La Conner Weekly News - Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper

With March's arrival are a flurry of activities, not late winter snow but opportunities to join together in fun and games, literally, and, in one instance, to change, literally.

There are also very real storm clouds hanging over Shelter Bay.

The month's first joyous get together is the La Conner Rotary Clubs’ annual farmer and merchant dinner on the 6th in Maple Hall. All farmers and merchants get dinner and an evening of hearing from organizations of community plans and projects, ventures toward a more sustainable future.

The La Conner Chamber of Chamber's first contribution to this March madness of events starts with their annual ice cream social the 10th in Maple Hall at 6 p.m.. Go and get the scoop from and meet still-new Director Mark Hulst. He is emphasizing the critical component of a community's economic success: participation by the local residents. Your buying ice cream and auction items contributes toward that, making it real.

Everyone wanting to support the men and women who volunteer to ensure our safety as members of the La Conner Fire Department can come to Maple Hall with their dancing shoes and checkbooks the 18th for the La Conner Fire Association St. Patrick's Day Dance. Say yes to having a good time for a good cause.

Mark your calendars and get costumes out, first for your pets and then for yourself and your sleuthing partners. The Chamber's second annual pet parade is March 18. Dress up your pets and bring them to the La Conner Marina, then parade down to Gilkey Square.

Last year people and pets marched around the high school stadium track. Now, at Gilkey Square, there will be vendors, information and the chance to adopt pets.

Then, on March 25, you can dress up and prance around town with your sleuth partner to solve the murder mystery of “The Case of the Slain Slough Swindler.” Here is a chance to examine your hometown from a different perspective. Yes, life in La Conner can be mysterious, murderous and fun and games, all in one night. Join in and see – and solve it – for yourself. As they say, tickets are at lovelaconner.com.

Alas, the full, well rounded life is not all fun and games and not always a matter of saying yes. Sometimes no is the only response. We saw that last month with citizens' outrage and the number of comments sent to the county planning department in opposition to an application for a billboard at the Conway I-5 exit.

Across the channel, in Shelter Bay, the 1,800 residents have to decide to participate and then vote yes or no to continue with or recall Judy Kontos as a member of their board of directors. The leading vote getter in May board elections on a reform platform, she is now suspended on the board's vote after its ethics committee investigated her on charges, including “failure to support the decisions of the board of directors.”

The board she worked to reform is asking its residents to remove her from office.

Shelter Bay residents are invited to participate. Will they accept that invitation? Well they say yes or no to reforming their leadership?

They march into a future they make with the votes they cast.