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HEADS UP Kiwanis Annual Holiday Craft Show, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 7, Maple Hall, 104 Commercial St., La Conner. Christmas shop with locals. Ornaments, bags, stickers, jewelry, tablecloths, toys, cards, wall art, cookies and pies for sale. Come early for the Rotary Club Santa Breakfast and stop by the vendors on your way out. Town of La Conner public workshop on the use of the Commercial Transition Zone, aka the Moore Clark Area, 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 11, in Maple Hall, 104 Commercial St. Info: www.townoflaconner.org. LIBRARIES La...
In veterinary school, Dr. Amber Itle learned to "look for horses, not zebras" when examining an animal. She means "horses" are common, endemic diseases seen often in clinics, while "zebras" are one-offs, "the ones nobody is looking for." As in bird flu, aka, "highly pathogenic avian influenza" (HPAI). As Washington's State Veterinarian, Itle and her regional veterinary staff are working to keep this "zebra" away from domestic birds, cattle and people. The risk of HPAI transmissions increases in...
La Conner Schools has put its STEAM into student creativity and critical thinking. The district last Wednesday hosted STEAM Night, an interactive and fun event for families to solve puzzles, play games of chance, enjoy dessert treats and experience countless ways of applying classroom lessons to everyday life. STEAM is the acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math. Students and staff manned activity-oriented stations so engaging that two hours seemingly passed in the blink of...
Summary: Thirteen-year-old Mary Agnes Coyne, forced from her home in rural Ireland in 1886 after being accused of incest, endures a treacherous voyage across the vast Atlantic alone to an unknown life in America. From the tenements of New York to the rough alleys of Chicago, Mary Agnes suffers the bitter taste of prejudice for the crime of being poor and Irish. Digging deep within, Mary Agnes discovers strength and worth as she re-defines what it means to belong while grappling with the clash...
All elections in Skagit County and the state’s 10th Legislative District were long settled when the counties certified Nov. 5 election results yesterday, Nov. 26. State Sen. Ron Muzzall’s (R-Oak Harbor) was re-elected to the LD 10 Senate seat. His margin after Snohomish County election staff counted ballots Monday was 2%, 50.9% to 48.9%, and 1,798 votes ahead of Island County Commissioner Janet St. Clair He has led by increasingly large margins since the third day. This race had the highest voter turnout among the three LD 10 seats, 89,946 tot...
The Skagit Board of County Commissioners are drafting the 2025 county budget. Comments are sought ahead of plans to pass it at the commissioners meeting Dec. 9 at 11:30 a.m. A public hearing to consider the budget is Monday, Dec. 2, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. Written comment will be accepted through the close of the hearing. Emailed comments may be sent to commissioners@co.skagit.wa.us and mailed letters to 1800 Continental Place, Mount Vernon, WA 98273. For questions or additional information, contact the commissioners’ office: 360-416-1300, c...
Only 26 shopping days remain until Christmas. But another significant deadline looms even sooner. The Town of La Conner will hold its second public workshop on proposed revitalization of the four-acre former south end industrial zone on Dec. 11 at 6 p.m. at Maple Hall. That's just two weeks away. Draft concepts for the area will be presented. Planning Director Michael Davolio confirmed that a spokesperson for property owner Triton America, whose focus is aviation, has been invited to all...
Jerry George vowed for several months that a draft La Conner Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan would be completed by year's end. The town's Emergency Management Commission approved and sent the 36-page document to the town council at its Nov. 19 meeting. It includes a risk assessment for potential natural disasters and spells out emergency response procedures, operations and communications policies. Ironically, the hour-long session at Maple Hall was held just ahead of a bomb cyclone that...
HEADS UP Kiwanis Annual Holiday Craft Show, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 7, Maple Hall, 104 Commercial St., La Conner. Christmas shop with locals. Ornaments, bags, stickers, jewelry, tablecloths, toys, cards, wall art, cookies and pies for sale. Come early for the Rotary Club Santa Breakfast and stop by the vendors on your way out. Town of La Conner public workshop on the use of the Commercial Transition Zone, aka. the Moore Clark Area, 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 11, in Maple Hall, 104 Commercial St. Info: www.townoflaconner.org. LIBRARIES La...
The more things change, the more they stay the same – even for an iconic half-century-old La Conner business that will have new ownership in January. A downtown fixture since 1972 when it was launched by Jack Wilkins and Jim Reynolds, Nasty Jack's Antiques has carved out a unique niche in the Puget Sound region with its eclectic selection of gift and novelty items, vintage toys, collectibles, housewares, tin signs, decorations, political and sports memorabilia and much, much more. That won't c...
A favorite La Conner Thanksgiving tradition is on the menu once again. The Waterfront Café will provide its free community Thanksgiving meal from 12-3 p.m. As always, it is an opportunity to dine with friends, family and neighbors in a relaxed holiday atmosphere. Those facing financial challenges, are alone on Thanksgiving, or who simply want to celebrate the afternoon with Waterfront Café patrons and staff are invited. The cafe, located at 128 South First Street, will provide a turkey dinner w...
David Cram pulled down his share of rebounds as a La Conner High basketball player in the 1980s. But perhaps his most impressive rebound has come in the financial arena over the past 15 months. Cram, now the La Conner Schools financial chief and interim superintendent, has overseen a fiscal bounce back resulting in notification from Olympia this week that the district is released from state financial oversight. During the fiscal year Sept. 1, 2023-Aug. 31, 2024, the school system grew its...
Like parents or counselors for a 900-member family, Mayor Marna Hanneman, the La Conner Town Council and staff, primarily Town Administrator Scott Thomas and Finance Director Maria DeGoede, are wrestling with short, medium and long term funding needs as they advance the town’s 2025 $8.4 million draft budget. Hanneman reflected on the challenges of the past five years in her Nov. 12 budget message: the COVID-19 “pandemic, flooding, extreme weather events and the highest inflation in half a century.” Hanneman, Thomas and DeGoede discussed the p...
DAWN OF A NEW LA CONNER DAY – The sun will not shine brightly on the Rainbow Bridge at 7:46 a.m. for some time, as it did on Oct. 11, but any morning and any time one walks La Conner's boardwalk is a good time to be out. Every day we can pause and reflect on where we are and what possibilities are before us....
A favorite La Conner Thanksgiving tradition is on the menu once again. The Waterfront Cafe will provide its free community Thanksgiving meal from noon-3 p.m. Thanksgiving Day. As always, it's an opportunity to dine with friends, family and neighbors in a relaxed holiday atmosphere. Those facing financial challenges, are alone or who simply want to celebrate Thanksgiving with Waterfront Cafe patrons and staff are invited. The cafe, located at 128 S. First Street, will provide a turkey dinner with...
State Sen. Ron Muzzall’s (R-Oak Harbor) has won re-election to his state Legislative District 10 senate seat. His margin after Monday’s ballot count is 2.1%, 51% to 48.9%, and 1,871 votes against Island County Commissioner Janet St. Clair. He has led by increasingly large margins since the third day of tally reports after the Nov. 5 elections. The election offices in the three-county district estimate 1,800 ballots remained to be counted. Tuesday, Skagit County staff were counting from an estimated 1,600 and Snohomish County staff were cou...
Fire District 13 Chief Wood Weiss got the green light on Thursday to commit up to $700,000 toward purchase of a Pierce tender truck that would bolster an aging District 13 emergency response fleet. District commissioners authorized Weiss to pursue acquisition of a new tender shortly after approving a preliminary 2025 draft budget that projects a fund reserve exceeding $1 million. “That sounds like a lot of money, until you have to buy some equipment,” commission Chair Bruce Shellhamer cautioned when referring to the seven-figure bank bal...
The shorthanded La Conner Emergency Management Commission, which this year has juggled flood mitigation, neighborhood mapping and the crafting of a community disaster preparedness plan, received a much needed shot in the arm last week. Brianna Wilson, owner of Thrive Direct Health Care, was appointed by town council at its Nov. 12 Maple Hall meeting. A commission vacancy remains, said Mayor Marna Hanneman, who nominated Wilson. The Council unanimously approved Wilson, noting that her medical...
The Board of Skagit County Commissioners will hold a public hearing next week on the county’s comprehensive 2025-2030 Six-Year Transportation Improvement Program. The hearing will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, Nov. 25, in the Commissioners Hearing Room, 1800 Continental Place, Mount Vernon. It will give citizens an opportunity to comment on the plan. Copies of the 2025-2030 Six-Year Transportation Improvement Program are on file for public review in the Public Works Department and online at www.skagitcounty.net/Departments/Publ...
Free COVID-19 test kits are available from the federal government. Go to COVIDTests.gov for up to four kits per household. Shipping is also free. The Federal Trade Commission warns that any website asking for more information than names and shipping address is a scammer. Free test kits are also at the kiosk at the Swinomish Medical Clinic on Reservation Road. The expiration date for many kits has changed. Before discarding a kit because the expiration date has passed, go to the FDA’s website to see if its expiration date has been extended. T...
HEADS UP Kiwanis Annual Holiday Craft Show 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 7, Maple Hall, 104 Commercial St., La Conner. Christmas shop with locals. Ornaments, bags, stickers, jewelry, tablecloths, toys, cards, wall art, cookies and pies for sale. Come early for the Rotary Club Santa Breakfast and stop by the vendors on your way out. LIBRARIES La Conner Swinomish Library. 520 Morris St., La Conner. 360-466-3352. www.laconnerswinomishlibrary.org/events. Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays. 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays....
Last Thursday the MV Karl departed La Conner's Mavrik Marine shipyard, where it was built, and was barged to Anacortes' Dakota Creek Industries, where it will be placed in the water. After local sea trials, and with cooperative weather, it will sail to San Francisco by the end of the year. This third of four Mavrik-built ferries will join the Water Emergency Transportation Authority Bay Area passenger ferry fleet....
La Conner residents received an Ivy League education at Pioneer Park on Saturday. The volunteers, led by trained natural resources specialist Steve Phillips, spent a couple hours removing invasive English ivy from a patch below the town water tower. It marked the second such work party at the park this fall. Phillips envisions the ivy removal project continuing monthly through autumn and winter and in the years ahead, if possible. "We decided to do this now, because summers are so busy, and...
State Sen. Ron Muzzall’s (R-Oak Harbor) lead in state Legislative District 10 increased by 104 votes as Snohomish County election office staff worked Monday. His margin over Island County Commissioner Janet St. Clair is 2%, 51.3% to 49.3%, and 1,562 votes. Island County’s approximately 10,000 ballots being counted are all in LD 10. If St. Claire’s ratio of 54% to 46% in the counting holds, she will gain 800 votes. To win, she must win by 800 votes in the Skagit County LD 10 precincts. There are probably not enough votes in the pool of some...