Granville Vance Public Health Logo

TownTalk: Improving News On Covid 19

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COVID-19 vaccinations are an important layer of defense that health officials recommend to help turn back the tide of coronavirus. Along with hand washing, social distancing and mask wearing, it’s shots in arms that has Granville-Vance Public Health Director Lisa Harrison optimistic about the state of things in her health district.

For the past three weeks, the health district has seen fewer COVID-19 cases, as opposed to the end of August and September when cases were on the uptick just about every single day. She told Town Talk host Bill Harris Wednesday that things seem to be looking up.

“The more people that get vaccinated, the less we’ll see that curve…grow,” Harrison said. And as vaccinations continue to go up, the more people will feel comfortable getting back to more normal activities.

Harrison reiterated what other health experts have stated for some time – the majority of those in hospital and ICU’s now with COVBID-19 are unvaccinated.  “The virus will grow a new case and live for a little while,” she said, “and unvaccinated people are where this Delta variant have found its host.”

Granville and Vance counties both are below the state level for percent positive rates – Granville has a 4 percent rate and Vance is at about 6 percent; the state rate is about 9 percent, Harrison said.

She gives credit to community members who have been good about following the public health recommendations and guidelines. “I’m very proud of our communities,” Harrison said. “And we’re getting better all the time.”

While the Delta variant has gotten a lot of attention, Harrison said there are other variants that scientists are watching. “The good news is, so far, they haven’t spread like Delta. If we can stop this virus in its tracks, it will stop mutating so quickly,” she said.

Vaccines bolsters our immune systems and make our bodies stronger to resist viruses, she said. But the effectiveness  of the COVID-19 vaccines, like so many other tried-and-true vaccines, wanes over time, which is why booster shots are recommended.

There will be a Phizer booster clinic on Oct. 15 at the Vance-Granville Community College Civic Center, Harrison said. Anyone who meets the criteria to get the booster shot may get that booster between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

 

 

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TownTalk: Remembering Jerry Patterson

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WIZS TownTalk remembers Jerry Patterson, a local friend to many who loved his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and who was a respected businessman.  Obituary script at www.sossamonfuneralhome.com/obituary/jerry-patterson.

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Henderson Fire Dept

TownTalk: Fire Prevention Week

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If you’ve ever been awakened in the middle of the night by that annoying little chirp of the smoke detector signaling the need for a new battery, consider this: that annoying little chirp could be a life-saving sound that could avert tragedy in a real emergency.

October 3-9 is Fire Safety Week, and Henderson Fire Captain Lee Edmonds wants everyone to learn the different sounds of fire safety. For example, a smoke alarm signal is three loud beeps; a carbon monoxide alarm is four continuous rapid beeps.

“Learning the sounds of fire safety is very important,” he said.

In a conversation with John C. Rose on Monday’s Town Talk, Edmonds suggested that every household have two escape plans, and from different locations in the home. “Every second counts,” he said.

Smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors are valuable tools to help homeowners – as long as they are in good working order. A good rule of thumb is to change the batteries when the time changes twice a year.

A new type of smoke alarm has a 10-year life span and there’s no battery to replace, he said. So when it begins to chirp, it’s time to toss and replace.

Residents in the community have the chance to learn more about smoke alarms and more during an event from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 7. There will be fire trucks and a “smoke trailer” on hand for children and others to view at the former Golden Corral parking lot on North Cooper Drive.

Smoke alarms should be located inside and outside of sleeping and living spaces, Edmonds said. But, he said, smoke alarms should not be located near kitchens or bathrooms, where steam from cooking or showering could cause them to be activated.

Another important tool to have on hand is a fire extinguisher, and Edmonds said the most common type is one that can handle the three main types of fires in households – regular combustible fires, fires caused by flammable liquids and electrical fires.

This “ABC” fire extinguisher will take care of most any type of fire that occurs in a residence, he noted.

By the end of September, there have been 100 fire-related deaths. “That’s a lot and we’re just nine months into the year,” he said. Last year’s total was 120, and Edmonds said the main way to keep that number down is to make sure there are working smoke detectors in the home.

Any Henderson resident who hears that annoying little chirp can call the fire station at 252.4301877 to get help. “Someone will come out and replace the battery or the smoke detector,” Edmonds said.

Visit the National Fire Protection Association website at nfpa.org to learn more about fire safety.

 

TownTalk: Veteran Uses Wood Working To Help Combat PTSD

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Perhaps Walter Craig remembers his father’s admonition as he’s in his workshop building wooden toys for children and others to enjoy. Son, the carpenter and farmer would say, it takes a lifetime to grow a tree, but it only takes an idiot 15 minutes to screw one up.

Craig, a U.S. Army veteran, took up woodworking after finding himself in need of something to keep him out of the recliner and doing something good for others. Today, his toy cars, helicopters and more can be found in 14 states, as well as on Guam and in Australia.

But they’re not for sale. “Then whoever’s got a dollar can buy one,” Craig said. “I get to determine who’s worthy of getting one. He gives them away, sending them to fellow veterans and others who can use a little cheering up for one reason or another.

Craig talked about his time in the military, how it shaped his life after he retired and more on Thursday’s Town Talk, when guest host Phyllis Maynard joined John C. Rose for another program in a series about military veterans and PTSD.

Craig, a retired 1st Sergeant, spent 20 years in the U.S. Army and eventually became a master mechanic. He worked on Cobra, and then Apache, helicopters and was key in the development of the prototype of the “Hellcat” missile.

He credits an older brother – he had 11 siblings growing up – for his decision to enlist in the Army. He followed that brother around Ft. Hood in Texas for a couple of days in the late 1960’s, he said. But his brother was in an armored division and he suggested Craig go into aviation “because it was up and coming.”

Having the experience of being a helicopter mechanic helped Craig ultimately find woodworking. At the time, now retired from his civilian job as a prison employee, he decided he wanted a model of a Cobra helicopter. His search came up empty, so he decided to build one himself.

After that, he built a bunch of wooden toy cars for the local credit union’s toy drive. And from there, his new mission was up and running.

An online visit with an Army buddy prompted Craig to send him a wooden copter. “He was having PTSD problems,” Craig said. “If us vets don’t stick together – who’s going to help us if we don’t help each other?” That wooden replica is a reminder of all the things that he has gone through and survived, he added. It’s a way to say that what he’s going through now is “a piece of cake.”

Craig turned 72 earlier this month, but he celebrated his 19th birthday in Vietnam. Now, more than a half century later, he sees younger combat veterans returning home from tours in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“There is no doubt in my mind that the mistreated Vietnam vets are the driving force” behind making sure the latest veterans to return home don’t suffer the same fate.

The woodworking for me is a natural spinoff. Didn’t do anything for 3 years. After prison work.

“There are people out there that don’t really want a handout, what they want is a hand up.,” Craig said. “If I can help one man or one woman get over the hard spot they’re in, then it’s well worth it.”

 

 

TownTalk: Fight For Misty BBQ Oct. 2

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She’s done a lot of research since her diagnosis, and Misty Bailey says the heart condition she deals with daily affects 60 out of every 100,000 people in the U.S. That makes cardiac sarcoidosis relatively uncommon. There’s no quick fix, but there are treatments that can help make patients like Bailey feel better. Not well, but better.

Bailey takes upwards of two dozen pills each day and sees a team of doctors to manage her condition and the side effects of medication and the toll all of this takes on her body. She and her husband call those specialists “-ologists.” There’s the endocrinologist, the ophthalmologist, the neurologist, and, of course, the cardiologist, to name just a few.

All this care takes time – and money. And that’s where the “Fight for Misty” team kicks in. A barbecue fundraiser will be held on Saturday, Oct. 2 at Bailey’s church, Harriet Baptist Church, located at 1354 Ruin Creek Road. Pickup is from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The Baileys, along with Amy Bowling, were on Town Talk Wednesday to talk about the fundraiser and to increase awareness of the disease, which is described as a chronic inflammatory condition, which has no cure.

The barbecue is $10 per pound. There also are t-shirts, stainless steel tumblers and silicone wrist bands – all emblazoned with “Fight for Misty” – available for purchase. Tickets are available before the event, but drive-ups are welcome.

Bailey said she is humbled and honored to feel the support of people, some of which she doesn’t even know. When she sees folks wearing “her” t-shirt, it evokes emotions of appreciation and gratitude. It also keeps her motivated as she learns to live with a chronic health condition.

“They’re spreading awareness and they don’t know me personally – they want to support me (and) they want to help people that need the help,” Bailey said.

“Even for those who I don’t know that have supported me through t-shirt sales, BBQ, and donations, you all have made me feel special. I can’t tell you thank you enough and how much your support means to me,” she said.

In April, Bailey had a port placed so she could receive infusions every six weeks to reduce the inflammation around her heart. Her rheumatologist said this could continue for several years. Sometime within the next five years, she said “Afib will start showing itself,” so that will have to be dealt with. Afib refers to arrhythmia, when the heart doesn’t pump and beat in proper rhythm.

Dealing with all the side effects takes its toll, she said.

“The hardest part of this heart disease is when I am laughing and having a great time,” Bailey said. “Some people start to think, ‘She looks absolutely fine there. It doesn’t seem like she is in any kind of pain. In fact, she is going out having fun!’”

But, she said, she wants to reply, “Did you know that I had to save my energy all week long just to go out that one night?”

As she continues to manage the daily challenges she faces, Bailey said she feels like she is called to be a voice for this disease. “As long as I have the strength to do so, that’s what I will be doing,” she added.

“A lot of people don’t even realize they have cardiac sarcoidosis until it’s too late,” she continued.

“And I was almost that person.”

 

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CultureFEST Downtown Oxford on Saturday

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Downtown Oxford is the setting for Saturday’s CultureFEST, which will showcase a variety of multicultural artistic performances with a street fair vibe – food trucks, crafts and more await participants who visit Littlejohn Street between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Ajulo Othow and Oxford Mayor Jackie Sergent are among the event planners, and they talked with John C. Rose on Wednesday’s Town Talk about their hopes for the event, both in the short-term and in the long-term.

The John Chavis Historical Society has sponsored several multicultural festivals in the past few years, but Othow said new partnerships with the city of Oxford and with the Downtown Oxford Economic Development Commission have created new opportunities.

“It just felt like the best time to expand it and bring it into downtown Oxford,” she said, “making it more accessible to the entire community.” Othow said she is grateful to city leaders for making the opportunity available and being willing to partner with the Chavis historical society.

“For me, this is huge,” Sergent said. She has attended the previous multicultural festivals, and marveled at many of the performers, especially the Chuck Davis African American Dance Ensemble of Durham.

The dance ensemble will perform at CultureFEST, Sergent said.  But there will also be cloggers and Hawaiian dancers as well.

Whether you’re interested in Latino music or learning about the Procession of the Queen, CultureFEST has a little something for everyone.

“Too often, we’re in our own little worlds and we miss out” on experiencing food, music and dance from cultures we may not be familiar with, Sergent noted.

In addition to the Hawaiian dancers, some of the other performers include Mexican folk dancers Dance Ortiz, St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church drummers, a storyteller from Chapel Hill and more.

After the festival concludes, a number of downtown restaurants will be open and serving some unique fare not usually on the menu. “They’ll be offering something that is a little out of the ordinary for them,” Othow said. Downtown Oasis is going to have spanakopita, for example, and Tobacco Wood Brewing Co. is going to offer Caribbean-style jerk chicken.

“We’ve gotten one festival figured out,” Sergent said, referring to the Hot Sauce Contest. “Now it’s time to get another one down – to highlight the talent, tastes, music…that other cultures bring to the table.” CultureFEST will be smaller than the hot sauce festival, but it has the opportunity to grow in the future, she said.

Call 919.693.9133 for more information.

 

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TownTalk: DEA Issues Public Safety Alert On Fake Medication

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The federal Drug Enforcement Administration launched the One Pill Can Kill public awareness campaign Monday and issued a public safety alert as part of its effort to combat the growing availability of fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine.

DEA Administrator Anne Milgram issued a statement saying that the counterfeit pills are being illegally produced in mass quantities and deceptively marketed as legitimate medication. The pills, Milgram stated, “are killing unsuspecting Americans at an unprecedented rate.”

According to the DEA release, most of the pills that come into the U.S. are made in Mexico, with chemicals supplied by China to manufacture the fake fentanyl.

John C. Rose discussed the campaign launch on Tuesday’s Town Talk and shared some of the statistics contained in the DEA press release. A few highlights include:

  • More than 9.5 million of the counterfeit pills have been seized in every U.S. state and the District of Columbia so far this year – more than the last two years combined
  • There is a “dramatic” rise in number of counterfeit pills containing at least 2 mg of fentanyl – considered a lethal dose
  • A deadly dose of fentanyl can fit on the tip of a pencil
  • More than 93,000 people died last year of a drug overdose in the U.S.

All prescription medication should be purchased from a pharmacy, but fake medications are being marketed on social media and e-commerce platforms. This makes it easier for anyone with access to a smartphone to purchase the illegal drugs.

“We are alerting the public to this danger so that people have the information they need to protect themselves and their children,” Milgram said.

DEA analyses show that two out of every five illegally manufactured pills contain a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl. “DEA is focusing resources on taking down the violent drug traffickers causing the greatest harm and posing the greatest threat to the safety and health of Americans,” the statement continued.

Of course, prescription medications purchased from legitimate pharmacies, dispensed by licensed pharmacists, and prescribed by medical professionals are not included in this public safety alert. “Anyone filling a prescription at a licensed pharmacy can be confident that the medications they receive are safe when taken as directed by a medical professional,” the DEA officials stated.

Pills purchased outside of a licensed pharmacy are illegal, dangerous and potentially lethal.

Visit DEA.gov/onepill to learn more.

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TownTalk: Relay For Life Luminaria Ceremony To Light Up Garnett St.

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The Vance County Relay for Life is sponsoring a Luminaria ceremony on Oct. 23 that is shaping up to illuminate a portion of Garnett Street with little bags of light to remember or honor lives affected by cancer.

Like so many events affected by the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and safety precautions,  local organizers said they came up with a drive-thru event that people could participate in and enjoy while following social distancing protocols.

Christy Bennett talked with John C. Rose on Monday’s Town Talk and gave details about how to be involved.

It was somewhat of a challenge, Bennett conceded – how would they go from what had become a huge event with lots of people to an event that would satisfy the safety practices and still be a successful fundraiser?

Organizers Bennett, Carolyn Williams and Jeanette Brummitt “got creative,” she said.  “It was really a group effort to try to find something we could do that would work,” she added.

“We’re keeping it real simple. It’s a good way to light up downtown.” People can drive down Garnett Street to enjoy the luminaries or they can walk along the sidewalks, if they have their masks on.

Bags are $10 each and can be purchased on the day of the event, but they also are available ahead of time so they can be decorated with names of loved ones before being returned and placed along with all the others.

They’ve already sold more than 700 so far, but Bennett said “the goal is to sell as many as we can.”

Bennett said the city is expected to add some extra illumination to the event – the underpass will be bathed in a purple glow, and the newly installed fountains will show off their multicolor light show as well.

Luminaries sometimes need a little weight to stay in place, but Bennett and her crew have thought of that, too. They will use canned foods to anchor the paper bags, which will be donated to ACTS afterward.

Visit www.relayforlife.org/vancenc to learn more.

 

TownTalk: History of Kerr Lake, Part 2

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(Photo courtesy R.F. Timberlake – Kerr Lake Park Watch on Facebook and Shutter Art Gallery)

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Kerr Lake covers about 50,000 acres when it’s at normal elevation, but if the lake level were to reach its maximum elevation of 320 feet above sea level, the lake would more than double in size. In short, Kerr Lake is a BIG topic. So big, in fact, that Kerr Lake, Part 2, was the subject of Thursday’s tri-weekly history program on Town Talk.

Bill Harris and Mark Pace talked about what’s around – and under – the lake, which has 850 miles of shoreline and touches six counties in North Carolina and Virginia.

A plane that crashed into the lake in Clarksville was eventually removed, but there’s still a train submerged in Nutbush Creek, Pace said.

The plane crashed in 1962 and it took almost a month to find the right equipment to extricate it. The lake is between 90 feet and 100 feet deep in the deepest channels, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers didn’t cut down all the trees in the area that soon would be submerged. The plane, as it turned out, had gotten tangled up in that submerged forest. A barge equipped with a crane had to be transported from the coast to retrieve the wreckage.

As for the train, Pace said a forest fire scorched a wooden bridge over Nutbush Creek in the early 1900’s. A group of Townsville residents went together to start up a short railroad line that ran from Manson to Townsville. “It was a barebones affair,” Pace said, with two engines, a coal car and a couple of passenger cars.

When the train pulled into Townsville, there was nowhere for it to turn around, he said, so it had to go backwards on the return trip to Manson. The bridge was about 70 or 75 feet above the water, and it held up for the passenger cars and the coal car to cross. But the engine was too heavy, and the train plunged into the water “and basically impaled itself into the mud of Nutbush Creek,” Pace said. The engineer and the fireman were killed.

There are stories of picnics and church gathering being held near the wreck site years later and whoever could swim down to the wreckage and ring the train’s bell would get a prize.

The lake has a long history of providing recreational activities like picnics and church gatherings, as well as boating and camping, but there remain residual bad feeling toward the Corps, Pace said. “Most of what they bought was farmland, and not particularly good farmland,” he said. But it was still family land and the average price was only about $75 per acre. That amount would only be between $400 and $500 an acre today.

“Now there’s a strip of land that you’re not allowed to develop around Kerr Lake,” Pace said, to adhere to Corps restrictions. Fifty years ago, however, the shoreline would not have looked at all like it does today because it had been farmland and would have taken some years to become wooded.

 

 

Perry Memorial Library

Perry Memorial Library Open, Serving Community Including Special Programs

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Calling it a branch library may be a bit of a stretch, but Perry Memorial Library Director Patty McAnally invites the public out to Fox Pond Park Saturday to celebrate the grand opening of Story Walk, which features a storybook along one of the walking trails – a page at the time.

McAnally explained the concept of Story Walk and shared more library news on Wednesday’s Town Talk.

Kelly Starling Lyons, the state’s current Piedmont Laureate, will kick off the Saturday festivities at 10 a.m. in the Farm Bureau room at the library, she told John C. Rose. Lyons writes children’s books and will discuss the importance of reading and how to get started writing.  Then, at 1 p.m., there will be a ribbon-cutting at the Fox Pond Trail, where the Story Walk stations are located.

The books will change each month, she said, and the first selection Zip, Zoom – by Kelly Starling Lyons. There’s a page at each station, McAnally said, “so as you walk along the trail, you read a page.”

There also will be participation cards that, upon completion, can be redeemed at the library for a prize.

Perry Memorial Library is open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Curbside pickup is available, and there’s free wi-fi in the parking lot between Breckenridge and Winder streets.

Another service the library now offers

Patrons, whether they come in to browse for books to check out or use the curbside service should take note of a new policy that was approved last week – overdue fines are permanently abolished!

The local library is following other libraries, large and small, to do away with overdue fines. “If that’s kept you from coming in, please come back and check us out again,” McAnally said. Fines, had been suspended during the pandemic, were seen to be a barrier, she said, adding that the return rate is the same, if not better.

Now, a book will be automatically renewed after it’s been out three weeks, she said. DVDs can stay out two weeks.

After 30 days, the book or other item will be marked “lost” until it is returned. “If you bring it back, we’re all good,” she said.

The library receives most of its funding from the city and the county, for which McAnally is grateful and appreciative. But other programs come about through grant funding, and McAnally mentioned a couple that the library has received in addition to the Story Walk project.

One grant, from the state library system, resulted in Story Cubes, which McAnally describes as “a little machine that spits out a 1- to 3-minutes story or poem – pre-programmed stories” for library patrons. Right now, there’s a Story Cube at the library – dressed up for Halloween – that will spit out a spooky story or poem for patrons.

Our local library is the first public library in North Carolina to have Story Cubes, she said, and there are plans to travel to schools and other locations to share stories. Now, the stories and poems are already-published works, but McAnally said she would like to have contests that would feature local writers’ works.

The most recent grant will help the library partner with NASA to provide STEM education. Perry Memorial is one of only two libraries in North Carolina to be awarded one of 60 grants. Although in preliminary stages of implementation, McAnally said she is excited to be working with NASA, which will result in tapping into NASA experts’ knowledge with topics like earth science and oceanography.

For more information about the library, call 252.438.3316.

 

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