KPTZ 91.9 FM Radio Port Townsend

County Public Health Report ~ 6/14

The following is a summary of the presentation made by Dr. Tom Locke, our local Public Health Officer and Willie Bence, Director, DEM, Jefferson County, during the Public Health briefings at this week’s Board of County Commissioners meeting. The summary was provided by and used with the permission of Jefferson County Government.

County Health Officer Dr. Tom Locke said Jefferson County has 18 new COVID-19 cases this month: during the first week of June we had four cases; in the second week we had 14 cases; eight of them were over this past weekend. They are occurring in clusters of unvaccinated people. He reported that there were three hospitalizations: one was transferred out, one was discharged, and one is in the hospital as of today.

“There’s still plenty of COVID around that you can be exposed to … it’s mostly what is now known as the Alpha variant – the UK variant – which is considerably more infectious,” explained Locke. “If you’re exposed to it, you’re more likely to get it. And I think that risk is going to increase as Washington State moves away from its COVID restrictions, as there are more people in indoor spaces and not wearing masks. If you’re unvaccinated your risk will go up.” Dr. Locke reported that testing is becoming more available and home test kits are popular.

“We’re trying to change from this kind of emergency response mode that we’ve been in, into something that’s a lot more sustainable, long-term, and accessible to people,” Locke said. “The only place you can get tested is to come to Port Townsend.“ He said testing should be available everywhere around the county, through the use of the rapid testing technologies in clinics. Washington state has received hundreds of millions of dollars to support testing in schools. “That’s going to be a key way that we can bring schools back to full in person – testing and controlling transmission,” Locke said.

Another option is home testing using the BinaxNOW COVID-19 self test which is readily available, costs about $20 for two tests, and can be found online.

Director of Emergency Management WIllie Bence said on Wednesday, June 23 from 9:30am to 2pm, a pop-up clinic will be held at the Trial-Area Food Bank in Chimacum with both the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. You don’t need to be receiving Food Bank services to receive a vaccination. Call 360-344-9791 for an appointment, however walk-ins are welcome.

YEA Music Camps at Fort Worden

(Airdate: June 14, 2021) Larry Stein interviews Daniel Ferland, Music Director of PT HIgh School, about another local music venture he is establishing. YEA Music is a series of 5-day summer camps at the end of June, July, and August. Camps will offer music instruction for students entering 5th to 12th grades. No previous music experience is necessary. Camps will be held at Fort Worden. These camps are inspired by the very successful El Sistema program that started in Venezuela, and has spread around the world.

Compass for 6/12/21

We talk about a problem that many of us have been experiencing lately … yet few of us know why we have it, how we got it, or what we can do about it. The problem is called cognitive impairment, and a local doctor has some insights and suggestions for us.

Community Tides ~ 6/11

On this edition of Community Tides, KPTZ host Chris Bricker and Siobhan Canty, President and CEO of Jefferson Community Foundation, have a conversation with Hilary Canty, Executive Director of the Orcas Island Community Foundation (OICF). She not only happens to be Siobhan’s sister, but Hilary and her staff are a big part of making things happen on Orcas Island. We compare and contrast our two Foundations, and we find out more about the Island and who lives there, the trends of people coming and going, and specifically about the housing and sheltering situation on Orcas. We discuss some of OICF’s successes in that regard – in particular, a housing solution in the works on Orcas that is worth considerable discussion here in our Jefferson County communities.

Brewocracy Now with John Mauro ~ 6/10

Today City Manager John Mauro and KPTZ’s Tim Quackenbush spoke with Jake Beattie, Executive Director of the Northwest Maritime Center at the end of the WA360 race. They also shared thoughts about emergency housing after John Mauro’s visit to the construction site. Mr. Mauro was questioned regarding the City participating in tentative homeless relocation from Fairgrounds. And they fielded questions regarding plans to develop spaces for youth recreation and interaction.

Local News for 6/10

June 10, 2021: Local News – Joints for Jabs; Five White Sculptures. (TRANSCRIPT)

Kilisut Harbor Project

(First airdate: June 9, 2021) This week’s Coastal Cafe is a tribal perspective on the Kilisut Harbor restoration project which was the replacement of a restrictive causeway with a bridge between Indian and Marrowstone islands – an area of historic importance to both Jamestown and Port Gamble S’Klallam tribes. Speaking with tribal members Hans Daubenberger and Randy Johnson as well as Rebecca Benjamin of the North Olympic Salmon Coalition, we learn about the project’s impacts from both tribal and personal perspectives from key people involved with the project.

Nature Now #519
Ecological Benefits of Community Forests

(Airdate: June 9, 2021) Erik Kingfisher and Carrie Clendaniel from the Jefferson Land Trust join Nature Now host Nan Evans at Valley View Forest south of Chimacum to talk about the ecological health of forests, optimizing ecological and human benefits from a “community forest’, and recent activities at Valley View.