Articles written by Bill Reynolds
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 1652
Excavation begins for Center Street project
No building permit has yet been issued, but excavation began at the 306 Center Street condominium project site last week to find the water table on the property so that paperwork could be completed for removal of contaminated soil. Following that...
Cyberattack probe shuts down casino
The Swinomish Casino & Lodge has had a run of bad luck lately. Having braced for a busy April and heavy traffic volumes from the annual Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, the gaming center and dining venue 8 miles north of La Conner has been closed since...
Give your input to school board on new superintendent
La Conner School Board members want input on what approach should be taken as they seek a successor to Superintendent Will Nelson, who is stepping down after three years. Nelson announced earlier this month that he will be leaving June 30 to accept...
After winter windstorm training success, FD 13 eyes wildfire exercise
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,...
Sales tax added to benefit streets, sidewalks
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 Dis...
Swinomish plan Earth Day activities
Earth Day is a global event that encourages people to act locally. And those activities don’t have to be limited to April 22, the 54th anniversary of the day universally recognized as the start of the modern environmental movement. The Swinomish Indi...
Braves outperform big schools in Skagit Showdown
First Street isn't the only place in town with parking issues. The Whittaker Field parking lot on N. Sixth Street was jammed with vehicles April 10 when La Conner hosted the annual Skagit Showdown...
Murdock sweeps hurdles, Jenkins 2nd in 200 dash
No rest for the weary. That age-old mantra applied to the La Conner High School track teams last week. Just three days after hosting the much-anticipated Skagit Showdown, La Conner thinclads competed...
Braves' ball teams have a bumpy road trip
Travel wasn’t kind to the La Conner High School baseball and softball teams last week. The Braves suffered a pair of heartbreaking one-run extra-inning losses while the young Lady Braves were dealt double-digit setbacks during visits to Coupeville a...
We love a parade
It was an astounding Saturday afternoon in La Conner on several levels. That's thanks to the annual downtown Skagit Valley Tulip Festival Parade presented by Astound Broadband. A large crowd...
School board discusses Will Nelson succession plan
The La Conner School Board took its first small steps Monday toward finding a new district superintendent. A shorthanded board met for about 15 minutes in closed executive session to discuss the process for hiring a successor to Dr. Will Nelson, who...
Board sees progress on disaster plan
Working with several documents the past few weeks, members of the Town Emergency Management Commission are now on the same page. The local advisory board, which is developing a Community Emergency Management Plan for La Conner, has moved closer to...
Planning commission seeks more data on First St. traffic and parking
There’s no dead end when it comes to debating the future of S. First Street. The oft-discussed topic was again the focal point among town residents and planning commissioners during a 90-minute public meeting April 2. The last word on the subject s...
Braves' late comeback falls short in Sultan
The shorthanded La Conner Braves baseball team had a long afternoon in Sultan April 2. The 2B Braves, minus key starters for a non-league spring break road game, trailed early but rallied late to force extra innings before falling 13-12 to the 1A...
Fifth grader has hoop hopes in elite league
A La Conner Elementary School student is getting an advanced education on the hardwood. Josie Catubo, an 11-year-old fifth grader, is making the grade as a member of the Pacific Northwest Rain girls'...
Concrete leaders to be honored at 2024 Pioneer Picnic
The Skagit County Pioneer Association has cemented the lineup of honorees for its annual summer picnic in La Conner, one weighed heavily with civic leaders based in Concrete. Concrete Herald editor-publisher Jason Miller, Valerie Stafford of the Con...
La Conner schools to lose its superintendent
La Conner School District Superintendent Will Nelson, the face of the local district for the past three years, is about to do an about face in terms of his professional career path. Nelson announced in an email to district staff last Friday that he...
Skagit Transit hears input on long-range plan
The public is getting a chance to tell Skagit Transit where to go – in a polite way, of course. The area's public transportation system, which last year celebrated its 30th anniversary, is hosting a...
State Rep. Paul visits La Conner, addresses key issues at public forum
Five years ago, 10th District State Rep. Dave Paul successfully lobbied his colleagues in Olympia to provide funding to build the La Conner Swinomish Library. Paul was at the library for a March 27...
2024 Tulip Festival poster unveiled to council
It was only fitting that town officials would meet at the La Conner Civic Garden Club building for a report on the 2024 Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. The local floral extravaganza, which enjoys global popularity, was previewed by Nicole Roozen, the f...
Parks commission sees new trees lining Morris Street
The La Conner Parks Commission wants to do more than plant seeds for La Conner’s future landscape. The five-member advisory board wants to plant trees, more than a dozen of them along Morris Street, at no cost to the town. Commission members Ollie I...
Track teams do well at MVC meet
Reigning state hurdles champion Tommy Murdock won three solo events, Morgan Huizenga climbed atop the medal podium twice, and the Lady Braves captured two relay crowns as La Conner High School’s track-and-field teams finished near the top of the l...
Orcas teams flee La Conner with close wins on the diamonds
If it wasn’t for bad luck, the La Conner High School’s softball team wouldn’t have any luck at all. For the second time in four outings, head coach Loran James’ young club came up on the short end of a one-run contest. The Lady Braves (0-4 overall...
Library talk explores how we see reality
Keeping it real is a popular phrase that movie director Stuart Rosenberg coined in the 1980s. But these days, there’s a question as to whether general reality even exists. That uncertainty was explored by Everett Community College philosophy p...
Why, it's a murder!
A storied chapter from La Conner's past, often spoken in hushed tones, was revisited with screaming headlines on March 23. This year's La Conner Chamber of Commerce Murder Mystery, set during the Proh...