Sponsored: MPH Seeking CMAs in Physician Practices

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Sponsored: MPH Seeking CMAs in Physician Practices

SPONSORED CONTENT: Are you a Certified Medical Assistant looking for an exciting career opportunity in healthcare? Maria Parham Health is now hiring caregivers to join our dynamic team! We have openings in Primary Care, Gastroenterology, Surgical, Orthopaedics, and Women’s Care at our Oxford and Louisburg locations. Qualified applicants will receive a sign-on bonus! If you’re ready to make a difference in patient care and advance your career, visit mariaparham.com/careers to apply online today.

www.mariaparham.com/careers

Home And Garden Show; Farmers Market Opens Soon

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— On the Home and Garden Show with Vance Co. Cooperative Extension

On your mark, get set…Go! To the Vance County Regional Farmers Market, which opens on Saturday, Apr. 20.

Market Manager Pat Ayscue and Cooperative Extension Director Wykia Macon welcomesthe public to the 2024 season at the market, where local vendors will share fruits, vegetables, meats and much more throughout the growing season.

Ayscue manages the Vance County market, but she knows only too well all the work that goes in to making sure that quality products are available at the market each week.

Not only did Ayscue grow up in a farming family, but she married into a farming family.
“You look at the produce in a whole different light when you have planted and harvested it (too),” Ayscue said.

There’s a new sign out front that Ayscue said should go a long way to remind passersby of the schedule and hours of operation, which continue to be Saturdays beginning April 20 and then adding Wednesdays beginning June 5.

The Spring Fling will be held Saturday, May 4 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and there are sure to be plenty of unique Mother’s Day gifts available for purchase to go along with the produce and baked goods that fill the market each week.

One popular crop that should be available on opening day is the strawberry crop. This year’s forecast is good, Ayscue said, noting that growing conditions have created slightly smaller vines, which may mean the plants will use extra energy to put into juicier, bigger berries.

The farmers market always has room for more vendors, and Ayscue encourages anyone interested to come out and talk to her to learn details.

She also creates an email list each season to share information about what’s new at the market as well as recipes to create with all the fresh produce that’s available.

And market vendors also accept senior vouchers and EBT.

Ayscue said she looks forward to welcoming returning vendors – and new vendors – to this year’s market “family,” and said the 2024 market will have something for everyone.

Visit https://vance.ces.ncsu.edu/vance-county-regional-farmers-market/ to learn more.

 

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TownTalk: Communications Tower To Benefit Emergency Responders

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A new communications tower could be in place in another year or so to provide increased coverage – and reliability – for Henderson and Vance County law enforcement agencies and first responders.

It’s been communication of a slightly different sort that has gotten the project this far; city and county leaders had been looking for funding sources to offset the cost of the tower construction and Congressman Don Davis helped secure a $2.175 million grant to fund the project.

The matching grant requires a 25 percent match from the city and the county, but that’s a far cry from the total cost of the project.

This translates into good news for Henderson Fire Chief Tim Twisdale and Police Chief Marcus Barrow, both of whom are optimistic that their officers and the community will benefit from the new tower. Barrow and Twisdale were guests on Wednesday’s TownTalk and talked about the many benefits the tower will provide.

“This should help our coverage within (certain) buildings…and enhance the overall safety for all of our responders,” Twisdale said.

Police officers often respond to fires and assist with traffic control, for example, and fire trucks turn up for things like vehicle accidents, so it’s important for both agencies to have reliable, effective tools to communicate.

The current signal “simply wouldn’t transmit” in certain places, including some buildings. “That made communication a bit of a challenge from the inside to the outside,” he explained. Firefighters have had to resort to “line of sight” communication, which is not ideal.

As Barrow explained, his department joined the State Highway Patrol’s VIPER system in the mid-2000’s, largely because there was a post 9-11 push for increased inter-agency communication.

But, he said, VIPER was designed for and by the Highway Patrol, who don’t usually find themselves inside buildings like firefighters and police officers.

Add to that challenge that Henderson falls into a no-man’s land of sorts – on the outer fringes of coverage from other towers – and communication equipment just doesn’t always perform like it should.

“Putting this in Henderson, or in the outskirts of Henderson, will be great for us,” Barrow said.

Right now, the site is near the North Henderson ballfields and the tower will provide roughly a 100-mile radius. Assistant City Manager Paylor Spruill told WIZS News via email that the funding is not expected until the first quarter of 2025, at which time the design and construction would begin.  “The grant is funding 75 percent of the estimated cost,” Spruill said, adding that “the city is proposing to provide the tower site, with the County providing the remaining funds.”

“We want to be able to pick up our equipment, mash a button and it work,” Barrow said, adding that no first responder, law enforcement officer or member of the community deserves any less.

“We don’t have time for it not to work,” he said.

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Maria Parham CEO Bert Beard Speaker For Chamber’s “State Of Health Care” April 23

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The Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce is hosting the first “state of” session for 2024 on Tuesday, April 23 to discuss local health care.

Guest speaker for the lunchtime event is Bert Beard, CEO of Maria Parham Health.

The lunch and learn will begin at 12 noon at Southern Charm Event Center, 200 S. Garnett St.

Beard will share updates on a variety of health care topics and is scheduled to discuss what’s happening locally as well as at the state level with Medicaid expansion and access to health care, among other topics.

Tickets for the lunch and learn session are $30; purchase a table for 8 for $240.

Call the Chamber office at 252.438.8414 to learn more or email Tanya Wilson at tanya@hendersonvance.org to reserve your seat by Thursday, April 18.

Celebrate Small Farms Week Mar. 24-30

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Small farmers from across the state are in the spotlight as N.C. A&T State University celebrates the 38th annual Small Farms Week. This year’s theme is “New Paths to Profits,” and small farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs will be able to take part in a variety of workshops and educational programs, panel discussions and tours at the N.C. A&T University Farm Pavilion in Greensboro as part of the weeklong week paying tribute to small farmers.

On Tuesday, Mar. 26, Small Farms Week will focus on education for small farmers that cover topics ranging from small-scale animal production, plant production, natural resource management and to adapting to climate changes that could bring more droughts, severe storms and intense summer heat.

A goal of Small Farms week is to showcase and support limited-resource, small-scale, part-time, and alternative-enterprise farmers who provide their communities with fresh produce and locally sourced products.

“The agriculture landscape is changing,” stated Fletcher Barber, Ed. D., this year’s chair of Small Farms Week. Barber also is the Extension Service’s small farms recruiter and said in a press statement that consumers are interested in exploring multicultural food traditions and new niche products. “That interest offers opportunities for our farmers,” Barber said.

A highlight of the weeklong activities occurs Wednesday when the 2024 Small Farmer of the Year will be named.

Activities kicked off Monday in Wayne County, home to 2023 Small Farmers of the Year J & J Produce.

Since 2019, sisters Jeannette Martin Horn and Joyce Martin Bowden have grown a wide variety of produce – including green beans, mustard and turnip greens, squash, onions, tomatoes, pecans and their signature field peas – on 100 acres of their Century Farm. The sisters’ ancestor, a soldier in the 135th U.S. Colored Infantry, bought the land after the regiment was “mustered out” in 1865, making their land a Century Farm.

“The Martin sisters are a perfect example of the heart and soul of farming in North Carolina,” said M. Ray McKinnie, Ph.D., Extension administrator and associate dean in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. “Their land has been in the family for more than 150 years, and they not only grow, they give back to their community by hosting groups and encouraging them to learn about agriculture and farming.

“Our 2024 Small Farmer of the Year, whoever that may be, will exemplify these same characteristics that make family farms so important to our agricultural economy,” he added.

Thursday, Mar. 28 and Friday, Mar. 29 will offer more educational sessions and demonstrations, emanating from the university or other organizations within North Carolina that highlight farming best practices, research results or student-led agricultural and environmental activities benefitting small farmers.

“Our goal is to help small farmers make the most of new markets and crops while adopting sustainable practices that protect their land and their ability to adapt as our climate becomes more variable.”

Check here during the week for updates: www.itzy.io/sfw2024

Sheriff Brame: One Person Faces Drug Charges After Mar. 22 Traffic Stop

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— Press release from the office of Vance Sheriff Curtis Brame

On or about the 22nd day of March 2024 the Vance County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit performed a traffic stop on a vehicle in the area of 2868 NC Hwy 39 South, Henderson. The vehicle had multiple traffic violations which violated North Carolina General Statutes.

While conducting the traffic stop, detectives had probable cause to search the vehicle. While the deputies were speaking with two of the three occupants in the vehicle, one individual fled on foot from the deputies. The individual was quickly apprehended and identified as Winfred Victor Brown.

During his apprehension, deputies seized illegal narcotics and also located a weapon believed to have been discarded by Winfred as he fled.

Brown was taken to the Sheriff’s Office to be processed and then taken to the Magistrate’s Office and charged with:

Possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana

Possession with intent to sell and deliver a Schedule II Controlled Substance

Felony possession of marijuana

Carrying a concealed weapon

Resisting a public officer

Brown was also served with several outstanding orders for arrest and with no bond allowed on his pre-trial release.

Sheriff Brame: One Man Arrested In Connection With Mar. 21 Shooting Incident

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— Press release from Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame

On March 21, 2024, Vance County Sheriff’s Office responded to 1300 Walters Street for a gunshot victim. Upon arrival, patrol deputies discovered Napoleon Nicholson with multiple gunshot wounds to his legs. Nicholson was transported to Duke University Hospital for treatment.

The Vance County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division also responded to the scene. James Colby Davis, 40, of Henderson, was located a short time later, taken into custody and charged with assault inflicting serious bodily injury.

Davis was transported to the Vance County Magistrate’s Office and was held without bond for the charge. Davis was scheduled to make an initial court appearance on Mar. 22.

Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact the Vance County Sheriff’s Office at 252.738.2200, or Henderson-Vance Crime-Stoppers at 252.492.1925 or through the P3 App.