Prepare Now For Possibility of Springtime Severe Weather

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-Information courtesy of the N.C. Emergency Management

Governor Roy Cooper has proclaimed March 6-12 as Severe Weather Preparedness Week and is urging North Carolinians to prepare for severe weather that’s common during spring months.

“North Carolina is no stranger to severe weather, and while spring is typically the most active season for thunderstorms and tornadoes, they can happen any time,” Cooper said. “Help protect your family by being prepared for severe weather. Make sure you have an up-to-date emergency kit, a way to receive alerts about dangerous weather and a preparedness plan to review with everyone your household.”

Cooper also encourages North Carolinians to participate in this year’s statewide tornado drill on Wednesday, Mar. 9 at 9:30 a.m. At home or at work, that means seeking shelter on the lowest floor of your home or building, in an interior room away from doors or windows.

Tornadoes form during severe thunderstorms when winds change direction and increase in speed. These storms can produce large hail and damaging winds that can reach 300 miles per hour. A tornado can develop rapidly with little warning, so having a plan in place will allow you to respond quickly.

“I encourage everyone to participate in this year’s statewide tornado drill, at home, at work or at school. Having a plan and knowing your designated safe places will go a long way to helping you survive an actual tornado,” said Emergency Management Director Will Ray.

Test messages will be broadcast via the Emergency Alert System on radio and TV and on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather radios at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 9, signaling the start of the tornado drill.

Across the state in 2021, North Carolina recorded 21 tornado touchdowns, 101 large hailstorms, 344 damaging thunderstorm wind events, 109 flood or flash flood events, which includes the remnants from Tropical Storm Fred that caused deadly flooding in Western North Carolina.

Emergency Management officials recommend the following safety tips:

  • Develop a family emergency plan so each member knows what to do, where to go and who to call during an emergency.
  • If thunder roars, go indoors! Lightning is close enough to strike you.
  • Know where the nearest safe room is, such as a basement or interior room away from windows.
  • Know the terms: WATCH means severe weather is possible. WARNING means severe weather is occurring; take shelter immediately.
  • Assemble an emergency supply kit for use at home or in your vehicle. Make sure to include a 3-day supply of non-perishable food and bottled water.
  • If driving, leave your vehicle immediately to seek shelter in a safe structure. Do not try to outrun a tornado in your vehicle and do not stop under an overpass or bridge.
  • If there is no shelter available, take cover in a low-lying flat area.

Find more information on tornadoes and overall emergency preparedness online at ReadyNC.gov.

TownTalk: Christopher St. John Counsels Military Vets

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Psychotherapist Chris St. John has the professional experience and educational credentials to provide his clients with valuable feedback as they receive therapy, but he can relate to those veterans and first responders on a different, more personal level: He is a veteran and he has been a first responder, both of which form a special, unspoken connection with patients who have a similar background.

St. John works in Denver, Colorado and he spoke by phone to John C. Rose and guest co-host Phyllis Maynard on Tuesday’s Town Talk about his practice and his special interest in the work of Carl Jung.

“Talk therapy isn’t for everybody,” St. John acknowledged. There are many different ways to get counseling, and talk therapy is just one of the ways that a therapist can offer help.

St. John is a Navy veteran who also has experience as a first responder, so he fits right in to the

Former Active Duty: Still Boots on the Ground category of the recurring Town Talk series.Ju

St. John discovered Jung’s work during his college years and subsequently became certified in Jungian theory. Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology in the early part of the 20th century.

“I take pieces from others all the time,” he said. “I reference others and apply it into my work.”

He takes pride in tailoring his therapy to the individual, and stresses to patients the idea that they are not alone as they seek therapy.

“There is some form of therapeutic intervention for everybody,” he said. His experiences help offer to patients a unique perspective that can help them adapt and cope, he said. And it’s those experiences in the military that provide an extra connection for his military veteran clients.

“Words don’t have to be spoken (in) how you connect to another veteran,” St. John said. “I can speak the lingo and have the general understanding…(they) connect with me almost immediately.”

The two-way trust can be established quickly, he noted. “We’ve earned our stripes and we’re connected,” he said.

St. John said he knows first-hand about what he called “compassion fatigue.” First responders can experience compassion fatigue as they continue to focus on the health and well-being of others and have little energy to take care of their own needs.

“Self-care is not selfish,” he said. If you don’t take care of yourself, there’s no way you can continue to help others.

When do you know it’s time to seek professional help?

“It’s important that you don’t wait,” St. John said. “The best time to see therapy is when you don’t need it.”

Learn more at http://www.christopherstjohntherapist.com/

 

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The Local Skinny! Business Spotlight: Wedding Bells And More At Hudson Manor

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Spring is in the air and many plan weddings this time of year. However, according to Melissa Cogliati, owner and operator of Hudson Manor in the Moulton Community in Franklin County, anytime of the year seems to be good for the sound of wedding bells.

Hudson Manor is a rather imposing house built around 1911 by Charlie Thomas Hudson, but by 2004 it had begun showing signs of decline. Cogliati and her husband were looking to get out of Raleigh for something more rural where he could concentrate on catering and cooking and she could start a wedding venue when they found the home. The house needed some work. A rear section that was added in the 1970’s was removed and the front porch was rebuilt to the original specifications. The Cogliati’s later added to the rear portion of the house so they could live there. Along with them came children and parents. “It’s a family compound,” Cogliati said on the Business Spotlight segment of The Local Skinny!

Improvements have continued with the addition of a wedding chapel which allows Hudson Manor to host weddings no matter what the weather. “We had a wedding in the snow,” Cogliati said. This would have been a few weeks back on one of those wintery weekends. She described that wedding as particularly beautiful. She has had couples from Vance, Warren, Granville, Franklin and other surrounding counties to book the venue for weddings, but Hudson Manor does more than just get people hitched. Last year Hudson Manor hosted a bluegrass festival, and they are available for fundraising events. Hudson Manor is open all year round.

If you have a wedding or fundraising event you can find out more information at www.thehudsonmanor.com.

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The Local Skinny! Jobs In Vance

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The H-V Chamber of Commerce and WIZS, Your Community Voice, present Jobs in Vance for March 8, 2022). The Chamber compiles the information, and it is presented here and on the radio. Contact the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce at 438-8414 or email christa@hendersonvance.org to be included.

Name of the Company: First Citizens Bank

Jobs Available: Bank Senior Sales and Service Representative, Bank Operations Services Supervisor

Method of Contact: For more information to ncworks.gov or contact your local NC Works Career Center

 

Name of the Company:  Ameristaff

Jobs Available: Extended Care Services Coordinator, Forklift Operator

Method of Contact: For more information to ncworks.gov or contact your local NC Works Career Center

 

Name of the Company:  Vance County

Jobs Available: Full time Custodian, Permits Technician and Human Resources Aide (Senior Center)

Method of Contact: For more information to ncworks.gov or contact your local NC Works Career Center

 

 

Name of the Company:  Kerr-Vance Academy

Jobs Available: Looking for the next Head of School to start between now and July 2022

Method of Contact:  If interested please call 252-492-0018

 

 

Name of the Company: Benchmark Community Bank

Jobs Available: Relationship Teller – Henderson Branch

Method of Contact: For job description and how to apply go to https://bcbonline.applicantpro.com/jobs/

 

 

Name of the Company:  Vance County

Jobs Available: Vance County has multiple openings for The Sheriff’s Office Detention Center, Department of Social Services, The Senior Center and more

Method of Contact:  Visit the county website at http://www.vancecounty.org

 

Some of these businesses are present or past advertisers of WIZS. Being an ad client is not a condition of being listed or broadcast. This is not a paid ad.
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Granville Vance Public Health Logo

Vance’s Reported COVID-19 Cases Drop By Half In Last Week

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Vance County’s new COVID-19 cases dropped by half in the last week, with 24 new cases being reported in the 7-day period that ended Mar. 4, according to information from Granville Vance Public Health.

That reduction puts the county’s percent positivity rate at 5.3 percent, lowering it from high transmission to substantial transmission.

Granville County’s community transmission rate remains in the high category, with 4.7 percent positivity and 65 new cases in the same 7-day period. The state’s percent positive rate is slightly lower than either Vance or Granville at 4.3 percent.

Total cases of COVID-19 in Vance total 11,763 and Granville cases total 14,105. There have been no new deaths reported in the last week; total deaths across the health district are 223, with 112 in Vance County and 111 in Granville County.

A total of 60 percent of the population in Vance County over the age of 5 have gotten at least two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine or the single-shot J & J. In Granville County, that figure is 65 percent. Both counties fall below the statewide average of 71 percent who are fully vaccinated.

GVPH Director Lisa Harrison stated in the update that North Carolina has begun to move to monitoring weekly trends rather than daily data points.

“The NC DHHS data dashboard is shifting into a model where individuals can check in with the data track once a week and make decisions about their own risk and determine whether they need to add layers of protection, such as masking indoors or avoiding crowds,” Harrison said.

As restrictions ease and mask mandates Iifted, Harrison said it is important to remember that the risk for infection remains.

It’s important to remember that COVID-19 is still with us even though we are reaching less risky phases across our community and state. It is okay to choose to wear masks even when the risks have diminished – please remember there are those who may be especially vulnerable to illness,” she said.

Visit https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/25/health/cdc-covid-metrics-mask-guidance/index.html to learn more.

TownTalk: Embrace Henderson Family Spectacular

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After a COVID-19 delay, Embrace Henderson’s Family Spectacular is returning to Saddlerock Farm on Saturday, April 9 for a fun-filled event for children and adults.

Embrace Henderson’s Kevin Kilgore told John C. Rose Monday that the group is glad to get back to its mission of coming together to host events, revivals – and the Family Spectacular – after a two-year COVID-19 break.

The Spectacular will be held at Saddlerock Farm, 1786 Weldon’s Mill Road, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“It’s the only event that we’ve scheduled this year…because it’s outside, it felt like it was a good place to start back,” Kilgore said.

The 2022 event marks the 10th anniversary of the Spectacular. Kilgore said previous events have had right around 1,000 in attendance. “I’d love to have twice that many, but we’re comfortable with the number of adults and kids that do come,” he said.

There will be horse rides, hayrides, bouncy houses, children’s games, an illusion show, just to name a few. There also will be sno cones, popcorn and drinks to enjoy.

The event is absolutely free, Kilgore said.

Embrace Henderson was formed in 2010 when a group of individuals and various churches joined forces to be able to bring events, revivals and events like the Family Spectacular, all while spreading God’s Word.

The local group is partnering with Bob Fowler’s Child Evangelism Fellowship and Scott and Karen Lamm with LammEvents.com to bring all the activities to Vance County next month.

“There’s no way we could do this without either of them,” Kilgore noted.

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The Local Skinny! Around Old Granville: The Mystery Of Harrison Macon

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Where is Harrison Macon? Or perhaps the better question is where is this Revolutionary War veteran buried? Harrison Macon was the brother of the famous Nathaniel Macon and while Nathaniel may be more well known, Harrison also had quite a significant life. He was captured at Camden, South Carolina in 1780 during the Revolution and was a captain during the war. He was born circa 1745 and was dead by 1790. He married Hannah Glenn, daughter of Gideon Glenn who lived in present day Rocky Ford. The Glenn’s owned over a thousand acres of land and Harrison Macon lived close by, just “across the creek” from the Glenn’s. This was likely Lynch’s Creek.

The Glenn’s, as was the custom in that time, had a family burial ground on their property and legend has it that Harrison, being the husband of Hannah Glenn, was buried in the Glenn family cemetery. But just where is that?

On the Around Old Granville segment of the Local Skinny on Monday, WIZS’ Bill Harris and North Carolina Room Specialist at Thornton Library in Oxford, discussed the mystery of Macon’s place of burial. The search began four or five years ago when the Halifax Rifles chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution got curious about it. The search has continued with local historians from Vance, Granville, Warren and Franklin Counties attempting to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

One of the documents unearthed is an application for a headstone made to the U.S. War Department in 1931 by Dr. Daniel T. Smithwick of Franklin Co. Dr. Smithwick was a local historian who had married Evelyn Macon, a great granddaughter of Harrison Macon. According to the application, Smithwick place the the headstone at the “Old Home Place”, near Louisburg. Was it a Macon home place, the Glenn homeplace? No one really knows for certain. Macons lived all around the area from Ingleside (which was once known as Macon) all the way to the Bobbitt area.

The Glenn Home place is still standing and occupied. It has been heavily remodeled many times and if there is a Glenn family burial ground then this is the likely site of Macon’s resting place. Just down the road from present day Rocky Ford are the remains of a once thriving community called Letha which was situated near a ford on Lynch’s Creek. The remains of an old dam can be found there along with a building or two. The land was likely part of what was once Glenn property and there is a cemetery with a number of unmarked graves inclucingh one burial situated on top of a hill overlooking the creek it is this grave that has caught the attention of local historians. This particular grave is covered in stones, somewhat reminiscent of Nathaniel Macon’s grave site in Warren Co. but nowhere near as elaborate. Could this be the site of Harrison Macon? Many historians certainly think this is a possibility. So far no headstone has been found at the site but further investigation is needed.

So the question remains “Where is Harrison Macon?”

Filing Period Ends For May 17 Primary

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The filing period for the May 17 primary election ended at noon today, and several candidates filed the necessary paperwork before the deadline, according to Vance County Board of Elections Director Melody Vaughan

Randy Oxendine, a Democrat, filed for the District 2 seat on the Vance County Board of Education, a seat currently held by his wife, Darlynn Oxendine.

Republican Jonathan Collier added his name to the list of candidates for the office of Vance County Sheriff. Collier faces Patrick Bailey in the Republican primary race. Incumbent Curtis Brame and Sterlin Walker will be on the Democrat ballot for sheriff in the primary.

William Earl Purvis filed for Henderson City Council Ward Seat 2 At Large and will challenge incumbent William Burnette for the seat.

The City Ward 1 at large incumbent Sara Coffey has filed for re-election and faces opposition from Clementine Hunter, who also has filed for the seat.

Amanda Burnette, a Democrat, filed to run for Clerk of Superior Court. She faces incumbent Henry Gupton in that race.

In neighboring Granville County, a field of three Democrats and three Republicans are vying for the job of sheriff.

Democrats Keith Daniel, Robert D. Fountain, Jr. and Ronald M. Smith, Sr. have filed. Republicans Vance Johnson, Robert Morris and Clinton Owens also have filed.

In the race for Board of Education District 5, Samantha Harris and Danielle Hayes will vie for the seat. And in District 7, incumbent David Richardson faces Taylor Frederick for the seat.

Bradley Oldenburg, (R) has filed for Granville County Commissioner in District 2. He joins Rob Williford II, (D), who had previously filed.

In the newly created NC Senate District 18, four candidates have tossed their names into the ring: Republican Dimitry Slabyak filed in December, before the filing was suspended; Republican E.C. Sykes of Raleigh filed Feb. 28, Libertarian Ryan Brown of Creedmoor filed on Mar. 1 and Democrat Mary Wills Bode of Oxford filed Mar. 2.