TownTalk 04-06-21; Easter and The Next 3 Months and The Pandemic
TownTalk Broadcast Audio 4-6-21.
TownTalk 04-01-21 Powerful Tools For Caregivers Classes
Family members who find themselves caring for a loved one – especially those caring for someone with a chronic health condition – often need to find ways to cope with the stress that comes along with the care they give.
A virtual workshop called Powerful Tools for Caregivers, sponsored by the Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Governments, is designed especially to show caregivers how to care for themselves, according to Susan Tucker, evidence-based health care coordinator for Kerr-Tar COG. She and Austin Caton, family caregiver support specialist, spoke with John C. Rose on Thursday’s Town Talk about the workshop and some suggestions and strategies it offers.
The first of the 6-session workshops will be on Tuesday, April 20, from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. A second 6-session workshop begins on Tuesday, May 6, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Contact Tucker at 252.436.2040 to learn more or sign up for the class.
It’s different if you’re caring for someone with the flu or a broken leg, which are short-term conditions – there’s an end in sight. The flu will run its course, the broken leg will mend. But someone caring for a family member – unusually unpaid – must deal with extra challenges.
Tucker said the workshop is for “anyone who is providing care for a chronically ill loved one. No matter how that takes shape – whether it’s a child caring for an aging parent or whether it’s a parent caring for their disabled child.” She said many family members often provide unpaid care, and this workshop will offer strategies that support the well-being – physical and mental – of the person who provides the care.
For complete details and audio click play.
Caton said previous participants have appreciated learning techniques to reduce stress and anxiety, as well as learning about how caregiving stresses the body.
“One of the unique things about this program is geared toward the caregiver, but it’s not just a checklist,” he said. Participants receive concrete strategies to implement to “alleviate some of these symptoms, both physically and mentally.”
As a caregiver herself, Tucker said the class was recommended to her. She completed the class and said she was eager to share it with others who found themselves in a similar situation. All caregivers get overwhelmed at one point or another, she said, and that’s when they reach out for help. “Don’t wait until you’re at the end of your rope,” she said. The Powerful Tools class can help prevent that from happening, she said. “It’s not just the what to do, it’s the how to do it.”
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Caton would visit homes, conduct assessments and provide support to caregivers who had questions about everything from dementia support groups and mobility issues to navigating Medicaid and locating other resources to help the family member being cared for.
But there is little information about just exactly how a caregiver is supposed to take care of himself or herself, Tucker said. This class will guide participants through the process of learning how to provide self-care while being a caregiver to someone else.
“This class is about you, caregivers. It’s not about what you have to do, it’s not about the person you’re caring for, it’s all about you. There aren’t many things out there for us caregivers that feel that way, but this one feels that way because it IS that way,” Tucker said.
TownTalk 3-31-21: Happy Easter!
Happy Easter!
Please enjoy today’s TownTalk broadcast audio.
“The Hope of Easter” Billy Graham Radio Special
“The Hope of Easter,” a Billy Graham Radio Special and production of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, aired Tuesday, April 30, 2021 at 11 a.m. on WIZS.
The program will air again on WIZS 1450 AM / 100.1 FM on Easter Sunday at 4:30 p.m.
If you would like to listen online, the audio is available at billygrahamradio.org and click on Billy Graham Audio Archives. Search for “Mars Hill” and “Words from the Risen Christ.”
Radio minutes produced by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association appear on WIZS M-F between 5:30 and 6 p.m.
If you would like to talk and pray, call 888 388 2683.
Or visit findpeacewithgod.net for daily updates.
Search for Billy Graham Evangelistic Association on Facebook.
TownTalk 03-29-21; Pastor Frank Sossamon Retiring from SHPHC
The Rev. Frank Sossamon knows precisely where he was on the last Sunday of June, 1985. He was preaching his first sermon as pastor of South Henderson Pentecostal Holiness Church. This Sunday – Easter Sunday – he will preach his final sermon as senior pastor to a congregation he has served for almost 36 years.
He may be retiring from the pulpit, but Sossamon is not planning on slowing down any time soon. He reflected on his tenure at South Henderson on Town Talk Monday, and talked with John C. Rose about his plans for the future.
His son John F. Sossamon II runs Sossamon Funeral Home in Henderson and Sossamon said he looked forward to working more with the funeral home, providing services to help families grieving the loss of a loved one, “not just at the time, but throughout the duration of their difficulty,” he said.
Being able to work with his son will be very rewarding, Sossamon said. He said he would be available to offer grief counseling through the funeral home services. “We’re not just in the business of burying the dead,” he said, adding that he wants families to know that they will be supported before, during and after a loved one has died. “We want to help you through your time of grief and sorrow…help you through a hard and tough situation.”
He and his wife, Vickie, also plan to do some traveling and it was important to him to be able to retire in good health to be able to travel. He’ll be 67 in October, which he admits is “not old, but it’s still retirement age.” He said he’s seen others keep pushing back retirement dates over and over and then not be healthy enough to enjoy their time once they are retired.
Sossamon said it’s also healthy for the church to have new leadership. “It’s a good time…to have a change of leadership after almost 36 years,” he said, “someone else to create vision and direction and move the church to even a higher level of ministry and productivity in the community.”
A new pastor certainly will have big shoes to fill. Sossamon said there already is a pastoral search committee in place to work with the church conference to receive and review resumes of prospective pastors. This committee will interview candidates, then select one to preach a trial sermon, after which the candidate will be introduced to the congregation.
Then comes a vote to determine whether to call the candidate as the new pastor.
Sossamon spent eight years as a pastor in Marion, NC before he came to Henderson. Since his arrival, he has been involved in local activities and the church has presented musical programs which proved to be very popular in the larger community. He said he would be happy to keep a relationship with the church and its new pastor to be engaged and involved however he’s asked.
He said he may always be seen first as a pastor, and that’s ok. “I want to be Frank Sossamon all the time,” he said. He may encounter someone in the grocery store who needs to discuss an issue with him, he said. “I really cannot fully get away from being a pastor and I don’t mind talking to individuals during those times.”
One very rewarding aspect of being a pastor at one church for so long is seeing youngsters grow and develop in their faith and ultimately assume leadership roles in the church, Sossamon said.
The congregation celebrated Sossamon on Sunday during the morning service and again in the evening in a show of appreciation. He said he was glad to be the preacher at Sunday’s service. Easter Sunday “is such a monumental Sunday at the church – at all Christian churches,” Sossaman explained. This year, however, the first Sunday in April will be remembered not only as Easter Sunday, but also the day Sossamon delivered his “farewell” sermon.
TownTalk with Frank Sossamon Broadcast Audio
TownTalk 03-25-21 Covid Vaccinations For First Responders
Thank you for listening to WIZS Radio, Your Community Voice!
Continued discussion about covid vaccine availability to first responders such as EMS, Fire, Police, Deputies and Highway Patrol.
TownTalk Broadcast for 3-25-21.
Covid Vaccine – Who and What Decides the “Law” of Who Gets It and When
There is little doubt that the response to COVID-19 has changed dramatically since the global pandemic was first declared more than a year ago. Information about vaccine availability in North Carolina and groups currently eligible to get a vaccine are hot topics of conversation. The NC Department of Health and Human Services and local public health officials are continually updating information to keep the community informed.
But many people, including local law enforcement officials, have expressed frustration about just how and when those vaccines are distributed and being given.
Since the first vaccines were administered, there have been shifts in groups and phases eligible to get the vaccine. For instance, Phase 1b originally included people 75 years old or older. In mid-January, however, that age was amended to include those 65 years or older; the Centers for Disease Control recommended that first responders be included among the first wave of vaccinations; North Carolina determined that first responders would fall into a lower priority category.
3-24-21 TownTalk Broadcast Audio
Granville-Vance Public Health Director Lisa Harrison said because North Carolina placed first responders in Group 3, law enforcement officers “were officially only allowed to access the vaccine” since March 3. North Carolina moved to Group 3 for Frontline Essential Workers that includes childcare and PreK-12 school workers on Feb. 24, she said. “But truthfully, we started with first responders and kept rolling with them as much as possible, since there was mixed interest among those in Groups 1 and 2. Those who came to us for vaccine were not turned away,” Harrison noted.
Henderson Police Chief Marcus Barrow said his department got information in December regarding the shot that later was taken back. “Back in December, they had an entirely different play book,” Barrow told WIZS Wednesday. “The day after three of us got our first shot they changed it and moved all law enforcement further down,” he said. Fire and EMS personnel remained in the higher priority group and got their shots, he said, but “I had to scrounge and get my personnel first in where I could with leftovers.”
Barrow was quick to add that he was not being critical of local health officials. “The director has bent over backwards to help us get everyone in,” he said. “It was just how the state of North Carolina decided to place us.”
Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame told WIZS News by phone that “a large percentage of deputies and jail personnel” have been vaccinated. He said that “by working at some of the sites” of vaccination, his personnel were able to get in line when no one else was present to receive the shot and yet a few doses remained.
Jeff Rowan, first sergeant for NC Highway Patrol Troop C, District 4, said Wednesday that he followed a process to inform his personnel about the vaccine. His role was “to reach out to…personnel and find out who wanted to be vaccinated,” Rowan told WIZS News. His district includes Vance, Franklin and Warren counties, so he sent troopers’ names to the emergency management services agency in the troopers’ home counties. “Once I did that, that county would reach out to that…trooper” to set up a time to get vaccinated. “My understanding was we were in phase 2, so that wouldn’t happen until phase 1 was complete,” he said. “As of today, anyone who wanted a vaccination in this district is vaccinated,” Rowan added.
The plan to begin vaccinating Phase 1a – those health care workers and others most at risk for severe disease or death from COVID-19 – started in mid-December 2020 in North Carolina. People in Phase 1b would follow, and the groups would continue to be eligible based on certain criteria such as age, co-morbidity and places of employment. The state further defined its vaccination strategy after people from neighboring states were driving over the border to North Carolina to get their shots. People crossed county lines to get vaccinated, which also added to frustration among those who were waiting to get their shot.
“The state clarified in January that the health care workers and first responders eligible for vaccine in Group 1 needed to be COVID-19 patient-facing,” Harrison explained. That meant that EMS workers transporting sick or symptomatic patients, as well as ICU and Emergency Department workers would have priority to get the vaccine. Also, those giving the shots in large clinic settings would have priority, she said. Soon after, those in long-term care facilities and staff who had been working outbreaks with the most severe illness and death would be eligible.
At first, demand far exceeded vaccine supply, but now that trend has subsided in some counties and state news outlets have reported leftover vaccine as a result of low turnout at previous vaccination sites. Now that demand seems to be tapering off and counties’ vaccination rates rise, state officials are changing course and focusing on putting more vaccine doses in areas with lower percentage of vaccination rates.
Harrison said the health department routinely gives 2,500 shots – either first or second doses – in the two counties each week. But the first shipment received in Granville County on Dec. 22, 2020 only had 100 doses of the Moderna vaccine, she said. Appointment slots were filled as quickly as they opened up, fueling frustration in the community.
As more doses began to come in, Harrison said, the easier it was to open up a little earlier to different groups. “In our two counties, the population size and the number of providers vaccinating has allowed us to move slightly ahead of the curve and include those who needed vaccine – including dentists and first responders, beyond just those who were patient-facing, but it’s all very hard,” she said.
“We are all first responders,” said Sheriff Brame. “We just have different titles, but I’m not going to complain.” He said, “We followed the orders that came from above … I’ve always been a fighter for law enforcement, so don’t count us out.”
Harrison said Tiffanie Boone, GVPH immunization nurse, has always prioritized and included first responders in the health department vaccine program.
“It is very sad and disappointing we couldn’t get to everyone faster and prevent more severe illness and death,” Harrison said. “I agree that’s why vaccine is so very important and I appreciate those who help others understand that vaccines save lives.”
According to the NCDHHS website, North Carolina is currently vaccinating people in Groups 1, 2, 3 and 4: High-Risk Conditions and Additional Congregate Settings.
Learn more at YourSpotYourShot.nc.gov.
TownTalk 03-23-21: H-V Chamber Advances will help with Human Resources
The newly formed Human Resources Council, a program of the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce, will have its first meeting on Thursday, Mar. 25 at 1 p.m. There’s still time to register to participate in the virtual meeting, according to Chamber President Michele Burgess.
Burgess said the council, which falls under the chamber’s business growth and development division, will bring together human resources professionals from a variety of businesses and industry to network, problem-solve and share ideas. The council will meet monthly, she said, and will feature guest speakers.
The purpose of the council is “to help our members grow and to help them solve problems that they’re losing sleep over at night,” Burgess told John C. Rose on Tuesday’s Town Talk. Until the group can gather in person again – which Burgess hopes it will be able to do by the fall – virtual meetings can help connect area human resources professionals to one another. And this, she said, will build relationships as well as a network for sharing ideas and helping solve HR problems.
One of the challenges that businesses, both large and small, face in the Vance County area is finding employees to fill job openings, Burgess said. These days, besides asking for information about COVID-19 related loans and grants, the Chamber fields calls from companies wondering how and where to find good employees. “That’s really how the whole human resources council came to be,” she said. “It really started even before COVID,” she said, adding that she hopes through strengthening relationships with the public school system and VGCC, the talent pool and workforce development can improve for area business and industry.
Thursday’s speaker is Cherrelle Lawrence, dean of corporate learning and professional development at Vance-Granville Community College. The topic is “Investing in Talent.” Lawrence, who also serves as dean of VGCC’s Franklin campus, will kick off the council gathering with an overview of topics related to human resources. “I’m excited for my business members to hear her,” Burgess said. “She is really dynamic and full of energy!”
TownTalk Podcast with Michele Burgess.
The HR Council will serve to inform human resource officers and managers in local businesses about innovative programs including specific training, apprenticeships and internships offered in the community, she said. “We like being involved,” Burgess said of the Chamber, “but we also like to share with our other partners like VGCC’s Small Business Center, local economic development commission and other entities that attract new business.
“We feel like the workforce issue is very important at this particular time,” Burgess continued. “We want to keep our local businesses here and operating (and) workforce pool is key to that,” she said. “We realize (at the Chamber) that we can’t do everything. But getting people employed and helping our industry” is a top priority.
The Chamber’s business growth and development division is co-chaired Chamber members by Brian Williams, account manager at Temperature Control Solutions, and Stephanie Hoyle, broker associate with Century 21 Country Knolls Realty.
To learn more or to register for the Thursday meeting, email michele@hendersonvance.org or call 252.438.8414.
TownTalk 03-22-21 William Landis, Small Farms Week
Small farmers make up about 80 percent of farmers in this area and provide the community with delicious produce and pasture-raised meats that consumers can find at local farmers’ markets. But small-scale farmers are not necessarily trying to compete with, or become, large-scale farmers, according to William Landis with Franklin County Extension Service. He told John C. Rose on Monday’s Town Talk that small farmers who can find a niche product or a niche market can position themselves to be successful.
Landis is the small farms agent for Franklin and Warren counties. Part of his job is to help small farmers with resources to become as efficient and productive as possible. These days, with so much information available via the internet, it may be challenging for producers to make choices about how and what to grow on their farms.
“Come to us,” Landis said of cooperative extension services. “Bounce what you’ve heard off your local extension agent. We’re here to help you out,” he said. Many small farmers around here, he said, have full-time jobs off the farm and do their farm work when they get off work.
March 21-27 is Small Farms Week in North Carolina, thanks to the Cooperative Extension program at N.C. A&T State University. And a Franklin County farmer is in the running for Small Farmer of the Year.
Mike and Suzanne Jones run MAE Farm and they market their pasture-raised meats at the State Farmers Market. Jones has been a farmer since the early 2000’s, long before Landis became an extension agent. “It’s good to see that he’s finally getting recognized,” he said.
The winner will be announced on Mar. 24 during the virtual Small Farms conference.
Small Farms Week TownTalk Podcast
Selection criteria include how small farmers are engaged in the community, as well as innovative practices that are used on the farm, Landis said. Jones is involved with the local Farm Bureau and uses innovative pasture management practices like silvopasture – letting animals graze in forested areas – and rotational grazing of multiple species.
Landis said a small farm is one that has less than $250,000 a year in income. Advances in technology, from tractors with built-in GPS systems to the use of drones, have been helpful additions for producers. Other types of technology – like phone apps – are also being used to help boost the agritourism industry, Landis said. One such app is called Visit NC Farms. Producers load information about their farm and it’s accessible via the app. Agritourism is a growing trend and has helped small farmers weather the COVID-19 pandemic. Other online tools like MeatSuite can help consumers find locally sourced meats in their area, he added.
Franklin County, he said, is situated in a perfect spot to respond to the huge Raleigh-Durham market. “Within 30 minutes, you can be in Raleigh and deliver your product,” he said. The Raleigh-Durham market is one of the largest markets in the U.S., he said. Responding to the needs and wants of a market that size is what can put a small farmer on the road to success.
Right now, the Franklin County Farmers Market is located near the Carly C’s on Bickett Boulevard in Louisburg. It currently operates under a shelter on Fridays from 9 to noon, but Landis said there is some movement afoot to create a closed-in market.
TownTalk 03-18-21: Vance County Comprehensive Architectural Survey to be Conducted
Local history buffs, take note: Vance County is one of six counties chosen to have a comprehensive architectural survey conducted over the next couple of years. A state historic preservation expert was on Town Talk Thursday to discuss the project with Bill Harris and Mark Pace.
Elizabeth King, architectural survey coordinator with the NC Department of Cultural Resources, said the next step – after selecting field workers – will be to have a “scoping phase” which could start as early as this summer. This phase should take about six months and includes examining the 300-plus properties already identified in Vance County, most of which are in Henderson. The second phase involves conducting a complete evaluation of rural Vance County, including Kittrell and Middleburg, she said. Then the final phase, which should start in early 2023, will take a thorough look at yet-to-be-identified properties in Henderson.
King said this project is “long, long overdue” for Vance County. The project is scheduled to be completed by late 2023.
The most recent architectural survey was conducted in 1974 and was meant to be merely an information-gathering project rather than a comprehensive record of buildings and places with historical significance, she said.
Back in 1966, Congress passed the National Historic Preservation Act, whose mission was to create a national inventory of historic buildings and historic places, King noted.
As coordinator of the survey in her role with the State Historic Preservation Office, she said she is “standing on the shoulders of giants” because North Carolina is recognized for having one of the best architectural survey programs in the nation.
Click play for 3-18-21 TownTalk broadcast.
In the early 1970’s, young people, many fresh out of college, were hired to do a county-by-county inventory of historic buildings, King said. They interviewed residents in the communities and created a record of historic places that were beginning to disappear from the landscape and from people’s memories. “These young surveyors were going out and capturing local history from some of the last people who were living that agrarian lifestyle,” she said of the work done back then.
The migration from rural to city life after World War II, as well as the creation of Kerr Lake in the 1950’s are a couple of factors that contribute to fading memories and disappearing buildings that could be considered architecturally and historically significant.
King said she and her colleagues in the historical preservation field use “the 50-year rule” when talking about historical significance of buildings and places. This year, a building built in 1971 could be considered as having historical significance, she explained. “But it may not be ‘historic’ with a Capital H,” she said. “We have to continually be moving that needle to be capturing younger aspects of our history,” King added.
What makes or breaks projects such as the survey is local involvement, King said. “We want to raise awareness at a local level of what is special and regionally unique” to the area, she said. A public meeting will be held closer to the beginning of the field work phase to exchange information with the community. King said the project will certainly have a technical component to collect information such as window patterns, roof lines and the like, but another component is “to listen and absorb” information from the community.
And rest assured, she said, that nobody associated with the survey will visit a property without permission. “We do not trespass. If we aren’t invited on someone’s property, we will attempt to make contact,” she said, adding that all workers would be clearly identified and will carry business cards and official letters stating the purpose of their visit.
To learn more, contact King at elizabeth.king@ncdcr.gov or 919.814.6580.