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La Conner Schools officials said a week ago Monday they are preparing for possible major funding shortfalls due to projected decreased revenue from district funding sources adversely impacted by the statewide coronavirus shutdown this spring. The excitement over La Conner entering Phase 2 of the state’s COVID-19 Safe Start plan was quelled by grim forecasts of what the next phase of local school funding might look like. The district is bracing for potential moderate to significant budget hits, Superintendent Dr. Whitney Meissner and school b...
The 126th annual La Conner High graduation ceremonies were truly the first of their kind. With the COVID-19 pandemic having nixed traditional indoor commencement exercises marked by large crowds, celebratory music, tossed mortar boards and release of balloons and confetti, the school’s Class of 2020 still wasn’t denied fanfare. La Conner High seniors were honored Thursday evening with a drive-thru graduation event outside Landy James Gym followed by a car parade through town led by fir...
Modify and adjust. It’s a common mantra in education and one the La Conner School District has tapped often while developing its graduation format amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The newest – and final – high school graduation plan allows the most people to hop along for what has been a wild ride navigating the uncertainties of the virus crisis. After first opting for virtual commencement exercises, school officials and senior class members have decided to instead hold a drive-thru graduation ceremony tomorrow (June 11) at 5 p.m. in the...
Through the years Janie Beasley has been lauded locally for having shown an enduring spirit while working on the Swinomish Reservation, in Skagit County and at La Conner Schools. Now that enduring spirit is being recognized by the Seattle-based Native Action Network. Beasley, a former longtime La Conner School Board member, is among four recipients of the organization’s 2020 Enduring Spirit Award. Becky Bendixen (Unangax), Renee Swan-Waite (Lummi), and Sondra Segundo (Haida/Katzie) have also been selected for the honor. “The Enduring Spi...
The coronavirus pandemic has created a climate of uncertainty, but La Conner High seniors still have firm plans about what they will do beyond the summer. As in years past, the school’s next crop of graduates will pursue dreams taking them to diverse and in some cases distant destinations. All this despite the virus crisis that has left schools closed since March. “Our Class of 2020 remains optimistic in spite of COVID-19,” La Conner Middle and High School Counselor Lori Buher told the Weekly News last week. Buher said 32 students are earni...
La Conner High seniors and their parents have fretted for weeks that there may be no graduation ceremonies this year due to the coronavirus. Now there may be two. La Conner Superintendent Dr. Whitney Meissner raised that possibility during a briskly paced one-hour video-conferenced school board meeting last week and later in remarks to the Weekly News. She said plans are in the works to broadcast a “virtual” graduation in June and hold a scaled-down in-person commencement later in the sum...
It hasn’t been the best of springs for seniors at La Conner High and other campuses around the country. The coronavirus has wreaked havoc with sports, prom and commencement exercises. But La Conner Schools has come up with a clever way to honor its Class of 2020 graduates. La Conner Middle and High School Assistant Principal Kathy Herrera went on-line last week to introduce the district’s “Celebrate the Seniors” project, scheduled through June 12, which was the date originally chosen for graduation ceremonies here. For “Celebrate the Seniors,...
The coronavirus nixed her senior year track meets, but Morgan Herrera had already shown University of Washington throwing coach Andrew Ninow enough for him to invite the La Conner High standout to the Montlake campus. Herrera will join the UW track program, once the COVID-19 crisis has passed, as a preferred walk-on to compete in the shot put and hammer throw. As a preferred walk-on, Herrera is guaranteed a spot on the Husky roster. “I had my sights set on the UW for a few weeks,” Herrera tol...
There was no question Justine Benson was one of the best players at the 2B Girls Hardwood Classic in Spokane last month. Nor was there any doubt in the minds of Associated Press sportswriters that the La Conner High standout was among the top hoop talents statewide through the entire 2019-20 season. The AP writers recently named the 5’-8” senior guard-forward to the first unit 2B Girls’ All-State Basketball Team. It is the latest in a slew of awards garnered by Benson, the all-time Lady Braves...
The sands of time have been kind to Cora Kellerman. A trained electrical engineer, the 29-year-old former La Conner High and Eastern Washington University volleyball standout now plugs into office hours on southern California beaches. Kellerman, who helped lead La Conner to State net titles in 2006 and 2007, is riding the popular wave of professional beach volleyball. Even for an accomplished player like Kellerman, who led EWU by averaging nearly three kills per set her senior year –...
The La Conner High girls’ soccer team left nothing to chance in its meeting with Mount Vernon Christian last week. The Lady Braves, locked in a tight battle with Friday Harbor for the top spot in conference standings, blanked MVC 4-0 in a key road test Thursday. With the win, La Conner improved to 8-1 in the NW2B title race and kept pace with the Lady Wolverines, who also entered the week having won eight of nine league matches. This was La Conner’s second straight shutout win. On Oct. 12 they triumphed 5-0 against Concrete. For La Conner goa...
Matty Lagerwey is leading the way. The La Conner High junior middle blocker was named recipient of a Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) Athlete of the Week award for her play at the Mount Vernon Invitational Tournament and in recent NW2B matches. Lagerwey recorded 20 digs, 11 kills, and two aces in conference wins over Friday Harbor and Orcas Island. The numbers she posted against 2A and 3A foes at the Mount Vernon tourney were equally – if not, more –impressive still. She was 35 of 38 serving, with 10 aces,...
Youth will be served. But a senior’s serves led the way for the La Conner High volleyball team last week. Madison Wilson delivered 36-of-39 service attempts, recording 16 aces, to help lead the Lady Braves to straight-sets victories over conference foes Concrete and Mount Vernon Christian. La Conner defeated the Lady Lions 25-14, 25-11, 25-7. In that match Wilson went 17-of-18 from the stripe with seven aces. Her pinpoint serves proved infectious as teammate Joanie Benson was 20-of-21 at the line, 12 of which were aces. Benson also notched s...
A young La Conner High team knew it would need some luck to upset State-ranked Napavine in a non-conference grid clash at Whittaker Field. But the game was played on Friday the 13th. Enough said. The powerhouse Tigers, with highly touted quarterback Dawson Stanley at the helm, rolled to a convincing 48-6 victory on a chilly night during which Napavine was coldly efficient on both sides of the ball. Stanley completed eight of 15 tosses for 206 yards and two touchdowns, both before halftime. He...
Funny, the difference a week makes. After looking tentative in a lopsided non-league grid loss at 1A Coupeville in their season opener, the La Conner Braves posted a decisive 38-8 win over NW2B foe Darrington in their home debut Friday night. “Getting more physical was a top priority going into this game,” Braves head coach Peter Voorhees said afterward. “It was a big turnaround for us, and much needed. We had a great week of practice and it carried over.” On several levels. Senior fullbac...
What’s new is old, and what’s old is new. That pretty sums up the pre-season identity of the La Conner High football team as it prepares for what should be a more balanced NW2B title chase. The Braves, who have made six straight post-season appearances, dominated league play a year ago while compiling a 10-2 overall mark, losing only to the two top-ranked teams in the state, both by close margins. But now the La Conner program must reshuffle its roster to offset key departures. Most notable is All-State running back Budda Luna, the Skagit are...
While growing up in La Conner, John Agen had a passion for football. His son’s game plan was slightly different. It veered to futbol. Steven Agen began getting his kicks as a 12-year-old die-hard Seattle Sounders fan. Now, almost a decade later, he has established a strong foothold in the Pacific Northwest’s soccer media industry. Pretty impressive, no matter how you spell it. “He’s just a junior at the University of Washington,” says John, a polished pocket passer during his days at La Conner High, “and he’s already written a book and owns...
The Seattle Storm fell four points short in its WNBA matinee matchup with the Connecticut Sun at Seattle’s Key Arena last week. But the pro team’s young La Conner fans felt like winners afterward nonetheless. Two dozen local kids were treated to courtside seats at the marquee women’s hoop clash—the Sun, after all, sits atop the league’s Eastern Conference standings—as part of a special Swinomish Youth Center day trip. The La Conner area group, composed mostly of elementary and mid...
New Jersey’s governor got burned going to the beach. Not so La Conner sand volleyball duos. Nine local players had plenty of fun in the sun, competing at the annual Burlington Beach Bash Tournament last weekend, with La Conner entries claiming top honors in the event’s Gold and Silver divisions. The Gold standard was set by middle schoolers Ellie Marble and Rachel Cram, who topped a field composed primarily of high school players. Anna Jane Thulen and Maya Masonholder won the silver div...
Short-handed La Conner was able to strong-arm its share of foes at summer basketball camp in Soap Lake. A makeshift Braves lineup won five games while building team chemistry going forward during a week-long stay in Eastern Washington. La Conner was hobbled – both literally and figuratively – when Harley Hulbert re-aggravated a knee injury and Scottie Miller and Trey Casey were delayed in arriving due to a crab season opening. To further complicate matters, Miller, an inside scoring presence, saw limited court time due to a...
La Conner seventh grader, Delaney Cobbs, has been wrestling competitively for over 6 years. That’s half your life when you are only 12 years old. Delaney’s long list of athletic accomplishments in that six years is very impressive considering her age. Earlier this month, Delaney took 3rd place at the Women’s Nationals Tournament in Tyler, Texas. Delaney competed in the 137-pound weight class Freestyle division. This tournament is a US National Team qualifying tournament, which means all high...
The space race might be a thing of the past, but not Luna landings. La Conner High senior Budda Luna landed atop the leaderboard in three different jumping events at the 2B Bi-District track and field championships in Shoreline on Saturday. Luna mined gold in the boys’ high jump, 6’-0”, long jump, 21’-2”, and triple jump, 41’-9½, as the Braves eased to the Bi-District team title by a 143.5-66 margin over runner-up Friday Harbor. Seattle Lutheran placed third with 62.5 points. On the girls’ side, it was much the same story. La Conner was...
They say it’s tough to beat the same team three times in a season. That means the La Conner High Lady Braves hope four times is a definite impossibility. La Conner, losers of three straight games to Concrete – though once by a mere 6-5 margin – open District softball play at Stanwood Friday afternoon in a loser-out match opposite the Lady Lions. The winner between La Conner and Concrete at 3:30 p.m. will turn around and face the Friday Harbor-Orcas victor with a State Tournament b...
The La Conner High girls’ track team made fast work of the five-school NW2B/1B League Championships, while the runner-up Braves were outstanding in the field. As in field events. By sweeping almost all the meet’s field events, the La Conner boys clinched second place on the leaderboard. The Lady Braves, meanwhile, didn’t quite run away with the league crown. But their strong corps of sprinters helped La Conner edge Mount Vernon Christian 140-137 for the team title during trials held Wednesday at Whittaker Field. Mount Vernon Christian was the b...
The La Conner High track team stayed in the running at the Skagit County Championships last week in Anacortes. Well in the running, at that. While one of the smaller enrollment schools at Rice Field, La Conner High proved long on talent during the intense two-day event. Consider that La Conner sprinter Emma Lee, hurdler Sofie Thulen and jumper Matty Lagerwey were double gold medalists on the girls’ side of the County Meet, which saw the Lady Braves place a strong third in the team standings—ahead of Mount Vernon High, among others. T...