Maria Parham Implements Limited Visitation In Reponse To Widespread Respiratory Viruses

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– information courtesy of Maria Parham Health Public Information Officer Donna Young

Maria Parham Health has implemented limited visitation effective immediately in response to elevated levels of respiratory viruses in the region. The decision was made to help protect the health and safety of patients, visitors, and employees while continuing to provide high-quality, compassionate care.

While Maria Parham Health recognizes the important role visitation plays in a patient’s healing and emotional well-being, these temporary measures are necessary to reduce the risk of respiratory illness transmission within the hospital.

“We understand how meaningful it is for loved ones to be present during a hospital stay,” said Bert Beard, Chief Executive Officer of Maria Parham Health. “However, with respiratory viruses currently at an elevated level in our community, these precautions are a responsible step to help protect our patients, our staff, and the families who trust us with their care. We appreciate the community’s understanding and cooperation as we prioritize safety.”

Current visitation guidance includes:

  • Children under the age of 18 are discouraged from visiting the hospital.
  • Adult visitors and family members should be limited to next of kin and close contacts.
  • A maximum of two visitors will be allowed at a time. (In certain situations, including in the Emergency Department, visitation may be limited to one or no visitors.)
  • Visitors who are not feeling well are asked not to visit.
  • Proper cough etiquette is encouraged, including covering coughs with a tissue or arm, disposing of tissues immediately, and cleaning hands afterward.
  • Visitors should perform hand hygiene before and after visiting.
  • Face masks remain optional at this time; however, due to the increase in respiratory illness, masking is highly encouraged in patient care areas as a simple and effective way to help prevent the spread of respiratory viruses, in accordance with CDC guidance.

Exceptions to these visitation restrictions may be considered on an individual basis and will be determined by the Charge Nurse or House Supervisor after hours.

Maria Parham Health thanks patients, families, and the community for their continued dedication to helping provide a safe environment for all.

For updates or additional information, please visit Maria Parham Health’s official communication channels.

Visit https://www.mariaparham.com for updates.

TownTalk: Commissioners Discuss Detention Center Updates, Fiscal Policy Adoption, ABC Expansion

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The Vance County Board of Commissioners approved a budget amendment Monday that will continue covering expenses for detainees held in jails outside the county and other costs stemming from challenges associated with the current state of the detention facility.

Sheriff Curtis Brame and detention center co-administrator Capt. Shannon Hawley appeared before commissioners at the regular monthly meeting to request that funding continue as the county makes decisions about repairs to the existing jail while making plans to construct a new facility.

In the spring of 2025, the state declared that the jail be depopulated – between the physical condition of the jail itself and a staffing shortage, the maximum number of detainees was slashed from more than 100 to 20.

Since that time, with improvements, repairs and better staffing, the jail houses 45 detainees. But there are 100 or more who should be housed locally but are farmed out to other jails willing to take them. That comes at a cost to the county, however.

“The county has invested an inordinate amount of money…a ridiculous amount of money,” Hawley said, but it’s necessary.

“We ask that we continue to fund housing our inmates outside the facility until a new facility can be built,” he added.

Brame said his staff is “scrambling…hurting each and every day,” adding that he worries about the safety of his officers working at the jail, as well as the safety of the detainees.

County Manager C. Renee Perry said the county has spent roughly $1.2 million since April, including $732,000 in emergency pay and $324,000 in repairs to the jail.

Commissioner Dan Brummitt said he’d visited the jail recently and sees “substantial” improvements, but added there’s a long way to go. The electronic doors do not work, for example, creating a risk to personnel and to detainees.

“These are things that have got to be done…(we) don’t have a choice,” Brummitt said.

The repairs are projected to be completed in November 2026, Perry said, but noted that the jail capacity would only be 90. The problem will persist, she said, until there is a new facility.

Commissioners also approved a spending cap of $2.93 million to complete the repairs to the existing jail facility as part of the design-build concept being used to bring the jail up to speed as it moves forward with plans for new construction.

The approval places a cap on spending for the renovation/repair portion of the project at $2,938,278.

Commissioners also approved a plan submitted by the local ABC Board to remodel and expand the ABC store on Beckford Drive.

ABC Board Chair Jerry Stainback said the expansion could take up to one year to complete, but he anticipates being able to pay off any financial obligation quickly.

In 2007, when the current store was approved, the ABC Board was able to pay off the note four years early.

The plan calls for a 4,500 square-foot expansion of the current store. “We can’t pay for it all in a year, but we can get it paid in significantly less than 10 years,” Stainback predicted. He said the store does $6 million in sales each year.

Commissioners also approved an updated fiscal operations policy, which had been brought before commissioners at an earlier meeting. Commissioner Tommy Hester made the motion to approve the policy. Commissioner Brummitt voted against.

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Perry Memorial Library

The Local Skinny! Great Events To Kick Off 2026 At Perry Memorial Library

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The holiday decorations are down, the kids are back in school and winter programming at Perry Memorial Library is returning to full swing. Youth Services Librarian Melody Peters and staff welcome patrons of all ages to the library for some social interaction and literacy fun.

Mother Goose Storytime fans can return Thursday morning, Jan. 8 at 11 a.m. Later that afternoon, kids can enjoy Lego Fun from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. One scheduling note is the Thursday afternoon story time, Peters said. She is pushing the start time back to 4:30 p.m., which she hopes will be a friendlier time for families with children.

Speaking of fun, Fun Fridays launch this Friday, Jan. 9.

Baby Rave runs from 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. for the youngest kiddos, 0-2. There’ll be dancing and movement to music, complete with party lights and bubbles, Peters said.

The morning morphs into Parachute Play at 11:30 a.m. for a half hour of games and songs for children ages 3-5.

Fridays are busy at the library, with the Home School Social Hour cranking back up at 1 p.m.

This program helps connect homeschooling families – adults and children alike – allowing them to meet new people while they get together to share resources and other areas of interest.

Peters said she hears from homeschooling families routinely who want to find ways to connect with others. “If you’re new to the area, you may not know others nearby,” she said.

  • Pajama Story Time is another favorite for families who may not have time during the day because of work or school commitments.

It’s a short program, just 30 minutes or so, but Peters said it’s all about parents and children engaging in the story together.

The program begins at 6:30 p.m. and continues on Jan. 13, Feb. 3, Mar. 3 and April 7.

  • Teddy Bear Storytime kicks off the new program year on Sunday, Jan. 16 at 3:30 p.m.
  • Drop off your favorite stuffed animal or “lovey” at the library between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 23 to take part in the “Teddy Bear Sleepover,” Peters said. Kids often ask what happens at the library at night, she said. “The animals take over the library and we get to see the fun that they have,” she added. Lovey pickup is on Sunday, Jan. 25 between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Check out all the library’s programs and activities at https://www.perrylibrary.org.

 

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Cooperative Extension with Michael Ellington: Farmers, Landowners, and Pesticide Applicator License Holders

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Michael Ellington, on the Vance County Cooperative Extension Report:

We’re starting the year with a lot of reminders of upcoming programs for farmers, landowners, and pesticide applicator license holders.
Tobacco Production and GAP Meeting – go.ncsu.edu/uppermiddlebeltgap2026
Grain Production Meeting – https://go.ncsu.edu/nepiedmont2026
Pesticide V Credits – https://go.ncsu.edu/vcredits

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: SPARK Program Ignites Passion and Creativity at VCS

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The first-ever SPARK NC student tech showcase at Vance County Schools’ Center for Innovation provided a glimpse into what’s been going on in the world of coding, AI training and high-tech learning over the past few years.

Community leaders, business owners and others gathered before the holiday break to see students demonstrate their projects, which included low-tech materials like Play-Doh and screwdrivers paired with computer code, joysticks and AI to produce creative sights and sounds.

As VCS Superintendent Dr. Cindy Bennett noted in her welcome to the showcase event, this type of hands-on creativity is what will fuel the next generation of careers. SPARK students will have an advantage in the “real world” because of the work they’re doing now. It’s work that looks an awful lot like fun.

It’s been three years since the SPARK lab was established in Vance County, one of the first 17 school districts to give this type of learning a whirl. Vance County is the first district, however, to offer this opportunity during the regular school day. Students come by bus to the lab for an elective class, but they can earn honor cords for graduation through their work with SPARK.

The students demonstrated their projects during a half hour or so of the afternoon’s activities. Davonte Yancey wrote code that he used to identify flowers based off a picture. “It’s trained off of images and we tell it that these are all tulips, these are all orchids,” Yancey explained. “So when it sees something that it doesn’t know, it tells you the probability of what it could be.”

Kaylee Morgan made a piano that makes music “by conducting energy from you to the computer…the energy makes the device work,” Morgan explained. With the sounds of a computer-generated piano in the background, Morgan shared what she likes about the SPARK elective. “My favorite part was learning how all this works, and I find everything really interesting, especially training AI,” she said.

She trained the AI “to identify an object I hold up in front of the camera. I create 14 images without the object then I create the image with the object and then I train the AI,” she explained. “When I hold the object up, (in this case, a beverage container) it says 100 percent ‘drink’, but when I move it away, it says 100 percent ‘no drink.’”

Student Okito Sleugh used his curiosity about the use – and overuse – of Instagram to create a prototype app that could help reduce stress, anxiety, depression and cyberbullying through the app.

Following extensive research on Instagram, including examination of product reviews and observing peers as they interact with the wildly popular app, Sleugh created Instagram Safe Mode.

Not only does it “automatically block any bullying on the app, but it also shows break reminders, and you can also limit the amount of scrolls so you just don’t go scrolling for ever and ever all day,” Sleugh said. “This would make it safer for younger users and also just make it a healthier experience overall.”

Talk about real-world applications.

And it’s all being done in a SPARK NC lab in the Vance County Schools’ Center for Innovation.

Students in the SPARK elective are participating in Level 1, but VCS Chief Officer of Instruction and Innovation Dr. Destiny Ross-Putney said the next level is in the works.

Ross-Putney has been involved from the beginning, and she said the school district definitely took a risk when deciding to put SPARK in place.

“We didn’t know what it was going to look like,” she said. “We didn’t know if the kids were going to earn their credit in that first semester.”

Turns out, more than 70 percent of the students did earn that elective credit, which involved them taking a bit of a risk, too.

Unlike traditional high school classes, the SPARK classes involve “stackable modules” that allow students to try out a particular topic and then switch after a couple of weeks if they’re not interested.

Once they have successfully completed eight of these modules, they earn the elective credit.

“We needed something that looks different from what traditional school looked like,” Ross-Putney said. “We needed them to be able to get in there, get their hands in it, learn it very quickly, to see if they like it and then have the ability to leave if they weren’t interested…because that’s how the real world is…that’s how it is when they’re exploring careers.”

Aarika Sandlin, VCS Chief Officer of Communication & Innovative Support, said the state-of-the-art lab at the Center for Innovation provides high-tech, accelerated experiences for students, allowing them “to be a step ahead when they hit the career world.”

“We’re just grateful for the opportunity for our students to be ready for tomorrow, today,” she said.

CLICK PLAY to hear more and several of the students!

Vance County Fire Department Announces State Certifications In Medium Rescue, Medical Responder

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The Vance County Fire Department has announced a couple of state certifications that it has earned. In a Facebook post on Jan. 2, fire officials offered thanks and appreciation to county leaders and staff.

“We are proud to share an important milestone with our community. Vance County Fire has officially earned state certifications for Medium Rescue and Medical Responder. This achievement reflects months of hard work, sacrifices, and perseverance by our dedicated personnel. Despite challenges and doubt, our team stayed focused and let results do the talking.”

The post also said, “Thank you to the Board of Commissioners, Assistant County Manager Jones, and County Manager Perry for standing with us and believing in what we are building. The Future of Vance County is Bright.”

That quote is becoming the signature quote of Vance County Fire Department Chief Marvin Harrison.  He’s been saying so for a while and also said so recently on WIZS TownTalk.  If you missed that show or the replay of it, check it out at WIZS.com and click on TownTalk or go to facebook.com/wizsradio and scroll down a few posts.

Local Guardian ad Litem Training Begins Jan. 13, 2026

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The local Guardian ad Litem program is a statewide program designed to place trained volunteers to serve as advocates for neglected or abused children going through the court system.

The next six-week training session begins on Jan. 13, 2026. Area Supervisor Samantha Branch, who serves the five-county region that includes Vance, Granville, Warren, Franklin and Person counties, is seeking additional volunteers who want to become advocates for this very important program.

Formed in 1983, the Guardian ad Litem program serves in all 100 counties in North Carolina and is a division of the N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts.

According to information on its website, when a petition alleging abuse or neglect of a juvenile is filed in district court, the judge appoints a volunteer GAL advocate and an attorney advocate to provide team representation to the child.

Program staff in each county work with the GAL child to provide support – legal and advocacy – to children as they go through the court process.

Advocates protect and promote the best interests of juveniles in abuse and neglect court proceedings, as well as report the child’s wishes to the court. They also could contribute to independent investigations to determine the facts, the needs of the child and identify resources appropriate to each case.

Learn more about the program at https://www.nccourts.gov/programs/guardian-ad-litem.

If you think you’d like to become a trained Guardian ad Litem advocate, call 252.430.5121 or visit volunteerforgal.org.

(Information above originally posted Dec. 17, 2025)

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Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland: Timber Biomass Harvesting

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Wayne Rowland, on the Vance County Cooperative Extension Report:

Timber Biomass harvesting can increase income for the landowner.

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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