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Editor Ken Stern: We were underwhelmed by your August 1st editorial “Damn democracy!” As you stated in the editorial your paper’s publisher is competent, has character and integrity and cares passionately about his country. With such credentials I am sure the News would want their readers to hear the support side for our sitting president. America is in the midst of a culture-political civil war. it is a fight over our very identity as a people. For decades, this conflict has been fought quietly in city halls, classrooms, school boards, court...
On August 3rd the citizen’s group Home Rule Skagit submitted 3,333 signatures to the County Auditor petitioning for a county charter. On Aug. 19 Skagit County Commissioners heard a report on the petition from County Elections Supervisor, David Cunningham. He stated that sufficient valid signatures had been submitted to get the measure on the ballot in November. The Commissioners passed a required resolution authorizing the vote and the selection of freeholders. Freeholder and charter are the terms used in the Washington State constitution. T...
A reading in the very unhealthy range, of 241 for fine particulate matter, PM2.5, was recorded Tuesday morning at the air quality monitor at 202 O Avenue, Anacortes. A reading of 167 PM2.5, unhealthy, was made at the S. 2nd Street Mount Vernon monitor. At very unhealthy readings everyone needs to stay indoors. Do only light indoor activities. Keep windows closed if it is not too hot. At unhealthy levels, everyone must limit their time spent outdoors, avoiding outdoor exercise and choosing...
A local fire district is turning 13 into a lucky number. That’s because Fire District 13 residents have the good fortune to be served by an outreach program rarely found elsewhere – even in urban settings. “Good Morning – District 13” is a free voluntary program in which on-duty crews check the welfare of seniors, shut-ins, persons with functional needs or residents living under special circumstances. Nearly 50 persons residing within District 13 boundaries have signed up for the p...
All but 100 ballots have been counted through Aug. 17 in Skagit County for the August primary election. The 1,400 counted ballots did not change any outcomes and neither will the last 100 votes. Final counts and certification were completed Aug. 21. Democratic contender Scott McMullen bested incumbent Representative Norma Smith (R) for the 10th legislature district house seat 1. He is up by 548 votes, at 50.64 percent. Likewise, challenger Dave Paul won over Dave Hayes, Republican representative of 10th legislature district house seat 2....
Compiled by Tim Johnson Tahlequah the mother orca is no longer carrying her dead calf. “The ordeal of her carrying a dead calf for at least 17 days and 1,000 miles is now over,” Ken Balcomb, founding director of the Center for Whale Research, reported. People around the world were moved as Tahlequah carried her dead baby, a female, day after day, in a seeming protest against her loss. Tahlequah, also known as J35, is part of the critically endangered Southern Resident killer whale population. Balcomb said J35 probably has lost two other off...
In an era largely defined by self-service, Maureen Harlan has opted for a more time-honored approach. It being unselfish service to others. Those selfless efforts, carried out over the course of a lifetime both here in her home town and well beyond La Conner, have not gone unnoticed. A retired La Conner educator who remains an active civic leader, Harlan will be feted as a Paul Harris Fellow recipient during the La Conner Rotary Club’s 12th annual Dinner & Auction at Maple Hall this Saturday. Na...
La Conner is 320 miles north of Harpswell, Maine. That is why the mixed hardwood-conifer forests there were so familiar to me. The 10 years I lived in Minnesota and when in Michigan during the 1980s, I walked in woods where the evergreens were Eastern white pine, northern white cedar and red juniper. While white pines could be towering, hardwoods dominated the forest: sugar maples, red and white oaks and beech. On the train going north from Boston, I thought: The hardwoods of the northeast. How much farther north is La Conner than Boston or...
In November, Skagit voters can shape county government for the future. As members of Home Rule Skagit, a non-partisan, local citizens group working to update county government, we strongly support the charter resolution. We also urge those who care about Skagit County to run as freeholders to draft our new county charter. Freeholders will be key to this process. Acting as delegates, elected freeholders will work together to design a county government serving the values, priorities and needs of county citizens. Our county government handles a...
Now you can be a freeholder. Or at least, you can run for the elected office of freeholder and gain the thanks and gratitude of you fellow Skagitonians. Applications are open August 27-32 at the county auditor’s office. But wait: What is going on? The guest editorial across the page and the front page story report that Home Rule Skagit, a non-partisan, volunteer group has successfully petitioned to place a resolution on this fall’s ballot to update the county’s structure of governance. Their column presents their position for bringing Skagi...
Tom Minifie, age 73, of La Conner, Wash., passed away on Friday, August 17,, 2018, in his hometown of La Conner, surrounded by family and close friends after a five year battle with cancer. He was born October 1, 1944 in Corpus Christi, Texas. He grew up in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York City. Tom attended college in Ohio before serving in the Peace Corp in the Philippines and attending seminary in Philadelphia. In 1971 Tom was ordained a Priest in the Episcopal Church and served churches in Massachusetts, and Ohio before coming to...
