Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland: Ticks
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New Granville Company Makes Game-Changer Construction Materials That Saves Trees
— Information courtesy of Granville County Public Information Officer Terry Hobgood
A facility in Granville County that had been used to make cigarettes has new life making highly advanced building materials out of fast-growing perennial grass. That’s right: Grass.
Plantd Materials officially opened its new headquarters and production facility last week in the Knotts Grove Road building last occupied by Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, according to information from Granville County Public Information Officer Terry Hobgood.
City and county leaders, as well as the local Chamber of Commerce were on hand Friday, May 6, to officially welcome the new business.
Plantd is an advanced production technologies company that manufactures carbon-negative building materials using natural materials, like its proprietary perennial grass.
“In Granville County, we see an unparalleled opportunity to reshape the construction industry, build a credible climate change solution, and bridge this rural region into the 21st-century economy,” said Josh Dorfman, co-founder and CEO of Plantd. “Integrating into the economic and social fabric of this area is the foundation we will build upon to drive positive impact at the local, national, and global levels.”
“We couldn’t be happier that Plantd has decided to literally Grow with Granville,” said Granville County Board of Commissioners Vice-Chair Tim Karan. “A company like Plantd is such a great fit for Granville, melding our agricultural roots with a new forward-thinking production process for building materials is the perfect combination of tradition and innovation. We are thrilled that Plantd has decided to invest in Oxford and Granville County so soon after Santa Fe closed their doors.”
“When the Santa Fe Natural Tobacco decided to close its Oxford facility in 2022, Granville lost one of its anchor economic development engines,” said Granville County Economic Development Director Harry Mills. “Santa Fe was so important to Granville in providing contracts and employment for many local farmers and workers. Plantd will provide a new opportunity for local farmers who will grow Plantd’s proprietary perennial grass, and this company will create many jobs to boost the local economy as they continue to grow. They have already made a concerted effort to hire local workers and we look forward to helping them in any way we can for years to come.”
Learn more at https://www.plantdmaterials.com.
NC DMV Notes Changes For Teen Drivers
Parents with teen drivers, take note: there are some changes coming to the graduated driver licensing program, and the state’s Division of Motor Vehicles wants to make sure a trip to your local DMV office goes as smoothly as possible.
The General Assembly passed a bill that went into effect earlier this week which requires teen drivers to have their Level 1 learner permit for 6 months before they get their provisional license. Other requirements remain the same: drivers must be at least 16 years old, log 60 hours of driving time, pass a road test and show printed proof of insurance in the teen driver’s name.
This could lead to bottlenecks at the local DMV, as demand for road tests increases so teens can get provisional driver licenses.
“We ask for your patience as we work to accommodate the thousands of teen drivers that are suddenly eligible to take a road test and receive their Level 2 provisional license,” Goodwin said.
One reminder: road tests, which teen drivers must pass to achieve the Level 2 license, will not be scheduled after 4 p.m.
Customers who need to make an appointment for a road test or conduct DMV business as a walk-in have a new tool which will show the current average wait time at their local DMV office. Find it on the https://www.ncdot.gov/dmv/offices. Customers can now hover over the icon marking each driver license office and a box will pop up with the current walk-in wait time. The wait time is defined as the current average length of time from check-in until the customer is called to the workstation for service.
“I’m very excited about this new tool that will show customers the walk-in wait time at driver license offices so they can make an informed decision on which office to go to, or whether to try again another day,” said DMV Commissioner Wayne Goodwin. “This tool will be most useful in the afternoon when our 115 driver license offices are serving walk-ins only.”
During COVID-19 restrictions, the long-standing requirement that teen drivers have their permits for 12 months was temporarily shortened to 6 months; that requirement lapsed at the end of 2022. Furthermore, beginning Jan. 1 2024, the 6-month period will permanently extend to 9 months.
Another change to the graduated driver license process allows Level 2 permit holders to be able to drive one passenger under 21 who is not a family member, if they are being driven directly to or from school. This is in addition to the existing provision allowing one passenger under 21 that is a family member.
Schedule an appointment at https://skiptheline.ncdot.gov/
Sheriff Brame: Four Arrested For Sale, Delivery Of Cocaine and Heroin
Four people were arrested late last week on a variety of charges related to the sale and delivery of cocaine and heroin from a house in Vance County.
The arrested were made as a result of an operation that involved narcotics and CID investigators of the Vance County Sheriff’s office late last week, according to information from Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame.
The operation was focused upon the illegal sale and delivery of both cocaine base and heroin from within the residence located at 226 1st Street, Henderson, NC 27537.
Officers executed a search warrant at the home early in the morning of Friday, May 1. Brame stated in the press release that more arrests are anticipated.
The four people arrested are:
- Maurice Harrison, 60, charged with possession with intent to sell and deliver cocaine, sell and deliver cocaine, maintain a dwelling to keep/sell a controlled substance. Harrison is in the Vance County jail under a $105,000 secured bond.
- Teelah ElHitu, 36, charged with possession with intent to sell and deliver cocaine, three counts of sell and deliver cocaine, conspiracy to sell and deliver cocaine, two counts of maintaining a dwelling to keep/sell a controlled substance. ElHitu is in Franklin County jail under a $210,000 secured bond.
- Johnathan Williams, 37, charged with possession with intent to sell and deliver cocaine, sell and deliver cocaine and conspiracy to sell and deliver cocaine. He is in the Vance County jail under a secured bond of $105,000.
- Lindsey Allen, 34, charged with possession with intent to sell and deliver cocaine, sell and deliver cocaine and conspiracy to sell and deliver cocaine. Allen is in the Vance County jail under a secured bond of $105,000.
SportsTalk: Local Schools Making A Run In State Playoffs
It’s an exciting time at Oxford Prep and Kerr Vance Academy. Both schools have teams advancing through the state playoffs.
At Oxford Prep it’s Tommy Anstead’s softball team that is looking to make it to the third round of the state playoffs. “We’ve never been as far as the third round,” Anstead said on Thursday’s SportsTalk on WIZS. On Tuesday Oxford Prep had a convincing 5-3 win over Union High School. That school featured a pitcher with 196 strike outs this year. When asked how you prepare for a pitcher with that type of talent Anstead said, “You hope they don’t have any,” referring to the strike outs. This is the school’s third time advancing to the second round and they must defeat Riverside Martin from Williamston Friday night to make it to round three. Riverside Martin is ranked eleventh in the state. That game is in Oxford and will be at 6pm Friday.
Meanwhile, Mike Joyner, Athletic Director at Kerr Vance Academy, will need to be in two places at once Friday night as both the baseball team and the girl’s soccer team will be playing. The Spartan’s soccer team is ranked #8 in the state and escaped with a 1-0 win over Lee Christian earlier this week and will now face local rival Crossroads Christian. That game is at 5pm Friday. At 6pm the #1 seeded baseball team, which is coming off a first round bye, will take on North Hills Christian. “We lost in the semi-finals last year and we felt we were in good shape to make a run this year,” Joyner said of the team. “We are young with no seniors but we added two really good players,” Joyner added. KVA will be at home throughout the playoffs with the championships coming up on May 19th and 20th.
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Front Porch Bluegrass Show With Tasker Fleming
Tune in to Tasker Fleming’s Front Porch Bluegrass Show on Sunday evenings on WIZS and you’ll surely find yourself tapping your toes to some familiar songs, featuring fiddles, mandolins and more.
But tune in to the program on Sunday, May 21 at 6 p.m. and you may hear some familiar – and local – artists as well.
Fleming said he plans to mark the second anniversary of the show being aired on WIZS with some nods to all things Henderson.
“I’m going to dedicate the whole show” to Vance County, whether he’s featuring local bluegrass musician Wayne Kinton or reminiscing about eating in local restaurants as a child traveling through Henderson on his way to visit relatives in Virginia.
The show originates from Albemarle, in Stanly County, and it is aired on numerous stations in North Carolina and Virginia. He’s in talks now with a station in Galax, VA. “I’ll offer my show to anyone who wants to listen,” he said.
Folks who tune in on May 21 may just hear him tell the story about his days as a new UNC graduate who landed his first job at Vance Senior High School. The superintendent at the time was Wayne Adcock. Fleming said he was the only employee in the school system who could “boast” of having been paddled by the superintendent.
He’d deserved that paddling, Fleming confessed, when he had been a second-grader with Adcock as his principal.
Fond memories of Nunnery-Freeman and Hereford House restaurants are sure to bring back memories, Fleming noted. And bringing up good memories is part of what the Front Porch Bluegrass show is all about.
“I love doing the show,” Fleming said. “I’ve always had a passion for bluegrass.”
Tune in on Sunday evenings and contact Fleming at frontporchbluegrass21@yahoo.com.
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TownTalk: Short To Retire As Director Of Emergency Operations
Brian Short, director of Vance County emergency operations, is retiring at the end of May. But you won’t find him on the golf course or puttering around in the yard for very long – he’ll begin a new state job just four days after he turns over his local duties to Vivian Lassiter, who will serve as interim director.
Short and Lassiter were guests on Thursday’s TownTalk segment to talk about the state of emergency operations in the county and what may lie ahead.
“With the exception of being a husband and a father,” Short said, “this is the most important thing I’ll do in my life.” He started out in 1991 as a part-time 911 dispatcher and rose through the ranks to become its director in 1998.
“I’ve got a lot of faith and a lot of pride in this agency,” Short said. Lassiter said she’s been preparing for this new role as interim director and said she feels confident because of the way Short has prepared her.
“Brian’s worked with me one on one…I feel as ready as anyone else. I believe I’ll do fine (but) I’ve got big shoes to fill.”
Short said he always tried to make sure the emergency operations staff was ready to work outside their comfort zones “so they’d be ready to grow and progress when the opportunity presented itself.”
Having the safety and welfare of close to 50,000 people is a heavy burden, he acknowledged, but he has great confidence in the people who run the 911 call centers and everyone else who responds to emergency situations.
“They’re the ones in there on the front lines, making split-second decisions, making the right calls,” he said.
Today’s local 911 dispatchers have the best equipment and technology available, Short said. You may find bigger operations functioning in larger cities, “but you won’t see one with any more or better technology than what we have,” he added. “We try to always be on the cutting edge.”
Lassiter knows all about that technology – she’s currently the acting operations manager for the 911 center and occasionally fills in as a 911 operator when needed.
“I just enjoy saving lives,” she said. And that desire was only heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic. “I wanted to do more,” she said.
She plans to keep the agency running just like it’s running now. “I think the way that we do things and involving the community is the right thing to do,” she said.
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Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland: Carpenter Bees
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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FarmsSHARE Program Connects Small Farmers, Local Residents With Fresh, Healthy Foods
FarmsSHARE is a program that was started in 2020 by Carolina Farm Stewardship Association as a response to COVID-19. And now, almost three years later, federal and state agriculture officials have funded the program to keep it going – and even expanding its reach to help underserved communities increase its access to fresh, local-grown foods.
Working Landscapes, a Warren County non-profit agency, is one of FarmsSHARE’s hub partners that provides fresh, locally grown produce to three locations in Vance and Warren counties.
FarmsSHARE began as a way to help connect people with healthy food, but it also was a way to provide financial support to small businesses during the pandemic shutdown.
State agriculture officials have gotten $7.6 million to keep the program up and running, working with 15 hub partners and more than 200 community-based organizations across the state to obtain and distribute 133,000 boxes of local food. The farms and food hubs also receive assistance to enter new markets for local food.
Working Landscapes works with local partners Turning Point CDC in Henderson, as well as the H.O.P.E. Regional Medical Clinic and Loaves & Fishes Ministries, both in Warren County.
ByWay Foods Hub is one aspect of the Working Landscapes operation, works out of two downtown Warrenton locations. The primary location is on Franklin Street, on a repurposed historic site that once housed a cotton gin and flour mill. That’s where the fresh-cut vegetable operation is based. It’s also where the team manages the CSA-style program provides fresh, healthy foods to community residents.
“Creating more opportunities for North Carolinians to source local products from North Carolina farmers is beneficial all around, for consumers, farmers, and our local food supply long term,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “Expanding FarmsSHARE…is expected to strengthen and expand our efforts and allow food hubs to connect and develop relationships with socially disadvantaged farmers, small farmers, and small businesses to the benefit of local farmers and communities.”
Funding for the program comes from the American Rescue Plan. Questions regarding how to participate as either a farmer or distribution site should be sent to Kana Miller, Local Food Distribution Coordinator, kana@carolinafarmstewards.org and 919.542.2402 ext. 831.