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Optimistic as always, late last year the La Conner Rotary Club planned their annual Farmer and Merchants Community dinner for March 7 in Maple Hall, until 2020 a yearly celebration and thank you to local farmers and merchants. And the Rotarians were right. After no dinners the last two years, Monday 53, with more merchants than farmers, supported by 22 Rotary Club members, gathered, primarily unmasked, for a buffet dinner and to hear town, school district, library and service club coalition...
At the end of this week, starting March 12, wearing masks in most situations is optional. Companies will set their own rules. La Conner business owners responding to a Weekly News survey are embracing the masks-off policy, echoing Pac Nor Westy’s Rich Murphy: “following the governor’s guidance and ending our mask requirement as of March 12th. Customers may still choose to wear a mask and we will continue to have some on hand to provide as requested.” That will be true for almost every business a...
Everyone agrees that all of us are tired of the coronavirus pandemic, now in its third year. Fortunately, the omicron variant has waned, case numbers are down and hospitalizations are following that pattern of decline. Pattern. Waning. Alas, the coronavirus, like the moon, shrinks before, in predictable fashion, it grows into its full phase again. Until the moon is blasted out of the night sky, it will cycle through its changes monthly, like clockwork. In Washington and Skagit County the total reductions and dramatic fall in the case rate are...
Oh, how the pandemic has kicked me in the head, let me count the ways. I was just about to start a tour guide business, when COVID-19 kept the tourists from the tulips and daffodil fields, which was probably the safest place to breathe. Nope, couldn’t even peacefully breathe out on a deserted bayside dike, got quite harshly booted by a minion from the Department of Fish and Wildlife, “didn’t” you read the sign!? Yeah, nobody within a half a mile, I guess it’s best that my at-risk ass, go get closer to the virus, that I thought we were supp...
The Firefighters and Commissioners of District 13 would like to thank The Marathon Petroleum Foundation for their generous donation of $22,000 towards the purchase of our new structure firefighting personal protective equipment. The old gear was well out of date, some as much as 20 years old. In addition, much of the gear was worn out from years of structure fires. This new turnout gear allows us to engage fires with the knowledge that our gear is up to date and structurally sound.. Thanks to the Marathon refinery in Anacortes and the Marathon...
The Swinomish Tax Authority used the same levy rate for 2022 as for 2021: $11.98 per thousand. But, the assessed value of homes in Shelter Bay and Pull & Be Damned increased from $178,838,070 to $196,284,197, an increase of $17,446,127. The Swinomish government hopes to collect $2,350,888 in taxes from Shelter Bay, Pull & Be Damned, Thousand Trails and Dunlap Towing. That’s $208,214 higher than last year. Three taxing districts will receive contributions from the Swinomish. These are: Fire District 13 at $300,000 ($100,000 more than last year),...
Events of the last few weeks have made me recall my own travels in Kyiv, then spelled Kiev, and what I saw there in 1970 as a 15 year old girl. What comes to mind most clearly is our visit to Babi Yar and the official denial that it was even there at all. I was traveling through the Soviet Union with my parents, in our own car, heading to visit the tiny Carpathian town where my father had been born. We started in Finland and spent a month driving through what was then the U.S.S.R. In Kyiv, as in every other place, we were provided an official...
If you were to ask me last year what our state’s financial position would be, I likely would have given a fairly grim outlook. However, the state is seeing a boom in tax receipts so large it could make you blush. The opportunity to provide relief or prepare the state for future revenue decreases is ripe for the picking. Unfortunately, the mindset of Olympia’s legislative majority is a poverty of riches. It favors growing an already bloated and unaccountable bureaucracy while doing the bare minimum with our $15 billion surplus to help struggling...
Two public hearings are scheduled this month to address proposed construction of a 20-unit apartment building in the commercial zone behind the Slider Café on Center Street. But town officials have already heard plenty about the project from those who believe the structure would be incompatible with nearby single-family residential neighborhoods and strain existing infrastructure. Town of La Conner Planning Director Michael Davolio said the town has been “inundated with comments” regardin...
Go big or go home. It is the popular mantra that encourages people to be bold. But, in La Conner, town officials may adopt an opposite yet equally bold approach – go small to provide more affordable homes. The planning commission is discussing the feasibility of building smaller “hybrid” houses that feature a mix of private market-based investment and government financing. “The mayor is asking about tiny homes,” Planner Michael Davolio told commissioners at their remote Zoom meeting Feb. 15. Mayor Ramon Hayes confirmed his interes...
Denied a state title, La Conner ended the season on a positive note Saturday morning March 5 at the Spokane Arena with a 67-52 win over Raymond to get fourth place at the 2022 2B Girls’ Hardwood Classic. “I’m proud of how we finished out the season,” said La Conner senior Sarah Cook, who scored 18 points, during a post-game interview aired on the NFHS Network. “It was our last game,” Cook said, “so we wanted to leave everything on the floor.” The Lady Braves defeated Lake Roosevelt 69-61...
There was a time, not so long ago, when the La Conner High School baseball team strung together some magical seasons. Now veteran Braves coaches Jeremiah LeSourd and Andy Otis hope to rekindle that magic within a program that has been sidelined since 2019 due to lack of roster depth and the COVID-19 pandemic. Spring 2022 is a new beginning for the Braves. “Our senior class has played in nine games while in high school,” LeSourd explained, “Normally, the number of games played would be at least 60 entering your senior year. “Giving these k...
Even the smallest of fires have the potential to stir up some trouble. A La Conner Maritime Service crew member noticed smoke coming from a sailboat at the end of J-dock in the La Conner Marina about 12:10 p.m. last Wednesday, March 2. He alerted Project Manager Joe Franett via radio to call the marina and 911. As other crew members alerted each other of flames coming from the boat’s aft cabin, Franett grabbed a fire extinguisher and launched a skiff with two other staff. They arrived on s...
Ukraine is literally at death’s door and needs help. I have friends and distant family members that are in Kiyv. I was contacted by the very lovely and very caring Ms. Jean Wedin, who suggested we start a community fundraiser for Ukraine. As a young person growing up in London during the Nazi bombing of World War II, she knows very well the terrors and fear that the Ukrainian people are going through now. I did not need to be convinced and immediately began thinking of how to start this fund. With the great help of Tami Mason at Washington F...
Kathy Herrera doesn’t scare easily. That goes to show how harrowing the past few weeks have been for the former La Conner schools administrator who survived a recent near-death experience in California, where she is working on a charter campus after having taken a leave of absence here last spring. A kidney donor who is no stranger to pressure, from her days as a competitive athlete to juggling multiple school duties in her career, Herrera isn’t one to fret. But today, while recovering from an episode last month where she collapsed sud...
Tuesday, March 1 10:23 a.m.: Photographer blocks road – Report of a man standing in the middle of the road taking pictures of vehicle traffic. No one was located. Rainbow Bridge, La Conner. 4:37 p.m.: Bay View prowl – Caller was parked at the south trailhead of Padilla Bay. When they returned they found their vehicle window broken and a couple membership cards missing. Bay View Edison Rd., Bay View. Wednesday, March 2 12:15 p.m.: Boat fire – Deputies responded to a boat fire in the La Conner Marina. It was extinguished prior...
A nourishing and filling meal. Any variety of lentil will do. I used red lentils. Their color cooked out, but the flavor did not. The rainbow carrot, being bright red, kept it’s color. A single bay leaf permeated its flavor throughout. This recipe has what I call the basics: onion, carrot, celery and garlic. This recipe takes some time, as the lentils soak in water for two hours. If you take the time to follow all the steps, you will be delighted at such a simple flavorful soup. You can s...
