WIZS Radio Henderson Local News 10-08-26 Noon
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WIZS Radio ~ 100.1FM/1450AM
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TownTalk: Around Old Granville – Major Events Since 1960, Part 3
People may look back in time and identify particular dates or specific short-term events that are, decades or centuries later, now viewed as being historical. Dates like July 4, 1776, December 7, 1941 are just two particular dates etched into most Americans’ minds as having great significance. Most folks can tell you the importance of those two dates – Independence Day and Pearl Harbor.
But sometimes it’s the regular – the mundane – that are rightly added to that category of “historical events,” and WIZS’s Bill Harris and local historian Mark Pace talked about several in Thursday’s TownTalk segment called “Around Old Granville.”
Take road expansion as one example. Road projects take years (sometimes decades) to complete, but the widening of U.S. 1 from Raleigh to Henderson and later the Hwy. 401 project between Raleigh and Louisburg, both are game-changers for the area.
Harris and Pace wrapped up a three-part series on events since 1960 that have historical significance for the four-county area.
Add to those road expansions the completion of “the Missing Link” that connected I-85 in southern Granville County back in 1973, and Pace said road construction has had a significant impact on the area.
Water systems, like roads, are critical pieces of infrastructure that communities rely on for daily life. A severe drought in 1974, coupled with the need to provide water to Soul City and the possibility of landing a beer manufacturer in Warren County led to the development of the Kerr Lake Regional Water System, Pace said.
“Old Milwaukee wanted to relocate to Warren County,” Pace said, adding that the manufacturer would require a tremendous amount of water. At the time, there wasn’t a water system capable of handling their demands.
Well, it didn’t work out with Old Mil but the water system today processes millions and millions of gallons of water a day. It is completing a huge expansion to grow the amount to 20 million gallons a day.
The area has seen its share of protests since 1960 – some successful and others less so.
Landowners in southern Granville had been upset over the creation of Camp Butner during World War II because they didn’t feel like they were being fairly compensated for the property the government was taking.
Ditto the creation of Kerr Lake in the 1950’s and Falls Lake in the late ‘70’s and early ‘80’s.
Those projects prevailed and are part of the fabric of the community, but there were other protests that caused a stir.
There have been protests against proposed repositories for hazardous materials and waste incinerators, Pace said. In fact, the PCB landfill protests of 1982 is largely credited with being the driver for coining the phrase “environmental justice.”
Pace said it was a “grassroots resistance movement that’s actually been echoed nationwide. It’s hard to believe it’s been almost 50 years.”
What events, projects or particular dates will be added to that list of historical events in 50 or 60 more years?
But there could be other events that, for now, are considered regular, ordinary…mundane.
Will it be the Dabney Drive project, long-talked about but – so far, anyway – still in the planning stage?
Will there be “that date” when folks first learned about plans for a proposed data center, sparking a rise in protests and opposition?
Time will tell.
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Cooperative Extension with Jamon Glover: Calmness is Contagious
Jamon Glover, on the Vance County Cooperative Extension Report:
We continue our series called, “Nobody Taught Dad This”. Today we talk about managing ourselves when it comes to controlling our emotions when our child is present.
Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.
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TownTalk: Fall is in Full Swing at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market
Saturday, Oct. 10 is Pumpkin Day at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market, and Market Manager Stephen Wolf said the market will be ready with acrylic paints and pumpkins a-plenty for kids to come out and decorate.
Angie B’s Catering will be returning to serve up hotdogs, burgers and a new personal favorite, a jerk burger, Wolf said on Wednesday’s TownTalk.
It’ll be a good day for folks to come out to the market, decorate a pumpkin and just check out the variety of produce and handcrafted items between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Farmers have remained upbeat despite the lack of measurable rainfall lately, and Wolf said producers have some tasty greens including collards, cabbage and okra to go along with tomatoes, squash, sweet potatoes and more.
Wolf, who stepped into the manager role mid-season, said he’s enjoyed meeting and working with the farmers. He’s already planning for the future and said he would love to see each bay door lined with producers next season.
Learn more about healthy foods and good nutrition practices on Saturday, Oct. 17 when the “Food Pharmacy” comes to the market. Folks who participate in the educational programs between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. will earn “bucks” to spend at the market, he said.
If you’ve taken a close look at the calendar, you’ll have already noticed that Halloween falls on a Saturday, and Wolf said he’s encouraging all vendors to join him by getting into Halloween spirit by decorating their market spaces and dressing in costumes that day.
Everybody loves a holiday market, and the farmers market will feature its own Handcrafted Holiday Market on Saturday, Nov. 14. Vendors will be set up inside – and outside, hopefully – to showcase their handiwork.
Of course, there will still be the regular offerings including locally sourced meats, eggs, fall produce and more, Wolf said.
The market’s final day of the season is Saturday, Dec. 12, and it’ll be a great time to take care of some additional holiday gift shopping as vendors and producers take a break for the winter. Wolf said he’s planning a post-market banquet at the close of the market as a special “thank you” to vendors and sponsors for a productive and successful market season.
Follow the Vance County Regional Farmers Market on Facebook to stay up-to-date on special events and activities taking place at the market, located at 210 Southpark Dr.
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WIZS Radio Henderson Local News 10-07-26 Noon
Listen On Air at 8am, 12pm, 5pm M-F
WIZS Radio ~ 100.1FM/1450AM
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The Local Skinny! Fall into Great Activities at Perry Memorial Library
Middle schoolers have a new program they can participate in at Perry Memorial Library – that program kicks off Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 7 and will continue on the first Wednesday of each month through May, said Youth Services Librarian Melody Peters.
The library is teaming up with The Poe Center of Raleigh to provide a “lounge” atmosphere where the youngsters can talk and learn about mental health.
“You need to have a sound mental health just like you need a sound body,” Peters told WIZS’s Scout Hughes on Tuesday’s segment of The Local Skinny!
For too long, she said, people considered mental health separately from overall physical health. But just like the saying, “you are what you eat,” she said, “you are what you think,” too, she said.
The first topic is mindfulness – the idea of being fully “present” in the moment, focusing your thoughts and feelings.
Deep breathing and meditation are just a couple of ways to practice mindfulness, and Peters said learning effective techniques is important when it comes to handling stress and navigating tough times.
“Being able to control that with breath, with simple things that you can learn, will carry you really far in life,” Peters said. “The sooner you learn these skills, the better off you’re going to be.”
Mental Health Lounge for Middle Schoolers – Wednesday, October 7 – 4:30 – 5:30pm
Another fun activity aimed at teens in grades 6-12 happens Monday, Oct. 12 during Teen Time, which runs from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Come out and paint some pumpkins while viewing the film “Twitches.”
Visit www.perrylibrary.org to view a full schedule of programs and events for children of all ages taking place at the library, located at 205 Breckenridge St.
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(The audio and text contained in this post are not medical advice.)
TownTalk: Vance County Commissioners Monday Board Meeting Recap
Vance County Finance Director Stephanie Williams said the county has collected $803,000 more than was anticipated in taxes, including ad valorem and local government sales taxes.
Ambulance revenues had an overage of $2.7 million, although ABC revenue – liquor stores – collected $161,000 less than was anticipated.
In her report to commissioners at their regular monthly meeting on Monday, Williams said tax collections for the 2025-26 period July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026 were greater than 96 percent – 96.36, to be specific.
But don’t let that $800,000 figure fool you into thinking that the county coffers are filling with additional funds.
The fact of the matter is that the county is still short to the tune of almost $344,000.
Williams spelled out that expenditures total $71,637,894.48 and revenue collected totals $71,293,975.07.
In her written report to commissioners, Williams explained a bit about the modified budget versus the adopted budget and how money can be basically moved where and when it’s needed.
“The Modified Budget reflects the adopted budget as adjusted through budget amendments presented to and approved by the Board of County Commissioners during the fiscal year. It also includes transfers of budget authority between departments within Fund 10 and items included in the End-of-Year Budget Authorization,” she stated.
Fund 10 is often referred to as the General Fund.
Find the complete agenda, including the budget information Williams provided commissioners at https://www.vancecounty.org/departments/board-of-commissioners/agenda/
In other business before the board, Commissioners also approved proclamations for Fire Prevention Week and Breast Cancer Awareness. Commissioner Dan Brummitt made a motion to place pink ribbons on county buildings in observance of October as breast cancer awareness month.
Tabled was approval of the Tar River Hazard Mitigation Plan, presented by Emergency Management Specialist Willie Kearney.
Although the plan has been approved by other entities including the city of Henderson, commissioners opted to table approval of the 700-plus page document because of numerous updates that needed to be made in the document, from the county’s current internet provider to the physical address of certain EMS stations.
Before the conclusion of the meeting, commissioners entered into a closed session on an economic development matter. After 15 or 20 minutes, WIZS News understands commissioners returned to open session and voted to adopt minutes from past closed sessions, as Commissioner Brummitt told WIZS by phone after the meeting had ended.
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(The text above is the same text published as an update in another post on WIZS.com.)
Vance County Commissioners Meeting Monday, Oct. 5, 2026
UPDATE 10-6-26 at 4:22 p.m. —
Vance County Finance Director Stephanie Williams said the county has collected $803,000 more than was anticipated in taxes, including ad valorem and local government sales taxes.
Ambulance revenues had an overage of $2.7 million, although ABC revenue – liquor stores – collected $161,000 less than was anticipated.
In her report to commissioners at their regular monthly meeting on Monday, Williams said tax collections for the 2025-26 period July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026 were greater than 96 percent – 96.36, to be specific.
But don’t let that $800,000 figure fool you into thinking that the county coffers are filling with additional funds.
The fact of the matter is that the county is still short to the tune of almost $344,000.
Williams spelled out that expenditures total $71,637,894.48 and revenue collected totals $71,293,975.07.
In her written report to commissioners, Williams explained a bit about the modified budget versus the adopted budget and how money can be basically moved where and when it’s needed.
“The Modified Budget reflects the adopted budget as adjusted through budget amendments presented to and approved by the Board of County Commissioners during the fiscal year. It also includes transfers of budget authority between departments within Fund 10 and items included in the End-of-Year Budget Authorization,” she stated.
Fund 10 is often referred to as the General Fund.
Find the complete agenda, including the budget information Williams provided commissioners at https://www.vancecounty.org/departments/board-of-commissioners/agenda/
In other business before the board, Commissioners also approved proclamations for Fire Prevention Week and Breast Cancer Awareness. Commissioner Dan Brummitt made a motion to place pink ribbons on county buildings in observance of October as breast cancer awareness month.
Tabled was approval of the Tar River Hazard Mitigation Plan, presented by Emergency Management Specialist Willie Kearney.
Although the plan has been approved by other entities including the city of Henderson, commissioners opted to table approval of the 700-plus page document because of numerous updates that needed to be made in the document, from the county’s current internet provider to the physical address of certain EMS stations.
Before the conclusion of the meeting, commissioners entered into a closed session on an economic development matter. After 15 or 20 minutes, WIZS News understands commissioners returned to open session and voted to adopt minutes from past closed sessions, as Commissioner Brummitt told WIZS by phone after the meeting had ended.
*********
UPDATE 10-6-26 at 12:51 a.m. —
Vance County Finance Director Stephanie Williams said the county has collected $803,000 more than was anticipated in taxes, including ad valorem and local government sales taxes.
Ambulance revenues had an overage of $2.7 million, although ABC revenue – liquor stores – collected $161,000 less than was anticipated.
In her report to commissioners at their regular monthly meeting on Monday, Williams said tax collections for the 2025-26 period July 1 2025 to June 30, 2026 were greater than 96 percent – 96.36, to be specific.
Commissioners also approved proclamations for Fire Prevention Week and Breast Cancer Awareness. Commissioner Dan Brummitt made a motion to place pink ribbons on county buildings in observance of October being breast cancer awareness month.
Tabled was approval of the Tar River Hazard Mitigation Plan, presented by Emergency Management Specialist Willie Kearney.
Although the plan has been approved by other entities including the city of Henderson, commissioners opted to table approval of the 700-plus page document because of numerous updates that needed to be made in the document, from the county’s current internet provider to the physical address of certain EMS stations.
View the meeting on the county’s YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@VanceCountyNC
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WIZS Radio Henderson Local News 10-06-26 Noon
Listen On Air at 8am, 12pm, 5pm M-F
WIZS Radio ~ 100.1FM/1450AM
Click Play!
Cooperative Extension with Michael Ellington: Fall Greens
Michael Ellington, on the Vance County Cooperative Extension Report:
Today’s segment covers what might be eating your fall greens in the garden.
Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.
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