One Dead In Apparent Shooting Jan. 28

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One man is dead following an apparent shooting over the weekend, according to Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame.

Deputies responded to the 1600 block of Stewart Avenue in the early-morning hours of Saturday, Jan. 28, where they located a male victim. There also was evidence that a shooting had taken place, Brame said in a press statement received at WIZS Friday.

The victim was pronounced dead at the scene by Vance County Emergency Medical Services.

The victim, who later identified as Brian Lamont Burton, was transported to the state Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy.

No other information about the circumstances of the incident was immediately available.

The SBI is assisting sheriff’s detectives as the investigation continues. Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact the Vance County Sheriff’s Office.

March on Washington Remembered

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Martin Luther King Jr.’s now-iconic “I Have a Dream” speech was delivered at The March on Washington.

As we celebrate Black History Month, please enjoy by clicking play below the first in a weekly series here on WIZS as produced by our Steve Lewis of the WIZS Weekday Wake Up!

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TownTalk: Helping Care Givers Of Those With Dementia

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Professional caregivers and family members who care for loved ones with dementia can attend a workshop later this month at Vance-Granville Community College to learn about ways they can manage their roles.

Michael Patterson is a family caregiver specialist with the Kerr-Tar COG, the agency sponsoring the event on Tuesday, Feb. 21. The daylong workshop is $15 for individuals who are caring in some capacity for a family member with dementia and $40 for professional caregivers.

Patterson spoke with John C. Rose on Wednesday’s TownTalk and he discussed details of the regional workshop, as well as a couple of other programs that may be of interest to caregivers.

Sharing information about available community resources takes up a good bit of Patterson’s time, but that’s his job, he said.

“I like to be an asset to our caregivers in the region. Sometimes, they just need someone they can call and ask questions to,” he said.

The respite voucher is one program that caregivers can access, he said.

This program provides up to $750 that caregivers can use to pay for in-home aid assistance, so they can have a break to run errands or complete other tasks and be assured that the loved one will be cared for in his or her absence.

This program isn’t tied to family income or the person’s financial situation, Patterson said. Rather, it has more to do with the age, diagnosis and the ability of the patient to complete certain daily living tasks, which Patterson calls activities of daily living, or ADL.

Another program involves a community partnership with Harold Sherman Adult Day Care. There are scholarships available to allow patients to spend the day at the center.

“It’s been a great partnership,” Patterson said, adding that he has worked closely with its director to get the partnership established. “It’s a fairly new program and we’re excited about expanding our reach and opportunity.”

The day program enhances patients’ mental capacity and keeps them active and engaged throughout the day, Patterson said.

Dementia expert Teepa Snow will be the featured speaker at the Feb. 21 workshop, and Patterson said she will help participants fine tune communication skills with those individuals suffering from dementia.

It can often be very stressful dealing with family members and loved ones who may ask repetitive questions or exhibit personality changes as a result of their health condition. Knowing how to effectively engage with them may be helpful, he said.

Patterson said the workshop also will help caregivers learn “how to physically approach (dementia sufferers) and how to care and have compassion for those with dementia.”

Workshop participants also will learn differences between early onset dementia, as compared to mid-stage and late-stage dementia.

Learn more at www.Kerrtarcog.org and click on Adult and Aging Services in the options listed.

Email Patterson at mpatterson@kerrtarcog.

 

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Public Invited To Community Info Session Feb. 14 At Baskerville Funeral Home Chapel

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The chapel of Baskerville Funeral Home, LLC is the site of an upcoming community information session, during which a variety of topics of interest to local residents will be discussed.

The info session will begin at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 14.

The public is invited to attend, and topics for discussion include gang activity, COVID updates, at-risk youth, food insecurity, social and emotional learning and community health workers, according to information received at WIZS.

The funeral home is located at 104 S. Chestnut St. in Henderson.

Need New Scrubs? Visit MPH Work Choice Uniform Sale Feb. 2, Feb. 3

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Maria Parham Health’s volunteer services department is sponsoring a uniform sale later this week, and available for purchase is a wide range of name brand gear, from scrubs and lab jackets to medical arm sleeves and ID badge holders.

The Work Choice Uniforms event  will be Thursday, Feb. 2 and Friday, Feb. 3 in the John T. Church classroom on the hospital campus, said Lisa Radford, volunteer services coordinator.

Come and shop for nurse shoes, t-shirts, surgical caps, compression socks and more, she said. In  addition, medical equipment like blood pressure cuffs, thermometers, pulse oximeters and stethoscopes also will be available for purchase.

There will be men’s, women’s and unisex clothing from size XXS to 5XL, and from petite to tall sizes.

The sale Thursday will run from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Friday’s sale is from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The event is sponsored by Maria Parham Health Volunteer Services.

 

TownTalk:Vance Schools Hope To Add SRO Positions Using Part Of $841K School Safety Grant

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Vance County Schools is looking at where to spend the more than $841,000 awarded to the school district as part of a statewide School Safety grant.

Rey Horner, VCS executive director of student services, said the money can be used for basic safety equipment like metal detectors, but also to implement training programs for students and to hire more resource officers.

The total amount of the grant is $841,270, Horner said in an interview that aired on TownTalk Tuesday.

The district’s secondary schools have metal detectors and also have designated SROs on campus, Horner said, but the hope is to put SROs at the elementary schools, too. There is currently one vacant SRO position, but Horner said Sheriff Curtis Brame agreed to provide one of his officers until the school district can hire a replacement.

“The goal is to provide an SRO at all of our schools,” Horner said, but he added it has been challenging so far to find qualified applicants. The grant money can be used for SROs, and Horner said the district has allocated $400,000 for additional SROs.

In light of the challenge of hiring SROs, Horner said the district has asked the Center for Safer Schools if it can use that money designated for SROs on other types of safety equipment.

“We’ve put in a request to reallocate (money) for cameras, 911 beepers – anything that can make our schools safer and more efficient,” Horner said.

There’s a plan to place additional metal detectors at the high school, and to gradually phase them in at elementary schools, he added, so students will be used to them and not feel threatened by them when they move to the middle school.

Protecting the physical safety of students and staff is of critical importance, and metal detectors are one way to filter dangerous items from being brought onto school campuses.

But medical safety also is a concern for school leaders. The schools already have automatic external defibrillators – or AEDs – but the goal is to place more than one at each campus.

In addition to equipment, Horner said the district is taking preventative measures to try to reduce students experiencing crises.

“A lot of the things that we’re seeing are coming from the outside to the inside of the school,” Horner explained. One program – Project ARROW – helps build students’ self-esteem and coping skills to deal with such issues as bullying and negative effects of social media.

Horner said Project ARROW is akin to life coaching for students, who, upon completion of the training, can render the same training to their peers.

Vance County Schools was one of 200 school districts and charter schools across the state that received part of the $74 million grant money.

Horner said the district is working hard to make sure the money is spent according to state guidelines. “With all things dealing with money, you have to be very particular,” he said. “We want to make sure it impacts the kids on the largest scale.”

 

 

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