Maria Parham Health’s Cancer Survivor Dinner May 16

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— information courtesy of Maria Parham Health Public Information Officer Donna Young

Maria Parham Health is hosting its annual Cancer Survivor Dinner on Friday, May 16 and invites survivors and their guests to come be a part of the event to celebrate their strength and resilience in their journeys to overcome cancer.

The dinner begins at 6 p.m. at South Henderson Pentecostal Holiness Church, 905 Americal Rd., Henderson, according to information from MPH Public Information Officer Donna Young.

With a joyful nautical theme, “Set Sail for Celebration,” the evening promises to be filled with gratitude, connection and celebration. Survivors and their guests are invited to come together in recognition of each unique story, share in meaningful moments, and enjoy a dinner event created in their honor.

“We are so grateful for the opportunity to gather and celebrate our local cancer survivors,” said Kimberly Smith, Director of the Maria Parham Health Cancer Center. “Every survivor’s journey is a testament to strength and perseverance. This event is our way of saying ‘we see you, we honor you, and we’re celebrating with you’. It’s an evening full of hope, joy and community.”

Attendees are encouraged to bring one guest to share in this special occasion. Please register by Thursday, May 8 by calling 252.436.6485 to reserve your place.

TownTalk: Child Abuse Prevention Month with S.A.M. Child Advocacy

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If you’ve driven down Garnett Street lately, you may have noticed a tree in the yard of 704 S. Garnett St. decorated with blue ribbons.

Those ribbons, tied to branches and limbs of that tree, have created a ‘Tree of Hope’ this year to observe National Child Abuse Prevention Month, said Cara Gill, executive director of Strength and Mending Child Advocacy Center.

There also are pinwheels planted in the ground and a big inflatable blue ribbon adorning the S.a.M Child Advocacy Center, along with the ‘Tree of Hope,’ a new addition this year, Gill said.

It’s a small way to show support for and honor families and children who have been victims of child abuse.

For Gill and her team at the nonprofit, this is a year-round effort – not just one month out of the year. “We try to go above and beyond any way we can this month,” she said.

Overall statistics surrounding child abuse and neglect are grim, Gill noted. For every report of child abuse, she said, there are two that are unreported.

Vance County is not immune, and, in fact, as a Tier 1 county, there simply aren’t many resources for families and children.

Abuse is a multi-faceted issue that doesn’t always look the same or follow a familiar pattern. From family dynamics to generational abuse or neglect, Gill said part of S.a.M.’s approach is to provide wraparound services to support individuals and families in crisis.

Part of S.a.M.’s role is to connect families with resources to get the help they need.

Another part is the monthly meeting of a multi-disciplinary team that gathers and discusses each family that is seeking help to make sure the particular needs are being met.

“We can’t be a stand-alone center,” Gill said. “The whole point is that every family is getting exactly what they need…for the best outcome.”

One question on the S.a.M. intake form asks whether anyone else in the family has been a victim of abuse or neglect. Seventy-five percent of the time, the answer is yes. Generational abuse or neglect adds another layer to the degree of trauma felt by families.

Since it started in 2016, Gill said S.a.M. has played a role in helping families and individuals get the healing they need and that they deserve.

“We have had kids that are now in college,” she said. “They are doing wonderful things.”

Ninety percent of the victims of abuse or neglect know the alleged abuser, Gill said. It’s so important for parents or guardians to have conversations with their children to help them understand what appropriate contact is and what is inappropriate.

“Have these conversations with your kids,” Gill said, even if it feels awkward.

“You are your child’s first line of defense,” she said. “We’re always here to help out in any way.”

Parents may get an eye roll from their children, but it’s important to know who their child’s friends are. Getting involved in their lives, showing interest in their activities opens up doors to more important conversations in the future, she added.

Visit https://www.samchildadvocacycenter.com/ to find resources. Call 252.572.4112 to learn more or email Gill at cara@samcac.com.

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Maria Parham Health Releases 2024 Community Benefit Report

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— Donna Young, Maria Parham Health Public Information Officer

Maria Parham Health has published its community benefit report for the 2024 calendar year. This annual report outlines the various ways the hospital is working to support the health and economic vitality of the Henderson/Vance County region as part of its mission of making communities healthier®.

“For more than 100 years, Maria Parham Health has been proud to call Henderson and Vance County our home, and as a leader in our community, we are committed to providing high-quality care close to home, investing in our region’s overall well-being and making a positive impact on those we serve,” said Bert Beard, chief executive officer (CEO) of Maria Parham Health. “This year’s report underscores our ongoing commitment to providing the highest quality care possible – both inside and outside our hospital walls.”

Maria Parham Health’s 2024 community benefit report highlights its continued efforts to meet the growing healthcare needs of its community through welcoming new providers, adding and expanding service lines and continually investing in its facilities and healthcare technology. For example, in 2024, Maria Parham Health added 67 providers in internal and emergency medicine, anesthesiology, wound care, OB/GYN, radiology, rehabilitation, gastroenterology, oncology and telemedicine; and made nearly $4.3 million in capital improvements, including a new robotic surgical system, pharmacy renovations and “safe spaces” in the emergency room.

Additionally, Maria Parham Health made a donation of more than $48.9 million in health services to those  in need, demonstrating its continuous commitment to ensuring everyone has access to care, regardless of their ability to pay.

Maria Parham Health is also devoted to creating environments where providers want to practice and employees want to work. In 2024, the hospital distributed more than $67.5 million in salaries, wages and benefits for its approximately 740 employees, while contributing more than $135,000 in professional  development and tuition assistance so all its employees can have the opportunity to learn, grow and  improve the care they provide their patients.

Last year, the organization paid $18,036,950 in local and state taxes, while also continuing its support of local activities and organizations committed to serving the region, including ACTS of Vance County, Crime Stoppers, Shop with a Cop & Friends, McGregor Hall and others.

“We feel fortunate to call Henderson and Vance County our home, and we are incredibly grateful for the continued support of all those who entrust us with their care. We are also thankful for the hard work and dedication of our providers, employees and volunteers who make it all possible, “said Beard. “As we look ahead to the future, we remain committed to honoring our legacy while further enhancing the many ways we serve our neighbors and communities.”

Maria Parham Health’s 2024 community benefit report is available here.

https://www.mariaparham.com/community-benefit-report

TownTalk: Local Media Featured Topic In Chamber’s ‘Envision Vance’ Publication

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If the WIZS radio tower or the old Dispatch printing presses could talk, oh, the stories they could tell!

The tower up on the hill outside the studio on Radio Lane has provided transmissions for decades – 70 years, come May 1 when the station came on the air.

And those presses, which produced so many editions of the Henderson Daily Dispatch over the years, have long ceased their operations. The newspaper remains, although “Henderson” and “Daily” have been dropped from the mast head in favor of “Serving Henderson, Vance County and surrounding areas since 1914.”

News gathering has evolved since the tower was installed and that press spat out newspapers, and the longevity of local media in the Henderson area is due, in large part, to these two media outlet mainstays.

John Charles Rose sat down with Dispatch Editor Gary Band to chat about the old days, but also about the importance of healthy community journalism.

Chronicling the history of local media will be featured in this year’s edition of Envision Vance, a publication of the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce, Band said.

He doesn’t want to “scoop” himself, but Band did say he’d spoken with longtime reporter David Irvine. About what, we’ll learn when Envision Vance is published. Print date is May 31, Band said.

Change is inevitable, and local media is no different. The Dispatch, once a family-owned business, was bought by Paxton Media in 1994, Band said. He came on board in June 2023, and the only office he’s known is the current one on Garnett Street. He actually never visited the former office at the corner of Chestnut and Pettigrew streets, where reporters cranked out stories on manual typewriters, then electric ones, until computers came along. He never stared into “Big” Bill’s office, where stacks of newspapers and other paper filled every nook and cranny and where the paper’s editorials were crafted.

Communities rely on local media outlets to get news that’s important to them – the larger stations and newspapers carry the “big” stories, but it’s the local journalists who inform the community about what’s happening at the City Council meetings or what the commissioners talked about in their work session.

Band said it’s the job of local media “to hold up a mirror to the community.” There’s so much going on here, he added, and there’s no way for a small staff of writers to be everywhere all the time to report all the news.

“I always think I can do more and better,” Band said. And although he’s relatively new to the area, he’s worked for close to 30 years in journalism, so he’s picked up a thing or two along the way.

“You have to be out there…present. You have to love it,” Band said. He plans to continue to help Paxton put out a quality publication and to continue being a critical part of this community.

Reporting the news is critical to inform citizens, Band said. Informing them leads to citizens being more engaged in the life of the community, “more inclined to take part.”

The media, whether it’s print or radio, has an obligation to be a solid, trustworthy and reputable source for news, Rose said. Journalists separate the fact – verifiable, accurate information – from hearsay.

“This is a vibrant community with a long, proud history,” Band said. “We’re going places…things are starting to happen.”

And when they do, you can count on coverage in the pages of The Dispatch and on the airwaves from WIZS.

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The Local Skinny! Broadband Internet Initiative Brings More Access To Vance County Residents

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Vance County is set to get about $3.4 million of a $41 million funding pie as state and local leaders work with utility companies further shrink the gap to internet access.

N.C. District 32 Rep. Bryan Cohn said this latest project will bring broadband internet access to an additional 1,327 homes and businesses in the general area of Kerr Lake north of I-85 and south of 85 toward Kittrell.

If homeowners were to foot the bill, it could cost as much as $2,500, Cohn said on Tuesday. Having this kind of grant funding makes it more affordable for everyone, including the utility companies responsible for providing the service.

Brightspeed is the service provider for this particular project, which has a completion date of Dec. 31, 2026. That gives construction crews about a year and a half to get the work done.

It’s one of several projects and programs designed to bring broadband internet service to rural areas.

“We’re trying to close the gap at every opportunity with every available program and resource that we have,” Cohn said.

As the project nears completion, Brightspeed will inform customers within the new service zone through mailers, flyers and even door-to-door canvassing to let them know about what they’ll offer and what the price will be.

Whether it’s enhanced coverage or new service, Cohn said having access to broadband internet service is becoming increasingly essential for households and businesses.

“We need to provide that opportunity to get that infrastructure to every home,” he said. “

You almost can’t do business today without access to the internet – and good, reliable internet…it’s a necessity, not a luxury.”

And while 99.75% of homes within Vance County have broadband availability, the percentage of those who have accessed it is lower – more like 82 percent, he said.

These programs will help lower costs for qualifying residents who may be on fixed incomes, Cohn said.

It’s not just a matter of closing that gap in getting utilities to homes, but it’s about
“helping people get connected to it and not have to break the bank doing it.”

 

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Guardians of the Grid: Duke Energy Celebrates National Lineworker Appreciation Day April 18

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Electricity is essential to everyday life – keeping households cool in summer and warm in winter, the lights on and the computers humming. It’s a complex system of transmission wires above ground and below that keep journeyman lineworkers like Cameron Beck busy on a routine day, never mind after storms or other events that interrupt electricity service.

Beck works with Duke Energy and spent about eight years covering the Henderson area. He and other lineworkers got some special recognition at Duke Energy’s Lineworker Appreciation Day, observed on Friday, Apr. 18.

There are always routine maintenance tasks to complete, Beck said on Monday’s segment of TownTalk. Poles to change out, or maybe an aging transformer that needs to be replaced.

Lineworkers “have to keep the grid running with maintenance, adding new things and serving customers,” he said.

Running power lines to new businesses or a new home under construction is all part of the job.

“We put holes in the ground and string wires to provide a path to electricity where it needs to go and take care of the ones that are there,” he said, with more than a little humility.

Lineworkers have to be ready to be called up in emergency situations, too – whether a pole and wires come down because of a hurricane, a thunderstorm or perhaps a car crash – the reason is secondary to the immediate task of restoring power.

He was among a staging team sent to upstate South Carolina in advance of Hurricane Helene’s arrival to the western part of North Carolina and surrounding areas.

“Helene was a very surprisingly damaging storm,” Beck said, “something that I didn’t expect…I thought it was going to be a little wind and we’d be home in a day or two.” But there were so many downed trees, so much more devastation, he said.

“I was shocked by the devastation, mainly from wind and water,” he said of subsequent visits to western North Carolina where he has family and friends. “I couldn’t believe what it had taken away. It will be a very long time before it gets back to normal.”

Lineworkers are a closeknit group, Beck said, much like police officers and firefighters, it’s a profession that relies on teamwork and camaraderie to get the job done and to make sure everyone stays safe.

“If you’re a lineworker, you share some common experiences and you have a common respect for each other,” he said.

As for safety, he said he’s proud to work for a utility company that puts an emphasis on safety, equipment and training.

“We don’t want to think about things that could go wrong, but that’s the way we keep things from going wrong,” Beck said.

Whether it’s routine work or power restoration after a storm, lineworkers review the basics: hazard analysis, talk about the conditions and other potential challenges that could arise when they’re in the field.

In storms like Helene, they’re at the mercy of the elements, he explained. It could be really hot, or really cold, or rainy – less than ideal. And if you’re part of a crew responding to a disaster like Helene, you may not be familiar with the area or the way the lines are fed – all challenges that must be addressed and dealt with before the work can really get underway.

Beck recalled one night driving home after a busy shift – a summer thunderstorm had blown through, and he was ready to be home. He was almost home when “I see the sky light up with blue,” he said. Just around the next curve, he saw what had lit the sky blue. A tree had taken the lines down, he said, and several spans of wire, poles and cross arms were strewn in and beside the road.

If he’d been traveling just a little faster, he’d have been caught under the tree and the downed lines.

“I knew what had happened before dispatch knew,” he said.

As with any work done during or after a storm, lineworkers must keep one eye on weather conditions as they attend to the task at hand.

“You try to work safely and quickly and get away from there,” he said.

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The Local Skinny! Job Fair Coming to VGCC

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More than 50 employers are expected to attend Vance-Granville Community College’s Spring Graduate Career Fair Thursday, and organizers are excited to see how the networking will take place between those who are looking to fill positions and those who may fit the bill.

With graduation just a few weeks away, VGCC Director of Career Services & Experiential Learning Dr. Krystal Foxx said representatives from nonprofits, government agencies, manufacturing, industry are just some of the employers that will be present at the career fair, which takes place in the VGCC Civic Center from 9 a.m. to 12 noon on Thursday, Apr. 24.

“As we consider the economic impact, we consider that now, more than ever, employers are looking to grow their work forces and expand, this is a great opportunity for any job seeker,” Foxx said. “Come out and see what’s available.”

VGCC Career Development Specialist Lorene Allen said planning for the career fair is a months-long process, including preparing students for what to expect on the actual day of the event.

Organizers had a Career Impact Day last week and had different people come to campus to help coach students on resume writing and share strategies about how to conduct themselves when speaking with a prospective employer.

The Dress for Success mobile boutique came, too, and students were able to get free outfits.

VGCC has a Career Clothing closet as well, and it will be open this week for students to come choose an appropriate interview outfit.

The career fair isn’t just for students, however. The public is welcome to attend. There is an online registration, but participants can register on site, too.

The first 100 to register in advance will get a swag bag filled with goodies and freebies.

Employers and vendors who participate in the career fair are invited to a luncheon at the conclusion of the event from 12 noon to 1 p.m. Contact Foxx at foxxk@vgcc.edu to sign up for that.

Employers should reach out to careerservices@vgcc.edu or phone 252.738.3466 to register. Visit the career services website to learn about all services at: Career Services Page. Visit VGCC Spring Career Fair 2025 | Handshake

 

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