UPDATED July 19, 1:30 p.m.
information from the office of Interim Warren County Manager Crystal Smith
The Virginia Department of Health is lifting portions of the recreational water and fish consumption advisories issued in response to the July 6 chemical storage facility fire in South Hill. The portion of the advisory being lifted is for a section of the Meherrin River that starts at Route 138 (Union Mill Road) flowing Southeast through the Town of Lawrenceville and the City of Emporia to the North Carolina state line.
The advisory is being lifted for this section of river because the presence of chemicals is no longer at levels that pose a health risk, according to information from the office of Interim Warren County Manager Crystal Smith. The concentrations of chemicals in the waterways have diluted due to recent rainfall as it has traveled downstream. Advisories still remain in place for Mountain Creek, Dockery Creek, Roanoke River to Lake Gaston.
For additional updates visit https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/news/2024-regional-news-releases/vdh-lifts-portion-of-recreational-water-fish-consumption-advisories-for-meherrin-river/
Warren County Health Department and Emergency Management are participating in daily briefings with state and local officials from Virginia and North Carolina and will continue to monitor this incident and provide relevant updates as they become available.
information courtesy of Warren County and N.C. Dept. of Environmental Quality
The Warren County Health Department continues to monitor the possible downstream effects of the July 6 fire at a chemical storage facility in South Hill, VA.
The warehouse held a large quantity of agricultural chemicals, and runoff from the firefighting efforts has entered several water systems in southern Virginia, including the Meherrin River from its confluence with Mountain Creek, and the Miles and Dockery Creeks, upstream of the Roanoke River.
At this time, there is no immediate danger to the North Carolina public or to those near Lake Gaston. There is no timeline, however, on when – or if – contaminants will reach Lake Gaston or North Carolina in measurable concentrations.
The Virginia Department of Health has issued a recreational swimming and fish consumption advisory until further notice for surface waters, including the Meherrin and Roanoke rivers, that extend to the North Carolina-Virginia border and local health officials have been in contact with the appropriate local, North Carolina and Virginia authorities monitoring the progress of this event for any potential impact to Warren County, according to information from the office of Interim County Manager Crystal Smith.
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and Virginia Department of Environmental Quality are testing the affected waterways routinely and reporting those results to WCHD and partner agencies, Smith said in a press release.
Virginia DEQ reports that the chemical plume is moving slowly, and that as of July 15, 2024, there is no indication that the chemical plume has made its way to Lake Gaston or any other waterway in Warren County.
The N.C. Dept. of Health and Human Services has recommended that local health departments in the impacted areas issue recreational water advisories mirroring those in Virginia. The need for and timing of those advisories will depend on available data. NCDEQ is monitoring for potential impacts, staff plan to conduct additional water sampling once the wastewaters are believed to reach North Carolina waterbodies. If you discover any water sheens, odors, discolored vegetation or dead wildlife in the potentially impacted areas, please contact your NCDEQ regional office, or call 1.877.623.6748. Fish kill activity can also be reported on the NCDEQ website.
NCDHHS is working with officials in Virginia to determine what the potential health impacts could be from this incident. This information will inform any future protective actions that may be needed in North Carolina.
The NC DHHS Communicable Disease Branch has begun syndromic surveillance of Warren, Halifax, and Northampton County hospitals. This effort, mirroring Virginia’s Department of Health, is focusing on tracking symptoms including eye and skin irritation, allergic skin reactions, drowsiness or dizziness, respiratory irritation, nausea, and loss of consciousness reported in emergency departments.
Anyone who has been in the affected waterways and is experiencing these symptoms is asked to seek medical care and notify their practitioners of the waterbody exposure.
If you notice any plumes, sheens or fish kills in these waterways avoid contact with these waters and report these conditions to 1.877.623.6748.
Warren County Health Department will continue to update citizens as the incident progresses.
For more information related to the incident, please visit www.deq.virginia.gov.
Fish consumption and recreation advisories have been issued for Dockery Creek and Miles Creek to its confluence with the Roanoke River and Lake Gaston, as well as the Meherrin River to the North Carolina state line.
North Carolina updates will be posted to a NCDEQ website located here.
VADEQ has established a website with information on their response located on their website here.
Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland: Thinning Pines.
/by Bill HarrisListen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.
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Donate Children’s Books To Contribute To 2024 Leadership Vance Class Project
/by WIZS StaffThe 2024 Leadership Vance class invites the community to pitch in to help make their class project a success by donating children’s books that will be used to stock “Little Library” boxes at Fox Pond Park.
Please donate new or gently used children’s books and drop them off at any of several locations across Henderson, according to information from Tanya Wilson with the Henderson-Vance County Chamber of Commerce.
Donation boxes can be found at Fire Station #1 on Dabney Drive, City Hall, 134 Rose Ave. or the Chamber office, 414 S. Garnett St.
The concept of placing small boxes throughout the community and filling them with books that individuals can take free of charge has been around since 2009, and increases access to books and encourages people to take a book to read or place a book for others to enjoy.
KTCOG Hosting Family Caregiver Conference Aug. 6; Focus On Dementia Care
/by WIZS StaffThe Kerr Tar Family Caregiver Conference is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 6 and registration is now open for family caregivers and professionals who are interested in learning about caring for individuals with dementia.
The half-day conference begins at 9 a.m. with check-in, breakfast and networking at the Vance-Granville Community College Civic Center Auditorium.
The conference is presented by Dementia Alliance of North Carolina. Melanie Bunn, a registered nurse and dementia care specialist with the alliance, is one of the speakers along with Michael Patterson, KTCOG’s family caregiver specialist.
Family caregivers can register for $10; professional caregivers register for $25 and have the opportunity to earn three continuing education unit credits.
Visit www.DementiaNC.org/2024Henderson to register online or contact Lisa Levine at 919.832.3732 to register by phone. Walk-in registrations are welcome on the day of the conference.
Visit www.kerrtarcog.org to find out about all the programs and services the KTCOG provides across Vance, Granville, Warren, Franklin and Person counties.
Franklin County Plans To Add High-Speed Internet To 2,374 More Locations
/by WIZS StaffMore than 2,300 locations in Franklin County will be added to the growing list of places getting high speed broadband internet access.
Through new Completing Access to Broadband grant funding, Brightspeed – formerly CenturyLink and Lumen – will begin deploying high speed fiber-to-the-home internet to 2,374 locations. Earlier this month, the N.C. Dept. of Information Technology’s Division of Broadband and Digital Equity announced a $5.6 million award to the county. In April, the county agreed to spend $2 million in ARPA funds to match the funding requirements.
The final county match comes to $1,962,728.95, according to Franklin County Public Information Officer James F. Hicks III. Once completed, in October 2026, about 50 percent of the eligible locations in the county will have the high-speed capability.
“I fully support this overwhelmingly. We have got to get this service out to the underserved parts of the County,” Board of Commissioners Chair Harry Foy said. “Everybody needs internet like electricity, water and sewer. You have got to have it.”
Franklin County has benefited from broadband grant funding in the past several years. Two previous awards under the Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) allowed Brightspeed to deploy fiber to more than 3,400 locations in Franklin County.
A map identifying the areas awarded under the CAB program can be found on the county’s website where information on the county’s broadband efforts can also be found.
The CAB program provides an opportunity for individual N.C. counties to partner with NCDIT to fund broadband deployment projects in unserved areas of each county. N.C. Session Law 2021-180 appropriated $400 million from ARPA for this program. NCDIT awarded CAB grant funds to connect nearly 26,000 households and businesses in 19 counties to high-speed internet.
Men’s Shelter Hits Snag; Move-In Day Delayed
/by WIZS StaffMove-in day at the new City Road Center for Hope men’s shelter has been delayed while a few issues with final inspections are resolved, but shelter officials have said they hope all will be addressed in as timely a manner as possible and the shelter can become fully operational.
“In spite of all of our efforts to build a safe ADA compliant structure for our men’s shelter, we have hit a snag with the fire inspection and are in negotiations now to find a solution and get things resolved as quickly as possible,” according to an email sent Thursday to WIZS by shelter staff.
The shelter is almost ready, and as soon as the final certificate of occupancy is received, the move will take place. “We ask for your prayers for a speedy resolution.”
No matter where the physical shelter is located, however, there remains a need for meals, individually wrapped snacks for clients and supplies like laundry detergent pods.
The shelter snack shelves could really use some PopTarts, breakfast bars, peanut butter crackers and chips.
Please sign up HERE if you or your organization can help provide a meal. Call 252.432.9494 if you need assistance in signing up.
Stay up to date at www.cp-hope.org
Officials Monitoring Possible NC Impact Following July 6 South Hill Fire
/by WIZS StaffUPDATED July 19, 1:30 p.m.
information from the office of Interim Warren County Manager Crystal Smith
The Virginia Department of Health is lifting portions of the recreational water and fish consumption advisories issued in response to the July 6 chemical storage facility fire in South Hill. The portion of the advisory being lifted is for a section of the Meherrin River that starts at Route 138 (Union Mill Road) flowing Southeast through the Town of Lawrenceville and the City of Emporia to the North Carolina state line.
The advisory is being lifted for this section of river because the presence of chemicals is no longer at levels that pose a health risk, according to information from the office of Interim Warren County Manager Crystal Smith. The concentrations of chemicals in the waterways have diluted due to recent rainfall as it has traveled downstream. Advisories still remain in place for Mountain Creek, Dockery Creek, Roanoke River to Lake Gaston.
For additional updates visit https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/news/2024-regional-news-releases/vdh-lifts-portion-of-recreational-water-fish-consumption-advisories-for-meherrin-river/
Warren County Health Department and Emergency Management are participating in daily briefings with state and local officials from Virginia and North Carolina and will continue to monitor this incident and provide relevant updates as they become available.
information courtesy of Warren County and N.C. Dept. of Environmental Quality
The Warren County Health Department continues to monitor the possible downstream effects of the July 6 fire at a chemical storage facility in South Hill, VA.
The warehouse held a large quantity of agricultural chemicals, and runoff from the firefighting efforts has entered several water systems in southern Virginia, including the Meherrin River from its confluence with Mountain Creek, and the Miles and Dockery Creeks, upstream of the Roanoke River.
At this time, there is no immediate danger to the North Carolina public or to those near Lake Gaston. There is no timeline, however, on when – or if – contaminants will reach Lake Gaston or North Carolina in measurable concentrations.
The Virginia Department of Health has issued a recreational swimming and fish consumption advisory until further notice for surface waters, including the Meherrin and Roanoke rivers, that extend to the North Carolina-Virginia border and local health officials have been in contact with the appropriate local, North Carolina and Virginia authorities monitoring the progress of this event for any potential impact to Warren County, according to information from the office of Interim County Manager Crystal Smith.
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and Virginia Department of Environmental Quality are testing the affected waterways routinely and reporting those results to WCHD and partner agencies, Smith said in a press release.
Virginia DEQ reports that the chemical plume is moving slowly, and that as of July 15, 2024, there is no indication that the chemical plume has made its way to Lake Gaston or any other waterway in Warren County.
The N.C. Dept. of Health and Human Services has recommended that local health departments in the impacted areas issue recreational water advisories mirroring those in Virginia. The need for and timing of those advisories will depend on available data. NCDEQ is monitoring for potential impacts, staff plan to conduct additional water sampling once the wastewaters are believed to reach North Carolina waterbodies. If you discover any water sheens, odors, discolored vegetation or dead wildlife in the potentially impacted areas, please contact your NCDEQ regional office, or call 1.877.623.6748. Fish kill activity can also be reported on the NCDEQ website.
NCDHHS is working with officials in Virginia to determine what the potential health impacts could be from this incident. This information will inform any future protective actions that may be needed in North Carolina.
The NC DHHS Communicable Disease Branch has begun syndromic surveillance of Warren, Halifax, and Northampton County hospitals. This effort, mirroring Virginia’s Department of Health, is focusing on tracking symptoms including eye and skin irritation, allergic skin reactions, drowsiness or dizziness, respiratory irritation, nausea, and loss of consciousness reported in emergency departments.
Anyone who has been in the affected waterways and is experiencing these symptoms is asked to seek medical care and notify their practitioners of the waterbody exposure.
If you notice any plumes, sheens or fish kills in these waterways avoid contact with these waters and report these conditions to 1.877.623.6748.
Warren County Health Department will continue to update citizens as the incident progresses.
For more information related to the incident, please visit www.deq.virginia.gov.
Fish consumption and recreation advisories have been issued for Dockery Creek and Miles Creek to its confluence with the Roanoke River and Lake Gaston, as well as the Meherrin River to the North Carolina state line.
North Carolina updates will be posted to a NCDEQ website located here.
VADEQ has established a website with information on their response located on their website here.
WIZS Radio Henderson Local News 07-19-24 Noon
/by Bill HarrisClick Play to Listen. On Air at 8am, 12pm, 5pm M-F
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TownTalk: City Of Henderson Approves Social Media Policy
/by WIZS StaffCLICK PLAY for the TownTalk radio show.
The Local Skinny! Carolina Payroll Partners Business Spotlight
/by WIZS StaffMel Manning and Carolina Payroll Partners, LLC received a recent shout-out from the Henderson-Vance County Chamber of Commerce as recipient of the Chamber Spotlight.
Manning works out of Morehead City now, but he said he and partner Seth Ward can successfully meet their clients’ needs, thanks to technology and online software.
For the past four years, the local Chamber has been a client of Carolina Payroll Partners. Manning, who used to live in Henderson, has kept his Chamber membership current. In fact, he spent eight years on the Chamber board and one more as chair, he said during a recent interview with WIZS.
“I’m always trying to let people know about what an opportunity it was to join the Chamber, to work with the Chamber,” Manning said. “It’s a great opportunity to get your name out and meet a lot of people.”
Manning and Ward are both accountants, and have clients spread out across Vance and Granville counties, all the way to the Triangle down to the Crystal Coast. Ward is located in Cary. Together, the two handle payroll processing services for 15 clients.
Manning said he and Ward can operate remotely to provide clients exactly what they need, but they have the ability to be on site with customers if they ever need it.
They offer a range of services, but position themselves as an alternative to the impersonal national online software companies. Clients can input payroll information themselves, or they can send the raw data to either Manning or Ward and they can do it for them.
“A lot of clients will email payroll,” he said, which they then enter into the software program, generate the results and submit it for processing on their clients’ behalf.
“We wanted to be very customer-oriented when we started this… (and) take as much off our clients’ plates as possible and make it as simple as possible,” Manning explained.
The vast majority of payments come in the form of direct deposit, which Carolina Payroll Partners offers as a free option for clients. “We might have an occasional paper check,” he said, to accommodate unique situations that may crop up. In such cases, the client can prepare the check and also receives a paystub to go along with it.
Manning’s continued connection with the local Chamber runs deeper than just a business partnership. He recognizes the benefits of having a Chamber of Commerce in any given community.
“The Chamber does a lot of great things in the community, through education and things that will better all the citizens of the area,” Manning said.
Visit https://www.ncpayrollpartners.com/ to learn more or contact Manning at 252.432.0768.
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WIZS Radio Henderson Local News 07-18-24 Noon
/by Bill HarrisClick Play to Listen. On Air at 8am, 12pm, 5pm M-F
WIZS Radio ~ 100.1FM/1450AM