WIZS Christmas Special
“Listen Live” to WIZS 1450 AM or by clicking “Listen Live” at WIZS.com.
If non-stop Christmas music is your thing, or you want Christmas music at your home Christmas party, be sure to tune in or listen live each night this week from 7 p.m. until 11 p.m. plus all day Christmas Day.
We’ll have all your traditional favorites, and the music in the evenings will be commercial free.
— courtesy NC SBI and North Carolina Department of Public Safety
The State Bureau of Investigation has deployed a mobile fingerprint scanning application for local and state law enforcement officers that instantly searches state and national databases for a positive identification.
The process is simple. A suspect places his or her finger on a small portable device, about the size of a smartphone and the fingerprints become digitized and sent to the SBI’s Statewide Automated Fingerprint Identification System and to the FBI for a search of their databases for any matches.
The Rapid ID System allows law enforcement officers to capture fingerprints remotely using the mobile fingerprint scanner. An officer quickly receives the results of a search on the hand-held device. If a fingerprint match is made, the device provides a person’s name, photo (if available) and other relevant information allowing for a quick assessment of a potential threat level.
“All of this happens in seconds,” said Wyatt Pettengill, SBI’s special agent in charge of the Criminal Information and Identification section. “Once the fingerprint image is received at the SBI, the image is compared against the SBI’s entire biometric database and sent to the FBI for a search of the Repository of Individuals of Special Concern, a combination of many different FBI databases that house sensitive law enforcement information.”
Officers who participated in SBI’s pilot program saw how valuable the technology is in correctly identifying individuals who had given them fictitious information or who had outstanding warrants in North Carolina.
A national fingerprint search through the Rapid ID System also provides officers access to outstanding warrants in other states, national sex offender registry subjects and known or suspected terrorists. Several states are already using this remote identification technology and are experiencing great success, according to Pettengill.
“The SBI tries to provide its law enforcement partners with the most current, cutting edge technology in the effort to apprehend criminals and make North Carolina safer,” said Pettengill. “It’s an amazing investigative and officer safety tool.”
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— courtesy Rick Kenneer, AD Oxford Preparatory School
Oxford Preparatory School will host their 2nd Annual Holiday Classic Basketball Tournament on December 27th, 28th, and 29th. This year it will be a middle school boy’s only event with 6 schools participating: Oxford Prep, Henderson Collegiate, Hawley MS, Warren County MS, Butner-Stem MS, and Northern Granville MS.
Admission is $8/day or $16 for all 3 days.
Game 1: Oxford Prep vs Henderson Collegiate 12/27 @ 1:00 pm
Game 2: Hawley MS vs Warren County MS 12/27 @ 2:30 pm
Game 3: Butner Stem MS vs Winner Game 1 12/28 @ 1:00 pm
Game 4: Northern Granville MS vs Winner Game 2 12/28 @ 2:30 pm
Championship Game: Winner Game 3 vs Winner Game 4 12/29 @ 2:00 pm
12/27 12:00 pm 3-point shootout
12/28 12:00 pm Free Throw contest
— courtesy VGCC
The newest club for students at Vance-Granville Community College focuses on the Human Services Technology (HST) field. The college offers three Human Services degrees – a General HST track, a Substance Abuse track, and a Gerontology track – although interested students in any major are welcome to join the new club.
The HST Club held its first organizational meeting in November at VGCC’s South Campus, the home of the HST program. VGCC Human Services instructor Sharon O’Geary conducted the meeting and said she hopes that the new venture will increase the program’s visibility on campus. “Human Services students are passionate about helping people,” O’Geary observed. “We hope that this club can participate in a variety of special service projects that relate to our field and hold fundraisers that help our community. At the same time, we may be able to represent VGCC, attend conferences and help students obtain jobs in this field through networking.”
Seated, from left: Human Services Technology Club faculty advisor Sharon O’Geary, club Vice President Melissa Jackson, Secretary Caitlyn Rudd and President Pamela Campbell; standing, from left: Student Government Association (SGA) representative Feliciana Hernandez and Treasurer Sonya Barnes.
Students at the meeting elected the first officers to lead the HST Club. They included President Pamela Campbell of Littleton, a Gerontology major; Vice President Melissa Jackson of Oxford, a Substance Abuse major; Secretary Caitlyn Rudd of Franklinton, a Gerontology major; Treasurer Sonya Barnes of Henderson, who is completing both the General and Gerontology tracks; and Student Government Association (SGA) representative Feliciana Hernandez of Henderson, a Substance Abuse major.
The HST curriculum program prepares students for entry-level positions in institutions and agencies which provide social, community, and educational services. VGCC’s program is nationally accredited by the Council for Standards in Human Service Education (CSHSE).
For more information on joining the HST Club, contact Sharon O’Geary at 252-738-3529 or ogearys@vgcc.edu.
–VGCC–
(VGCC is an advertising client of WIZS.)
The gift is about a commitment made a long time ago to make the world a better place, and it’s that same commitment that Girl Scouts instilled in Margaret Pickard Sirvis, according to her daughter Barb Sirvis.
Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines (GS-NCCP) recently notified WIZS News that a $300,000 gift from the Margaret Pickard Sirvis Fund will go towards revitalizing Camp Graham, just north of Henderson. Be sure to click here for Camp Graham details.
A lifelong Girl Scout and advocate for women, Margaret Pickard Sirvis, or “Peggy” as she was known by her Girl Scout friends, passed away on April 8, 2017 at 93 years old. Peggy’s daughter Barb worked with GS–NCCP staff to create a legacy gift to support improvements to Peggy’s beloved Camp Graham.
Information provided by GS–NCCP indicates the $300,000 gift will go towards much needed facilities renovations that will enable Camp Graham to continue providing valuable outdoor leadership opportunities to girls across North Carolina, just as it had for Peggy 80+ years earlier. Renovations will include things like a new HVAC, a full-enclosed bathhouse, updates to cabin units, and much more.
Barb Sirvis told WIZS News in a phone interview that her mother Peggy was very clear she wanted to make sure the Girl Scouts received a generous gift at her death, so the $300,000 came from Peggy’s estate. Barb said Girl Scouts had always been very important to her mother Peggy, as she was in scouting some 75 years.
“She loved camp,” Bard said. “She wanted to make sure her gift would continue to provide camp opportunities for Girl Scouts today and into the future.”
When asked how Camp Graham was chosen, Barb said, “My mother was born and raised in Chapel Hill, and she went to camp as a girl at a camp that no longer exists, but she did go to Girl Scout camp as a girl, and she also watched the power of Girl Scouting to shape my life and the camp experience and the life-long friendships that I made at camp. Then, when she moved back to North Carolina in 2006, a local Girl Scout friend took us to an event with Girl Scouts of North Carolina Coastal Pines, and there (Peggy) had a chance to talk to some of the staff about her interests, and they were doing a new project at Camp Graham building tree houses. She said she wanted to see them, and she went to camp, and she fell in love with Camp Graham.”
Peggy told her daughter Barb she wanted to spend some money on this council, that she wanted to leave money to make sure the camp stays here for girls in the future.
It turns out that Peggy was very quiet about her ability to leave a gift like this for Girl Scouts, so by all accounts it had a wow effect, just by the amount alone of $300,000 if nothing else.
It’s the personal side that tells the rest of the story.
Barb Sirvis said, “She and my dad met in 1944 and were married in 1945. They each had a dream. His dream was to be an entrepreneur, and her dream was to make the world a better place. They brought those two dreams together. He eventually started his own business, and she was the home and corporate treasurer. They managed wisely and lived modestly their whole life.”
As far as how the money will be used, GS–NCCP went to Barb with a proposal with several options in it. Barb said the renovations and improvements mentioned “were the ones that spoke to me.” She said these priorities were on the top of their list, and “I thought they would be on the top of my mom’s list.”
On a cold, windy, December, Tuesday afternoon, Chick-fil-A of Henderson, the Henderson Police Department, the Oxford Police Department and the Vance County Sheriff’s office banded together and raised a grand total of $3,522.70 for Special Olympics of North Carolina.
Cops on Top was a 12-hour event held at Chic-fil-A on Dabney Drive from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. Tuesday. It was the 11th annual event.
Local Chick-fil-A Marketing Director Susan Rogers said the goal was $3,500 and that not only was the goal met but the event surpassed last year as well. One behalf of all of the organizers, Rogers gave thanks saying, “Thank you to the citizens of Vance County for supporting Special Olympics of North Carolina.”
T-shirts and hats were available for a monetary donation, and the event included K-9 demonstrations, free face painting, visits from Smokey the Bear, Sparky the Firehouse Dog, the Chick-fil-A Cows and a bounce house courtesy of Character Antics.
— Information from Oxford Preparatory School, oxfordprep.org
Oxford Preparatory School received $500 from the United Health Care Sidelines Hunger Event, awarded at the State 2AA Football Championship on Saturday, December 9. Receiving the award were Oxford Prep Athletic Director Rick Kenner and Senior Student-Athletes Trey Reese and Christian Furr.
The OPS Athletics Department will share half of the proceeds with the Area Congregations In Ministry Oxford food bank. A check will be presented to the ACIM Oxford representative at the December 20th varsity basketball games against Granville Central High School. Additionally, that evening we will be collecting for the ACIM and encourage fans to bring in non-perishable food items. Admission will be half price with a food donation.
(Photo by Kelli Kenner)
— courtesy VGCC
Area residents have until Jan. 4, 2018, to complete the process of registering for the spring 2018 semester at Vance-Granville Community College, but college officials urge prospective students to register before the holidays.
The semester begins on Jan. 8, with classes offered on schedules of 16, 12 and 8 weeks. Course schedules are available online at schedules.vgcc.edu.
For new students, the process of enrollment begins with completing an application for admission at www.vgcc.edu/application along with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at fafsa.gov. Then, students will request their official high school transcripts, and in some cases, their transcripts from other colleges they have attended. Next, they should meet with an academic/career coach and schedule a placement test, unless it is waived. Finally, students complete an orientation session, either online or in the traditional face-to-face format.
One relatively new resource for students residing in Vance, Granville, Franklin and Warren counties is the VanGuarantee scholarship program. The VanGuarantee is designed to cover tuition, student fees and/or textbooks for eligible students whose financial needs are unmet by federal financial aid and other means of support. For more information on all the various types of financial aid, contact the VGCC Financial Aid Office at fao@vgcc.edu or (252) 738-3280.
The college offers classes at four campuses and online, including six degree programs that are offered completely online: Associate in Arts, Associate in Science, Business Administration, Criminal Justice, Medical Office Administration – Coding Specialist and Supply Chain Management.
VGCC’s Main Campus is located on Poplar Creek Road in Vance County (about midway between Henderson and Oxford) at the intersection with Interstate 85 (Exit 209).
The Franklin County Campus is located just west of Louisburg on N.C. 56.
South Campus is on N.C. 56 between Creedmoor and Butner.
The Warren County Campus is located at 210 West Ridgeway Street (U.S. 158 Business) in Warrenton.
For more information on enrolling, call (252) 738-3234 or visit any campus.
–VGCC–
(VGCC is an advertising client of WIZS.)
— information from Delrayno Baptist Church
WHAT: “A Journey Back to Bethlehem”
WHEN: December 9th through December 11th
WHERE: Delrayno Baptist Church, 1315 College St., Oxford, NC 27565
TIME: 6:00pm – 8:30pm
THIS IS A FREE EVENT
JOIN DELRAYNO BAPTIST CHURCH FOR A DRIVE BACK IN TIME SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9th THROUGH MONDAY, DECEMBER 11th FROM 6:00PM till 8:30PM EACH NIGHT.
EXPERIENCE A REENACTMENT OF THE FIRST CHRISTMAS, FOLLOW THE STAR AS YOU DRIVE THROUGH A LIVING NATIVITY THAT BRINGS CHRISTMAS TO LIFE PRESENTED WITH LIVE ANIMALS THAT INCLUDE A CAMEL, ACTORS, AND SINGING ANGELS THAT TELL THE STORY OF JESUS CHRIST BIRTH. GATHER YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY FOR THIS SPECIAL MESSAGE FOR ALL TO SEE AND HEAR.
DELRAYNO BAPTIST CHURCH LOCATED 1315 COLLEGE STREET NEAR THE HOSPITAL (GRANVILLE HEALTH SYSTEM) IN OXFORD, NC.
FOLLOW THE STAR AND FOLLOW THE SIGNS FOR THE ENTRANCE BACK TO BETHLEHEM.
The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for our area from 10 p.m. Saturday until 10 a.m. Sunday. Areas include Vance, Granville, Warren and Franklin Counties plus much of the remainder of the area like Person, Durham, Orange, Wake Counties and beyond.
The concern is about refreezing of residual snow, slush, and water as skies clear late in the evening. Areas bridges, overpasses, parking lots, and side walks will be most prone for icing.
Original winter storm warnings and advisories have been cancelled.
For the full forecast, click here.
Additional Information: https://
See the latest briefing by clicking here.
