Week of July 21st

Fire District and Town in toxic stink fight - Sandy Stokes

Town and fire district officials are feuding and fuming. Letters have been flying back and forth between the Town of La Conner and Fire District 13--but the town council and fire commissioners haven't even talked to each other. Now, according to the last missive from the fire district, there is no need for a meeting; the town--with its 325 taxpaying households and 100 small businesses--can just pony up several thousand dollars to buy out the fire district's half of the station they co-own.

Honda commercial fouls afternoon traffic - Alexander Kramer

A film crew recently caused a traffic jam for La Conner motorists on the Rainbow Bridge. Late Monday afternoon, traffic was slowed so that a crew from Lodestar Films, Inc. could film on the bridge. The crew was able to stage their equipment in Pioneer Park, adjacent to the bridge. According to film crew location manager Ken Coble, the crew was "producing running footage for Honda commercials for local dealerships. These were random shots, not a specific shot for one commercial." These types of shots are edited and spliced together in several different commercials.

Cool move - This is Will Davis demonstrating the summer art of boogie boarding on a Slip 'N Slide. The third-grader's family owns Queen of the Valley Inn  near La Conner.

[Photo by Kristen Morse]

Town eyes cuts to police service

The La Conner Town Council is schedule to consider a new contract for police services that would cut in half the number of officers assigned to the town to save money. Mayor Ramon Hayes said he's been negotiating with the Skagit County Sheriff's Office to provide 100 hours of dedicated service per week. The town wants to spend about $301,000 he said, and the county has proposed a price of $325,000 for the service. 

Softball champs - This is the South Skagit Little League All Star Team, which included five La Conner girls, Kahneesha Casey, Chloe Fullington, Matty Lagerway, Sarah McCormick and Ashley Watkins, with their Mount Vernon teammates, Kailey Hanger, Shay Kendrick, Annie McRoberts, Rosie McRoberts, Samantha Silver and Savannah Verdugo. Their coaches are Jeff McRoberts, Maury Kendrick and Jay Silver. The girls won the District 11 Championship and then went on to the state competition.

[Photo by Candace Charles]

Feeding the hungry here at home - Reverend George Lockwood

An effort is underway to continue the La Conner food bank that has been run informally, out of the home of Kevin Sunrise and his wife Amy Han for the last five years. A group of caring citizens has been meeting over the last month to gather information on how to take over the food bank and keep it running for our local residents. Kevin's food bank has served an average of about a dozen individuals and families each week, and the need continues. The clients are estimated to be about 50 percent Hispanic and 25 percent Native American, with the remaining composed of Euro-Americans and other ethnic groups, including elderly people, young families, and residents of the Shelter Bay community.

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