TownTalk: Sergent Looks To Community For Support After Oxford Fire

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In the hours after a fire destroyed two businesses in downtown Oxford, Mayor Jackie Sergent said city officials were already busy putting together a plan to rally around the displaced business owners.

City firefighters and numerous volunteer departments responded to the blaze Monday morning on the 100 block of Williamsboro Street in downtown Oxford. The call came in at 8:28 a.m. and Sergent said by 9:30 a.m. Downtown Development Director Alyssa Blair was “already starting to look where those two businesses might be rehoused…so they might be up and running as soon as possible,” Sergent said on Tuesday’s TownTalk.

The Healing Haven and Farrar’s Jewelers were destroyed by the fire, which was brought under control before 11 a.m. The investigation is ongoing, Sergent said. No cause has yet been determined.

“We are very pleased and proud that our fire department and all the other first responders were able to handle the fire with minimal damage to adjoining properties and no loss of life or limb,”

She said she is incredibly proud of the way that the city’s fire chief and emergency management team responded, providing “leadership an insight to manage the fire…and avoid a conflagration that would take out an entire city block and limit the damage to the building that was burning.

The last time a fire destroyed a building in downtown Oxford was in February 1997.

A fitness studio occupied a very narrow space beside near where Strong Arm Baking Co. is located along Main Street.

That building was a complete loss, and city commissioners voted to create a pocket park in 2001. “It’s named for former Mayor Hugh Currin,” Sergent said. “It’s a lovely little spot now.”

Sergent said she believes the people of Oxford will rally around the two business owners who have been displaced. “Our downtown is made up of small business owners and we do not want to lose them,” she said.

She encourages the community to “step forward and support them in any way we can think of…we will help them get going…and find a way to sustain (them).”

 

 

Perry Memorial Library

The Local Skinny! Events At Perry Memorial Library

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The “mitten tree” at Perry Memorial Library will be up soon, providing some holiday cheer as a wintertime decoration as well as a resource for those in need of mittens and hats during the cold months ahead.

Last year’s tree was a success, but it was also funded with a “Kindness” grant, said Melody Peters, Youth Services director at the library. “We gave away over 200 items,” she said on Tuesday’s The Local Skinny!

“This is the first year we’ve asked for donations,” Peters added. Patrons are invited to drop of new or even gently used mittens, gloves and hats at any of the desks in the library.

If you’re shopping for yourself, consider grabbing an extra pair to donate, she said.

Peters said she’ll enlist the help of local knitters to whip up a few pairs as well when they’re at the library for their regular club gathering.

And who knows, maybe the newly formed Crochet group will help, too. The group of a dozen or more tweens and teens who are learning how to create with hook and yarn will meet again on Nov. 21 at 4 p.m. as part of the Survival Skills series.

“We have room for extras,” Peters said. “We have room to grow…we can open the doors to the Makerspace…(and we) can spill out into the teen area.” The library provides the crochet hooks and the yarn that the participants can take home to practice with.

Another program for youth is the Life Hacks series. The Nov. 14 program is titled “Fun With Finance,” and Peters said a local bank representative will be on hand to share some practical information that teens should know about money. The program, designed for high school students, begins at 4 p.m.

Not everything can be done with a swipe or a tap on your phone, Peters said, and she wants young people to know about things like rent, mortgages, checking accounts and more.

This program helps get them started on the path to financial literacy by “just getting them to understand the basics,” she said.

Learn more about Perry Memorial Library and its programs and services at https://www.perrylibrary.org/

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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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Maria Parham Gets Another “A” Grade From Leapfrog For Patient Safety

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-information courtesy of MPH Marketing & Communication Coordinator Donna Young

 

Maria Parham Health has received a third consecutive “A” Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit upholding the standard of patient safety in hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers. This national distinction celebrates Maria Parham Health’s achievements in prioritizing patient safety by protecting patients from preventable harm and errors.

“Maria Parham Health is proud to offer our community and region ‘A’ level care for the third consecutive review period,” said Bert Beard, Maria Parham Health CEO. “We feel it speaks to our commitment to excellence in the services we offer, and is a testament to the engagement of our team of caregivers.”

The Leapfrog Group, an independent national watchdog organization, assigns an “A,” “B,” “C,” “D” or “F” grade to general hospitals across the country based on more than 30 national performance measures reflecting errors, accidents, injuries and infections, as well as the systems hospitals have in place to prevent harm.

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on hospital prevention of medical errors and harm to patients. The grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. Grades are updated twice annually, in the fall and spring.

To see Maria Parham Health’s full grade details and to access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit  https://www.leapfroggroup.org/  on Twitter, Facebook and via its newsletter.

 

 

Mayoral Runoff Election Tomorrow, Along With Kittrell, Middleburg Contests

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Close to 2,000 Henderson residents voted during the early-voting period for tomorrow’s mayoral runoff election between Melissa Elliott and Greg Etheridge.

If you were NOT one of the 1,940 who has already voted in the runoff election, Election Day is tomorrow – Tuesday, Nov. 7. The polls open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m.

Registered voters should be prepared to show a photo ID.

And we’ve done the math for you: 9,358 registered voters in Henderson minus the 1,940 who cast their votes early leaves 7,418 potential ballots to be cast in the 13-hour election day window across the city’s precincts.

Voters will cast ballots in the towns of Kittrell and Middleburg Tuesday, as well, said Vance County Board of Elections Director Jennifer Cocklin.

In Kittrell, incumbent Jerry C. Joyner is seeking another term as mayor and is running unopposed. The three candidates running for Town Council, also incumbents, are Mary Jo Floyd, Susan Pulley and Robert Tunstall.

Middleburg Mayor Ray Bullock is running unopposed for another two-year term, Cocklin stated. According to a list of candidates on the board of elections website, the candidates for Middleburg town commissioner are Hazel Baskett, Shirley Bullock and Mamie Turner.

Visit https://www.vancecounty.org/departments/board-of-elections/ to learn more.

Firefighters Battle Morning Blaze That Destroyed Two Downtown Oxford Businesses

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UPDATE: 7:15 p.m.

Firefighters battled a blaze in downtown Oxford Monday morning which destroyed a historic building that housed two businesses.

The call came in at 8:28 a.m., and Oxford Fire Department, with help from several area volunteer fire departments, had the fire under control by 10:40 a.m., according to information from city officials late Monday afternoon.

“The fire was extinguished at approximately 10:40 and controlled through the coordinated efforts of the Oxford Fire Department, the Antioch Fire Department, the Providence Fire Department, the Corinth Fire Department, and the Granville Rural Fire Department. Granville EMS was also present at the scene,” according to information sent from Oxford city officials.

Businesses near the 100 block of Williamsboro Street were evacuated and law enforcement agencies from the police department, sheriff’s office and N.C. Highway Patrol blocked off the area at Williamsboro and Main streets.

Alyssa Blair, Downtown Development Director, stated, “The fire from this morning has touched the heart of everyone in the business community as well as the community as a whole and the rallying behind them has already begun. The City of Oxford and Downtown Oxford Economic Development Corporation have begun searching for temporary locations for our affected businesses and will do everything possible to find additional resources to aid during this difficult time.”

 

ORIGINAL STORY

 

Oxford firefighters spent the morning battling a blaze downtown that has destroyed two businesses and was posing a threat to businesses on either side.

The fire broke out on the 100 block of Williamsboro Street between First National Bank and Milano’s restaurant near the heart of downtown Oxford. The two businesses are The Healing Haven and Farrar’s Jewelers, located at 121 ½ and 123 Williamsboro St., according to Granville County Chamber of Commerce Director Cynthia Ratliff.

Oxford Mayor Jackie Sergent said no one was inside, so, as yet, people are safe. “We are grieving for the tremendous loss – for the building which has so much meaning and history for the community and the owner and for the businesses within who were counting on the holiday shopping season to keep them strong,” Sergent said in a text message to WIZS News Monday morning.

According to Sergent, the building occupied by Healing Haven Massage is owned by Gaynelle Finch, and previously housed Finch Insurance Agency. “The fire is raging between ceilings…so (it’s) unreachable,” Sergent said about 10:15 a.m.  “Our guys and multiple other agencies are keeping the water going in an attempt to save the buildings on either side.”

Those buildings on either side include an attorney’s office, a consulting firm, a health care agency and a bail bond agency.

By 11 a.m., firefighters were able to enter the second floor of the structure, according to Sergent, who was on the scene.

Oxford Downtown Development Director Alyssa Blair provided a brief statement to WIZS News Tuesday afternoon, saying that other several businesses had been affected by this morning’s fire.

“We do not have information on what started the fire and will inform the public as soon as the investigation has concluded,” Blair noted.

“We are grateful for our FD staff – that they are well trained and well equipped, and for the mutual aid responders who have come when needed, and we are praying for their safety, those affected, and that the damage may be minimized. I have faith that the community of Oxford will come together and support all those needing it in the days ahead that they might prevail and feel cared for.”

Ratliff drove down Williamsboro Street shortly before 8:30 this morning on her way to work. She told WIZS News in a telephone interview from the fire scene Monday morning that she smelled a faint smell of smoke when she arrived at her office, and thought briefly that it was coming from under her car’s hood.

Just a few minutes later, she was walking to the Hub for a meeting and she saw a ladder truck along Williamsboro Street.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Ratliff said, as she watched firefighters battle the fire. All surrounding businesses were evacuated, and the road is blocked. Services at the courthouse seem to be unaffected.

“It’s a horrible sight,” Ratliff said of the building in the aftermath of the fire.

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Henderson Christmas Parade

The Local Skinny! Henderson Christmas Parade Is Coming

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It may be hard to believe, but the Henderson Christmas parade is less than one month away.

The parade will be held on Saturday, Dec. 2 beginning at 2 p.m., according to parade organizers. And groups that want to be in the parade have until Nov. 24 – the day after Thanksgiving – to submit an entry form.

The entry form can be found at  www.hendersonncdowntown.org.

Entries will line up on Raleigh Road near the light at Burger King, and then will proceed down Raleigh Road before turning right onto Garnett Street. The parade route continues down Garnett Street and concludes at Rose Avenue, near First United Methodist Church and Sunrise Biscuit.

The parade is sponsored by the Henderson-Vance Downtown Development Commission and the Vance County Arts Council.

 

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The Local Skinny! Grace Ministries Plans 7th Annual Thanksgiving Meal

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The 7th annual Grace Ministries Thanksgiving meal giveaway is taking shape and organizer Bobby West said the plan is to provide 3,000 meals to folks in the community on Saturday, Nov. 18.

In addition to the Grace Ministries location at 215 Crozier St., West said there are a number of locations where individuals across Vance, Granville and Warren counties can go to pick up to-go plates, filled with pork loin, vegetables, stuffing and a dessert.

The event gets underway at 11 a.m., but there’s a lot of preparation that goes in to making that happen, West said on Monday’s The Local Skinny!

He said he expects to feed 1,000 at the Crozier Street location – folks can dine there or pick up a takeout plate.

All the other locations are takeout only, and West said they could use some volunteers to help, beginning at 8:30 on the morning of Nov. 18. “We’re going to need 2,000 plates ready to go by 11 o’clock,” he said.

It’ll probably take 100 or so volunteers that morning, West said, adding that there will be six or seven lines set up to pack all the plates. “We’ll pack them up fast, get them out the door and to the locations,” he said.

It’s their biggest outreach effort of the year, and West said he’s grateful to the churches in the area that help out each year. “We couldn’t without support of the community and other churches,” he said. “God has been so good to us…we just do it as an act of kindness – the world can use some more kindness.”

And cakes. They need cakes – 160, truth be told, West said, for each of those 3,000 plates. If you can help out, give him a call at 252.432.7124.

Monetary donations may be sent to Grace Ministries, P.O. Box 316, Henderson, NC 27536.

Following is the list of satellite locations that will have plates ready for distribution:

  • Grace Baptist Church near fairgrounds;
  • South Henderson Church of God set up last year at Rose’s on Dabney Drive;
  • Room At The Cross, 235 Booth Ave.;
  • Rushing Waters Outreach in Oxford;
  • Norlina Baptist Church, Norlina;
  • Old Aycock gym, Vicksboro Road, by New Sandy Creek Baptist Church;
  • West End Baptist Church, Dabney Drive;
  • Location across from standpipe on Andrews Avenue.

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