The Local Skinny! Blaes Says The Next Two Weeks Is The Best Chance For Snow

/by

We’re almost one week into the New Year, but already in 2022, North Carolina weather is living up to its reputation of having a little something for everyone. Love milder temps in winter? Check. The high in Henderson was 75 on Jan. 1.

Prefer to have some snow in the forecast to make it feel like it supposed to feel this time of year? Check. A wet snow fell fast and heavy on Monday in the area, but it went as quickly as it came.

Jonathan Blaes with the National Weather Service says that this could be a pattern we can expect, at least for the next couple of weeks.

“It was a really neat storm,” the meteorologist said of the short-lived event that blanketed the area Monday.

Blaes said the dynamic storm system brought a bit of everything to the state, from high winds and at least one tornado in Harnett County and up to several inches of snow near the Virginia border. “A vigorous front will come through tonight (Thursday), and tomorrow will be a crazy windy, blustery day,” he said.

It’ll turn cold behind the next front, too, so it will feel like winter for the next week or so.

If you’re a snow lover, and the next 10 days or two weeks doesn’t do it for you, take heart, Blaes said. Historically, late January brings with it the chance of more wet snow.

From what he and his fellow meteorologists can tell so far from studying global weather patterns, it’s possible that over the next couple of weeks the area could have additional snowfall.

“It’s certainly going to be close enough so if a storm tracks close enough (to the area), we could get some snow.”

The messy mix of precipitation – rain, freezing rain, sleet, snow and then back to rain – is what this area is used to seeing. Meteorologists classify this type of storm as a “Miller A,” which indicates that the storm moves as a single low front tracking from the south. This week’s storm wasn’t a classic Miller A, Blaes said, but the area did see a changeover from rain to snow, back to rain before skies cleared and the sun reappeared.

“If you’re in the right spot, you’ll get clobbered,” from such a storm, like the areas around Washington, DC where almost a foot of snow fell and motorists were stranded overnight on I-95 near Fredericksburg, VA.

Click Play

Home And Garden Show 1-5-22

/by

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

  • New Year = New Garden Year Start your 2022 Garden Journal
  • Contact wildlife resources commission for help with wildlife damage issues
  • Start planning your 2022 garden on paper now what are your goals for 2022 garden.
  • Turf weed management is different now.
  • What problems did you have in your 2021 garden? Call Cooperative Extension we can give you recommendations that may solve some of those issues before those problems start in 2022.
  • Start preparing your seeding equipment for growing transplants.
  • Build a small greenhouse or cold frame to raise your own transplants for 2022
  • Consider fruit crops that are easier to grow.

 

The Local Skinny! Vance Eats: Yikky Wingz

/by

It’s no secret around WIZS that our Trey Snide likes to eat. So when we decided that a new segment of the Local Skinny was to be called “Vance Eats” the natural choice for a host was Trey Snide. Vance Eats had it’s inaugural segment with chicken wings from Yikky Wingz. Owner William Flye supplied Trey with five different types of wings. These included hot lemon pepper, jazzy honey mustard, Yikky buffalo, Yikky gold and garlic parmesan. Fresh carrots, celery and ranch dressing were also a part of the wings plate. “They blew up on social media,” Snide said of Yikky Wingz on the program today. They season and prep each item and, according to the Yikky Wingz Facebook page, the trick to their delicious wings is the secret sauce.

In addition to wings, Yikky Wingz has deep fried pineapple, chicken tenders, gizzards and more. Yikky Wingz is located in the Citgo Service Station at 1208 Andrews Ave. across from Biddie’s Grill. They are open Monday through Saturday 12noon to 8pm.

To check out their entire menu visit their Facebook page. In coming weeks Trey will be sampling many different restaurants around the area both large and small. Vance Eats can be heard as part of the Local Skinny! on WIZS. The Local Skinny airs Monday through Thursday at 11:30am on WIZS 1450AM, 100.1FM and online at wizs.com.

The Local Skinny! Chamber Of Commerce Looks To 2022

/by

The Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce continues to work to bind the business community and the community at large together through human resource efforts, economic development efforts and through its own participation.

When an entity like a chamber can boast that only a handful of its board members ever miss meetings, it provides evidence to others outside, who are looking in, that the organization believes in itself.

Upcoming, the H-V Chamber will present its membership meeting and banquet, in person, at Vance-Granville Community College. The latest edition of “Envision Vance” will soon be published. And opportunities continue for businesses and individuals to involve themselves with an evolving, growing and relevant chamber of commerce.

Board Chairman Ronald Bennett told The Local Skinny! broadcast Tuesday at 11 a.m. on WIZS that the theme for the chamber this year is “A Year of Community.” He said, “A community made up of businesses, which is our main focus, but also made up of local city, county government, our educational partners, our healthcare partners, nonprofit organizations, our churches, law enforcement, fire, rescue, EMT, first responders and everyone that makes up our community.”

The priority, he said, is to be relevant to members and to “add value to them to help grow their businesses and organizations and connect with our partners.” The goal is to grow the entire community. He said, “Grow, Connect, Prosper. Three words found in the new Chamber logo that we feel are so important as we move forward.”

Chamber President Michele Burgess praised the board of directors and said she was really proud of the “inclusion and diversity that we share on our Chamber board.” She said, “When our nominating committee gets together, we’re very cognizant of that need, and we want it to reflect our community and our business community … and I am just excited about the degree of leadership that we have.”

Burgess explained how the chamber was growing, especially over the last five years. She said, “We have really built up our chamber, our influence, our leadership, and just our involvement from the board.”

The Chamber will celebrate and have its meeting and banquet at VGCC on January 27. Invitations are out to member businesses by email at this time. The deadline to nominate a citizen for the Citizen of the Year Award has been extended to this Friday, Jan. 7. Call 252.438.8414 or email michele@hendersonvance.org to get a nomination form.

The Chamber will soon celebrate having the latest edition of “Envision Vance” as well. Burgess said, “Our Envision Vance magazine is a tool for recruitment of industry, new business, small business, doctors, lawyers, new teachers.” It also features a business directory and is a great resource.

Bennett pointed out a new feature of the Chamber that Burgess added in 2021 – the human resource council. Bennett said it works with all local businesses. “Everyone has an opportunity to be a part of that and come to the table and talk about what we do to improve our workforce, what we can do through Vance Granville and through our schools to prepare our workforce more as we go into 2022 and beyond. So, you know, the HR council is just a great way to get involved,” Bennett said.

Click Play

The Local Skinny! Henderson Police Could Soon Have A Robot On The Force

/by

The Henderson Police Department could have a new tool in its complement of resources to help law enforcement officers as they work to keep the community – and themselves – safe. Chief Marcus Barrow said the remote-control robot would be something that other agencies in the region would be able to use, too.

He and the department are always looking for new tools to help mitigate situations, and when he saw a grant opportunity to pay for it, he applied. “So far, everything’s looking good,” he said. If all goes according to plan, Barrow said the robot could be ready for use in early spring 2023.

The grant, from the Governor’s Crime Commission, would cover $24,500 of the $25,500 price tag for the Vantage robot, which has climbing capability, a camera that can live-stream and an arm that can manipulate objects. If the department is awarded the grant, the city would have to find the additional $1,000.

Its most practical use, Barrow said, probably would be in a hazardous materials situation. “We take hazmat courses every year,” he said, “and we’re warned about the stuff that travels up and down I-85 and in our city.” Having a robot that could be sent close a wreck scene, for example, would help keep officers from being exposed to harmful materials.

With any other piece of equipment, the timeline would involve training and getting handlers used to how the robot works. “I would like it to be here and deployable as quickly as possible,” Barrow said, adding that it would be an added benefit to other agencies in the region, not just for the city’s use. He said once multiple people are trained on using it, the robot would be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Technology increasingly plays a role in the work of law enforcement, and Barrow said a recent grant for body-worn cameras was awarded to the department. But it’s a 50 percent match, and now he’ll be looking for that match. It’s a big expenditure, and Barrow said he “didn’t feel our local citizens should foot that bill” for the entire amount. But with matching grant funds identified, he said the body cameras may be something on the horizon for local police officers, and he added that he planned to go before the city council shortly to request those matching funds.

Click Play

The Local Skinny! Bullock’s Engraving: Going Strong Since 1973

/by

Michael Lassiter has been working at Bullock’s Engraving for 34 years.  That’s a long time and it’s even more impressive when one considers that Lassister is only 42 years old.  That means he started with the business when he was 8 years old.

Ron and Grace Bullock started the business in 1973 and were located for many years in the Henderson Mall. Lassiter’s dad worked for the mall and that meant the younger Lassiter spent a lot of time there. Additionally, the Bullocks were Michael’s God Parents.  “I was always in the store anyway,” Lassiter said on Monday’s Local Skinny! program. He apprenticed under Ron Bullock for many years learning all he could about engraving and the business.

He now owns the business but Grace Bullock can still frequently be found at the business lending a hand as needed. Lassiter says that all engraving is done on site and includes engravable gifts, awards and more.  If it can be engraved, Lassiter says they can do it.

While there may be other businesses that do engraving work in the area, Lassiter says none have been around as long as Bullock’s. The business has had three locations over its 49 years: The Henderson Mall, Corbitt Hills, which is where B B & T is now located and Corbitt Depot at 1630 Parham Street.

Lassiter says the moves have been the toughest part of his 34 years.  “Most people think you’ve gone out of business,” Lassister said when the store has moved.  They’ve now been at the Corbitt Depot for about 17 years and he plans on keeping the store in its current location for as long as possible.  “Henderson has potential,” Lassiter said.

Bullock’s Engraving has a showroom that is open Tuesday through Friday from 10am to 4:30pm and at other times by appointment. The phone number is 252-492-7011, and they are on Facebook at facebook.com/BullocksEngraving and the web at www.bullocksengraving.com.

Click Play

 

The Local Skinny! Public Hearing Jan. 3 To Begin County Budget Discussions

/by

Updated 01-04-22 at 12:30 p.m. —

Kelly H. Grissom – Executive Assistant/Clerk to Board of the Vance County Board of Commissioners – informs WIZS, “A 10-day notice is required for public hearings.”

She said, therefore, that a new notice would be prepared on the pre-budget public hearing and that the public hearing would be postponed until the February meeting.

•••••••••••••••••••••••

Update 01-03-22 at 1:30 p.m. —

The Vance County Board of Commissioners’ meeting was rescheduled for Monday, January 10th at 6:00 p.m. due to inclement weather.

•••••••••••••••••••••••

The Vance County board of commissioners will hold a public hearing on Monday, Jan. 3, 2022 to hear from residents about the 2022-23 budget.

This “pre-budget” public hearing will be held in the commissioners’ meeting room at 122 Young St. and is scheduled to begin shortly after 6 p.m., according to information from County Manager Jordan McMillen.

This is the first of two public hearings to hear from residents about suggestions and priorities for the upcoming budget.

The county manager is scheduled to submit a recommended budget in May. The second public hearing is planned for June 6, 2022 and then the board must adopt a final budget no later than July 1, when the new fiscal year begins.

Home And Garden Show

/by

What an odd weather forecast for the end of December and the start of January.  Temperatures have been well above normal with 70 plus degree highs this week and mid 70’s projected into the weekend before reality returns the first of the week with high temperatures on Monday staying in the 40’s but what can this unseasonable warm spell do to plants that have been dormant for winter?  Wayne Rowland with the Vance Co. Extension Service discussed that on the Home and Garden Show today (Wednesday) as part of the Local Skinny!  Rowland said that the warmth can effect many plants causing them to break dormancy. However, since we are still quite early in the winter season and the projected return of more normal temperatures next week damage to plants is not a major concern even if dormancy is broken.

“It’s a very unusual warm period,” Rowland said. “If it were to last two weeks it could be detrimental to plants,” Rowland continued. Rowland explained that any plant that has broken dormancy would return to that state once colder weather resumes.

One plant that may suffer are azaleas. Some people have reported that their azaleas are starting to bloom. Rowland says that since azaleas only have one set of blooms that these plants would have less blooms in the spring.

Wayne Rowland can be heard on Home and Garden Show along with Paul McKenzie every Wednesday at 11:30am as part of the Local Skinny! and the Vance Co. Cooperative Extension Report can be heard at 11:50am on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday on WIZS.

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

  • Get ready to start your 2022 garden journal
  • Cooperative extension has Carolina Lawns publication that will give you information A to Z in lawn care
  • Start planning your 2022 garden on paper now have a garden plan.
  • Check Your trees health,with the leaves off the trees you can see any damage
  • How current warm temperatures can affect your plants
  • Inventory your seed before ordering more seed.
  • Start preparing your seeding equipment for growing transplants
  • Build a small greenhouse or cold frame to raise your own transplants for 2022

 

The Local Skinny! Henderson Oxford Airport Flies High

/by

Chris Welsh likens the Henderson-Oxford Airport to a rest area along the interstate – when a traveler needs to stop, that blue road sign announcing that a rest area is ahead is a welcome sight.

Welsh and his wife, Amanda, have been the fixed-base operators at the airport for the past several years, and he said things are – pardon the pun – looking “up.” Traffic at the airport with its 5,500-foot-long runway is up, he said. And he points to a few reasons for why that is so.

Because the couple can offer maintenance on the aircraft – which other local airstrips do not provide – Welsh said pilots will fly in if they need to get something like a landing gear tire fixed.

But he also said they have seen an increase in small planes coming in since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I think a lot of businesses have started (using private aircraft) since COVID – we’re seeing more 4- and 6-seaters coming in for business,” he told John C. Rose today during Tuesday’s segment of The Local Skinny! “And Mako is flying all the time – at least three or four times a week, and I know they’re coming out here at night,” Welsh added, even though he and his wife typically are not there for their arrival.

The pilots communicate on the radio frequency, follow standard traffic patterns, land and then just park the aircraft and follow the sidewalk to the building and parking lot beyond.

Since beginning their jobs there, the Welshes have overseen a couple of project completions, including a runway lighting upgrade and an extra row of hangars, where 10 additional planes now call home.

Some larger aircraft also have flown in – like a King Air 12-passenger turboprop – that previously had used the airstrip in Clarksville, VA. But that runway was shortened by 900 feet recently, which makes landing a larger aircraft a bit more difficult.

“The landing is usually more of the problem,” Welsh said, “because you have to slow down, right?”

Revlon flies a Gulfstream aircraft that is similar in size to a commuter plane, Welsh said. It uses the airport regularly, along with private travelers.

“You could probably land a 737 here,” he said. The problem, however, comes after the landing. “It’s probably too heavy for the pavement,” and then there’s the issue of what kind of vehicle would be available on the ground to tow it.

That rest-area concept Welsh alluded to plays into the airport’s support role for nearby Raleigh-Durham International, which could divert aircraft to the Granville County airport if the need arises.

Raleigh has a couple of flight schools, and Welsh said more student pilots are using the local runway in their training.

“In the first 10 or 15 hours of learning, you don’t need any distractions,” Welsh said. He is a seasoned pilot himself and he also has a commercial license to operate a drone.

“If you’re practicing repetitive landings, you can do three or four here in an hour,” he noted. A student pilot would get half that amount at RDU – and they’d have the added stress of watching for incoming aircraft using the same runway.

Welsh said the airport is home to a couple of flying club airplanes – a Cessna and a Piper – that are based here as part of the RDU flying club. “You can join the club if you’re not a pilot,” Welsh said. “It’s basically the cheapest way to rent an airplane.” Individuals can use the planes to accumulate training hours toward their license, rent it to fly over the lake or take it to the beach for a couple of days. The planes can stay gone overnight, he said, but most of the time they’re tucked back in the hangars after each outing.

Visit www.flyhnz.com to learn more.

Click Play

The Local Skinny! Louisburg College Graduate with Vance Co. Roots Honored

/by

A Long Island, NY councilman with local ties got a surprise on Veterans Day from a VFW post whose members he had come to honor for their service.

During his summer vacations to visit his grandmother in Townsville, it’s probably safe to say that Gaitley Stevenson-Mathews didn’t imagine the career path that would take him to Glen Cove, NY on Long Island and playing a role in the politics there.

Those summers in Townsville, which he referred to as “away camp,” were spent working in the tobacco fields. He graduated from Louisburg College in 1981.

In 2020, he was elected to the Glen Cove City Council, which is where VFW Post 347 is located. In recent years, Stevenson-Mathews visits with the local post on Veterans Day to thank them for their bravery and dedication in service to their country, according to a press release about the turn of events for Stevenson-Mathews.

This year, he arrived at the post for the ceremony with “I’m Proud to be a Veteran” lapel pins, which he distributed to each member present, the statement explained. In a surprise twist, prior to the start of their standard service, it was the councilman who was celebrated. The VFW members surprised Stevenson-Mathews with a plaque honoring him for his meritorious and distinguished service to their post.

“I was truly surprised and humbled to be presented with such an important and distinguished honor,” said Stevenson-Mathews. “To be acknowledged by veterans, who sacrificed so much in their own lifetimes is a true honor and will be something I will always cherish.”

Stevenson-Mathews is a public relations consultant as well as an acting and vocal coach and he recently created a Facebook page for the local VFW. He also was one of the first on the scene recently when the post building caught fire. The Facebook page has allowed the post to garner support – and the funds – needed to rebuild, according to VFW member and trustee Joseph Moores.

“Gaitley has been a tremendous help to all veterans, especially our VFW Post 347,” Moores stated.  “He touches base with us before important meetings to ensure our voice will be heard. Gaitley is a loyal friend and we wanted everyone to know how much we appreciate him.”

Stevenson-Mathews, a native of Red Springs, NC, grew up with a strong sense of civic duty, faith, and commitment to community. His family also served in the military. His brother, retired Colonel J. Hunter Mathews, Sr., served two tours of duty in Afghanistan. His father, James H. Mathews Sr., who is originally from Townsville, NC, served in the Navy during World War II and his mother, Jean Gaitley Mathews, served in the Cadet Nurse Corps.

Stevenson-Mathews has not forgotten his North Carolina roots. “I continue to draw on the inspiration of my professors at Louisburg College and thanks to having spent summers in Townsville (NC) as a young teenager, I am appreciative for having seen and learned the value of hard work and of supporting family and community.” “I will always value my years growing up in North Carolina,” said the councilman.

“I knew both of Gaitley’s parents,” said Louisburg resident and former Louisburg College professor Janet Taylor.  “It does not surprise me at all that Gaitley is so committed to his community on Long Island. He was certainly raised with a strong sense of the importance of serving others.

Stevenson-Mathews is the son of the late Jim and Jean Mathews of Red Springs, the nephew of Doris and Lewis Reavis of Warrenton and of the late Alma and Richard Mathews of Henderson, and the grandson of the late Martha Catherine Riggan Mathews of Townsville.