Stories Include:
– Latest Covid 19 figures for Vance County
– Court House repairs approved
– Senior Bingo even to be sponsored by Vance Co. Parks & Rec. Dept.
– 2021 Granville Co. Bridal Tour
For full details and audio click play.
On Monday, December 21 at 4 p.m., Vance County’s properties committee met, and part of that meeting was to address a couple of courthouse repairs.
The full committee consists of commissioners Dan Brummitt, Archie Taylor and Gordon Wilder. Commissioner Wilder told WIZS News, “We have had it repaired…(including) the caulking joints in the side of the building and around the windows.”
County Manager Jordan McMillen told WIZS, “We recently finished up a project to apply a coating to the courthouse roof that will extend its life. After 20 years the courthouse roof and other areas are showing maintenance needs and this was an attempt to extend the life of the roof.
“While we were completing this project we noticed a need for resealing the masonry control joints in the side of the building and around the windows, so we asked the existing contractor to provide a change order to our existing contract. The properties committee is recommending to the full board that we proceed with the change order, which adds the control joints work, price and time allowance, to our existing roof project scope of work.”
The county manager basically added that all involved want to keep up the maintenance to the facility.
Stories include:
– Food give away event
– Martin Luther King Jr. Committee accepting nominations
For full details and audio click play.
THIS STORY IS PRESENTED IN PART BY DRAKE DENTISTRY
With the number of active cases of Covid-19 in Vance County approaching 1,000, the total percentage of the county’s population having tested positive for coronavirus is now just above 5.75 percent.
For the latest Vance County covid data, see the table below.
For the latest on vaccine availability, visit the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services online at https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/vaccines
(Remember to listen to WIZS Radio 1450 AM / 100.1 FM in Henderson and vicinity and anywhere online at WIZS.com Click on Listen Live.)
| LOCATION | TOTAL COUNT | ACTIVE CASES | DEATHS | INPATIENT | OFF ISOLATION |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COMMUNITY | 2312 | 968 | 26 | 25 | 1318 |
| PELICAN NURSE | 58 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 44 |
| KERR LAKE NURSE | 61 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 39 |
| SENIOR CITIZENS | 73 | 4 | 15 | 0 | 54 |
| ALLIANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| TOTAL | 2505 | 982 | 67 | 25 | 1456 |
The first food giveaway, round one if you will, on December 26 being a success, Mt. Moriah A.M.E. Zion Church now moves on to round two. Round two will happen Wednesday, December 30th starting at 9 a.m. at the church located at 5448 Highway 158 Business, Henderson, NC 27537.
Mt. Moriah A.M.E. Zion Church is partnering with Livingstone College and the NC Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health to fight food insecurities in Henderson, Vance County, NC and surrounding areas.
In a scheduled event Dec 26, Rev. Linda T. Bristow, assistant to the pastor, told WIZS News the church and its partners were able give away more than 150 food boxes to try to make a dent in the fight against food insecurities in our area. She said, “People were in line at 8:30 a.m. and continued steadily throughout the morning. Unfortunately, people were still coming after we had given out all our supplies.
“Our next food giveaway will be Wednesday, December 30 beginning at 9 a.m. We’ll be giving away three hundred (300), forty (40) pound cases of fresh chicken, drumsticks, bone-in thighs and boneless breasts, she said.”
The event is free and open to anyone experiencing food insecurities. Additional giveaways are being planned.
— courtesy Rev. Linda T. Bristow, Assistant to the Pastor at Mt. Moriah AME Zion Church
Mt. Moriah is partnering with Livingstone College and the NC Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health to fight food insecurities in Henderson, Vance County, NC and surrounding areas. Two community outreach initiatives are scheduled, the first on December 26, 2020 beginning at 10:00 AM. We will be giving away free groceries (fresh produce, dry goods, and canned goods). Then, on December 30, 2020 starting at 9:00 AM, we will be giving away cases of fresh chicken (up to 40 lbs). Both events are free and open to anyone experiencing food insecurities and will be held at Mt. Moriah A. M. E. Zion Church, located at 5448 Highway 158 Business, Henderson, NC 27537. We’ll be announcing more giveaways soon!
(For full details, be sure to visit the link trianglemlk.com. Vance, Granville, Franklin residents should apply.)
The Triangle Martin Luther King, Jr. Committee is accepting nominations for a special award to recognize a young person making a positive impact in his or her community through social justice activities. The John Lewis Student Activist Award will be a one-time award given in 2021 and honors the life and legacy of the late U.S. Congressman and Civil Rights leader John Lewis, who died in 2020. The winner will be announced in the annual MLK, Jr. Interfaith breakfast, held virtually on Jan. 18, 2021.
This student award is in addition to the annual King Leader Grant Award, given to the leader of an organization for work in the community, according to information released by the committee. The counties eligible to submit nominations include Franklin, Granville and Vance counties in the WIZS listening area. The deadline to submit nominations for both awards is Jan. 5, 2021.
Dr. Anthony Jackson, Superintendent of Vance County Public Schools, is helping the Triangle MLK, Jr. Committee spread the word locally. The student award “is for students who have really lifted their voice to speak out – we have some great kids in our community, so I’m challenging us to identify those student leaders and identify those organization leaders…we’ve never had a winner from this area,” Jackson added.
Congressman Lewis described his activism as “good trouble,” which began when he was young. The Triangle MLK, Jr. Committee established the award to honor Lewis’s legacy of leadership that began in his youth; nominees must be between the ages of 18 and 22. According to information provided by the committee, the purpose of the award is “to recognize and uplift the work of a modern-day, passionate young leader that is making significant strides and impact in social justice activism as the civil rights movement marches on.”
In addition to the student award, the King Leader Award is given to the leader of an organization that has made or continues to have a positive impact in a community in the areas of social justice, community empowerment, equity and/or inclusivity or has been a catalyst in relationship building in the community. Review the application for additional eligibility requirements. This is the third year the King Leader Award has been given.
The John Lewis Award winner will receive a $500 honorarium; The King Leader Award will receive $5,000 for the organization he or she leads.
For more information about the Triangle Martin Luther King, Jr. Committee and to download the applications, visit trianglemlk.com.
— information courtesy of a press release from Sheriff Curtis Brame
On Wednesday, December 23, 2020 at approximately 11:18 a.m., the Vance County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Division assisted the Henderson Police Department Patrol Division. They were chasing a 2011 Honda Accord with a North Carolina registration in the area of Willowood Drive inside the city limits of Henderson. During the chase, deputies ascertained that Paul Z. Pearce, a white male age 29, had felony drug charges pending out of Wake County and to approach with caution.
The suspect Pearce wrecked the vehicle he was driving on Cypress Drive and stole another vehicle in the neighborhood and then wrecked the second vehicle on Edgewood at Cedarwood Drive, striking a patrol vehicle, flipping the stolen vehicle several times.
Pearce exited the stolen vehicle after wrecking and ran on foot through the woods onto Willowood Drive where he attempted to carjack another vehicle occupied by two women.
Deputies were chasing the suspect on foot when one deputy gave the suspect multiple commands to stop. The deputy then fired a service weapon missing the suspect Pearce.
No one was injured as a result of the weapon being discharged.
The suspect, Pearce, was apprehended and taken to Maria Parham Health in Henderson and air lifted to Duke Medical Center, where it was confirmed that he was not shot during the incident.
The Vance County Sheriff’s Office, North Carolina Highway Patrol and Henderson Police Department are conducting the investigation, and charges are pending regarding this incident.
The investigation is continuing.
Vance County Schools developed and last week adopted a plan for the return to face-to-face learning. But when?
The plan itself calls for two days of face-to-face instruction and a staggered entry. The entry would begin with PreK then K and 6 grades followed by grades 1 and 2 and finally grades 3-5. Self-contained EC students in grades PreK-12 begin re-entry as well, and remote options remain available.
Superintendent Dr. Anthony Jackson told WIZS TownTalk, “One of the reasons we wanted to go ahead and get the plan approved was so parents would understand the format and understand, if you look at it closely, it really looks at the ramp up. So, each group would be brought in for a period of time, maybe a week, to get it stable, so it would take us about three to four weeks to completely implement the full plan and get all the students back in on that full schedule.” (To hear the interview with Dr. Jackson click here or the TownTalk logo to the right.)
The total format and all the safety protocols, so the teachers and students have a chance to understand, is important as well. It can’t happen all at once.
As to the remote learning participation so far, Dr. Jackson said 91 to 92 percent of students are engaged every single day. In terms of grades, he said, “We had some students do better than they would in the classroom, but we’ve also had some students who have struggled in this environment that we are going to have to do some work to help recapture and recoup the time lost and instruction they’ve missed.”
He said overall students are doing well.
The Vance County School board has operated with caution. Jackson said he believed that when all the data indicated its safe for kids and adults as well, and when the board is told it’s safe for both kids and adults, that it will be the signal the board needs to implement the plans for face-to-face learning.
Part of the puzzle is not only keeping folks healthy but also knowing there are enough healthy teachers and staff so the schools can operate effectively. Vance County has avoided flip flopping between open and closed and being forced to stop again after in-person learning resumes.
When asked about requiring teachers and staff to be vaccinated for covid, he said, “We follow state statute that governs our local policies, and once that’s cleared up, we will act accordingly. The truth is, we can’t get schools back open until people have a comfort level that we are safe.”
WIZS Local News Audio at Noon 12-23-20
For the news audio, click play…
