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The La Conner School District is making headlines this fall – in a good way. The strides its students have made improving math scores the last two years is the cover story in the current edition of the Washington State School Directors Association quarterly newsmagazine. President Susie Deyo announced at the close of the Sept. 23 board meeting that the district’s success implementing its new K-12 math curricula – along with several other supportive initiatives – is featured in the fall issue of Direct, the WSSDA publication. La Conner element...
These jays are often liked for their bright blue color, which is created by iridescent feathers. They also can be disliked for their noisiness in backyards. Sometimes there might be a reason for their loud screeches, because they warn others if there is a predator around, for instance, a hawk trying to get a small bird or mammal. They themselves are omnivores. While liking nuts and berries, they also eat nestlings and eggs. When feeding on bird feeders in yards, Steller's jays use their...
In recent years, districts are spending a lot more money to keep Washington’s schools running – but state funding isn’t keeping up. That’s according to a new report from the League of Education Voters, which found school districts have increased spending on staff by 19.7% between the 2019-20 and 2022-23 school years. “We’re using an outdated prototypical school funding model to try to take care of kids in 2024,” said one rural school district superintendent quoted in the report. “It’s like trying to use a geometry equation to solve a calculus...
The annual Swinomish Back-to-School Bash, held as summer draws to a close, was again a cut above similar events held elsewhere. That was true both literally and figuratively. The three-hour Aug. 14 gathering at John K. Bob Ball Park had something for all student groups – school supplies, T-shirts and hoodies, general and specific campus and classroom information, school district calendars, snack foods, sno-cones and more. And there were free haircuts, provided by students from the Mount V...
Four Northern California tribes are working together on a microgrid project to improve power reliability in their remote region. The project will help the Yurok, Hoopa and Karuk Tribes avoid frequent power outages by generating their own renewable energy. Heidi Moore-Guynup, from the Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe, said these tribes live along one of Pacific Gas & Electric's most unreliable power lines. "They are without power often," she said. "This could be because of a tree limb. This could be...
The Washington State Department of Health has closed recreational harvest for all shellfish species in most areas from Skagit Bay north to Padilla Bay, starting July 26 when they closed Similk Bay and Skagit Bay. On Aug. 8 Samish Bay, Guemes, Cypress, Sinclair. Vendovi, Hat and Saddlebag islands, Padilla Bay and West Fidalgo Island were added The Skagit County Health Department posted press releases announcing the closures, stating “due to recent samples of shellfish containing elevated levels of Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) toxins, t...
The first memory from the La Conner United Methodist Church memorial garden project isn’t what anyone had in mind. Town of La Conner staff last week requested that work by volunteers in the garden cease while an arborist reviews potential damage by a backhoe to the root system of a large Norwegian spruce tree. Neighbors voiced their fears that the tree’s health was compromised and now poses a threat to nearby properties and the historic church building at Second and Benton during the public comment segment of the Aug. 6 planning commission mee...
Cell phones have their place. But starting this fall the La Conner Schools campus won’t be one of them. District administrators have rolled out a plan for the new school year that creates a cell phone free zone, a policy approved two years ago. School board members endorsed the plan – designed to assure fewer classroom distractions and greater student focus on academics – during their hour-long Aug. 12 meeting in the adminstrative building. “We’re not changing policy,” Board President Susie Deyo stressed. “We passed the policy in October of ’2...
UPDATE, Thursday, Aug. 8 This afternoon the Skagit County Health Department posted a press release with these additional closures: "Due to recent samples of shellfish containing elevated levels of Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) toxins, the Washington State Department of Health (WA DOH) has closed recreational harvest for all shellfish species in the following areas: " Samish Bay, Guemes, Cypress, Sinclair. Vendovi, Hat and Saddlebag islands [and] Padilla Bay." Read the complete press release: https://www.skagitcounty.ne...
Seattle-area graduate students took a field trip to La Conner and the Swinomish Reservation last Wednesday and afterward gave the Swinomish Tribe high marks for its focus on environmental protection. Dubbed the Climate Impacts Group and led by University of Washington research scientist Rishi Sugla, the students met here with tribal leaders for a daylong tour that included a stop at the Swinomish Clam Garden, the first modern version in the country of an ancient form of aquaculture. The clam...
I would like to share some clarifying information about the closure of Little Braves Preschool in La Conner. Skagit/Islands Head Start (SIHS) partnered in quality preschool programming in La Conner for many years. We continue to believe it could be an important contribution to the community. It may have been unclear to the contributors writing the Weekly News this spring, but the funding model for the Little Braves preschool was never intended to rely solely on SIHS funding. SIHS agreed to provide a contracted amount to the district preschool f...
Dealing with loss is a universal challenge, but establishing a memorial garden can serve as a beautiful tribute to honor a loved one, offering a serene space for reflection and remembrance. There are no strict guidelines for creating such a garden. Whether it's on a small balcony or a spacious yard, the focus should be on capturing the essence of the individual being honored. Consider their interests, personality and favorite spots, perhaps incorporating elements they cherished or frequented....
One of the central themes of Pope Francis’ encyclical letter Laudato Si’, “On Care for our Common Home,” is Francis’ strong and repeated critique of anthropocentrism, or the tendency for us humans to not only prioritize our species over and against the rest of creation but also to promote a hubristic sense of our exceptionalism on this planet. The results of this misguided way of thinking, to borrow a phrase from the pope, have been devastating for the environment. We have put our own comfort, desire for wealth and distorted sense of dominion...
With wildfire season approaching, the Washington State Department of Ecology wants people to get #SmokeReady. This week its staff are posting on social media daily themes of identifying personal health risks, learning how to protect your indoor air and knowing where to find the most up-to-date information about the location and intensity of wildfire smoke. For June 12: Smoke and your health. June 13: Minimize exposure to smoke. June 14: Prevent smoke. View Ecology’s website, social media pages and the Washington Smoke Information blog – the...
Renewable energy is a key issue for state Senate hopeful Janet St. Clair, a two-term Island County commissioner with an extensive background in public education and social work. Renewable energy also defines her campaign style. St. Clair brought her energetic, bilingual approach to La Conner on June 3, meeting at the Civic Garden Club with local Democrats. State Rep. Debra Lekanoff, D-Bow, attended and offered a ringing endorsement of her candidacy for the 10th Legislative District seat. St....
The Town of La Conner seeks consultants to create a master plan, the first step for development of the 3-acre industrial area west and south of its S. Third Street parking lot below the town hall to Caledonia Street. It posted a request for qualifications May 22, with a June 18 submittal deadline. The RFQ timeline lists town council review and approval for July 23 and signing the contract July 25, eight weeks from now. The plan completion deadline is Dec. 31, 2024. Funding is from a $30,000 state of Washington Community Development Block Grant...
When national Head Start budget cuts announced earlier this year spelled the imminent demise of the Little Braves preschool program, La Conner Elementary School Principal Heather Fakkema reacted with sadness. But not panic. Fakkema was among those who first floated the idea of following up the Little Braves mission with a new educational concept – transitional kindergarten. Transitional kindergarten, which serves students who are at least 4 years old, has been implemented in Washington state and elsewhere to help eligible children prepare fo...
Thank you, Maggie, for your letter addressing concerns about Glyphosate / Roundup and the considerable and the enormous dangers to our environment. I would like to support that with some additional information. In 2016, Monsanto was taken to the World Court in the Hague and found guilty of health crimes against humanity and the environment, among other things. The suit was brought by over 1,000 international organizations including the Organic Consumers Association; Greenpeace; Buddhist Tribunal on Human Rights; Ecoworld of Scandinavia;...
Monday was the 54th anniversary of Earth Day, organized in 1970 as a teach-in on college campuses to emphasize the harm out-of-control pollution has on human health as well as the environment. In typical homo sapiens fashion, giant inflatable earth balls got tossed around, guitars were played and laughter and music filled the air. So, for 50 years the seriousness of human-fueled devastation danced with the joy of opening our eyes to the beauty and wonders of the natural world. “It is only a little planet / but how beautiful it is” the poet Rob...
Those foam clamshell containers long used by restaurants for takeout food will soon be illegal statewide in Washington. Coffee cups, plates, trays and other food and drink carriers made from the same material – known as expanded polystyrene – will also be outlawed. Single-use foam coolers, too. The prohibition on the sale and distribution of these products will take effect June 1 under a law the Legislature approved in 2021. “It’s a big deal,” Heather Trim, executive director of Zero Waste Washington said of the restrictions. “We have had, over...
La Conner Town Council members and residents attending the April 9 meeting heard the down news: March's sales tax revenues are 15% below 2023. Year to date, sales tax revenue is down 15%, $124,353, from $146,681. All tourist-driven tax revenues are lower and considerably below projections, as reported to the town council in March by the state's Department of Revenue. The $33,930 collected in sales tax was 15.6% below 2023. The $3,382 for the fire department tax was 13.8% below last year and the...
Earth Day is a global event that encourages people to act locally. And those activities don’t have to be limited to April 22, the 54th anniversary of the day universally recognized as the start of the modern environmental movement. The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community is a prime example. On April 25, Earth Day initiatives start at 8 a.m., including a plant project at John K. Bob Ball Park, fish net recycling by the web shed off Moorage Way, tidying up at the rain garden and a general clean-up at Swedebs Park. There will also be a noon potluck...
“The Langley Chamber of Commerce is supported through grants that are specific to tourism,” notes Nicole Whittington-Johnson, the Chamber’s executive director. Additionally, there is Langley Creates, a state-designated creative district, part of a Washington state program that helps communities turn their cultural and historical assets into economic growth, a non-profit created by the Langley Chamber of Commerce. Plus, there is the Langley Main Street Association championing the downtown’s economic revitalization and historic preservation. “The...
Earth Day is Monday, April 22. This is not an Earth Day editorial and not because the almost holiday atmosphere and platitudes reverently uttered by politicians and corporate heads have hijacked the original intent. It is the same with Mother’s Day, which started after the Civil War. In 1870 Julia Ward Howe called for a “Mother’s Day for Peace” dedicated to the celebration of peace and the eradication of war. Howe hoped mothers could prevent the cruelty of war and the waste of life since mothers alone bear and know the cost. That is from al...
Spill responders have completed the emergency response to the Dec. 10, 2023, gasoline spill from the Olympic Pipeline in Conway. The Unified Command leading the operation has ensured that no additional gasoline is seeping into nearby Hill Ditch, and is confident in turning the site over to the Washington Department of Ecology's Toxics Cleanup Program. That agency will oversee any remaining remediation work. The Unified Command includes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington...
