The Sages Among Us

Host Brian Buckley gives us an insider’s perspective on the life and times of retired dentist and Camptonville community activist Dr. Richard DicKard. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, raised in Southern California, spent time on a ranch and looking for copper and gold in Arizona. Studying Physics at UCLA brought a confrontation with Calculus, and a realization that his interests were more about working with people than being a lab scientist. A great score on a dental aptitude exam led to a dental degree from UCSF Medical Center. Marriage brought a partnership effort working with Vietnamese families in the Central Valley, a year in Florence, Italy, and a dental clinic for indigenous folks in Arizona. The young couple looked at many small communities as candidates for a permanent home, found our area to have great cultural assets and geography, purchased raw land and built their home in 1976 in rural Camptonville, and opened a dental practice in Nevada City. A bias for community-building resulted in thirty-five years on the Camptonville School board, a current position on the Camptonville Community Services District, which oversees the volunteer fire department and cemetery, water and parks and recreation districts. Spare time is often focused on fishing, and more explicitly, on catching fish by learning to “call” them!

Host Lori Burkart Frank brings us a glimpse into the life of Paul Cummings; where he came from, and how he became a key player in keeping Nevada County safe during emergencies. Growing up in San Diego, he hoped to become a military pilot. A degree in aviation and a pilot’s license resulted in work as an air traffic controller and on to a commission as an Air Force Navigator. Paul’s two kids were born at military bases but have become very much at home in Nevada County. Closing his Air Force career as a mission planner for the U2 at Beale AFB, the family found Nevada County’s geography, rural, laid-back life style and relatively low humidity provided a great landing place. In his current position, Paul oversees a group of folks working to mitigate emergencies in our area, including--but not exclusively--wildfires. He demonstrated complete confidence in the professionals involved in law enforcement and fire suppression, underscored by the fact that an active fire with evacuation warnings broke out in South Nevada County just before the live interview began and he was able to provide real-time updates and advice. He also provided many suggestions for all of us to better prepared and asks all local folks to stay in touch through ReadyNevadaCounty.com

Host Suzanne Webb moderates an in-depth introduction of Stuart Baker, new Executive Director of Nevada City Chamber of Commerce. Stuart grew up in Taos, New Mexico, where his first language was Dutch, spoken at home with his mother who’d immigrated from Holland to marry is Texas-born father, a travelling salesman whom she’d met on a holiday in Taos. The family later moved to a more benign climate in Santa Barbara, where Stuart attended UCSB, majoring in Communications with minor in Art History. His first “job” as a youngster was gardening in Holland, where he learned to appreciate year-round rainfall! His first “real” work was in West Oakland, supervising a crew of young adults, all people of color, working on trails and outdoor projects. He is passionate about alternative transportation, including bicycling and ride-sharing and other ways to reduce the environmental impact of our current transportation methods. He first became acquainted with and fell in love with Nevada City when he attended a program at California College of Ayurveda here. After one month in his new role, he’s focused on many projects and issues for the Nevada City Chamber, including producing major events like Summer Nights and Victorian Christmas, helping local businesses navigate the many issues they face, inviting new appropriate businesses to town, managing pandemic-related financial challenges and welcoming volunteers for office and event support.

Host Taylor Wolfe leads our exploration of the life and times of Kim Blix, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator in Nevada County’s Department of Public Health, and Operations Co-chief of the County’s Emergency Operations Center. She’s also a volunteer with Nevada County Search and Rescue. Kim’s parents brought their family to Nevada County when she was a “wee bairn,” and she attended school at Deer Creek, Seven Hills, and Nevada Union. Off to UC Davis for education, to live a couple of years in Colorado, and extensive travel to fulfill a desire to understand other cultures that took her to England, Spain, Nepal, and to Uganda as a volunteer with Dr. Scott Kellerman’s clinic. In 2013 she closed the circle and returned to Nevada County. Her fresh adult perspective on her childhood home caused her to fall in love with the beauty, culture, dynamism and compassion of our community. From positions with FREED and the County Department of Social Services, Kim joined the Department of Public Health in late 2019 and has experienced pretty much nonstop emergency conditions, first from PSPS power outages, followed almost immediately by the Covid pandemic. She looks forward to emerging from crisis conditions so she can work with the County’s agencies and nonprofit service organizations to take all they’ve learned and experienced and together plan ways to build a  better community for all of us.

Host Keith Porter leads the investigation into the life and times of Brain Terhorst. An aspiring archaeologist when a medical condition limited his physical activity, he switched to the field of historic preservation and ultimately to radio broadcasting. He started volunteering at KVMR in 1991 and rose to become General Manager. In 2007 he was recruited to become General Manager at North State Public Radio in Chico until returning to Nevada County in 2016, joining the KVMR Board of Directors and becoming Board President in 2020. Brian hosts Harmony Ridge, an eclectic music show broadcast every other Thursday. Having been mis-diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy for 26 years, he now lives with and supports others with a rare and serious condition, Pompe Disease.

Host Brian Buckley helps us trace the life journey of Trisha Tillotson, who’s just being promoted from her position as Public Works Director to become head of the Nevada County’s entire Community Development Agency. A local girl since landing here at one year old, she attended local schools and graduated from Nevada Union. She went away to earn her Civil Engineering at CSU Chico and worked her way back home to live, work and help build and enrich our community. Trisha’s education as a Civil Engineer made her an ideal candidate for Public Works Director for the City of Grass Valley, subsequently the same role for Nevada County, and soon she’ll be running the entire Community Development Agency with a wide number of responsibilities, programs and departments. She especially enjoyed growing up in Nevada County, and always intended to come back with husband John and raise their family here. She and John designed and built their own home, with only a very few things they wish they had done differently! The climate, proximity to the ocean and skiing, and family in the area made “coming home” desirable and inevitable. She especially hopes that her daughter and son, now in the military, will also choose to settle into the community and raise their own families here

Host Lori Burkart Frank leads our discovery of the life and times of Susan Clarabut, a woman with education in her blood;  Grandmother, Mom, Aunts and Uncles were all teachers. A former teacher, principal and Assistant Superintendent, she was elected to the Nevada County Board of Education in 2020. Susan would probably never have left her work in a one-room school in the Redwoods, but her husband was transferred here in his work with CalFire and they’ve adapted well and lived in Nevada County for 40 years. Her time as a waitress taught her a great deal about getting along with people. Like many other teachers, she says teaching kids is the easy part of the job; dealing with all the other people involved, from parents to administrators, sometimes not so much! Heartfelt memories include an eighth grader telling her the book they’d read was the first one he ever finished. For Susan, education is about connection and trust. She now is very involved with teacher induction, mentoring new teachers coming into Nevada County. She was appointed to temporarily fill a vacancy on the county Board, when seeing the need to keep our education free of biases and extraneous agendas convinced her—quite out of character--to stand for election to the Board of Education. Campaigning wasn’t fun, but others stepped up to help and she’s now glad she did it. She’s enjoying learning about the entire county and her board’s role in overseeing it’s nine independent school districts. Susan encourages parents and community members to come to meetings and bring concerns and ideas into the discussion. One of Susan’s favorite community involvements is working as Outreach Coordinator for the Sierra Wine and Grape Growers Association.

Host Brian Buckley leads a deep dive into the life and times of a passionate and innovative educator. There’s a deeper work going on in education that doesn’t hit the news about closed classrooms and online learning. One great example is Heather’s “dual immersion” bi-lingual magnet program at Bell Hill Academy in Grass Valley. Growing up in a family of teachers in Redding, California, she discovered her love of languages and after thinking about other life directions, eventually found her future as an educator. She perfected her conversational Spanish while living in Oaxaca and teaching English in a private school. Back in California, favorite memories include building social coffee time into a sense of community while teaching ESL classes for adults, and helping a student obtain a final paycheck from an employer who was trying to cheat her out of it. While some envision educational administration as paper-pushing, Heather finds it an opportunity to lead others into performing effectively as a team. As a long-time visitor to Nevada County with friends here, it was an easy decision to apply and accept her Principalship at Bell Hill Academy in 2017.

Host Keith Porter leads the exploration of the life and times of a creative person whose great interest in life has always been understanding why people do what they do. Michael studied Psychology and Philosophy, and has developed and written about a unique approach called CARE Parenting—for Caring Adults and Respectful Environments. He’s an active counselor and therapist, a volunteer counselor for inmates at Folsom Prison, and a DJ at KVMR who loves exploring the outer reaches of R&B and Soul music. Michael emphasizes the importance of helping adults change behaviors as the key to successful child and adolescent development. His greatest wish to benefit our community is for all of us to get involved in creating positive experiences for our youth.

Host Brian Buckley leads our journey of discovery into the life and times of a mayor of a small mountain town, who bought a home here sight-unseen on the day of the great Bay Area 1989 earthquake. Growing up in Lafayette with older brothers led Erin to a number of experiences in activism and the choice to get arrested or not at protests. From enjoying school and community theater, Erin tried the LA acting scene and decided that wasn’t a great career choice. A shift to early childhood education led to a degree in Montessori education and the chance to be “appreciated as a performer” by pre-schoolers! She’s had a life-long involvement with the Democratic party, and after the move to Nevada City in 1991 she’s supported many community endeavors including Tall Pines Nursery School and Big Brothers/Big Sisters and she owns her own cleaning business. As a council member, she was able take care of city business and still have a full-time job. As mayor during the Covid pandemic, she’s been much busier, with non-stop meetings and even protesters on her doorstep. She strongly believes in the future of Nevada City and our community’s resilience to solve problems including affordable housing and homelessness. She has an intense interest in fire safety and encourages townfolk to “adopt a sliver” to help clean up small spaces with dangerous vegetation. Her advice to all of us: “If you want to really make a difference and pay it forward, get involved with local issues and/or nonprofits in our community. And be kind and take care of each other!”

Host Lori Burkart Frank takes us on a journey into the life and times of an Adult Services Librarian. We learn that Megan Lloyd grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee, but wasn’t that interested in reading until her mother read Harry Potter to her in the third grade. Grandmother was an elementary school librarian and her influence ultimately sealed the deal on books! Megan came to California to attend University of Redlands, after a college recruiter noticed that she was “looking for something a little different.” A BA in Film and Culture led to a stint in Hollywood to see if a Film Directing career was in the cards, an endeavor she soon found disappointing. A couple of years teaching English in Japan led to studying for a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science at San Jose State. After interning in the Los Angeles Library System and having a son, her husband’s roots in Nevada County made our community the natural place to establish a librariy career. Her work involves delivering programs like Nevada County Reads and Writes and Learning Conversations, increasing access to virtual programs, learning and teaching about new technology, helping the Library become even more of a community center, and researching and applying for grants to increase the breadth and scope of programs for adults. Among her significant accomplishments, she’s managed to convince her son that healthy muffins are actually “breakfast cupcakes!”

Host Taylor Wolfe introduces us to Ember Amador, who is passionate about understanding the history and culture in the Yuba/Bear watershed before the population explosion of the gold rush. Her experience with a nonprofit organization, Honey Root, focused on somatic education and led to a role doing event planning for workshops. Ember met Shelley Covert, the spokespserson for the local Nisenan people and Executive Director of California Heritage Indigenous Research Project (CHIRP) at a workshop on social justice in 2017, which sparked a deep interest in the people who have always been here. She assists CHIRP with community outreach and administrative support and enjoys living in an intentional community with close ties to others and the land. She invites the public to learn more at nisenan.org.

Host Keith Porter leads the adventure tracing Janie’s life from fishing with her father on Long Island Sound to a degree in Cinema to finding kindred spirits in San Francisco to non-violent civil disobedience training to protests and arrests and finding her home on the San Juan Ridge. We hear about her work with the Peace and Justice Center of Nevada County and many other community organizations and initiatives, her experiences being arrested for civil disobedience, her passion for home-schooling and communal living, and her joy at launching into life as a grandmother.

Host Lori Burkart Frank pulls back the curtain with an in-depth introduction, tracing Diana’s life from growing up in Newton, Mass., loving animals, being influenced by family to be aware of social justice and world affairs, and heading off to college at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. Working at a Wall Street firm motivated her free spirit to search for a less stressful environment without business attire and high heels, and she discovered simple living and a creative environment in Nevada County. Diana is a board member on the Nevada County Economic Resource Council and co-founded the Nevada County Cannabis Alliance where she is now the Executive Director. Her work focuses on helping to de-stigmatize the industry and help growers create permitted businesses while dealing with extensive regulation and high taxes.

Host Suzanne Webb brings us an in-depth introduction to Bup, who grew up in Southern Nevada County raising cows through 4H to sell them at auctions at the fair. She says cows are not the smartest, but are nice. Childhood was fun on 40 rural acres, and a telephone party line shared with many neighbors. She studied philosophy at UC Davis, but then became a lab assistant at the UC Davis Veterinary school to continue her interest in animals from years in 4H. Helping new lab workers learn the trade motivated her to go back to school for a master’s degree and on to teaching high school English in Dos Palos, Turlock and Manteca. Retiring back to her home territory, Bup’s two-year term as President of the local chapter of American Association of University Women involves producing forums and programs on current issues of interest to women. In Nevada County since 1937, AAUW has been promoting education and equity and providing scholarships and mentoring young women for many years.

Host Brian Buckley takes us on a deep dive into Ben’s background and motivations for serving as Mayor of a small but dynamic city. From his local roots with a father and grandfather with long histories of public service, Ben studied business at Sonoma State and caught the bug for contributing to community ventures. Returning to take his place in the family business, A&A Air Conditioning and Heating, Ben is busy with multiple roles in the business, with his family and two youngsters and, of course, city business. Starting with a “terrifying” decision to compete for an appointed role on the City Council, to election in his own right and now as Mayor, Ben says it’s all worth it when he sees his kids and others “light up” when they go to parks that have transitioned to positive environments under the city’s care.

Host Taylor Wolfe talks with Erica about her life, her work and her passion for public service. From childhood in a family with Asian immigrant grandparents in the Bay Area and time at her grandfather’s community hub-style grocery store, to “weekend warrior” skiing adventures to Tahoe, she learned to love the mountain environment. An environmental degree from UC Davis and internships and paid positions with the state in Sacramento eventually led to her “dream job” with the city of Truckee. Along with life in the backcountry, Erica enjoys creating tackling environmental degradation and climate change by running innovative programs like Truckee Litter Corps and Feed Truckee to reduce food waste. All this while enjoying mountain life, volunteering with Truckee Round House Maker Space, and coaching high school Lacrosse teams.

Host Keith Porter helps trace Lance's life from early childhood in London blitz, to America and a stint in Viet Nam, to adventures in early Silicon Valley Tech including founding his own start-up, to making Nevada County a better community through music with InConcert Sierra and co-founding Sierra Foothills Village to help a growing senior community maintain self-sufficient lives.

Host Lori Burkart Frank traces Andrew’s life journey from birth in  Southern California to growing up in Nevada County and attending Bear  River High School. Starting as dispatcher with Nevada County Sheriff’s  office, he also spent time with Placer County and managing a satellite  office in Truckee. He spent two years traveling extensively throughout  the US and Canada, training law enforcement personnel in best practices  and leadership, returning to manage the dispatch function in Nevada  County and was appointed to the added role of Public Information Officer  by Sheriff Shannon Moon. He serves as President of the Nevada County  Fair Board, continuing a relationship that began at age 15 when his  first job was picking up trash during the annual County fair.

Host Brian Buckley retraces Alex's life experience from the San Juan Ridge, to college at Bar Harbor Maine, to guiding kayak and wilderness adventures in the Sierra and abroad in places like the Amazon rain forest. Learn why he chose to come back and settle in Nevada County, and share his adventure kayaking the South Yuba River from its headwaters at Lake Van Norden to San Francisco Bay. Hear about  his passion for Expeditionary Learning to build character and culture, and his belief in the caring people who make our community exceptional. 

Host Taylor Wolfe leads us in discovering Rebecca’s life journey from the South side of Chicago to a degree in Psychology at Barnard College in Boston when she found baking more fun than studying other people. Time at the French Culinary Institute’s Pastry program, owning and operating several food service businesses and a marketing degree from St. Joseph’s University propelled Rebecca into working as a consultant with national food co-op businesses, which ultimately brought her to a key position at one of the top co-ops in the nation, Briar Patch in Nevada County. She talks about the unique community benefits of co-op, and Briar Patch in particular.

Host Keith Porter helps Scott retrace his life from New Orleans to Los Angeles to Nepal to Nevada City to Uganda, and now to his new position as Nevada County's Public Health Officer. Scott talks about bridging work and play as one of life's rewards, and expresses gratitude for relationships and their importance to fulfillment. We learn a bit about the challenges and opportunities in his role as a guide through the pandemic of our lifetimes.

Host Lori Burkart Frank interviews Sue, a 5th generation Nevada County ranch girl who's been a life-long advocate for agriculture and resources conservation and is grateful for all the gifts of our community, including her first spring calf born today. After her first year on the County Board of Supervisors, Sue talks about gaining a broader vision of the issues and solutions for living in our area, and although she cannot please everyone, how she's enjoying her new leadership role. 

Host Brian Buckley interviews Greg about his life and his work as our  County election official. Follow his life from Swarthmore College, to  Rutgers for a law degree, to San Francisco for immersion in the field of  administering elections, and finally to Nevada County where he and his  team have successfully managed elections since 2007.

Anne Wood is a childhood polio survivor, pediatric respiratory therapist, aids and gay rights activist, mom to 17 biological, adopted and foster kids, and survivor of the Jones wildfire that destroyed her ranch home in August, 2019.

Host Lori Burkart Frank helps trace Jean Creasey's life journey from youth through becoming a dental hygienist to dentist to community activist, dental public health advocate and international humanitarian.

This interview with Amigo Bob Cantisano, who died on Dec. 26, 2020, originally aired on September 13, 2017, as an episode of “The Sages Among Us.” The interview ranges over many topics, including Amigo’s  relationship with nature, how he learned to farm, how he became hooked on organic farming, and his ideas about its future.

Amigo Bob, who started California’s first natural foods distribution company,  first organic farm supply company, and first organic crop consulting agency, also hosted a monthly show, Organic Matters, on KVMR.

He was one of the founders of the Committee for Sustainable Agriculture, which sponsors the EcoFarm Conference. The event, held every January in Pacific Grove, is still one of the most influential events in the world of sustainable agriculture.

Artist and community activist David Sparky Parker is a colorful and energetic community activist in Western Nevada County, California.

Host Lori Burkart Frank helps discover why Bob is the quintessential "man for all seasons," following his life from civil service to education (including a PhD in Cognitive Psychology from UC Berkeley) to economics and finance, to health care, to outdoor activities and climate activism. Bob discusses his reasons for moving to Nevada County, his love of living in a co-housing environment, and his new adventures as he enters politics as a new member of the Grass Valley City Council.

Host Brian Buckley taps Donn Harris' creative energy to reveal his journey from Queens to Santa Monica to San Francisco and Oakland (with a detour to Iceland courtesy of the US Air Force) and finally to Nevada County, drawn here by the arts scene, the Wild and Scenic Film Festival, the natural environment and the authenticity and intelligent community discourse of the "locals."

Brian McInerney makes his debut hosting appearance with an interview with David Franco, CPA, who is about to end his term as KVMR's board president. We learn how David journeyed from philosophy to accounting, from LA to Denver, and then happily settled 35 years ago in Nevada County where he's been involved in the community and helped guide KVMR to financial stability and leadership excellence.

Host Taylor Wolfe talks with Mike to outline his journey from New York to Las Vegas as a Marketing Executive and then an entrepreneur, through Reno and Fallon Nevada to Penn Valley in 2012, where he and his wife found their “permanent” home along with plentiful opportunities to give back through civic engagement.

Bill Drake was raised as a Southern White Supremacist, but through life-changing experiences learned  a path toward social justice and anti-racism. His book, "Almost Hereditary: A White Southerner's Journey Out Of Racism" tells the parallel histories of his own life path and the South's struggles with slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow and civil rights. He works in our community and beyond to eliminate racism and co-founded a Creating Communities Beyond Bias.

Mary Anne Davis has lived in Grass Valley with her family since 1987. She has been involved in a wide variety of community events and organizations. She is the marketing and events manager for Hospice of the Foothills and recently published her first book, “Nevada County Wine.” Lori Burkart Frank is your host.