Springtime Vaccines Protect Equines From Deadly Diseases

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-information courtesy of the N.C. Department of Agriculture

If you’re a horse owner, listen up: It’s time to protect your equines against a couple of serious ailments.

N.C. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler encourages equine owners to have their animals vaccinated against Eastern Equine Encephalomyelitis and West Nile Virus, two diseases with high mortality rates. Both, however, are preventable with a simple vaccination.

“Mosquito-breeding season in North Carolina lasts from spring until the first frost and horses are at risk if not properly vaccinated,” Troxler said. “EEE is fatal 90 percent of the time in horses and WNV has a fatality rate of 30 percent.”

Last year, there were no recorded cases of EEE and one case of WNV. In 2021, there were three recorded cases of EEE and two cases of WNV.

State Veterinarian Dr. Mike Martin recommends that equine owners talk to their veterinarians about an effective vaccination protocol to protect horses from mosquito-borne diseases. The combination vaccination initially requires multiple injections for horses, mules and donkeys that have no prior vaccination history.

Mosquitoes can breed in any puddle that lasts for more than four days, so removing any source of standing water can reduce the chance of exposing animals to WNV or EEE. Keeping horses in stalls at night, using insect screens and fans, and turning off lights after dusk can also help reduce exposure to mosquitoes. Insect repellants can be effective if used according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Symptoms of EEE include impaired vision, aimless wandering, head pressing, circling, inability to swallow, irregular staggering gait, paralysis, convulsions and death. Once a horse has been bitten by an infected mosquito, it could take between 3 and 10 days for symptoms to appear.

Symptoms of WNV include fever, weakness or paralysis of hind limbs, impaired vision, head pressing, seizures and aimless wandering.

People, horses and birds can become infected from a bite by a mosquito carrying these diseases, but there is no evidence that horses can transmit the viruses to other horses, birds or people through direct contact.

Equine care also includes keeping up-to-date on equine infectious anemia (EIA) testing, commonly referred to as the Coggins test. “Since January there have been 20 cases of EIA in North Carolina. There is no vaccine and no cure for this disease so testing annually is important,” Troxler added.

“It’s also a great time to make sure your animal is current on its rabies vaccination,” Troxler said. “In 2022, seven cases of livestock infected with rabies were reported to our Veterinary Division. Since January, we have had two positive cases in livestock. Historically, most of the cases have been in cows but all livestock are naturally curious animals, which puts them at risk for a bite if a rabid animal gets through their fence line.”

TownTalk: Boyd Dealership Victim Of Vehicle Theft

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Henderson Police are investigating the theft of three new luxury vehicles from a local car dealership that possibly is related to a spate of similar thefts across the state.

In an interview Wednesday, Police Chief Marcus Barrow told WIZS that the vehicles – a 2023 Cadillac Escalade, a 2023 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and a 2023 Audi Q5 were driven off the lot of Charles Boyd Chevrolet just before 2 a.m. on Sunday, April 16. The vehicles have an estimated value of $235,000.

Three suspects, which video footage from the dealership shows were all wearing dark clothing, hoods, masks and gloves, broke a window to gain entry inside the building, located at 250 Ruin Creek Road. The whole thing occurred in just over 10 minutes.

This seems to match up with several other incidents across the state, Barrow said. “Multiple locations across North Carolina have been hit this year,” he explained. And it appears the Charlotte-Mecklenburg County area is a “homebase.”

The Escalade’s OnStar GPS system was used to locate the vehicle later on Sunday morning in Matthews, Barrow said, which is a Charlotte suburb.

“I think it’s a fairly large criminal organization doing it,” Barrow said of the break-in and larceny. His department is working with authorities in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area, the SBI as well as Homeland Security as the investigation continues.

Many car dealerships have similar setups, with keys in the same area, Barrow noted. It could be that people were watching how people and vehicles enter and exit the building over time, or they could have located particular vehicles at particular dealerships before deciding where to strike.

Barrow said the Boyd family was helpful in contacting other dealerships to figure out where thieves had struck, giving local police information to make calls to law enforcement agencies where previous thefts had occurred.

The break-in occurred at 1:43 a.m. and the vehicles were seen driving off the lot west on US 158 Bypass toward Oxford just 11 minutes later, at 1:54 a.m.

This is an active investigation and Barrow asks anyone with information to contact the Henderson Police Department at 252.438.4141, Crime Stoppers at 252.492.1925 or use the P3 app.

Financial compensation is offered for information leading to the arrest of the
responsible individuals.

 

 

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Perry Memorial Library

The Local Skinny! Programs For Youth And More At Perry Memorial Library

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With National Library Week coming up, Perry Memorial Library Youth Services Director Melody Peters took some time to chat with WIZS’s Bill Harris on The Local Skinny! about the important roles libraries play in society.

Sure, they’re a place where you can go and check out books, but Peters said libraries provide so much more. And the Henderson library is ever-evolving to respond to the needs and wants of the community it serves.

“We’re meeting information needs,” Peters said, adding that those needs vary greatly from person to person. She said patrons feel they get “honest, unbiased advice when they come to the library.”

Whether it’s asking for help finding a resource or searching online for a particular document or website, librarians are always at the ready to assist patrons.

“Not everyone can do everything online,” she said. “They still need that guidance” that comes from one-on-one assistance. You know – the old-fashioned way. “You have to constantly evolve and adapt” to respond to the needs of your community, Peters added.

Perry Memorial Library offers a variety of programs for young people, including Life Hacks and Survival Skills, which offers middle- and high-school aged students workshops on everything from sewing a set of mittens to learning how poetry slams work.

And the upcoming Kids Connect session will feature a poetry workshop with Valerie Rodriguez. That program, geared for kids in grades K-5, will be held Tuesday, April 25 at 4:30 p.m.

Stargazers are invited to head out to the community house at Satterwhite Point Saturday evening for a special astronomy program that begins at 7:45 p.m. Weather permitting, there will be telescopes set up and pointed at the skies for participants to learn about constellations.

There will be plenty of activities inside, too, Peters said, just in case the skies are cloudy.

Visit https://www.perrylibrary.org/ to learn more.

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TownTalk: The Help Center Helps Those In Need

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Since Twanna Jones founded The Help Center in 2017, she has found that there are many opportunities to provide something to someone. But what she said her organization strives to do is to provide hope as well as help.

“It’s beautiful and sustainable when you give them both,” Jones said on TownTalk Tuesday.

Jones, the Help Center staff and its volunteers need only look across the street if they need reminding about the hope part: Rebuilding Hope is located just across Raleigh Road from the Help Center building.

Whether it’s the quarterly baby shower designed to provide single moms- and dads-to-be with some of the basics that they’ll need when a newborn is added to the household to the gleaning program that puts young people in farmers’ fields to help with the harvest, The Help Center North Carolina finds a place where help is needed and then goes about the task of filling that need.

Jones and her team serve Vance, Granville, Warren, Franklin and Wake counties, and they offer different programs and services in each spot.

In Vance County, the emphasis is on food insecurity and keeping a diaper bank stocked.

There’s a home delivery program that just got started – a partnership with Door Dash. It’s designed for people with chronic health issues to have weekly food deliveries since they may not be able to get out to get groceries.

All of these programs require volunteers, and Jones said she’s always in the market to have more volunteers to come and help out.

The monthly food distribution is a big one in Vance County. More than 200 families are signed up to pick up food on the 4th Monday of each month.

Then, twice a month, the Help Center opens its doors for clients to choose their own foods instead of getting the pre-made bags. Volunteers are needed for this program, too.

Food distribution Wednesday.

“It takes all of us to work together,” Jones said, giving a nod to the existing agencies in the area that also provide support to the community. “Joining together…makes our community stronger, better and healthier.”

One gap the Help Center is working to fill is getting out into the rural community. The “mobile pantry” program brings food to folks who need it, but that food delivery is just part of the contact. Volunteers deliver food, but that is coupled with making safety checks on older adults, she said. “We wanted to get out into the community and connect with people.” To do that, “you start with food.”

Visit the website at http://www.thehelpcenternc.com to learn about all the volunteer opportunities and how to make donations, or phone 919.391.7300. The office is open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Some of the immediate needs, in addition to volunteers, include donations of:

  • Bottled water
  • Gatorade
  • Baby diapers
  • Adult diapers
  • Pop-lid canned items
  • Peanut butter
  • Juice packs
  • Oodles of noodles
  • Breakfast bars

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Families Living Violence Free

Families Living Violence Free Offers Tips To Identify, Report Sexual Assault

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April is designated as Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Families Living Violence Free offers information to the community to learn more about how to protect yourself and how to report incidents.

FLVF defines the term sexual assault as any type of sexual activity or contact that happens without your consent. “Sexual assault can include non-contact activities, such as someone “flashing” you (exposing themselves to you) or forcing you to look at sexual images. Sexual assault is also called sexual violence or abuse,” according to FLVF Director Nancy Roark.

Roark offers these tips about reporting a sexual assault:

  • First of all, ensure your own safety
  • After the experience of sexual trauma, the first and most important factor should be prioritizing your safety and well-being
  • Reach out for support
  • Consider your medical options

It’s important for victims to understand that it’s not their fault. A range of emotions swirls through victims’ minds, but it is crucial to understand the victim is not at fault.

For more information or help,  contact

Families Living Violence Free (FLVF) at 919.693.5700.

VCS Mentoring Program Pairs Teens and Tweens To Make Positive Connections

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-information courtesy of VCS Communication Coordinator Brielle Barrow

Thanks to a unique mentoring program in Vance County Schools, a group of high school students and their elementary-age pals gathered on Saturday mornings to enjoy activities and establish positive connections.

The Just U & Me Mentoring Program recently concluded, according to VCS Communication Coordinator Brielle Barrow.

The program provides 4th and 5th graders with additional support to help them do their very best at school, according to information on the VCS website.

Mentoring is one of a dozen or so effective strategies recommended by the National Dropout Prevention Center to help students stay on track, avoid negative behaviors and make positive choices.

The youngsters gathered over the course of several Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon to have the chance to work and play together, as well as to establish friendships.

A culminating activity included a visit to the Henderson Institute Historical Museum. Mentors and their young partners also spoke with recent VCS high school graduates and received their certificates of participation.

This year’s mentors are upperclassmen from Vance County High School, Vance County Early College and AdVance Academy, as well as VCS graduates.

TownTalk: Carolina United For Change Plans Scholarship Event

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Carolina United for Change will host a scholarship event on May 20 at the Gateway CDC to highlight its scholarship opportunities at Vance-Granville Community College.

The organization isn’t even a year old yet, but co-founder Joseph Brodie and others have focused on its mission of supporting the poor and needy and protecting the rights of all people.

Brodie was on TownTalk Monday to talk about the two scholarships that have been established at VGCC.

Two $500 scholarships will be awarded, Brodie said. Applicants will be asked to submit a personal essay on the topic of gun violence. Carolina United for Change board members will review the essays and will select the winners. The scholarships were established in honor of Brodie’s son, who was shot and killed in 2017.

Brodie said VGCC Foundation Director Tanya Weary has been instrumental in helping get the scholarship going. She and other VGCC reps will be on hand at the May 20 event to share details about applying for the scholarship and for registering to become a VGCC student.

There also will be guest speakers, drawing for gifts and musical performances during the program, which is from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Gateway CDC is located at 314 S. Garnett St., Henderson.

Brodie said he appreciates the collaboration with Gateway CDC, which is providing space to hold the event as well as technical assistance to the nascent organization as it continues to gain traction in the community.

He said he hopes to be able to have a centrally located space for members of the community to come to ask questions and seek assistance.

 

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