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The La Conner School District should enjoy a smooth leadership transition as the school board on Monday appointed finance chief David Cram to succeed Will Nelson as superintendent for one year, starting July 1. Nelson, who is completing his third year leading La Conner schools, announced in April that he will leave the district June 30 for a teaching post at Western Washington University in Bellingham. Rather than conducting a potentially costly external search for Nelson's successor, the board...
Daily rain the last week of April, 24-30, totaled 1.7 inches at the Washington State University weather station on Memorial Highway. One inch fell April 28 and 1.25 inches came down April 28-30. It was 64% of the month's rainfall of 2.6 inches. While that was 3.7% under the century average of 2.7 inches, it was almost an inch more than in 2023 and the first year of over 2 inches of April rain since 2019. Still, this is the second month in a row of below-average precipitation. March's two inches...
Some 13 people shared their views on the Town of La Conner's half-acre Jenson field property with Mayor Marna Hanneman Saturday at the La Conner Swinomish Library. Most had started the discussion nine days earlier at a town-organized community mingle April 25. This time Channel Drive residents Dave Buchan and Susan Macek and Pull and Be Damned resident Dana Heald came and added their perspectives. Buchan shared his concern over the dramatically declining enrollment in the local school district,...
Christmas came early for more than 40 La Conner Elementary School fifth graders. Rather than waiting to awaken Dec. 25 to find a new bicycle under the tree, students ended their school day May 2 with a bike of their own. They earned it – in both name and deed. The bikes were presented as part of a three-tiered, school-based Bicycle Safety Education program and its Earn-a-Bike initiative. Earn-a-Bike is an equity opportunity allowing youth to apply their new cycling skills in the real world by p...
The Washington state Department of Health announced a recall of Gibson Farms, Inc. bulk organic walnuts April 30. They were joined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in advising people to stop eating organic walnut halves and pieces sold in bulk at several stores in Washington because of possible contamination with E. coli bacteria. The Skagit Valley Food Co-op posted its own announcement on May 2. It does not use Gibson Farms walnuts in its deli or bakery foods. The Department...
Lawyers for the five Shelter Bay board of directors sued by then-resident Jan Henrie in 2023 will be in Skagit Superior Court Friday morning, May 10, asking that the lawsuit be moved to the Court of Appeals. Henrie’s suit alleged malfeasance and failure in these board members’ actions and conduct for their passing an “invalid budget in violation of both the Shelter Bay Community bylaws and the Revised Code of Washington.” The defendants, Wendy Poulton, Elaine Dixon, Monte Hicks, Joseph Hurley and Louise Kari, have not contested the case’s...
Residents of the Shelter Bay Community elect three members at their annual meeting in May to serve three year terms on the eight member board of directors. The board convening in July 2024 will look very different from the eight members that ended their terms a year ago, in May 2023. If Wendy Poulton wins reelection, she will be one of three returning elected board members, with Monte Hicks and Nancy Shimmeall. No longer serving are Louise Kari and Elaine Dixon, who lost election. Joseph Hurley resigned in July and Dan McCaughan resigned in...
Shelter Bay Community residents are in the process of voting for three members of their board of directors. There are four candidates: Julie Peddy seeks a seat. Monte Hicks, Pat McGarry and Wendy Poulton are current board members. Hicks and Poulton were elected in May 2021. McGary was appointed in February 2024. Voting is online via Vote HOA Now, by mail using election packet ballots or in person 10:15-10:30 a.m. Saturday, May 18, at the annual meeting. Results will be announced after 1 p.m. If Peddy wins, she will take office in...
The Skagit County Commissioners will hold a hearing on proposed new solid waste rates at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 21, in the Commissioner’s Hearing Room, 1800 Continental Place, Mount Vernon. The county has a new vendor, Waste Management, providing solid waste services in unincorporated areas. Its 2023 contract had a 40% increase in transport and disposal costs. Skagit County Public Works has conducted a solid waste rate study to ensure rates were sufficient to stay solvent. The rate study report is on the county’s website. Public Works sta...
The Skagit County public participation program for community involvement in the 2025 comprehensive plan has been adopted by the county commissioners. Its five features include public meetings as part of multiple engagement channels; transparent communication for the update process, timelines and opportunities for participation; inclusive outreach to ensure all voices are heard and represented; an iterative feedback process to assess if engagement objectives are achieved; and collaborative partnerships with local organizations, community groups...
The Skagit County Commissioners will hold a public hearing for comment on proposed fee changes in amending an ordinance in Chapter 12.19, Skagit County Code and Rates and Charges for the Skagit County Drainage Utility Assessment, at 2 p.m. Monday, May 20, in the commissioner’s hearing room, 1800 Continental Place, Mount Vernon. Revisions to Skagit County code and the drainage utility rates and charges will more closely reflect the actual costs for services such as drainage concern response, drainage projects, stormwater management, p...
Traffic on Best Road will experience lane closures and delays between McLean Road and Chilberg Road during the work week through June 6 while Skagit County crews are grinding and re-asphalting it, the county’s public works department announced April 30. The road will be open to traffic but reduced to one lane during the day. The county bulletin encourages taking alternate routes. Both lanes of traffic will be open each night....
Skagit County voters have renewed the county’s Emergency Medical Services levy, passing it with 70.8% of the vote, 20,027 yes to 8,240 no votes. The final 163 ballots were counted by Skagit County elections office staff and the vote certified May 3. The renewal, good through 2030, funds 24/7 EMS response at a rate of $0.47 per $1,000 of assessed property value. Turnout was 33.1%, with a total of 28,267 votes counted from the 85,647 registered voters. Source: Skagit County government...
The La Conner High School track teams show they have a finishing kick. The Braves and Lady Braves posted strong performances at the NW2B/1B League Championship Meet in Mount Vernon on May 1, a prelude to Bi-District trials in Coupeville on Saturday, May 11. La Conner teams placed second on each side of the five-school league title showdown. The Braves were runners-up to Coupeville on the boys’ team leaderboard. The Lady Braves were silver medalists behind Mount Vernon Christian. “I was super proud of how everybody competed,” La Conner head trac...
The La Conner High baseball and softball teams lost their regular season finales at home last week, but each program still had cause to celebrate. For the Braves and Lady Braves, all wasn't lost last Thursday despite suffering tough setbacks to NW2B/1B archrival Coupeville. That's because La Conner coaches and fans had occasion to honor senior players who in four years have overcome hurdles imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic to resume their spring pastime. "This senior class lost time to COVID...
"The Force" was with the Skagit River Poetry Foundation on Saturday May 4th, Star Wars Day, as 125 community members gathered to support our nonprofit at our fourth annual auction at historic Hillcrest Park Lodge in Mount Vernon. We want to thank everyone who celebrated with us and our donors who could not attend as we hosted our Star Wars-themed fundraiser – even Darth Vader made an appearance. We are happy to announce that in only three hours the love and support of our guests raised over $...
Due to a production error, the following information was omitted from the May 1 story on Page 8 headlined “Rexville Grange needs members to hasten much-needed repairs.” While membership peaked in the 19th century, Granges still serve as the center of rural life in their farming communities. Nationwide, 150,000 Grange members meet in 1,700 local chapters. Washington alone has over 200 Granges with about 8500 members. At the state and federal level, the Grange still advocates on behalf of farmers and rural residents. A current priority is Pha...
Last Saturday some 13 people – mostly La Conner residents, along with Channel Drive and Pull and Be Damned neighbors and the Home Trust of Skagit executive director – met Mayor Marna Hanneman at the La Conner Swinomish Library for her monthly community check-in. There were mostly familiar faces around the conference room table. These residents have attended Hanneman’s earlier library gatherings, as many of them joined in town-organized community mingles on short-term rentals, First Street parking and the town-acquired Jenson property. That... Full story
A leading theme of the Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council has been “reading the signs of the times.” The signs of the times are clear: human dignity is under grave threat. The Vatican has issued an important new declaration on human dignity. “Dignitas Infinita” is the title of this 23-page document. In its preface, Pope Francis explicitly asked that the document “highlight topics closely connected to the theme of dignity, such as poverty, the situation of migrants, violence against women, human trafficking, war and other the...
I have been living here just a year now, but my neighbors and the community as a whole have been so open, friendly and inviting that I feel totally at home here. One of the things I truly love about our town is its “walkability.” The beautiful new Swinomish La Conner Library is just a few blocks away, with a steep hill to get my heart rate up on the return trip. And what a wonderful place it is to visit. Not only do they offer a lifetime of fiction and non-fiction books to read, but magazines, DVDs, events and programs for all ages. A new exp...
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....
This recipe involves two baking steps. After step one is baked, you can let it cool down until you are ready to bake the second step. It looked so delicious, I was tempted to eat a bowl after the first step. I was in a hurry, so I only used one apple. You could use three or four. Do not skimp on the sugar. Ingredients Rhubarb, 4 thick stems cut into 1/2-inch pieces Apple, 1 peeled, cored and cubed Sugar, 1 C Flour, 1/4 C Cinnamon, 1 t ground Cloves, a pinch of ground Topping Butter, 6 T melted...
TOWN OF LA CONNER NOTICE OF APPLICATION / NOTICE OF HEARING The Town of La Conner is processing multiple permit applications that may be of public interest. Date: April 30, 2024 Application File #: LU24-16CU-IV/LU24-17CU-IV/LU24-19HDR Applicant: Jeff Latham / Randy Billings and Rod Mennegar / Linda Banaszak Town Contact Person: Michael Davolio AICP, Planning Director; P.O. Box 400, La Conner, WA 98257; 360-466-3125 Project Location: 318 Morris Street, P20890 / 110 N. First Street, P74118 / 619 S. First Street, P74077 Project Description: Use...
