Articles written by maria matson
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U.N. official from Nigeria paints with local kids
Students at La Conner Elementary School received a visit from U.N. Arts Ambassador Ibiyinka Alao from Nigeria on Tuesday, who gave the fifth-graders a painting lesson. The youth gathered around the ta...
Bombing survivor runs through La Conner
Nothing has dampened Bill Iffrig’s passion for running, not even surviving an event more vividly traumatic than many will experience in a lifetime—the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. Camera foota...
Flood wall in permit review as winter tides approach
Snee-oosh Beach offers a beautiful waterside view, but also carries a lingering threat of occasional flooding. In March 2016, a section of Chilberg Avenue on the Swinomish Reservation was overtaken...
La Conner Schools to join migrant program
The La Conner School District has recently experienced a six-fold increase in migrant student enrollment, jumping from 18 to 118. The new number accounts for about 20 percent of the district’s c...
Woman's body found on Guemes beach
The woman found deceased on New Year’s Day on GuemesIsland’s Agate Beach has been identified as Sally Ann Stavig, 76, of Anacortes. Her body was found about 2:10 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 1, and authorities believe she had been on the beach less than 24...
"Skagit Breaking" breaks into instant news
Skagit Breaking proves a point – People want news about their neighbors and they want it fast. The popular online Facebook page posts a mix of police scanner chatter and community announcements...
UPDATED: Baby left in front of Pioneer Market
A customer found a baby left alone and strapped into a car seat in the parking lot of Pioneer Market in La Conner, prompting authorities to take the boy and his twin sister into protective custody....
Homeowners' flood defense plan halted
It was a homeowner’s nightmare — water creeping underneath the front door, furniture, books and electronics soaked as water levels slowly rise. Carefully tended gardens were washed away in a w...
Plan for more Growlers in the sky
La Conner residents will be able to hear and see America’s national defense become more high-tech, if plans to deliver a new flock of war birds to Whidbey Island materialize. The U.S. Navy is l...
New Police Chief on duty at Swinomish
The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community has brought in a veteran law enforcement officer with local ties to the Swinomish Police Department. Lou D’Amelio started on Tuesday, filling the role left o...
A favorite teacher - Veronica Thurmond
Once a year, the La Conner Middle School gym fills for a day with eighth-graders proudly displaying well-decorated poster boards, giving out freebies and facts to those who pass by their tables. The...
Town still cooking gardener's gold
La Conner locals who love getting free compost from the bin on Chilberg Road will be pleased to know that the program is going strong after 17 years. The Town Council recently approved a two-year cont...
Mysterious light saga continues
A flashing yellow light that used to hang over La Conner’s Maple Avenue at the intersection of Caledonia Street could cause the town extra work, whether or not it is replaced. Town officials still haven’t figured out why it was there — the bea...
Shooting victim had La Conner ties
One of the five people killed in the Cascade Mall shooting has connections to La Conner, and her public memorial service is at the elementary school gym on Saturday. Shayla Martin, 52, once lived in La Conner, and her children attended school here....
The tragic downfall of the floating light
Remember that blinking yellow light hovering over the intersection of Maple Avenue and Caledonia Street? It met an unceremonious demise on Tuesday, Sept. 13, when it was knocked down by an over-height vehicle. As mysterious as its purpose, the...
Mavrik grows to industry giant
Mavrik Marine, Inc. set up shop in La Conner in 2011 with a dozen employees and has since grown to a local industry powerhouse. Their aluminum work boats include skiffs, patrol boats and gillnetters t...
School board member appointed
The La Conner School Board selected Lynette Cram as its new member, after she applied for the open position and completed a public interview on Monday. She fills the remainder of the term of Rick Thompson, who retired after serving on the board for...
Day one on the road to high school graduation
The 15 fidgeting and excited 5-year-olds began their kindergarten through 12th-grade journey on Tuesday with La Conner Elementary teacher Judy Zimmerman. Zimmerman, also known as “Mrs. Z,” corralled her rambunctious charges into a half circle, sit...
Something pretty is rockin' around here
They’re here... See them peeking out from a windowsill, wedged into tree trunks, perched on poles. It’s the new rock painting craze that’s arrived in La Conner and other Skagit County hiding place...
Farmland flooded for salmon nursery
Two excavator bulldozers loomed over a slowly widening hole in the dike, as water rushed through for the first time in a century on Monday. Their powerful scoops scraped up piles of rock and dirt,...
Swinomish Police Department purge
About a quarter of the Swinomish Police Department’s officers have submitted resignations, according to the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community. Allan Olson, the tribe’s general manager, said four officers, including Chief Andrew Thorne, Assistant Chie...
Swinomish Police face new challenges
Officers at the Swinomish Police department wouldn’t say what was going on yesterday. Reporter questions were referred to the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community’s General Manager Allan Olson, who initially said “no comment” when asked whether officer...
Movie star's yacht sails into a new role
The Norwester Museum Tour is now open for business, after a patriotic launch on Saturday. The John Wayne-themed museum is on his first yacht, The Norwester, anchored permanently on the La Conner water...
Taking a stroll through La Conner's colorful past
Some of La Conner’s oldest buildings have checkered pasts – and the Skagit County Historical Museum is airing their salacious secrets. With a walk down town, we can learn there used to be a g...
The Norwester brings John Wayne to La Conner
La Conner can now boast about being home to a high-status “floating museum,” full of Hollywood glitz and classic glamour. A boat from movie star history, the Norwester has been turned into a John Way...
