Local News Audio

Noon News 12-17-20 Safe Neighborhood Initiative; David Smith; Covid19; School Re – Entry Plan

Stories include:

– Safe Neighborhood Initiative

– David Smith awarded Long Leaf Pine

– Covid19

– Re-entry plan for Vance Co. Schools

For full details and audio click play.

 

Vance County Schools Logo

Vance County Schools Re-entry Plans Ready; Just Need Date

The Vance County School system has been hard at work on a re-entry plan for students, and this week at the Vance County Board of Education meeting that re-entry plan was approved.

No date was set.

VCS Public Information Officer Aarika Sandlin provided the information in her latest board briefs.  She wrote, “The Board of Education approved the re-entry plan for students; however, the re-entry date was not determined. The Board of Education will continue to review metrics, along with discussions with The ABC Science Collaborative, NCDHHS and Granville Vance Public Health.

“The re-entry plan approved allowed for two days of face-to-face instruction and a staggered entry, beginning with PreK, K and 6 grades, followed by grades 1 and 2 and then grades 3-5. Additionally, self-contained EC students in grades PreK-12 begin re-entry.”

The plan will allow any student wishing to remain fully remote to do so, with live instruction on specific days and times.

Sandlin can be heard each morning on WIZS at 7:45 and each afternoon during the WIZS Local News with school information.

Superintendent Dr. Anthony Jackson will join WIZS on TownTalk Tuesday, December 22 at 11am.

U.S. Department of Justice

Henderson-Vance Benefit as U.S. Attorney Takes Back Eastern NC

The U.S. Department of Justice has recognized the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina because of the Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative.

Relationship building among prosecutors and federal, state and local law enforcement has led to arrests and convictions for drug, drug trafficking and violent crimes and the involved criminal organizations.

Since the initiative started in 2018, more than 1,600 individuals have been prosecuted, representing a 50 percent increase in the number of people charged compared to 2016-2017 in eastern North Carolina.

The aggressive Take Back North Carolina effort has resulted in a 60% reduction in robberies in Henderson and a 21% decrease in aggravated assaults, according to the press release below.

You’ve heard the phrase Project Safe Neighborhoods on WIZS News or read it on WIZS.com 58 times in 2019-2020.  Those times were just for Vance, Granville, Warren and Franklin Counties.

Robert J. Higdon, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina said, “When I took office as the United States Attorney, the President and the Attorney General made it clear that job one in our District was to reduce crime rates and to attack drug trafficking organizations operating here. We have taken that task very seriously and, because of the hard work of so many, we have seen those crime rates decline as we have removed the drivers of those crime rates from our cities and towns. This award honors a sustained effort by many, many dedicated public servants and it is a privilege to accept this award on their behalf.”

The press release also indicates Vance County has enrolled in the Educating Kids about Gun Violence (EKG) program, which assisting in reducing violent crimes in Fayetteville by 10 percent in the last five years for student-aged young people.


– Press Release 

U.S. Department of Justice Recognizes U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina for its Work with Project Safe Neighborhoods

Take Back North Carolina Receives National Award as the Outstanding Overall Partnership/Task Force

RALEIGH – The Department of Justice has recognized the Take Back North Carolina initiative of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina with its Outstanding Overall Partnership/Task Force Award in support of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Initiative.

“We are extremely gratified and humbled by the Attorney General’s recognition of the important work being done by federal, state and local law enforcement, our partners in the District Attorneys’ Offices and by the men and women of my office as we seek to drive down crime rates and deliver safer communities to all the citizens of the Eastern District.” Robert J. Higdon, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina said. “When I took office as the United States Attorney, the President and the Attorney General made it clear that job one in our District was to reduce crime rates and to attack drug trafficking organizations operating here. We have taken that task very seriously and, because of the hard work of so many, we have seen those crime rates decline as we have removed the drivers of those crime rates from our cities and towns. This award honors a sustained effort by many, many dedicated public servants and it is a privilege to accept this award on their behalf.”

In early 2018, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina launched Take Back North Carolina in an effort to drive down spiraling crime rates and to attack drug trafficking organizations – specifically violent crime and drug activities caused by gangs and other national and transnational organizations. Through the initiative, teams of Assistant United States Attorneys and legal support staff were deployed across the 44 counties of the Eastern District focusing on six broad geographic areas. Each team was tasked with building strong relationships with federal, state and local law enforcement operating in those areas and they worked in close coordination with the 15 elected District Attorneys who prosecute state crimes in North Carolina courts in the eastern half of the State. Building on these relationships, our prosecutors worked to identify the individuals who are driving the crime problem in the communities in their assigned area and with charging and prosecuting those individuals in an effort strategically designed to reduce violent crime rates and disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking operations across the District.

Since the Initiative’s inception, more than 1600 individuals have been prosecuted as part of this Initiative, representing a more than 50% increase in the number of defendants charged by this office over those charged in 2016 and 2017. But, more importantly, due to the strategic targeting of the drivers of our violent and drug crime problems, many communities have seen measurable – and in some cases dramatic – reductions in the violent crime rates. For example, based on data analyzed and provided by our research partners at the University of North Carolina – Greensboro, the following cities saw significant reductions in crime rates during 2018 and 2019[1] while participating aggressively in the Take Back North Carolina Initiative:

-Jacksonville – 50% reduction in homicides; 42% decrease in robberies; 83% reduction in aggravated assaults;

-Henderson – 60% reduction in robberies; 21% decrease in aggravated assaults;

-Greenville – homicides down 60%; robberies reduced by 15%.

And, these results have been replicated in communities of all sizes all across the Eastern District. We have also seen the prosecution of the leadership of numerous sects of violent, drug-trafficking gangs across the District. Targeting the leadership of the various Bloods organizations, the Take Back North Carolina Initiative has worked to disrupt and dismantle their operations in this federal district.

Drugs fuel gun violence and the opioid crisis is no exception. Aside from increasing the number of deaths resulting from heroin overdose cases prosecuted, TBNC has also focused on educating the public about the heroin epidemic through the establishment of the USAO Heroin Education Action Team (USA-HEAT). USA-HEAT works to reduce the growing harm to North Carolina families caused by heroin/opiate abuse, partnering with the Drug Enforcement Administration, local law enforcement, community health professionals, and family members who have lost a loved one to a drug overdose. In the last six months, the USAO has conducted 17 training events, each lasting 1-3 hours with content tailored to that audience (e.g., first responders and community groups). Other prevention efforts include the Educating Kids about Gun Violence (EKG) program – part of the Fayetteville Police Department’s Operation Ceasefire, created in 2002 under the umbrella of PSN and USAO-EDNC. In the past 5 years, 25,241 students in Fayetteville have been educated through EKG. Overall violent crime for this age group has decreased 10% city wide since EKG began. Other PSN sites – Goldsboro, Pasquotank County, Kinston, and Vance County have adopted the EKG program. Other prevention efforts include re-entry programs, and an outdoor movie series to engage the community and create public awareness about gun violence. In 2019, 1,425 people attended 6 movie nights in Fayetteville and Cumberland County.

TBNC PSN sites have worked hard to develop an effective public messaging strategy for each community utilizing press releases, press conferences, and advertising campaigns highlighting the penalties for committing federal crimes. In the last two years, the USAO-EDNC issued over 250 press releases highlighting PSN cases and has held numerous press conferences highlighting TBNC success stories. The USAO has produced hundreds of posters for PSN sites to help spread public awareness and has worked with the Executive Office for United States Attorney’s to develop multiple Public Service Announcements (PSA) focusing on violent crime and opioids. These PSA’s have been widely distributed across EDNC for use by the media and communities.

Revitalized in 2017, PSN is a critical piece of the Department’s crime reduction efforts. PSN has focused on prosecuting those individuals who most significantly drive violence in our communities and supports and fosters partnerships between law enforcement and schools, the faith community, and local community leaders to prevent and deter future criminal conduct.

###

Local News Audio

WIZS Noon News 12-16-20; Toy Drive at Gang Free, Downtown Main Street Status, Rec Dept

WIZS Local News airs at 8am, 12 noon and 5pm, M-F, on 1450 AM and 100.1 FM and via live stream at WIZS.com

– Toy Drive at Gang Free, Inc.
– City Manager and Henderson Main Street Status
– Henderson Vance Rec and Parks – Aycock and Fox Pond

You can re-listen to today’s WIZS Noon News broadcast by clicking play…

 

Local News Audio

Noon News 12-15-20 SAM Child Advocacy Center; Talmadge R. Burgess Scholarship

 

Stories include:

– SAM Child Advocacy Center and the work they do for children in the area

– Vance Co. Farm Bureau establishes the Talmadge R. “Pete” Burgess scholarship at Vance Granville Community College

For full details and audio click play.

 

Terrell Blackmon

Town Talk 12/15/20: Terrell Blackmon, Henderson City Manager

100.1 FM ~ 1450 AM ~ WIZS, Your Community Voice ~ Click to LISTEN LOCAL

Henderson City Manager Terrell Blackmon appeared on WIZS Town Talk Tuesday at 11 a.m.

Blackmon briefly discussed his time with the City, stating the start of the COVID-19 pandemic shortly after his arrival in January has made for an interesting first year on the job.

“It certainly wasn’t what I was expecting when you throw in everything that’s happened with COVID,” said Blackmon. “I can say I enjoy the community, I enjoy being here and I enjoy the challenge of making Henderson a better place for everyone. Overall, I’m doing well, and the City is doing well.”

For complete details and audio, click play.

Moving on to last night’s Henderson City Council meeting, Blackmon commented on a few of the highlights from the session, including the approval of adding indoor – or crop box – farming to City zoning ordinances.

With greenhouse farming already approved for accessory-use in current zoning ordinances, the addition of crop box farming will allow participating individuals a 365-day growing season in artificial light.

Also of note, the Council rejected the Beckford Drive Widening Project that was first initiated in 2008 when construction costs were much lower. Blackmon said the delays, due to property acquisition and rising costs in construction, have pushed the project cost beyond its budgeted amount. With $1.6 million in grants and available funding already allocated, Blackmon said the City is still approximately $1.3 million short of the total project cost.

According to the meeting’s minutes, to date, $335,115 has been put towards the project, which includes the design, right of way acquisition, legal administration, stream mitigation costs and NCDOT administration costs. The City is responsible for these costs and will have to reimburse NCDOT and the Federal Highway Administration to abandon the project.

Also discussed was the use of CARES Act funding to ensure City of Henderson facilities are safer during the pandemic, the naming of a new economic development director and the City of Henderson’s Main Street status.

For more detailed information regarding these items, please listen to the Town Talk episode by clicking play above and visit the Henderson City Council’s website for meeting agendas and minutes.

COVID QA

Health Department Expects First Shipment of COVID Vaccine This Week

100.1 FM ~ 1450 AM ~ WIZS, Your Community Voice ~ Click to LISTEN LOCAL

Granville Vance Public Health addresses the COVID-19 vaccine in the following statement:

Granville Vance Public Health (GVPH) continues to work on the response to COVID-19 each day, each night, and each weekend. We are also eagerly planning for the vaccine to come our way. The first doses have arrived in NC.

We will likely receive our first shipments in the health department the week of December 14 and will give instructions for those who can sign up in the online registration system as soon as we are able to – we are already collecting information about first responders and health care workers and will notify those individuals about how to register in the online system – all health care entities should seek information about ways to have staff sign up who are interested.

We are receiving lots of questions about the vaccine – below are a few of the top questions and answers as well as additional resources from the CDC about the vaccine for COVID-19.

When will it be my turn?
Healthcare workers who are in the highest risk categories for exposure to the virus will be first, including all of those working in hospital ICUs, COVID-19 units, and leading emergency response. Then, other health care workers and first responders will have opportunities too in the coming weeks.

At the same time, hospitals and health departments receive and give vaccines, private pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens will also receive shipments of the vaccine specifically for nursing homes and long-term care facilities. The federal government has contracted with CVS and Walgreens directly to help the high-risk workers and residents living in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, so they will get theirs first too.

The next prioritized group will be adults with two or more chronic conditions who are more likely to have severe illness from the virus, and others who are at risk, such as frontline workers. Those workers include police, teachers and child care workers.

As more vaccine shipments arrive in the state, they will then be made available to anyone who wants one, at clinics, pharmacies and community vaccination events. Widespread availability is expected around the spring.

Does the vaccine cost anything?

The vaccine will be free to all individuals – any fees covering health care workers’ time and talents during this mass vaccination will be paid for by insurance companies, Congress, and grants.

These vaccines were produced so quickly. How do we know they are safe?

The CDC reports: “It is the U.S. vaccine safety system’s job to make sure that all vaccines are as safe as possible. Safety has been a top priority while federal partners have worked to make COVID-19 vaccines available for use in the United States. The new COVID-19 vaccines have been evaluated in tens of thousands of individuals, who volunteered to be vaccinated and to participate in clinical trials. The information from these clinical trials allowed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to determine the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines. These clinical trials were conducted according to rigorous standards set forth by the FDA. The FDA has determined that the newly authorized COVID-19 vaccines meet its safety and effectiveness standards. Therefore, the FDA has made these vaccines available for use in the United States under what is known as an Emergency Use Authorization. More here: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/downloads/hcp-employees-general-faqs.pdf

A few other facts to know:

  • The vaccine does not contain any live virus, so you cannot get COVID-19 from the vaccine, but it does have a replica of the virus so your body learns how to fight it off.
  • Most people will experience a few mild reactions such as soreness in the arm where the virus was injected, slight fever, chills, and general tiredness for about a day or two. This is the body’s natural reaction to indicate a person is building up their immune system. This is expected and should be mild. Pain relievers are fine to take as recommended to help prevent these mild side effects that are common.
  • The vaccine was not tested widely in children yet, so the first vaccines available will be for the adult population. As more vaccine testing is conducted, we will know more about how it will affect children, but for now, the vaccine is primarily for those 18 and older.
  • The vaccine was not tested widely yet in pregnant women. Like for children, we do plan to know more about vaccine safety in pregnant women in the coming months, but this will not be a priority group for vaccinations for this month.
  • Building our collective defense against COVID-19 is a team effort and everyone is part of the defense – getting the COVID-19 Vaccine adds one more layer of protection for you, your family, your friends, your co-workers and others in your community. Please ask questions of us and check your sources about vaccine information as you learn more.

Dr. Guthrie and I will be hosting a Facebook live conversation Friday, December 18 at 4:30 p.m. to answer your own questions about the vaccine. Please submit questions at this link and encourage others to do the same! We will also be adding vaccine information to our web site this week. NC DHHS has an informative vaccine webpage as well.

Please remember that even though the first vaccine from Pfizer is approved and on its way, that does not mean we get to let up on wearing the mask, washing our hands, and staying apart from one another – that’s more important now than ever! We are still seeing large numbers of active cases in both our counties, and statewide; we are worried about the staffing levels at hospitals. Now is the time to work as hard as we can together to make it to the other side of this pandemic and we have to do ALL the things we know work well in combination to keep the virus from spreading.

Granville Vance Public Health Logo

GVPH COVID Update: Number of Local Active Cases Continues to Rise

THIS STORY IS PRESENTED IN PART BY DRAKE DENTISTRY

-Information courtesy Granville Vance Public Health

GVPH provided the following update for COVID-19 spread and response in Granville and Vance County as of December 14, 2020. Granville Vance Public Health numbers correlate with the NC Electronic Disease Surveillance System (NCEDSS) data.

The county case numbers reported on the NC county map from the NC Department of Health and Human Services may differ from the ones reported locally as they are updated at different times and may change once residence is verified.

Vance County

Total Cases: 2,168
Active Cases: 748

Total Cases in Community: 1,982
Active Cases: 739
Cases Off-Isolation: 1,221

Total Cases at Long-Term Care Facilities: 186
Active Cases: 9
Cases Off-Isolation: 136

There is currently an outbreak at Senior Citizens Home and Kerr Lake Nursing Home.

Total Hospitalized with COVID-19: 22

Total Deaths: 63
Community: 22
Pelican Nursing Home: 14
Kerr Lake Nursing Home: 12
Senior Citizens Home: 15

Unfortunately, an additional death has been reported in the community. A 72-year-old male passed away on December 12.

Granville County

Total Cases: 3,114
Active Cases: 673

Total Cases in Community: 2,190
Active Cases: 464
Cases Off-Isolation: 1,716

Total Cases at Federal Prison: 534
Active Cases: 8
Cases Off-Isolation: 504

Total Cases at Long-Term Care Facilities: 390
Active Cases: 201
Cases Off-Isolation: 161

There are currently outbreaks at Universal Health Care, Murdoch Development Center, Granville House, RHA Health Services – Stem, Polk Correctional Institution, Oxford Group Home, Brantwood and Toney Rest Home.

Total Hospitalized with COVID-19: 7

Total Deaths: 60
Community: 10
Central Regional: 1
Granville House: 2
Murdoch Development Center: 3
Universal Health Care: 22
Federal Prison: 22

Additional Information

The number of those who have been ‘released from isolation’ is determined by the CDC Guidance for discontinuation of isolation for persons with COVID-19.

Please visit GVPH’s COVID-19 Data Dashboard (click here) for tables and graphs that are updated daily.

Fox Pond Park Reopening

Fox Pond Park Restocked With Trout, Reopening This Week

100.1 FM ~ 1450 AM ~ WIZS, Your Community Voice ~ Click to LISTEN LOCAL

The Henderson-Vance County Recreation and Parks Department announces that Fox Pond Park has been restocked with trout and will be reopening to the public on Friday, December 18, 2020, at 10 a.m.

Fox Pond Park is located at 467 Vicksboro Road in Henderson.

Vance County Logo

Properties Committee to Discuss Courthouse Roof, Scott Parker Bldg. Lease

100.1 FM ~ 1450 AM ~ WIZS, Your Community Voice ~ Click to LISTEN LOCAL

-Information courtesy the County of Vance

Vance County’s Properties Committee (Brummitt, Taylor, Wilder) is scheduled to meet Monday, December 21, 2020, at 4 p.m.

The meeting will be held in the Commissioners’ Conference Room of the Vance County Administration Building located at 122 Young Street, Henderson, NC.

The purpose of this meeting is to discuss a change order for the courthouse roof project and a lease extension for the Scott Parker Building.