TownTalk: Andy Perkinson Reflects On Public Works Service

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Growing up, Andy Perkinson watched his daddy work tobacco. By watching, and working, he developed a strong work ethic. But he also listened to his father, who told him to find a job that had some benefits and some retirement.

“I listened to him,” Perkinson told John C. Rose on Monday’s TownTalk. “I’m grateful that I did.”

Perkinson, who turns 51 next month, recently retired from a career with the City of Henderson.

He started out in 1993 as a maintenance worker. But when he officially retired on Jan. 1, held the position of public works director.

“The city was good to me,” Perkinson said, but added that he felt he also was good to the city. “Whatever I did, I did it with my whole heart,” he said.

City employees are responsible for everything from maintaining city cemeteries to fixing broken water mains, with lots of other things in between.

All the city’s department heads have great responsibilities, he said, it’s the public works director that responds to calls for service from everywhere.

A city’s public works director has got “everybody to worry about – police, fire, recreation,” Perkinson said.

The utilities and public works groups were combined under previous city manager Frank Frazier, which Perkinson said was a way to get employees cross-trained so they could multi-task or fill in where needed.

Whether dealing with a water main break or other problem that is going to result in an interruption of service, Perkinson said often the actual repair was the easy part.

“The repair isn’t the hard part,” he said. “It’s getting to it.”

Placing a call to 811 is a critical step to knowing where all the other utility lines are located. Having the right inventory in the warehouse is another key component to timely restoration of the service.

“If we didn’t have it in the warehouse and couldn’t fix it, it means people would be without service for an extended time,” Perkinson said.

Handling administrative tasks as public works director probably wasn’t tops on Perkinson’s list of things to do, but he did them, and credited the city staff for incredible support while he was learning the role.

Mayor Eddie Ellington reflected on Perkinson’s time with the city.

“I tell you, we already miss him,” Ellington said in a recent interview with WIZS News. “Andy was a guy (who) would delegate, but he would also get his hands dirty,” the mayor said.

Ellington said he happened to stop by the site of a city repair crew and asked where Perkinson was. “He pops up out of the ditch and says ‘I’m right here,’” Ellington said with a chuckle.

 

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Fire Chief Steve Cordell

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Celebration of Life Audio Feb. 2, 2023

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Vance Welcomes New Assistant County Manager Feb. 13

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Vance County’s new assistant county manager is set to begin work in just more than a week.

Chris Dillon comes to his new position from Wake County, where he worked for almost seven years in various roles, including assistant county manager and senior assistant county manager. His responsibilities included overseeing transportation, economic development, workforce development and elections staff.

Through his work in Wake County, he gained experience as the chief county representative to federal, state and local governments and was instrumental in assisting the county in its negotiations for business incentive grants with several large economic development investments, according to a press statement issued by Vance County this week.

Prior to his time in Wake County, he spent four years as director of governmental affairs for the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. Before that, he spent more than six years as deputy chief of staff for special projects for the president pro tempore in the state Senate. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, having authored several successful pieces of legislation at the state level and has built key relationships across the state.

Dillon has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from Campbell University and he has completed various continuing education programs including the Public Executive Leadership Academy at the University of North Carolina and the Colin Powell Professional Development Academy through the National Association of Counties.

One Dead In Apparent Shooting Jan. 28

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One man is dead following an apparent shooting over the weekend, according to Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame.

Deputies responded to the 1600 block of Stewart Avenue in the early-morning hours of Saturday, Jan. 28, where they located a male victim. There also was evidence that a shooting had taken place, Brame said in a press statement received at WIZS Friday.

The victim was pronounced dead at the scene by Vance County Emergency Medical Services.

The victim, who later identified as Brian Lamont Burton, was transported to the state Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy.

No other information about the circumstances of the incident was immediately available.

The SBI is assisting sheriff’s detectives as the investigation continues. Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact the Vance County Sheriff’s Office.

March on Washington Remembered

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Martin Luther King Jr.’s now-iconic “I Have a Dream” speech was delivered at The March on Washington.

As we celebrate Black History Month, please enjoy by clicking play below the first in a weekly series here on WIZS as produced by our Steve Lewis of the WIZS Weekday Wake Up!

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TownTalk: Helping Care Givers Of Those With Dementia

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Professional caregivers and family members who care for loved ones with dementia can attend a workshop later this month at Vance-Granville Community College to learn about ways they can manage their roles.

Michael Patterson is a family caregiver specialist with the Kerr-Tar COG, the agency sponsoring the event on Tuesday, Feb. 21. The daylong workshop is $15 for individuals who are caring in some capacity for a family member with dementia and $40 for professional caregivers.

Patterson spoke with John C. Rose on Wednesday’s TownTalk and he discussed details of the regional workshop, as well as a couple of other programs that may be of interest to caregivers.

Sharing information about available community resources takes up a good bit of Patterson’s time, but that’s his job, he said.

“I like to be an asset to our caregivers in the region. Sometimes, they just need someone they can call and ask questions to,” he said.

The respite voucher is one program that caregivers can access, he said.

This program provides up to $750 that caregivers can use to pay for in-home aid assistance, so they can have a break to run errands or complete other tasks and be assured that the loved one will be cared for in his or her absence.

This program isn’t tied to family income or the person’s financial situation, Patterson said. Rather, it has more to do with the age, diagnosis and the ability of the patient to complete certain daily living tasks, which Patterson calls activities of daily living, or ADL.

Another program involves a community partnership with Harold Sherman Adult Day Care. There are scholarships available to allow patients to spend the day at the center.

“It’s been a great partnership,” Patterson said, adding that he has worked closely with its director to get the partnership established. “It’s a fairly new program and we’re excited about expanding our reach and opportunity.”

The day program enhances patients’ mental capacity and keeps them active and engaged throughout the day, Patterson said.

Dementia expert Teepa Snow will be the featured speaker at the Feb. 21 workshop, and Patterson said she will help participants fine tune communication skills with those individuals suffering from dementia.

It can often be very stressful dealing with family members and loved ones who may ask repetitive questions or exhibit personality changes as a result of their health condition. Knowing how to effectively engage with them may be helpful, he said.

Patterson said the workshop also will help caregivers learn “how to physically approach (dementia sufferers) and how to care and have compassion for those with dementia.”

Workshop participants also will learn differences between early onset dementia, as compared to mid-stage and late-stage dementia.

Learn more at www.Kerrtarcog.org and click on Adult and Aging Services in the options listed.

Email Patterson at mpatterson@kerrtarcog.

 

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Public Invited To Community Info Session Feb. 14 At Baskerville Funeral Home Chapel

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The chapel of Baskerville Funeral Home, LLC is the site of an upcoming community information session, during which a variety of topics of interest to local residents will be discussed.

The info session will begin at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 14.

The public is invited to attend, and topics for discussion include gang activity, COVID updates, at-risk youth, food insecurity, social and emotional learning and community health workers, according to information received at WIZS.

The funeral home is located at 104 S. Chestnut St. in Henderson.

Need New Scrubs? Visit MPH Work Choice Uniform Sale Feb. 2, Feb. 3

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Maria Parham Health’s volunteer services department is sponsoring a uniform sale later this week, and available for purchase is a wide range of name brand gear, from scrubs and lab jackets to medical arm sleeves and ID badge holders.

The Work Choice Uniforms event  will be Thursday, Feb. 2 and Friday, Feb. 3 in the John T. Church classroom on the hospital campus, said Lisa Radford, volunteer services coordinator.

Come and shop for nurse shoes, t-shirts, surgical caps, compression socks and more, she said. In  addition, medical equipment like blood pressure cuffs, thermometers, pulse oximeters and stethoscopes also will be available for purchase.

There will be men’s, women’s and unisex clothing from size XXS to 5XL, and from petite to tall sizes.

The sale Thursday will run from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Friday’s sale is from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The event is sponsored by Maria Parham Health Volunteer Services.