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No building permit has yet been issued, but excavation began at the 306 Center Street condominium project site last week to find the water table on the property so that paperwork could be completed for removal of contaminated soil. Following that initial dig, a soil removal plan was drafted and submitted, according to Town of La Conner Assistant Planner Ajah Eills. Public Work Director Brian Lease approved the plan and soil removal commenced, Eills said. That work was completed and by early Friday afternoon all equipment had left the site. The...
Local grocery shoppers pause and compare prices. They add up the rising costs of food and wonder how they will afford their next meal. This is how Arin Magill, director of the La Conner Sunrise Food Bank, defines food insecurity: concern about where the next meal will come from. The number of people feeling food insecure is growing locally. Magill reported the food bank’s clientele has increased 15% in the last two months. Statistics gathered by Skagit County Public Health for its “Food Security Data Report” issued in August indicate 11% of co...
In the latest step in the process of reviewing and perhaps changing county code around agritourism, the Skagit County Planning Commissioners voted 5 to 2 to recommend that Skagit County Commissioners adopt the changes to Skagit County code proposed by the county's Agricultural Advisory Board. The Ag Advisory Board proposes regulating agritourism events as temporary events – and reducing the number of permitted temporary events a venue may host from 24 to 12 a year. It also recommends r...
Don’t let December’s rain, gray skies or fields of standing water distract you into thinking it has rained a lot. November maintained 2023’s pattern of rainfall below the monthly century’s norms. While precipitation came down 22 days, half of those were under one-tenth inch. It rained daily the first two weeks, Nov. 1-13, totaling 2.5 inches, 78% of the month’s 3.2 inches. Nov. 1-4 1.2 inches fell, which grew to 1.4 inches through Nov 8. That was the longest period of higher precipitation. Another inch fell Nov. 11-13. While there were anot...
Holiday Closures Christmas Monday, Dec.25 Closed: Everything Bank: Closed Buses: No service Library: Closed Post Office: Closed Schools: Till Jan 3 Town Hall: Dec 22-26 County government: Closed Trash Pick Up: None Weekly News: Closed And God bless us, everyone...
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...
It’s been said that an ill wind blows no good. In the case of the Skagit County Fire District 13 coverage area, which entails Swinomish Reservation and rural La Conner, a facsimile windstorm at the end of March is designed to do plenty good. Planning has started for a March 30 Emergency Operations Center Windstorm Disaster Exercise and unified command strategy. Captains Gary Ladd and Ted Taylor and Brad Reading of Shelter Bay summarized the training at the December commissioners hybrid meeting at the Snee-Oosh Road station last Thursday. ...
It’s often said that to everything there is a season. For La Conner’s emergency management commission, that means development of a comprehensive guide addressing all disaster scenarios. “We’ve been working on flooding issues hot and heavy for quite a while,” Town Administrator Scott Thomas said at the the commission’s Dec. 12 hybrid meeting. Now we need to develop a process and procedure for our (emergency management) plan.” Identifying groups within the community that will need extra assistancen is key. “How do we accommodate persons with di...
From mid-August through early November, daylight in the Pacific Northwest decreases by about three minutes per day. When the winter solstice arrives on Dec. 21 there is only 8.5 hours of daylight. This is an excellent time to start an indoor growing stand project. Find a suitable location Gardeners naturally want to place their grow stand near a window. However, with good artificial lighting, you can use a dark corner, unused room or counter, shower stall or heated basement. The size needs to match your growing goals. Once you decide on the...
OLYMPIA —Begin the new year with Washington State Parks during their annual First Day Hikes Jan. 1, 2024. Over 20 of the more than 40 state parks participating are in northwest Washington. Choose between staff-led and self-guided hikes, snowshoe excursions, dog walks, bike and trail rides, paddle adventures and more. The northwest parks range from Larrabee, Rockport and Deception Pass close by to Fort Casey, Fort Ebey and South Whidbey on Whidbey Island to Camano Island State Park Events will range in difficulty from paved, flat A...
The 2023 Town of La Conner budget has met its $5.8 million revenue goal with December not yet counted. Even better, expenditures, now at $4.55 million, are likely to finish below 67% of projections. The budget surplus is $1.23 million and may still grow. Of the 12 program funds generating revenue, only the sewer fund, at 85% is below 100% of budget projections with one month still to come. The $3.58 million generated this year from the water, drainage, sewer and compost funds is the real engine of town income, bringing in 62% of total revenue....
CONWAY — Some 7,000 gallons of gasoline have been recovered through Dec. 18 from the leak in the Olympic Pipeline in Conway Dec. 10. Approximately 25,000 gallons were released before the pipeline was shut down. Trace impacts from the spill have been found on one-third of a mile of shoreline of 4.4 miles examined. Response teams have placed 2,300 feet of boom north of the Fisher Slough Preserve area and lining both sides of the bank of Hill Ditch on both sides of the SR 534 bridge. Nine Hill Ditch landowners have responded for having their w...
Additional information from Dec. 13: The approximately 25,326 gallons of gasoline that spilled from the Olympic Pipeline in Conway early on Dec. 10 was “due to the failure of 3/8 inch tubing leading from the main pipeline to a pressure gauge within the vault” the unified command of agencies and companies reported Dec. 12 after the Weekly News had gone to press. Some 6,993 gallons were recovered through Wednesday evening, the fourth press update states. It reports 5,292 gallons of gasoline remained in the vault and the remainder was released int...
It didn't just rain on the Swinomish Yacht Club's Lighted Christmas Boat Parade Saturday night. It rained hard after a gray day of steady rain. But that hardly dampened enthusiasm for what has become a beloved La Conner holiday season event. Downtown restaurants were filled with diners at tables with waterfront views. Folks wearing heavy coats and raingear and carrying umbrellas and glow-in-the-dark balloons on lighted poles made their way to the popular Swinomish Channel boardwalk, eager to...
The Bellingham Herald will reduce its print editions to two days weekly, Wednesdays and Sundays, starting Jan. 29. This is “the latest cutback stretching the definition of ‘daily newspaper,’ Brier Dudley wrote in his Seattle Times column “Save the Free Press” Dec. 7. He “put ‘Sunday’ in quotation marks because that edition won’t arrive on Sunday” because it will be mailed Saturday and “could be a Monday edition, if the mail is slow.” New Herald Senior Editor Scot Heisel called it a key move “within the digital transition of the news in...
It’s never too early to focus on the past. That was the credo embraced by new Skagit County Pioneer Association President Loren Dahl, who last week received confirmation that the Wesen family, which operates a centennial dairy farm in the Bow-Edison area, has accepted its nomination as 2024 Pioneer Family of the Year. The Wesens will be formally honored during ceremonies at the annual Pioneer Picnic in La Conner next August. “It’s great to have this early,” said Dahl, whose next mission, with the association’s board of directors, is to choose...
It’s often said that crime doesn’t take a holiday. Nor did Washington state politics back in 1883. It was while Whatcom County lawmakers had gone home for the Thanksgiving holiday that Territorial Governor William A. Newell signed a bill lopping off Whatcom’s lower half and designating it as the new Skagit County. The bold action came just prior to Thanksgiving Day, which in 1883 was officially designated on Nov. 29 – the final Thursday of the month – by President Chester A. Arthur. The president’s proclamation had been issued after the T...
Seeing might be believing, but it’s collecting data that’s confirming. That’s the approach longtime resident and former planning commissioner Linda Talman is recommending officials take regarding remedies to La Conner’s downtown parking. A week after Town officials heard a presentation on mobile paid parking systems, Talman suggested to the planning commissioners that more information should be gathered before committing to a new First Street parking scheme. “We don’t have the data that we need,” Talman said at the planning commission’s...
During his appearance before the Leadership Skagit class recently, Swinomish Tribal Senate Chair Steve Edwards cited environmental protection and dealing with climate change as key priorities for his administration. Federal lawmakers, most notably U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), apparently heard Edwards as well. Murray, who met with Edwards and other tribal leaders earlier this year at the Thousand Trails RV Resort at Lone Tree Point on Skagit Bay, announced last week over $6 million in grants for infrastructure projects to improve climate...
Cape Horn in central Skagit County seemed to fare worst of 10 communities from Marblemount to Day Creek that could be most affected from last week’s Skagit River flooding. The Skagit River’s crests Dec. 5 and 6 were lower than forecast. The Mount Vernon peak was 29.5 feet at 1:45 p.m., below the 35.5 feet forecast. Stage 1 flood phase is 28-32 feet. The river peaked at 33.8 feet 7:45 p.m. Dec. 5 in Concrete, below the 38 feet prediction. Precipitation at the Burlington airport was 0.8 inches Dec. 3-6, below the up to 2.7 inch for...
There was a time when La Conner’s parking problem was inverted to its present situation. When downtown Mount Vernon was lined with clunky parking meters, La Conner had little need for either a paid or timed parking system on First Street. Many storefronts here were boarded up – some year-round– before La Conner morphed into its present state as a popular destination. Change has been the defining feature over the course of 50 years. Now, with seemingly every parking space in the town’s business district contested during peak tourist season,...
La Conner's favorite tourist had a unique solution for the town's vexing parking problem during his visit here last Saturday. World renowned toymaker Santa Claus parked his large sleigh and reindeer atop Maple Hall, managing to avoid damage to the building's solar panels, while greeting local children downstairs and recording their carefully crafted Christmas wish lists. The jolly white-whiskered global goodwill ambassador was the featured guest at the La Conner Rotary Club's annual Pancake...
From Skagit County government: Flood Update: Skagit River has crested and is receding At 1:43 p.m. the County sent this news update: "The Skagit River in Concrete and Mount Vernon have both crested and are now receding. The Skagit River in Concrete is currently below flood stage and continues to recede. In Mount Vernon, the Skagit River has remained below 30 feet. " The Skagit County Emergency Operations Center has been deactivated. The U.S. National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for...
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...