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Last week’s paper closed the chapter and maybe the book on the Maple Avenue ballfield controversy. It is now in the past. Or is it? (“The past isn’t dead. It isn’t even past.” William Faulkner.) The Town’s decision has permanent effects and it may leave the council and administration open to future dispositions of public property to the benefit of private interests and real estate brokers. In the purchase and disposition of Maple Field – and as was the case with the sale of the Kirsch property – the council, the mayor and his sta...
Medical experts from the federal Centers for Disease Control are calling the surge of coronavirus cases across the United States “a pandemic of the unvaccinated.” Almost all new cases of COVID-19 are among people who have declined to get vaccinated. Most vaccinated people testing positive, the breakthrough cases, are asymptomatic or their illness is mild. Mask mandates are again in front of us. Public health officers of most Puget Sound countries, but not Skagit, are recommending everyone wear masks in indoor public settings – res...
At the end of their arduous trek across the country, Lewis and Clark were sitting around their campfire with the roar of the surf of the Pacific in the background when Lewis said, “I’ve been thinking.” Clark replied, “Not again. What are you thinking about this time?” “Well” Lewis said, “I’ve been thinking about these remarkable fish, the salmon. They are beautiful and good to eat. And they regularly come into the rivers from the ocean. Then they are so easy to catch. They swim from the ocean up to tiny streams where they started life, dig...
We all need to make informed decisions about masks and vaccinations based on reputable scientific data, and we also need to make those decisions based on legitimate behavioral research and data. (yale.edu) Research and casual experience show that people can influence their peers’ behavior through their own words and actions. A recent Associated Press article gave an example this. It shared an avowed anti-vaxxer’s response to contracting a severe case of COVID-19. He expressed his sheer terror at not being able to breathe and being put on a ven...
All of a sudden the windfall hits home. Last night the La Conner town council and staff started a discussion over spending almost $265,000, half of which has already been deposited into the 2021 general fund. What to do with the money? First, though, a recognition that a trillion dollars here and a trillion dollars there has trickled down from the other Washington. Like every municipality in this state, and probably across the nation, La Conner is benefitting from decisions the Biden administration and congressional Democrats made early this...
To expand on the Maple Avenue property scorecard in last week’s Weekly News, for the record: 1. La Conner buys the Maple Avenue ballfield property from the Hedlin family. 2. La Conner creates a restrictive covenant protecting for the public “in perpetuity” 24,000 square feet. 3. La Conner creates three easements; one crosses the park parcel. 4. La Conner sells the remaining ballfield property, and the easements, to Landed Gentry. 5. As Maple Field, developer Landed Gentry presents an agreement for partial extinguishment of the park-crossing eas...
To be heard by our town administration, we were told by our town lawyer, Scott Thomas, to write to La Conner Weekly News. There seems to be a blocked pathway for citizens to reach our town administrators. Citizen letters of critical concerns go unanswered. So, if letters to the editor is the line of communication our town lawyer suggests, we should expect a reply to this letter via the same route. In the matter of exchanging clear information and concerns between our town administrators and their citizens, let the echo chamber of Maple Hall be...
The future use of the Maple Ball field and the statutory warranty deed, restrictive covenant and the 4,000 square feet missing from the park are really important community matters. But, back up a bit to decisions on use of this valuable publicly acquired property. If the ballfield had to go, I do not believe that market rate housing proposed by the developer and the Town result in a valued public purpose – which of course is the fundamental reason for Town action. And this failure in purpose applies not just to the Hedlin ballfield, but...
Dear Citizens, A contract was given to the council for discussion at the last minute last week so you are probably unaware of it. That is par for the town’s inability to provide transparency. Basically, the developer has proposed some outrageous language. The Easement Release Maple Ball Field agreement the town council received from Landed Gentry and discussed at their July 13 meeting gives no apparent advantage to the town. Encourage your favorite council member to vote against signing it. The deal is – Gentry would get what they said t...
To the Editor, The average home in La Conner consumes 324 cubic feet of water each month, and pays a sewer bill of $53.41 per month. The average inflow and infiltration (ground water) is 37.76% at the sewer plant. If I&I could be reduced by 50%, the bill for sewer service could be reduced to $40.72. At 25% the bill would be $42.69, and at 10% it would be $43.68. There is a 97% correlation between rainfall and I&I. Maybe some of the homes have their roof drains connected to the sewer. That is a no-no. The Town Council allocated $50,000 in 2020,...
Is La Conner blessed to have a cadre of concerned citizens, an ever shifting but attentive segment of our population who insist on saying “wait,” “stop” and “no,” or even “no more?” In December 2017, a group of the board of directors of the Museum of Northwest Art resigned and were critically questioning the administrative and financial management of Director Christopher Shainin. A public meeting to discuss the museum’s future in February 2018 brought a critical crowd and a robust discussion of the museum’s problems. Shainin resigned th...
Based on the many comments by neighbors and friends, opposition to developing the Hedlin Play Field is abundantly clear. Additionally, comments at the June 22 town council meeting identified critical issues that are problematic and need to be addressed, including, but not limited to: • possible litigation costs relative to the original deed covenants • traffic and parking issues related to the proximity to Maple Avenue and Hedlin Farms “When you find yourself in a hole, quit digging” – Will Rogers A Path Forward: • Dev...
Dear Citizens: On June 29th, the planner granted an administrative variance from on-site parking requirements for a North First Street project that has five visitor units facing the water on first floor and three residences upstairs on First Street. (There is also a laundry there with its requirements.) The location is commercially zoned but not historic and is between Channel Lodge and the Harlans’residence. From our code. 15.10.1230 Variance “Variance” means the means by which an adjustment is made in the application of a specified regul...
Lytton, BC burns while La Conner, WA fiddles. Grass fires caused by irresponsible fireworks on the westside of the Swinomish Channel threaten the community. Response by the fire department may have saved destruction. Canadian brothers and sisters of the local Swinomish nation were devastated. The local land and the culture are reduced and scarred by the blackened ground and the fireworks waste left behind. Perhaps, the elders have forgotten how to teach, or, perhaps, they receive no respect. Thankfully, the tribal backhoe is not digging graves...
On June 22 the Town Council’s agenda for their meeting was to include a public safety discussion. It was tabled until there could be a representative from the Skagit County Sheriff’s office there. It is supposed to be part of the agenda for the next meeting, held on July 13th at 6 p.m. This will be the first in person meeting since the pandemic closed everything. I want to encourage everyone to attend to voice their concerns about the public safety issue in town. The current contract with the Skagit County Sheriff’s office is due to expir...
Our nation’s 245th anniversary is Sunday. But for many of us, this is not a happy birthday. The one issue of unanimous consent among us is that we are divided. There are two issues of agreement among the population. One is that we are divided. The second is that the other side is defiantly wrong. July 4th is to celebrate the Declaration of Independence, our founding document, our first statement of principles. It is our touchstone. It can help us today. The first paragraph unites us in purpose: “one people to dissolve the political bands whi...
In the summer of 1969, I was in the south of France, visiting my cousins, when Neil Armstrong took a stroll on the moon. The event blew my mind. I am not very technically savvy, so it was beyond my comprehension that something like that could be accomplished. And it made me think that our world and our country, were extremely advanced. More than 50 years have gone by and it is abundantly clear how wrong I was. Let’s just look at the start of the year 2021. Mass shootings in the United States i...
Next Wednesday, June 30, Washington state will fully reopen under Gov. Jay Inslee’s Roadmap to Recovery plan for public health and economic guidelines to protect residents during the coronavirus pandemic. If 70% of residents 16 and older have gotten at least one vaccination shot against the virus, Inslee will give an earlier go signal. Through Monday, June 21, 67.8% of eligible residents were vaccinated. As this paper noted earlier, Inslee bet on an aggressive vaccination campaign to drive down the infection rate. He has won his bet, even a...
For over 65 years, the Hedlin play field has been enjoyed by multiple generations of local residents playing little league baseball, softball, soccer and many other activities. It was the only venue in La Conner configured to accommodate little league baseball. This nearly two acre play field was made available by the generosity of the Hedlin Family – and aside from a lease for a utilities assessment, the only expenses incurred by the Town were property taxes and maintenance. Early in 2019 the Hedlins had an opportunity to acquire...
I have known Eric Day for several years. He is humble and has a servant’s heart – working with young people, teaching cultural ways, helping to feed people in the community, standing and speaking for justice and serving as a senator of the Swinomish Tribe. I support him for commissioner, Position 2, of Fire Protection District 13. As a Swinomish Tribe senator, Eric has been part of the decision-making that has resulted in programs that are meeting the health care and housing needs of people – native and non-native – in our a...
Family members of the La Conner High School graduating class of 2021 will attend this year’s graduation ceremonies Friday at 5 p.m in the football stadium. Teachers and staff will be there, but few others. Attendance is limited to keep people safe from the last vestiges of the coronavirus, not quite wrung out of our community or society at large. The 54 teens – the largest graduating class in years – will graduate together, sitting shoulder to shoulder, throwing their hats in the air en masse, getting to hug and kiss each other, a...
In recent months news reports of events in Israel/Palestine, Xinjian, Cashmere and Afghanistan have caught our attention. Because we care about people and hold justice and human rights as values, we are drawn to speak and act. Good. Actually, not just good, but AWESOME! A representative democracy like ours needs all of us to actively participate in the policy debates of the United States. We need rigorous debates among us about the impact of our policies and how we can help create a more peaceful and just world. Democracies die when citizens...
The roundabout coming into La Conner has been a huge success over the years, but a potential problem is growing. Leaving La Conner east bound last week, there was a long line of cars coming in from the north who have the right of way; east bound traffic has to stop. There is a large shrub blocking the view of cars going east. It is a wreck waiting to happen and, in the hands of an attorney, guess who might be sued because of an overgrown shrub? Denny Sather La Conner...
The rain report for May is in this week’s issue. For more than two years, month after month, a rain report summarizing the local weather from the last month’s weather data at WSU’s Mount Vernon Memorial Highway research station has been compiled. Why? Maybe it is because frogs cannot read. Some say, placed in a pot of water, frogs cannot ascertain or react to water slowly being brought to a boil. But people can read. Whether it is this week’s readers or great grandchildren or alien archeologists digging through archives in the 22nd century...
I offer a unique idea for bringing about peace between Israelis and Palestinians. The idea is based on an incident in World War II. It was told to me by a German priest, Bernard Haring. He was serving in the medical corps in the German army when the German troops began to retreat from Russia. He was assigned to care for three severely wounded German soldiers. To add to his problems, the temperature was way below zero. He came to a Russian farmhouse and decided to seek shelter. He knocked at the door and the owner appeared and saw the Germans...
