Community Tides

Community Tides comes to you twice each month, with hosts Chris Bricker and Siobhan Canty, President & CEO of Jefferson Community Foundation. We join special guests to discuss fresh ideas, new developments and new paradigms as we travel into the months ahead. Today, Chris and Siobhan visit with Dick Schneider, who lovingly tends to orphan orchids at Raincoast Farms, a magical place tucked away among fir, hemlock and old growth cedars, just minutes from Port Townsend. In two greenhouses, Dick has a collection of unique species of tropical plants and selected hybrid orchids. Once he rehabilitates donated orchids to flower and health, he re-homes them to Jefferson Health Care.

Nestled handsomely and quietly at the Jefferson County International Airport, the Port Townsend Aero Museum invites curiosity from passers-by to and from the airport proper. Inside, there’s an amazing display of vintage restorations, and always an eager volunteer present to regale you with histories and stories. Not only that, an amazing mentoring program exists for teenagers, who can learn about flight—the mechanics, the skill, and the art of it all. They explore career options by volunteering their time once a week, and in exchange, they will ultimately have the opportunity to take flight training free of charge. With us for a tour is Michael Payne, the Museum’s Director, who also shares his own life journey among the clouds.

In this edition of Community Tides, KPTZ’s Chris Bricker and his co-host Siobhan Canty, President & CEO of Jefferson Community Foundation, discuss year-end charitable giving and how donors can have the greatest impact. Then they welcome Kathy Ryan, volunteer food grower for the Food Bank Farm & Gardens. Over time, this network of farms, gardens, and gleaners has become a huge supplier for local food pantries. They talk about the United Good Neighbors Campaign, which specifically includes organizations that provide for basic human needs.

(Airdate: November 4, 2022) The Community Boat Project is a job-training program aligned with the nearby Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding. Based out of Port Hadlock, Wayne Chimente and his talented crew of adult mentors provide hands-on, meaningful and organic learning experiences, by partnering with teens in unique programs that focus on real work, critical thinking, and human-social skills. Wayne is a Master Mariner, Master Rigger and Sailmaker, and he has 31 years in sail training. On-the-water programs with twenty different schooners and square-riggers throughout the world have given him and the Project a unique view of the horizon. Interns and students from the Community Boat Project have also been building tiny houses to help address the need for local transitional and affordable housing. Co-Hosts Chris Bricker and Siobhan Canty settle in for a great conversation with Wayne about the importance of all of it.

(Airdate: October 21, 2022) This week on Community Tides, KPTZ’s Chris Bricker and co-host Siobhan Canty, President & CEO of Jefferson Community Foundation, find out more about the history of Quimper Grange and the movement that sparked it. Over time, the building has enjoyed a physical renaissance to become a welcome gathering place for 21st century Port Townsend.  The first Quimper Grange master was Jacob Miller, and for the first 30 years, Grange meetings were held in his chicken house The current building itself was a donated barracks originally built for the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps at Fort Worden.  Quimper Grange’s Sheila Blech Long tells us more and paints us a picture of the newly renovated building, hall, and dance floor, along with information about meeting there, playing music there, dancing there – and of course, joining the Grange.

It’s hard these days for our community not to become engaged in conversations about housing density and affordability. The conversations have become much more nuanced, and these days more than ever, there needs to be transparent, solutions-oriented dialogue. Joining KPTZ’s Chris Bricker and co-host Siobhan Canty, President & CEO of Jefferson Community Foundation, are 3 special guests: Jaisri Lingappa, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Global Health at UW Seattle and volunteer with Habitat for Humanity East Jefferson County and with the Housing Solutions Network; Emma Bolin, City of Port Townsend’s new Director of Planning & Community Development; and Liz Revord, Director of Housing Solutions Network. We explore what affordable housing, density, and equity mean in the light of the distribution of wealth,“market rate”, and the forces of gentrification and displacement. 

Community Tides comes to you twice each month, with co-hosts Chris Bricker and Siobhan Canty, president and CEO of Jefferson Community Foundation. We join special guests to discuss fresh ideas, new developments and new paradigms as we travel into the months ahead. Chris and Siobhan met with musician extraordinaire Paul Rogers for a special visit. Rogers explained why he’s bringing Those Darn Accordions and special musical guests back, SQUEAZIN’ FOR A REASON at Finnriver on September 24 and 25. Paul’s the epitome of what our community’s style of fundraising looks like! Why should we be surprised? We had so much fun with Paul, we thought we’d bring him back again on the eve of this special fundraising weekend that benefits the Community Wellness Project and Ukraine relief efforts.

In this edition of Community Tides, KPTZ’s Chris Bricker and co-host Siobhan Canty, President & CEO of Jefferson Community Foundation, speak with Appalacia Martine, Director of Jefferson County Public Health who, with her dedicated staff, works for a safer and healthier Jefferson County. Appalacia shares the experience of her tenure over the past three years as well as priorities for her team looking forward. She gives us an overview of many of the services Public Health provides, and emphasizes the importance of inclusivity, equity, honesty, perspective, and the public’s trust as her team moves into the future.

On alternate Fridays during the noon hour, KPTZ’s Chris Bricker joins co-host Siobhan Canty, President & CEO of Jefferson Community Foundation, to explore new developments and new paradigms as our communities emerge emerge from a couple of years packed with difficult challenges and creative adaptations. There are over 400 thousand children and youth in Foster Care across the United States.  Olympic Angels is an organization that supports and helps to build relationships for children, youth, and families in the Foster Care community. Here to tell us more is Michael D’Alessandro,  executive Director of Olympic Angels

On alternate Fridays, KPTZ’s Chris Bricker and Siobhan Canty, President and CEO of Jefferson Community Foundation, meet to explore new developments and new paradigms, as our community emerges from a long period of difficult challenges and creative adaptations. Child care is a very demanding job. Generally, providers earn low wages and the industry itself operates on thin margins. There have been few government subsidies for child care, and no public school for kids under five years of age.  Most parents are pretty much on their own. Child care has been in crisis mode for quite some time in this country. In Jefferson County, we have some exceptionally dedicated folks who are working to help solve this crisis. Two wonderful examples are here today for a discussion about what they and their colleagues are forecasting and doing toward meeting this challenge. Joining us are Dunia Faulx, Executive Director of Population Health, Advocacy and Analytics for Jefferson Health Care, and Kate Dean, Commissioner for Jefferson County’s District One.