Local News for 9/01/21
Jefferson County August 2021 Case Numbers
The 175 additional cases in August are more than twice the number in any previous month (there were 82 in January 2021 and 79 in November 2020). In just one month, these 175 new cases account for 25 percent of all 695 cases recorded in Jefferson County. It is believed that the actual number is higher, but many people who use home testing kits do not report the results to the local health department.
Also note that nearly 100% of new cases in Washington and the U.S. are the Delta variant. Delta results in a higher number of cases requiring hospitalization and is significantly more contagious than all other variants to date.
Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety
(Airdate: August 30, 2021) Officer Bill Corrigan of the Port Townsend Police Department discusses with Attention Please! host Phil Andrus strategies for more safe cycling and walking about in our community.
Booklovers’ Cafe – Joe Gillard, Little Book of Lost Words
(First airdate: August 31, 2021) Joe Gillard, a history buff and founder of History Hustle, a digital publication, has fun with Cris talking about their favorite selections from his book The Little Book of Lost Words. Who doesn’t need to know about a word like Snollygoster, a dishonest politician or Snuggery, a cozy room perfect for reading and dreaming?
Local News for 8/31
Tribute to Dr. Dave
KPTZ has lost one of it’s longtime DJs, David Miller, host of the Monday afternoon 1960s rock and roll show, Drift away. David passed away on August 25. To us at KPTZ he was known as Dr. Dave. Dr. Dave played a 2-hour set every Monday, with an emphasis on The Beatles and other 60s artists, with some comedic records and Broadway musical tunes thrown in. Dr. Dave had a great radio voice, a big laugh, a dry wit, and a big heart. During his shows, Dave always included a heartfelt plug for his favorite charity, the Port Townsend Food Bank and its manager Shirley Moss, for the good work she does.
To some, Dr. Dave was known as Dr. David Miller, PhD. That title came with his Doctorate in Education, earned at Miami University of Ohio, not far from his family home near Dayton, Ohio. That led David to a 30-year career as a school superintendent for several public school districts in Northern and Southern California. He also shared his experience and expertise with countries in Africa and the Middle East by advising them on modernizing and improving their education systems.
Dave always told people that he was best known as “Vicky’s husband.” David also has a daughter Becky Sims and her husband Bryce who live in Houston, Texas and stepchildren Aaron & Chrissy Murphy, Andrea & Tim Lawton with grandsons Issac (6), Daniel (4) and Julian (2) as well as Matthew and Claudia Murphy and granddaughter Charlotte (18 mos).
On Monday, August 30 from 1-3pm, The Briceman’s Boxed Chocolates show was in memory of and dedicated to Brice’s friend, Dr. Dave. Click here to listen to the archived broadcast, which is available for streaming until Sept. 12, 2021.
Remembrances for Dr. Dave can be made as cash donations to the Port Townsend Food Bank. KPTZ, Dr. Dave’s radio home since 2013, is also accepting memorial donations in his honor.
We’ll miss you Dave!
Compass for 8/28/21
The Community Build Project has worked to construct tiny homes as a means of providing temporary housing for our local homeless population. Peter’s Village was the first incarnation of this project, with 12 tiny homes (or “wooden tents) on the grounds of Community United Methodist Church in Port Hadlock. If you drive down San Juan Avenue in Port Townsend, you’ll notice the next nearly completed construction phase of the Project: brightly-colored, secure shelters, located on the grounds of Evangelical Methodist Church. On July 31, we visited the Community Build Open House and spoke with builders, organizers, and organizations about their work, their plans and their dreams on behalf of our unsheltered neighbors.
Through Science to Health ~ 8/27/21
On today’s Through Science to Health, KPTZ’s Dick Keenan interviewed Kate Keenan, Retired Communicable Disease Investigator from San Diego County. They discussed the big picture, that the virus continues to pose a threat to our collective health 18 months after the first reported cases in our state.
The Delta variant is dramatically changing the face of the pandemic. It is more transmissible and infectious, affecting even those who have been fully vaccinated. Returning to masking when indoors, despite vaccination, is the best chance of reducing community spread. Our current case rate is the highest it’s ever been: 263 per 100,000 population.
Vaccination remains effective at preventing hospitalization and death, but slightly less effective at reducing infection, once exposed. Thus the new recommendation to provide an additional dose for those immunocompromised persons. This data comes from a country with high immunization rates – Israel – who decided that an additional dose would blunt fresh waves of hospitalizations in the face of the delta variant. The additional doses are not a new formula, but a repeat of the shots you originally received. Future vaccines may be reformulated according to the variants circulating.
Human behavior is the most complicated factor in maneuvering this pandemic. Although we have made remarkable progress with a safe and effective vaccine, medical treatments and sufficient masking supplies, there is also progress in a population response to the current threat of the Delta variant. As much as we want our old world back, many individuals, organizations and businesses are adopting the interventions we know stems the tide of more community spread such as masking, reducing traveling and monitoring ourselves for any sign of infection.
Pamela Roberts and Sheila Harwood Candlelight Concert on KPTZ
KPTZ partners with Trinity United Methodist’s Candlelight online Concerts to present a special concert on the radio. Pamela Roberts and Sheila Harwood are a classical cello and piano duo. Tune in to KPTZ Thursday August 26th from 7 to 8pm for this live event. More info and link to watch the live stream at Trinity United Methodist Church’s website.
The music for the concert will be mostly lighter, summery fare, including works by Couperin, Debussy, Ravel, Faure, Vaughn Williams, Copeland, Schumann, and a little Rachmaninoff for the romantics.
Pamela Roberts was faculty cellist at the University of Puget Sound. She performed as a soloist with the Seattle Symphony and Aspen Music Festival. As a chamber musician she worked with the Philadelphia String Quartet, Northwest Chamber Orchestra and Seattle Early Music Guild. Roberts was principal cellist of the Tacoma Symphony and 5th Avenue Theater Orchestra, and is currently principal cellist of the Port Townsend Symphony Orchestra. She studied cello with Eva Heinitz, Toby Saks, and Alan Harris. She lives in Quilcene with her husband, Howard Gilbert, a well-known orchestral and jazz drummer.
Sheila Harwood earned her degrees in piano performance at the University of Washington under Bela Siki, followed by advanced studies at London’s Royal Academy of Music. She began her teaching career at the University of Washington, and worked as pianist and teacher in the Greater Seattle area for over 25 years. During that time, she enabled countless students to earn scholarships to the colleges of their choice – many of them Ivy League – based heavily upon their piano skills and awards. Sheila lives on Marrowstone Island, and is currently the Music Coordinator for Quimper Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.
Local News for 8/26
