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After his long tenure here, John Doyle knows every square inch of La Conner. The irony is he arrived here lost. Doyle, a low-key, yet do-everything type of guy, chuckles at the memory of his first venture into town. “I was on my way to Anacortes from Conway,” he recalls. “I wanted to see some of the local farm land and there wasn’t a lot of signage out there (on Fir Island) at the time and before I knew it I had stumbled onto La Conner.” It proved a blessing in disguise. As fate would have it, the University of California-Berkeley grad met...
Fire District 12 Commissioners Dennis O’Hern and Norm Jenkins wrote a letter to district residents into the minutes of their Dec. 18 meeting, following up their November approval of a 2018 budget of $155,519 in expenses. They raised the property tax levy funding the district to $85,000, a 78 percent increase over 2017’s $47,768. The commissioners again passed a deficit budget, which they balanced by tapping the district’s $308,691 in reserves. O’Hern shared that he had spoken with the Skagit County’s assessor’s staff and that the budget was...
Here is how the Everbridge alert system worked after a rock slide closed the Northbound lane of Pioneer Parkway Dec. 19: “The following is a message from the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community Citizen Notification System: Public works personnel have started the process of clearing Pioneer Parkway. It may take several hours before the northbound lane is reopened. Please continue to use caution in the area.” If you want to get signed up for the Everbridge emergency notifications, please con...
It was centuries ago that Geoffrey Chaucer said time and tide wait for no one. His words still ring true today – most keenly on Jan. 5. An extreme high tide is expected that day throughout North Puget Sound, according to the state Department of Ecology and the University of Washington-based Washington Sea Grant program. King tides, the largest tides of the year, are present in winter and take place when the moon and sun are on the same side of the earth and when the moon comes closest to the planet. The king tide next week could serve as...
Refugees I have read and heard a couple of commentaries last week suggesting where Jesus would be and who he would be with this week. There is no arguing the point: at his birth Jesus was homeless. Within weeks his was a refugee family as they escaped Herod’s death sentence by fleeing into Egypt. Don’t believe this newspaper. Read it in the Bible. Jesus was born into a poor refugee family. Given his ministry, it seems a straight connection to expect anyone who worships him will open their hearts, homes and pocketbooks – their har...
It is true: government regulations save lives. Best to not mince words: Congress has blood on its hands. For 50 years, at the behest of their lobbyist puppet masters, they throttled regulations the National Transportation Safety Board meant for railroads to adopt. What did the lobbyists win? Reprieve from having to install automatic braking equipment, called positive train control. Again and again Congress extended the implementation deadline. The cost to the American people since 1970: 298 deaths, 6,763 injuries and some $385 million in...
Dear Editor, What is good for Morris Street is good for Main Street, because we are the first impression of the town as visitors and guests arrive. Additionally, it is easier to maintain a positive impression than to overcome a negative one. I think it is time that Morris Street got the attention it so badly needs. Why can’t Morris Street have an event? Why can’t poor Morris Street get any love or support? Requests by the Morris Street merchants to have some type of event, parade, or farmers market is met with complete opposition from all tho...
“Year Zero” of “Birds of Winter: A Skagit Valley Experience” has officially fledged. Andrew Miller, from EDASC (Economic Development Alliance of Skagit County), is working with the county’s chambers of commerce and a wide variety of non-profits, institutions and citizens toward what he hopes will become an annual economic, educational, and environmental bonanza . Miller led a meeting attended by some 30 of these representatives Dec. 11. He told the group “An exciting aspect of the ‘Birds of Winter’ is that it spans the entire county –...
Strategic decisions regarding fire safety and placement of firefighting facilities in Skagit Valley are important decisions that have long term budget and service capacity implications. At the Dec 21 meeting of District 13 Commissioners, Fire Chief Horn stated that District 13 is considering the purchase of property east of the Swinomish Channel to construct a new fire station serving eastern portions of the District 13 service area. A decision to undertake a property search for a new station implies that appropriate analysis and evaluation...
Some 1,500 Puget Sound Energy customers lost power for over an hour Dec. 19 when a tree fell on a power line and took a pole down with it at Eagles Nest Drive in Shelter Bay. The outage started at 12:45 p.m. By 1:48 p.m., the power was back on for all but 22 customers, according to Janet Kim, PSE spokesperson. Their power was restored by 9 p.m....
World War II veteran John K. Bob was honored by his Swinomish tribe with a retirement ceremony for a special American flag and his war medals at a dedication at the Swinomish Social services building Dec. 7. Veterans from all over the region were asked to participate at the request of John K. Bob’s family. This ceremony marked the seventieth anniversary of Bob’s return home and paid tribute of this fallen WWII war hero and was attended by over 200 people. Bob enlisted in 1942 while still a sen...
GIFTS FOR KIDS, LUNCH INCLUDED – Continuing their annual tradition, some 75 women from Shelter Bay brought gifts for children – note tree in way back corner – and joined together for lunch at the Farmhouse Dec. 22. Kiwanis volunteers later distributed the presents. – Photo by Don Coyote...
