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Thirty-six La Conner High seniors, including 11 National Honor Society students, will receive diplomas during the school’s 125th annual Commencement Exercises tomorrow night at Landy James Gym. The June 6 program, featuring a mix of inspiring messages and uplifting music, begins at 7 p.m. Class Valedictorian Sophia Benetti and Salutatorian Matty Lagerwey, both of whom are National Honor Society members, will deliver major addresses. Other senior class speakers are to take turns on the podium as well. Class President Erik Nelson will offer t...
Midway through the May 28 La Conner School District town hall, a forum to discuss discipline, safety and prevention/intervention support against vaping, marijuana and drugs, a parent asked the key question: “What is the issue we’re talking about? What is the white elephant in the room? Is it drugs, guns, substance abuse? What’s the issue?” The 50 parents, students and school staff attending had heard presentations from Middle and High School Principal Todd Torgeson Elementary School Principal Bev Bowen, Kathy Herrera, assistant principal and at...
The Earth has made another full revolution around the sun. The first Thursday in June is again before us. La Conner’s high school seniors, school faculty and staff, parents, family and friends will come to campus for the 7 p.m. graduation ceremony. Excitement will be universal. The graduates will have a lot on their minds. Immediately that evening and this weekend there are parties, family gatherings, eating out. Graduates will certainly have peer-to-peer check ins and adventures, planned and unplanned. The gift of youth might be the g...
Jerrol “Jerry” Ralph Keller (81) of La Conner, WA, passed away at Island Hospital in Anacortes, WA the evening of May 25th, 2019 after a courageous struggle with declining health. He was born on July 25, 1937 in Morganton, NC, the devoted only child of Phrona (Benfield) and Ralph Keller. The Kellers moved west, where Jerry spent his youth outdoors, scouting the North Cascades and as a young man, cultivating his entrepreneurial spirit with ingenious odd jobs in and around the Marblemount area. He worked in the timber business helping his fat...
Lettuce consider this bunch of actions: A simple online search for the “La Conner Food System” results in a variety of sites – some with logistic details that highlight nutrition information, free/reduced lunch ratios, farm partnerships and practices. A simple online search for the La Conner School District website depicts similar information, along with the importance of establishing and supporting wellness, placing a high priority on serving students the most nutritious meals possible and the value placed on optimum good health. Stu...
Warm weather, warm memories. It was a perfect combination for those who gathered at La Conner area cemeteries on Memorial Day to honor deceased veterans and departed loved ones. A large sun-splashed crowd at Pleasant Ridge Cemetery was greeted by Rev. Don Robinson, who said the occasion was an opportunity to embrace both the past and future. “We look back with gratitude,” he said, “for those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. We’ve inherited much and have much for which to be g...
Baked potatoes were the main course, but it was love that flavored a community dinner at the Swinomish Gym last Wednesday. Health food was the fare of the night as proceeds from each plate were donated to help three La Conner young men who have battled serious health issues. Members of the La Conner High chapter of Key Club, which is affiliated with Kiwanis International, organized the May 22 “Spud Dinner” benefit. La Conner High students Danny Rapada and Frank Scott, and La Conner High alu...
Though living in the moment, hundreds paid tribute to the past as they literally stepped into the future during annual Swinomish Blessing of the Fleet and First Salmon ceremonies Thursday. Following a seafood feast enjoyed by a large crowd that spilled over from the Tribal gym and youth center to an outdoor tent in the adjacent parking lot, a procession stretching across Pioneer Parkway walked to Swinomish Channel off Moorage Way for an honored ritual marking the start of fishing season. The...
Alvin Michael “Al” Strutzel, 94, a resident of La Conner, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, May 14, 2019 at Life Care Center, Mount Vernon, WA. He was born November 6, 1924 in Monitor, WA, the son of Rudolph and Wilma (Warren) Strutzel. Al’s family were early settlers in the Monitor area, having arrived in 1902. Al attended schools in Monitor, graduating from Cashmere High School in 1943. School sports were a big part of Al’s life, lettering in all three sports, baseball, basketball and football all four years. After graduation, he joined...
Dixie Otis’ death last December was a shock and a huge loss to the greater La Conner community. A charter member of the La Conner Soroptimist Club, and its co-president, Otis was an even longer term teacher, both in and out of the classroom. The Club, and the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, recognized Otis and her family last Wednesday at a dinner at the Swinomish Yacht Club. The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community honored Otis that evening by presenting $5,000 to the Club: “Dixie Louise Oti...
On Monday 20 students from La Conner High School took to the grass outside the elementary school with not one purpose, but many. Led by Samantha Nelson, a junior, students walked out during their first period class to protest not only what they considered to be an unsafe environment, but also the looming notion that their voices and opinions are seen as nothing more than trivial by district administrators. At 8:20 a.m. the 20 congregated in the Freshman Commons, and after quick deliberation, mad...
He was a versatile teacher, computer whiz, avid hiker, skilled mariner, world traveler, civic leader and handy man par excellence. Plus much, much more. Tom Winn never spoke about himself in such glowing terms. Always humble, he let others do the talking. And a week after his sudden passing, folks in La Conner are still sharing thoughts and reminiscences about the adventurous 73-year-old Winn, whom they describe as having been a modern renaissance man. “He saw life as an adventure,” Town Councilmember Jacques Brunisholz said of Winn. “A lot o...
Tom Winn, of La Conner, WA, passed away at Skagit Valley Hospital on May 6, 2019 after a sudden and brief illness. Tom was born in Guatemala, Central America on August 11, 1945. His sense of adventure was evident immediately. He went on to live in Colombia South America, New York City and then Kobe Japan, where he graduated high school from Canadian Academy. While in Japan, he climbed to the top of Mt. Fuji and discovered a love of the ocean floor. He got his scuba license, which he maintained for his entire life. He relocated to Seattle to...
Elaine (Mom) passed away at home surrounded by her loving children, after an extended illness. Mom was born January 13th, 1937 in Argura, Jackson County, North Carolina to Robert and Lonnie Harris. She had fond memories of her childhood in North Carolina and was proud of her “Tar Heel” heritage. At a young age, Mom lost her parents and was grateful for the families that cared for her afterwards. She graduated from La Conner High School in 1955, where she met the love of her life, Ivan Carlson, Sr. They were married August 12th, 1955, and as new...
The first tulips in Skagit Valley were grown commercially on a forty-acre farm on Samish Island about 1905. Bulbs were imported from Holland to improve this crop and the valley’s bulb industry flourished. Early farmers were critical of the bulb growers for putting the rich valley land to such trivial use when it was excellent for cabbage seed, oats, hay, hops and barley. The bulb industry soon proved its value as more bulb farmers settled in Skagit County. They were an industrious and quiet b...
One day an earthquake off the coast will trigger a huge tsunami that will reach into La Conner. Sometime in the next thousand years Mt. Baker will blow its top, sending a flow of lava perhaps 70 feet thick into the Skagit River, where it will makes its way to the sea. Someday, absolutely, those disasters will devastate us. Just as certainly, the effects of climate change on our environment dramatically change our lives. Do you feel adequately prepared? Are our community and state preparing? Equally close to home, in this, the best of all...
Fred Ossewarde passed away peacefully on April 22, 2019 surrounded by his loving family. Fred was born in Bellingham, Washington September 30, 1934, and adopted at three days old by Helen and Lewis Ossewarde. He grew up in Bellingham an only child, but 20-some years ago he did a search and found a half-brother, Robert Martin, who he had been in Rotary with for many years. They enjoyed their new relationship as brothers. Fred was an outstanding high school athlete. He played on the Bellingham High School (class of ’53) Red Raiders basketball a...
A setback doesn’t have to be a step back. That’s the mantra often shared by former La Conner High and St. Martin’s University student-athlete Lynette Cram, now a much in demand physical therapist who serves as a trainer for Braves and Lady Braves sports teams. Her story is a prime example. It was a sports injury while at St. Martin’s that led to her present career as co-owner with husband David Cram of Balance Point Physical Therapy Clinic in La Conner. “I got injured playing volleybal...
Art is an ageless pursuit. La Conner artist Dee Doyle is not only painting, in what she calls her encore career, she’s teaching Skagit Valley locals from ages 50 to 100 to do the same. The Maryland transplant describes her painting – still lifes, abstracts and landscapes – as her fourth career, following many years dedicated to downtown revitalization, economic develop-ment and then real estate sales. She came to the Pacific Northwest in 2005. As a high school student she had hoped t...
Town Hall will be closed through April 18. That was the surprise agenda item at La Conner’s April 9 Town Council meeting. The closure dates were announced on the Town’s website April 10. Mold in the Town Hall bank vault has spread into the front reception area. It requires immediate maintenance to ensure staff safety. Signs were on the front doors before the end of last week. Closure started Tuesday. Administrator Scott Thomas did not yet have a repair agreement at the meeting. SERVPRO quoted $1...
Todd Duitsman remembers the exact minute he went from being an active sports-oriented realtor and businessman to a paraplegic bound to a wheelchair. He was, both literally and figuratively, riding a wave of high expectations, full of life and believing all things were possible. But the wave crashed hard. Five years ago, Duitsman and his family were enjoying their second Hawaiian vacation in three summers when a sudden body surfing accident profoundly altered the 45-year-old Lakewood man’s p...
While searching for photo albums and scrapbooks prior to a recent family reunion, former Pleasant Ridge residents Jim and Kay Frey came across an unexpected gem. It was a plain, parcel-sized envelope filled with yellowed news clippings. Not just any clippings, mind you. These were from more than a half-century ago, dating to the fall of 1968. That was among the best of times for the Freys, who now reside in Mount Vernon. Then Jim coached football and taught at La Conner High School. That...
Donald Richard Henkle passed away peacefully at age 90 in La Conner, WA on April 6, 2019 after an eight year battle with multiple myeloma. Don was born in Auburn, WA and grew up in Seattle with his parents, Tolly Henkle and Marion (Hostetter) Henkle. He attended Seattle’s Fairview Grade School, John Marshal Junior High School, Roosevelt High School (class of 1946) and graduated from the University of Washington with a BA in Business Administration in 1950. During high school, Don played the trumpet in the dance band “Gentlemen of Rhythm” and w...
Jan Franklin Young, 73, a resident of the Shelter Bay community in La Conner, passed away at his home on March 22, 2019. Jan was born on January 2, 1946 in Great Falls, Montana, the son of Jess & Louise (Quinlan) Young. He was raised and attended school in Great Falls, graduating from Great Falls High School with the class of 1964. He joined the Naval Reserves in 1963. He then attended Montana State University until he was called to active duty with the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War, serving one year in Vietnam and one year on a ship in...
Bill Meador, age 94 and a resident of La Conner passed away on 3/28/19 at 9:20 pm. Bill was born in Anderson, Missouri June 6, 1924 to parents Harrison and Ruth Meador. He completed his schooling in Bell, California in 1942 and was drafted into the US Army. He served as a sergeant in the 389th Auto Weapons Battalion, attached to the 13th Air Force 307th Bomb Group. He saw combat in New Guinea, East Indies, and Philippine campaigns in the north and south Pacific. After separation, he joined Shell Oil Company in Wilmington, California, later...