and Swinomish Communities to enjoy on the waterfront, has inspired us to do furious fundraising. If you drive Conner Way under the bridge, you can see the many facilities now ava...
A federal judge has ruled that it is legal for public agencies to collect taxes from non-Indians who lease tribal land. For three years, this newspaper has been following a lawsuit in the U.S. Central District Court of California brought by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians against Riverside County. That case closed last week when U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee ruled in favor of the county and a local water agency that joined the suit as a defendant. “The county is pleased that the court carefully balanced the issues and determined t...
Cake for breakfast, and recognition for three people, made Fire District 13’s regularly scheduled morning meeting a special day. Firefighter Tony Curran was named one of four people to receive EMS Provider of the Year from Skagit County Emergency Services on Thursday. According to a press release from Fire District 13, during the last year Curran has responded to 411 emergency calls, assisted transporting 116 people to hospitals and assisted paramedics in four successful CPRs. “I try my hardest...
The La Conner School Garden now provides more than 30 elementary age kids with an after school Gardening and Cooking Enrichment Class. They spend one afternoon a week of planting, pulling weeds, harvesting and then prepare wholesome food for themselves. Left unattended eight years ago, the overgrown school garden was resurrected by a group of motivated volunteers supported by the La Conner Elementary School PTSA, the La Conner School District, Insight Tree Care, Ace Hardware Anacortes,...
Bruce Shellhamer couldn’t make it to the Fire District 13 Board of Commissioners meeting on Thursday when he was voted in unanimously to fill a vacancy on the board. Fire 13 Chief Roy Horn told commissioners Chuck Hedlund and Larry Kibbee that there had been five who expressed interest in filling the board seat left vacant last month when Commissioner Arne Fohn resigned. Horn endorsed Shellhamer, 60, for the position. A resident of the La Conner area for 2 years, Shellhamer lives in the Pull & Be Damned Road area and is a former pastor who n...
I would like to thank all Skagit County communities for making the 2nd Annual Mother’s Day Diaper Drive a success. Donations of diapers were generous and dollars far exceeded those of last year. In January, the Diaper Bank reached a goal of delivering 1,000 diapers a week to WIC at Community Action of Skagit County. The Mother’s Day Drive will help us double that number, reaching more mother-baby pairs and giving more diapers. We are anxious to grow and extend services to other deserving agencies. Mother’s Day is a noteworthy time to hold...
In 1968, Allen Osberg, a Seattle construction company owner, negotiated a 75-year master lease with the Bureau of Indian Affairs to benefit the Swinomish tribe and tribal members. Osberg’s Shelter Bay Company marketed sub-leases for the developed lots, installed utilities and built community facilities and the marina. The master lease and individuals’ sub-leases will expire in 2044. At the end of the leases any improvements that are not removed will become the property of the BIA to manage on behalf of the tribe and tribal members. The She...
Monday May 8 7:35 p.m.: Suicide scare – An anonymous caller reported that a suicidal female was parked on Morris Street, La Conner. The woman had sent multiple texts to friends. Deputies arrived, talked with her and took her to a hospital for mental health services. Tuesday May 9 8:27 a.m.: Sniffer dog visit – Deputies did a random K-9 drug search of school grounds at La Conner High School on Sixth Street. The search turned up no drugs. 9:21 a.m.: Nice knife – A man was reported at the Pioneer Market on Morris Street, La...
Capt. John M. Aydelotte, 69, of Deception Pass, died on Wednesday, March 29, with family by his side at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona. He was born in Denver, Colorado, on May 12, 1947, son of the late John H. and Maryilyn “Haxie” Aydelotte. John was oldest of five siblings. He traveled with his Boeing family, attending Munich-American High School in Germany. He attended Everett Community College studying Photography and the University of Washington studying Theology. He had a passion for...
Edith V. Bobb of Swinomish died on Tuesday, April 18, peacefully at home surrounded by her loving family. She was 78. Edith was born on September 10, 1938 to David John and Irene Moses John. She was a lifetime resident of the Swinomish Tribe and a long time Pentecostal Servant. Edith attended Chemawa Indian Boarding School, Salem Oregon and in 1957 graduated from La Conner High School. She married Arnold Bobb on August 11, 1960. They had two children and adopted two children. She loved children...
The Summit Park Grange in Anacortes was the place to be last Wednesday night for people with a stake in the land disputes that have put the Swinomish tribe at odds with some property owners and leaders from the Samish tribe, City of Anacortes and Skagit County. A panel of seven representing the city, county and Samish sat onstage, facing a room so crowded that people without seats leaned against the walls and spilled out the back door. Organizers counted 220 attendees. Landowners are worried the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community could assert...
There are many giant, looming skyscrapers in Seattle, but the tallest building in the city is Columbia Center. For the past 30 years, 6,000 determined people spend a day climbing up the center’s stairwells, scaling 69 floors to be rewarded with fresh air and a citywide view at the top. But the best reward is hope — each participant helps bring in funds to support those working on a cure for blood cancers. This year, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s 31st “Big Climb” annual fundrai...
Kwami Taha, a well-known La Conner resident and a former Son of Harlem, New York, died at age 79 on Thursday, February 17 at Abrazo Central Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. Kwami was born April 11, 1937, and raised in Harlem, New York. A Golden Gloves competitor, Kwami served in the Korean War as a maintenance airman before returning home to a bourgeoning Civil Rights movement. His vision, leadership, and focus on young people were instrumental in developing a blueprint for Harlem’s response to rac...
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is making the “rounds” across the U.S. to gather feedback from tribal nations to decide whether long-standing “Indian trading regulations” should be updated — laws that determine who can run a business on tribal reservations and what items can be sold. The BIA also says it wants tribes to comment on how changes to current dual tax regulations on Tribal lands could benefit tribes. On Thursday morning, the BIA had its first of eight consultations at the Wa Walton Event Center at the Swinomish Casino & Lodge,...
The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community excluded members of the press and local government representatives from two recent meetings it hosted on topics that could impact taxpayers. Swinomish has proposed to amend its tribal constitution in accordance with the tribe’s belief that its reservation should include thousands of acres occupied by two refineries, two car dealerships, many businesses and private homes. Press was specifically excluded from an event the tribe hosted last Tuesday for property owners in the disputed area. At the same time, t...
The first in a series of eight “consultations” to be held by the Bureau of Indian Affairs on rules regarding business enterprises on reservation land will be held next Thursday at the Swinomish Casino and Lodge. While the agency is seeking comment from tribes on a variety of elements as it ponders revisions to the “Traders With Indians” rule, the issue garnering the most attention among tribes and local governments involves taxes. Essentially, some tribal officials hold that it is unfair for state and local governments to tax non-tri...
Fire District 13 Chief Roy Horn announced last week that he would submit his resignation on July 1, because his contract expires on Dec. 31. Horn told the board at the Thursday, Jan. 26 meeting that he would put in a letter of resignation only because his contract requires him to give six months notice, and he wants the board to do “succession planning.” When pressed later on whether he intends to retire, Horn said, “It depends on the board.” He said, “I want to put it in the board’s mind to have these things addressed.” When Horn made his...
The La Conner School District has recently experienced a six-fold increase in migrant student enrollment, jumping from 18 to 118. The new number accounts for about 20 percent of the district’s current 575 enrollment, giving La Conner the highest percentage of migrant students in the county. Because La Conner’s migrant student population has typically hovered in the lower numbers — fewer than 20 — the climbing numbers surprised school officials, prompting them to look into gov...
Eulalia “Lala” Ruiz, 82 of Mount Vernon, died peacefully surrounded by family on Thursday, January 12. She was born on June 16, 1934 in Lyford, Texas to Isidro Reina and Trinidad Rodriguez. She attended school in San Perlita, Texas. On September 3, 1948, she married Antonio “Tony” Ruiz and began their family together. They settled in La Conner, where she worked at the Lighthouse Inn for many years and later moved to Mount Vernon. Lala had a contagious smile and laugh. She enjoyed being with he...
The three-man Fire District 13 board of commissioners wants to staff the La Conner Fire Station near the roundabout on Chilberg Road. Meanwhile, the La Conner Volunteer Fire Department already has plans to man the station 24-hours a day with two firefighters of its own. La Conner’s Mayor Ramon Hayes, Administrator John Doyle and Fire Chief Josh Morrison met with Fire District 13’s Chief Roy Horn and Commissioners Arne Fohn, Chuck Hedlund and Larry Kibbee on Friday, Dec. 16. The outcome of that meeting led to setting another meeting at the La...
A customer found a baby left alone and strapped into a car seat in the parking lot of Pioneer Market in La Conner, prompting authorities to take the boy and his twin sister into protective custody. Skagit County Sheriff’s Sergeant Jenny Sheahan-Lee said she couldn’t release specific information, such as the identities of the parents, while the investigation is active. The children are still in custody of Child Protective Services. Barry Whipple, Pioneer Market’s store manager, said he was outsi...
The La Conner School Board on Monday approved a resolution to ask voters to levy $2.5 million in new taxes on the district’s property owners. If approved in a special election in February, the money would be collected over two years, in increments of $1.25 million in 2018 and in 2019. The district anticipates its new “replacement educational programs and operations levy” would amount to about $2.50 per $1,000 of a property’s assessed value. An existing voter-approved construction bond for the new middle school is also on the tax bills. The lev...
