SportsTalk: Louisburg College Hopes To Make It To The World Series

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The list of legendary college coaches in North Carolina includes the likes of Dean Smith, Jim Valvano, Mack Brown, Mike Krzyzewski, Kay Yow and many more.  One legendary coach that might get overlooked is Russell Frazier. For 40 years, from 1959 to 1999, he led the Louisburg College Hurricanes and instilled a winning tradition that the school has had since. While his school never won a national title, his teams went to the National Junior College Athletic Association’s World Series on many occasions.  Louisburg’s last trip was in 2002 but now, 20 years later, the Hurricanes have their sights set on a return to Colorado for the series.

Louisburg College Head Baseball Coach Blake Herring told our Trey Snide on SportsTalk that his players are starting to buy into the idea that the Hurricanes are strong enough this season to make a run.   “If we can get out of our league, we have a good chance to get back to the World Series,” Herring said. While he is excited at the chances the Hurricanes have he cautions, “we can’t want it more than the players.”

His team is young. All but one pitcher are freshmen. He has a new outfield and says that the left side of the infield could be the strongest part of the team. This week rain has hampered practice but it’s nowhere as bad as last season when the school had 17 games rained out.  When inclement weather keeps them off the field, he takes his players to a parking lot at the school to practice throwing and hitting. “The most stressful thing to me is playing a meteorologist,” Herring says of his job as head coach.

At 33, Herring is young and has been with the school for seven years, first as an assistant for three years before taking the head coach position four years ago. Currently the Hurricanes are 6-1 having won there last six games.

Keep up with the Hurricanes at lchurricanes.com or on You Tube at Louisburg College Official.

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Coopervative Extension with Jamon Glover: Supervision Ans Safety, Pt. 4

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Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.

 

The Local Skinny! St. Patrick’s Day Celebration Set For Downtown Henderson

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Green will be the color of the day on Thursday, Mar. 17 as the Henderson-Vance Downtown Development Commission and the Vance County Arts Council team up to sponsor a St. Patrick’s Day celebration on Breckenridge Street.

The community is invited to join in the fun from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., according to downtown development chair Amanda Ellis. There will be food trucks, music, crafts for the children as well as a scavenger hunt with prizes awarded.

Ellis said there are opportunities for community partners to sponsor the event. Sponsorship levels include “pot of gold” level at $1,000; “shamrock” level $500 and “leprechaun” level for $250.

Vendors and others who wish to set up information tables are asked to register before Monday, Feb. 28. Phone 252.425.0844 or email Ellis at amanda@rogersandrogerslawyers.com.

Alice Sallins, events committee chair of DDC, told John C. Rose earlier today (Thursday) that she hopes the event will be something the whole community will come out and enjoy.

“With enough support, we are hoping to provide free food through the food trucks,” Ellis said. The DDC also is collecting prizes for the scavenger hunt.

The Local Skinny! Around Old Granville: John Eaton

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John Eaton, apparently, did not shy away from challenges, political or personal. And back when he was President Andrew Jackson’s Secretary of War, the political and the personal challenges overlapped – a lot.

Eaton, who was born in 1790 in Halifax County near Scotland Neck, was quite a significant character in the U.S. government in the early 19th century. Local historian Mark Pace and WIZS’s Bill Harris talked about his life and work on Thursday’s Around Old Granville segment of The Local Skinny!

He was on the fast track like no other, it seemed. At age 12, he was a college student at University of North Carolina. But by 14, he dropped out and decided to study law.

He joined a wave of folks who journeyed to Nashville, TN for fame and fortune. At age 18, he was practicing law there and married Myra Lewis, the adopted daughter of Andrew Jackson.

He was elected to the U.S. Senate to represent Tennessee when he was 28 years old – two years shy of the minimum age to run for that office, Pace said.

His wife died shortly after they’d moved to an inn in Washington, DC, and it wasn’t long before Eaton became involved with the innkeeper’s daughter.

Her name was Peggy Timberlake and she was married to a much-older man who was in the military and died while on an overseas assignment. She and Eaton were married just months later, thus creating the “Petticoat Affair.”  By this time, President Jackson had tapped Eaton to be his Secretary of War, and this whole ordeal posed a real challenge.

“It was the scandal of the day,” Pace said. The Eatons were shunned by DC society and, in fact, President Andrew Jackson ordered his cabinet members – all men – to require their wives to accept Eaton’s new wife. They did not comply, and, the whole Cabinet resigned which required Jackson to appoint an entirely new group.

Eaton resigned as well, Pace said, and became minister to Spain and later, he was appointed Governor of Florida.

As minister to Spain, Pace said, he didn’t excel. Eaton, it seemed, had developed a drinking problem and Peggy became the de facto ambassador, he added.

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TownTalk: Trials And Tribulations Of Genealogy

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Lots of people dabble in genealogy in their quest to fill out a family tree, but Kim Knight has taken it to a whole different level.

Knight has a college degree in archival management and genealogical research from Brigham Young University and she’s been a genealogy professional for more than 20 years.

What began as research on her father’s side of the family has blossomed into a business that helps others find their ancestors. But the work is so much more for Knight, she told WIZS’s Bill Harris and guest host Phyllis Maynard on Thursday’s Town Talk.

Genealogy is her go-to activity when she needs to take a break from the trials of everyday life. It’s a therapy of sorts for Knight, who deals each day with the effects of traumatic brain injury. And with a cancer diagnosis.

Maynard and Harris conducted the second part of an interview with Knight as part of a regular segment called “Former Active Duty” Still Boots on the Ground” that checks in with former service members who remain active in their community to help others.

There are many available computer-based platforms to entice an amateur genealogist, but Knight said she would choose https://www.familysearch.org/.

“It’s free, easy to use and has a tremendous database already behind it,” she said.

Other free sites include https://www.findagrave.com/ and https://www.cyndislist.com/us/.

While the amateur genealogist may enjoy poring over documents in search of family history, a professional genealogist has gone through rigorous training and certification to conduct research.

It’s reading ancient documents, learning how to pick through information and collect more than just dates of birth and death that intrigue Knight.

“It’s like painting the picture of the person’s life you’re researching,” she said.

For instance, she recently helped a young Black man with some research and she found some interesting information.  “I found that his great-great-great grandmother in the 1880’s went to college, earned her degree and went on to be a teacher – that was an amazing find for this young man,” she said.

Before all the online resources became available, genealogy fieldwork involved visits to courthouse, registers of deeds, and combing through lots of documents by hand. Now, clicks of the mouse and a few keystrokes can open up whole worlds of information to genealogists.

Knight cautions anyone doing family research to take care – misinformation abounds, and it’s vitally important to make sure the data is correct before adding it to your own family history.

For Knight, that’s part of the game with genealogy.

“It’s part of the fun, actually,” she said. “It’s a kick. I really enjoy genealogy.”

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Granville School Board Hears Pitch About A Dual Language Program At West Oxford Elementary

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The Granville County Board of Education heard a presentation on Monday from a group of educators who proposed that West Oxford Elementary become the site of a dual language program.

As the old saying goes, “All it takes is time and money.” In this case, it’s time, money and bilingual native Spanish-speaking teachers.

West Oxford Assistant Principal Jacquel Green, along with staff members Regina Harris, Sonia Hernández and Rita Jackson, spoke to the board about the positive impact a dual language program could have at their school and they provided details for implementation. Principal Bethany Bonnemere appeared via video to explain the importance of creating bilingual and biliterate students.

Board members asked questions and provided positive feedback to the West Oxford team. Board Chair David Richardson ultimately made a motion, which was seconded and approved, for the idea to be considered at the Feb. 25 meeting of the Finance Committee. The committee will meet virtually at 11 a.m.

West Oxford has a Global Leadership theme, which the dual language program would complement nicely, but the big question is: How would it be funded?

Green shared with the board that no area charter schools currently offer a dual language program; Person and Warren counties each have one school that offers dual language and Durham County has three schools with dual language programs.

More than 25 families with students currently in pre-school completed a survey from the school expressing interest.

Harris, a 3rd grade lead teacher, explained that the initial kindergarten cohort would have two native Spanish-speaking teachers who would co-teach 24 students. The majority of instruction would be in Spanish, with 30 minutes of daily instruction in English.

Each year, a new native Spanish-speaking teacher would be added and a new cohort of kindergarten students would join the program. In some cases, teachers would “loop up” and move grade levels with the class.

As students approach the 3rd grade, they would receive more instruction in English in preparation for end-of-grade tests, but most math instruction would be given in Spanish.

The team asked the board for a 10-year commitment to the program – an investment of time and money. Allowing the kindergarten cohort to get to high school, Hernández said, would show the kinds of gains they can make in becoming bilingual and biliterate.

The vendor that partners with the school now to implement its global leadership theme also provides support for dual language programs, Green said, and can help identify qualified teachers.

A program coordinator is needed, and this person would have a number of responsibilities, including being a substitute when teachers are absent to ensuring the program is implemented appropriately.

Board member Leonard Peace said it sounded like a wonderful program to have. “I certainly hope we can afford to do it,” Peace said. “I would like to make sure we can afford to do it before we make the decision.”

Dr. Gregory McKnight agreed, and said the program would be “an investment that would pay good dividends for our students and our system.”

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TownTalk: Henderson City Council Planning Retreat

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The Henderson City Council and government leaders are planning for their annual retreat, and council members agree that housing and homelessness are among the issues they expect will be up for discussion as they prioritize goals and the actions needed to achieve them.

City Manager Terrell Blackmon told WIZS News that a goal of the retreat is to craft “a blueprint for the direction of the city for the foreseeable future.” Chris Aycock of Aycock and Associates will facilitate the retreat, which will take place at Henderson Country Club beginning tomorrow (Thursday, Feb. 24) and continuing on Friday, Feb. 25.

Members of the public are welcome to attend and observe this annual strategic planning session.

Council member Melissa Elliott said a discussion about affordable housing and homelessness are important one to her. “I think they go hand in hand – that would be one of my main” issues to discuss, she told WIZS News. Other topics she hopes to discuss during the planning retreat are inclusion and diversity.

The Rev. Ola Thorpe-Cooper said she is excited about what’s ahead for Henderson and looks forward to discussing with others on the council how to tackle the issue of affordable housing and revitalizing blighted neighborhoods.

Thorpe-Cooper, William Burnette and Garry Daeke all mentioned the Elmwood URA project and plans for similar work in the Flint Hill neighborhood as positive moves forward for the city.

“We’re trying to do what we can for the city…as a whole – it’s not done overnight,” Thorpe-Cooper told WIZS News in a phone conversation.

Jason Spriggs told WIZS News Thursday that he’s concerned about housing in general, not just affordable housing. Spriggs sees a definite link between homelessness and available housing, and said people who are renting may be seeing those rents rise. He said he wants to make it easier for people to construct houses.

“It’s a tough situation for people who live here who want to stay here,” he said.

 

In addition to neighborhood redevelopment efforts, Burnette said he would like to see continued focus on downtown redevelopment and emphasis on the regional water system.

These topics and more are sure to be discussed during the retreat, which Blackmon said would begin with brief presentations by department heads during the first half-day. The session will run from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The second day will be attended by Council only, Blackmon said, adding that all council members would be present for the session, which will be from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“What I hope to get out of this retreat is a five-year plan with goals that have tangible actions attached,” Blackmon said. His topics of interest line up with those of Burnette, Elliott and Thorpe Cooper and include infrastructure, affordable housing and economic development.

Daeke said prospective developers most likely are interested in amenities like sidewalks and available parks, as well as appropriate lighting and landscaping as they decide where to put new housing or retail space. He said he hopes the city can secure some funding that would support providing those improvements.

“We’ve got to have some skin in the game,” he said.

Daeke said the council would probably get an update on the regional water system, which he said is very close to starting on the construction phase – perhaps as early as fall 2022.

Siting and construction of a third fire station could be a discussion, as well as finding a location for a train station as plans continue to develop around the S-Line project, which would see increased commuter and passenger service along the existing rail lines from Sanford through Henderson and on into Virginia.

Next steps include getting input about station design and layout – as well as where to locate it for best access by the community.

“It’s just incredible…having a commuter and passenger and freight rail coming through this town again is just going to open doors that we haven’t had open to us in years,” Daeke said.