— information courtesy of Vance County Schools
All Vance County Schools will be closed for students on Thursday, October 11, and the day will be an optional workday for school system employees. Vance County Schools employees are asked to use their best judgement on whether or not they feel it is safe to come to work. We want everyone to remain as safe a possible as the storm passes through our area.
-Information courtesy Henderson’s Downtown Development website
The Henderson, NC Christmas Parade will be held Saturday, December 1, 2018. The parade begins at 5 p.m.
Floats, fire trucks, and vehicles with trailers line-up on the Dabney Drive Extension (enter from Raleigh Road ONLY) at 4:15 p.m.
Bring your own float, or you can rent a professional float. For float rentals, please contact Mark Harris at Triangle Floats (919) 410-5543.
Deadline for entries and fees is Friday, November 23, 2018. Registration forms may be viewed on the Downtown Development website or by clicking here.
By Karissa Niehoff, Executive Director of the National Federation of State High School Associations and Que Tucker, Commissioner of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.
From the Greatest Generation to Baby Boomers, Generation X to Millennials, teenagers in every era have had challenges growing up.
In today’s digital world, high school students are being tested in unique and demanding ways. The Washington Post confirms that 73 percent of all American teenagers own their own smartphone and, on average, spend almost nine hours a day texting, chatting, gaming, blogging, streaming and visiting with friends online.
Although conclusive research showing a direct correlation between the mental health of teenagers and smartphone usage won’t be complete for years, it isn’t a great confidence builder for a student to discover online that everyone else seems to have more friends.
In addition, recent figures indicate that more than 31 percent of America’s 42 million teenagers are overweight or obese, compared to only five percent in 1980. According to the 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health, North Carolina is ranked the 25th most obese state in the nation with 30.9 percent of all teenagers considered overweight.
Not surprisingly, many psychologists and researchers agree that today’s teenagers are more lonely, anxious and depressed than ever before.
As the new school year gets underway and social pressures increase, statistics like these verify how important it is for teenagers to participate in high school sports and other activities such as marching band, choir, speech and debate.
The most recent survey by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) indicates there are almost eight million participants in high school sports and more than four million in performing arts activities. Most of these students would agree the primary advantage of playing a sport or participating in an after-school activity is the opportunity to meet new people and develop meaningful friendships. An online chat is no substitute for working toward a common goal face-to-face, side-by-side for weeks on end with teammates.
And positive social relationships are only the beginning. Among other benefits, high school sports are instrumental in helping teenagers establish nutritional and exercise habits that will carry them for a lifetime. Participating in a sport in high school is a great way to maintain a healthy weight, establish good eating and sleeping habits, discourage the use of alcohol and drugs and develop a greater sense of self-esteem.
Additional benefits of participating in a high school sport or activity are shared by the NFHS on a new website at MyReasonWhy.com, where dozens of high school students address this topic in their own words through videos.
A new school year brings with it an opportunity for teenagers to make new friends and establish new lifestyle habits. Encouraging them to make friends on the field of play as well as online is a great way to start.
-Information and flyer courtesy Sandra Wilkerson, Director of Admin and Events, Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce
A reminder that the Henderson Fire Department will hold a “Look. Listen and Learn” Fire Prevention Day on Saturday, October 13, 2018.
The event will be held on Breckenridge Street in downtown Henderson from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Activities include fire truck tours, a smoke safety house, water house spraying, Sparky, cooking fire demo and bounce house.
Free hot dogs, pizza and refreshments provided.
Sonja Grier (Beach Music Legend) joined Trey Snide on the Beach Music Blast Program (10-10-18) on WIZS 100.1 FM / 1450 AM and online at WIZS.com
-Photo credits Jeannie Rose and John C. Rose
Good food, good people, good music and a great, local cause all came together on Sunday evening at the Chefs on the Farm event held at the Warren Estate in Warren County.
The event, a fundraiser for Working Landscapes in Warrenton, paired farmers and their products with local chefs for a delicious outdoor dinner complete with a festive “on the farm” fall setting.
Working Landscapes is a nonprofit rural development organization with a mission to advance the economic and environmental resilience of the region. Among their visions, the organization seeks to help people recognize, appreciate and have access to local food and the natural environment.
They clearly accomplished just that as the community dined on such delectables as short rib gumbo, pizza, ratatouille, smoked chicken rillette, beef dumplings, apple turnovers, cocktails and much more.
The food was presented on covered tables with signs stating the dish, the known allergens and the chef/farm pairing.
On the local scene, Chefs Michael Ring, Nick Garrison and A.J. Garrelts with Warrenton’s Robinson Ferry Restaurant & Spirits were paired with G&D Produce, to present the short rib gumbo.
Other restaurant and farm participants included Saint Jacques French Cuisine in Raleigh partnered with Bender Farms; Coronato Pizza partnered with Taber Farms and AAA Farm and Ranch; Sassool of Raleigh/Cary partnered with Nash Produce; 18 Seaboard in Raleigh partnered with Taber Farms; Umma Foods partnered with Sunrise Ridge Farm; Whiskey Kitchen in downtown Raleigh partnered with Taber Farms; and 41Hundred partnered with Y’mijer Farm.
The crowd dined while enjoying live music from the GrassStreet Bluegrass Band. GrassStreet, based in central North Carolina, features Wayne Kinton (guitar, vocals), David Kinton (upright bass, mandolin, vocals), Ricky Hargis (banjo, vocals) and Tab Kearns (dobro, vocals).
The band has entertained fans of all ages since 2003 with their mixture of original material and bluegrass standards ranging from the traditional to the progressive.
According to WIZS’ own John C. Rose, the event was quite the success. “My wife and I attended the event as paying customers to help the cause and it was awesome,” said Rose. “We are already planning to go back every time they have future Chefs on the Farm events. All of the food was great. The atmosphere of being on the farm and seeing some folks you know and meeting some new people, and GrassStreet playing in the background, was just perfect.”
(L to R – Nihya Alston, Kamini Hudson, Nyasia Warren)
(L to R – Beth Aiken, Anna Walker, Amanda Ellis)
-Information courtesy Henderson’s Downtown Development website
Businesses in downtown Henderson will be offering Trick or Treat on Wednesday, October 31, 2018, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Garnett Street will be closed for traffic from 4 to 6 p.m.
Downtown businesses give out free candy to costumed children 12 and under during the event. Participating business will have an orange poster on their window so you will know they are offering candy.
It’s one of the largest events in our downtown, so come out to enjoy a safe and fun Halloween for the kids!
The Downtown Trick or Treat is organized by the Vance County Arts Council.
(This is not a paid advertisement)
-Information courtesy Claire Catherwood, West End Community Watch
The West End Community Watch group will meet on Tuesday, October 16, 2018, at 6:30 p.m. at West End Baptist Church. All are welcome.
The speaker will be Sara Davis, director of the Senior Citizen Center in Henderson. Davis will discuss Alzheimer’s Disease. Law enforcement will be present to report recent police activity and to hear citizens’ concerns. Do plan to attend!
-Information courtesy Angela Crawford, Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church
Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church will observe its annual Missionary Program on Sunday, October 14, 2018, at 11 a.m. during morning worship service. The guest speaker will be Minister Brenda Rice of New Covenant Church of Henderson. The public is invited to attend.
The church is located at 2464 Rock Mill Rd. in Henderson.
