Duke Energy

Duke Energy Foundation Grants Support Local Storm Preparedness

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— Information from Duke Energy

The Duke Energy Foundation is committing $500,000 in grants to support local storm preparedness across North Carolina. Eligible organizations can apply for grants of up to $25,000 now through April 30, 2026 by visiting the Duke Energy Foundation website.

Successful applications will describe pressing local preparedness needs and how the organization(s) will use the funds, according to information from Beth Townsend, Duke Energy East Region’s director of Government and Community Relations.

Examples of potential, successful proposals include:

  • Collaboration across agencies, sectors and communities in local disaster preparedness and response.
  • Innovative planning of initiatives for communities to prepare for natural disasters and extreme weather.
  • Storm readiness training, materials, kits and other community engagement and education initiatives.
  • Specialized training for first responders for natural disaster scenarios.

The application website includes information on qualifications, registering through Benevity, and step-by-step instructions. However, if you have any questions, please contact Sue Mills at sue.mills@duke-engery.com.

TownTalk: How Franklin County Gets Water from Kerr Lake and the Kerr Lake Regional Water System Future

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Can the Kerr Lake Regional Water System grow and continue to be the biggest player for local and regional water needs?

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SportsTalk: Louisburg College Softball 22-6 Through March

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Brice Garand, Head Softball Coach at Louisburg College, joins SportsTalk to speak about their teams success as Spring is here in the Softball Season.

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High School Baseball Scores:

Monday

  • Cedar Ridge 13 J.F. Webb 3
  • Oxford Prep 11 Clover Garden 1
  • Double Header
    • Warren County 15 KIPP Pride 0
    • Warren County 16 KIPP Pride 0
  • Mecklenburg County, VA 15 Brunswick Academy, VA 3

Tuesday

  • Warren County @ KIPP Pride
  • Franklinton vs. Panther Creek
  • Louisburg @ Roanoke Rapids
  • Bunn @ Nash Central
  • Wake Prep @ ALA-Johnston

College Baseball Scores:

Monday

  • Louisburg College 11 Southwest VA 0

Tuesday

  • NC State vs. Liberty
  • UNC vs. Campbell
  • Duke vs. Davidson
  • Wake Forest @ High Point
  • ECU vs. UNC-Wilmington

MiLB Scores:

Tuesday

  • Durham Bulls vs. Lehigh Valley
  • Charlotte @ Nashville

TownTalk: Franklin County Requests Reallocation Of Water From Kerr Lake

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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in response to a request from Franklin County, has started the process to consider a reallocation of water from Kerr Lake to address the county’s future water needs.

Among first steps in this process was a scoping meeting, which was held Mar. 26 in Warren County. USACE representatives fielded questions from the public at the meeting, which included an explanation of the process, which is expected to take years to complete.

The comment period remains open through April 10. Anyone interested in commenting can send an email to:

cesaw-jhkerr-reallocation-franklin@usace.army.mil

Speaking at the meeting, USACE’s David Connolly of the Wilmington District said he knew people were interested in impacts, including how docks would be affected, as well as hydroelectric power.

Connolly said these issues are among those that will be addressed throughout the study.

Franklin County wants to get 16.7 million gallons of water per day from Kerr Lake; with the anticipated growth in the area predicted to continue, county leaders want to take steps now to anticipate what they feel will be a water shortage in the next 50 years.

The goal of the scoping meeting is to inform the public about the process and to share information that will be considered.

With reservoirs and dams like Kerr Lake, the water is divided into three “pools” or areas – the sediment pool is at the bottom of the lake, the conservation storage pool is in the middle (that’s where the drinking water comes from) and the flood control storage pool is at the top (that’s what gets released to keep the Roanoke River basin regulated).

From the middle pool – the conservation storage pool – comes both drinking water and water that supplies hydro power and recreation uses.

Water customers like the Kerr Lake Regional Water System would most likely be concerned about water availability; the Corps of Engineers is most concerned about how hydroelectric power would be affected.

The KLRWS is building up to a 20-million-gallon a day draw; Franklin County has asked for 16.7 million gallons a day. Franklin County also is a KLRWS customer.

Right now, about 3 percent of the lake’s middle layer conservation storage pool is being used.

These topics and more will be considered in the study process. Connolly said the study will help to confirm that the allocation request is a reasonable one and would identify possible alternatives that would have less impact.

A draft report is scheduled to be ready by September 2027 – a year and a half from now.

Connolly reiterated that part of the process is to look at other measures that could work, compare it with the reallocation to determine feasibility.

In addition to providing an environmental impact analysis, the study will include a hydroelectric power analysis and a demand analysis. Once the draft report is completed, the Corps will have another 30-day comment period and a meeting similar to the one held last week.

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SportsTalk: Former Franklinton Football Coach B.W. Holt Inducted into NCHSAA Hall of Fame

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The two state championships his teams earned at Rocky Mount Academy are memorable, but legendary football coach B.W. Holt said he’d always remember that first win as head coach at Franklinton High School back in the late 1970’s.

“Franklinton is a very special place,” Holt said on Wednesday’s SportsTalk with Scout Hughes and Doc Ayscue. “That’s where I won my first ballgame…we beat Bunn.  At Bunn.”

Holt, 81, is a member of the 2026 class of inductees to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame.

With more than 300 wins under his belt, Holt ranks among the winningest high school coaches in state history. He built winning programs at Franklinton High School, Starmount in Yadkin County, Rocky Mount High School and Rocky Mount Academy.

Franklinton High School was his second stop on his head coaching journey and he pretty much restarted the program when he arrived in 1972 from Southwest Randolph.

He’d started the football program at Southwest Randolph from the ground up, and after a couple of years there, he decided it was a good idea to look around.

Franklinton had had one winning season in 19 years when Holt arrived; the school had plenty of athletes, but it was basically a basketball school, as Holt recalled. It’s the home of UCLA standout point guard Henry Bibby and his brother, pro baseball pitcher Jim Bibby. There was less interest in football.

But Holt, who coached there from 1972-1978, got hold of some of those natural athletes and fielded some pretty good teams.

“The Franklinton situation became a good situation,” Holt said. “We ended up with great leadership…things kind of worked out for us.” People got excited about football, he said. And Holt was the first coach to have a 10-win season. Two, in fact. One in 1977 and one in 1978.

He left Franklinton for Starmount in Yadkin County and coached there until 1997. Starmount was in a 3A league then, and Holt said it became quite competitive.

He left Starmount for Tennessee High School in Bristol, TN because he’d reached the 30-year mark of teaching and coaching, and he could retire – but he couldn’t “double-dip” in North Carolina.

He entertained offers from schools in South Carolina and Virginia, but he and his wife settled on Bristol.

From Bristol, he returned to Montgomery County – where he grew up – and spent a couple of years there. His second year back, his West Montgomery team beat the Number 1 seed on their home field.

“We beat West Wilkes at West Wilkes,” he said, with more than a hint of satisfaction in his voice.

Then a job came up open in Rocky Mount and Holt said, “Let’s give it a shot.” In six years, he’d accumulated a 71-12 record. “We did everything but win a state championship.”

Then it was on to Rocky Mount Academy, where they played 8-man teams. They hadn’t won a ballgame in years, Holt said. But it wasn’t long before that all changed at RMA – Holt’s 2014 team went undefeated with an overall 12-0 record.

Holt reeled off names of coaches and school administrators he’d worked with and coached against, recalling the 41 years of coaching as if they’d happened last week.

One particular administrator told Holt that he didn’t know anything about athletics and he didn’t want to know anything about athletics.

Holt said he replied, “Just stay the h%*+ out of the way and we’ll be ok.”

The NCHSAA Hall of Fame Class of 2026 will be formally inducted during a ceremony on August 15 at the Grandover Resort in Greensboro.

From Left to Right, B.W. Holt, Steve Pace, Gary Murray, James Foster, all while at Franklinton. Picture used with permission from Barbara Holt, B.W. Holt’s wife

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VGCC Foundation Wine Gala Supports Students Facing Barriers To Education

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The Vance-Granville Community College Foundation wine gala is scheduled for Saturday, April 11 at High Rock Farm on Enon Road in Oxford. Proceeds from the event will help students facing financial emergencies.

Attendees will get a souvenir wine glass and the chance to sample wines from different wineries while enjoying foods that pair well with each variety.

There’s a silent auction – bidding is done online – with auction items that include vacation packages, as well as cornhole boards and chairs from the VGCC carpentry classes and other items from the school’s culinary and cosmetology departments, just to name a few.

Tickets are $75 each and may be purchased through The Vance-Granville Community College Foundation office. Only 150 tickets will be sold, so get yours now! Purchase tickets online at https://www.vgcc.edu/the-vgcc-foundation-online-gifts/. Put “gala” in the comments section and indicate how you would like to receive your tickets, said Angela Douglas, food pantry assistant administrative assistant for the Foundation.

VGCC Foundation Director Tanya Weary and Associate Director Sheri Jones say it’s important to be able to assist students when things come up that prove to be barriers to their education. In addition to administering more than 350 scholarships each year, students also have access to a food pantry, a clothing closet and can ask for help to cover unforeseen costs that pose barriers to attending class.

There’s even a program with KARTS to provide transportation to and from campus if transportation is needed.

“It’s a great night for a great cause,” Weary said. Current VGCC students will be on hand to share their stories about how these extra resources have helped them along the way.

Email foundation@vgcc.edu or call 252.738.3264 to purchase tickets or to learn more.

Army Corps Of Engineers Begins Process To Consider Franklin County’s Request For More Water

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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wilmington District is initiating the National Environmental Policy Act process to evaluate a proposed water supply storage reallocation from the John H. Kerr Dam and Reservoir to address future needs expected in Franklin County.

Franklin County is the local sponsor of the NEPA process; county leaders anticipate a shortage of available water supply in the next 50 years. To address this, the county has requested a water supply storage reallocation from the reservoir, which spans Mecklenburg, Charlotte, and Halifax counties in Virginia, and Granville, Vance, and Warren Counties in North Carolina. Part of this process will be what is called a Public Scoping Meeting.

This meeting will take place on Mar. 26 at 6 p.m. at the Warren County Armory Civic Center in Warrenton.

USACE invites the public, agencies, and interest groups to attend the scoping meeting to provide input on significant resources and issues of concern regarding the proposed reallocation.

Franklin County is a water customer of the Kerr Lake Regional Water System; the reallocation process would involve getting more storage from the Corps instead of paying the regional water system for additional water.

This process of environmental assessment will evaluate impacts on socioeconomic, cultural, recreational and aesthetic resources.

Kerr Lake was originally authorized for flood control and hydroelectric power in 1944, with water supply added in 1958. Existing water storage agreements exist with entities like the Kerr Lake Regional Water System and the City of Virginia Beach.

The Armory is located at 501 U.S. Hwy. 158 Business East, Warrenton, NC 27589

Virtual Option: The meeting will be streamed via Facebook Live at: https://www.facebook.com/share/182ot2hWjg

Families Living Violence Free

The Local Skinny! FLVF Quarter Auction Coming March 20

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Families Living Violence Free is hosting its annual Quarter Auction on Friday, Mar. 20 at the South Granville Country Club in Creedmoor.

Bring those rolls of quarters and join in the fun! The doors open at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 and include dinner and a bidding paddle.

Families Living Violence Free offers a 24/7 crisis line – 919.693.5700 – and offers support to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking.

FLVF Executive Director Amy Langston said sponsorships are available to provide even more support for the Quarter Auction fundraiser.

Gold sponsorships are $200, Silver sponsorships are $100 and Bronze sponsorships are $50.

Make checks payable to Families Living Violence Free; donations are tax-deductible.

Community sponsors will be recognized at the event, as well as on FLVF social media pages and the FLVF website.

South Granville Country Club is located at 2539 Sam Moss Hayes Rd., Creedmoor, NC 27522.

 

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Triple P – Helping Families One Child at a Time

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(This Presentation of WIZS is a Paid Advertisement)

If you want to become a better dancer, you take dance classes. Want to improve your moves on the basketball court? You’ve got to be consistent with practice to get those reps in at the free-throw line or from behind the arc.

Dancers and basketball players aren’t bad at dancing or playing ball, but they take classes or hit the gym regularly because they want to be better at something that’s important to them.

That’s the philosophy behind Positive Parenting Program – Triple P, as Kimiko Williams calls it.

Williams is a public health educator in Franklin County who administers Triple P in the four-county area.

She wants to break the stigma that the people who take parenting classes must be “bad” parents.

Triple P is for those who want to become even better parents.

She spoke with WIZS’s Steve Lewis on Thursday’s segment of The Local Skinny! and shared program goals and how parents can participate.

The Middle “P” in Triple P stands for parenting, and Williams said the program is designed for people who are in a parenting role – you don’t have to be a child’s biological parent.

“It’s for anyone who wants to help better understand how to work on behavioral issues with children,” Williams explained. Maybe you’re a grandparent who is raising grandchildren. Or perhaps you’re the guardian of a niece or nephew. Whatever the relationship, Triple P can help grownups come up with a set of tools, tips and strategies to de-escalate undesirable behaviors or to keep them from arising in the first place.

“Triple P is designed to help families figure out ways to discipline, enforce discipline,” Williams said. It helps people identify and understand which ways are useful for their own set of circumstances “to allow families to have a healthy loving environment.”

The Triple P concept began in the late 1970’s in Australia and later made its way to the U.S. Researchers worked with families in individual training sessions, making home visits and then offering suggestions for addressing particular problem behavior areas.

It’s all about working with families on ways to manage their child’s behavior effectively and confidently, she said.

“We all want children to grow to be healthy, well -rounded people,” Williams said. “The goal is to do it in a way that we’re not threatening our children, that we feel comfortable and confident as a parent…making sure that we’re raising them in a way that is conducive to that particular family.”

Consistency is a key component, she explained. So is understanding about natural development. She wants to make sure that parents have realistic expectations of their children, too.

Parenting can be a lot – with work, home and all the day-to-day things, it can be overwhelming.

Triple P helps parents realize that parenting isn’t an impossible task and works to break down the problem to figure out what’s triggering the issue.

“If you want them to be respectful, you have to teach them,” Williams said. “Children are not born knowing what to do.”

It may take some time – more than once, twice, three times or more – for children to understand what it is you need and require of them.

Triple P helps parents manage those certain situations without becoming overwhelmed…having a specific strategy or strategies can help a parent remain calm and help them to think through the situation before it even happens, she added.

Want to learn more about being a participant or about becoming a Triple P practitioner? Contact Williams at 919.496.2533 ext 2335 or klwilliams@franklincountync.gov.

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SportsTalk: Louisburg College Men’s Hoops in Conference Tournament

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Bryan Bagwell, Head Men’s Basketball Coach for Louisburg College, joins SportsTalk with Scout Hughes and Doc Ayscue to discuss how this Canes team plans to continue their success in the Region 10 Conference Tournament.

Games on Wednesday – Boys

NCHSAA Basketball Playoffs – Boys Semifinal Round

1A

  • Vance Charter 56 Southern Wake 52

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