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The grass, they say, is always greener on the other side. In the case of C.J. Woods, that is even true of the Arizona desert. Woods, the youthful and personable La Conner High School boys’ head basketball coach and athletics director, has stepped down to assume a similar dual position at Chinle High School, which boasts top-flight sports facilities. The Apache County, Arizona school is the subject of an acclaimed Netflix documentary. “It’s a really bittersweet feeling,” Woods, 28, who last winter led the underdog Braves to a Northwest 2B Bi-D...
Monday, July 10 9:56 a.m.: Road rage fight – Deputies responded to a fight in progress being reported by a SKAT bus driver. The physical altercation was the result of a road rage incident. Both involved drivers did not want to pursue charges. McLean Rd., Greater La Conner. 10:40 a.m.: Left high and dry – Deputies responded to a boat equipment theft. Deputies determined a 15hp Suzuki outboard motor had been stolen off the back of the victim’s boat during the night. Washington Ave., La Conner. 4:49 p.m.: Dropped their shopping, cart – Deputie...
With the last name Holmes, it was only natural that he entered law enforcement. And with interests in boating and basketball and a knack for building relationships, the La Conner detachment office seems an ideal assignment for veteran Skagit County Sheriff's Sgt. Brad Holmes. Holmes, who has worked nearly a quarter-century in a wide range of police services, has succeeded retired Sgt. Beau Montgomery as lead officer in La Conner. "I put in for La Conner a while ago," Holmes, who has an...
As has been the case for more than a century, history comes alive in La Conner this summer. The 119th annual Skagit County Pioneer Association Picnic and General Meeting will be 11 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 3, at Pioneer Park near the Rainbow Bridge. The time-honored event promises something for persons of all ages, especially those interested in Skagit County and its rich history. There will be live music on the grounds provided by John Anderson and Friends, historic photographs and biographical accounts displayed for this year’s Pioneer Family o...
Lori Buher retired in June after 27 years with La Conner Schools and even longer as a La Conner School parent. Her long career can be divided into three chapters. In Chapter 1, she joined the La Conner Co-op Preschool when Eric and Anne enrolled in 1987, serving until 1992. By 1989, she was also on the board of the La Conner Elementary PTA. Soon she was helping lead the school’s Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts. “It was a lot of fun, and I had great support from other parents, but I was def...
Retired La Conner High School championship volleyball coach Suzanne Marble has netted some impressive awards including induction into the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Hall of Fame and national coach of the year recognition. One more honor awaits this summer. Marble will be feted at the annual Skagit County Pioneer Association Picnic in La Conner Aug. 3 as the organization’s 2023 Pioneer Spirit Award winner. The Pioneer Picnic, held annually on the first Thursday in August, has been a La Conner summer tradition for more t...
While budget woes have gotten much attention at La Conner Schools lately, those concerns were balanced by a long list of district celebrations cited at the school board’s summer retreat last Wednesday. Second-year superintendent Will Nelson cited key achievements realized during 2022-2023. He noted that the district piloted a secondary level mastery-based learning program, saw middle school science instructor Maddie Huscher named regional teacher of the year, began implementing the research-based Universal Design for Learning framework that a...
In his many roles as an educator, lawmaker, state official and in private business, the late Duane Berentson was hailed as a team player. And family man. The well-documented devotion to service and consensus building that defined him has been a blueprint for others in the Benson/Berentson lineage. The family will be honored at the 119th annual Pioneer Picnic in La Conner Aug. 3 as the Skagit County Pioneer Association Family of the Year. For three decades a key figure in Olympia, Duane...
La Conner School board members did something Monday night that they haven't done in a very long time: They approved hiring a new counselor for the middle and high school campus. Eric Crinklaw, most recently with Bonney Lake High School in the Sumner School District, will succeed Lori Buher, who is retiring after 27 years. The decision took place during a 75-minute hybrid session ahead of its annual retreat scheduled from 2-8 p.m. today. "It's an honor to be here," said Crinklaw, who has ties to the Concrete and Friday Harbor school districts....
Barbara Birkeland Hulbert died peacefully at home in La Conner on June 17. She was 96. "Barb" was born March 25, 1927, in Fort Benton, Mont., to Ingolf and Elizabeth (Flagler) Birkeland. She was one of seven children, which included Francis, Helen, Margaret, Beverly, Phyllis, and Thomas. Barb grew up a self-described "tomboy" on the family ranch, where she drove grain trucks and tractors and ran a combine. Upon earning her degree in Microbiology from Montana State College, an adventurous Barb...
A major sports website has confirmed what La Conner fans have known for months. That being Ellie Marble, who just graduated from La Conner High School and will attend Central Washington University on a volleyball scholarship in the fall, was the best girls' 2B senior athlete in the state this past year. Marble, who played in a combined six volleyball and basketball state tournaments – it likely would have been eight had it not been for the COVID-19 pandemic – has been named the SBLive WaFd Ban...
After 20 years, Juli Olson is finally graduating from middle school. The La Conner middle and high school administrative assistant retires at the end of June after working under six principals and through a school remodel and a pandemic. Besides keeping attendance and other critical records, she has helped plan the 8th grade promotion and filled in as school nurse, lunch lady and field trip chaperone. Driving the school bus is the only job she hasn’t tackled. Not all of her records have been official. During the years when middle school c...
La Conner will again act locally while thinking nationally on July 4. The town is site once more of Independence Day festivities with something for everyone – from a holiday parade to food and beverages to live music to a fireworks display over Swinomish Channel. The fun starts with the always popular 12 p.m. parade down First Street. Parade staging is set for 11 a.m. on State Street, in front of the Port of Skagit’s La Conner Marina south basin parking area. The parade traditionally draws an array of motorized, non-motorized and even fam...
There's one excuse that will not fly for anyone parking in front of about two dozen fire hydrants on Swinomish Reservation. That being they weren't visible. Instead, you can hardly miss those hydrants anymore. By Saturday afternoon 22 fire hydrants had been adopted and most repainted – many with distinctive bright colors and designs – as part of a Skagit County Fire District 13 fundraiser. The district's Adopt-A-Hydrant campaign was coordinated by firefighter Logan James. Participants paid $10...
The Kiwanis Club of La Conner May High School Student of the Month is Hadley Shears. She graduated in June and is the daughter of Cory and Jen Shears. Hadley has been active in school cheer, varsity volunteerism and Knowledge Bowl. Outside of school she likes to be outdoors, ski, hike and be out on the family boat. She is passionate about music, movies and art. Hadley was valedictorian of her graduating class. She will be attending Western Washington University this fall. She has not determined...
La Conner Schools administrator Andy Wheeler has quietly tended to his heavy workload here for the past nine years. But now, as he transitions to retirement, Wheeler will finally be able to toot his own horn. Never one to boast, the soft-spoken Wheeler – an enthusiastic trombonist – is headed next month to the Humboldt State College Brass Chamber Music Workshop in northern California. It's a fitting sendoff for Wheeler, who has been something of a one-man band during his tenure here, han...
The first day of summer vacation was a time of reflection for La Conner School board members, who while grappling with difficult budget issues going forward, found time at their June 12 study session to honor the achievements of student leaders and athletes and middle school science teacher Maddie Huscher. Huscher was recognized as a Regional Teacher of the Year, one of nine finalists for top state teacher accolades. “It’s a really big deal,” La Conner Superintendent of Schools Will Nelson said of Huscher’s selection. “She’s getting a l...
Change has defined the La Conner Schools Transportation Department the past year. But one thing hasn’t changed. The department continues to earn high grades from the Washington State Patrol and Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. State schools chief Chris Reykdal’s June 15 letter states the district “has again completed the inspection of school buses with exceptional results. For the past two years the results in your district have been outstanding.” La Conner Schools Director of Operations and Planning Bobby Vaughn, over...
A class that weathered a slew of obstacles, in particular the COVID-19 pandemic, was blessed with warm, sunny conditions and a clear view of snow-capped Mount Baker for La Conner High School's 129th annual commencement exercises Thursday evening at Whittaker Field. That scenario of emerging from clouds of uncertainty into the bright sunshine of hope and optimism was emphasized in remarks by Class of 2023 Valedictorian Hadley Shears, among a handful of graduating seniors speaking at the...
Gov. Jay Inslee enjoyed a taste of Skagit Valley on several levels when he toured the Puget Sound Food Hub Cooperative near La Conner last Tuesday. The state's three-term chief executive, who recently announced he would not seek re-election, nonetheless modeled all the ingredients of a campaigner as he spoke with and listened to area farmers and food hub General Manager Andrew Yokom. Inslee repeatedly praised the cleanliness and efficiency of the warehouse site, a former potato shed located...
Elizabeth "Betty" Grace Gordon died on Monday, May 22, 2023 at the age of 97. She passed in the home where she had spent most of her life, looking out the windows, the rays of her final golden hour reflected in her eyes. Betty was born to Samuel and Tiena (Drost) Mesman on May 19, 1926, in Rocky Point, Washington. Growing up in the 1930s and 40s, she would share stories of her life on the beaches of the island picking wild strawberries, looking for agates, and finding lady slipper orchids bloomi...
A good idea never goes out of style. Thirty-four years after its inception, the concept of an inclusive scholarship program supporting La Conner High School graduates still remains a perfect fit for a community that values education. The La Conner Community Scholarship Foundation, which evolved from a 1989 Dollars for Scholars campaign launched by then-school administrators Ken Winkes and Norm Hoffman, the local Parent-Teacher-Student Association and civic leaders, including Gail Thulen, Maureen Harlan, John Hastings, Maude Misner and Melphine...
A La Conner High School senior class that was separated and isolated for parts of two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic will join together for the school's 129th annual commencement exercises tomorrow (Thursday) at 5 p.m. at Whittaker Field. The class, which adapted to remote learning during the early portion of its high school sojourn, features 10 National Honor Society members, including valedictorian Hadley Shears and salutatorian Josie Harper. "We continue to be proud of these students for...
The La Conner Middle School Rock Climbing Club sponsor is also rock solid in the classroom. Madison Huscher, whose carefully crafted science lesson plans take students beyond the traditional boundaries of textbooks and lectures, has been named the Northwest Educational Service District 189 regional teacher of the year. The award recognizes Huscher's outstanding commitment to teaching and her many contributions to the educational community. As a regional winner, Huscher will compete against...