Henderson Tobacco Warehouse

The Local Skinny! Painting The Town

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Groups of volunteers will be gathering at several city intersections later this week to create decorative crosswalks as downtown revitalization continues.

More volunteers are welcome to participate Wednesday through Saturday, and they should come prepared to get a little bit messy, according to Alexandra Green, vice president and director of operations of Acquest. Acquest joins co-sponsors Henderson Tobacco Warehouse, Vance County Arts and the City of Henderson to bring the project – funded by an AARP Community Challenge grant – to the downtown area.

Green told Bill Harris on Monday’s The Local Skinny!  that volunteers of any age or ability are needed – no artistic talent is required. “Come join us and have some fun,” she said. Volunteers will find themselves painting state symbols like honeybees and dogwood flowers, as well as “giant piano keys” as a nod to Henderson’s contributions to the music scene.

Acquest is based in Baltimore, MD and is currently tackling revitalization efforts of the 87,000-square-foot historic tobacco warehouse on Zene Street, which is within walking distance of downtown.

On Wednesday, volunteers will be painting the crosswalk from 12 noon to 5 p.m. on Zene Street, at Turner and Winder streets.

Thursday’s target is College Street at Montgomery and Arch streets, also from 12 noon to 5 p.m.

The volunteers move to the crosswalk at Zene and Montgomery on Friday – 12 noon to 5 p.m.

The final crosswalk will be created on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Breckenridge and Wyche streets, near McGregor Hall.

Green said the streets will be blocked off during the times that the volunteers will be painting.

Acquest will provide water bottles and snacks for all the crosswalk projects. Volunteers are not required to wear masks, but they should feel free to bring masks if you prefer, given that volunteers may be close to one another during the project.

It’s all part of an overarching plan tcalled the art and heritage walk project that highlights existing art and new creations. Green said it’s just one way to “encourage visitors and locals alike to explore the different areas and historic neighborhoods around downtown with a guided walking experience.

Visit https://facebook.com/events/s/paint-hendersons-streets/523988272450230/ to stay updated on details for the week.

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Smart Start

The Local Skinny! Week Of The Young Child Apr. 4-8

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FGV Smart Start will celebrate the Week of the Young Child next week with a bevy of activities for families to participate in. The purpose is to focus on the needs of young children and their families and identifying the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs, according to FGV Smart Start Programs Director Garry Daeke.

The week’s activities commence on Monday when FGV staff will “plant” a pinwheel garden at 125 Charles Rollins Rd., Henderson, in observance of Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Two Franklin County-based dental practices – Louisburg Family Dentistry and Kindred Oaks Dentistry will offer free dental screenings for children under 5 years; Drake Dentistry and Granville Family Dentistry will visit daycares in Granville County on Friday, April 8 to perform free screenings as well.

On Tuesday, FGV Smart Start will sponsor a drive-thru event to enroll children in the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program, which delivers books each month to children who sign up. The Tuesday event will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. A second drive-thru signup will take place beside Auto Zone on Dabney Drive on Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. FGV will partner with Perry Memorial Library to host this drive-thru event to sign up for the Imagination Library. Drive-thru participants will receive a bag of materials and information about available services for children, as well as a book for their child.

The Working on Wellness Coalition will join FGV in visiting area daycares on Wednesday, Apr. 6 to share healthy snacks and to participate in outdoor activities with the children. Participating daycares are Little Explorers Academy, Oxford; Great Beginnings, Henderson; St. Paul’s Presbyterian Day Care, Louisburg; and Franklinton United Methodist Church Child Care, Franklinton.

FGV will celebrate Family Friday with a focus on family engagement. Tag FGV on social media by sending photos of you and your child reading or playing to #WOYC2022.

 

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Aycock Elementary Yard Sale to Benefit Kids

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There will be a yard sale to benefit youngsters this Saturday at Aycock Elementary School on Carey Chapel Road.  Assistant Principal Donald “DJ” Johnson told WIZS the yard sale will start at 8 a.m. and continue until noon on Saturday.  He said the school is working on a project for the “Young Sprouts” at the school and sprucing up an outdoor learning space in the courtyard of the school to make it more welcoming for the kids.  Johnson said the yard sale will take place in front of the school Saturday from 8 a.m. until noon and that vendors have told him they are bringing a lot of clothes and things for the household.  He also said some of the participating families are bringing yard equipment, and he mentioned jewelry as well.

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Home And Garden Show 03-30-22

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

  • Check moisture level of garden soil before tilling that soil
  • Check your fruits trees for cold damage
  • Vegetables you can now plant: Arugula,asparagus,Snap beans,beets,broccoli,cabbage,kale,leeks,bulb onions, irish potatoes,turnips.
  • If fruit has started to form start your fruit spray program
  • Purchase healthy transplants, good color, not pot bound

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The Local Skinny! Around Old Granville: Cemeteries

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Whether they are small family plots or large city-owned and maintained properties, cemeteries can reveal a lot about an area’s history and its beginnings. In the Around Old Granville segment of The Local Skinny! Tuesday, Bill Harris and Mark Pace discussed a few prominent cemeteries in the Vance County area, some of which have graves that date back to before the late 1800’s.

But Pace said the oldest known graves are probably in a private cemetery on an estate near Williamsboro called Montpelier. There are graves there from the late 1700’s, he said, as well as at Ashland, the site of the original Henderson family cemetery.

Two of the larger and older cemeteries in Henderson are Blacknall and Elmwood.

A group of prominent Blacks formed the Union Cemetery Company in 1887 and purchased land from the Blackwell family to create a cemetery for African Americans. But how did Blackwell become Blacknall? Pace supposes that somehow the names became confused – if you’ve ever tried to read old handwritten documents, it stands to reason that someone somewhere simply spelled the name incorrectly, thus creating Blacknall Cemetery.

There are still Reavis family graves located in the middle of Blacknall Cemetery, Pace said, because originally it belong to that family. Those graves date back to the 1860’s and ‘70’s.

“It had gotten in bad shape in the 1970’s and ‘80’s,” Pace said. A consortium of civic groups and the city got together and raised awareness about the cemetery and cleaned it up, and it is still in use today, he added.

Elmwood Cemetery, established in 1879, is located at the end of Breckenridge Street. At that time, the dead were buried either in smaller family cemeteries or in church cemeteries. As the city of Henderson grew, the need for more and bigger cemeteries grew as well. The city bought Elmwood in 1935, and there are a number of graves that were relocated there from other cemeteries. Since then, two other sections have been added to expand the cemetery, Pace said.

 

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The Local Skinny! Jobs In Vance

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The H-V Chamber of Commerce and WIZS, Your Community Voice, present Jobs in Vance for March 29, 2022. The Chamber compiles the information, and it is presented here and on the radio. Contact the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce at 438-8414 or email christa@hendersonvance.org to be included.

Name of the Company: Vance County Department of Social Services

Jobs Available: Full Time Custodian, Business Officer, Child Support Agents, Social Worker, Income Maintenance Case Worker, Processing Assistant, Income Maintenance Supervisor and Staff Development Specialist

Method of Contact: For more information go to the county website at http://www.vancecounty.org

 

Name of the Company: Vance County Sheriff’s Office

Jobs Available: Detention Officers, Senior Maintenance Specialist and Kitchen Worker

Method of Contact: For more information go to the county website at http://www.vancecounty.org

 

Name of the Company:  Henderson-Vance County Chamber of Commerce

Jobs Available:  Administrative Assistant/Bookkeeper.  Full-Time.  Quick Books Accounting, Receptionist Duties, Administrative Support.

Method of Contact:  Send resume to michele@hendersonvance.org or Express Employment Professionals at robin.reed@expresspros.com

 

Name of the Company:  Turning Point Community Development Corporation

Jobs Available:  Group Leader for Children’s Summer Learning Program.  Full-Time, Temporary from June 13-August 5.  Requires an Associate Degree.

Method of Contact:  Send resume to www.turningpointcdc.org/get-involved

 

 Name of the Company:  Perry Memorial Library

Jobs Available:  Library Assistant – part-time

Method of Contact: For more information go to the Vance County website at http://www.vancecounty.org

  

Name of the Company:  Boys & Girls Club of North Central North Carolina

Jobs Available: Chief Operating Officer (COO).  Full-Time, must live in Vance, Franklin, Warren, Granville or Halifax County.  Main office will be in Halifax County but travel to other B&G Clubs will be required.  Bachelors Degree and 3 years operations management required.  $60,000+ starting salary. Full Benefits.

Method of Contact:  Apply online at www.indeed.com or send resume to www.bgcncnc.org

 

Name of the Company: First Baptist Church of Henderson, NC

Jobs Available:  Administrative Assistant.  Full-time. Skills required are communications, publishing, data base management, creativity, general office duties.

Method of Contact: Send resume to fbchurch@fbchenderson.net

Some of these businesses are present or past advertisers of WIZS. Being an ad client is not a condition of being listed or broadcast. This is not a paid ad.

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Granville Vance Public Health Logo

The Local Skinny! Voting On Public Health Assesement Ends March 31st

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Public health professionals have been on the front lines for more than two years during the COVID-19 pandemic. From vaccine clinics to sharing information about community spread, it seemed like Granville Vance Public Health was always working to prevent new cases of the Delta variant, then the more pervasive Omicron.

More than likely, fighting a global pandemic was not one of the top three priorities listed on the most recent GVPH Community Health Assessment. And yet, it quickly became a priority and has remained so over the past couple of years.

GVPH Director Lisa Harrison invites all adults who live in Granville or Vance counties to take a very brief survey as her agency finishes up another community health assessment – a year-long process to identify priorities on which to focus energy and funding. The survey ends Thursday, March 31.

The community health assessment team already has conducted surveys, held focus group sessions and analyzed data trends to generate a list of priority areas for the two counties.

“Please take a moment to look at the top list of priorities that have emerged in this process and vote on your own top ones,” Harrison said in her weekly email update. “We are eager to continue our work in communicable disease prevention and also, in developing programs, interventions, partnerships and services that address our top health priorities in Granville and Vance counties.”

Before you vote, you may want to watch a 12-minute video overview of the data: https://go.unc.edu/GVPriorities-DataSummary

Click here to vote: https://go.unc.edu/GVPriorities2022

GVPH has offices in Henderson, 115 Charles Rollins Rd. behind Maria Parham Health and in Oxford 1032 College St., near Granville Health System.

Visit www.gvph.org to learn more.

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The Local Skinny! Lee Anne Peoples, ACTS

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Area Christians Together in Service (ACTS) had a successful fundraiser Monday which Executive Director Lee Anne Peoples said probably would bring in more than $2,000 for the local agency that provides food to hungry people in Vance County.

“We are excited about it,” Peoples said, referring to the fundraiser held at 220 Seafood. She said the final total isn’t in yet, but 947 have been turned in and she expects the proceeds to be in the $2,000 to $2,500 range. It’s always a good time when you can raise money and have fun in the process, she told John C. Rose on Thursday’s The Local Skinny! segment.

The money raised “turns right around and helps (ACTS) minister to others,” she said. Similar to running a household, there are costs to keeping ACTS open – like paying for electricity and water. Fundraisers like the one held Monday “go a long way toward helping us out,” Peoples said.

The volunteers stay busy during the week with all that is involved in preparing the daily meal distributed between 11 a.m. and noon. “Anybody can come by and get a nice, hot plate of food,” she said.

In addition, food boxes are given out on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Call 252.492.8231 if you need food.

The volunteers help make and distribute the meals, but they also have to clean up and get the food boxes ready, too. Peoples welcomes anyone who would like to stop by for a tour or wants to become a volunteer. “We can always use volunteers, of course,” she said.

Donations are accepted most any time during the week, but if people could avoid dropping off donations when the meals are being distributed, Peoples and the ACTS volunteers would appreciate it.

The 220 fundraiser originally was the only planned fundraiser for this year, but Peoples said she and others are looking at another possible fundraiser – one that would make good use of the commercial kitchen facilities at ACTS.

“We’re looking at possibly doing a spaghetti plate fundraiser,” she said. Stay tuned for more details about that.

Besides monetary donations from individuals, businesses and churches in the area, fundraisers and grants are the chief ways that ACTS gets funded. And grant season is just about in full swing, she said. One grant has been submitted, but several others will be completed as well. “The summer and into early fall really opens up the grant window that we apply for,” she said. “It’s getting to be crunch time as far as those things go,” she said.

Learn more at https://actsofvancecounty.tripod.com or stop by ACTS at 201 S. William St., Henderson.

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Small Farms Week 2022

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Whether you look forward to that first vine-ripened tomato of the season or simply enjoy strolling the aisle at the farmers market to see what is seasonally available, chances are, that produce comes from a local farmer.

And as the bumper sticker says, “If you’ve eaten today, thank a farmer.”

North Carolina celebrates Small Farms Week Mar. 21-26 and local officials joined producers Wednesday in Warren County for a luncheon to celebrate the contributions that small farmers make to their communities.

“We’re blessed in North Carolina,” said Paul McKenzie, N.C. Cooperative Extension ag agent for Vance and Warren counties. McKenzie said North Carolina’s tremendous variety of agricultural products – from apples to blueberries – is topped only by California and Florida for the wide range of crops it can produce.

North Carolina also has a wonderful network of farmers markets that supply consumers with fresh, local produce. Roadside stands – think Ridgeway cantaloupes – also are a critical link in the food-supply chain, he said.

Johnny Coley, N.C. Cooperative Extension agent in Granville and Person counties agreed.

“They may not raise a lot of any one thing,” Coley told WIZS News Wednesday, but add together all their efforts, and it’s what makes the supply chain work.

Most producers sell directly off the farm or in a local farmers market like the Vance Regional Farmers Market. Coley said one local grower is venturing out into the larger grocery chains to market his products.

“It doesn’t take a huge grower to really make an impact,” he said.

Small Farms Week is in its 36th year to spotlight the contributions of small farmers. The weeklong celebration is being held virtually, and there are five satellite sites across the state – Warren County being one site – that will have “watch parties” to allow for large-scale participation. North Carolina A & T State University’s College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences sponsors Small Farms Week.

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The Local Skinny! BBQ Fundraiser Will Benefit Masonic Home In Oxford

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The John H. Mills Masonic Lodge 624 in Epsom is having a barbecue fundraiser coming up on April 2, and Jeremy Hetrick, local lodge secretary, said tickets are on sale now from any lodge member.

Hetrick spoke with John C. Rose and Bill Harris about the upcoming event on Tuesday’s The Local Skinny! One-pound containers of pork barbecue will be ready for pickup at the lodge on Saturday, April 2 between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Tickets are $10. The lodge is located on NC Hwy 39 in Epsom, just across from the fire department.

Proceeds will benefit lodge activities and the Masonic Home for Children in Oxford.

Hetrick is retired from the U.S. Army and currently is commander of the Department of American Legion Division 1. He works full-time at Henderson Collegiate Charter School and also is a member of the Henderson Masonic Lodge.

The Henderson and Epsom lodges are in the same 13th district of the Division 1, which includes a total of 49 lodges from Person County all the way to the Outer Banks and toward the Wilson area, he said.

The Epsom lodge was founded in 1935 by local farmers who decided to name it after a local minister and Mason, who was instrumental in the founding of the orphanage in Oxford.

Hetrick explained that it was Mills who recognized the need for a home for the numerous orphans at the end of the Civil War.

The group is being a little conservative this year with how many pounds of barbecue they’re producing, largely due to the fact that the fundraiser hasn’t been held in a couple of years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re only going to do 500 this year,” Hetrick said, about half the amount as in previous pre-COVID-19 years.

He encourages anyone interested in purchasing a ticket to do so now – there won’t be many left as the April 2 event day nears. Lodge members will oversee the cooking, which will begin by mid-afternoon on Friday. The pork butts will cook all night and then will be chopped and put in containers Saturday morning in time for pickup.

For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Hetrick at 252.204.4742.

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