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It was fun to see that a photo of what some call the “La Conner Loopers” on their bikes and trikes in “A view from the editor’s eye,” the centerfold in last week’s La Conner Weekly News. Much ado has been made about this old dude crossing mileage milestones, when the attention really should be about all of the other characters that have been the inspiration to get me up and rolling every morning. Weather permitting. Fred, the recognized leader of the Loopers, caught me tooling around on my new trike shortly after Barb and I moved to Center S...
I was greatly moved by last week’s editorial, in which Ken Stern ponders the fate of our truly local newspaper, the La Conner Weekly News. I would urge you to read it if you have not, or to re-read it if you have. We are in danger of losing a critically important component of our community. Social media and individual websites are not adequate replacements. We are uniquely blessed to have a locally owned paper dedicated to the interests of our community, with reporters actually reporting what is going on, often in depth, which you would n...
Describing the thoughts and feelings over these last two weeks is challenging, to say the least. A house fire is one of those things that you always think will never happen to you. It’s such a surreal experience that we are still trying to fully process our new reality. Having gone through this trauma, we should be feeling despondent and defeated. In every right, we should be miserable and yet, we find ourselves optimistic with smiles on our faces looking toward the future. There is one clear cause of our positive outlook: this extraordinary c...
La Conner Weekly News Team: Thank you for the wonderful story and photo last week, reporting about our dedication/blessing of the new pavilion at Conner Waterfront Park (June 19, page 1). One thing I said that day and would like to see reported is the idea for the park started with Parks Commissioner Brian Scheuch, who I said was the father of the park, along with his friend BJ Carol. Thank you, Ollie Iversen La Conner Parks Commissioner...
Just a small rock face in town, not more than four stories high, slate or limestone. I don’t really know my rocks, but it is grey and adorned with flowers clinging to its face, flowers of many colors, Hesperus, California poppy, bachelor button, penstemon, oxeye daisy, moss and licorice fern, resilient plants making the best of it in clefts in the cliff, in pockets of soil blown up from the Skagit flats. Above is a ragged crown of juniper, twisted and gnarly. A gift, a thing of beauty that simple expanse of rock left unmolested for so many y...
A poem by Rabindranath Tagore is the epigraph at the beginning of Georgina Howell’s biography of Gertrude Bell: We are all the more one because we are many For we have made ample room for love in the gap where we are sundered. Our unlikeness reveals its breath of beauty radiant with one common life, Like mountain peaks in the morning sun. Bell, an English woman born in 1880, was a linguist, archeologist, author, poet and Arabist. She worked tirelessly on behalf of the Arab cause during World War I and helped establish a free and independent I...
On May 30 the New York City Criminal Court stepped on a rake with the ensuing pain to be felt the worst in 158 days by the Biden supporters of the nation. If past history is an indicator of what takes place after a resounding defeat and loss of power, the liberals usually resort to setting fires or worse. We can only hope the National Guard is strong enough to pinch it in the bud so a reelected President Trump can continue to make America great again. Denny Sather Mount Vernon...
Last week Donald Trump was convicted unanimously by 12 jurors, people much like you and me. They were selected by both the prosecution and the defense, each side with equal ability to remove individual prospectives from the jury pool. To tell me that the choosing of jurors and alternates was somehow “rigged” is nonsense. To tell me that you, the diehard Trumper, are certain that all of those chosen jurors were Biden/Dem supporters is more nonsense – because you cannot know that. (And it only takes one to hang a jury.) The jury heard and saw a...
The Rexville Grange is so grateful for the many inquiries and requests to help support or join our local Grange hall. Our thanks to Anne Basye, Ken Stern and the La Conner Weekly News for highlighting the history of this unique community hall and explaining some of our current concerns (Weekly News May 1 and 8). We are so pleased to hear from many of our neighbors and new friends willing to help us grow into a bright future. Reach us at [email protected]. Thank you. Rexville Grange board president Greater La Conner...
Thank you, Maggie, for your letter addressing concerns about Glyphosate / Roundup and the considerable and the enormous dangers to our environment. I would like to support that with some additional information. In 2016, Monsanto was taken to the World Court in the Hague and found guilty of health crimes against humanity and the environment, among other things. The suit was brought by over 1,000 international organizations including the Organic Consumers Association; Greenpeace; Buddhist Tribunal on Human Rights; Ecoworld of Scandinavia;...
Well, I don’t need to write what is happening in our own country and around the world. Unless one is living under a rock, or is deliberately denying what is before our very eyes each day, we clearly see the U.S. and other countries are in a world of hurt. The only solution, in my opinion, is: we better turn back to the God of the universe, repent of our sins and let God back into our individual lives, our government, our schools, our business ventures, etc. In other words, recognize He is God and we desperately need Him. He is the answer. We a...
Mr. Doerflinger last week accused the editor of this paper of “outrage and personal insults against some (Supreme Court) justices” (“More light, less heat on court,” letter, May 8). I looked back and could not find examples that would justify his accusations. Yes, the editor has found fault with the court, for good reason. Certain justices appear to have been influenced by gifts and associations. The taint of corruption has stained the image of the current court. Add to that the fact that, while president, Donald Trump appointed three of the ju...
I am heartsick every time I see a wounded or dead child injured in the Israeli attack on Hamas. I sit in sorrow for a time, then I realize why they are suffering just like the children in Germany in World War II. The residents of Germany supported murderous leaders like Hamas who taught hate for Jews and dedicated their lives to killing every Jew and driving them from the face of the earth. The so-called Palestinians unequivocally support Hamas in their efforts. Hamas fighters slaughtered, raped tortured and killed 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7 and...
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent questioning of attorneys on both sides in the Trump immunity case has provoked outrage, and personal insults against some justices, by our esteemed editor (Weekly News, May 1). But the Court made it clear months ago that it may not give an outright “win” to either side, by framing the question before it as “whether, and to what extent,” a president is immune from criminal prosecution for acts while holding office. One appellate court said Trump was not immune from prosecution for any of the acts cited by prosec...
This moment, Superintendent Will Nelson’s resignation is an opportunity for the La Conner Schools. I am in full agreement with the assessment by the school board, to focus within the district instead of initiating a search for a replacement. With school funds low, the financial outlay of a search and the salary of a superintendent are funds better spent focused on what already exists and lessening the load placed on staff members due to the funding shortage. Experts in their fields; David Cram, director of finance and operations, and Beth C...
I was sorry to read in last week’s Weekly News concerning the Jenson property (“Residents engage,” May 1) that there was only minimal interest in housing. What worries me is that without diversity La Conner wouldn’t be the rich connection community it is today. People who have received a hand up from supporters of the arts and the appreciation of that diversity. Creative, brilliant people that gave La Conner its diversity and flavor. La Conner is built on the history of our heroes: People who lived on Pull and Be Damned, Fishtown, the marsh....
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...
If they were protesting Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses would they be branded anti Islamic? History has shown that the students were right about the wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq. Listen to the students. Jai Boreen La Conner...
Make housing a Jensen priority The population of La Conner is aged and aging. In-migration or family formation by families of low and moderate incomes hasn’t been the case for a decade or more. There is little to no housing available for young families who would like to live here and send their children to La Conner schools. This has led to frequent calls for “affordable” housing. The prior mayor and town council had a promising opportunity to turn those calls into action when it purchased (and immediately sold) two-thirds of the Maple Avenue b...
About that cute little 0.53-acre plot known as the “Jensen Parcel?” As a resident of Channel Cove for a couple of years, I spent a lot of time thinking about it, from my permaculturalist perspective. How many wants and wishes could be achieved if the parcel could be creatively developed. Well, wouldn’t you know it, the Jensen family makes an enticing offering of the challenged property for the town. It’s not big enough for a ball field, it’s very low and wet, just ask Maggie, for she lives next to it and wrote last week of her thoughts...
We live at the bottom of Snapdragon hill, one of those beautiful, quiet islands of wildlife in town, that made La Conner’s charm. It was covered in summer with wildflowers, people would come pick blackberries, deer liked to climb up the hill, there were rabbits and once I saw a family of raccoons feasting on berries. You could hike to the top. I once had a picnic there. When I saw the contractors break and deface part of the hill or when they sprayed the hill across the street from us to kill the vegetation, I was horrified. They did, after h...
On Dec. 27, 2022, a predicted 11-foot tide in La Conner Channel was met with low atmospheric pressure, high river flow and a western wind. As a result the channel rose to over 14 feet and spilled over along lower places on the eastern bank, flooding parts of town and causing more than $1 million damage before receding. The mayor and town council created an Emergency Management Commission to deal with any future floods or other natural disasters. The sandbags that have recently been removed were placed by our incredible town public works...
To the editor: Thank you so much for the effort to get the newspaper out earlier to those of us in the 98273 ZIP code area of the school district. Much appreciated! Gale Fiege Pleasant Ridge...
To the editor: Thanks for running the article about zero-emission school buses (Weekly News, March 13, 2024). The bill would not have been possible except for the work of a broad coalition of Seattle climate and education activists, including Climate Action Families. The CAF website gives the history: “It started in 2013 to host the Washington chapter for Plant for the Planet. Our community trained over 600 youth in climate justice and participated in countless actions. Lessons learned brought us to developing this movement, knowing we must m...
To the editor: In all the parking discussions I have read and heard, enforcement seems to be ignored. I walk my dog daily through the South Third Street lot, which is theoretically pay parking, and have yet to see anyone checking for compliance. For most, it is free parking. So what is the loss if it is officially made free? And now on to First Street. In Friday Harbor there are time limits on parking and an enforcement person marks tires and writes tickets. Do tourists, non-locals, pay the fines? I doubt most do. Do those fines cover the cost...
