The Local Skinny! The Importance of Rabies Vaccines for Pets

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Did you know that state law requires pet owners to have their pets vaccinated against rabies?

The statute states that all owned cats, dogs and ferrets must be vaccinated for rabies. It’s important to keep all vaccinations up-to-date, but especially rabies, said veterinarian Alex Besermenji with Franklin Animal Hospital.

Besermenji spoke with Bill Harris Tuesday during the recurring Pets and People segment of The Local Skinny!

“Rabies is a viral disease,” Besermenji explained, most commonly seen in wildlife like raccoons, coyotes, foxes and bats. Unvaccinated pets that are bitten by rabid animals face a bleak outcome. The disease is incurable, he said.

“Once the virus enters the nerve system, it works all the way up to the brain. There is no cure.”

Although rabies isn’t often seen in cats, Besermenji said the feral cat population may be more at risk than our domesticated tabbies and torties.

The fact of the matter is, any mammal may contract rabies. And prevention with a one-year or three-year vaccine given at the vet’s office or at clinics offered regularly be local animal shelters is what keeps all our furry friends safe.

Franklin Animal Hospital is located at 501 W. Mason St. in Franklinton, just off U.S. 1.

 

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The Local Skinny! The Viking Experience

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The Vikings are coming, the Vikings are coming – back. For the second annual Viking Experience, that is, to be held Mar. 25 and 26 at The Barn at Vino in Stem.

Hanna Reid, co-owner of the company that is part history lesson, part entertainment and part immersive experience, spoke with Bill Harris on Monday’s segment of The Local Skinny!

Last year’s event was such a success, they’ve upped their game for this year, Reid said.

“We were packed out last year,” she said of the interest and attendance. “We didn’t quite expect to grow out of the Expo Center in just one year.”

But folks came from as far away as Ohio and from all up and down the East Coast to attend the two-day event. And so far this year, things are shaping up for another successful event.

Activities begin at 10 a.m. each day; Saturday’s program ends at 6 p.m., with a dinner theater at 6:30 p.m. Activities end at 5 p.m. on Sunday. Day passes are available ($18 for Saturday and $15 for Sunday), or you can choose a $30 weekend pass. There are several add-on tickets available that get you into extra activities like “the fairy experience,” escape room and fight pits, Reid explained.

And of course, there will be vendors everywhere, selling craft items, as well as local food and drinks.

There will be music, education classes, dancing, and a family friendly theatrical day court program for everyone to enjoy. She said her mom (the other co-owner) counted up and close to 500 people, from performers and vendors to volunteers and support crew, will join forces to put the weekend events together.

“It’s a really humbling thing to see how many people make this event,” Reid said.

A cast of at least 30 will be present over the course of the weekend to act out a storyline that has Queen Hanna the Red (Reid) confront another warlord who fancies conquering the Queen’s land.

With one foot in the history and the other in fantasy and entertainment, The Viking Experience is sure to delight.

Visit www.thevikingexperiencenc.com to purchase tickets online and avoid the lines that weekend.

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S-Line Rail Corridor

The Local Skinny! Latest On S Line Rail Service

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Plans for the proposed S-Line are chugging along, and Vance County commissioners got an encouraging update from NC DOT officials at their meeting earlier this week.

If all goes the way it’s supposed to, Henderson and Norlina will be stops along a yet-to-be completed passenger rail line that will connect the Washington, D.C. and the Northeast Corridor rail system all the way to Florida.

Julie White, deputy secretary for multi-modal transportation with DOT, joined Rail Division Director Jason Orthner and Ryan Brumfield, DOT’s integrated mobility division director at Monday’s meeting.

“We continue to see support of the corridor and interest from the U.S. DOT to invest,” Orthner stated.

This stretch of rail line that includes seven stops from Sanford to Norlina in North Carolina, is expected to serve up to 25 million passengers when it’s completed, sometime close to 2030. It will connect Raleigh and Richmond, VA.

Grant funding provided $950,000 for conduct studies for each of the proposed stops in Henderson and Norlina. There were multiple listening sessions in each area to gather community input and explain the project over the course of the past year or so.

The two local stops proposed in this stretch of the S-Line project are among seven, with others being Sanford, Apex, Wake Forest, Youngsville and Franklinton.

Ridership in North Carolina has increased steadily over the past five years, with the exception of 2020 when COVID-19 was in full force. In 2022, more than a half million people hopped on a train to get from Point A to Point B, according to information the trio shared with commissioners.

People are leaning into rail for transportation needs, Orthner noted. A fifth train is being added to serve the Raleigh to Charlotte market and this year roundtrip service between the two major urban areas is scheduled to begin.

The impact on the local economy could be big, and local leaders have been involved in discussions about potential station, or hub, sites in recent months as plans continue to progress.

This project has been in process since the early 1990’s and the corridor rail was acquired from CSX in 2020. Since then, there have been lots of studies and grant awards to keep the whole thing “on track,” no pun intended.

Brumfield said the community interest in creating the rail service has added to the success of the project. The creation of “mobility hubs” involves much more that a building where people wait to board a train, he said. It’s an activity center of transportation and a meeting space where energy ripples out into the wider community, positively affecting quality of life and accessibility and making communities more vibrant.

Commissioners asked questions, from length of time to get from Raleigh to Richmond (2 -2.5 hours) to what type of train traffic Henderson could expect to see along its portion of the rail line (continued freight service and faster passenger service).

Right now, CSX runs trains about 25 mph in the area, but high-speed service means that passenger trains could reach between 80 and 110 mph on northbound and southbound runs.

This project is one of 10 that the NC DOT Rail Division has across the state.

In their presentation to commissioners, the DOT team noted that this construction project will result in one of the most technologically advanced railroads in the Southeast, providing:

-110 mph passenger railroad

-91 new grade separations

-concrete ties

-high speed switches

-high level platforms

-freight bypass tracks

-positive train control and

-advanced signal systems

 

Once the Raleigh to Richmond link is completed, it will connect North Carolina and points farther South to Washington, DC and points up the Northeast Corridor, where rail service is a critical transportation component for commuters and other travelers.

Benefits to our region include:

  • Direct connection between urban centers by as many as 25 million passengers by 2040
  • Additional capacity and over and hour in travel time saved between NC and VA
  • Backbone of regional multi-modal connectivity including commuter rail, transit and active transportation
  • Critical to further expanding the NC passenger rail system
  • Provides freight network resiliency
  • Environmental benefits
  • Expands service to disadvantaged and underserved regions

WHAT’S NEXT:

  • Prepare and submit grant applications. There’s a grant funding match provided by the State Transportation Improvement Plan would combine local funding with state and federal grants. Application due April 21.
  • Develop and implement the first phase of the S-Line will be Raleigh to Wake Forest
  • There’s $4.5 billion available from 2022 FRA (a federal-state partnership)
  • Grant funding for ROW, final design and constructions.

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Home And Garden Show

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

  • Select Plants that grow well in zone 7
  • Cut back ornamental grasses, liriope and mondograss.
  • Remember PPE when doing your garden chores.eye protection, gloves, hearing protection
  • Try to get evergreen shrub pruning done soon, if any need it.
  • Honey bees are swarming now if you see a swarm contact Cooperative Extension
  • Buy a grow light to improve success with indoor seed starting.
  • Check for mice in greenhouses and storage areas.
  • Add some native flowering plants to your landscape (perennials, shrubs, small trees).

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Perry Memorial Library

The Local Skinny! Upcoming Events At Perry Memorial Library

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When Melody Peters joined the staff of Perry Memorial Library back in July 2022, she was faced with the challenge of drawing teens back through the library doors. Story times are great for little ones, and older patrons were clamoring to return after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but teenagers?

What’s a youth services director to do?

So, she created a “Life Hack” series and a “Survival Skills” series.

If you’re just hearing this now at 5 p.m., you’ve still got a little time to race down to the library on Breckenridge St. to participate in a resume building session. NC Works and Vance-Granville Community College reps are on hand until about 6 p.m. to help understand the importance of resumes, and to walk through mock interviews.

The Survival Skills continues next week with a shirt-making session. Last time, the group – which Peters said included 6 guys and 4 girls – made themselves mittens out of fleece.

“I’m hoping that same group comes back – and brings some friends,” she told Bill Harris during Tuesday’s recurring library update on The Local Skinny!

Participants can either make a tank top or bring in a favorite shirt that may need some mending.

If the mitten-making workshop is any indication, the shirt workshop will be a success. “They seemed to be really enjoying the task,” Peters said of the mitten exercise.

“When you see it complete, you can feel proud of yourself,” she said.

Other upcoming events at the library geared for youth in the community include:

Saturday, Mar. 11

11 a.m. to 12 noon – FAFSA info session. Parents, bring your high school students who may be ready to complete the FAFSA document, an online document that colleges and universities use to determine financial aid eligibility.

“It can be overwhelming,” Peters said, “but you can do it.”

Tuesday, Mar. 21

4:30 p.m. Kids Connect

Local artist and Vance County Arts Council member Alice Clark will do art activities with the kids.

 

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Vance County Logo

The Local Skinny! Vance County Commissioners To Meet Tonight

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Update 10 p.m. Monday:

The Vance County Commissioners voted Monday to authorize the execution of the “second wave” of Opioid Settlements written about below, meaning Vance County would receive an additional $2.76 million between 2023 and 2036

Original Update 5:30 p.m. Monday:

The Vance County Commissioners are scheduled to hear this evening all about what amounts to a lot of activity by county staff, who continually work to make sure county business gets taken care of in a timely and efficient manner. Tonight’s meeting begins at 6 p.m.

County Manager Jordan McMillen will share information about money coming into the county from the national opioid settlement, money the county may need to come up with to support KARTS and an upcoming planning retreat for the commissioners and county staff later this week.

These topics and more are scheduled to be part of the county manager’s report to the commissioners at their meeting Monday.

The manager is expected to recommend that Vance County join in “Wave Two” of the opioid settlement, which would bring an additional $600 million to the state to be distributed to local governments and municipalities.

The decision needs to be made by April 18; if the commissioners approve the recommendation, Vance County would receive an additional $2.76 million between 2023 and 2036, McMillen said.

The county has gotten more than $315,000 of its total $3.45 million allotment from Wave One.

McMillen also will present a funding request from KARTS, which operates in the four-county region. The rural transportation service is asking for more “emergency funding” – $75,000 – from Vance County and from the other counties it serves to allow the service to finish out the fiscal year.

The total annual budget is approximately $3.75 million, most of which comes from federal funding. Another 10 percent to 15 percent comes from local counties. McMillen said KARTS is asking for an additional $154,936 in administrative funds for the upcoming FY 2023-24 budget, as well as an extra $32,931 in capital funds to allow for replacement of buses that are over the recommended mileage.

“It is our understanding the funding requests are a result of expiring Federal CARES Act funds which have been instrumental in filling a gap in their new facility and operational costs the past couple of years,” Jordan stated in agenda information. “They have also indicated a need to
increase driver rates and have been paying significant overtime due to driver shortages. The KARTS board is exploring various ways to improve efficiency and raise additional revenue to include possible increased rates for contracted services, recouping money for no shows, and advertising on their vans among other things,” he continued.

The KARTS request may be part of the discussion at the upcoming commissioners’ planning retreat, set for Wednesday, Mar. 8 at the Perry Memorial Library.

The daylong planning retreat will begin at 9 a.m., McMillen noted. Among the agenda items include a board training on establishing a high-performing board, then a finance and budget review, with discussion, from the county finance director.

The day is scheduled to end by 4 p.m., following a goal prioritization session for the upcoming fiscal year.

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The Local Skinny! Fentanyl Summit Saturday

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More than 13,000 people have died in North Carolina alone in the past nine years from fentanyl. A half-day family summit will be held in Raleigh on Saturday, designed to be part awareness, part education, and part support for those who have family members who have died from fentanyl poisoning.

“Poisoning” is the term Patricia Drewes prefers to “overdose” when describing the unintended deaths that occur all too frequently, especially with teens and young adults.

Drewes founded Forgotten Victims of North Carolina following the 2019 death of her daughter Heaven. She spoke with John C. Rose on Thursday’s segment of The Local Skinny! and said the summit has reached its capacity and will not be able to accept additional registrations.

Within a few months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the now-familiar phrase of “the 3 W’s – Wear, Wash, Wait” became a household term. Drewes said there needs to be a similar campaign to warn and educate the public on the dangers of illicit fentanyl.

“Commercials, billboards – we need to be teaching it in schools, discussing it in our churches,” Drewes said. “I don’t feel like North Carolina is doing enough,” she said.

She said law enforcement officers should carry Narcan – a overdose antidote of a sort – on their belts just like they do other useful tools like flashlights. Often, they arrive on the scene before EMS and administering Narcan could save a life.

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein is among those scheduled to speak, as well as victims’ family members, state and federal law enforcement and representatives of local nonprofits.

Drewes and Barb Walsh, executive director of Fentanyl Victims Network of NC are among the organizers of the summit, which will be held at the McKimmon Conference Center from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

One of the goals of the summit is to educate and increase awareness, but also to let families know that they are not alone in their grief or in their struggle.

Drewes’s group has grown to five chapters that covers at least half the state; email her at patriciadrewes@yahoo.com to learn more about Forgotten Victims of North Carolina.

Following are some sobering statistics regarding fentanyl use in North Carolina:

  • 8 deaths each day in North Carolina from fentanyl
  • N.C. ranks 6thin fentanyl fatalities
  • Fentanyl is the leading cause of death in N.C. and the U.S. for people 18-35
  • 88 percent of all N.C. medicine/drug toxicity deaths involve fentanyl

 

 

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Home And Garden Show

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

  • Check seedlings daily…
  • Scout lawns for cool season weeds and treat ASAP. Apply fertilizer by mid-March.
  • Check irrigation equipment
  • Prune your shrubbery if it needs pruning. Don’t do heavy pruning on plants that have already formed flower buds. If shrubs need severe annual pruning, consider replacing them.
  • Honey bees are swarming now if you see a swarm contact Cooperative Extension
  • Resist the urge to plant warm season plants, even if you see them for sale early.
  • Keep grow lights adjusted on your growing plants
  • If you plan to start seed indoors, most crops will do well if they are planted 4 weeks before the outdoor planting time. So for example, tomatoes, peppers, squash, etc. can be started late March or early April.

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The Local Skinny! Wedding Expo Coming To Granville County

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The Granville County Convention and Expo Center will become a festive hub for all things celebratory this weekend when the venue reps and vendors gather to take part in a one-stop shopping experience.

The Wedding and Event Expo will take place Saturday, Mar. 4 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is $10. Once inside, brides-to-be and anyone planning a special event can talk with representatives from a variety of companies, from wedding venues to cake bakers and photographers.

Gena Stephens plans to be at the Saturday event to share information about Carlee Farms, a wedding venue that she and husband John established in 2016.

“Weddings are our biggest things that we focus on,” Stephens told Bill Harris during Tuesday’s segment of The Local Skinny! But folks also book their facility, located in Stem, for family reunions, quinceañeros, birthday parties and more.

Carlee Farms was one of three wedding venues back in 2016, but now there are more than a dozen in Granville County alone.

And last year, Stephens said she booked nine weddings for couples who were from out of state.

“I don’t know if people have noticed, but Granville County is up and coming on so many different levels,” Stephens said.

Among the services that Carlee Farms offers bridal couples is coordination with vendors before the Big Day, to take a bit of pressure off the family and to make sure things run smoothly. “We are here to help you along the way,” she said. Stephens herself is the “day-of” coordinator, making herself the point person instead of the bride or groom.

She said she offers a list of recommended vendors to work with, but she is flexible. “I have a great recommendation list,” she said.

When she meets with couples to discuss wedding planning, she has three words of wisdom – or warning: “budget, budget and budget again.”

Say a couple has budgeted $10,000 for a wedding, Stephens said. “That doesn’t mean you spend all of it on your wedding dress.” Food and flowers can be big-ticket items, and Stephens said she tries to work with couples as they consider their options.

Stop by and chat with Stephens at the Expo on Saturday, visit www.carleefarm.com or email

gena@carleefarm.com.

 

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The Local Skinny! Protecting Your Dog From Heartworms

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Nobody likes mosquitoes. Their bites can hurt and they can swell and itch. When mosquitoes bite our pets, however, they can cause more serious problems. We’re talking heartworms.

Aleksandar Besermenji, a veterinarian at Franklinton Animal Hospital talked with Bill Harris about the importance of keeping our dogs and cats – and ferrets – on a heartworm regimen. “The whole point is to check them every year with the test,” Besermenji said. “If you catch it in time, you can do more to fix it.”

Mosquitoes are the vector – or the way – that dogs, cats and ferrets – can be exposed to the disease. All it takes is one mosquito to bite an animal with the disease to infect other animals that are not on heartworm preventive medication.

The best way to keep our pets testing negative for the disease is to give them the medication all year long, he said. It’s true that mosquitoes aren’t around in the winter, but Besermenji said owners shouldn’t take a break from giving the medication.

“Takes a certain period of time for the heartworms to develop” in the animal, he said, adding that it could take several weeks to several months. A mosquito bite from the fall could result in a heartworm positive test in the winter if the animal isn’t protected with the preventive.

“There’s a long list that goes with the heartworm problems,” he said. If left untreated, animals can develop inflammation as the parasitic worms grow in the arteries of the lungs and heart.

While there are treatment options for a dog that tests positive for heartworms, the simplest way to ensure animals stay healthy is to keep them on the preventive medicine.

And while it’s true that cats don’t get it that often, he said, they can. And so can ferrets. Cats don’t tolerate the injections as well as dogs, so their treatment is a little more specialized.

Your veterinarian should perform an annual test to make sure your pet is free of heartworms. Some symptoms of heartworm include coughing in the morning, shortness of breath and general poor performance, especially in working animals like hunting dogs.

In the most severe stages of the disease, animals suffer from distended bellies and accumulated abdominal fluid. After a prolonged period without treatment, the heart simply is too weak to respond effectively to treatment.

The Franklinton Animal Hospital, now is in its third week of operation, is open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays 8 a.m. to 12 noon.

 

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