Articles written by sandy stokes
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Another Fire District 13 withdrawal attempt
Residents of the Channel Drive neighborhood north of La Conner submitted a petition with more than 100 signatures of voters who want to withdraw from Fire District 13. Dave Buchan, Dennis Milliken and Martin Howard delivered the petition to...
Lighthouse building plan down-sized
After last month’s public outcry over the proposed de-velopment and expansion of the old Lighthouse Inn building in La Conner, the owner has come back with a scaled-back plan. The old structure had b...
Wicked little arthropod found on San Juan Island
A member of an invasive crab species that indirectly threatens our delicious Dungeness variety and preys on clams and oysters was found at Westcott Bay on San Juan Island last week. Volunteer...
Bryant: State agency 'neglected' taxpayers
Republican Bill Bryant, who hopes to unseat Democratic Governor Jay Inslee in the November 8 election, said the unfair tax situation in La Conner shows “either incompetence or disinterest,” by agencies working under the current governor. The Was...
Did the state throw taxpayers to Great Wolf?
The Washington Department of Revenue says it asked the state’s 39 county assessors for comment as it crafted the property tax policy that hit La Conner residents so hard. When homes were taken off the county’s tax rolls, a $1.8 million tax bur...
Tribal lawyers influenced state tax policy
Attorneys working for tribes, including some employed by the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, helped write a Washington State Department of Revenue’s guidance document that had a profound effect on local taxpayers. Last year the Skagit County A...
"Lighthouse" development decision coming
A hearing examiner will decide next whether a California developer can go ahead with plans to develop the old “Lighthouse” building on La Conner’s South First Street. The structure has been sitti...
A school budget and a dike plan
As expected, the La Conner School Board adopted the school district’s $10,232,197 budget for the upcoming 2016-2017 school year with little fanfare. Only a handful of people turned out for a public hearing on the spending plan, which had been c...
Draft school budget ready for viewing
The La Conner School Board has scheduled a study session for 5:30 p.m. Monday on the draft of the district’s 2016-2017 school year budget. For people who would like to look it over, the draft budget, which shows projected revenues of about $10.1 m...
Seeling takes schools helm
Monday’s meeting of the La Conner School Board was the last time Superintendent Tim Bruce sat at the dais with the board members. Before the meeting’s end, he surrendered his chair and School Boa...
Rainbow Bridge shows age, but its bones are strong
La Conner’s iconic Rainbow Bridge has spanned the channel since 1957 and approaches its 60-year anniversary. Its last coat of brilliant orange paint was applied in 2003 and has since become faded, has begun growing moss and is collecting graffiti i...
La Conner's new Code Enforcement Officer
Putting miles on her shoes and smiles on local faces, Tara Linder is on patrol in La Conner. As La Conner’s new code enforcement officer, “I’m here for health and safety,” she said, “not to hurt some...
UPDATE: Fire district ambulance service approved
Fire District 13 is ready to start transporting patients to area hospitals with its new ambulance. Chief Roy Horn said the district was anticipating a go-ahead from the Skagit County Commissioners next week to get the program rolling. UPDATE: The...
Vehicle charging station on town's wish list
La Conner officials are mulling a plan to install a charging station for electric vehicles in town. Right now the idea is to put one at the small First Street parking lot between the boardwalk gazebo and the Pier 7 building. Presently, that lot has t...
Swinomish Fish Company closed
After two terrible fishing seasons and with this year expected to be even worse, the Swinomish Fish Company has shut down. Brian Genge, manager of the facility that produces the popular Native Catch brand of canned salmon, said, “We have stopped o...
School board tackles more budget cuts
The La Conner School Board on Monday voted to accept a slate of proposed budget cuts put forth by the group that has been meeting in budget workshops since April. District Business Manager Bonnie Haley told the board that the group actually exceeded...
Surprise for school's chief at board meeting
At Monday’s La Conner School Board meeting, two women with decades-long ties to the district walked in and sat down without letting on they had a big plan. When it came time for public comments, retired school counselor Maureen Harlan and retired b...
Elevator down until next year
La Conner will wait until next year to repair the elevator in Maple Hall. After about 23 years of service, the elevator gave up the ghost about six months ago, after one kiddie ride too many. Town Administrator John Doyle said the control panel is...
Schools to send two layoff notices
The La Conner School Board on Monday adopted a resolution to cut the equivalent of 2.7 full-time certificated positions to save a total of $330,000. At the same time, the district must fill the equivalent of 3.363 full-time teaching positions which h...
Traffic snarls this weekend
Local drivers should avoid Highway 20 this weekend, and boaters should steer clear of Padilla and Fidalgo bays, as county officials are expecting long delays and congestion with thousands of protestors expected to converge on March’s Point. ...
Rainbow Bridge gets a checkup
La Conner’s iconic Rainbow Bridge underwent a thorough examination, and since the bridge docs didn’t notify the county of any serious problems, it looks like the ageing structure will get another cle...
Lawsuits fly over school construction project
La Conner School District’s months-long wrangling over workmanship with the contractor hired to build the new middle school has finally landed in court. Since last summer, at the district’s monthly board meet-ings, project manager Bryan Young has...
Auditor flags La Conner Schools finances
The Washington State Auditor’s office reported on Monday that it issued two “findings” against La Conner School District after examining some financial records. While most of the areas checked in the district’s yearly audit had no problems, the aud...
Schools hunker down for budget storm
One thing was very obvious to the people attending the La Conner School District budget workshops — the school staff has been working very hard to find places the district can cut costs. Monday’s was the fourth in the seven-workshop series a...
Yes, there will be school cuts
The 30 or so community members participating in the La Conner School District’s crash course in school finance started listing things to slice out of the budget during Monday’s session. The district is asking voters to approve a one-year levy of $99...
