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Communication was the word that resonated at the Nov. 5 La Conner Emergency Management Commission meeting. Commissioners continued their review of a draft Community Emergency Management Plan, which communicates strategies for dealing with natural disasters and provides a risk analysis of each potential scenario – from earthquakes and flooding to fires and tsunamis. “It’s a work in progress,” commissioner Jerry George called the draft plan, due for approval by the end of the year. Fine tuning the plan has been a priority this year. “We nee...
The La Conner Planning Commission forwarded one recommended comprehensive plan update to the town council but tabled action on another during its Nov. 5 public meeting at Maple Hall. Commissioners were unanimous in advancing updates to the comp plan's transportation element, including language addressing electric vehicle charging stations. The element, reviewed every five years, will eventually include a Transportation Improvement Program schedule. Deferred was a draft parks and recreation...
And the rain kept falling as October turned to November, with another inch Nov. 1-2. That more than matched the previous six days, 0.8 inches Oct. 26-31. Yet it was not the month’s wettest week: 2.5 inches came down Oct. 14-21. The 1.2 inches Oct. 19 was the most rain; 2 inches fell Oct. 18-21. But rain has been common in October this century. The 4.2 inches of precipitation is only the ninth wettest of 11 years of 4-plus inches of rain. Six of those years have been since 6.1 inches fell 2014, the wettest year since 2000. This year’s rainfall i...
The Port of Skagit Commission has appointed Melanie Mankamyer as port commissioner for District 2. The position became vacant after the sudden passing of longtime Port Commissioner Steve Omdal on Sept. 28. Mankamyer is a newly retired professional engineer and former partner in Wilson Engineering. Her 28 years of experience as a civil engineer provided her with vast experience in public works projects, developing long-term capital improvement plans, conceptual project plans and budgets, all of which are relevant and significant to the work of...
HEADS UP Northwest Agriculture Safety Day, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 14, at Maple Hall, 104 Commercial St., La Conner. Register at www.gishab.org/NW-ASD2024. $75 per person, $10 group discount for five or more registrants. Lunch and snacks provided, parking passes available. English and Spanish sessions on: * Blast sprayer calibration and configuration * Tractor safety * Prevent sexual harassment in agriculture * Pesticide labels * Machine guarding/lock out tag out * Developing an effective accident prevention program Presented by...
State Sen. Ron Muzzall's (R-Oak Harbor) has won reelection to his state legislative district 10 senate seat His margin is 2.1%, 51% to 48.9%, and 1,849 votes against Island County Commissioner Janet St. Clair after Snohomish County election staff reported totals Saturday. He has led since the third day of tally reports. The election offices in the three-county district estimate 2,650 ballots remain to be counted. Most, 1,800, are in Skagit County but LD 10 precincts are only in the southwest portion of the county. There are some 750 uncounted...
Tuesday night’s first vote counts put Island County Commissioner Janet St. Clair in the lead for Washington’s legislative district 10 Senate seat with 50.1% of the vote. Incumbent Senator Ron Muzzall (R- Oak Harbor) trailed at 49.8%. Almost 44,000 ballots were counted in the district of three counties. St. Clair led in Skagit County with 56.4% and in Island County with 56.1%. Muzzall has 58% of votes in Snohomish County. While St. Clair leads in Skagit County by 762 votes, her districtwide lead is 153 votes. Incumbents Skagit County Com...
It was another spooktacular Halloween in and around La Conner. Historic First Street, now one-way traffic, was closed to all traffic – other than the popular Meow Mix car and law enforcement vehicles – for a full hour Thursday afternoon to allow for La Conner's annual Halloween downtown pedestrian parade. After striding from Gilkey Square to Maple Hall, costumed paraders of all ages walked back to Morris Street, collecting candy along the way from La Conner merchants and business owners. "Th...
As office seekers and voters alike focused on which way political winds were blowing, it was a meteorological windstorm that grabbed attention in the La Conner area Monday afternoon. Gusts of up to 60 mph snapped off sections of trees in the Snee-Oosh Road area, occasionally bringing down power lines and causing short-term interruptions of electrical service. Power was out on at least some part of Pull and Be Damned Road till about 3 a.m. Tuesday. Some homes in Shelter Bay lost power for at least a couple of hours. Indian Road was closed to...
Janie Beasley didn't need to drive far to be celebrated for choosing the long road in terms of public service. A Swinomish Indian Tribal Community member and La Conner High School alum, Beasley received a 2024 Skagit Women's Alliance Network Lifetime Achievement Award during Oct. 17 ceremonies at the Swinomish Casino & Lodge. SWAN is a nonprofit organization dedicated to recognizing and supporting accomplished women throughout Skagit Valley. Upper Skagit elder Kay Knott, who like Beasley was...
Banks: Closed Buses: Regular service Library: Closed Post Office: Closed, no mail delivery Schools: Closed Town Hall: Closed County government: Closed Waste collection: Regular service...
Ballots are streaming in for Tuesday’s election in Washington, but the number returned is still falling well below four years ago. As of Monday, 56.7% of ballots had been returned statewide, according to the secretary of state’s website. That’s more than 2.8 million ballots returned so far. In 2020, 73.7% of ballots had been returned the day before the election. Election officials are still expecting turnout to be around 80% as most ballots are returned in the days before the election. That’s on par with most other presidential years, aside f...
Local volcanologist Jerry George is doing his best to shake things up in La Conner. In a good way, of course. George, a charter member of the Town's emergency management commission and its immediate past chair, addressed the panel's embrace of neighborhood mapping at the "Meet the Mayor" bi-monthly forum at La Conner Swinomish Library Saturday. Neighborhood mapping developed in Oakland, California after a devastating wildlands fire in the 1990s engulfed hundreds of homes. It provides vital...
Food for thought took on added meaning during the “Meet the Mayor” session at La Conner Swinomish Library Saturday. La Conner Sunrise Food Bank Board President John Petrich and Director Arin Magill updated attendees on the probable move from the ground floor of the historic Garfield Masonic Lodge Building at Third and Benton. Area Masons are consolidating operations in Sedro-Woolley and selling their La Conner and Mount Vernon properties. Petrich, a retired Swinomish Indian Tribal Community staffer, said the food bank’s lease for the 19th...
NAVAL AIR STATION WHIDBEY ISLAND – The remains of two aviators lost in an EA-18G Growler crash on Oct. 15 returned home from Dover Air Force Base this week. Lt. Serena Wileman came home to Oak Harbor on Monday, Nov. 4, at approximately 7 p.m. Wallin-Stucky Funeral Home will release details on Lt. Wileman’s procession and provide information on public involvement for those who wish to gather along the route. Lt. Cdr. Lyndsay Evans will return home to Anacortes later this week. Her family requested her arrival to be private. The families of bot...
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 ...
Karl the Fog lives in San Francisco, where his soft, mysterious contours come and go as they blanket the city. Karl the ferry lives in La Conner for now – but will soon call San Francisco home, too. The quad-engine passenger vessel ferry was pushed out of the Mavrik building last Friday and will start sea trials at the end of next week. Presuming positive results, by mid-December M.V. Karl will be on his way to join Mavrik-built siblings M.V. Dorado and M.V. Delphinus in the San Francisco Bay Fe...
In mid-October in Port Angeles, the Clallam County Republicans hosted a "Candidate Oktoberfest" at an old grange hall: beer and brats for a few bucks, three free hours of stump speeches and as much cake frosted with the American flag as you could eat. Seats on the floor were full and pews against the walls were well-populated with hardcore Trump fans, as well as some independents and former Democrats who said they might vote Republican. Three international journalists, including one from the U.K...
The Boeing factory worker strike that has stretched nearly two months, halting airplane manufacturing at plants around the Northwest, ended Monday after thousands of union members voted to approve a new contract offer from the aerospace giant. While the deal will not bring back a defined benefit pension program that many striking workers had hoped to revive, it does include a 38% wage increase over the contract’s four-year span that would push average pay for the workers to just shy of $120,000 a year. Workers will also receive a $12,000 ratifi...
Willard Cox, La Conner Yacht Club Commadore, hands Mayor Marna Hanneman a check for $500 at the Jordan Street Park on North First Street Oct. 10 to support the capital campaign to develop the park. The club has given close to $2,000 to the capital campaign, as the yacht club recognizes a waterfront park close to the La Conner Marina will be a wonderful asset to town residents and visiting boaters....
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...
Island County Commissioner Janet St. Clair’s lead has shrunk to 61 votes against State Sen. Ron Muzzall's (R-Oak Harbor) after Wednesday’s vote counts were announced. She leads 50% to 49.9% but there are still some 135,500 ballots to count. An estimated 64.5% of ballots in the three county district have been counted by totals posted by the county election offices. St. Clair leads by 808 votes in Skagit County and by 3,008 votes in Island County, while Muzzall leads by 3,755 votes in Snohomish County. About 52% of district residents live in Isla...
State Sen. Ron Muzzall's (R-Oak Harbor) has taken an 574 vote lead after 58,567 ballots were counted Thursday in Island, Skagit and Snohomish counties Thursday, the counties included in Washinton’s 10th state legislative district. He now leads Island County Commissioner Janet St. Clair 50.4% to 49.5%, 32,603 votes 32,029 votes. Other LD 10 and Skagit County commissioner incumbents continue to hold comfortable leads for their offices, ranging from 53.7% to 64.5%. Of the 80,400 estimated ballots to count in Island, Skagit and Snohomish c...
State Sen. Ron Muzzall's (R-Oak Harbor) leads by almost two percent, 50.9% to 49%, and 1,458 votes in the race for his state legislative district 10 seat against Island County Commissioner Janet St. Clair after the first week of counting ballots in the 2024 general election. He gained an additional 884 votes after 12,161 ballots were tallied Friday and Saturday (only Skagit County staff worked a shift Nov. 9) in the district, which also includes part of Snohomish County and all of Island County. There are an estimated 32,500 ballots to count...
Moving downstairs is a step up for the Skagit County elections office, which has doubled its workspace, increased transparency and improved efficiency in its new digs at the county administration building in Mount Vernon, Auditor Sandy Perkins told the Weekly News last Thursday. The Skagit County Auditor's Office in September moved its elections space from a cramped cubbyhole on the administration building's second floor to first floor court hearing rooms. The county this year revamped two of...
