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The La Conner High School girls’ basketball team saved its best for last at Coupeville. Entering the fourth quarter deadlocked, the Lady Braves finished with an 18-4 spurt that secured a 46-32 NW2B/1B triumph Jan. 16, extending their winning streak over the hosts to 11 games dating to 2018. Coupled with a 51-25 road victory over Darrington Jan. 19, the team is unbeaten (5-0) in conference play before last night’s clash with Orcas Island. For La Conner, the road trip to Coupeville was Valentine’s Day a month early. With head coach Joe Harpe...
“Look for the helpers, you will always find people who are helping.” The quote from Fred Rogers’ (Mr. Rogers) was his way of helping children find comfort when something bad happens. Over the last two weeks, my family experienced the truth and beauty in Mr. Rogers’ observation that people willingly and selflessly give of themselves to help others amid a tragedy to which they are merely bystanders. On Dec. 30, 2023, just six days shy of his four-month birthday, we unexpectedly lost our beloved grandson Kobe Lynn Zavala. The devastation of hear...
Brayden Pedroza has been a scoring machine for the La Conner High School boys' basketball team this season. He is also scoring points with the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association leadership. Pedroza was selected as one of its Athlete of the Week Award recipients after he meshed 22 and 27 points, respectively, in Braves' victories over Concrete and Sound Christian Academy the weekend of Jan. 5-6. Pedroza, was named a Skagit Valley Herald Athlete of the Week in December. He is...
Ivory Damien has a name not easily forgotten. But it is his polished game on the court that has given La Conner High School boys' basketball fans plenty of lasting memories. Damien, a guard equally adept at passing and scoring, made a name for himself beyond La Conner with his outstanding play at Concrete and against Sound Christian Academy. The Braves' senior netted 24 points in a 59-31 NW2B/1B win Jan. 5 over the Lions, then added another 21 the next afternoon when La Conner defeated...
La Conner had the home court advantage, but North Mason had the student enrollment edge when the schools’ basketball teams tipped off at Landy James Gym last Friday. The hosts came up on the short end of both non-conference tests, though the boys had a potential game-winning shot at the end of regulation before falling 82-72 in overtime. North Mason is a 2A Olympic League high school with over 700 students. La Conner enrolls less than 500 students in grades K-12. Still, the boy Braves had the higher numbers on the scoreboard through a s...
La Conner High School's annual basketball road trip to Concrete on Friday covered more than the usual hour-long drive time. This one spanned seven decades. La Conner fans filled the visitors' bleachers on a night commemorating the 1952 opening of the iconic Concrete High School gymnasium and the century-old hoops rivalry between the two Skagit County schools. The evening was billed as the "70-Plus Years Celebration" of the Concrete gym. And it was only fitting that the host Lions had La Conner...
During his many years of local public service, both as La Conner's mayor and president of the Chamber of Commerce, Bud Moore often showed a knack for getting people to pull together in support of major projects. Construction of the public restrooms on First Street and the major renovation of Maple Hall into a multi-event community center are just two examples. Now an active and energetic nonagenarian, Moore embraced that sense of teamwork while attending the University of Washington, where he...
Majel G. Shuler, 95, of La Conner, WA passed away peacefully on Dec. 22, 2023, in Burlington, WA. Majel was born on July 25, 1928, in Aberdeen, WA. She graduated from Mount Vernon High School in 1946. After high school Majel met the love of her life, Dale Shuler, and the two were married on Nov. 20, 1948. They started a family in Concrete, WA and then moved to Snohomish, WA where they raised three children. Dale and Majel moved to Shelter Bay in La Conner, WA in 1987 and became snowbirds spendin...
The La Conner Braves slayed Lions twice in hoops action last weekend. La Conner defeated the NW2B/1B rival Concrete Lions 59-31 on the road Friday, then returned home to Landy James Gym Saturday for a 67-52 non-league win over the Sound Christian Academy Lions. With the wins, the Braves improved to 8-4 overall and 2-0 in league play. Ivory Damien (24) and Brayden Pedroza (23) combined for 47 points at Concrete, which was celebrating the 72nd anniversary of the opening of its storied gymnasium. T...
They were in a foul mood throughout, but the La Conner High School Lady Braves were able to smile after grinding out a 57-29 NW2B/1B for a smashing hoops win at Concrete Friday night. La Conner (7-4 overall, 2-0 in league) won by double digits despite being assessed 21 fouls. Maeve McCormick led nine La Conner scorers with 15 points, including the team’s lone three-pointer. Jacqui Lam, Nora McCormick, Kim Williams and Kiana Jenkins – all eighth graders – finished with eight points apiece for the victors. Another eighth grader, Abi Poult...
Poets are people. They get hungry, make shopping lists, cook. You can find their hankerings and appetites in "The Empty Bowl Cookbook," a new anthology published by the Madrona Project. The celebration rollout of the "Cookbook" takes place 7 p.m. Jan. 20 at the Pelican Bay Bookstore in Anacortes. Twelve writers will read their work along with other favorites from the book. La Conner poet and chef Georgia Johnson, who co-curates these monthly poetry readings, helped assemble this poetry/recipe...
The calendar has flipped from December to January; 2023 to 2024. That means it’s a general election year. And the first local polling are two Swinomish Indian Tribal Community Senate primary races later this month. Six candidates, including the incumbents, are vying for a pair of five-year terms on the 11-member tribal governing body. Sen. Eric Day, first elected in 2019, faces challenges from Rodney John and James Bobb for Senate Seat No. 10. Three-term senator Brian Wilbur is seeking re-election to Seat No. 10, opposed by Bruce James and M...
The La Conner High School boys’ basketball team got pounded in Seattle over the weekend. But not on the scoreboard. The Braves split two closely fought, loosely called holiday tournament games with teams from larger schools, each contest decided in the final seconds. Ivory Damien and Brayden Pedroza scored 16 points apiece as La Conner edged The Northwest School, the tourney’s 1A host team, 44-41 on Friday night. The Braves led during much of Saturday’s matchup with 2A Black Hills, but fell 44-42 in Saturday’s title round of The Top of the Hil...
History stands to repeat itself in Concrete on Friday. Just as was the case in 1952, when the Concrete High School gymnasium first opened, visiting La Conner hoop teams will take the floor Jan. 5 in a rivalry that precedes the Great Depression. Members of the 1952 Concrete and La Conner teams will be honored as part of a “70-plus Years Anniversary” celebration at the iconic Concrete gym. The night’s events will also include a brief historical presentation and introductions of all-time Skagit County scorers Gail Thulen and Andy Otis of La Conne...
A member of La Conner’s O’Leary family will coach Team USA golfers at the 2024 Arnold Palmer Cup in Ireland next summer. Matt Thurmond, a son of La Conner High School alums Kathy O’Leary Thurmond and the late Joe Thurmond, was chosen last month to be the head coach at the three-day competition on Ireland’s west coast next July. Thurmond is head coach of the Arizona State University men’s golf team. He previously guided the University of Washington men. The Arnold Palmer Cup features the best men’s and women’s collegiate golfers against their...
In recent months La Conner has leaned heavily on Langley as a model for community livability issues, from tiny homes and affordable housing to parking. Last Friday it was La Conner's turn to school Langley – on the basketball court. The high school girls' team drubbed South Whidbey 73-34 that afternoon at Landy James Gym while at the same time the high school boys routed the 1A Falcons 60-23 in Langley. "It was a good game on the road while on the holiday break," first-year Braves coach Lance L...
Throughout their shared histories, La Conner and Concrete high schools have been fierce foes vying for league, district and state sports titles. But when they next meet it will be a friendly rivalry in the truest sense of the term. La Conner teams and fans have been invited to participate in celebrations Jan. 5 honoring the “70-plus anniversary” of the opening of the Concrete High School gymnasium to coincide with that night’s girls’ and boys’ basketball games. La Conner was the visiting team in the first-ever boys’ high school junior vars...
It was junior cheer night at Landy James Gym last Friday. And the La Conner High School girls’ basketball team gave both the youth cheerleaders and a large crowd plenty to applaud. Maeve McCormick scored a game-high 26 points, Shaniquah Casey filled the stat sheet with 16 points, six rebounds, six steals and two assists, Nora McCormick added six points and a half dozen steals and Jackie Lam finished with six points and eight boards in drubbing 1B Oakville 56-35 to improve to 5-2. Alyssa Forsythe and Laela Baker scored 10 points apiece for t...
The Kiwanis Club of La Conner November High School Student of the Month is Alex Martin. Alex is a La Conner High School a senior. His favorite class is math. He enjoys playing basketball and participating in track. After graduation he would like to study to become an electrician or diesel mechanic. Alex 's parents are James Washington and Bridgette Solomon. Reese Bird is the middle school Student of the Month. She is in eighth grade. She enjoys playing volleyball and basketball on the school...
Taylor Rae Cayou, a senior at La Conner High School and a full-time Running Start student at the North West Indian College, is the Soroptimist International of La Conner Honored Student for December. Taylor started at NWIC as a junior, dividing her time between the high school and NWIC. This year she is full time at the college. When June rolls around she will graduate with her class at the high school and will have an associates degree at NWIC. Her favorite class at NWIC is cultural sovereignty...
Sultan had trouble guarding one McCormick. Defending two proved impossible. Maeve McCormick scored a career-high 25 points, collected 11 steals and dished off a team-best three assists while Nora McCormick added 12 points, two steals and a pair of rebounds as La Conner breezed past the 1A Turks 48-28 in non-league high school girls’ hoops action at Landy James Gym Friday night. Each of the McCormick sisters delivered two perimeter treys. The home team led wire-to-wire, bolting to a quick 8-0 first quarter lead, to record its second straight h...
Brayden Pedroza has impressed La Conner High School basketball fans in the season's first couple weeks with his ability to defend, pass and score. They aren't alone. Pedroza has made an impression with his stellar play throughout the county. The junior guard was named Skagit Valley Herald Boys' Athlete of the Week after having scored in double digits in La Conner's first three contests. Pedroza scored 23 points against Oak Harbor, 18 opposite Sedro-Woolley and a game-high 25 in the dramatic...
The La Conner Braves basketball team are true road warriors. The team followed its convincing 65-44 NW2B/1B triumph at Orcas Island Dec. 5 with another all-day trip on Saturday – this time to 2A Kingston on the Kitsap Peninsula and likewise requiring a ferry ride. It was neither smooth sailing on rainy, wind-swept Puget Sound nor in the Buccaneers’ gym for the travel-weary Braves, however. Kingston was able to withstand another big scoring night by La Conner’s Brayden Pedroza, the Skagit Valley Herald Boys’ Athlete of the Week, to post a 64-56...
"It's time for your audition," announced Director Lyle Forde midway through the Shelter Bay Chorus's holiday concert last Friday evening. The 200 people in the audience at the Shelter Bay Clubhouse embraced the challenge enthusiastically, because the "audition" was the holiday singalong. "We sang songs I knew from church when I was young and it was so much fun," said attendee Patty McCormick. While she probably won't join the chorus, the singalong "changed my attitude about the holidays." With n...
Sunday, December 3 9:23 p.m. I spy – Deputy identified a stolen vehicle as it left the Shell station. The Deputy tried to stop the vehicle which then accelerated to speeds over 100mph. The Deputy chose not to pursue. Suspect info was confirmed and charges will be filed. La Conner Whitney Rd., La Conner. Monday, December 4 7:26 a.m. Block party – Subject had parked her vehicle in the road while removing trash from her driveway. Vehicle was blocking and the subject was told this was not an option and the car needed to be moved. Maple Ave., La...