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We hope everyone’s New Year is off to a great start, It is hard to believe that January is almost over already. Our little taste of winter made for an interesting start to 2024, but now that things are finally thawing out, come to the library for a cozy day of reading or come to one of the many programs we have coming up through Feb.. Our first armchair Travels with Teri program had to be postponed due to the snow; however, we are going to reschedule. Stay tuned to our website or come by the library to get the new date. We have tons of fun c...
A new year, a new mayor. It's been a long while – going back to January 2008 – since that sentence has applied to the Town of La Conner. Now it does. Former planning commissioner Marna Hanneman, who has spent the past six months prepping to succeed retiring four-term mayor Ramon Hayes, transitioned into her new role at a Jan. 9 hybrid town council meeting at Maple Hall that ended with a half-hour executive session. Council members Annie Taylor and Mary Wohleb also took ceremonial oaths of office...
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...
How does one thank a person who has unstintingly given 16 years of his life to our community? Ramon Hayes has been La Conner’s mayor twenty four hours a day for every one of those years. Many of us have had the pleasure of chatting with him on his daily walks, often accompanied by his smiling, gregarious wife. A useful way of taking the pulse of the town person to person, he seemed to genuinely enjoy his walks. But the mayor’s day was often much more than glad-handing. He chaired 16 years of town council meetings, some being quite con...
December was frosty and frozen 4-Jan La Conner Community combats wave of saltwater flooding 4-Jan Flood damage cost estimate $1.8 million 11-Jan Council creates emergency management commission 1-Feb Center Street condos a go 15-Feb Marna Hanneman will be next La Conner Mayor 24-May Festival celebrates author Tom Robbins 6-Sep Earthquake rattles La Conner Sunday 11-Oct 29 newspaper contest awards for Weekly News 11-Oct Blessing the La Conner Swinomish Library 18-Oct Town's short-term rentals...
Four-term La Conner Mayor Ramon Hayes chaired his final town council meeting Dec. 12, but it was a business-as-usual session with no celebration or reception. Hayes wouldn’t have had it any other way. “It’s just not my personality,” he told the Weekly News afterward on his reluctance to see the meeting morph into a retirement party. “Once something is done, it’s over,” he explained. “And we had a very long, grueling agenda to work through.” There was, however, mention during the meeting – which included a 20-minute executive session o...
None of the 21 trees at the 2023 La Conner Swinomish Library's Festival of Tiny Trees stood over two feet high, but together they brought in some $10,000 at the library's seventh holiday silent auction fundraiser Friday, Dec. 1. The artificial trees, covered in treats and trinkets and with SWAG spreading around the base of each one, themed by the designers and decorators, was a grownups indoor winter wonderland piled high with generosity. The holiday and Northwest themes ranged from Silver...
Another holiday season has come to greater La Conner. Santa jump started December, showing up at the La Conner Swinomish Library to read stories to children last Wednesday. He returned twice Saturday, first fortifying himself with pancakes at the annual La Conner Rotary Club breakfast before taking kids on his lap there and again that evening when he one-two-three POOF lit the town tree in Gilkey Square. Shops are decorated for Christmas. Staff and customers alike are wearing holiday colored and themed sweaters. Saturday will be the most...
Holiday lights abound. As Ray Stevens said about Santa Claus, they’re everywhere! They’re everywhere! They’re all over La Conner’s homes, streetlight posts and various public spaces. The big Christmas tree in Gilkey Square dominates the north end of downtown. The tiny tree auction has come and gone at the La Conner Swinomish Library. Thousands of years ago, the tradition of holiday lighting started with simple oil or candle menorahs, which were (and still are) used by Jewish families to mark Hanukkah. In the 18th century, central Europea...
First Street parking issues were discussed in detail at the Nov. 28 Town Council meeting. But perhaps lost amid a one-hour presentation on potential future paid parking options for the downtown business district was a brief plea by Councilmember MaryLee Chamberlain to revisit the concept of one-way traffic on increasingly congested First Street. Chamberlain suggested that dealing with downtown traffic flow should be addressed “before we venture into parking.” “We need to have this discussion. We can look at all the pros and cons,” Chamber...
Location, location, location. It’s not just the familiar real estate mantra. It’s also a key element as La Conner’s Emergency Management Commission crafts long-term disaster preparation strategies. The six-member advisory panel discussed best methods to publicize the locations and primary functions of La Conner’s network of emergency shelters at its Nov. 28 hybrid meeting. A map listing La Conner’s various shelter locations, suggested by Councilmember Rick Dole, drew the greatest support. Dole, council liaison to the commission, offered h...
The 2024 annual budget the La Conner Town Council will pass at its Dec. 12 meeting will be the largest in its history. It projects revenues of $7.4 million, expenditures of $8.6 million and the fund balance growing to $5.9 million. The graph, above, shows continued growth in revenues council's continuing to commit more resources each year. The bars represent approved funding, except for the fund balance, which is an end of the year total. A graph tracking actual year ending revenues will show...
Santa is coming to town early this long holiday shopping season. He makes his first appearance today, Wednesday, Nov. 29, at the La Conner Swinomish Library to read stories to children from 4:30-5:30 p.m. On Saturday, Dec. 2 he is at the La Conner Rotary Club's Pancake Breakfast at Maple Hall, 8-11 a.m. After a breakfast that includes scrambled eggs and sausage, Santa is waiting on stage for dog friendly photo taking. Cost: $10, adults, $5 kids; free, under five. Your wallet will be needed as...
The La Conner Town Council has paved the way for smoother rides around town. The panel during one of several public hearings at its Nov. 14 hybrid meeting at Maple Hall unanimously approved formation of a transportation benefit district to generate revenue for maintenance of streets, sidewalks and crosswalks. The council, by state law, serves as commissioners of the district, which operates as a separate entity. The next move, said Town Administrator Scott Thomas, is to decide how the revenue will be raised. A one-tenth of one per cent...
La Conner's new flood barriers are staged and in place up and down the waterfront. But the work of the Town's six-member Emergency Management Commission has only just begun. The Nov. 11 power outage here that impacted residents, businesses and those attending the annual Art's Alive celebration underscored in real time that the mission of the local advisory board is to focus on all forms of emergencies. "The commission met an immediate need by addressing flood mitigation," said Rick Dole, town...
It is back to the drawing board for at least parts of the controversial 306 Center Street multi-family three-story project. Town of La Conner Planning Director Michael Davolio said several planned elements of the proposed apartment/condo building have been remanded to the project applicant for revision. “We’ve noted three or four things that aren’t consistent with the approved project and we have advised the applicant of these inconsistencies,” Davolio told the planning commission during their Nov. 6 hybrid meeting at Maple Hall. Davolio...
One was a true La Conner original, scion of a storied pioneer family, blessed with a bevy of talents – singing, strumming and storytelling among them. The other was born on the other side of the country, in industrial Pittsburgh, and built an amazing career in southern California before bringing his myriad creative skills and good cheer to La Conner. Both lived richly full lives, artists in their own way, each enjoying more than 90 trips around the sun before passing in recent weeks. Bruce McCor...
Help get all ballots counted quickly: Vote and return your ballot now Sign your ballot envelope Use a county dropbox Mail your ballot by Nov. 3 Election drop boxes nearby: La Conner Regional Library, 614 E. Morris Street Swinomish Indian Tribal Community: Social Services Building, 17337 Reservation Road Ballots must be in drop boxes by 8 p.m. Nov. 7. You can register to vote on election day. Voting information and register to vote at VoteWa.gov. Skagit County Elections: 360-416-1702...
Last week I talked about electric vehicle chargers in rural British Columbia. Charger availability there is still improving. Flo.com’s map shows that the charger in Woss, BC (population about 200), has been upgraded since Jenelle and I traveled there about a year ago. Woss now has a Level 3 (fast, 50 kilowatt) charger, with two Level 3 plugs. It’s about 40 miles from the nearest larger town, Port McNeill (population about 2,000). Port McNeill also has a public Level 3 charger. For ref...
This completes the two-part look at Ramon Hayes time as La Conner's mayor For 16 years while mayor of the Town of La Conner, Ramon Hayes has championed the successes teamwork has created, deflecting attention from himself. He did it again in August at the La Conner Rotary Club's annual dinner and auction. When the chapter presented the Paul Harris Fellow recognition to him, a $1,000 contribution to the national Rotary Foundation in Hayes' name, he recognized another accomplishment. He – t...
It has officially been one year since the library opened our doors to the community and so much has happened in that year. We have welcomed many returning and new patrons to the library. We have been able to host great programs, including author talks and music in our meeting room and fun crafts and movie nights for the kids and kids at heart. We are looking forward to even more offerings this fall and winter. Be sure to stop by the library to pick up our fall events calendar or check out our website for more details. We have several big events...
Voters living in the La Conner School District have one choice on their ballot in the school board race for the District 2 director. John Agen, elected to the District 1 position in 2019, has moved into the district. Janie Beasley, defeated in her 2019 reelection for that seat, is running again. No other local race is contested. Residents have to decide to vote their approval or not mark their ballots in these local elections: La Conner School District Alana Quintasket, District 1 Kim Pedroza, District 4 Town of La Conner Marna Hanneman, mayor...
Like loons calling across the water, like Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," the Swinomish Canoe Family hushed the crowd of 150 people as they sang and drummed a blessing prayer, the chorus meandering its way from the majestic totem outside into the La Conner Swinomish Library Saturday afternoon. The building felt just a little more hallowed. And crowded. Whew! There were a lot of people there. The pole, made from a 400-year old western red cedar, carved by Kevin Paul and assisted by his son-in-law...
Staff at the La Conner Weekly News continue to be recognized for their excellent work. They received 29 WNPA best newspaper awards at the annual Better Newspaper Contest of Washington’s community newspapers in Kennewick Oct. 7. News editor Bill Reynolds led with 10, including first for his “Rehabbed bald eagle released near McGlinn Island” in the animal features story category. Reynolds added five seconds and four thirds across categories ranging from an arts feature story on Maggie Wilder leading the repainting of the mural under the Rainbow B...
All of a sudden there are a slew of opportunities to be active civically – democratically – in the community. You do not have to live in La Conner to involve yourself. And the October activities end, appropriately, with our school children – indeed anyone with a costume, with or without a child – parading up First Street for the Halloween parade. Come on out for that, for sure. Activities extend into Nov. 7 election day. Because only one area resident chose to contest only one of the La Conner school board or Town of La Conner council seats,...