Granville School Board Work Session Set For April 25

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The Granville County Board of Education will meet for a work session on Monday, Apr. 25,  at 4 pm at The Mary Potter Center for Education, 200 Taylor Street, Oxford, NC 27565.  The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the Exceptional Children Program overview and sporting event payments, as well as receive updates regarding the 2022-2023 budget and an Athletic Grant.  Members of the public are invited to view livestream. To join the livestream meeting, please use the following link: https://live.myvrspot.com/st?cid=MDhkZj.

There will be limited seating available.  However, we have partnered with the county and made arrangements for anyone without access to WiFi who wishes to livestream the meeting. They may visit the Oxford Public Library, 210 Main Street, Oxford, NC 27565, or the South Branch Library, 1550 South Campus Drive, Creedmoor, NC 27522, and use the libraries’ WiFi services.

VCS Virtual Job Fair Apr. 30

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Vance County Schools is hosting a virtual job fair on April 30  from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The school system has opening across the K-12 grades, as well as in the areas of physical education, special education, CTE, counselors, music and art.

Visit www.vcs.k12.nc.us and click on the link for registration under the job fair announcement. According to the job fair announcement, there is a signing bonus for certified teachers in grades Pre-K-12.

 

“Vance County Schools is committed to finding amazing teachers and staff to support the ongoing vision of our district,” according to an information from Dr.  Dr. Jennifer Carraway, chief human resources officer. Contact Carraway at jcarraway@vcs.k12.nc.us.

The Local Skinny! Granville Gardeners Expo

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Stop by the Granville Gardeners Expo in Oxford on Saturday for a fun-filled day of plant and garden workshops, from beekeeping to composting. There will be more than 60 vendors on site at the Granville County Expo Center on Hwy. 15 south of Oxford, selling all types of plants and shrubs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Christi Henthorn is one of the the event organizers and she said this year’s event is more like a home and garden festival. And, she noted, it’s “a happy accident” that the expo will take place so close to Earth Day – which is tomorrow.

“We have a ton of stuff for everyone,” Henthorn told Bill Harris on Thursday’s The Local Skinny! segment. There is face painting, a petting zoo for the children, in addition to a wide variety of demonstrations and workshops scheduled throughout the day.

Local agriculture extension agent Johnny Coley will have a Gardening 101 class at 11 a.m. to dispel fears and encourage would-be gardeners to get a garden going. Whether they are vegetables, herbs or flowers, developing a green thumb is not that difficult, Henthorn said.

Coley will offer tips and tricks for the novice gardener, but even veteran gardeners are sure to pick up a thing or to, she said.

The event is free and open to the public. Visit www.thegranvillegardeners.com to see a complete schedule of events.

The parking lot in front of the expo center is reserved for those attendees who aren’t able to walk long distances and for those who are picking up pre-ordered plants. Henthorn said all others should park in the adjacent parking lot located in front of the former tobacco facility.

Henthorn said she expected a couple thousand people for the annual event. Come early for best plant selection!

CLICK PLAY!

 

TownTalk: Care For Historic Cemeteries

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The area is full of family cemeteries, many of which are lovingly maintained and easily identified with signs and decorative fences around their perimeters. But there are probably many small, family plots that have long been forgotten and now lie under weeds and thick forest growth. If you think you’ve stumbled upon such a spot, Melissa Timo at the state archaeology office wants to know about it.

Timo is a historic cemetery specialist and works with individuals across the state to confirm the sites of cemeteries. Timo and her team are constantly adding sites to their list, thanks to the help of ordinary citizens who make reports to her office.

She was back on the tri-weekly history segment of Town Talk Thursday with Bill Harris and Mark Pace and discussed how to report a long-lost cemetery and how to best care for stone grave markers to best protect and preserve them.

The reports seem to come in waves and, not coincidentally, she said usually happen in March and April, then again in October – those months when folks are likely to take leisurely hikes or are just spending more time outside.

It’s important to note that, according to North Carolina law, it’s illegal to disturb a cemetery, whether it’s on private or public land. And while there aren’t many requirements for a landowner to maintain a cemetery on his or her property, landowners cannot dump trash or pull up headstones or otherwise disturb the property.

Sometimes, Timo gets information about possible cemeteries gathered from oral histories or stories from individuals who have seen clusters of daffodils or stacks of fieldstone near a depression in the ground. Or there’s one really old cedar tree among a grove of much younger trees. It takes a little detective work and keen observation skills to identify cemeteries, especially when the “surface remains” – grave markers, headstones, etc – are not in view.

“I always say safer than sorry,” Timo said, “especially because we’re talking about the resting place of human beings.”

Contact Timo at 919.814.6265 or email her at Melissa.timo@ncdcr.gov to report a possible cemetery site or to learn more.

 

 

30th Annual Letter Carriers Food Drive – Sat, May 14

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— submitted by Rob Barker, president of local branch of the National Association of Letter Carriers

Saturday, May 14, 2022 is the 30th Annual Letter Carriers Food Drive.

Please place non-perishable food in or by your mailbox and we will collect it and deliver it to local food banks. All food collected in this county will stay in this county and will be distributed to ACTS, Lifeline, The Salvation Army, ARC and Hope House.

In Warren County which is part of our unit, it will be distributed to Loaves and Fishes and the Senior Center.

This is a nationwide food collection drive and your help is greatly appreciated.

We were unable to have it the last two years due to COVID so there is definitely a need for food everywhere.

In 2019, the last year we had it, we collected almost 14,000 pounds.

Northeast Piedmont Chorale; McGregor Hall; May 1; FREE CONCERT

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The Northeast Piedmont Chorale will perform at McGregor Hall on Sunday, May 1 at 3 p.m. The concert is free and Chorale President Judy Miller invites the public to attend.

“We are thrilled to be bringing music back after two long years of not being able to sing or perform together,” Miller said in a press statement. The chorale will perform in Raleigh at 7:30 p.m. on Apr. 29 at New Hope Baptist Church, 4301 Louisburg Rd.

The season’s theme, ‘Home Is Where The Heart Is,’ traces the history of our country from its founding to the present and sends a message of hope in these turbulent times, Miller said.

The program opens with “America, the Beautiful.” It follows the history of our country through songs like “Song of the Tall Ship” and “They’re Coming to America” that tell the story of immigrants headed to America to find a new home. The program continues with “Shenandoah” and “Cindy” which highlight the adventurous spirit of the early settlers. Other songs like “The Gettysburg Address” and “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” reflect the feelings of a country split apart by the Civil War. The program ends with a message of hope and healing for all nations. Henderson’s own Cindy Edwards is director of the chorale. “We believe in the healing power of music and the arts. Song is a transformative medium for both our chorale and our audiences,” Edwards said. “Our members are looking forward to bringing a moving and beautiful evening of music to our audiences.”

The Northeast Piedmont Chorale (NPC) is a non-profit, non-sectarian volunteer organization whose mission is to perform fine choral music for residents of the Northeast Piedmont area of North Carolina at no charge. Members of the chorale come from Durham, Garner, Henderson, Kittrell, Louisburg, Middlesex, Oxford, Raleigh, Wake Forest, Youngsville, and Zebulon. The Chorale performs for hundreds of community residents each season. It relies on the generous support of corporate and individual contributors, local arts councils, member dues, fundraising activities, concert contributions, and the public to continue performing free concerts.

Duke Energy

Duke Energy Celebrates Line Workers

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— information from Tanya Evans, District Manager, Duke Energy

Duke Energy and utilities nationwide celebrated “front-line heroes” on Monday, honoring those who keep the power flowing to homes and businesses every day.

Evans wrote in an email sent to WIZS that more than 3,200 line workers are part of the Duke Energy team in the Carolinas, “and we need more.”

She said, “The energy industry estimates 800 entry level line workers are required per year for the next five years in North Carolina alone.”

See more at duke-energy.com.

“We are actively looking for diverse, new talent. We are partnering with Nash Community College to help train for these positions,” Evans said.

But for now Evans said, “Please join us as we salute all of the utility line workers, who are constantly going the extra mile to provide reliable electric service to customers.”

(Duke Energy is an advertising client of WIZS.  This is not a paid ad.)

TownTalk: Alston And Wilder Discuss Candidacy For County Commissioner

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Sean Alston is challenging incumbent Gordon Wilder in the race for Vance County Commissioner in District 3 and their conversations with John C. Rose aired on Wednesday’s Town Talk.

Early voting begins Apr. 28 for the May 17 primary election. Alston and Wilder talked about issues affecting the county, including community centers with after-school programs for young people and the continued need to bring jobs to the county.

Sean Alston
Alston, a Democrat, said he would expect the community to hold him accountable. “I want the people in my district…to know that they do, and will have, a voice” in county government.

He said he wants to offer the community as a whole, not just the district 3 that he would represent, that he will strive for more transparency in government. “The people just want to be heard, the people just want to be updated. I can’t guarantee or promise anything,” he said, “but I will be accountable and available.”

His platform focuses on civic participation, building up the community, transparency, accountability and community involvement.

“I feel like I can do what the people need and I feel like I can do what needs to be done,” Alston said. “At the end of the day, it comes down to accountability. I am not going to tell you one thing and do another – I will represent the voice for change.”

Alston is a local businessman and also offers his time as a coach at Vance County High School. Coaching, he said, allows him to interact with parents, youth and with teachers, and he said it’s helped him understand more about what the community needs in terms of support. Teachers need better pay, he said, and parents need a safe place for their children to be when they’re not at school.

“In order to help this county, this community, it has to start with the youth in some form or fashion,” Alston said. After-school programs located in the community that provide meals and homework help would be a good start. Teachers, he said, could get some extra pay to spend a couple of hours after school and children would have a safe place to be while parents are working second- or third-shift jobs.

People in the community, working on the same team as the school system and public safety, can help to support the youth and keep them off the streets and out of trouble, he said. “I just want to be on the team,” Alston said.

Gordon Wilder

Wilder, a Democrat, is seeking his fourth term as commissioner. “I decided to run again because I feel like we have a good board that works together. I feel we’re moving forward and I wanted to be a part of that progress.”

He said jobs is a key issue for Vance County – retaining employees and attracting new businesses and industry to the area are vital to the county’s economic health.

Companies looking to locate here may be attracted by the county-wide zoning plan or the improvements and extensions to the water system, he said. The industrial park shell building concept may also attract prospective employers.

“We need to get jobs to our county and retain those jobs and give our citizens a chance to work and improve themselves,” Wilder said. “Jobs are key,” he said. When people have opportunities for employment, they can improve their own situations as well as contribute to the county’s economic well-being. “We all win,” he said.

Local jobs means workers may be more likely to stay in the county, raise their families locally and spend money in the local economy – a real win-win situation, he said.

Wilder, a retired educator in Vance County Schools, has spent almost 50 years in Vance County serving in various capacities with the Vance County and Epsom fire departments and in his church.

“Those who have called me know that I listen and I want to help…I generally can meet their needs, answer their questions,” he said.

Wilder mentioned the recent renovations to the former Eaton Johnson campus, now home to the Department of Social Services and Senior Center, as an investment in the county’s infrastructure; improvements to the Dennis Building downtown, courthouse and county administrative offices also have come about as part of a capital improvement plan.

“I believe my experience sets me apart,” Wilder said. “All I want to do is seve the county and to move the county forward.”