The Local Skinny! Showtime At McGregor

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Auditions for the upcoming “Showtime at McGregor Hall” will be held this Saturday, Nov. 9 – it’s time to show up and show off those talents and let them shine!

Connie Ragland Productions and the nonprofit “Reclaiming Our Youth” are teaming up to sponsor the showcase, a program which Connie Ragland described as similar to the famous “Showtime at the Apollo,” the long-running variety show that features up-and-coming talent live from the famed Apollo Theater in New York City.

The in-person auditions will be held from 10 a.m. to 12 noon at The Church of the Holy Innocents, 210 S. Chestnut St. across from Perry Memorial Library. The show will take place on Saturday, Dec. 14 at 3 p.m. at McGregor Hall.

It’s a way to provide local entertainment to the community, Ragland said on Wednesday’s segment of The Local Skinny!

“This is a fantastic opportunity for everyone to shine, build confidence, and share their gifts with the community,” Ragland stated.

And don’t let that word “audition” scare you off, she said. The auditions are just a way to get an idea of what type of musical accompaniment participants may need.

“Chances are, we’re not turning anyone away,” she said. The auditions will give organizers an idea of how best to line up the various performances to make the show its very best.

“Get in the show,” Ragland said. “You will not regret it!”

There is no fee to register to take part in the showcase, but each performer must have a completed registration form on file. You can either bring the completed form to the audition or fill one out the day of the audition.

Tickets for the show are $15 for youth under 18 and $20 for adults.

Proceeds will be used to defray the cost of the show, as well as to benefit local youth ministries, including Empowered, a youth ministry that local teenager, evangelist and podcaster Jayden Watkins formed about a year ago.

“I really hope we receive a diverse group of individuals – youth and adults” who want to perform in the talent showcase.

“My goal is to promote unity,” Ragland added. “I don’t want anyone to feel like it’s not for them…come out and help support this cause – everyone is welcome.”

Contact Ragland by email at connierag@gmail.com or call her at 252.590.0303 to learn more. Find the registration form at https://bit.ly/3CeUXHD.

Although the audition is mandatory, Ragland said she is open to receiving video clips from participants who have difficulty with making the in-person audition.

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Home And Garden Show

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On the Home and Garden Show with Vance Co. Cooperative Ext. 

  • Vance County Regional Farmers Market is open on Saturdays 8am-1pm. 
  • The Vance and Warren County Beekeepers Association will meet November 11, at 7pm at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market. 
  • The Handcrafted Holiday Market is coming up at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market. Saturday, November 16th from 8am-2pm. 
  • Leaf collection season is upon us. Compost your leaves. Don’t burn them. 
  • Do not let any weeds seed out in your garden. 
  • We are in dry conditions right now. Not a whole lot of rain is expected. 
  • Take your soil samples to the Vance County Cooperative Extension. 

The Vance County Regional Farmers Market is located at 210 Southpark Dr., Henderson, NC 27536 

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Perry Memorial Library

The Local Skinny! Events At Perry Memorial Library For November

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It’s DiNo-vember at Perry Memorial Library and Youth Services Director Melody Peters said this month’s activities will embrace all things dinosaurs.

“We’ve got some great activities,” Peters said – who doesn’t love a good dinosaur? From the ferocious T-Rex and raptors with razor-sharp teeth to the mild-mannered stegosaurus, dinosaurs fuel children’s imaginations.

Peters said it’s the first time since she’s been here that she’s used the theme.

Thursday’s Mother Goose story time at 11 a.m. will have a dino theme this month, and the Story Walk outside the library will, too.

Then there’s Pajama Story Time at 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 12 and Family Story Time on Sunday, Nov. 17 at 3:30 p.m.

But wait! There’s more!

Peters said she’s excited to announce that children can participate in a special “adopt a dino” activity. What’s the catch? Well, you have to read a book to the stuffed dinosaur (non-readers can get some help from a family member) and then that plush animal can find its way home with you, she said.

Peters said she must give credit where credit is due for the idea of “DiNo”-vember. The idea originated, she said, from some very creative parents whose young child was not sleeping at night. They created lifelike dinosaur scenes throughout the house, which gave the children something to do and distract them long enough for them to settle down and get back to sleep.

“It just shows you what families with young kids (do), get creative to solve problems,” Peters said.

Visit https://www.perrylibrary.org/home to learn about all the programs and services the library offers.

 

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The Local Skinny! Baskerville Community Info Series

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The second Tuesday of the month community information series meeting is coming up at Baskerville Funeral Home.

Charlie Baskerville, Jr. told WIZS the upcoming presentation titled “Wills and Powers of Attorney” will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 12 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the chapel of Baskerville Funeral Home, 104 S. Chestnut St., Henderson.

The presentation is free of charge and open to the public. Baskerville said, “We look forward to your participation in this important discussion.”

According to information about the event provided to WIZS, Legal Aid of North Carolina will present information about last will and testaments, living wills, financial power of attorney and healthcare power of attorney.

 

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Chamber’s “State Of Transportation” Luncheon Program Details Dabney Drive, S-Line Projects

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The Dabney Drive facelift from Coble Boulevard to Garnett Street is on the state’s to-do list, with right-of-way acquisitions set to begin in about a year and contracts to be let for bid by summer 2027.

It’s among several projects on the 2024-2033 NCDOT State Transportation Improvement Project – STIP – as Division 5 Engineer Brandon Jones explained during the “State of Transportation” program hosted Wednesday by the Henderson-Vance County Chamber of Commerce.

Locals may simply call it the Dabney Drive project, but at NCDOT, it’s known as U-5890.

The project includes making Dabney Drive a one-way road, creating  sidewalks and bike paths and a peanut-shaped roundabout near Dabney and Garnett, Jones said during his presentation.

Also on that list are two bridge projects – Bridge 89, or Nutbush Bridge, and Bridge 38, at U.S. 1 North over the CSX rail line. Contracts for the bridge projects are scheduled to be let in July 2028 and January 2030, respectively.

The Dabney Drive project is going to be a “great improvement,” Jones said, not only benefitting drivers, but for bicyclists and pedestrians. Dabney Drive will feature a six-foot-wide sidewalk and Corbitt Road, which will handle westbound traffic to Dabney Drive’s eastbound traffic, will include a 10-foot-wide multi-use path.

The 10-year STIP gets updated every couple of years, and Jones said there are three “buckets” of money that projects must fall under: state mobility projects, regional impact projects and division needs projects. The state projects get 40 percent of the funds, with regional and division projects each getting 30 percent.

“Every bucket has to be balanced in the STIP – that’s what creates differences in scheduling,” Jones explained.

With only 25 percent coming from federal dollars, Jones said the state relies on the motor fuel tax to help fund road projects.

But that tax is going down,” he said, because vehicles are becoming more fuel efficient – and generating less revenue.

“It’s a good thing for the environment, but has a negative impact on the potential revenue we receive to keep our transportation system expanded and maintained.”

Road projects can seem like they take a long time to complete, but Jones reminded the audience that all pre-construction design can easily take years. It’s not like the city can just close Dabney Drive while it’s being worked on – NCDOT crews are “always having to build new, shift traffic, tear out old and repeat that pattern for awhile,” he said.

The other major transportation-related news for Henderson and Vance County is the much-anticipated S-Line passenger rail line. When the North Carolina portion is completed, it will help connect Atlanta to the D.C. area, Jones said.

Henderson is set to be one of the stops along the S-Line as it makes its way north into Raleigh and then Wake Forest before chugging through Franklin County into Henderson and Norlina.

Jones said the estimate to get the stretch from Raleigh to Wake Forest alone will cost $1 billion. It’ll take another billion to complete the link from Wake Forest to Henderson.

The state is buying the existing rail line from CSX, but there will be a lot to do to be ready for high-speed passenger rail service.

“You can’t just take care of the rail,” Jones said, “you’ve got to take care of the at-grade intersections…(and) grade separate them,”

Alexander Avenue is one local street that will need this attention as the S-Line makes progress. An underpass or tunnel at Peachtree Road and closing off Chavasse Avenue are also planned.

The Alexander Avenue project is one of three projects that have cleared one hurdle to be considered in future STIP funding, Jones said. The other two are making intersection improvements at Raleigh Road and Belmont Drive and a citywide signal system in Henderson. If they don’t make “committed” status in the next five years, they’ll have to compete again to get on the STIP list.

Home And Garden Show

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On the Home and Garden Show with Vance Co. Cooperative Ext.

  • Vance County Regional Farmers Market is open on Saturdays 8am-1pm.
  • Vermiculture and Vermicomposting with Earthworms Workshop taking place on Monday, November 4th, starting at 6:30pm, led by Wayne Rowland. It will be at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market.
  • The Vance and Warren County Beekeepers Association will meet November 11, at 7pm at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market.
  • The Handcrafted Holiday Market is coming up at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market. Saturday, November 16th from 8am-2pm.
  • It is now too late to plant your Tall Fescue grass.
  • Do not let any weeds seed out in your garden.
  • It’s not too late to control fire ants. They are still around. So be aware of them!

The Vance County Regional Farmers Market is located at 210 Southpark Dr., Henderson, NC 27536

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The Local Skinny! Morse Clinic Ribbon Cutting

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Vance Recovery’s new 7,000 square-foot facility on West Andrews Avenue was officially welcomed Monday afternoon with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by local business leaders and county and municipal officials. But for now, the clinic will continue to provide services at its 510 Dabney Drive location.

Clinic owner Dr. Eric Morse and Program Director John Mattocks look forward to being able to welcome patients to the more spacious clinic by mid- to late November.

Morse’s MOUD approach – Medications to treat Opioid Use Disorder – helps individuals overcome addictions to street drugs like heroin and Fentanyl.

Mattocks told WIZS back in September he would love for people plagued by addiction to be encouraged and celebrated for choosing the MOUD approach instead of coming to the clinic as a last resort.

Vance Recovery is one of nine – soon to be 11 – clinics owned and operated by Morse, a nationally acclaimed leader in the field of opioid treatment and recovery programs. He said at the ribbon-cutting that Vance Recovery was the second of the clinics to open – in 2013 – and will be the largest once it occupies its new space at 932 W. Andrews Ave.

“We’re really excited about being able to treat even more people,” he said. “The Fentanyl epidemic is killing a lot of people.” He said he appreciates the local partnerships that Vance Recovery enjoys, from the City of Henderson to Maria Parham Health, Granville Vance Public Health, Daymark and others.

Although Vance Recovery currently is fully staffed, there are plans to add staff and be able to serve more clients.  During a walking tour of the new clinic, Morse said, “Because we have more space, we’ll be able to have more counselors and grow. So that’s a really important thing.”

Vance Recovery staffs a medical provider, at least one, Monday through Friday.  Morse said, “We don’t like for anybody to have to wait to see the doctor. If you need to be seen that day, you should be seen that day. And if we need to increase our doctor time, we’ve got other doctors who can give more.”

Also, Morse said there are usually at least four nurses working.

Morse now owns the clinic’s physical space and will be leasing to providers who are like-minded so there will be co-location to help more people.  Morse said, “So any of our patients that need that higher level of care, they don’t have to go anywhere else, they’re going to be here anyway to dose but they can also get more intensive counseling.”

Henderson Mayor Melissa Elliott said, “We already know the challenges we have in our community,” adding that patients who come to Vance Recovery also “get that hope and stay alive.”

Margier White, a member of the H-V Chamber board, said Vance County is fortunate to have the clinic in the community, which provides support not only to the addicted individual, but also to family members. White said she has had family members who have died from addiction, so having a clinic like Vance Recovery in the local area is “near and dear to my heart.”

Dr. Shauna Guthrie, GVPH medical director and chief medical officer at Maria Parham Health, said, “Vance Recovery has been an excellent partner for the hospital, for the health department,” and other agencies who provide services to patients with addiction.

Guthrie said people with opioid use disorder “often feel forgotten, neglected, ignored.” Having a shiny new clinic shows them, she said, that they are NOT forgotten, neglected or ignored because they have “a really nice place to go for care.”

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The Local Skinny! Friday Night Live – “November Noel Edition” Nov. 1

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Usher in November with a trip to downtown Henderson Friday evening to join in the fun of Friday Night Live’s “November Noel Edition.”

Things get underway Nov. 1 at 6 p.m. and Tracy Mosley, executive director of Helping All People Excel, said the evening will conclude at 9 p.m.

But in those three hours, folks will be able to enjoy food trucks and other vendors to kick off the holiday shopping season. Jim Quick and Coastline is the headliner band, performing favorite Carolina beach music to the stage on Breckenridge Street, and Mosley said “It’s sure to be a night to remember.”

The Vance County Arts Council will host a kids’ craft station onsite, ensuring fun for all ages. Mosley reminds those planning to attend to bring your lawn chairs – and your dancin’ shoes!

Food vendors include Not ‘Cho Waffle, Bun on the Run and The Jones BBQ. A beer bar also will be on site. Bring cash for purchases.

Other vendors participating include

  • Door Charms & Things
  • Kings and Queens Enterprises Inc.
  • Triple Rustic Boutique
  • Crafty Currins

Mosley encourages everyone to bring blankets to donate that will be sent to the western part of the state to help those affected by the devastation brought by Hurricane Helene.

“We look forward to an evening of live music, great food and holiday shopping as we kick off the season in style. Let’s celebrate downtown Henderson and support those impacted by the storm,” Mosley said.

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The Local Skinny! Positive Parenting Program

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Parents everywhere can probably remember a time or two when their children created a stressful situation – maybe it was a tantrum on the toy aisle or the nightly shriek of “NO!” at the mention of bedtime or bathtime.

What’s a parent to do?

Kimiko Williams is the coordinator of Postive Parenting Program – Triple P, for short – for Vance, Granville, Warren and Franklin counties and she said it’s a program worth checking out.

The program helps parents reduce stress. “Parenting can be very, very stressful,” Williams said, whether you’re a new parent or a parent with vast experience.

“You want to enjoy raising your children,” she said on Thursday’s segment of The Local Skinny!

But stressing out over bad behavior and power struggles does not bring much pleasure, she said.

Triple P is an evidence-based program that helps parents identify their strengths and then come up with strategies that build on those strengths – it’s not a one-size-fits-all program. And there’s no cost involved.

“Every parent has strengths to bring to the table,” Williams said.

“Children feed off of what we are giving out,” she continued, adding that the more tools and strategies in a parent’s tool belt can serve to lessen those power struggles and lower incidents of misbehavior.

Confident parenting skills create more confident, self-sufficient children.

“It’s all in how you interact with the child,” she said. Fussing and yelling detracts from the bonding that takes place between a parent and child.

“We all need help when it comes to parenting,” Williams said. Finding strategies that promote kindness in the way parents interact with their children helps reduce stress levels of the adult and of the child.

Call Williams at 919.496.2533 (ext. 2335) to learn more about Triple P and to find a practitioner near you.

 

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Home And Garden Show

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On the Home and Garden Show with Vance Co. Cooperative Ext. 

  • Vance County Regional Farmers Market is open on Saturdays 8am-1pm.
  • 4-County 4H Poultry Show and Sell Event will be this Saturday, October 26, the sell will start at 3:45pm and the auction will start around 6:30pm at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market.
  • Vermiculture and Vermicomposting with Earthworms Workshop taking place on Monday, November 4th, starting at 6:30pm, led by Wayne Rowland. It will be at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market.
  • We might get a touch of frost as the temperatures get lower. You need to prepare your frost protection now.
  • Now is a good time to gather materials if you are planning for new shrub and flower planting beds. 
  • Now is a good time to plant your mums and pansies.
  • Fire ants are still around. So be aware of them!
  • Check your crops for insects.

The Vance County Regional Farmers Market is located at 210 Southpark Dr., Henderson, NC 27536

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