TownTalk: Henderson Fire Dept. Holds Its Own Despite Challenges

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Firefighters, just like everyone else, have been affected by COVID-19 and the restrictions that have been in place for the last year and a half. But unlike so many other workers, firefighters can’t work from home or respond to fire calls virtually.

Henderson Fire Chief Steve Cordell said his department has faced challenges during the pandemic but he praised his team of firefighters for their loyalty and dedication to their jobs.

“We’ve seen a lot of turnover here recently,” Cordell told John C. Rose on Thursday’s Town Talk. Some staff have moved to jobs in related fields and others have decided to take a completely different line of work.

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After a dip in the number of calls at the onset of the pandemic, he said the department is again responding to an average of 250 calls each month – about 60 percent are medical-related and about 40 percent are fire and rescue calls.

Cordell said his firefighters get good information from the dispatchers, who know the right questions to ask to learn if anyone is COVID-positive that firefighters may come into contact with when they go out on a call.

“We treat everyone as if they are a positive case,” he said, and his firefighters will wear a mask when they are off duty and in public, just to make sure that everyone is staying safe.

As the fire department works to recruit and retain firefighters in the short-term, Cordell said he is hopeful that plans for construction of a third station in west Henderson also will come to fruition.

“We’re still on the table,” he said of the plans for the new station. He and others have been taking with developers and looking at different spots to purchase.

He also said plans to reorganize and reclassify some departments and positions within the department should be brought to City Council for consideration next month.

Battalion Chief Joel Bartholomew is leaving after 15 years of service to become director of emergency services in his native Warren County, a move Cordell called “bittersweet.” He called Bartholomew a loyal and dedicated employee, and added “watching him develop and grow has been a blessing and an honor.”

One step toward “normal” for the department involves Capt. Lee Edmonds, who works with fire prevention education. The pandemic put the brakes on firefighters getting into schools to talk with children about fire prevention. With the start of school just around the corner, Cordell said everyone’s looking forward to restart the “Read A Book With A Firefighter” program. Firefighters read with kindergartners, help them with homework and just enjoy time with young learners.

Cordell said he has a great team who is working hard every day “to keep our feet grounded and trucks staffed and moving to help the people of Henderson.”

LEAP Grants Awarded for the 2021-2022 Year; Funded by VCPSF & Mako Medical

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— submitted by Vance County Schools

Learning Extending Actual Performance, also known as Leap Grants, were established through the Vance County Public School Foundation as a way to assist teachers in goal oriented projects to extend and enrich the lives of our students.

This year, we were fortunate to have Mako Medical match the $5,000 that the Vance County Public School Foundation earmarked for the LEAP grants, extending the ability to provide $10,000 in LEAP grants. A committee was formed to evaluate the applications, with all names and schools redacted. Each application was reviewed carefully and looked over with fidelity to ensure that those being awarded met all of the criteria and goals. After careful evaluation, 5 projects were selected to receive a 2021-2022 LEAP Grant.

Vance County Schools is extremely grateful for both the Vance County Public School Foundation and Mako Medical for making this possible!

Our first educator honored is for a project entitled, Operation Ukulele! Operation: Ukulele! is a project for a class set of twenty-five ukuleles that involves the entire student population of Aycock Elementary (K-5). A class set of ukuleles will not only increase the knowledge, wealth, and importance of learning an instrument but it will also strengthen sight-reading and rhythmic skills week after week! My classroom instruction not only enhances because of them, but as a result, music classes immerse themselves in collaborative music ukulele ensembles! Congratulations to Mr. Matt Moore of Aycock Elementary.

The second educator being awarded is for a project known as Fitness Drumming. Fitness Drumming is a highly engaging, non-traditional fitness activity. Students use rhythm sticks or drumsticks to drum out beats and patterns on stability balls while also performing exercises. It is a great way to get student’s heart rates up while also having fun improving coordination with musical beat and rhythm development. The cross curricular activity incorporates music and physical education. Congratulations to Mr. Dan Sandlin of Dabney Elementary.

The next educator awarded is for the Angelfish Bloggers project. Angelfish Bloggers welcome writers “under the sea” to learn the process of writing as a vital part of communicating. This theme will promote the joy of organizing topics and information to develop digital platforms to communicate clearly and coherently as 21st Century learners. Blogging will be a primary publishing platform along with emails, Google docs, and Google slides. The Simplify Writing Comprehensive Writing Program will be the primary tool of assessment and daily instruction along with a few mentor texts splashed in to keep students engaged and “swimming with the flow”! Congratulations to Mrs. Rachel Brown of Aycock Elementary!

Our next awardee is for a project entitled Modern Spaces, which is the alignment of researched based best practices and innovative technological tools in the classroom, maximizing student achievement. This project will foster an environment of inquiry and ultimately improve students’ achievement in English Language as they prepare for college & career in the 21st century. Ultimately, as a modern teacher, teaching has to be about helping students make connections to the real world and there is no better way to help them to do that than through the use of instructional technology. Congratulations to Ms. Marsha Harvey of Vance County High School.

Our last awardee is for a Modern Physical Learning Environment project. The goal of this project is to transform a classroom from an old-fashioned, teacher-centric space to a versatile, functional, modern learning environment by replacing student desks with a set of tables and chairs that connect and separate to adapt to varied learning tasks and modalities. Congratulations to Peter Hasselberg of Vance County High School.

We are excited for each of our awardees and how their projects will make a difference in the lives of our students!

TownTalk: Vance County Fireworks and Classic Cars

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Fall is just more than a month away, and its arrival ushers in several events sure to interest locals and tourists alike.

Pam Hester and Norman Dickerson shared details about the upcoming Labor Day fireworks and the 19th annual downtown classic car show and the two tourism development authority representatives said plans are shaping up for a couple of great shows for the whole family.

The Labor Day fireworks show is set for Saturday, Sept. 4 at Satterwhite Point on Kerr Lake.

There will be a DJ providing music during the afternoon and several food vendors will be on hand, including Jerry’s Hotdogs, Peyton’s Place and Frostbites, Hester told John C. Rose on Wednesday’s Town Talk. Vendors should be ready for customers by the middle of the afternoon, and “as soon as they’re set up, they’ll be ready for business,” Hester said.

Dickerson said the fireworks display probably will begin around 8:15 p.m. or 8:30 p.m.

The July 4 fireworks show was pushed to Labor Day this year because of the uncertainty of when COVID-19 restrictions may be lifted and Dickerson said it’s been almost 20 years since there’s been a fireworks show for Labor Day. State park weekend gate fees are $7 per vehicle.

Hopefully, the recent heavy rains brought by tropical storms won’t create too much of a problem with the lake level. Dickerson said the lake is at 301 feet, just a little above normal.

If water levels are a problem, “we have a backup shoot site, so we’ll be ok,” he said.

Hester said she is trying to look at the rescheduled date in a positive light: “We gave the people of Vance County three different events to go to, because we weren’t doing it on the same night,” she said. “We’re going to make the best of it and have a great celebration” on Sept. 4, she added.

Then in mid-October, a different type of celebration returns to downtown Henderson with the 19th annual Show, Shag, Shine and Dine event. Hundreds of classic cars line the streets for folks to admire on Saturday, Oct. 16.

Hester said there has been a lot of interest in the event, which will kick off on Friday, Oct. 15 with a cruise-in at Kerr Lake from noon to 4 p.m., and then it’s on to Southern Classic Cars on Horner Street in Henderson from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

“We’re having lots and lots of phone calls,” Hester said. “People are ready to come out and go to a car show.”

Registration for the car show, which is for any make and model 1988 and older, is $20. For owners who want their vehicles included in the judging, the fee is $25. Registration is Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. “We had a huge turnout in 2019,” Hester said. “I think the judges were worn out by the end of the day.”

Listen Here for Full Audio about the Vance County Tourism fireworks and Show Shine Shag and Dine.

Three Help Local Education Shine for More Than a Moment

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Each year Vance County Schools presents a community partner the Shining Moment in Education Award.  This year it’s times three, and when you read the names, it will be fairly self explanatory.

The local public school system stated on its web page (vcs.k12.nc.us) and through its Public Information Officer Aarika Sandlin, “We are extremely grateful for all that Maria Parham Health, Granville-Vance Public Health and NC Pediatric Associates are doing to keep our students, staff and community safe through the pandemic. These organizations have collaborated with VCS, doing vaccination clinics since January of this year.”

Vance County Schools has stated time after time that it believes in working with the community and developing partnerships with civic, business and community partners.  The purpose of the Shining Moment in Education Awards is to celebrate “partners making an impact on a larger scale.”

Partnership and collaboration have allowed VCS to continue to vaccinate individuals locally.

The next vaccination clinic will take place on August 31, 2021 at Vance County Middle School from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.  No appointment is necessary for anyone age 12 and up.

Vance County EMS Joins New Pediatric Care Training and Research Program

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— News Release, UNC School of Medicine

HENDERSON, North Carolina – Vance County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) has been selected to join the Pediatric Emergency Care Coordinators Plus (PECC+) Program, an advanced pediatric training and education program developed by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine in partnership with the NC Office of EMS and funded by the EMS for Children Innovation and Improvement Center.

Twelve EMS agencies throughout the state of North Carolina were selected following an application and interview process for the highly selective program. The PECC+ Program representative for Vance County EMS is Kris Talley, FTO-Paramedic and Assistant Shift Supervisor, who will serve as the Pediatric Emergency Care Coordinator (PECC).

The PECC+ Program will provide specialized pediatric training, educational opportunities, and other resources to Vance County, including online educational courses for individual providers working in Vance County EMS. Regular program participation earns Vance County EMS a monthly stipend that will be used towards local pediatric care needs.

The PECC+ Program has partnered with ESO Solutions, North Carolina’s EMS data management system, to develop performance feedback tools that utilize real-time field data to promote quick turnaround on performance review and improvement. These state-of-the-art tools are currently only available to the twelve participating PECC+ Program agencies.

In late July, PECCs gathered in Chapel Hill, North Carolina for a full-day educational Summit where they prepared for their PECC+ role by attending seminars on specialty topics in pediatric care and engaging in hands-on training with both live actors and simulation tools.

Talley is eager to begin his role, stating, “The reason that I was interested in becoming a PECC is the ability to bring training and knowledge back to my department. I love learning and I love teaching, so it seemed like a great fit to be able to expand not only my knowledge of pediatrics but those in my department as well.”

The PECC+ Program officially begins on September 1st and will run for two years.

TownTalk: Brett Cotter And Relieving Stress

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People react to and cope with stress and anxiety in many different ways – incorporating productive techniques into daily routines is one path that Brett Cotter takes to manage his own stress. The New York-based life coach and author says his strategies expand and complement other forms of care.

Back in 2013, Cotter was inspired to create a workbook to help military veterans. “I was watching the news, seeing a lot of stories about veterans not getting the care that they deserved,” he told John C. Rose and guest host Phyllis Maynard on Tuesday’s Town Talk. He had at the time 15 years of experience in the field of stress relief and trauma recovery and he said he wanted to help veterans while they were waiting for care.

His own dad was a Marine veteran who served in Vietnam. He was helping his son test a new app, and when he finally admitted that it wasn’t really working for him, Cotter got him to agree to try one-on-one coaching sessions to help manage stress.

Those sessions never began, Cotter said. The next day his father suffered a stroke and just more than a week later, he died. Since then, as a tribute to his dad, Cotter said he developed a workbook. “I decided to do something in his name to help guys like him,” he explained. “Whenever I hand a book to somebody, it’s kind of like me and him are working together. I feel really connected to him on a different level.”

There are a variety of ways to tap into Cotter’s expertise, from books and workbooks, individual coaching sessions, mini courses and recorded guided meditation. Learn more at www.brettcotter.com.

First responders and medical personnel have been in the spotlight lately for the additional stress placed upon them during the COVID-19 pandemic, but veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and many others experience stress and anxiety as well, Cotter noted.

“Everyone’s different. We meet each person where they’re at,” he said. Some are really app savvy, some want regular meditation exercises and others want a more individualized one-on-one coaching experience.

Maynard, a Navy veteran and local veterans affairs liaison, said she had a positive experience with Cotter’s approach. “He guided me through (painful) memories and he guided me through relaxation,” she said, so when those memories resurfaced, she didn’t have the same painful reaction to them. “He can reach through the emotional and mental layers of obstruction” to help relieve stress, she said.

Trauma and painful memories cover up our true, natural self, Cotter said. As sufferers work to release and relieve the stress within, they release layers of pain, hurt, trauma and much more, he said.

Meditation is a practice that can reinforce the “realignment in our brain and a cleansing of our mind,” Cotter said. When a root memory is uncovered and recognized, other memories “fall like dominoes.”

He is excited about an upcoming event in Rhinebeck, NY called Omega Institute, a weeklong retreat that came about after an online session last spring through The Open Center in New York City. It will be held Aug. 29-Sept. 3.

“It’s kind of like a dream come true,” Cotter said. He remembered attending a retreat in 1999 that, for him, was transformational.

He said he wants others to know they are not alone. “So many of us are feeling the same way,” he said, referring to feeling stressful and anxious. My work is definitely for self-enrichment and self-improvement.”

He described the upcoming retreat as five days of learning how to unlock and release tension, removing layers and layers of old emotions and finding healthy ways to deal with past traumatic events.

“It’s going to change how you perceive reality – like we’re going into the closet and cleaning it all out.”

He explained one method to help relieve anxiety that involves nothing more than completing four statements.

We get anxious when feelings get bottled up inside and then come out sideways,” Cotter said. By filling in the blanks of the statements, those feelings are effectively released and the result is reduced anxiety.

  1. I feel totally overwhelmed by …
  2. The most upsetting part of all of this is …
  3. The worst-case scenario is …
  4. My biggest fear actually is …

Saying the statements aloud and completing them with the immediate worries help to dislodge the tension we feel inside, he explained, which helps to bring us back to feelings of being calm and grounded. “When you express it out loud, you feel the layers release inside you.”

Some people fight anxiety with physical exertion – gym workouts, martial arts, mowing grass. But Cotter says that physical activity is probably a temporary fix. His techniques “melt it from the inside out.”

(This is not a paid ad. The text and audio is informational and not meant to replace or serve as medical advise.)

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The Local Skinny: Jobs In Vance

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The H-V Chamber of Commerce and WIZS, Your Community Voice, present Jobs in Vance for August 17, 2021. The Chamber compiles the information, and it is presented here and on the radio. Contact the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce at 438-8414 or email christa@hendersonvance.org to be included.

JOB OPENINGS IN VANCE COUNTY – Week of August 17, 2021

 

Name of the Company: Versatrim

Jobs Available:  Looking to hire people for: Shipping Dept., Molding Dept. Quality Control, Operator Assistant, Slitting Dept., Surface Inventory and Printing Dept.

Method of Contact:  Contact Human Resources dept at 1-866-200-8132 or NC Works Center @ 857 Beckford Drive in Henderson 252-438-6129.

 

Name of the Company:  Pinnell Insurance, A Division of Watkins Insurance Agency

Jobs Available: Administrative Assistant – If you are interested please send in a 3 minute or less video of yourself answering these questions: What has been your life’s greatest achievement? What frustrated you the most about your last position or job? What most attracted you to respond to our ad?

Method of Contact:  Please send all video’s to info@watkinsinsurance.com and be sure to include your name and phone number

 

**** Ker- Tar Community Job Fair Saturday August 21st from 9:am til noon located at Hix Field 313 E. Spring St. in Oxford, NC. 20 Employers & Community Resources will be available. For more information contact NC Works 919-693-2686 or email VGCC at flecherl@vgcc.edu

 

Name of the Company:  Penn Pallet

Jobs Available:  looking for a hardworking reliable 1st shift employee Monday – Friday 7:00am – 3:00pm. Great starting rate at $14.00 an hour with weekly production incentives. Other benefits include paid holidays, earned vacation and individual/ family insurance. Experience in wood industry helpful but not needed. Forklift experience also helpful.

Method of Contact:  Apply online at pennpallet.com or email Melony.francisco@pennpallet.com

 

Name of the Company:  Chick-fil-a

Jobs Available: Daytime cashiers and drive thru team members. Must be at least 16 years old, have valid driver’s license, basic computer skills and available to work 6am to 4pm Monday – Saturday.

Method of Contact:  To apply text frontofhouse to 252-359-3232 or apply online at cfaresturant.com

 

Name of the Company:  Vance County

Jobs Available: Economic Development Director – Qualifications are Bachelor’s Degree, Certified Economic Developer or working toward credential, excellent written communication, public speaking and presentation skills, also proficient in Microsoft Office, general business technologies and analytical tools.

Method of Contact: Go to the Vance County website for more details and to apply online

 

Some of these businesses are present or past advertisers of WIZS.  Being an ad client is not a condition of being listed or broadcast.  This is not a paid ad.