WIZS Local News Audio 1-28-21 Noon
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School Choices in Vance County and Granville County
Two local school districts have announced virtual events to share information with families about the variety of choices available for students in the 2021-22 school year. The Vance County Schools event is scheduled for Feb. 4; Granville County Public Schools will host a Choice Fair Saturday to showcase its school options. (See both graphics at bottom of page.)
Vance County Schools Innovative School applications will be available beginning Monday, Feb. 1, said Aarika Sandlin, public information officer for Vance County Schools. Interested parents or students can download the application from the district website www.vcs.k12.nc.us. Printed copies also are available at the district office, located at 1724 Graham Avenue, Henderson. The virtual event is set for Thursday, Feb. 4 at 6 p.m. Interested participants can find information about how to attend by visiting the district social media sites or the district website, Sandlin said.
Completed applications are due no later than February 28 and should be returned to the district office, Sandlin said in a statement provided to WIZS. February 28 is a Sunday, so applications should be returned to the district office no later than Friday, Feb. 26. Schools included in the Innovative Schools are EM Rollins STEAM Academy, STEM Early High, Vance County Early College and Advance Academy. The Vance Virtual Village Academy has an online application, Sandlin said, so those completed applications should be returned online no later than Feb. 28.
The Granville County Public Schools Showcase will be held virtually from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Jan. 30, according to Dr. Stan Winborne, Assistant Superintendent of Operations & Human Resources and public information officer for the district. “We invite the community to come and meet the administrators and staff,” Winborne said, giving individuals “an opportunity to explore, chat and ask any questions that you have to learn about the many choice programs our schools have to offer.” The virtual event will help families choose which program best meets their educational needs, he added.
Registration is required, Winborne said. Visit the GCPS website at www.gcs.k12.nc.us to find a link to the registration page.
NCDOT Plans $4.5 Million in Resurfacing in Four County Area
More than 70 miles of area roads are on the schedule to be resurfaced, according to information from the N.C. Department of Transportation. The cost of the four projects totals nearly $4.5 million.
The work is set to begin this summer and must be completed by August 2022, according to Marty Homan of the NC DOT communications office.
The largest project involves 27.9 miles of state-maintained roads throughout Granville and Vance counties. ST Wooten Corporation won the contract, which will include milling and resurfacing pavement and making shoulder improvements. Roads to see improvements include Fairport Road in Vance and Granville counties, and Belltown, Sanders and E. Tally Ho roads, all in Granville County.
Under a $700,414 contract, Fred Smith Company of Raleigh will mill and resurface pavement and improve shoulders along 16.3 miles of state-maintained roads throughout Granville, Vance and Warren counties. Roads slated for improvement include Plum Nutty, Ross Mill and Dick Faines roads in Vance County, Tar River Road in Granville County and Lady’s Lane in Warren County.
Roads in Franklin County will get similar improvements under a $663,670 contract with Whitehurst Paving of Richmond, Va. Almost 18 miles along Duke Memorial and Gardner roads will be improved.
In Person County, 8.1 miles along Zion Level Church Road/Skylark Drive, and Wagstaff, Royster-Clay and Ralph Winstead roads will be milled and resurfaced, as well as receive shoulder improvements under a $338,714 contract with Carolina Road Solutions of Center Valley, Pa.
VGCC Nursing Faculty and Students help Granville Health COVID Vaccine Drive Thru Clinic
Nursing students at Vance-Granville Community College had the opportunity to help during recent COVID-19 vaccination events in the area. Dr. Anna Seaman, program head for the Associate Degree in Nursing at VGCC, along with others in the nursing program, helped at the vaccine drive-through at Granville Health Systems last weekend. Senior students got to help administer the vaccines; junior students and VGCC faculty supported in other ways.
Brande McILroy, simulation coordinator for the nursing program at the community college, also participated, according to information from Chris LaRocca in the VGCC communications department. The event took place on Saturday, Jan. 15 and Sunday, Jan. 16.
More than 2,000 people got vaccinated during the two-day event. While senior students actually help administer the shots, other faculty members and junior nursing students provided support in other areas, LaRocca stated, from gathering paperwork and documentation from clients to monitoring patients after they got the shot to make sure they had no adverse reactions.
The faculty and students plan to help with future events at Granville Health as well as other health care facilities in the service area.
Henderson City Council Strategic Planning Retreat Thursday
— submitted by the City of Henderson
UPDATE: Due to the weather, Council has elected to postpone the Strategic Planning Retreat scheduled for today, Thursday, January 28, 2021. It will be rescheduled.
The Henderson City Council will meet for its annual Strategic Planning Retreat on Thursday, January 28, 2021 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at City Hall. A quorum of Council Members is expected; however, no decisive action will be taken during this meeting. The public is welcome to observe via Zoom:
Topic: Strategic Planning Retreat
Time: Jan 28, 2021 09:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
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WIZS Local News 1-27-21 Noon
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Vance County Special Olympics NC Plunge in Place
Special Olympics North Carolina Plunge in Place is a fundraiser that allows participants to donate to Vance County Special Olympics. During Plunge Week (Sunday, February 21-Friday, February 26, 2021), you can plunge into a pool, ice bath or the ocean, run through sprinklers, play with super soakers or dump a frigid bottle of water over your head. Share your Plunge on social media with #findyourfreeze or send to plunge@sonc.net. Tune in to the Live Plunge Celebration on Saturday, February 27, 2021. Participants can register at https://give.classy.org/SOVance. For more information, please contact Crystal Allen at 252.431.6091 (callen@ci.henderson.nc.us).
(Info courtesy of Henderson-Vance Recreation and Parks Department)
Triangle North Healthcare Foundation Launches Community Response Fund
Triangle North Healthcare Foundation has announced the launch of a Community Response Grant Fund, available to nonprofit, local government, and educational organizations, serving the counties of Franklin, Granville, Vance and Warren.
The grants will fund relief and response programs related to the COVID-19 Pandemic. “With the continuing stress on our communities from the Pandemic, our local safety net organizations are struggling to make ends meet and respond to their clients’ needs. We are pleased to announce the Foundation Board’s commitment to provide grants for community relief,” said Val Short, Executive Director.
Applications for grants up to $20,000 each will be accepted, beginning February 1, 2021. Applications will be reviewed quarterly and grants will be awarded in March, June, September, and December. Through this Community Response program, recipients can receive up to four grants throughout the year.
The Community Response Grant application is now available at the Foundation’s online grant portal. A link to the grant portal is available at the website: http://www.tnhfoundation.org Applications will be accepted continuously now through September 1, 2021.
Virtual meetings with Foundation staff will be required prior to submitting an application. To schedule a meeting, please call 252-430-8532.
Triangle North Healthcare Foundation is a regional healthcare grantmaking organization based in Henderson, established in November 2011, after the merge of Maria Parham Medical Center with the for-profit Duke LifePoint. Funded by an endowment created from the assets of the former nonprofit hospital, Triangle North Healthcare Foundation has invested over $2 million in over 80 programs in the region since beginning grantmaking in 2013.
(Press Release provided by Triangle North Healthcare Foundation)
WIZS Local News 1-26-21 Noon
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Granville Vance COVID-19 Update as of January 25, 2021
Granville Vance District Health Director Lisa Harrison provides information routinely by email and other means, and Monday she wrote, “Since our last update on Jan. 19th, there have been 171 new cases of COVID-19 in Granville and 172 in Vance.
“Unfortunately, there have been 2 additional deaths reported this week. A 58-year-old male from Granville County passed away on Jan. 19th, and a 64-year-old male from Vance County passed away on Jan. 16th.
“The GVPH data dashboard is currently under construction. As we shift our priority to COVID-19 vaccines, we are reevaluating what data we are able to share and how we share it. We appreciate your patience during this time. In the meantime, we encourage you to visit the NCDHHS COVID-19 Dashboard. Relevant graphs from these dashboards are available on our website at https://gvph.org/covid-19_dashboard/.”
According to Harrison, vaccine providers needed to administer all of the initial doses of vaccine received since December 22nd by January 25th.
Hospitals and health departments receive vaccine shipments weekly. Amounts received vary greatly, however, from provider to provider and county to county.
Harrison reported in her Monday email that she sees the frustration as vaccine supply is not matching the demand. She said it does not come close. She wrote, “With the imposed deadline to finish out first doses, we are all running critically low on vaccine. However, I’m confident things will catch up. We all have sufficient second dose supply to match our first doses – we want to assure everyone that second doses of vaccines will be provided to those who received their first dose. Due to the limited supply, first doses are still limited to those in Group 1 and Group 2 – health care workers and those 65 years and older.”
At least 9,000 people have been vaccinated in Vance and Granville Counties, of about 100,000 in the district. Harrison wrote, “We have vaccinated more than 3,000 people at GVPH and Maria Parham Hospital and Granville Health Systems have each vaccinated as much.”
Also, Harrison wrote, “I have received so many notes from happy vaccinated individuals who stopped and took the time to say they had a wonderful experience in the highly efficient Granville Health System weekend clinic last weekend. I receive calls and notes regularly about our clinics in each of our health department locations and our collaboration with the Senior Center in Granville County at the Granville Expo Center. And this past weekend, after a Friday clinic in Granville’s health department location and a Saturday vaccine clinic in our Vance health department location, we partnered with Maria Parham Health, Vance County Schools, as well as local law enforcement, Vance County Emergency Management, and Vance County EMS to host a joint vaccine clinic at the Vance County High School. We are working together to ensure that we safely and efficiently administer vaccines to everyone who wants one across our rural and historically marginalized populations.”