Cooperative Extension with Michael Ellington: Fall Lawn Treatments

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Michael Ellington, on the Vance County Cooperative Extension Report:

This week we’re offering a timely reminder of fall lawn treatments. Also mentioned are opportunities for pesticide license holders to gain education credits.

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: Rebuilding Hope BBQ Chicken Fundraiser Coming Up September 26

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Plans for Rebuilding Hope’s Sept. 26 chicken plate fundraiser are well underway, and Co-Director Tom Wille said patrons are invited to pick up plates at the drive-thru, or they are welcome to park, come inside and visit for a while as they enjoy their meal.

One quick note: the price has gone up to $12 a plate, but customers can expect the same delicious food – half a chicken, potatoes, green beans, bread and dessert. The sale is from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“We still think it’s a very fair price,” Wille said on Monday’s TownTalk.

With the cost of everything going up – from the food to lumber, Wille said making the price adjustment was necessary.

“The cost of doing what we do has risen also,” he said. “We’re trying to keep up with the times.”

Rebuilding Hope, located at 414 Raleigh Rd, helps the community in many ways, including building wheelchair ramps and making repairs to homes in Vance County and beyond.

The nonprofit holds fundraisers to help purchase the lumber needed to construct the ramps and stairs that help people get in and out of their homes safely.

Wille said folks can order their plates ahead of time, and businesses can have five or more plates delivered. Call the office at 252.438.5132 to place your advance order.

One addition to this fundraiser is called Scraps to Treasure, Wille said.

“One of our steady volunteers is very handy,” he said, referring to Larry Leach, who creates items like planters, candlesticks and other decorative items from leftover wood.

“We bring all our leftover scraps from a job site and so many times they end up in the landfill,” Wille said.

Leach takes this “pile of scraps” and he turns them into treasures, he said.

It’s a way to put a few more dollars out into the community, Wille said, but it also diverts scrap wood out of the waste stream.

Visit rebuildinghopeinc.org to learn more about the services the Rebuilding Hope offers and to see a sample of the objects offered in the Scraps to Treasure program.

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Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland: Fire Ants In The Landscape

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Wayne Rowland, on the Vance County Cooperative Extension Report:

Fire Ants can be controlled using ant bait.

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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Henderson Fire Department; New Engine 1

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The Henderson Fire Department’s most recent purchase was officially recognized Friday afternoon during a “push-in” ceremony at Fire Station 1 on Dabney Drive. The shiny new Fire Engine 1 was ceremoniously backed into its bay, ready to go out on its first call.

During remarks at the 1 p.m. gathering, Fire Chief Tim Twisdale pointed out that there’s a memorial on the back door of the truck to remind firefighters and anyone else who sees it about the former fire chief, the late Steve Cordell.

The purchase was initiated by Cordell in September 2022. “We remember him as we put it officially in service,” Twisdale said.

It takes that long to get a truck like this one built, Twisdale said. “It’s a pretty big deal when we get to make a purchase like that. It should last for 20 years or more and the chief predicted that it would respond to 2,000 calls a year.

Audio of Chief Twisdale. Click Play!

The price tag? A staggering $763,000. But if he were to order the same thing today, that number would be somewhere around the $1 million mark.

“It’s a custom truck,” he said. “It’s built piece by piece from the frame rails to the lights and the final touches and polished pieces.”

Battalion Chiefs Lee Edmonds, Kyle Holtzman and Engineer Chase Carter put in a lot of hours researching the various components to make sure this truck would be equipped with the very best tools to make it the most efficient it can be.

“This one is built from the ground up,” Twisdale said. One component is the pump, which can handle 2,000 gallons, a capacity that helps the fire department keep its ISO rating of 2 – it all has to do with bringing people and water to a fire emergency within a certain amount of time.

This truck’s primary job “will be to respond to fires and emergency medical calls in the center of the city,” he said.

Twisdale said having this new truck added to the fleet will enable the city to be ready to house fire engines in a new station, if and when construction begins.

“We strive to stretch the dollars that we do receive as far as we can,” Twisdale said.

Watkins Fire Department Chicken And Barbecue Plate Fundraiser Oct. 3

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The Watkins Volunteer Fire Department is having a barbecue and chicken plate fundraiser on Friday, Oct. 3.

$12 gets you either barbecue or chicken, along with potatoes, slaw, bread and dessert.

Bump it up to $15 and get a combo plate with both meats.

“Every meal helps support Watkins Fire Department and our commitment to the community,” said Watkins Chief Brandon Link.

Stop by the fire department, located at 1590 Horseshoe Bend Rd., beginning at 11 a.m.

The last two sales have sold out by mid-afternoon, so mark your calendars, spread the word and come hungry to support the fire department.

American Flag

Vance County Committee Forming To Plan Activities, Events To Celebrate 250th Birthday Of The U.S.

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Communities across the country are gearing up for next year’s big 250th birthday, and Vance County is forming a planning committee to climb aboard the anniversary bandwagon.

America 250 NC, a program of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, is partnering with local governments and nonprofits across the state to plan celebrations to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

The celebration officially kicked off this past July 4 and culminates on July 4, 2026.

The local committee that is forming now will be responsible for planning and organizing events, projects and initiatives, said Vance County Manager C. Renee Perry.

“The plan is to have an event or some type of events leading up to the 250th anniversary,” Perry stated.

Anyone interested in serving on the planning committee is asked to complete the application found here and return to Kelly H. Grissom, County Clerk, to the address or email listed on the application.

Visit https://america250.org/americas-250th/ for a comprehensive listing of programs and activities of the national celebration.

The Local Skinny! Vance County Schools Asks Commissioners For 5% Match Of State Grant Funding For Repair Projects

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The majority of Vance County’s schools need some work, from roof repairs and paint  to sewer lift station upgrades and new windows and doors. All that work would surely come with a hefty price tag, but Superintendent Dr. Cindy Bennett has a work-around that she presented Tuesday to the Vance County Board of Commissioners.

The work-around comes in the form of a state-administered grant for capital improvements and Vance County could stand to get more than $47 million to make those necessary repairs and renovations, Bennett told commissioners Tuesday.

“The capital needs grant allows us to apply for $47.2 million as a school district,” Bennett stated in her comments to the board. All the commissioners need to do is agree to a 5 percent match.

If the school district were to be approved to receive the maximum amount, the 5 percent match would amount to about $2.5 million.

The matching funds wouldn’t have to be paid all at once; rather, the money could come in over the course of the projects, which could take several years.

Bennett and Vance County Manager C. Renee Perry agree that Vance County is poised to receive the funding because of its Tier 1 designation and because it hasn’t applied previously to get the funding.

Time is of the essence, however, and that’s why Bennett and VCS Chief Finance Officer John Suther appealed to the commissioners for financial support. The grant opened on Aug. 15 and the application came online on Aug. 18, Bennett explained. All documentation must be back to the N.C. Department of Public Instruction no later than Oct. 3.

Although she expressed full support for the plan, Perry said she would request that commissioners have a chance to review the documents shared by Bennett before the board makes a decision.

“I’m in full support,” Perry said, but suggested that commissioners review and discuss the matter at an upcoming work session and then make a decision at a special called meeting in a couple of weeks. As of Thursday morning, that special meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 16 at 4 p.m. The matching funds for the schools is one of three topics to be discussed.

“We need to look at our fund balance,” Perry said. “We also have to think about (other) capital projects. The school district gets money from the county each year that is designated for capital outlay, so perhaps some of that money from the budget line item could be used as part of the 5 percent match, she said.

Commissioner Tommy Hester called the decision a “no brainer” since the school district normally relies on county funding for capital projects. A 5 percent match is like saying the county will get a 95 percent discount if the state approves the grant funding.

 

(Our WIZS written coverage will appear here soon.)

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