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Thank you for this review of Peter’s latest book (Dec. 4). It contains many titles and authors new to me, in spite of living most of my adult life in Washington State. In 1957 the excellent librarian at the UW’s College of Forestry put me in touch with many definitive works, such as “Smoke Over Sikanaska” by Gowland, documenting his adventures as a ranger in the Canadian Rockies before World War II. It proved to be a preview of my own career as a national park and wilderness ranger. I met Peter Donahue at the Shaffer Museum here in Winthro...
I think it was 45 years ago that La Conner’s first Christmas boat parade launched our annual local tradition. At that time the Swinomish Yacht Club had only 27 members, including us, so we knew it was going to be a big undertaking, but the club decided to give a boat parade a try. We published a message in the paper for a meeting of anyone who was interested in participating. It seemed like an exciting adventure at the time and we were amazed when a group turned out for the meeting to get organized. La Conner had plenty of work boats, but not s...
My workplace has a gift exchange for Christmas and I want to participate, but I am a single parent on a limited budget so I don’t know how “special” my gift will be. Any suggestions? The ability to share gifts with others should never be dependent on the cost since sharing your heart is what makes any gift special. But I can also appreciate that your gift budget is limited, so consider these suggestions: Do you have a skill that can be offered as a gift certificate, to be used whenever the recipient is ready to redeem it? This may inclu...
Count to ten: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. We start with one and end with zero, as we would counting to twenty or thirty or any ten count. So, coming to January first what decade is it? Is it the last year of the decade of the teens, the 2011 decade ending? Or is it the first year of the 2020s, starting the third decade in this century? There is not universal agreement on when decades start and therefore when decades end. It is not like gravity or the speed of light: “186,000 miles per second per second is not just a good idea, it’s the law...
Lin McJunkin shared her thoughts in a letter to the community a couple of weeks ago, promoting giving the gift of time to kids as priceless. She is right. That effort, bonding with another, is a gift to the self, as well. That is what teachers, coaches and volunteers say. We cannot make more time, literally. I have a friend who rues time as “the enemy.” Another friend finds time to be an equalizer: the same amount is available to all of us, rich or poor. Walking through the stacks at the library Saturday, slow became my mantra. We can all slow...
Just 23, Doug Gunter was by all accounts someone who had life figured out. If only the man suspected of shooting and killing him in Burlington last Friday had lived by Gunter’s example. It was compassion and empathy, according to those who knew him best, that were the main currencies in which Gunter took stock, leaving those with whom he crossed paths all the richer for the experience. In a life ended much too soon, they say Gunter was especially kind to and respectful of those elders he encountered each day on Swinomish Reservation. Having alr...
On his fifty-first day in office, District 10 State Senator Ron Muzzall (R-Oak Harbor) spoke to a group of some 30 people at Mt Vernon High School Sunday, part of four town hall meetings he held last weekend. Muzzall, an Oak Harbor area farmer, has deep roots on Whidbey Island. His family has had their farm since 1910. He co-owns 3 Sisters Family Farm and 3 Sisters Cattle Co. with family. He highlighted those values in introducing himself, stressing his agricultural roots, his involvement on farm coop boards, including Skagit Farm Supply, and...
Story courtesy of the Northwest News Network. First published Dec 4, 2019 In a barrier-breaking appointment, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has selected a Whatcom County judge to serve as the first known Native American justice on the state Supreme Court since its founding in 1889. Whatcom County Superior Court Judge Raquel Montoya-Lewis, 51, who is an enrolled member of the Pueblo of Isleta tribe of New Mexico, will replace Chief Justice Mary Fairhurst when she retires in January. Fairhurst, who is battling colon cancer for the third time,...
Now that the Thanksgiving dinner is over and done, your attention may be turning to all that is merry and bright. Or you may be thinking more like Scrooge, and “Bah Humbug” your way into the holiday season. There is no doubt, these days the holiday spirit can seem commercialized with an over- abundance of consumerism. Enough to make you wonder, “why?” and “what is this all for?” Even the stores seem to usher in the season earlier and earlier each year. If the push of a shopping blitz brings on a migraine but you don’t want to cancel Christ...
At the last meeting of the planning commission, changes to the code regarding ADUs (accessory dwelling units) were discussed. The document regarding those proposed changes was posted on the town website and further revisions will also be posted. At the last meeting ownership of the ADUs was discussed. Would you have to live in the main house – or not? Would you be able to own a bunch of these (residence and ADU) or not? If you did own one or more in which you didn’t live, would you have to be a resident in town? Or not? What would the d...
