Perry Memorial Library

The Local Skinny! Events At Perry Memorial Library

/by

The Perry Memorial Library has a flurry of events planned between Thanksgiving and Christmas, providing lots of interactive activities for the whole family.

Youth Services Director Melody Peters invites patrons to take the long way in to the library and enjoy reading a story along the sidewalk outside and lingering among the lovely Festival of Trees exhibit in the Gallery between the library entrance and McGregor Hall.

The library will be closed Thursday through Sunday, but come Monday, Nov. 27, activities at the library are going to be heating up.

The StoryWalk, Peters explained, is geared toward those preschool-aged children. Families can join in the fun and get in a little exercise while they read a book, panel by panel, along the sidewalk.

“It’s just a fun activity,” Peters said on Tuesday’s The Local Skinny! “This is a good way to build in exercise…and read a story along the way,” Peters said. The StoryWalk will be up for a month for all to enjoy.

On Tuesday, Dec. 12, at 4 p.m., Durham-based StoryUp! Aerial Theater will perform the classic fable of The Lion and the Mouse. “It’s like going to the circus, but then imagine theater,” Peters said, sort of a mini Cirque de Soleil with aerial artists interpreting the story that’s basically about being kind.

The library is launching another story time beginning Thursday, Dec. 7 for elementary-age children, Peters said. She hopes the 3:30 p.m. time slot will be just right to get children engaged before they head off to tackle homework assignments or Lego Club.

These books will be a little longer than those selected for younger children’s shorter attention spans, she said. The theme for December will focus on different holiday traditions. First up is a book titled “Hershel and the Hannukah Goblins.”

She said she plans to incorporate this new story time offering as a way to encourage children of all ages to enjoy being read to.

Consider embracing your inner crafter on Saturday, Dec. 16 when the library opens up for all ages to join in a variety of crafts for the whole family.

Speaking of crafts, the Mother Goose story time slot is giving way in December to make-and-take craft activities for those kiddos birth to 5 years, Peters noted. “We’ll take a break in December and offer…crafts,” she said. And while they may just seem like fun activities, there’s a lot of learning going on. Stringing cereal on a pipe cleaner involves developing that pincer grasp, as well as sorting by colors. “There’s so much learning happening,” Peters said.

Learn about all the services and programs at Perry Memorial Library at www.perrylibrary.org.

 

CLICK PLAY!

 

Cooperative Extension With Paul McKenzie: What Works in the Garden

/by

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

Click Play!

 

Sheriff’s Office Seeks Man In Connection With Convenience Store Break-Ins

/by

The Vance County Sheriff’s Office is asking for help from the public to locate a man linked to several local break-ins.

Jason Ayscue, 43, is wanted on felony charges of busines break-ins, according to information from Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame.

Anyone with information related to the break-ins of local convenience stores, or who may know the whereabouts of Ayscue are encouraged to call the Vance County Sheriff’s Office at 252.738.2200, Henderson-Vance Crime Stoppers at 252.492.1925 or use the P3 app.

Crime Stoppers offers a reward of up to $1,000 for information that may lead to an arrest. Callers may remain anonymous.

Granville Vance Public Health Logo

TownTalk: Mental Health And Substance Use Forum Takes Place Next Week

/by

The approaching holidays bring families together to celebrate and spend time together, but  those family gatherings also can place undue pressure and stress on those who also may struggle with mental health and substance abuse issues.

Melanie Griggs, a behavioral health clinical counselor at Granville Vance Public Health, said two upcoming listening sessions are designed to provide resources and information about services in the community.

“It’s a big, big problem,” Griggs said of individuals who find themselves in a mental health or substance abuse crisis.

Above and beyond those modern-day stressors that creep into people’s lives from time to time, other people experience anxiety, depression, loneliness and even suicidal thoughts.
“It affects the family, employers, our entire community,” Griggs said.  “All of us are touched by someone who struggles with either of these issues on a day-to-day basis,” she said.

GVPH is one of the partners hosting the discussions.

The Vance County forum will be held Tuesday, Nov. 28 at 6 p.m. at the Spring Street Missionary Baptist Church, 511 Orange St., Henderson.

The Granville County forum will be held Thursday, Nov. 30 at 6 p.m. at Cornerstone Christian Community Church, 3237 Knotts Grove Rd., Oxford.

“We’re going to talk a lot about access and where in our communities…you can go to get more information and support to address (people’s) particular concerns.”

Provider booths will include those that specialize in medications for Opioid Use Disorder (e.g., Buprenorphine, Methadone), individual and family counseling, medication management, crisis management, intensive outpatient services, and residential treatment.

“We want to make sure that people in our community know what’s out there…making sure they know where to go to get these services.”

Griggs said the community has access to a mobile crisis management unit, accessible by phone 24 hours a day, 365 days a year at 1.844.709.4097.

 

CLICK PLAY!

 

The Local Skinny! Franklin County Releases Historic Architecture Book

/by

The much-awaited Franklin County architectural history book has been published and is ready for purchase, just in time for Christmas.

The books are $60 and feature more than 400 photos and list 800 properties of interest throughout the county.

There will be a special book release party at the Louisburg Senior Center, 279 S. Bickett Blvd.,  on Monday, Dec. 4 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Books will be on sale at the event, and also will be available for sale at the various library branches in the county, said WIZS’s own Bill Harris, who also serves as chair of the Franklin County Historical Preservation Commission.

The book is the result of a comprehensive survey conducted before the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, which slowed the process of completing the book.

The previous survey undertaken by the state preservation office was completed in the 1970’s, but didn’t result in a book, he said.

Now, half a century later, this most recent survey includes properties that would not have been considered historically significant back in the 1970’s, Harris explained.

There also was an effort to focus on the southern part of Louisburg, which had not been thoroughly considered in the previous survey, he noted.

The book’s main editor is J. Daniel Pizzone, but there were numerous others who contributed to the completion of the book, Harris said. It was published in Oxford by BW&A Books.

Copies of the book are available now at the following locations:

 

  • Central Library, 906 North Main St., Louisburg
  • Bunn Branch Library, 610 Main St., Bunn
  • Franklinton Branch Library 9 West Mason St., Franklinton
  • Youngsville Branch Library, 218 US-1A Hwy. South, Youngsville
  • Franklin County Planning & Inspections Department, 127 S. Bickett Blvd., Louisburg

 

CLICK PLAY!

 

Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland: Clothes Moths

/by

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

Click Play!

 

Churches Sponsor Camp Meeting Dec. 4-8 At McGregor Hall

/by

Henderson’s second annual weeklong Camp Meeting will be held Dec. 4-8 at McGregor Hall.

Each evening will feature preachers and musical performances. The public is invited to attend – admission is free, but an offering will be taken up each night, according to information from Andy Matthews, one of the organizers.

The nightly meetings begin at 7 p.m. and will be moderated by Scott Matthews, who also will be the guest preacher on Wednesday, along with evangelist Dale Vance.

Other preachers include Kenny Baldwin (Monday), Joe Arthur (Tuesday) and C.T. Townsend (Thursday).

Nightly musical entertainment will feature The Matthews Family. The Morrison Sisters will take the stage Wednesday through Friday and special guests Andy Leftwich & Friends will conclude the weeklong activities with a special Christmas show on Friday evening.

The camp meeting is supported by more than half a dozen churches across Vance County, Scott Matthew said. His father, Ronnie Matthews is pastor of Forest Hill Baptist Church in Henderson.

For more information, call Scott Matthews 864.490.0852 or Ronnie Matthews 252.425.9035.

Oxford Fire Dept. Has New Specialized Rescue Equipment For Use In Grain Bins

/by

The Oxford Fire Department is one of only two departments in the state to receive a specialized piece of equipment to assist with grain bin rescues.

Thanks to a partnership with the local Pegram Agency, Nationwide Insurance and the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety, the Oxford fire department now has the equipment should a situation arise that a person is trapped in a grain bin.

The equipment is basically a rescue tube and NECAS also provides training to make sure fire departments know how to use it properly. NECAS representatives traveled to each location with state-of-the-art grain entrapment simulators. The comprehensive training sessions included classroom education and rescue simulations using the entrapment tools, which are loaded onto 20-foot trailers and able to hold about 100 bushels of grain each.

Rural communities continue to face hazards associated with working in and around grain structures. In 2022 alone, there were at least 42 grain entrapments – the highest number in more than a decade – resulting in 15 fatalities. To help prevent tragic accidents and deaths, Nationwide and its partners are providing life-saving grain rescue tubes and training to 60 fire departments across rural America through its 2023 Grain Bin Safety campaign.

Since beginning the Grain Bin Safety campaign in 2014, at least seven fire departments have utilized their rescue tubes and training to successfully rescue entrapped individuals, including a man in Ohio who was trapped up to his armpits back in a March 2023 incident.

“With entrapments and accidents on the rise, it’s as important as ever to be following proper safety precautions before entering a bin,” said Brad Liggett, president of Agribusiness at Nationwide. “

 

Through collaboration with NECAS, Nationwide and its partners have now supplied grain rescue equipment and training to 332 first responders across 32 states to help prepare them when local grain entrapments occur.

“Grain bin accidents continue to be a critical issue facing the agriculture industry,” said Liggett. “We are proud to have supplied these important resources to 60 more rural fire departments in partnership with the many sponsors involved in our grain bin safety efforts. Thank you to the first responders who play such an important role in supporting the agriculture community.”

Nationwide is continuing to work with partners throughout the year to provide additional grain rescue tubes and training sessions to fire departments in need. To learn how to get involved or sponsor a rescue tube for your local fire department, visit the Partner With Us webpage.