The Local Skinny! Wellness Event July 17 at Freedom Life Church of God

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UPDATE – Freedom Life Church of God, located at 1001 Martin Creek Rd. in Henderson – The Community Event Vaccination Celebration by Alternative Learning Center and Granville Vance Public Health HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED due to the threat of storms/rain.  The NEW DATE IS July 17, 2021 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. There will be a mobile vaccination, free food, praise dancers, PPE distribution, COVID education, raffles and prizes, grill/cookout, music and lots of fun!

A local church is partnering with the Granville-Vance Health Department and Wake Forest-based Alternative Learning Center and Community Engagement, Inc. to host a free “Calling All The Shots” wellness event, which includes a mobile vaccination clinic, free food and giveaways.

Crishna Murray, of the Wake Forest organization, said a co-worker attends Freedom Life Church of God in Henderson and they worked together to get the event organized for Saturday. The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the church, located at 1001 Martin Creek Road in Henderson.

Murray told John C. Rose on Thursday’s The Local Skinny! program that her organization strives to connect people to resources in the community.

The mobile vaccination station will be open to anyone wishing to get a COVID-19 shot, she said. It’s just one of the resources available at the event, which is designed to “celebrate wellness and (help) get people more involved and honor the community,” Murray said.

“It’s going to be lots of fun,” she said. In addition to meeting people’s needs, there will be raffles, prizes, hot food off the grill… and we will be happy to get you the resources you need in the community.”

Alternative Learning Center is a North Carolina non-profit corporation that focuses on personal and professional development for community members, according to information on its webpage.

Murray, who is also the author of children’s books, said she is passionate about the work ALC does. “This is my life’s work. I am humbled to offer support,” she said. “I want to see everybody win, I want to see everybody happy and I’m going to do my part while I’m here on earth to make sure that happens to the best of my ability.”

Farmers Market ‘Twilight Market’ Tuesday, June 29 3-7 PM

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Pat Ayscue has been on the job as manager of the Vance Regional Farmers Market for a few weeks now and says she’s been listening to farmers and vendors to try to find ways to best suit their needs.

Ayscue told WIZS News Friday that Tuesday’s “twilight market” is just one way to float new ideas at the farmers’ market – a kind of feasibility study, if you will.

The twilight market will be from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. and will be just like any other market day, she said, just a different time frame.

Folks are usually “out and about” on Saturdays, looking for a market open during the morning hours, and she hopes that providing some flexibility during the week will create more interest. Those who work Monday through Friday can’t always get to the Wednesday market. And it would allow folks who work on Saturdays time to visit and shop as well, Ayscue said.

“If I could get (customers) to show up during the week like they do on Saturday,” it just may be by making the hours more flexible.

“Farmers are out there working all the time,” she said. Her job is to listen to their conversations and learn what it is they are looking for and what it is they need.

The Twilight Market will be open Tuesday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Coach's Corner Logo

SportsTalk: Richardson has Crossroads Christian in preparation for next year

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Crossroads Christian Athletic Director Scottie Richardson is deep into the school’s Summer Season, which consists of workouts for the various athletic programs and figuring out how to plan work out and practice times. “We have an internal master Excel-Google spreadsheet,” Richardson joked about how the school’s coaches stay on top of things during the off season. Since Crossroads is a small school the various programs tend to share players and Richardson said one of the challenges is time management and organizing schedules so there is no overlap.

Richardson said that basketball camps have seen excellent participation over the last couple of weeks and that all sports are currently engaged in preparations. “Hopefully, it will pay off end-season,” Richardson said of all the work that coaches and students are currently putting in. “We try to make it a year round program,” Richardson added.  The boy’s basketball team has been especially busy travelling to UNC-Charlotte and UNC-Pembroke to participate in basketball camps playing nine games in three days and then following that up with a home and away Summer exhibition versus Oxford Prep. Richardson said it was a great experience for his team.  Last Covid prevented the team from engaging in any type of off season workouts and camps.

Not only did Covid take a toll on schedules but there was also a financial impact on the school. Richardson said that $15,000 was lost in concession sales last year. Volleyball and basketball are the big revenue sports for the school and Richardson hopes this year will be a return to normal.

Richardson said that this year teams are also engaging in activities together off the court and fields as well helping them to develop a unity that will transfer to games during the upcoming school year.

Richardson added he is looking forward to fans and students returning to stands and bringing a renewed school spirit to the games.

For complete details and audio click play.

 

Sheriff’s Office Lieutenants Receive Advance Training Certificates – From Each Other

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It’s a pretty big deal when law enforcement officers receive their certificates of advanced law enforcement training in front of the Sheriff’s Education and Training Standards Commission. Two lieutenants in the Vance County Sheriff’s Office recently achieved that distinction, but with a twist – they presented the award to each other.

Lt. Ray Shearin and Lt. Billy Gooch drove to Wilmington for the June 11 ceremony. Shearin said recipients have the option to have the certificate mailed to them, but “it was just an honor to get it in front of the commission,” to be told ‘job well done’ in front of  former and current sheriffs.

Normally, Gooch said, the sheriff or a senior deputy would be called in to present the certificate. But when Sheriff Curtis Brame said he had a conflict, Gooch said he told Brame they’d just present it to each other.

“It was great going down there with him,” Shearin said. “Lt. Gooch has been a friend of mine for a long time – we’re good friends off the job as well.” He said it felt good for his friend to present him with the award and to say the kinds words he did in front of the commission.

Likewise, when it was Shearin’s turn to present Gooch with his certificate, he said “it was my honor. I told the commission that Lt. Gooch had been with the sheriff’s department for a good number of years.”

Since 2002, to be exact.

Gooch started out in the patrol division and spent 12 years with K-9. “The dog is your first backup. I knew I had somebody in the back of my car that would back me up 100 percent,” he said.

Law enforcement officers must have at least 12 years on the job and accrue at least 69 points, half of which must be law enforcement training points, to earn the advanced certificate.

And one point is equal to 20 classroom hours of instruction. That’s a minimum of 1,380 hours of instruction.

“It’s an honor to get, no matter how long you’ve been in law enforcement,” Shearin said, who has served for 26 years. “Having that piece of paper saying I accomplished my advance certificate…is a great keepsake.”

Both officers said they encourage all law enforcement officers to look into earning their advanced certificate.

Law enforcement has changed dramatically since he began his career, Gooch said. In today’s society, “somebody’s always recording something,” he said. “You get the training and then do what you’re supposed to do – you won’t have a problem.”

Shearin said he was humbled by the experience. “We all try to treat people like we want to be treated,” he said. “I think that’s the bottom line…we are no better than anybody else – we just have to enforce the law.”

Town Talk Logo

Simmons: Casket, Monument Business A Continuation Of His Mother’s Idea

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Allen Simmons is building upon an idea his mother had some years ago to help families during a time when they may feel most vulnerable – when they are making decisions about funeral expenses.

Simmons has started a business in Henderson called Alight Caskets and Monuments and he said he wants to give families affordable options when it comes to choosing caskets and monuments. His mother, the late Fearldine Allen Simmons, had an idea to provide affordable caskets some years ago when her niece died. She wanted to help the family provide an appropriate funeral while keeping an eye on the expenses.

Simmons told John C. Rose Wednesday on Town Talk that he is not trying to compete with funeral homes and the services they provide, rather, he said, he simply wants to be a help to the people in the community. “I grew to love where I live,” Simmons said of Henderson. “It’s a joy (to) help people wherever I go.”

The business, located on Norlina Road near the I-85 ramp, includes services from consultation with families to creating specially designed caskets. One woman asked him to create a U.S. Army design for her military veteran husband’s casket, he said. It takes up to 48 hours to complete a design on a casket.

Casket prices can range from $995 to more than $5,000, depending on the type and material used, Simmons said. “We try to give a family something nice, regardless of what they purchase,” he said, “something in your budget but also can help you to bury your loved one in an elegant way.”

He is delivering caskets throughout North Carolina, and into South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee and plans to soon be delivering across the country.

Simmons said his business is the only one in Henderson that makes monuments since Hight’s Monuments closed. “Monuments are a really big thing for us right now…you can buy a very nice monument for $250,” he said, and prices can go up into the thousands. His team also can assess an existing monument and determine whether it can be repaired, removed or replaced.

The goal of Alight Casket and Monument is to help people, Simmons said.

“We want to educate people on the funeral process – they don’t know what to do, how to handle this process,” he explained. “We educate them on how to handle the funeral of their loved one, learn as much as they possibly can, so when they do go into the funeral home, they’re well aware of the situation they’re facing.”

Most of all, he wants families to be able to bury their loved one in an “elegant way, an affordable way.”

To learn more, contact Simmons at 252.915.0675 or 252.204.5120.

For complete details and audio click play.

The Local Skinny! Home And Garden Show

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WIZS, Your Community Voice.  Thank you for listening! 

The Local Skinny! each Wednesday on WIZS is the Vance County Cooperative Extension Service Home and Garden Show.

 

Maria Parham Hosts White Coat Ceremony For Residents In New Program

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Their journeys to medicine couldn’t have started more differently, but when two physicians put on their white coats during a ceremony next week their paths for the next few years will be remarkably similar.

Rashmi Saincher knew she wanted to pursue a job in the health or science field. She went straight to medical school after graduating from college; it took Jessica Y. Sanders several years – and several jobs – to put her on the path to becoming a doctor.

Sanders and Saincher will become the two newest residents in the Rural Training Track at Duke’s School of Medicine. Maria Parham Health and Duke Primary Care in Oxford are collaborators with the program, which is part of the family medicine residency in the department of family medicine and community health. The Rural Training Track was recently accredited by ACGME and Sanders and Saincher are the first to “match” with Maria Parham through the National Resident Matching Program Main Residency Match.

The June 30 white coat ceremony, hosted by Maria Parham Health, marks for the two physicians the beginning of a three-year commitment with the rural training track, which focuses on meeting primary care shortage needs in rural North Carolina. Both women said they are excited to begin the program. “We did all this work and it’s finally here and we’re starting the next leg of our journey,” Sanders told John C. Rose on Tuesday’s Town Talk. Saincher, who attended St. George’s Medical School in London, identified a mixture of excitement and nervousness in advance of the white coat ceremony. “It’s going to be a proper white coat,” she said. “It will be a very different feeling to be addressed as ‘doctor’ instead of ‘medical student,’” Saincher added.

During the first year of the program, the residents will spend a majority of their time at Duke University Hospital and Duke Regional, as well as Maria Parham Hospital and Duke Primary Care in Oxford. Over the next two years, their time will be spent mainly in Henderson and Oxford.

Maria Parham CEO Bert Beard said Tuesday that having the residents working at the hospital sends a positive message to the community. “It’s a big deal to have a residency program,” Beard told WIZS Tuesday. “And it’s a huge deal to have one associated with Duke University.”

Being a part of the rural training track sends “a signal to the region we serve that our partnership with Duke is strong and is growing,” and that Maria Parham is committed to the long-term health and well-being of patients in the community.

Those patients will benefit as well, Beard said. The physicians who are participating in the residency program are licensed, with some limitations, to write orders and care for patients. The plan is to have 12 residents within five years participating in the program – four in Year 3, four in Year 2, and four in Year 1.

The program will give them a lot more training and hands-on experience, Sanders said, mainly because they will be working more closely with patients in the rural setting. Beard said it’s a way to “cultivate the importance and the joy of serving as a primary care provider in a rural community.”

“I feel that the best cases and the best experiences in connecting with the community actually lie in the rural area,” Saincher said. “One thing that this pandemic has shown us is that every corner of society deserves the best care and I’m really excited to be able to help deliver that care and also to be able to improve my own skills in the process.”

Both physicians will go through a variety of different rotations in different areas of medical care; Saincher said she especially looks forward to working at the VA Hospital in Durham and in the areas of geriatrics and palliative care.

Sanders also looks forward to working at the VA. “Obviously, they are a very under-served population,” she noted. She also is interested in women’s health so she looks forward to the OB-GYN rotation.

Sanders said her “real-world” experiences between undergraduate school and medical school helped shape her approach to medicine. “I know Duke has wonderful mentors and providers,” she said, noting the importance of having that type of resource for support.

Saincher said her approach is to take every moment as a learning opportunity, “realizing that this is such a unique and great experience to grow. We’re all helping each other out the best way we can,” she said.

(This article and audio are not a paid ad.)