Not only has it been cold, but multiple days ahead at the start of the new year are forecast with daytime high temperatures below freezing. High temps Monday and Tuesday may not crest the freezing mark with lows in the teens, and the extreme cold can break plumbing lines.
Exposed water and sewer lines and improperly installed lines that don’t drain properly along with well pumps and garden hose spigots are at risk among other things.
Larry Satterwhite, owner/plumber of RK&B Plumbing in Henderson, said a big thing folks fail to do is unscrew the garden hose from outside spigots. As water freezes in the exposed hose it transfers the cold back into the spigot and into the pipe which can then freeze. Depending on your spigot type, water can go everywhere.
Photo by Larry Satterwhite. He recently replaced an above ground sewer pipe that froze and cracked because it was originally installed with an improper fall.
Satterwhite said even frost-free outdoor fixtures are at risk if the hose is not disconnected because the water is unable to drain from the buffer portion of the spigot. On a frost-free spigot, the water actually cuts off 8-12 inches back from the handle, but if the water can’t drain and freezes, then the next time the water is turned on the tubing will leak. “If a garden hose is attached and water in it is already frozen, the draining can’t occur and every spring when you go to water your plants, you will see water shooting down the bricks on the inside foundation or out by the spigot hole,” he said.
As far as other water and sewer lines, Satterwhite said, “As long as direct air doesn’t get to it, it usually has to be about three or four days of below freezing, and the key is daytime doesn’t get above freezing. When day and night stays below freezing, it’s trouble.”
Make sure if you have a well house that the well pump and lines are covered, shielded from the wind and remember that a single 100 watt light bulb inside the well house works wonders at preventing a freeze.
(RK&B Plumbing is an advertising client of WIZS. This is a news article and not an advertisement.)
Extreme Cold Can Break Plumbing Lines
/by John C. RoseNot only has it been cold, but multiple days ahead at the start of the new year are forecast with daytime high temperatures below freezing. High temps Monday and Tuesday may not crest the freezing mark with lows in the teens, and the extreme cold can break plumbing lines.
Exposed water and sewer lines and improperly installed lines that don’t drain properly along with well pumps and garden hose spigots are at risk among other things.
Larry Satterwhite, owner/plumber of RK&B Plumbing in Henderson, said a big thing folks fail to do is unscrew the garden hose from outside spigots. As water freezes in the exposed hose it transfers the cold back into the spigot and into the pipe which can then freeze. Depending on your spigot type, water can go everywhere.
Photo by Larry Satterwhite. He recently replaced an above ground sewer pipe that froze and cracked because it was originally installed with an improper fall.
Satterwhite said even frost-free outdoor fixtures are at risk if the hose is not disconnected because the water is unable to drain from the buffer portion of the spigot. On a frost-free spigot, the water actually cuts off 8-12 inches back from the handle, but if the water can’t drain and freezes, then the next time the water is turned on the tubing will leak. “If a garden hose is attached and water in it is already frozen, the draining can’t occur and every spring when you go to water your plants, you will see water shooting down the bricks on the inside foundation or out by the spigot hole,” he said.
As far as other water and sewer lines, Satterwhite said, “As long as direct air doesn’t get to it, it usually has to be about three or four days of below freezing, and the key is daytime doesn’t get above freezing. When day and night stays below freezing, it’s trouble.”
Make sure if you have a well house that the well pump and lines are covered, shielded from the wind and remember that a single 100 watt light bulb inside the well house works wonders at preventing a freeze.
(RK&B Plumbing is an advertising client of WIZS. This is a news article and not an advertisement.)
Vance County Commissioners’ Properties Committee Meeting Tues, Jan 2
/by WIZS StaffKelly Grissom, Executive Assistant and Clerk to Board, notified local press that “the County’s Properties Committee (Brummitt, Taylor, Wilder) is scheduled to meet Tuesday, January 2, 2018 at 3:30 p.m. in the administrative conference room. Topics to be discussed include the DSS Feasibility Study, demolition of Abagayle’s Books building, and REO property offers.”
The meeting is open to all commissioners and to the public.
Animals Need Your Care
/by John C. RoseWhen it’s this cold outside, animals need your care no matter where you live. Bedding, water and shelter from the wind are critical.
Vance County Chief Animal Control Officer, Frankie Nobles, told WIZS, “The key thing is keeping shavings in the dog houses or blankets. One thing about blankets is blankets get wet, then they do get cold, so make sure you change them our regularly if you’re going to have a blanket. Make sure you keep fresh water to the animals. This time of year, of course, it’s going to freeze. Get that ice out and get them some fresh water.”
Nobles said stray animals that are out all the time tend to be “street smart” in that they know where to find shelter. Domestic animals are dependent on their owners. He said, “The wind is the biggest thing that hurts them. If that wind is blowing, if they can get somewhere where they can keep it blocked off, they can pretty well survive, but that wind really gets them.”
Animals at the Vance County Animal Shelter need supplies and care too, and despite the shelter being a new and warm facility, it is full of dogs at this time. Nobles said, “Well, right now we are at capacity with the dog situation pretty much — big dogs, adult dogs you know. What people don’t realize or understand is we have somebody on call 24 hours a day 365 days a year so animals are constantly coming into that shelter no matter if the doors are closed to the public, they’re still coming in. But, this time of year, the community always supports us and we always get donations, so the community is real good about standing behind us this time of year.”
Nobles appeared on WIZS TownTalk on Thursday, Dec 28, 2017 from 11 a.m. until 11:25 a.m., and the full show can be heard by clicking here. He praised the community, individuals and larger organizations here in this area for fantastic support.
Town Talk 12/28/17
/by LarryCooperative Extension with Jean Bell 12/28/17
/by LarryNews 12/28/17
/by LarryTown Talk 12/27/17
/by LarryLive Christmas Tree Disposal
/by John C. RoseIf you tend to leave your decorations up a little past Christmas, be especially careful where a live Christmas tree is involved.
“After 30 days of the tree being cut, you need to be looking to discard it,” Henderson Fire Chief Steve Cordell said. There have been no Christmas tree related fire calls this year in Henderson.
Cordell said, “We recommend 30 days. Most trees are already pushing over 30 days now by the time they’ve been harvested, purchased and put in the homes, and you know by now they can start drying out.”
This is especially true if you’ve already noticed your tree has significantly slowed in absorbing water.
The City of Henderson will collect Christmas trees with regular yard waste. The City’s web page says per ordinance that “yard debris must be free of trash and foreign matter, limbs and branches must be less than four feet in length and tree trunks must be less than 36 inches in height and width.”
Vance County residents wishing to dispose of a tree may use the County’s yard waste facility at the entrance of the old landfill on N.C. 39 North, which is just north of St. Andrews Church Road.
Make sure your tree is cleared of all decorations and lights.
If you find lights with damaged cords, throw those lights away so they won’t pose a risk in the future.
Granville Vance Public Health Reopens Dec 28
/by WIZS StaffGranville Vance Public Health will reopen on Thursday, December 28th. The health department was closed for the Christmas holiday December 25 – 27.
To learn more, visit Granville Vance Public Health online at https://gvph.org
Granville County – 101 Hunt Drive, Oxford – (919) 693-2141
Vance County – 115 Charles Rollins Road, Henderson – (252) 492-7915 phone
Littleton Lions New Year’s Good Luck Brunch
/by WIZS Staff— courtesy The Chamber of Commerce of Warren County | Craig Hahn, Executive Director ~ 252-257-2657 ~ info@warren-chamber.org ~ Facebook
— by Craig Hahn
Littleton Lions Club will be hosting their annual New Year’s Day Black-eyed Peas & Hog Jowls Brunch, on Monday, January 1st from 11 – 2 p.m., at the Lions Den, 103 Ransom St, Littleton, NC 27850 – located on the west end of town on the corner of Hwy 158 & Ransom St.
Eat In or Take Out. $8 per plate, $4 for children, includes black-eyed peas with hog jowls, Sally’s famous cornbread, collards, stewed tomatoes, cookies, ice tea & coffee.
Proceeds will be used to aid the visually impaired and for other community service projects.
If you have unneeded eye glasses at your home, please bring them to the brunch. As a worldwide project, Lions clubs collect over 4 million eye glasses per year. They are cleaned, graded, repaired and provided free to people who need them.
Also, if you have unneeded hearing aids and empty printer ink cartridges, bring those to the brunch as well because they get recycled too.
Bring a friend, visit with your neighbors and enjoy the meal while the Littleton Lions club does the cooking and cleaning up.
Thank you for helping the Littleton Lions Club to help others. For further information contact (252) 586-5959.