Our Town

(First airdate: January 28, 2020) LISTENING TO THE BEAT AT RAINSHADOW. Our Town host Maryanne McNellis interviews Everett Moran, founder of Rainshadow Recordings. Everett is from Texas and his family is in the oil business. One of his grandfather’s wells is still producing after 83 years. But music is in Everett’s blood. As a young man he toured the country with acts such as Kenny Loggins. The “kid” loved being on the bus with the band, setting up and tearing down sets. and waking up in a different city. But he ended up back in Oklahoma, in management at the family’s oil company for many years. Although he always played in a band outside of his work in the oil business, it was a divorce and a new love that convinced him to return to the world of sound. He leases space at Fort Worden for Rainshadow Recordings. Although the studio is relatively new, he hopes to make it a ‘destination studio’ for groups outside of the area.

(First airdate: January 14, 2020) MOST TEENAGERS ARE NOT DEADBEATS. Our Town Host Maryanne McNellis interviews Carrie Ehrhardt, the long-time principal of Port Townsend High School. Carrie is a passionate advocate for teenagers. According to her, the high school attempts to address all of a student’s needs. There are high school students today who are homeless or face substance abuse (both individually or with family members). She makes weekly runs to the Food Bank to help feed hungry students. Carrie and her team care about the mental and physical needs of the students – as well as providing an academically challenging program. High school is perhaps quite a lot different from when you were a student!

(First airdate: December 31, 2019) MONICA MICKHAGER: READY TO TAKE ON PORT TOWNSEND. Our Town host Maryanne McNellis interviews Monica Mickhager, a new member of the Port Townsend City Council. Her election was something of an upset. She defeated a long-time council member and the town mayor. But that doesn’t mean she will be the new mayor. In our system the seven-member city council actually elects the mayor from among its ranks. Monica is a long time community activist, having served both on the Planning Commission and the Park & Recreation Commission. Part of her platform was city maintenance, which has been long deferred. Still, the upcoming budget has already been set. It remains to be seen how many of her ideas can become reality. She promises to return to the show in a few months to update us.

(First airdate: December 3, 2019) HERDING CATS ON MULTIPLE STAGES. Our Town host Maryanne McNellis interviews Kelly Doran, Centrum’s Technical Director. Kelly’s work is largely behind the scenes. But she’s the one who carefully knits together all the elements of a show –  lighting, sound, staging, and a million other details. It’s a constant blur: she orchestrates jazz, classical, blues, fiddle tunes and all of the other events that make Centrum a key cultural magnet on the Olympic Peninsula. Centrum’s season is mainly in the summer. So this winter Kelly took on the challenge of directing Port Townsend High School’s rendition of the classic play Our Town. Sound  familiar? Both the play and this show are called Our Town and both feature small American towns. The similarities end there but strong characters dominate both.

(First airdate: November 19, 2019) CHEF TALKS TASTY TURKEY. Our Town Host Maryanne McNellis interviews Daniel Knudson, well known regional chef & Retail Manager for Key City Fish. Daniel came to Port Townsend in the 1970s and somehow never left. Over the years he transitioned from being a card shark to a restaurateur and chef. Today he talks turkey – outlining the way to make your Thanksgiving a succulent feast. Put that bird in brine in a five gallon bucket and stuff butter between the skin and meat. Oh, don’t forget about spatchcocking the bird (splitting it open). Then there’s guidelines for three kinds of stuffing and the perfect gravy. Daniel even spills on how to create fluffy crust for your pies.

MARGE ROSEN: NEW LEADER OF THE ICONIC PT BAND. Our Town Host Maryanne McNellis interviews Marge Rosen, the new conductor of the Port Townsend Summer Band. Her parents wouldn’t let her play drums as a kid, so the trumpet became her favorite. She also plays a variety of other instruments. As a former Navy band member, Marge loves marches and patriotic music. That’s convenient for her new position because the PT band is all about marches and patriotic music. Marge also hopes to add some music that might attract a younger generation. The band’s next performance is on Nov. 11 – Veteran’s Day – down at the American Legion on Water Street.

(First airdate: October 22, 2019) ROBBIE ROBERTS: THAILAND TEMPTS PT TEENS. Our Town host Maryanne McNellis interviews Jim “Robbie” Roberts, head of the Expedition Club, which has sent over 300 local teens to Thailand for the past 16 years. Roberts was a fixture at Port Townsend high school for decades. He taught and, as Coach Roberts, supervised the athletic department though decades of wins and losses.. His crowning inspiration was to take teens to Thailand – to open their eyes to another culture and way of living. For most, it changes their lives profoundly.

(First airdate: October 8, 2019) IAN JABLONSKI: GUARDIAN OF THE WATER WORKS. Our Town host Maryanne McNellis interviews Ian Jablonski, Water Resources Manager of the City of Port Townsend. Climate change is making us all think more about the earth’s resources. Even though we live in the so-called “Emerald State” we are not immune to water shortages. The summer of 2015 brought us every close to real problems. Ian and his team are responsible for making sure that the water that’s piped to us from the Big & Little Quilcine Rivers is pure and safe for drinking. Water-borne pathogens have killed in other parts of the country. He explains the elaborate system for making our water safe.

(First airdate: September 24, 2019) TERRY SNIDER: NOT A BLOODY VAMPIRE. Our Town Host Maryanne McNellis interviews Terry Snider, lab tech at Jefferson Healthcare. Terry is part of the bustling lab where two technicians run tests on over 100 individuals every day. She’s on the front line for screening for all sorts of diseases. Over the years she’s developed strategies to coping with everything from squalling toddlers to overly macho teenage boys. Yes, there is the occasional faint at the sight of blood, but it’s rare. Her childhood struggles with asthma sparked her interest in the medical field.

(First airdate: September 10, 2019) PIPER DUNLOP: NOT SO SCARY NEEDLES. Our Town Host Maryanne McNellis interviews Piper Dunlap, acupuncturist. Piper once thought he’d become a doctor but ended up spending years as a captain of tall ships, research vessels and almost every other kind of sea-worthy ship. But the sailing life left him with crippling lower back pain. An almost chance encounter with an acupuncturist showed him a side of medicine he had never considered. So he went back to school and earned a Master’s Degree in Chinese Medicine. Piper believes the divides between Western medicine and other genres, such as Chinese medicine, are blurring. More Western doctors are beginning to recognize the benefits of practices such as acupuncture. He explains why.