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Mayor Ramon Hayes called a special daylong meeting of the La Conner Town Council for Monday, July 24 for the purpose of holding a retreat with a discussion only agenda. The meeting will be held in person only. There will not be public comments or public participation. Council will meet at the Vaux Retreat Center in Bakerview Park, 3011 East Fir Street Mount Vernon, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Source: Town of La Conner...
Drip irrigation is a method of slowly delivering water to all types of plantings, from planters to gardens to greenhouses. In three not so difficult steps,you can design and build a drip irrigation system that places a precise amount of water where you need it, prevents overwatering, conserves water, saves money and keeps water off foliage, reducing disease such as powdery mildew. Drip irrigation eliminates hours of hand watering, can be fully automated with a timer and will reduce weeding...
Mount Vernon – The Skagit Valley Food Co-op is celebrating its 50th Anniversary with a Golden Jubilee on the Riverwalk! Golden Jubilee – a fancy way to say we’re celebrating our 50th Anniversary! And what better way to celebrate 50 years of cooperation than bringing together good people and good food for a really great time? The Co-op will be hosting a community celebration August 9th, from 4-8 p.m. on the Riverwalk. The Golden Jubilee will be a jolly good time with local food, drinks, live music, amazing prizes and family-friendly fun featu...
By Ken Stern This corrects the July 19 story headlined: “Solarize Skagit will power 129 homes.” That headline is incorrect. As the cooperative’s Vice President Mary Wohleb states in her letter on page 2 today: “A sign up’ means the homeowner filled out an on-line form. … A sign up is not a commitment to go solar.” Wohleb also clarifies she did not provide information about the 30% federal tax or that it is applied to the $2.81/wt negotiated rate, in paragraph four. This is the complete story, as corrected: The Skagit Valley Clean Energy Cooper...
The sale of the Portland Press Herald, and the rest of Masthead Maine’s newspapers to a national nonprofit puts to rest months of speculation about the papers’ fates. And it lines up with national trends that are seeing more media outlets get support from nonprofits. The pending July 31 sale of the papers to the National Trust for Local News was greeted with joy and relief from Masthead Maine CEO and Publisher Lisa DeSisto, who says it is the best possible outcome for the company. “I never could have imagined an outcome this incredible for M...
Folks are asking what's going on at the former COA Mexican Eatery at Maple and Washington. Town of La Conner officials are wondering as well. Unspecified renovations are under way at the building, which was transported to the site in the 1970s as the new Joe's Drive-In when that business outgrew its original venue at Maple and Talbott. The Town Planning Department wants to contact property owners Adrian and Ruth Ibarra to learn their intentions for the structure since it has been vacant and may...
The marina has been very busy. People love to visit La Conner! And it is not just boaters, although there is certainly a lot of them, but it is also the RV park. We have had several days this month where all spots in the park have been taken. This is really something for us, and our camp hosts have done a remarkable job of keeping up with changes and managing busy arrival and departure times. With the low tides of the summer we have had a multitude of questions about the depth of the channel....
Town of La Conner Emergency Management Commission 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, July 25 Walking tour of North First Street. Meet at Gilkey Square. In-person only. Agenda Minutes Public Comment (items not on the agenda) Old Business Temporary flood measures – develop consensus Conditions to implement temporary flood protections measures What level of flood protection? 100-year flood event (1%) 500-year flood event (0.2%) 1,000-year flood event? Flood height for Skagit River design Trigger(s) for a Skagit River Flood watch for La Conner Flood height for c...
Amber waves of grain are beautiful, until you can't sell them. Dave Hedlin's barley fields along Chilberg Road – labeled "Spring Malting Barley" on crop signs – will be ripe in about a week, along with several other fields tucked in around La Conner. Unfortunately, Hedlin's barley buyer, Skagit Valley Malting, closed abruptly on Friday, June 16. Hedlin grows about 100 acres of conventional barley and 100 acres of organic a year for Skagit Valley Malting, which turned locally grown barleys int...
This corrects the July 19 story headlined: “Solarize Skagit will power 129 homes.” The headline is incorrect. As the cooperative’s Vice President Mary Wohleb states in her letter below this article: “A 'sign up’ means the homeowner filled out an on-line form. … A sign up is not a commitment to go solar.” Wohleb also clarifies she did not provide information about the 30% federal tax or that it is applied to the $2.81/wt negotiated rate, in paragraph four. Her letter will be on page 2 of the...
With the last name Holmes, it was only natural that he entered law enforcement. And with interests in boating and basketball and a knack for building relationships, the La Conner detachment office seems an ideal assignment for veteran Skagit County Sheriff's Sgt. Brad Holmes. Holmes, who has worked nearly a quarter-century in a wide range of police services, has succeeded retired Sgt. Beau Montgomery as lead officer in La Conner. "I put in for La Conner a while ago," Holmes, who has an...
Finally, five new homes are complete and ready for move in at Channel Cove, at the south end of Park Street in south La Conner. Construction started last December on the one duplex and four single homes, but it has been four years since Home Trust of Skagit Executive Director Jodi Dean announced that funding had been assembled for the project. The two story homes, pre-sold to buyers qualified by Home Trust, are priced at $260,000, but appraised at $500,000, Dean wrote in an email. They are...
onner resident Linda Talman has crafted an enduring legacy through long service on the Town's planning commission, tireless advocacy of open government and access to public records and support for retention of local green spaces and creation of non-motorized transportation options. Now that legacy might also be linked to something not of her choosing. In an ironic twist, the infrastructure improvement plan submitted for the 19-unit condo building proposed for 306 Center Street that Talman has...
Good but not a record may become the new normal for 2023 Town of La Conner tourist tax revenues. The June sales tax revenues of $53,130 reported to town council by the state’s Department of Revenue are the third highest total for the month, but again below the record amounts of 2022 and 2021. The Special Use Fire Tax revenues drop tracked the sales tax pattern. At $5,297 it was well below 2022’s total but only $272 below 2021. Sales and fire tax monthly totals are over double 2020, the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, and 10% above 201...
Buying a house in Western Washington seems out of reach for many wage workers. Affording rent is a struggle for many as well. The state minimum wage is $15.74, but in Skagit County a two-bedroom apartment may cost $1,407, requiring an hourly wage of $27.06 to comfortably make that payment. That is the analysis in the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s annual report, which finds Washington is the fifth most expensive state in the nation for renters. A one-bedroom Skagit County apartment can be $1,111, requiring a “housing wage” of $21.3...
If you often drive over the Rainbow Bridge between La Conner and Shelter Bay, you are likely to have seen a man pushing a disabled tribal member in a wheelchair and they both seem to be very comfortable. Bob Grace has spent his life being a caregiver. In 2013 he connected with Francis Sylvester, whose mother is a member of the Swinomish Tribe. As bystanders, we witness one of the most positive challenges of Grace's caretaking responsibilities, pushing Sylvester across the bridge to La Conner, bu...
Home-grown talent Matika Wilbur has spent years traveling the country to exhibit her critically acclaimed photography and compile narratives for her ground-breaking book "Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America." But last Thursday afternoon her happy place was Gilkey Square in La Conner. Wilbur exchanged laughter and shared fond memories with a steady stream of local admirers, who included civic leaders, fellow artisans and retired teachers and school administrators, during an...
At the July Fourth parade, the townsfolk of La Conner greeted a tractor driven by Farmer Steve of Schuh Farms towing his trailer of loved ones down First Street during the annual celebration of America's independence. Seeing Schuh smiling to the crowd and the excitement of the event was a display of a heartwarming show of community. Among the locally owned businesses in the vibrant Skagit Valley, Schuh Farms stands as a familiar face in local events. Established in 1963 by the Skagit-based...
As has been the case for more than a century, history comes alive in La Conner this summer. The 119th annual Skagit County Pioneer Association Picnic and General Meeting will be 11 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 3, at Pioneer Park near the Rainbow Bridge. The time-honored event promises something for persons of all ages, especially those interested in Skagit County and its rich history. There will be live music on the grounds provided by John Anderson and Friends, historic photographs and biographical accounts displayed for this year’s Pioneer Family o...
At times shrouded in mystery after its closure in the early 1970s, Northern State Hospital and its unique history will be revisited during a July 29 public program at the former mental health facility's campus four miles northeast of Sedro-Woolley. The daylong event (10 a.m.-4 p.m.) invites those attending to share memories, scan photos, take self-guided tours and listen to stories and reminiscences of former employes and family members of Northern State. The program, billed as a "public history...
Given national and international news, you may be thinking that it would be great to build a self-sufficient cabin in remote northeastern Washington. My grandfather did that, about 120 years ago. However, my grandparents’ cabin wasn’t very comfortable by today’s standards. They had to collect firewood to cook. The outhouse was a few hundred feet away from the main house, so grandchildren were warned about bears prior to bedtime. One might think that was just grandparents having fun at their...
The Grant County Journal published its final edition June 29. Its front page was a reproduction of the Oct. 18, 1907 front page of the old Ephrata Journal. A story inside on page 2 told the story: “It’s like a death in the family,” said Managing Editor Randy Bracht. “With the people who read the newspaper, there’s a real sense of loss.” The closure made news across the state. Rufus Woods, publisher emeritas at the Wenatchee World, devoted his regular column to the closure. “I was saddened to hear that longtime publisher Jeff Fletcher had made t...
Recent research out of Oregon State University found micro plastics in some mega-fauna. Scientists estimated gray whales off the Oregon Coast ingest between 6.5 and 21 million micro particles per day, including micro plastics and fibers from clothing. To get to that number, they looked at the micro-particles in two things: the tiny zooplankton that whales eat and the whale’s poop. Susanne Brander is an associate professor at OSU. She said the effect of the toxins on whales isn’t known, but her research with fish and other organisms shows som...
The June 28 story, “Construction started on La Conner Heights homes” did not correctly name the company, BYK Construction, Inc., the contractor building for the development entity, Snapdragon Hills Estate, LLC, which owns the property. Construction started in October 2022....