Vance Charter Prepares for OSHA Vaccine Requirement Deadline

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Businesses and employers of 100 or more people face a quickly approaching vaccine deadline.

The federal mandate which was on, then off, then back on again starts to take effect in a week.

The Vance Charter School board of directors met last Wednesday night in a special meeting. Board Chair Johnny Yount wrote in correspondence with WIZS News, “The Board addressed compliance with the OSHA Vaccination and Testing ETS (Emergency Temporary Standard). Given the recent rapid rise in Covid-19 cases, the Board also voted to re-impose an indoor face covering requirement for students, staff, and visitors.”

Yount said Vance Charter’s plan was to plan ahead, “to be prepared/proactive for whatever comes regarding the OSHA ETS outcome as it relates to employers with over 100 full time/part time employees,” he wrote.

As to the masks, he wrote, “The mask policy itself is voted upon each month and will be discussed and voted upon again at our January 10th meeting as required.”

If not vaccinated, an employee must be tested at least weekly.  Citations for vaccinations are not expected until at least January 10 with testing violation citations not expected for another month on February 9.

The Local Skinny! Henderson Police Could Soon Have A Robot On The Force

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The Henderson Police Department could have a new tool in its complement of resources to help law enforcement officers as they work to keep the community – and themselves – safe. Chief Marcus Barrow said the remote-control robot would be something that other agencies in the region would be able to use, too.

He and the department are always looking for new tools to help mitigate situations, and when he saw a grant opportunity to pay for it, he applied. “So far, everything’s looking good,” he said. If all goes according to plan, Barrow said the robot could be ready for use in early spring 2023.

The grant, from the Governor’s Crime Commission, would cover $24,500 of the $25,500 price tag for the Vantage robot, which has climbing capability, a camera that can live-stream and an arm that can manipulate objects. If the department is awarded the grant, the city would have to find the additional $1,000.

Its most practical use, Barrow said, probably would be in a hazardous materials situation. “We take hazmat courses every year,” he said, “and we’re warned about the stuff that travels up and down I-85 and in our city.” Having a robot that could be sent close a wreck scene, for example, would help keep officers from being exposed to harmful materials.

With any other piece of equipment, the timeline would involve training and getting handlers used to how the robot works. “I would like it to be here and deployable as quickly as possible,” Barrow said, adding that it would be an added benefit to other agencies in the region, not just for the city’s use. He said once multiple people are trained on using it, the robot would be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Technology increasingly plays a role in the work of law enforcement, and Barrow said a recent grant for body-worn cameras was awarded to the department. But it’s a 50 percent match, and now he’ll be looking for that match. It’s a big expenditure, and Barrow said he “didn’t feel our local citizens should foot that bill” for the entire amount. But with matching grant funds identified, he said the body cameras may be something on the horizon for local police officers, and he added that he planned to go before the city council shortly to request those matching funds.

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TownTalk: Kevin Britton is the new Program Specialist at Recreation Dept.

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Young athletes who dream of playing at the college level and beyond should take a page from Kevin Britton’s life playbook – pages filled with plays his mom, grandmother and others drew up for him that involve discipline, leadership, giving back to the community.

And sports. Oh yes, sports.

Britton said he’s been in love with sports since he was 8 years old. Fast-forward a few decades and Britton is bringing that passion to Henderson in his role as program specialist for the Henderson-Vance Recreation and Parks Department.

Born and raised in Durham, Britton said he is looking forward to putting in place programming for the whole community – it’s not going to be limited to young people. Or to athletics, for that matter.

“I have been given the opportunity to create programs through recreation and parks to benefit the community,” he told John C. Rose on Monday’s Town Talk.

“I’m talking about the whole community, not just the youth.” He said he was raised by his grandmother, who was fond of saying, “if you don’t use it, you lose it,” Britton said. By helping senior adults in the community, he hopes programs will have a domino effect to the middle-aged and to youth as well.

“I truly believe if we can help the community as a whole, it’s better.”

In addition to his family, it was his participation in the Durham Salvation Army’s Boys & Girls Clubs when he was a youngster that opened the world of sports to Britton. “I received a lot of love” at the Boys & Girls Club, he said. “It was very important in the growth of my younger years.”

The foundations and basics he learned early served him well – he played basketball at Durham High School and earned a scholarship to play at N.C. Central University. The 1989 Eagles’ team won the NCAA Division II national championship.

Basketball gave Britton the opportunity to see beyond his community and to claim achievements that otherwise may not have been possible for him to attain. Having a network of support, be it from family members, fellow players or coaches, is key for young people today, he said.

“I feel like recreation is the foundation,” Britton said. Children who start playing at the rec league level can develop that “basketball IQ” that benefits the players – and the programs they play for – later on.

Part of that sports IQ, if you ask Britton, is having a Plan B. The development of the student athlete – student first, athlete second – is something that he stresses.

“If you don’t have the grades, you can’t play. You may be the next Michael Jordan or LeBron James, but if you don’t have the grades, the world won’t see it,” he said.

“One day the air’s going to come out of the ball,” he said. When that happens, he says, “you can fall back on your education and still be a winner.”

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The Local Skinny! Bullock’s Engraving: Going Strong Since 1973

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Michael Lassiter has been working at Bullock’s Engraving for 34 years.  That’s a long time and it’s even more impressive when one considers that Lassister is only 42 years old.  That means he started with the business when he was 8 years old.

Ron and Grace Bullock started the business in 1973 and were located for many years in the Henderson Mall. Lassiter’s dad worked for the mall and that meant the younger Lassiter spent a lot of time there. Additionally, the Bullocks were Michael’s God Parents.  “I was always in the store anyway,” Lassiter said on Monday’s Local Skinny! program. He apprenticed under Ron Bullock for many years learning all he could about engraving and the business.

He now owns the business but Grace Bullock can still frequently be found at the business lending a hand as needed. Lassiter says that all engraving is done on site and includes engravable gifts, awards and more.  If it can be engraved, Lassiter says they can do it.

While there may be other businesses that do engraving work in the area, Lassiter says none have been around as long as Bullock’s. The business has had three locations over its 49 years: The Henderson Mall, Corbitt Hills, which is where B B & T is now located and Corbitt Depot at 1630 Parham Street.

Lassiter says the moves have been the toughest part of his 34 years.  “Most people think you’ve gone out of business,” Lassister said when the store has moved.  They’ve now been at the Corbitt Depot for about 17 years and he plans on keeping the store in its current location for as long as possible.  “Henderson has potential,” Lassiter said.

Bullock’s Engraving has a showroom that is open Tuesday through Friday from 10am to 4:30pm and at other times by appointment. The phone number is 252-492-7011, and they are on Facebook at facebook.com/BullocksEngraving and the web at www.bullocksengraving.com.

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January 4 An Asynchronous Remote Learning Day for Vance County Schools

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The Vance County public school system has announced an asynchronous remote learning day for January 4.

Aarika Sandlin, director of communication and marketing, said in an information release the asynchronous remote learning day will be “for all students and school-based instructional staff. All other staff will operate with an optional workday with buildings opening at 10 a.m.”

Otherwise, all Vance County Schools closed early, January 3 “due to inclement weather and safety as the temperature is falling rapidly,” Sandlin said.

Elementary schools dismissed at 1 p.m. and all other schools let out at 1:15 p.m.

COVID-19 Cases Continue To Rise In Vance, Granville

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The Granville-Vance Health District reported Wednesday almost 400 new cases of COVID-19 in the past seven days across the two counties.

There have been 194 new cases in Vance County, and 202 new cases in Granville County, according to the report. Those numbers represent a 15.4 percent positivity rate in Vance and a 7.1 percent positivity rate in Granville.

GVPH Director Lisa Harrison noted, however, that those numbers likely will rise. “Lots of tests and lab entries are being made and transferred this week and we know these numbers will go up a significant amount in short order,” the report stated.

“The numbers reported today (Wednesday) from the state system above do not yet reflect the cases our team entered today which exceed another 200 cases reported to us,” Harrison said in a footnote included in the report.

All data, as well as outbreaks and clusters, are reported through the NC Electronic Disease Surveillance System and are available for review on the state’s data dashboard here: https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/.

According to the CDC COVID Data Tracker, the numbers reported by the state mean that both counties are considered in the “high community transmission” category.

To date, there have been 7,665 cases of COVID-19 in Vance and 8,901 cases in Granville County for a total of 16,566 across the health district.

Deaths as a result of COVID-19 are 104 in Vance and 107 in Granville, for a total of 211 deaths across the health district.

For those who may want to calculate percentages, the total population of Vance County is 44,535 and 60,443 for Granville County.

Visit CDC Data Tracker by County and the NCDHHS COVID-19 Dashboard find the most recent information about COVID-19. Relevant graphs from these dashboards are available on our website at https://gvph.org/covid-19_dashboard/

In Vance County:

  • 63 percent of those over the age of 5 have received at least one dose of their COVID-19 vaccine – 58 percent are fully vaccinated
  • 14 percent of those ages 5-11 have received at least one dose and 8 percent are fully vaccinated
  • 46 percent of those ages 12-17 have received at least one dose and 40 percent are fully vaccinated

In Granville County:

  • 67 percent over the age of 5 have received at least one dose of their COVID-19 vaccine and 63 percent are fully vaccinated
  • 16 percent of those ages 5-11 years have received at least one dose and 10 percent are fully vaccinated
  • 44 percent of those ages 12-17 have received at least one dose and 40 percent are fully vaccinated

GVPH has administered 35,338 vaccines – 18,248 first doses and 17,090 second doses, an increase of 52 from last week’s numbers of 35,286 total vaccines, including 18,219 first doses and 17,067 second doses.

The Local Skinny! Public Hearing Jan. 3 To Begin County Budget Discussions

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Updated 01-04-22 at 12:30 p.m. —

Kelly H. Grissom – Executive Assistant/Clerk to Board of the Vance County Board of Commissioners – informs WIZS, “A 10-day notice is required for public hearings.”

She said, therefore, that a new notice would be prepared on the pre-budget public hearing and that the public hearing would be postponed until the February meeting.

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Update 01-03-22 at 1:30 p.m. —

The Vance County Board of Commissioners’ meeting was rescheduled for Monday, January 10th at 6:00 p.m. due to inclement weather.

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The Vance County board of commissioners will hold a public hearing on Monday, Jan. 3, 2022 to hear from residents about the 2022-23 budget.

This “pre-budget” public hearing will be held in the commissioners’ meeting room at 122 Young St. and is scheduled to begin shortly after 6 p.m., according to information from County Manager Jordan McMillen.

This is the first of two public hearings to hear from residents about suggestions and priorities for the upcoming budget.

The county manager is scheduled to submit a recommended budget in May. The second public hearing is planned for June 6, 2022 and then the board must adopt a final budget no later than July 1, when the new fiscal year begins.

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TownTalk: How Winnie The Pooh Reflects PTSD

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There are countless books and scholarly articles that psychologists and mental health experts have at their disposal as they counsel and advise their clients. But Marilyn Debora has a favorite author that she refers to often in her role as a management consultant and resilience coach. His name is A.A. Milne.

Debora said the man who wrote the beloved Winnie-the-Pooh stories for his real-life son, Christopher Robin, can teach adults how to be in community with others while dealing in a healthy way with effects of post-traumatic stress disorder.

On Wednesday’s Town Talk segment, John C. Rose and co-host Phyllis Maynard spoke by phone with Debora from her home in Toronto about her work with the Warriors for Life support group, of which Maynard is a member.

Debora said she has long been interested and involved in the veteran community, first in her native Canada and now with the U.S.-based Warriors for Life.

“Throughout my youth, our family would go to the veteran hospital and serve the Christmas meals as well as singing the carols and bringing the cheer,” Debora said. “The veteran community was always very important to my family. They believed strongly in the service they provided and we should be honoring them.”

Although she pursued a career in business rather than the military, she has found a way to stay involved with veterans through her support group work.

It was during a Warriors for Life session that she first shared an excerpt from one of Milne’s stories with the group. It struck a chord with the members and prompted Debora to do a little more research about Milne, himself a military veteran. Debora and her sister were still grieving the recent death of their mother, and her sister passed along the excerpt that she had gotten from a friend.

“It resonated with me and I shared it with the group that night,” she recalled. “And that’s when the conversation about Winnie-the-Pooh came up.”

What she found goes far beyond a collection of stories for children, and she said she finds herself referencing Winnie-the-Pooh at least 60 percent of the time in her work with clients. Milne had been a political satirist for a popular publication before the war, Debora said. Her research found that many papers had been written by experts which support the idea that Milne’s characters may each represent a psychological disorder.

“He was trying to explain his post-traumatic stress to his 6-year-old kid…in a child-friendly way,” Debora explained.

Each character represents a different type of trauma, but each one has a smile on his face, she said. Back in Milne’s day, it was called “shell shock.” Today’s terminology is PTSD, but no matter the label, those who suffer from it have a hard time coping.

Milne was “trying to help him understand what was happening to him, so that his son wouldn’t be afraid of him,” Debora said.

When she brings up the stories of lovable Pooh and his friend in the Hundred Acre Wood, Debora said it evokes happy childhood memories from her clients. But when she examines the gloominess of Eeyore the donkey and the Tigger’s boundless energy, she can delve deeper into ways to name depression and impulsivity that helps clients find positive and constructive ways to manage it in their own lives.

Although PTSD sufferers may feel depressed like Eeyore or paranoid like Piglet sometimes, it doesn’t mean that they feel all the different emotions all the time, she said. And those characteristics don’t define us or make us unable to be liked or loved by those around us.

By exploring the natures of the different characters, Debora can help clients identify their particular problem areas and then find ways to begin to move forward. “They are a creative and collaborative bunch,” Debora said of Pooh’s friends. Milne’s characters are a reminder that when things do get tough, they are stronger together. “Nobody gets left behind in a Pooh cartoon,” she said.

And that is a big take-away for her and the groups she works with.

“Resilience is the ability to pick yourself up and move forward in spite of adversity,” Debora said. She helps people know that the biggest challenge is knowing where to start. And when it comes to resiliency, you don’t have to start at the beginning.

It is a misconception that people don’t like change, she asserts.
“People don’t resist change. They resist the way the change is presented and the perceived impact it will have on them,” she said. And once you know what the perceived impact will be, you have your starting point to move forward.

“I help people realize what it is that’s holding them back and then having them come up with an idea of what that first step is. Once you’re moving, you’re moving,” she said.

“As long as I’m moving in a forward direction, I’m moving forward.”

Listen to the entire interview at wizs.com.