Our Town

(Airdate: July 22, 2025)  Maryanne interviews Sonny Flores, KPTZ’s man of a million talents. Sonny’s been with the station for over a decade. He’s been a DJ, Producer, Editor, trainer of new talen, and the go-to resource for anything at the station. Sonny is one of six kids and joined the military at age 18. He rose to the rank of Captain at the California Dept. of Corrections and instituted many programs designed to help inmates flourish ‘on the outside.’ When he retired, he headed north to Washington, based on glowing reports from a colleague. KPTZ is not his only community affiliation. He’s been part of the Farmer’s Market, the Food Bank, and the PT Film Festival. Now he plans on working with troubled young people through the Olympic Angels. He’s been a true partner with Maryanne on KPTZ’s Our Town. (The door’s always open Sonny!)

(Airdate: July 8, 2025) Today’s guest is Candace Mangold, owner of Corvus Crafts, a Marketing, Media Sales and Printing company here in Port Townsend.  Candace has a wide range of experience in various areas of marketing, and is now happy to offer her creative services to our community, and regional and national customers.   

(Airdate: June 10, 2025) Maryanne interviews Tyler Zwirtz, the owner Type Townsend Studio, a rather unique shop in downtown PT that specializes in old typewriters and various antiques. Tyler was, well, one of those kids who started serious collecting of typewriters when he was about 10 years old. By the time he was in his early 20’s he had seven storage lockers strung across the country. He was living in Seattle and exploring the Northwest. When he hit Port Townsend he fell in love with the town so he moved here without a job in sight. But he stumbled onto the shop and it turned out the previous owner was shutting down. But he bought it. It turned out the seven storage lockers had more than enough inventory to open his own shop. He’s now celebrating the shop’s one-year birthday. And – believe it or not — he’s making money!

(Airdate: May 27, 2025) Maryanne interviews Jose Borrayo, the owner of the PT Garden Center. Jose’s a classic entrepreneur. He started out as the maintenance guy at the Garden Center and after years of hard work and study he ended up owning the place. He’s been through some challenging times. During the pandemic his main supplier of plant starts and herbs went out of business. So he ended up buying land and erecting a large greenhouse. Now he grows his own. That results in better prices both for him and for his customers. He’s also expanding into landscaping, partnering with his brother. Jose’s insatiable curiosity has led him to read and absorb every label. When it comes to gardens he’s now a finely tuned expert.

(Airdate: May 13, 2025) Maryanne interviews Bob Wheeler, the President of the Friends of Port Townsend Golf Park. The nonprofit group has only been in charge of the historic golfing grounds for a little more than a year. But there are big changes. The greens have been totally groomed and revamped. Now every day groups of young 20 or 30 somethings show up to play disc golf, which is a form of frisbee golf. Families picnic on the grounds and a new playground will be installed shortly – funds permitting. Miniature golf is in the works, as are outdoor movies. The revamped clubhouse or restaurant is opening soon. This is not your classic country club – it’s open to everyone. It’s also the cheapest golf course in the region, by far. 

(Airdate: April 15, 2025)  Maryanne interviews Samantha Harper, the county’s Director of Waste Management. That means she’s in charge of making sure the new Hadlock sewer system becomes a reality. She estimates that by mid to late June we will have an operational sewer system at least for a small section of the territory. Existing septic systems will be “de-commissioned” and raw sewage will flow through the brand new treatment plant. This has major economic implications for the entire county. Zoning changes will allow development of many more commercial buildings and residential properties. Samantha (aka ’Sam’) believes the entire project will be up and running sometime in 2027.

(Airdate: April 1, 2025) Maryanne interviews David Ehnebuske, a tech pioneer and long-time IBM trouble shooter. David had assignments that took him around the globe — China, India, Western Europe, Japan and many other destinations. When living in New Mexico his wife taught at a predominantly Navajo high school. This was yet another cultural learning curve. In fact, that’s what David loves the most — learning about different cultures. Now that he’s in PT he’s part of the team that has been restoring the Point Wilson Lighthouse. His curiosity is endless and he loves a challenge, whether restoring lighthouses or building specialized cameras.

(Airdate: March 18, 2025) Maryanne interviews David Michael, Port Townsend’s own Celtic harpist. Many of us first heard David play when he was performing on either the Bainbridge Ferry or the Port Townsend ferry. Turns out friendly captains welcomed the performances. But a few were not friendly at all. David is one of those musicians who lives to play. He first found Celtic harps at a Renaissance Fair in California. He became obsessed with the instrument and taught himself. Of course, by that point he already was a singer song writer and guitarist. Like many artists or musicians there were times where he needed a “day job” to supplement his music earnings. But the gentle music of the harp is his dream.

(Airdate: February 18, 2025) Maryanne interviews Diane McDade, President of Jefferson County Aquatic Coalition (JAC), the citizens group behind the drive for a new pool in Jefferson County. The committee is about 20-years-old and so far no new pool. But changes could be coming relatively soon. The installation of a new sewer system in the Hadlock/Chimacum area should help break the log jam. Diane has been into political action since she was a kid. Her parents were politically active and she watched and learned. She worked on many significant political campaigns, including Patty Murray’s election to the US Senate. Diane also enjoyed a career at Microsoft when not totally immersed in politics. Since moving to PT she’s also become fascinated by the history of North Beach. Expect a book on North Beach tracing (among other things) the story of the Chinese farmers who were ultimately forced out of the region.

(Airdate: February 4, 2025) Maryanne interviews Teren MacLeod, owner of Heron Hill Equine, a non-profit that basically matches people with horses for therapy. Teren’s fascination with horses began when she was only 3 years old. But it took her a couple of years to convince her parents to get her a pony. She had careers in music management and real estate before returning to her love of horses. Teren and her husband were living on the East Coast when they first visited the Pacific Northwest. That was a magical connection and shortly thereafter they moved to PT. Their 11-acre property is close to the Larry Scott trail. They offer a variety of equine classes and experiences. For more detail go to www.heronhillequine.org.