
Local News for 1/13/26



(Airdate: January 12, 2026) KPTZ’s Taylor Clark sat down with Debbi Steel to learn more about her rewarding experience volunteering at St. Vincent de Paul and helping out our neighbors. She was joined by Norm Tonina who is the VP of the local conference of St, Vincents. For more information about St. Vincent de Paul, including about volunteering you can call 360-379-1325, or go online to svdpejc.org,

(Airdate: January 9, 2026) KPTZ’s Taylor Clark and Jefferson County County Commissioner Heidi Eisenhower were joined by Joey Deese from Waste Connections, who is on the Transfer Station Task Force and the Solid Waste Advisory Committee (SWAC); as well as Al Cairns, the Jefferson County Solid Waste Manager. We talked about the planned relocation of the Transfer Station, which is about five years out and planning is underway now. There will be a special meeting of the Solid Waste Facilities Task Force & Board of County Commissioners Joint Meeting at the Tri-Area Community Center on January 26, 2026 at 6pm. where you can find out more.


(Airdate: January 7, 2026) Happy New Year, listeners! The hosts of Nature Now, Jackie Canterbury, Nan Evans, and Debaran Kelso, start the year by sharing their favorite books about natural history. The conversation roams from bees to wolves, research to poetry, and beautiful photographs to whimsical illustrations. Laugh with them, listen to the awe and amazement they share, and find a new favorite book to read.
Port Townsend’s high school campus, a nearly 100 year-old collection of wonderful brick buildings, sits at the top of the hill overlooking our town. Over the years these historic buildings continue to be held together and maintained by band-aid fixes. The time has come to examine the critical and overdue needs of a campus that should match the acclaimed status of its students and faculty. Here to tell us how this can be done, and how our community can invest their time and treasure in a bright future are Jennifer James Wilson, who served four terms on the Port Townsend School Board, having passed the baton to our second guest, Amanda Grace, recently elected as the Port Townsend School District At-Large Director.


(Airdate: January 6, 2026) Maryanne interviews Sam Harper, construction boss for the new Hadlock Sewer System. It’s literally taken decades to get a sewer system underway in the tri-area (Hadlock, Chimacum & Irondale). As 2026 gets underway, the first couple of dozen businesses and residences are finally free from their septic systems. The waste water treatment plant was constructed first. But you need “waste” to run through the plant before you can even begin to hook people up. So the city of PT graciously provided truckloads of untreated waste. Sam (aka Samantha) explains that it’s sort of like starter for sourdough bread. She says fourth graders really get the concept of the big “farts” — gases being expelled in the process. The underlying economics of the peninsula will be changed dramatically with the new sewer system and the changes in zoning it will allow.
