Shriners Fish Fry In Full Swing Until 7 PM

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The Shriners Fish Fry is still open for business, so swing by Industry Drive and pick up dinner on your way home from work this afternoon  – teams of volunteers have completed all the prep work and the drive-thru lanes are open until  7 p.m.

“Tell ‘em to come on, we got it ready,” said Shriner Vernon Mustian, who is this year’s fish fry chairman and he his fellow Shriners will be preparing plates all day long at their location on Industry Drive, near Lowe’s Home Improvement and Mako Medical.

This is the 59th fish fry, with proceeds going to the Shriners Children’s Hospital in Greenville, SC.

John Ayscue was manning the payment tent when the fish fry began at 11 a.m. “Come on by and get a fish plate,” Ayscue told WIZS. Shriners sold tickets in advance, but if you don’t have a ticket, you can still come and pick up a plate for $10.

Anyone who orders 10 or more plates can have them delivered. Shriner Larry Parker was gathering plates to deliver to local business M.R. Williams, which has generously supported the Shriners’ efforts through purchase of plates for years.

Organizers hope to raise $10,000 for the children’s hospital, which provides medical care free of charge for children.

“The good Lord gave us a great day,” Parker said. “We’ve got plenty of help and plenty of fish. The plate includes freshly fried fish, cole slaw, potato salad and hush puppies.

Shriner Randy Newman is one of those long-time volunteers for the fish fry, but he also is a Roadrunner, which means he transports the young patients and their parent to appointments at the Greenville, SC hospital.
“I’ve seen the work that they do – it’s amazing,” Newman said. “It does not cost a child or his parents anything out of pocket…food, lodging – everything is taken care of.”

One local youngster who Newman has driven to the hospital for care now serves as an International Ambassador for the hospital.

Of course, this day is about more than fish plates. Many men and women have been dedicated volunteers for this fundraiser for many years.

Ayscue said he’s been collecting money since the fish fry was held at the Armory, which means he’s been one of those dedicated volunteers for a long time. The Shriners have held the fish fry at several different locations since the Armory, including vacant buildings and a former grocery store. But several years ago, fellow Shriner Sherby Slaughter opened up his facility to host the fish fry and the location has proven a good one.

Henry Gupton, Vance County Clerk of Superior Court, hustled past the WIZS microphone just before noontime, in a rush to deliver lunch plates to his colleagues at the courthouse and a couple of other businesses along the way.

Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame was on hand to lend his support to the cause in the early afternoon as well; the local Shriners appreciate the community support that the fish fry has gotten over the years.

“You couldn’t give to a better cause…to help a child,” said Billy Currin, another one of those long-time volunteers. Currin told WIZS that teams had prepared containers of cole slaw and potato salad for 1,700 plates Tuesday evening – the only thing left to add were the fish and hush puppies.

Volunteers arrived early to start preparing the fish, Currin said. By day’s end, he said 800 plates would have been delivered – and that doesn’t include those that customers pick up themselves.

More than 100 plates were whisked away for delivery by 10 a.m., he noted.

“Our delivery this morning was very strong,” Currin added, standing near the drive-thru lanes that were seeing a brisk business as well.

Dr. Stan Winborne New Superintendent of Granville County Public Schools

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The Granville County Board of Education has named Dr. Stan Winborne as the new superintendent of Granville County Public Schools, effective July 1. Winborne will succeed Dr. Alisa McLean, who is retiring after 30 years as an educator in North Carolina.

“I am honored and humbled by our Board of Education’s decision to name me as their next Superintendent.,” Winborne said in a press release. “I have tremendous respect for Dr. McLean and her excellent leadership and service to the children of our district. I wish her nothing but the best in her retirement and look forward to working with our board and amazing educators to build upon the successes during her tenure. I believe GCPS is poised to do great things and prepare our students to thrive in a changing world!”

Winborne currently serves as Associate Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction and Student Services for Granville County Public Schools. He has held numerous roles in the district, including Assistant Superintendent and Executive Director of Operations and Human Resources as well as Director of Secondary Schools & Career and Technical Education. He also has been the GCPS public information officer for the past 13 years.

In 1996, Winborne began his year career in education with Granville County Public Schools as its first and only English as a Second Language teacher. He was a teacher for 10 years before moving into administration.

As a graduate from Tulane University, Dr. Winborne earned a Bachelor of Arts dual degree in Spanish and International Relations. He received his Master’s degree in Language Education from Indiana University, an Education Specialist degree from George Washington University, and his Doctorate in Educational Administration and Supervision from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.

CNA Anna Williams 2023 Mercy Award Winner For Maria Parham Health

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— Information courtesy of Donna Young, Maria Parham Health’s Marketing & Communication Coordinator

Maria Parham Health recently announced that Anna Williams, CNA, is the 2023 Mercy Award winner. The Mercy Award recognizes one employee from each of Lifepoint Health’s facilities who profoundly touches the lives of others and best represents the spirit and values on which the company was founded.

The Mercy Award is an annual recognition program that honors the life and contributions of Scott Mercy, Lifepoint’s founding chairman and chief executive officer. The award is considered the highest honor a Lifepoint employee can receive.

“At Maria Parham Health, we share Lifepoint’s commitment to making communities healthier, and we recognize this is supported by the good work and service of our employees on and off the job,” said Bert Beard, CEO of Maria Parham Health. “We are extremely proud to recognize Anna for her efforts on behalf of our patients and our community. She goes above and beyond each and every day to ensure that every person she encounters receives the highest level of care and compassion.”

Beard continued, “Anna has been a certified nurse assistant for more than 17 years with Maria Parham. For the entirety of her work at MPH she has remained at the bedside. Anna is part of the heart and soul of our inpatient services and punctuates the importance of every member of the care team, and the profound impact that one strong team member can have on others.”

Williams also was recognized by her pastor as a leader whom the community looks to for guidance. She is part of the prayer ministry at Union Chapel Holy Church, and for more than 30 years has helped the sick in her church, as well as those who have lost family members by providing food, transportation, financial assistance or just some sympathetic company in a time of need.

Upon receiving this recognition, Williams responded, “I enjoy my job and find happiness in seeing patients progress and return to health. It allows me to be a beacon of light in the lives of others.”

Each facility winner will be in contention for the companw-wide Mercy Award, which will be announced in August during a ceremony in Nashville, TN.

33 Year Old Resident of Henry Street Found Shot and Died on Shank Street

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Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame provided the following information to WIZS.

On Saturday, May 13, 2023 around 7:58 p.m., the Vance County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to the area of 148 North Shank Street in reference to a report of a subject being shot inside a vehicle.

It was determined that a male subject, later identified as Adrian Espino, age 33, was suffering from a gunshot wound. Espino, a resident of 128 Henry street, Henderson succumbed due to his injuries while on scene.

The Vance County Sheriff’s Office along with the State Bureau of Investigations is currently investigating the crime. Anyone with information is asked to please contact the Vance County Sheriff’s Office at (252)738-2200, Henderson-Vance Crime Stoppers at (252)492-1925 or call 911.

Henderson Vance Recreation & Parks

TownTalk: Upcoming Activities At HVRPD

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Parents who may be looking for some engaging activities for their children this summer need look no further than the program listings at the Henderson Vance Recreation and Parks Department.

A daylong summer camp begins June 12 and continues through Aug. 11, and HVRPD facilities supervisor said Alisha Shaw said the camp will include field trips, meals and more, all for a weekly fee of $50.

Shaw and colleagues Deanne Brown and Shantal Hargrove were guests on Tuesday’s TownTalk to talk and shared information on programs and events that are happening at Fox Pond Park and Aycock Rec Center this summer.

There’s a free Gridiron program for children ages 7-12 that started May 15, but there’s still time to register, Brown, assistant director of the rec and parks department, said.
This program is focused on conditioning, she said. “That’s the whole purpose of this program – before the fall football starts.” Players and cheerleaders for the Tri-City Seahawks begins in the fall. The registration fee is $40, but parents can apply for a fee waiver. There are several different age divisions; football is for ages 4-12 and cheerleading is for ages 5-12. Registration continues through July 30.

Whether providing a spot for sports teams to practice and play or offering multipurpose rooms for rental to the community, Shaw said the department’s recreational facilities are staying busy.

“We are very busy with Fox Pond rentals at this time,” she said. The shelter rental is brisk and folks are out enjoying the pickle ball courts, trails and other outdoor amenities the park offers.

Hargrove is youth services outreach administrator and she said HVRPD offers structure and programming for children, but they also provide parents with peace of mind that their kids are in a safe, secure location while they’re at work.

“It gives the youth something to do in the summertime,” Hargrove said. “Sports gives them a chance to get back outside…and get some exercise.”

Whether it’s summer camp or being a member of a sports team, young people have a chance to interact with children their own age and meet new people who may attend different schools.

Plus, it gets them off their phones and gets them engaged,” Hargrove said. “It gives their thumbs a break,” she said.

HVRPD is planning a couple of activities for Juneteenth, including a street festival on Saturday, June 17 behind the county courthouse on Rose Avenue. There will be live entertainment, lots of food and product vendors. The festival will be held from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Anyone interested in being a vendor can contact HVRPD. The fee for food vendors is $75; other vendors are $25.

Contact Shaw for more information about the street festival at 252.438.2670.

Hargrove said a Juneteenth Jamboree will be held at Aycock Rec Center on Friday, June 16 for youth ages 14-18. There will be a glow-in-the-dark pool party, as well as a a DJ playing music, food, movies and more, she added.

Register to attend the Jamboree on Friday, May 26. All participants must be enrolled in school and have a minimum 2.5 GPA. Contact Darius Pitt at 252.431.6099 to learn more about the Jamboree.

Since 2023 has been designated the Year of the Trail, HVRPD decided to collaborate with Tina Crews and her Visions Educational Learning to create Nature’s Classroom, an interactive program that incorporates hiking trails with education to complete a scavenger hunt along the trails between Fox Pond Park and Aycock Rec Center.

All the recs and parks programs require staffing, and all available positions are listed on the city of Henderson’s webpage at www.henderson.nc.gov.

There are full-time and part-time positions available. Applications are available online and at Aycock Rec Center. Completed paper applications should be turned in to City Hall.

 

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The Local Skinny! Local Author Katherine Burnette Publishes Poems And Short Story

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Local author and N.C. Superior Court Judge the Hon. Katherine Burnette is busy working on her second book, which she estimates is about two-thirds completed.

The process of writing an entire work of fiction can be a slow one, Burnette acknowledged. So when she needs a break from writing books, she writes poetry and short stories.

Several of her poems have appeared in Deep South, an online publication that features Southern writers.

Her poem The Martins, describes the movements of that insect-gobbling bird. The setting is near the ocean’s shore, and Burnette intentionally indented the lines of her poem to mimic the waves that lap the sandy coastline.

“I find them fascinating,” Burnette said of the martin. They’re very active at dusk, picking insects out of the sky. “Just the way they fly – they have a unique flight pattern,” she added.

Other poems that appear in Deep South include The Edge of the Pool and Gray Tabby.

Visit https://deepsouthmag.com/ to read the poems and https://maudlinhouse.net/ to find her short story, Cast of Characters.

Burnette spoke with WIZS’s Bill Harris on Tuesday’s segment of The Local Skinny! to discuss her latest literary efforts.

Her first novel, Judge’s Waltz, was published in July 2021, and it has garnered a couple of awards – one for debut novel and one in the category of Mystery, she noted.

Her second work will be a thriller, not a mystery, she explained.

“If you only have one murder in your book, you can’t call it a thriller,” she said, chuckling. The new novel will be set in Henderson and nearby Oxford, where Burnette lives and will include a new set of characters, although readers of Judge’s Waltz will recognize some characters that make an appearance in the new book.

She uses her experience as a judge to help her when she writes courtroom or investigation scenes, she said. Writing is a way “to relieve stress and to think about something else” after a long day in judge’s robes.

Burnette’s book Judge’s Waltz is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble online, as well as the brick and mortar Barnes & Noble in The Village District (formerly Cameron Village) in Raleigh and locally at This ‘n’ That on Main Street in Oxford.

Read more at https://katherineburnetteauthor.com/

 

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Cooperative Extension With Paul McKenzie: What Works in the Garden

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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.

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Vance County Logo

The Local Skinny! Vance Co. Budget Details

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Vance County Commissioners have held a couple of work sessions to discuss the proposed 2023-24 budget and the community will have a chance to chime in during an upcoming June 5 public hearing before commissioners decide whether to adopt it.

The details of the roughly $57.5 million budget are contained in a 131-page document presented by County Manager Jordan McMillen. This is McMillan’s final budget presentation before he leaves his position later this month to become Butner Town Manager in neighboring Granville County.

The budget calls for no increase in the property tax, holding at 89 cents per $100 valuation, as well as appropriating more than $1.5 million from the General Fund to plug a gap between expected expenses and expected revenues. The proposed budget is 4.5 percent more than the 2022-23 budget.

Among the budget highlights are improvements to the county’s fire tax fund, which will provide 24-hour coverage in the north and south of the county – all with no tax increase.

On the revenue side, property tax is up some $63 million, which translates into more than $600,000 in additional tax revenue for the county.

Sales tax continues to be the big leader, with expected revenues projected at close to $2 million more than last year. Sales tax is the second largest source of revenue for the county at 21 percent.

Among the budget’s line items are funding for broadband expansion and the economic development strategic plan, as well as preparing for ongoing and increased costs in the areas of community health, education and workforce development training, to name a few.

In all, the county received requests for $7.4 million more than it was able to provide. If all those funding requests were to be granted, it would mean a 25.9 cent tax increase to county residents.

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