Category: Spotlight Article

by Dr. Tamara R. Meredith, Jefferson County Library District Director

Dr. Tamara Meredith has been the Director of the Jefferson County Library District since 2017. She has worked in library administration and education for over 17 years, including public, school, and academic libraries in Colorado, Wyoming, and Washington.

Our Home Library Service is a free, personalized home delivery service for county residents who are unable to visit the library due to age, disability or illness. Caregivers are also eligible.

Continue reading “Our County Library: How It Grew, What It Offers”

by Jan Eddy, Board Member and Treasurer, Chimacum Backpacks for Kids

Chimacum Backpacks for Kids, a weekend feeding program for at-risk Chimacum students (also known as “FOOD4KIDS”), packs shelf-stable, commercially packaged items such as macaroni and cheese, applesauce, pudding, granola bars, instant oatmeal, cans of tuna, pasta, chicken noodle soup, chili, milk, and many other small-sized and kid-friendly items of food—items a child can easily open, heat in a microwave, and consume with limited utensils or dishware.

Continue reading “Chimacum Backpacks for Kids: ‘Yes, We Have No Bananas’”

by Joan Rutkowski, The Benji Project

A small group of middle schoolers are scattered around a grassy area of Fort Townsend State Park. Some are sitting, some are standing. Cell phones are out of sight and eyes are closed.

Continue reading “Jefferson County Nonprofit Helps Teens Gain Resilience Skills”

by Kat Mullins, Guest Writer

“I’m looking for a place to live.” If the young people of Jefferson County had a nickel for each time they heard a friend express the need for affordable housing, they might just be able to pay their rent. I sought out an internship at the Community Boat Project in Port Hadlock to be a part of the solution to our local housing crisis while acquiring carpentry skills to aid me in my future job search. As a young farm worker in the neighborhood myself, I am acutely aware of the obstacles to finding suitable living spaces. Like so many people who come to our area to learn and work, I have experienced the struggle to find housing within my budget. The Community Boat Project’s Shelter from the Storm program provided me with an opportunity to make a difference while learning the basics of construction from other, service-oriented people.

Continue reading “Shelter From the Storm — A Program of the Community Boat”

by Genevieve Peterson, Habitat EJC

Do you love riddles, puzzles, and games? Do you like a good mystery? Then the Habitat for Humanity of East Jefferson County store in Port Townsend just might be up your alley.

Continue reading “Hidden Treasures and the Best Gift of All”

by Elena Salaks, Guest Writer

I traveled to the Ukrainian border with the intent to help those displaced by the Russian invasion in Ukraine. I will never forget what I saw and heard … the faces, the tears, the kindness, and the horror. I still find it hard to reconcile my thoughts into something cohesive—but here’s a rambling attempt.

Continue reading “Port Ludlow Woman Returns from Ukraine — An Emotional Saga from Her Native Land”

by Cindy Jayne, Guest Writer

Are you curious to learn more about what is happening in Jefferson County to become more resilient to future chal- lenges, whether from extreme weather patterns or from other types of emergencies? Are you interested in how we might be more sustainable in our use of resources? Perhaps you have attended an emergency preparedness event in your Port Ludlow neighborhood, part of the effort to prepare us for a variety of possible hazards, some climate related and some not. Local 20/20 coordinated that effort. We are an all-volunteer nonprofit focused on Jefferson County with a mission of “Working together to foster a regenera- tive, sustainable, resilient and compassionate community in Jefferson County through both action and education.”

Continue reading “Get Involved in Local Community Resilience and Sustainability with Local 20/20”

by LVP Artistic Director Val Durling, Guest Writer

Once Upon a Time in the “Village in the Woods by the Bay” there were two little theaters: Ludlow Little Theater thrived in the 1990s performing at the Bay Club, and the Port Ludlow Players (PLP) formed in the early 2000s performing at the Beach Club. By 2003 both groups had lost their directors and shut down. When PLP was formed, they also started a Reader’s Theater group, where you sit around a table with a cup of coffee and a cookie while reading a play once a month. This group met in a private home and is still active, now meeting at the Beach Club the third Tuesday of each month. In early 2007, one of attendees said, “I sure do miss putting on plays. Do you suppose we can ever do that again?” The overwhelming consensus was “yes, let’s do it!” We even named it that night—a sort of combo of the other two—Ludlow Village Theater (now Ludlow Village Players or LVP). I and several others were named to an advisory committee.

Continue reading “Ludlow Village Players”