(Airdate: August 23, 2022) Maryanne McNellis interviews Thomas Olson, Port Townsend’s Police Chief. There’s been a spike in violent crimes nationally since the beginning of the Pandemic. Fortunately, Port Townsend has not seen a corresponding crime wave. But it’s been a challenging beginning for Chief Olson, who has been on the job for less than two years. Due to a combination of retirements and staff adjustments only three officers have stayed with the department since he took over. It’s part of a national trend — thousands of officers have left policing in the past few years. Chief Olson’s priorities have been recruitment and hiring. Now he’s refocusing the department to “community policing.” Each officer will have a specific geographic beat with a goal to get out there and meet the community. More bike patrols are on the horizon. PT has only 15 officers for its 10,000 population. But Olson’s ambitious plans also include a defined strategic plan and state accreditation.

(Airdate: July 26, 2022) Maryanne interviews Bob Wheeler, Project Director for the Port Hadlock Sewer System. The sewer system has been talked about for years — but it’s finally happening. Land has been purchased for the wastewater treatment plant and bidding on contracts will begin this fall. Growth has been strangled without a sewer. The region’s current “rural” designation mandates one house per 5 acres. Businesses can’t grow due to septic restrictions. When there’s a sewer system, Port Hadlock can become an urban growth region. That changes everything. Apartment buildings and other multi-family housing projects are suddenly viable. Businesses such as QFC can finally expand the way they would like. Bob’s enthusiasm for the project is boundless. We may be nearing at least a partial solution to our housing crisis.

(Airdate: July 12, 2022) Maryanne interviews Betsy Davis, Executive Director of the Northwest Wooden Boat School. Falling in love with a wooden boat can be a life-changer as Betsy will tell you. After a career in high-tech and retailing her heart was captured by a 1914 wooden boat. Needless to say, it needed some TLC before cruising. Some people would just hire a team to restore the boat. But Betsy wanted to know how to do it herself, so she enrolled in a wooden boat school. Many stories later, she ended up as Executive Director of the Seattle Center for Wooden Boats. In 2014 she was hired as Executive Director of our local Northwest School of Wooden Boats. The school has flourished under her direction. And both Betsy and her boat,The Glorybe, have flourished here

(Airdate: June 28, 2020) Our Town host Maryanne McNellis interviews Richard Davies, senior public defender for Jefferson County. Richard and his team represent anyone in Jefferson County who needs state-funded legal representation after being arrested. He estimates that’s about 90% of all legal cases here. We actually have witnessed a drop in the crime rate here. Changing drug laws have helped reduce the overall number of felony charges. The pandemic also helped reduce crime numbers. Fewer people have been out and about and the police have been reluctant to pull over cars for things like broken tail lights. Still, Richard believes our legal system needs a thorough overhaul. Society is in the midst of change. For example, attitudes toward addiction have shifted. We now have a Drug Court which aims to “give people a hand up rather than a boot in the back.”

(Airdate: June 14, 2022) Maryanne McNellis interviews Amanda Milholland, director of both the Port Townsend and Chimacum Farmers Markets. Amanda’s a local girl with a passion for food. During her time with the Peace Corp in Uganda she learned the value of knowing just where her food was grown. In recent years, more and more people are wanting to know just how their meat, dairy, or produce is grown. The whole “farm to table” movement is based on that premise. Like all businesses, the farmers markets were impacted by the pandemic. But because they are considered “essential businesses” the time when they were actually shut down was fairly brief. Early on, traffic and revenue shrunk to about half of pre-pandemic levels. Food was still sold but popular events like cooking demonstrations and live music were cancelled for much of the first two years of the pandemic. But right now things are looking bright for the 2022 season. The number of vendors is back to pre-pandemic levels. Amanda is excited to report that music, cooking, and even story time for the kids are back this year. It’s the market’s 30th anniversary and everyone wants to celebrate this hometown treasure.

(Airdate: May 31, 2022) Our Town host Maryanne McNellis interviews John Clise, a man who embraced and enjoyed several different careers over his first 90 years of life. John grew up in Seattle, served as a translator in the Korean war and finished his undergraduate degree at Stanford. After returning to the Pacific Northwest, he spent some years in his family’s business. He was working out of an office at the Pike Place Market, which at that time was under threat of developers turning it into offices and condos. John was part of the group that successfully “saved” Pike Place by getting its historic designation. He went on to become Executive Director of Pike Place for nearly a decade. Looking for a new adventure, John decided that Port Townsend would be his next home base. He soon realized that he had to find a career on the Olympic Peninsula. He found out that the venerable Aldrich’s Market was teetering on the brink of insolvency. So he bought it and owned and operated Aldrich’s for years. During that time he also turned to local politics — serving on Port Townsend City Council and becoming Mayor in an era before the town had a City Manager. The job was much different than it is today. At some point John thought he might retire. He sold the store and completed his mayoral duties. But he’s not exactly one to sit back and take in the view. He was soon mentoring small businesses and became a versatile actor with Key City Players, playing everything from kings to monsters. He also volunteered and became a key part of the team at KPTZ-FM. What’s next?

(Airdate: May 17, 2022) Our Town host Maryanne McNellis interviews Monica MickHager, a  first-term Port Townsend City Council member. Monica has been involved in city politics for years, serving over a decade on the Planning Commission, many years on Parks & Recreation and School District committees plus 19 years with the PT Film Festival. But running for elected office was a big step. She took office in January 2020, just before the pandemic shut everything down. Monica had campaigned aggressively on getting the town’s debt load under control and repairing our pothole-riddled streets. But with the city under strict emergency orders, there was little chance for major change. Still, Monica’s stint as a council member has been eye-opening. She understands more fully why it takes so very long for the city to change policies. That doesn’t mean she has given up on her goals. In addition to focusing on debt reduction and streets, she is also working on affordable housing, renters’ rights, and parking management. And then there’s the ever-growing deer herd in Port Townsend. Monica has meticulously studied every issue and is ready to suggest what she sees as better solutions. Not everyone agrees, of course.

(Airdate: April 19, 2022) Our Town host Maryanne McNellis interviews Erin Reading, co-founder of the Port Townsend Psychedelic Society. She grew up in Washington state and has always been transfixed by our mountains. At the University of Washington she studied both philosophy & geology. It made sense to her – combining the theoretical and applied. She was on her way to a PhD when she had her first experience with psychedelics. It changed her life. Erin somehow fell in love with Chimacum and moved here. She found a community of like-minded people. She soon was the co-founder of the Port Townsend Psychedelic Society, which currently has over 600 subscribers to its newsletter. The group is working to decriminalize natural psychedelics such as mushrooms or peyote. The group ’s focus is on legalizing plants, not synthetic chemical compounds. It’s a nation-wide movement that has seen places such as Oakland CA, Ann Arbor MI, Washington DC and dozens of others move toward decriminalization. The Port Townsend City Council recently passed a resolution directing police and prosecutors to make psychedelics their lowest priority. According to Erin, that amounts to “de-facto decriminalization.”

(Airdate: March 22, 2022) Becky Steffens, Physical Therapist. Our Town host Maryanne McNellis interviews Becky Steffens, a Physical Therapist with Jefferson Healthcare. Becky grew up in rural Iowa in an agricultural town of about 100 people. But this farm girl wanted to get off the farm and travel. She was fascinated by the medical world. But after working part-time as a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) as a student, she realized nursing wasn’t for her. But there are other opportunities in the medical field – if you are willing to work hard to get there. You might not realize it, but physical therapy certification requires a doctorate these days. But Becky didn’t let that – and a mountain of student debt – hold her back. After graduation she first became a “traveling physical therapist” zigzagging across the country on assignments. That helped her see the country. Traveling physical therapists also make more money than full-time staff people. She really wanted out from under that debt load. Port Townsend was one of her stops but it really caught her attention. Now she has joined Jefferson Healthcare full time. Her start date at Jefferson Healthcare was supposedly March 2020. She had already moved here when the job was put on hold due to the pandemic. Single and new in town, she threw herself into working for the Food Bank. When the worst of the crisis eased she started with Jefferson Healthcare. She loves working one-on-one with patients on their road back to mobility and health.