Town Talk 05/04/20: Kerr Tar Area Agency on Aging ‘Still Here’ for Seniors, Caregivers

/by

100.1 FM ~ 1450 AM ~ WIZS, Your Community Voice ~ Click to LISTEN LOCAL

Kerr-Tar Area Agency on Aging’s Harvey Holmes, family caregiver resource specialist, and Michele Brigandi, aging projects coordinator, appeared on WIZS Town Talk Monday at 11 a.m.

With current COVID-19 social distancing measures in place for the protection of at-risk populations such as the elderly, Holmes and Brigandi said times are difficult for both seniors and their caregivers.

“Social isolation is a huge issue for seniors right now with many programs closed or limited for their safety,” said Brigandi. “Seniors in our area value their time at the Senior Centers engaging in friendships, daily interactions and physical activities.”

Brigandi said she has been impressed with how diligently the Senior Centers in the Kerr-Tar area, which includes Franklin, Granville, Vance, Warren and Person counties, have worked to ensure nutrition programs for seniors continue even while other programs are temporarily suspended.

With in-person congregate meals shifted to home delivery, Brigandi said Senior Center staff and volunteers have risen to meet the challenge of providing nutritious food and necessary hygiene supplies to those isolated in their homes.

“I have talked to staff for the nutrition program and they are seeing first-hand the effect this is having on our seniors,” stated Brigandi. “Depression and boredom are huge; many also suffer from dementia, anxiety and mobility issues. If you have a senior in your life, I encourage you to reach out often – daily, if possible – to check on them.”

With many Senior Centers closed and programs such as adult day care and respite care currently unavailable or limited, caregivers who rely on these services are also feeling overwhelmed.

“A lot of times it’s hard for caregivers to ask for help or admit they need help,” Holmes commented. “Both myself and the Kerr-Tar Area Agency on Aging want to be that rock for caregivers and to assure them that we’re still here. We are still only a phone call or email away.”

Noting a possible stigma with the term “social distancing,” Holmes said he is encouraging the public to view it more as a physical distancing. “Be physically distant instead of socially distant. You can be social and stay connected with others by phone or online,” said Holmes.

Holmes encouraged seniors and caregivers to stay “socially connected” with the Agency on Aging via Facebook, Twitter, or the organization’s website at kerrtarcog.org/departments/aging. You may also call the agency at (252) 436-2040 for additional information or with questions.

2020 Kerr Tar Senior Games

Brigandi, who is also the coordinator for the Kerr Tar Senior Games, clarified that the games have been canceled for 2020. Both athletic events and performing arts activities were originally scheduled for spring 2020.

“We are tentatively planning a celebratory get-together or banquet for the end of September,” Brigandi said. “We want to recognize seniors in the area, offer fellowship and entertainment and recruit participants, hopefully, for next year’s Senior Games.”

To hear the interview with Holmes and Brigandi in its entirety, go to WIZS.com and click on Town Talk.

Vance County Animal Shelter Cleared; All Inhabitants Find Homes

/by

100.1 FM ~ 1450 AM ~ WIZS, Your Community Voice ~ Click to LISTEN LOCAL

Vance County Animal Services Chief Frankie Nobles appeared on WIZS Town Talk Monday at 11 a.m.

Nobles was pleased to announce a first in his over 10 years of service with the Vance County Animal Shelter – a complete clearing by either rescue, fostering or adoption of all animals this past weekend.

“It’s never been completely empty since I’ve been here,” said Nobles. “We are excited. We got every animal to a home, and it was an amazing weekend.”

Nobles said it was a combination of the hard work of shelter staff and volunteer organizations, and fewer animals being taken in during COVID-19 restrictions, that made this possible.

You can listen to the interview here from WIZS Radio.

The shelter is currently responding to emergency calls only, such as injured or aggressive animals, and has used some of the downtime for needed shelter maintenance.

“We’ve worked so hard to get to the point of clearing the shelter. When COVID-19 happened, that was our time to catch up and get ahead of the ballgame. It’s getting to be summertime, and that’s when we see most of our animals coming in,” Nobles said.

Nobles explained such a feat would not be possible without volunteer organizations such as the Ruin Creek Animal Protection Society of Henderson, NC. “We joke around here and call ourselves the dream team just because we are a big team of people that work well together, and it works like a dream.”

To hear the interview with Nobles in its entirety, go to WIZS.com and click on Town Talk.

TownTalk 04/30/20: Shopping Angels Offers Grocery Delivery to Those in Need

/by

100.1 FM ~ 1450 AM ~ WIZS, Your Community Voice ~ Click to LISTEN LOCAL

Scarlette Walker, NC State Coordinator for Shopping Angels, appeared on WIZS Town Talk Thursday at 11 a.m.

Shopping Angels is an entirely volunteer-based program that was founded in mid-March by Jayde Powell, an undergraduate pre-med student at the University of Nevada, Reno.

The premise is simple: volunteers grocery shop for individuals who are especially at-risk for COVID-19 and/or those with other health issues, seniors, parents of young children and those who are self-isolating due to possible COVID-19 exposure. Requested groceries are delivered to the recipient’s home with no additional fees added; all the recipient pays is the price on the grocery receipt.

The program quickly gained global attention, has been featured on national news programs and now includes over 7,000 volunteers.

Walker, a Vance County resident, said she was inspired by Shopping Angels’ spirit of service. “When I heard about it, I was interested in it because I wanted to be able to help my community. I have a heart for the elderly and those shut-in and in need. I see this as an opportunity for me to reach out and help others.”

Volunteers are matched with recipients and will contact them for their grocery list. Wearing a mask and gloves, volunteers will then go grocery shopping, bring the groceries to the recipient’s door, return to their car and call the recipient to let them know their groceries have arrived. This method protects both volunteers and recipients alike and follows social distancing guidelines, said Walker.

Volunteers keep in touch with recipients throughout the process and, upon delivery, recipients exchange cash for their items. Walker stated clients are never expected to pay more than the exact cost of the groceries and volunteers will not ask for gas money, tips or delivery fees.

To make this service a reality in Vance County, both volunteers or “angels” and those requesting service are needed. “If we get volunteers together to get this up and running, we could be ready to go in a few days,” Walker stated.

Walker added, “Right now, Shopping Angels as a whole has more volunteers than people requesting services. We need help in reaching the portion of the community that is shut-in and may not have access to the internet.”

To volunteer, to request service or to become a sponsor, visit www.shoppingangelsglobal.org and complete the appropriate form. For those without computer access, those who need assistance with the forms or with general questions, please contact Walker directly at (252) 226-0131. If Walker is unavailable, please leave a voicemail.

Walker said she can see Shopping Angels becoming a permanent fixture globally and locally. “I think it will continue and there will still be a need for these services long after COVID-19.”

To hear the interview with Walker in its entirety, go to WIZS.com and click on Town Talk.

TownTalk 04/29/20: GVPH ‘Virtual Town Hall’ COVID-19 Session (Audio/Video)

/by

100.1 FM ~ 1450 AM ~ WIZS, Your Community Voice ~ Click to LISTEN LOCAL

Granville Vance Public Health (GVPH) hosted a “Virtual Town Hall” session live via its Facebook page today at 11 a.m.

GVPH Director Lisa Harrison, GVPH Medical Director Dr. Shauna Guthrie and Oxford Mayor Jackie Sergent addressed the on-going COVID-19 epidemic and answered questions that were submitted by the public.

Live for our Virtual Town Hall on COVID-19 in Granville County!

Posted by Granville Vance Public Health on Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Questions the government and health officials addressed in the session included:

Q: Is there mapping available that would show COVID-19 cases by location in the county?

A: That is not currently available because the population in Vance and Granville counties does not have a lot of variability in zip code. The numbers aren’t as high as more populated counties such as Mecklenburg or Wake.

Q: Why is GVPH not sharing the number of COVID-19 tests administered on its website?

A: The number of tests administered continues to increase and is hard to capture. One reason is that there are many providers – private practices, hospitals, health departments and groups in primary care – offering the test. Also, the Electronic Disease Surveillance System does not require labs and physicians to enter negative results, only positive.

Harrison reported that while there is not an official number, more than 500 tests have been administered across Vance and Granville counties.

Q: Will GVPH let us know if we’ve been in contact with someone who has tested positive?

A: It depends on the level of contact. Anytime someone tests positive, GVPH receives an alert. They contact the person who tested positive to see who they’ve been in contact with 2-3 days prior to symptoms starting. The biggest concern is those that have been in close contact with the infected person, either by standing closer than six-feet together for an extended period of time and/or being in a small room together.

People who are deemed at-risk are notified and advised to stay home and quarantine for at least 14 days.

Q: Have those who previously tested positive for COVID-19, and have since been lifted from isolation, been retested?

A: No, they have not been retested. GVPH is following the CDC’s guidelines to determine when a person is no longer contagious. The general rule is a person is considered no longer contagious when it has been at least seven days since testing positive and they’ve had no fever for 72 hours and symptoms have greatly improved.

Q: What can we do to make residents take stay at home and social orders seriously?

A: We need to keep emphasizing that the virus can be spread whether a person has symptoms or not; many are asymptomatic. We also need to be less quick to blame others and examine our own behaviors.

Q: Does our community have enough Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – gowns, masks and gloves?

A: Yes, so far the requests that have been made have been fulfilled. There are also many volunteers in the community providing these supplies and their support is greatly appreciated.

Q: Have residents with COVID-19 at Pelican Health Nursing Home in Henderson been moved to another facility?

A: There are 66 residents and 150 staff (full-time, part-time and contractors) associated with Pelican Health Henderson. All residents and many of the staff were tested within 48 hours of identifying the first positive resident. All the residents who tested positive and are symptomatic have been isolated.

To hear the session in its entirety, including additional Q&A, please watch the video contained in this article, or visit the Granville Vance Public Health Department’s Facebook page (click here).

Click below for TownTalk audio:

 

TownTalk 04/27/20: Restaurant 39 Reopens With Full Menu for Takeout

/by

100.1 FM ~ 1450 AM ~ WIZS, Your Community Voice ~ Click to LISTEN LOCAL

J.R. Stainback, owner of Restaurant 39 in Henderson, appeared on the first segment of WIZS Town Talk Monday at 11 a.m.

Reopening today after a 30-day shutdown, Restaurant 39 will offer its full menu for takeout including vegetable casseroles, chitlins, country fried steak, baby flounder and fried catfish.

 

The restaurant’s hiatus was due mostly to slow sales when COVID-19 restrictions were first put into place. “We tried to do ‘to go’ for two weeks and sales were down 90-percent,” explained Stainback. “I’m hoping, opening back up, that people have gotten a little more use to the situation and how things are operating.”

The restaurant, located at 946 G West Andrews Avenue in the Crossroads Shopping Center, is accepting call ahead or Facebook orders. You may also drive to the restaurant and place your order with an employee in the parking lot.

To place an order by telephone, please call the restaurant’s main line at (252) 572-2661 or the alternate number at (919) 584-2251. The dining area of the restaurant is currently closed to customers, so orders will be brought directly to your car.

Stainback said bottled drinks should be available with takeout orders beginning this Wednesday and to-go menus have been printed and will be handed out to the community.

While he hopes the takeout order route will generate more business this go-around, Stainback said every step of the process has been difficult – from securing needed supplies to overcoming public fears of the virus and food contamination.

According to the CDC, coronaviruses are generally thought to be spread from person-to-person through respiratory droplets. Currently, there is no evidence to support that transmission of COVID-19 is associated with food. For more information on the virus and food safety, please click here.

“This COVID-19 stuff is something I’ve never seen before in all of my years in the restaurant business,” Stainback said. “I’m sure a lot of businesses are suffering, but the restaurant industry is really suffering. I wouldn’t be scared to say that the only ones suffering more than the restaurant business are beauty shops, nail salons and barber shops. It is a really trying time for everyone.”

Stainback said it is the people who have been supporting the restaurant since it opened in 2017 that will get the business through these tough times. “I want to say thank you to everyone in the community, the City of Henderson and the County of Vance. Everyone has been a great supporter of the restaurant since we’ve been here.”

To hear the interview with Stainback in its entirety, go to WIZS.com and click on Town Talk.

(This is not a paid advertisement)

Carolina Panthers – Mick Mixon Audio Interview

/by

The Panthers drafted seven defensive players, and the general reports indicate it was a successful plan, including those from Matt Rhule, the new head coach, and from General Manager Marty Hurney.

Mick Mixon, play by play announcer of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, joined WIZS TownTalk on Monday to discuss the latest NFL draft.

Of the present internal disruption within the Panthers organization, with a new coach, new owner and a lot of player turnover, Mixon spoke also of the present world disruption of covid-19 and said, “You can count on me not to over dramatize athletics…It really doesn’t mean that much when set against the backdrop of nurses and doctors and scientists and healthcare workers and the really essential things in life.

“However, let’s just call this too for what it is.  In the south, football isn’t just what we do.  It’s part of who we are, and it’s part of how we come together.  So, I think we’re kind of starving for a little bit of football.  At least that’s the way it feels to me around Panther Nation, and the draft was great.  Just to be able to have some new Panthers, how about that?  Seven new draft picks, all defensive players.”

With the NFC South loaded with talented quarterbacks like Drew Brees and now Tom Brady, the Panthers’ selections being all defensive, while it was not the plan, indicates the importance of improving the defense now as expressed by the Panthers’ leadership and their draft board.

The NFL logo and the overall organization has to be top 1o in terms of global recognition and branding, but it’s not too big to fail.  Mixon said, “I think what we may need to do is be patient.  I think the NFL needs to not put a stake in the ground (after a successful draft), and say, ‘Boy, thank Goodness that’s over.  Happy days are here again.’  There’s a lot of distancing yet, a lot of work, a lot of sand that needs to sift through the hour glass so to speak, but I know conversations have been held about — What would the world be like with a shortened season?  What would the world be like with games with no fans in the stands.  These are hard pills to swallow.”

The NFL will figure it out, Mixon said, and right now time is on the side of professional football.

Full Interview Audio:

Town Talk Logo

Town Talk 04/23/20: Callers Discuss COVID-19

/by

100.1 FM ~ 1450 AM ~ WIZS, Your Community Voice ~ Click to LISTEN LOCAL

Downtown Henderson

TownTalk 04/22/20: Pearson Discusses Challenging Times, Community Excellence

/by

100.1 FM ~ 1450 AM ~ WIZS, Your Community Voice ~ Click to LISTEN LOCAL

Dr. Stephen Pearson, co-owner and operator of Sadie’s Coffee Corner in downtown Henderson, appeared on WIZS Town Talk Wednesday at 11 a.m.

Pearson, who holds a Doctorate in Business Administration with a specialization in global business organization leadership, addressed the importance of striving for community excellence and discussed business survival in challenging times.

With last week’s opening of the drive-thru portion of the new Starbucks on Dabney Drive, less than a year since Sadie’s fall opening and in the middle of a national shutdown, Pearson and wife Amanda know a thing or two about facing competition.

“Competition makes the entrepreneur reevaluate and come out of some of the complacency that they run into,” Pearson said. “There are ultimately two ways to approach the situation – sit on your hands and say ‘woe is me’ or find a way to move forward.”

Pearson said Sadie’s supportive customers and community partners, combined with his belief that downtown is the “epicenter of the growth in Henderson,” will help ensure the coffee shop’s continued success.

In fact, the Pearsons believe so strongly in the potential of the area that they are investing more money into a downtown location, with completion expected in the next 18 months.

While additional details will be revealed at a later date, Pearson said he could share with the public that the new downtown venture will be “a business incubator, a business accelerator and will include a classical pizza, cheese and wine tasting shop.”

Pearson said he believes these business ventures are adding to the excellence being built in Henderson. “We can build excellence in this community. This is a vibrant, intelligent community with a lot of impassioned people. I’m very excited to be a part of what I see to be a growth spurt in Henderson.”

“People love to build excellence in the past. If you talk to people about Henderson, they’ll say what a bustling, great town this was 20 years ago, 30 years ago,” continued Pearson. “We have to build excellence in the future, but we build excellence by being brilliant in the basics. We have to understand business, we have to understand the economy and we have to understand the needs of the community.”

To hear the interview with Pearson in its entirety, go to WIZS.com and click on Town Talk.

(This is not a paid advertisement)

Town Talk Logo

TownTalk 04/21/20: Registration Open for VGCC’s Fully Online Summer Semester

/by

100.1 FM ~ 1450 AM ~ WIZS, Your Community Voice ~ Click to LISTEN LOCAL

Kali Brown, dean of Student Access and Support at Vance-Granville Community College, appeared on WIZS Town Talk Tuesday at 11 a.m.

Frequently known as the curriculum side of the house, Brown oversees an area that includes Admissions, Career Services, Financial Aid and the Registrar’s Office.

Brown said the main focus of the Student Access and Support Division is connecting students to the college experience. “We help them gain access, whether they want to complete a short-term degree, such as a certificate or a diploma, or they are interested in pursuing an associate degree leading to workforce opportunities or college transfer.”

With over 40 degree, diploma, and certificate programs, Brown said VGCC offers something for everyone. “There are so many opportunities for students. Within a year to a year-and-a-half, a student can complete a credential, move into the workforce and start earning a livable wage.”

While VGCC’s current spring semester wraps up on May 11, registration is open and ongoing for the summer semester, which begins May 16, and the fall semester, which begins August 17. For a list of available classes, please visit the “Class Schedules” section of VGCC’s website or click here.

Following adjustments made in the middle of the spring semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic and state-wide stay-at-home orders, VGCC will offer summer classes in an entirely online format for both current and new students.

Classes typically taught in the summer semester that are unable to be offered online will potentially be offered this fall, depending on the situation, stated Brown.

“Summer is a great opportunity for students to get started, and it’s a great opportunity to take a general education class that they need for their program of study,” Brown said.

Many of VGCC’s curriculum admission processes, including the admission application, Financial Aid application and scholarship application, can be completed online.

While applying online is part of the standard admissions process, Brown said changes have been made to placement testing requirements as a result of stay-at-home orders. Testing requirements have been temporarily waived, with students now required to provide their high school transcript for placement purposes.

For more information on VGCC’s programs, semester dates, class schedules and registration information, please visit www.vgcc.edu.

To hear the interview with Brown in its entirety, go to WIZS.com and click on Town Talk.

Also appearing on TownTalk Tuesday was Hal Muetzel, local owner-operator of Express Employment Professionals.

Town Talk Logo

TownTalk 04/20/20: Local Calls; Stimulus Checks; Facebook; Keep Up Good Spirits

/by

100.1 FM ~ 1450 AM ~ WIZS, Your Community Voice ~ Click to LISTEN LOCAL

Had a lot of fun on TownTalk Monday taking calls, talking about stimulus checks, Facebook and keeping up good spirits.

WIZS Radio broadcasts Town Talk, a locally produced public affairs program, including local phone calls, each Monday through Thursday, except holidays, from 11 a.m. until 11:29 a.m. Town Talk is hosted regularly by John Charles Rose.

TownTalk on Friday is a quiz show, game show, trivia show and contest for prizes from 11 a.m. until 11:55 a.m.