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TOWN OF LA CONNER NOTICE OF APPLICATION/NOTICE OF HEARING The Town of La Conner is processing a permit application that may be of public interest Date: June 18, 2024 Application File #: LU24-28CU-IV Applicant: Sarah Cram Town Contact Person: Michael Davolio AICP, Planning Director; P.O. Box 400, La Conner, WA 98257; 360-466-3125 Project Location: 413 Morris Street A, La Conner WA, P74161 Project Description: Change of use to long-term residential use. Public Hearing: Hearing Examiner Date/Time/Location: July 16, 5:00 pm, Maple Center....
Renewable energy is a key issue for state Senate hopeful Janet St. Clair, a two-term Island County commissioner with an extensive background in public education and social work. Renewable energy also defines her campaign style. St. Clair brought her energetic, bilingual approach to La Conner on June 3, meeting at the Civic Garden Club with local Democrats. State Rep. Debra Lekanoff, D-Bow, attended and offered a ringing endorsement of her candidacy for the 10th Legislative District seat. St....
It was hats off to La Conner High School's tribal seniors Thursday, May 30. And hats on, too. That's because those members of the school's Class of 2024 were honored during the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community's annual Cedar Hat Ceremony at Swedebs Park, an upbeat outdoor evening event featuring tributes from speakers that included four Swinomish senators and departing La Conner School District Superintendent Will Nelson, a member of the Blackfeet Nation. The grads, donning their finely woven...
Busy lives paused Monday as local residents took time to reflect on the past during annual Memorial Day services at two area cemeteries. Somber holiday programs drew large turnouts to the Pleasant Ridge and Swinomish Indian Tribal Community cemeteries despite cloudy and chilly conditions. Rev. Don Robinson and Anne Basye keynoted the one-hour gathering at Pleasant Ridge, site of the oldest cemetery in Skagit County and where the accomplishments and sacrifices of veterans, pioneers and Native Ame...
When national Head Start budget cuts announced earlier this year spelled the imminent demise of the Little Braves preschool program, La Conner Elementary School Principal Heather Fakkema reacted with sadness. But not panic. Fakkema was among those who first floated the idea of following up the Little Braves mission with a new educational concept – transitional kindergarten. Transitional kindergarten, which serves students who are at least 4 years old, has been implemented in Washington state and elsewhere to help eligible children prepare fo...
Memorial Day this year was cool and gray. That did not prevent people from gathering with family and friends. Outside picnics might have been few, but lots of folks celebrated, boating, home barbecuing and going out in the many ways we do on holidays. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration reported record numbers of passengers at the nations’ airports. In greater La Conner scores of people attended services at Pleasant Ridge Cemetery and the Swinomish Cemetery to honor departed military, pioneer and family members. That is how l...
Memorial Day was May 29th this year. That is John F. Kennedy’s birthday. I know that because it is also my mother’s birthday, Mary Madeline Nemunis Stern. My mother was born in 1920. She would have been 103. I believe my mother hated war. She never told me that. Nor did she ever take her five children to a demonstration against the Vietnam War or go on her own. She did tell me this story once, that in 1964 my parents were at some work-related social function of my dad’s, of course, for few women worked outside the home then. He worked for t...
He was raised and again resides on a diversified century-old farm north of town, but more than any single crop it's been goodwill that Dean Swanson has spent a lifetime cultivating. "I've been lucky to have grown up in a community that really cares," Swanson, 67, told the Weekly News. "I had all the support I ever needed. That's why I've always chosen to give back and (my wife) Becky, who's the rock of our family, is in on that with me." Because he mastered the concept of "paying it forward"...
Come hear what the Mount Vernon High School debate team is thinking about our two party political system tomorrow, Thursday, May 23. The League of Women Voters of Skagit County organized the debate for its 2024 outreach series of voter education, part of their ongoing commitment to community engagement and understanding of key electoral issues. Guest judges are Claudia Avendano-Iberra, Skagit Valley College human services department chair, and Paul Neilsen, Skagit County: District Court judge. They will support the students by offering their...
If there is fault to be had and people to be held accountable for the state auditor’s staff finding shortcomings in the oversight of the La Conner Rural Partial County Library District – for that is what the library’s official name is – that fault lies with all the Skagit County commissioners for the years and decades of a lack of vision and leadership that has allowed all residents countywide to languish with antiquated, piecemeal and completely underfunded and understaffed independent municipal and partial county library districts. It is no...
There’s supply and demand, but it can be demand and supply. The latter condition has led Skagit County Fire District 13 to assign two emergency medical technicians for 12-hour shifts two days per week at the Summit Park station near Highway 20 starting in mid-June. “We need to be out there,” Fire Chief Wood Weiss told district commissioners via Zoom during their hour-long May 9 meeting at the Snee-Oosh Road station. Weiss was in Leavenworth. He said staffing that station full-time twice weekly will help response times to a growing number of ca...
The Skagit County Commissioners will hold a hearing on proposed new solid waste rates at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 21, in the Commissioner’s Hearing Room, 1800 Continental Place, Mount Vernon. The county has a new vendor, Waste Management, providing solid waste services in unincorporated areas. Its 2023 contract had a 40% increase in transport and disposal costs. Skagit County Public Works has conducted a solid waste rate study to ensure rates were sufficient to stay solvent. The rate study report is on the county’s website. Public Works sta...
The Skagit County Commissioners will hold a public hearing for comment on proposed fee changes in amending an ordinance in Chapter 12.19, Skagit County Code and Rates and Charges for the Skagit County Drainage Utility Assessment, at 2 p.m. Monday, May 20, in the commissioner’s hearing room, 1800 Continental Place, Mount Vernon. Revisions to Skagit County code and the drainage utility rates and charges will more closely reflect the actual costs for services such as drainage concern response, drainage projects, stormwater management, p...
Skagit County voters have renewed the county’s Emergency Medical Services levy, passing it with 70.8% of the vote, 20,027 yes to 8,240 no votes. The final 163 ballots were counted by Skagit County elections office staff and the vote certified May 3. The renewal, good through 2030, funds 24/7 EMS response at a rate of $0.47 per $1,000 of assessed property value. Turnout was 33.1%, with a total of 28,267 votes counted from the 85,647 registered voters. Source: Skagit County government...
Skagit County voters are casting over 70% yes ballots and overwhelmingly approving proposition No. 1, Continuation of Emergency Medical Services Levy, in the April 23 election. After the third vote count Monday, April 29, 70.8% of votes, 19, 912 are yes, to the 8,192 no votes. The 91.5% yes vote in Shelter Bay was the highest among greater La Conner precincts. Swinomish precinct voters cast 87.6% yes; Snee Oosh votes were 82.1% yes and the La Conner vote was 80.5% yes. The March Point precinct was voting the levy down, 7 no votes to 6 yes...
Washington’s access to quality preschool services falls below many other states, only serving 16% of 4-year-olds and 8% of 3-year-olds, a new national report found. The National Institute for Early Education Research released its annual preschool report in April and found Washington’s preschool access ranked 33rd for 4-year-olds and 17th for 3-year-olds. The report also found that despite its low rankings for access, Washington scores fairly well for funding for the child-care sector, ranking eighth for state spending. But despite the spe...
Town Administrator Scott Thomas is known for his occasional use of dry humor, but there wasn’t anything funny about his report to Town Council members last week regarding drought conditions this year. “We’re already in a state of drought,” Thomas told the council during its April 23 meeting at Maple Hall. “So, we may be looking at water restrictions down the road.” Thomas reported that Washington’s snowpack, based on state Department of Ecology statistics, stands at just 68% of its average levels. “With chances for significant additions to the...
After almost a century of hosting potlucks, weddings and receptions, rummage sales, art shows, dances, memorial services, service projects, polling sites and parties, the Rexville Grange #815 on Summers Drive is showing its age. Water seeps into the below-grade kitchen whenever it rains on Strawberry Hill. "That has caused a lot of rot in the lower cabinets, and damaged the water heater," says Cathy Savage, Grange president. With a kitchen unsuitable for cooking or catering, hosting indoor...
Dear Editor, Skagit County Emergency Medical Services and the Board of Skagit County Commissioners want to thank residents for supporting the recent ballot measure to renew the emergency medical services levy. The levy funds a county-wide coordinated EMS system through contracts with cities, towns, fire districts and other agencies that serve all county residents. Our EMS system consists of Basic and Advanced Life Support for county residents and visitors, which is the highest level and quality of service possible when it comes to a medical...
Because of its desirability and geographic constraints limiting growth, La Conner has long dealt with a housing crunch, especially with affordable housing. Those conditions have now contributed to a pressing side effect: homelessness. In his written report delivered in advance of the April 23 Town Council meeting at Maple Hall, Town Administrator Scott Thomas noted that homeless people have begun camping overnight at Pioneer Park. “The town has experienced ongoing issues stemming from homeless individuals camping in the park, primarily r...
The Swinomish Tax Authority uses the same levy rate for 2024, 2023, 2022 and 2021: $11.98 per $1,000. The assessed value of homes in Shelter Bay, Pull & Be Damned and Thousand Trails increased from $206,399,050 to $262,085,926. The Swinomish Tribal Community has the right to collect $3,139,456 in taxes from Shelter Bay, Pull & Be Damned and Thousand Trails in 2024. Last year they collected $2,440,832. After deducting contributions, exemptions, uncollectable taxes and taxes shared with the county, the Tribe will have an estimated $1,958,197...
The Channel Cove complex, managed by Home Trust of Skagit County, will have $336,144 in Washington state Department of Commerce Housing Preservation Program funding. Statewide, 31 low-income housing complexes were awarded $19.9 million Commerce posted on its website. Repairs will be made to 18 apartments at Channel Cove rented to people making 50% or less of the area median income. In Skagit County, $1.6 million is being invested to upgrade 113 units in three complexes. Catholic Housing Services of Western Washington was awarded $667,010 for...
A recent training exercise was so well-received that Skagit County Fire District 13 officials are considering another such drill in the La Conner area later this year. The March 30 windstorm scenario was so successful that the local fire district, which serves rural La Conner and the Swinomish Reservation, may stage a wildland fire training event during the peak of dry summer conditions here. “I suggest we have a similar drill for a wildland fire on the reservation,” Capt. Ted Taylor told fire district commissioners during their meeting at the...
Town council members last week paved the way to pay for future work on La Conner’s streets, sidewalks and trails. The panel during its April 9 public meeting unanimously approved a 0.1% sales tax to fund the town’s new Transportation Benefit District. The council action is tentatively set to take effect July 1. Council members opted for the sales tax rather than an increase in local vehicle license fees to provide revenue for the TBD. Town Administrator Scott Thomas said the sales tax will be paid in part by those who drive to La Conner to sho...
Skagit County will host a community meeting open to all in Anacortes Monday, April 22, 5-7 p.m. at the Anacortes Senior Activity Center 1701 22nd St.. The county commissioners and representatives from Planning and Development Services, Public Health, Public Works, the Department of Emergency Management, Facilities Management and the Sheriff’s Office will respond to community questions. Information: 360 416-1300; [email protected]. Source: Skagit County...
