Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper
Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper
Sorted by date Results 351 - 375 of 3028
There’s no such thing as a free lunch, even when grant monies are in hand. Town officials last week addressed the hidden and incidental costs linked to grant funding by adopting a new policy designed to assess which awards are most feasible to pursue and cost effective to administer. “Grants take an awful lot of time to apply for and to maintain when we get them,” Town Administrator Scott Thomas said. He told the town council at its May 28 meeting that he wants to develop a policy to determine which potential grant awards best fit La Conne...
The La Conner Parks Commission will dedicate, and Kevin Paul bless, the wonderful new pavilion at Conner Waterfront Park Friday June 14 at 2 p.m. It was built these last several months by staff of the town’s public works department. There are so many people, families, businesses and service clubs who helped fund this project and they will all be thanked. Mayor Marna Hanneman and Parks Commissioner Ollie Iversen will speak. See you there to dedicate this new building and thank you for being involved. Source: La Conner Parks C...
Olympia — The lack of affordable housing options has reached critical levels in communities throughout Washington, according to the recently released Affordable Housing Advisory Board five-year housing advisory plan. The AHAB report highlights the need for action, detailing that the state must add over 1 million new homes within the next 20 years to meet current need and accommodate population growth. The housing advisory plan emphasizes that nearly half of the new homes required in the coming decades must be affordable to households earning le...
Busy lives paused Monday as local residents took time to reflect on the past during annual Memorial Day services at two area cemeteries. Somber holiday programs drew large turnouts to the Pleasant Ridge and Swinomish Indian Tribal Community cemeteries despite cloudy and chilly conditions. Rev. Don Robinson and Anne Basye keynoted the one-hour gathering at Pleasant Ridge, site of the oldest cemetery in Skagit County and where the accomplishments and sacrifices of veterans, pioneers and Native Ame...
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...
The state's top educators want to learn why some Native American students struggle with literacy more than their peers, so they're traveling the state to hear from families. The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community gym was the second stop for Henry Strom, executive director of the Office of Native Education for the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, and his staff. They came from an information-gathering session in Yakima. Next, they'll talk to Native educators in Suquamish. About 50...
Being prepared is no longer exclusively a Boy Scout thing. It works for senior citizens as well. That's why the Swinomish Senior Center was the site of a three-hour community disaster preparedness training program last Friday. Tribal Community Emergency Management Coordinator Brian Geer and Swinomish EMC specialist Keri Cleary led the interactive session, which focused on how to prepare for a wide range of disaster scenarios. "A disaster is anything that overwhelms your immediate resources,"...
Caravan Gallery on First Street has long been known for its unique vibe. That likely won’t change anytime soon based on action taken last week by the Town Planning Commission. The downtown retail outlet, which enjoys a loyal customer base drawn to its one-of-a-kind collection of ethnic artifacts, statues of Buddha and other deities, glass artwork, colorful scarves and trend-setting clothing, has received commission approval to install a permanent 12-foot-by-10-foot wood gazebo in its outdoor courtyard, according to Town Assistant Planner A...
The monthly La Conner Rural Partial County Library District monthly board meeting Tuesday, May 21, proceeded pretty much like most small governmental district board meetings, from starting with approving the April meeting minutes to experiencing small glitches with new board management software used in the meeting. The April inancial report included the library’s receiving $113,139 from Skagit County, its property tax allocation for the first half of 2024. The assessment rate is 0.32% . Sarah Rabel, the library foundation director, was u...
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...
Strange as it may sound today, there was a time when having a parking problem in La Conner meant more cars were wanted on First Street to spur retail shopping – and when retail meant purchases for home use. It was also a period when home builders were being actively recruited to develop vacant lots to grow a town census that barely rose above 625 residents. The year was 1957. Dwight Eisenhower was in the White House. The space race was launched with Sputnik 1 orbiting the earth. The Fortran c...
Five-year old Drea Edwards-Gould hugged her Auntie Melinda tight as the Swinomish Fish and Game Enforcement boat pulled out of the docks and propelled in one of the four directions to make an offering to the sea for a safe fishing season – the annual Blessing of the Fleet and First Salmon Ceremony of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community. Sgt. Shaun Beasley navigated Skagit Bay at 24 knots with the precious cargo of a king salmon dressed in crab, clams, mussels, blackberries and blueberries o...
The La Conner Town Council last week chose to forego the path of least resistance when dealing with future downtown traffic flow and parking. Rather than table action and extend discussion of options for S. First Street, council members voted 4-0 during their May 14 meeting at Maple Hall to convert the historic and narrow route along the town’s popular waterfront to single lane one-way traffic with parking on both sides. Councilor Ivan Carlson was absent. Town Planner Michael Davolio suggested the change go into effect this fall, which would g...
A couple thousand artisans, luthiers, musicians and wood millers from as far away as Italy and Spain, landed here last weekend for the sixth annual La Conner Guitar Festival to see, listen to and play the handcrafted and carefully sourced guitars and mandolins. Most prices ranged from $8,000 to $26,000. "I make high-end rectangles!" said walnut-wood lover Felly Smith. His stack of walnut and red cedar, milled to the size of the neck and body shape of a guitar, begged for a luthier. Before...
He was raised and again resides on a diversified century-old farm north of town, but more than any single crop it's been goodwill that Dean Swanson has spent a lifetime cultivating. "I've been lucky to have grown up in a community that really cares," Swanson, 67, told the Weekly News. "I had all the support I ever needed. That's why I've always chosen to give back and (my wife) Becky, who's the rock of our family, is in on that with me." Because he mastered the concept of "paying it forward"...
Ferry #3 under construction by Mavrik Marine had a little sunshine on Thursday, May 16, when its superstructure was rolled from one Mavrik building to another. The hull has been under construction in the taller building while the superstructure has been built in the smaller one. During Thursday's move, the two parts of the vessel were placed side by side and "mated" when the superstructure was lifted onto the hull. Two high-speed, passenger-only, Mavrik-made ferries are already in service on th...
A Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist will look to maintain the chemistry enjoyed by the Town's Emergency Management Commission since its inception in 2023. Three-year town resident Jonah Keith was confirmed last week by the La Conner Town Council to fill a commission vacancy created by the death of Duane Carpenter, who had been the advisory panel's chief meteorologist. Keith brings to the board not only his extensive background in science and marine biology, but also the...
The 2023 lawsuit brought by then-resident Jan Henrie against the Shelter Bay Community’s board of directors executive committee may be considered by the Washington Court of Appeals. Skagit County Superior Court Judge Laura Riquelme granted the defendants motion to stay the proceedings before May 10 pending the outcome of the defendants’ request for a discretionary review by the appeals court. The judge agreed with the defense that the case involved “a controlling question of law as to which there is substantial ground for difference of opini...
The Shelter Bay Community voted to continue Wendy Poulton, Pat McGarry and Monte Hicks as members of its board of directors at its election and annual meeting Saturday, May 18. Poulton, with 307 votes, and Hicks, with 273, were reelected. McGarry, with 294, had been appointed in February. All will serve a three-year term that starts July 1. Julie Peddy came in fourth, with 170 votes. She fills the position of reserve director. The board has until July 17 to fill Jan Paul’s seat. She resigned in April. That term ends June 30, 2026. The c...
Come hear what the Mount Vernon High School debate team is thinking about our two party political system tomorrow, Thursday, May 23. The League of Women Voters of Skagit County organized the debate for its 2024 outreach series of voter education, part of their ongoing commitment to community engagement and understanding of key electoral issues. Guest judges are Claudia Avendano-Iberra, Skagit Valley College human services department chair, and Paul Neilsen, Skagit County: District Court judge. They will support the students by offering their...
Through June 6, Skagit County Public Works crews will grind out worn pavement and replace it with new asphalt on Best Road, between McLean and Chilberg roads. During the work, traffic will be reduced to one lane of alternating traffic....
When the La Conner Swinomish Library Board of Directors named Jean Markert the library’s director in 2022, it did so despite Markert’s lack of a library science degree and required state certification. La Conner is not alone in operating a library without a trained librarian. “Unfortunately, it is not unusual for rural libraries in Washington (and nationwide) to have library staff or library directors who are not certified librarians. Rural areas are notoriously challenged to recruit and retain certified librarians,” Washington Library A...
A state accountability audit of the La Conner Swinomish Library for the years 2020-2022 found serious faults in some of the district's practices and procedures. "District operations did not comply, in all material respects, with applicable state laws, regulations, or its own policies. Additionally, the District did not provide adequate controls over safeguarding of public resources in most of the areas we examined," the Washington State Auditor's Office summarized in its report. The Auditor's...
In the walk-up to Mother's Day, supporters met at John K. Bob Ball Park Friday to march in honor of missing and murdered indigenous women. Marchers from as far as British Columbia walked shoulder-to-shoulder through Swinomish Village, raising awareness to the disproportionate risk Native American, First Nations and Alaska Native women face when it comes to experiencing violence, murder or going missing. They make up a significant portion of North America's missing and murdered cases, a fact not...
A LIGHT SHOW LIKE NO OTHER – If you live on any side of Skagit Bay, this was the scene outside your door Friday night, May 10. If you walked down to Snee Oosh Beach, maybe you took photos similar to this one. The aurora borealis made the sky glow and shine like no other night. – Photo by Ryan Hiller...