Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper
Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper
Sorted by date Results 201 - 225 of 881
I was terribly disappointed to read the recent La Conner Weekly News article about Linda Clark and her arrest and conviction for taking a couple of dogs that she thought were being mistreated. The article was shockingly biased and presented only the facts that would present Clark in the worst possible light. There is little doubt Clark committed a crime, sure. But her only motivation (according to her guest column the week earlier) was that the dogs were being abused, and the local authorities wouldn’t intervene because one of the dog’s own...
I am writing to give my endorsement to Ivan Carlson for city council. I have known Ivan his whole life. His family is multigenerational in La Conner, he has strong, long and deep roots in the community. Ivan is committed to improvement of the quality of life in La Conner, he is constantly investing his time and energy towards civic minded projects. Ivan was a driving force in installing the speed signs on Maple Ave in a much needed effort to reduce vehicle speeding in residential areas of La Conner. As a council member, I know Ivan will keep...
We talk about community and call fellow county residents Skagitonians, a unique name marking our territory, the place we call home. We think of ourselves as neighbors finding common cause in this place where we all live, even though from Anacortes to Marblemount our physical and social landscapes and experiences are quite diverse and even unique. We, all Skagitonians, ought to be in pain over the suffering and death the coronavirus pandemic has brought to our neighbors. October began with grim milestones, with first the count of 100 people...
I remember sitting at my desk in fourth grade. It was a sunny day and out the window I could see some hills of Palouse farmland. Our teacher was covering the westward expansion of Europeans. I found myself wondering what happened to the Indigenous people and asked about it. “They moved away,” she said, “They live over toward Yakima.” I remember feeling a pain in my stomach. It didn’t feel right. She moved on to another topic and then it was recess. It wasn’t until much later that I learned the truth. For millennia our Indigenous siblings ma...
Ballots went out in the mail today for November’s election. Locally three La Conner council seats are contested. At least a couple of candidates are going door-to-door and half of them have signs in neighbors yards. Out of town, on both sides of the Swinomish Channel, both Eric Day and John Doyle want to represent residents living in Fire District 13. This is a small town and a rural fire district. The decisions on whom to vote for are important for residents, more so than the candidates. The council members and the fire district commissioner g...
To the people of La Conner: I have known Ivan Carlson his entire life. He is a volunteer for the La Conner Fire Department, he was raised here, went to school here and is raising his family here. In this time, he has proved himself a capable and reliable fireman with compassion, selflessness and his care for the community. It has been a privilege to watch him grow into the hard-working, honest, and caring person he is today. Sincerely, Aaron Reinstra La Conner...
I was disappointed to find that La Conner School Board candidates Amanda Bourgeois and Susan Deyo neglected to submit information for the voters pamphlet, which came in the mail recently. Many thanks to J.J. Wilbur for submitting his information. I don’t care if you are running unopposed, there is no excuse for not giving voters every chance to know more about you. For me, this lack of participation by Bourgeois and Deyo casts doubts on the transparency of their work on the school board and their organizational skills. Gale Fiege Pleasant R...
In late 2014, I advocated on behalf of two dogs in the town who were suffering tremendously at the hands of their owners due to inadequate protection from the elements. The dogs belonged to the town’s code enforcement officer at the time. No one in the town would help them. In fact, anyone who had the authority to do so backed off because of the interference by town officials. Because of this, I intervened by taking the dogs, trying to get them away from these owners – to no avail – although one was euthanized due to significant m...
October is here. It is an odd year, 2021. That is true in a lot of ways. One local fact is town council elections occur in odd-numbered years. For the first time since 2015 council seats are contested in La Conner. Residents are fortunate that they have a choice for each position: Ivan Carlson is challenging John Leaver. Rick Dole seeks to unseat Bill Stokes. Glen Johnson wants to replace MaryLee Chamberlain. Some candidates have been knocking on doors to introduce themselves and discuss their positions. Good for them. In this pandemic year,...
If La Conner is building another park for the use of families with children, let’s not make a mistake that exists in the two other parks. Neither of the existing parks have adequate toilet facilities, especially for children. Port a Pottys should not be the norm for a park. It is embarrassing that we allowed this for our parks. As an adult, I detest them, and avoid using them. Children should not be forced to go to that smelly and scary box. Please find funding for these parks to have suitable toilets for families....
My concern: If I need to call 911 and I can get to my phone to dial I don’t want to have to guess and wonder if or when the police are going to show up. I expect it in a reasonable amount of time. I attended the council meeting Sept. 28 and expressed this concern to the sheriff’s representatives there. They stated that there is an existing contract to provide 80 hours of service … to La Conner? My unanswered question: Is that 80 hours in La Conner or “Zone 1,” which includes Conway, Bayview, etc.? I think everyone at the meeting agreed...
I totally agree with contributor Doreen Sadler’s point that it was definitely time for the U.S. to withdraw from Afghanistan. However, to gloss-over the stunningly poor execution of that withdrawal and the perverse political dynamics that drove it is a huge disservice to all Americans, particularly those of us who are Afghan war veterans and those who lost loved ones there. In a 27-year career as a pilot in the Air Force Special Operations community I spent a lot of time fighting in Afghanistan, as well as leading organizations that sent a l...
Here we go again. Whatever the merits of Greg Ellis’ proposal to build six or so houses on the Washington Street lot behind Pioneer Market, he provides the opportunity for town and Skagit Valley residents to again wrestle with the complexity of gaining affordable housing in La Conner and throughout the county. At his permit hearing Sept. 21, Ellis shared his pitch to offer “affordable housing, in the high 500s.” That is pricing affordable only to folks downsizing from Seattle or San Francisco. Ellis is offering the wish, like Dorothy clicking h...
I fully support President Biden’s decision to end the 20 year war in Afghanistan and the presence of American troops in the impoverished war-torn country. Here is why: while the withdrawal was always going to “messy” and fraught with violence as in most evacuations, from Dunkirk to Vietnam, it was like finally pulling off the bandage. It needed to be done. It was crazy, for sure. There were 15,000 allied lives lost in trying to evacuate those soldiers off that beach in France in 1940. Yet Churchill is considered a hero for his decision. So it n...
These are very challenging times for so many reasons. Many of us have lost loved ones, some of us have lost our jobs or had them shut down, hopefully for the time being. This are especially trying times for people like me who are very social and love to be out and about. Ironically, as much as I love directing television, my shpilkes makes it very difficult for me to hunker down at home. “Shpilkes” is Yiddish for a playful gas and a fun way to describe being ADHD. Fortunately, I chose this tim...
I guess we should have expected it, but it’s disappointing none the less. Since “affordable housing” is a critical issue for all our communities, it is now being used as a cudgel or enticement for what would otherwise be an unacceptable development options. For Skagit county, the implementation of the Growth Management Act was particularly painful. We were delinquent in implementing the law and were at risk of sanctions from Olympia by the time we actually adopted our Comprehensive Plan. There was also significant tension between the count...
For those who read books, you know that a good book can help immensely, to make you smile, laugh, wonder, learn, improve your mood, challenge you and, yes, make you cry. Books can be the elixir to lighten a load and soothe the soul. Books help us see how big and wonderful and complex our world and universe is and how people – you – are both the same and different from other individuals, how small and insignificant humans are and how significant each of us is. Books are the key to tomorrow, however well or ill our actions may be base...
On Sept. 3, 2021 the news posted a graph showing how much military equipment was left in Afghanistan to arm the Taliban. Treason comes to mind. Anyone with common sense after seeing that graph knows the person in charge should resign or be impeached. American flags should remain at half-mast until one or the other takes place. The value of equipment left behind would be enough to build seven nuclear powered aircraft carriers, keeping any adversary from stepping on American toes for the foreseeable future. The vice president should also be...
I am writing today to bring awareness to the issue of property crimes and crimes of opportunity. This is a situation that exists throughout the county and La Conner has certainly not been immune to this activity. I encourage each citizen, household and business to take this occasion to assess your individual readiness regarding security. Some obvious measures include removing any items of value from your vehicles and making sure garage and home and business doors are locked. Other effective actions include the implementation of automated...
Last night La Conner’s town council met an hour early to discuss the town’s 2022 budget, which they will pass in December. They started with the big-ticket items: the sewer system and wastewater treatment plant and the parks, facilities, streets, water and drainage infrastructure that public works manages. None of this is glamorous, as much as President Biden and Congress have talked about it this year. It is expensive at every level, and more expensive than local and state governments can handle on their own. Last year La Conner budgeted alm...
We are writing in support of Ivan Carlson for Town Council, Position 2. Ivan lives a few doors down from us. In the Sept. 1 issue of this paper, it was mentioned that Ivan advocated for better signage on Maple Street at the Aug. 24 town council meeting. He also provided flags for the crosswalk at Maple and Caledonia. It has already yielded improved safety for our family. It is a great first (but hopefully not last) step. We appreciate folks that listen, but we strongly admire people who act. It is especially admirable since Ivan had no...
Ken, I want you to know I completely support your editorials and articles and I was appalled at the content of Mr. Hageman’s letter. He succeeded in demonstrating the epitome of what the ultra-conservative represent. I did not see any reference to what he felt Trump did right to help our country, rather he just condemned our current administration with all the same accusations we have been hearing for years. Keep up the good work and don’t let those who wish to keep our people at odds rather than learn compassion, compromise and respect for...
In last week’s La Conner Weekly News Randy Hageman mocked the qualifications and political positions of U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. Mr. Hageman also belittled her work as a bartender, as if working class folks are unworthy to serve in Congress. He is dead wrong on all counts. AOC was not elected because of her “charm and charisma” (though she has plenty of each). She is a graduate of Boston University, cum laude, with a double degree in international relations and economics and served as an intern on Ted Kennedy’s staff....
The dictionary, in its definitions of family, includes “all those descended from a common ancestor.” During my years as a priest I have become acquainted with hundreds and hundreds of families. Many were happy and united. Others were devastated by the death of a parent, by illness, financial needs, by alcohol or drugs. What inspired me was how some families coped with problems. The family members all joined in caring for an elderly parent or caring for a sick member for whatever reason. Much depends on everyone according to the family in whi...
Thank you, Jacques. The giving of all this time to your community is more than commendable. Towns of any size are not easy to manage. Council members are challenged every day to do their due diligence and make the best decisions they can. Some are extremely challenging, while others are easy, or at least somewhat so. Your concern about the ring dike is completely justified. We are the lowest lying town around, so without this dike we could realistically get washed into the slough. Yeah, I appreciate your tenacity. It is not an easy subject to...
