There are countless books and scholarly articles that psychologists and mental health experts have at their disposal as they counsel and advise their clients. But Marilyn Debora has a favorite author that she refers to often in her role as a management consultant and resilience coach. His name is A.A. Milne.
Debora said the man who wrote the beloved Winnie-the-Pooh stories for his real-life son, Christopher Robin, can teach adults how to be in community with others while dealing in a healthy way with effects of post-traumatic stress disorder.
On Wednesday’s Town Talk segment, John C. Rose and co-host Phyllis Maynard spoke by phone with Debora from her home in Toronto about her work with the Warriors for Life support group, of which Maynard is a member.
Debora said she has long been interested and involved in the veteran community, first in her native Canada and now with the U.S.-based Warriors for Life.
“Throughout my youth, our family would go to the veteran hospital and serve the Christmas meals as well as singing the carols and bringing the cheer,” Debora said. “The veteran community was always very important to my family. They believed strongly in the service they provided and we should be honoring them.”
Although she pursued a career in business rather than the military, she has found a way to stay involved with veterans through her support group work.
It was during a Warriors for Life session that she first shared an excerpt from one of Milne’s stories with the group. It struck a chord with the members and prompted Debora to do a little more research about Milne, himself a military veteran. Debora and her sister were still grieving the recent death of their mother, and her sister passed along the excerpt that she had gotten from a friend.
“It resonated with me and I shared it with the group that night,” she recalled. “And that’s when the conversation about Winnie-the-Pooh came up.”
What she found goes far beyond a collection of stories for children, and she said she finds herself referencing Winnie-the-Pooh at least 60 percent of the time in her work with clients. Milne had been a political satirist for a popular publication before the war, Debora said. Her research found that many papers had been written by experts which support the idea that Milne’s characters may each represent a psychological disorder.
“He was trying to explain his post-traumatic stress to his 6-year-old kid…in a child-friendly way,” Debora explained.
Each character represents a different type of trauma, but each one has a smile on his face, she said. Back in Milne’s day, it was called “shell shock.” Today’s terminology is PTSD, but no matter the label, those who suffer from it have a hard time coping.
Milne was “trying to help him understand what was happening to him, so that his son wouldn’t be afraid of him,” Debora said.
When she brings up the stories of lovable Pooh and his friend in the Hundred Acre Wood, Debora said it evokes happy childhood memories from her clients. But when she examines the gloominess of Eeyore the donkey and the Tigger’s boundless energy, she can delve deeper into ways to name depression and impulsivity that helps clients find positive and constructive ways to manage it in their own lives.
Although PTSD sufferers may feel depressed like Eeyore or paranoid like Piglet sometimes, it doesn’t mean that they feel all the different emotions all the time, she said. And those characteristics don’t define us or make us unable to be liked or loved by those around us.
By exploring the natures of the different characters, Debora can help clients identify their particular problem areas and then find ways to begin to move forward. “They are a creative and collaborative bunch,” Debora said of Pooh’s friends. Milne’s characters are a reminder that when things do get tough, they are stronger together. “Nobody gets left behind in a Pooh cartoon,” she said.
And that is a big take-away for her and the groups she works with.
“Resilience is the ability to pick yourself up and move forward in spite of adversity,” Debora said. She helps people know that the biggest challenge is knowing where to start. And when it comes to resiliency, you don’t have to start at the beginning.
It is a misconception that people don’t like change, she asserts.
“People don’t resist change. They resist the way the change is presented and the perceived impact it will have on them,” she said. And once you know what the perceived impact will be, you have your starting point to move forward.
“I help people realize what it is that’s holding them back and then having them come up with an idea of what that first step is. Once you’re moving, you’re moving,” she said.
“As long as I’m moving in a forward direction, I’m moving forward.”
Listen to the entire interview at wizs.com.
TownTalk: How Winnie The Pooh Reflects PTSD
/by Bill HarrisThere are countless books and scholarly articles that psychologists and mental health experts have at their disposal as they counsel and advise their clients. But Marilyn Debora has a favorite author that she refers to often in her role as a management consultant and resilience coach. His name is A.A. Milne.
Debora said the man who wrote the beloved Winnie-the-Pooh stories for his real-life son, Christopher Robin, can teach adults how to be in community with others while dealing in a healthy way with effects of post-traumatic stress disorder.
On Wednesday’s Town Talk segment, John C. Rose and co-host Phyllis Maynard spoke by phone with Debora from her home in Toronto about her work with the Warriors for Life support group, of which Maynard is a member.
Debora said she has long been interested and involved in the veteran community, first in her native Canada and now with the U.S.-based Warriors for Life.
“Throughout my youth, our family would go to the veteran hospital and serve the Christmas meals as well as singing the carols and bringing the cheer,” Debora said. “The veteran community was always very important to my family. They believed strongly in the service they provided and we should be honoring them.”
Although she pursued a career in business rather than the military, she has found a way to stay involved with veterans through her support group work.
It was during a Warriors for Life session that she first shared an excerpt from one of Milne’s stories with the group. It struck a chord with the members and prompted Debora to do a little more research about Milne, himself a military veteran. Debora and her sister were still grieving the recent death of their mother, and her sister passed along the excerpt that she had gotten from a friend.
“It resonated with me and I shared it with the group that night,” she recalled. “And that’s when the conversation about Winnie-the-Pooh came up.”
What she found goes far beyond a collection of stories for children, and she said she finds herself referencing Winnie-the-Pooh at least 60 percent of the time in her work with clients. Milne had been a political satirist for a popular publication before the war, Debora said. Her research found that many papers had been written by experts which support the idea that Milne’s characters may each represent a psychological disorder.
“He was trying to explain his post-traumatic stress to his 6-year-old kid…in a child-friendly way,” Debora explained.
Each character represents a different type of trauma, but each one has a smile on his face, she said. Back in Milne’s day, it was called “shell shock.” Today’s terminology is PTSD, but no matter the label, those who suffer from it have a hard time coping.
Milne was “trying to help him understand what was happening to him, so that his son wouldn’t be afraid of him,” Debora said.
When she brings up the stories of lovable Pooh and his friend in the Hundred Acre Wood, Debora said it evokes happy childhood memories from her clients. But when she examines the gloominess of Eeyore the donkey and the Tigger’s boundless energy, she can delve deeper into ways to name depression and impulsivity that helps clients find positive and constructive ways to manage it in their own lives.
Although PTSD sufferers may feel depressed like Eeyore or paranoid like Piglet sometimes, it doesn’t mean that they feel all the different emotions all the time, she said. And those characteristics don’t define us or make us unable to be liked or loved by those around us.
By exploring the natures of the different characters, Debora can help clients identify their particular problem areas and then find ways to begin to move forward. “They are a creative and collaborative bunch,” Debora said of Pooh’s friends. Milne’s characters are a reminder that when things do get tough, they are stronger together. “Nobody gets left behind in a Pooh cartoon,” she said.
And that is a big take-away for her and the groups she works with.
“Resilience is the ability to pick yourself up and move forward in spite of adversity,” Debora said. She helps people know that the biggest challenge is knowing where to start. And when it comes to resiliency, you don’t have to start at the beginning.
It is a misconception that people don’t like change, she asserts.
“People don’t resist change. They resist the way the change is presented and the perceived impact it will have on them,” she said. And once you know what the perceived impact will be, you have your starting point to move forward.
“I help people realize what it is that’s holding them back and then having them come up with an idea of what that first step is. Once you’re moving, you’re moving,” she said.
“As long as I’m moving in a forward direction, I’m moving forward.”
Listen to the entire interview at wizs.com.
Home And Garden Show
/by Bill HarrisWhat an odd weather forecast for the end of December and the start of January. Temperatures have been well above normal with 70 plus degree highs this week and mid 70’s projected into the weekend before reality returns the first of the week with high temperatures on Monday staying in the 40’s but what can this unseasonable warm spell do to plants that have been dormant for winter? Wayne Rowland with the Vance Co. Extension Service discussed that on the Home and Garden Show today (Wednesday) as part of the Local Skinny! Rowland said that the warmth can effect many plants causing them to break dormancy. However, since we are still quite early in the winter season and the projected return of more normal temperatures next week damage to plants is not a major concern even if dormancy is broken.
“It’s a very unusual warm period,” Rowland said. “If it were to last two weeks it could be detrimental to plants,” Rowland continued. Rowland explained that any plant that has broken dormancy would return to that state once colder weather resumes.
One plant that may suffer are azaleas. Some people have reported that their azaleas are starting to bloom. Rowland says that since azaleas only have one set of blooms that these plants would have less blooms in the spring.
Wayne Rowland can be heard on Home and Garden Show along with Paul McKenzie every Wednesday at 11:30am as part of the Local Skinny! and the Vance Co. Cooperative Extension Report can be heard at 11:50am on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday on WIZS.
On the Home and Garden Show with Vance Co. Cooperative Ext.
WIZS Radio Local News Audio 12-29-21 Noon
/by Bill HarrisClick Play to Listen. On Air at 8am, 12pm, 5pm M-F
WIZS Radio ~ 100.1FM/1450AM
Cooperative Extension with Paul McKenzie: What Works in the Garden
/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.
WIZS Radio Local News Audio 12-28-21 Noon
/by Bill HarrisClick Play to Listen. On Air at 8am, 12pm, 5pm M-F
WIZS Radio ~ 100.1FM/1450AM
The Local Skinny! Henderson Oxford Airport Flies High
/by Laura GabelChris Welsh likens the Henderson-Oxford Airport to a rest area along the interstate – when a traveler needs to stop, that blue road sign announcing that a rest area is ahead is a welcome sight.
Welsh and his wife, Amanda, have been the fixed-base operators at the airport for the past several years, and he said things are – pardon the pun – looking “up.” Traffic at the airport with its 5,500-foot-long runway is up, he said. And he points to a few reasons for why that is so.
Because the couple can offer maintenance on the aircraft – which other local airstrips do not provide – Welsh said pilots will fly in if they need to get something like a landing gear tire fixed.
But he also said they have seen an increase in small planes coming in since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I think a lot of businesses have started (using private aircraft) since COVID – we’re seeing more 4- and 6-seaters coming in for business,” he told John C. Rose today during Tuesday’s segment of The Local Skinny! “And Mako is flying all the time – at least three or four times a week, and I know they’re coming out here at night,” Welsh added, even though he and his wife typically are not there for their arrival.
The pilots communicate on the radio frequency, follow standard traffic patterns, land and then just park the aircraft and follow the sidewalk to the building and parking lot beyond.
Since beginning their jobs there, the Welshes have overseen a couple of project completions, including a runway lighting upgrade and an extra row of hangars, where 10 additional planes now call home.
Some larger aircraft also have flown in – like a King Air 12-passenger turboprop – that previously had used the airstrip in Clarksville, VA. But that runway was shortened by 900 feet recently, which makes landing a larger aircraft a bit more difficult.
“The landing is usually more of the problem,” Welsh said, “because you have to slow down, right?”
Revlon flies a Gulfstream aircraft that is similar in size to a commuter plane, Welsh said. It uses the airport regularly, along with private travelers.
“You could probably land a 737 here,” he said. The problem, however, comes after the landing. “It’s probably too heavy for the pavement,” and then there’s the issue of what kind of vehicle would be available on the ground to tow it.
That rest-area concept Welsh alluded to plays into the airport’s support role for nearby Raleigh-Durham International, which could divert aircraft to the Granville County airport if the need arises.
Raleigh has a couple of flight schools, and Welsh said more student pilots are using the local runway in their training.
“In the first 10 or 15 hours of learning, you don’t need any distractions,” Welsh said. He is a seasoned pilot himself and he also has a commercial license to operate a drone.
“If you’re practicing repetitive landings, you can do three or four here in an hour,” he noted. A student pilot would get half that amount at RDU – and they’d have the added stress of watching for incoming aircraft using the same runway.
Welsh said the airport is home to a couple of flying club airplanes – a Cessna and a Piper – that are based here as part of the RDU flying club. “You can join the club if you’re not a pilot,” Welsh said. “It’s basically the cheapest way to rent an airplane.” Individuals can use the planes to accumulate training hours toward their license, rent it to fly over the lake or take it to the beach for a couple of days. The planes can stay gone overnight, he said, but most of the time they’re tucked back in the hangars after each outing.
Visit www.flyhnz.com to learn more.
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TownTalk: Smart Start Year End Review
/by Laura GabelThe Franklin Granville Vance Smart Start Inc. annual report has been released and the agency’s executive director said his agency and staff undoubtedly have learned how to be flexible and adaptable as it continues to advocate for children, in spite of pandemic restrictions.
In a letter accompanying the 8-page report, FGV Executive Director Dr. Tony W. Cozart said the 2020-21 year had been “difficult but very gratifying as well.”
FGV’s fiscal manager, Garry Daeke, agreed wholeheartedly. Daeke spoke with John C. Rose Tuesday on Town Talk and said he was very happy to report that, despite the difficulties of the pandemic, FGV staff had been able to maintain relationships with both child-care providers as well as parents.
“We’ve been able to keep in contact and provide service and information to people,” he said, acknowledging that the one-on-one contacts have been limited, but FGV has found ways to do an end-around some challenges.
For instance, Daeke said FGV has been able to provide technical assistance via videotape and through increased filming of sessions. By filming programs and activities, FGV staff can critique and provide suggestions to help child-care providers with everything from how to set up a classroom to being financially efficient – staying safe and healthy at the same time.
There are 112 child-care programs in the three counties that FGV serves, Daeke said. “They’ve kept people working, because people need childcare.”
The agency gets most of its funding from the state (85-90 percent), and it has spent $907,689 to help parents pay for childcare in the past year, according to the report. The subsidy is available to parents who send their children to programs with a 4- or 5-star quality rating.
“We spend a great deal of money to provide a subsidy” to parents, Daeke said. FGV also supplements wages of teachers who stay in their jobs for a certain length of time and who continue to further their education. The report notes that 80 teachers received an average of $1016 in supplements in a six-month period.
“We spend a lot of money to make sure child care is high quality and that parents are able to access that child care,” Daeke said.
A number of programs that FGV supports don’t happen within the walls of a child-care center at all; rather, there are a variety of agencies that FGV contracts with that are quite successful as well.
Vance County’s adolescent parenting program that Annie Perry oversees, for example, focuses on keeping teenage moms in school so they can graduate. Daeke said Perry, a longtime program administrator, does an excellent job and consistently has graduates go on to continue their educations at Vance-Granville Community College or four-year universities.
“The main goals are to keep them in school and to prevent a second pregnancy. The program “helps them become the parent they need to be,” Daeke said. “We’ve had a lot of success over the years.”
Other programs like Parents as Teachers is a home visitation parenting program that operates primarily in Granville County through a partnership with Granville County Public Schools. And the Incredible Years program partners with the Vance Cooperative Extension to provide several sessions each year to work directly with parents to help them “be the very best parent you can be,” Daeke said. Although only in Vance County now, Daeke said he’s looking for grant funding to expand the program to Granville County and possibly Franklin County.
And a child-care health consultant has just come on board to visit child-care programs to help providers with health concerns. FGV has contracted through the Granville-Vance Health District to provide a nurse to help child-care providers, he said.
According to the report, total FGV expenditures for FY 2021 was $3,381,751. Almost three-fourths of that funding is used to ensure the availability and accessibility of high-quality childcare for children ages 0-5 years. That is done a variety of ways, including subsidies for working families through the Department of Social Services to help pay for childcare. It also administers the NC Pre-K program in Franklin County and offers wage incentives to retain childcare workers and ensure continuity of care.
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County Employees Recognized For Years Of Service
/by WIZS StaffSeveral employees have been recognized for their years of service within county government. County Manager presented Cathy Hope, payroll specialist, with a certificate marking her 15-year anniversary. Hope started as an income maintenance caseworker and worked her way up to income maintenance supervisor. She transferred in July to the county’s payroll department.
Tax Administrator Porcha Brooks thanked Sandra Durham and Jonathan Morris for completing five years of service. Durham is a personal property appraiser with the tax office and Morris is a real property appraiser.
Kevin Brown, the county’s first information technology director, recently completed 10 years of service with the county. McMillen presented him with a 10-year anniversary certificate and said that Brown also recently announced his retirement. “We wish him all the best. You will certainly be missed,” a post on the county’s social media site.
Several members of the Vance County Sheriff’s Office received certificates for their years of service as well. Sheriff Curtis Brame recognized Lt. C. Welborn for 15 years with the sheriff’s office; Deputies L. Carter and T. Terry join Sgts. J. Marrow and M. Burns with completing five years of service. Maj. J. Shelton, the detention center administrator also was recognized for completing five years of service.
Congratulations for your accomplishments and for working to serve your county and community.
Fire Ant Quarantine Zone Grows To Include All Granville, Most Of Person
/by WIZS StaffAs the imported red fire ant continues its march through North Carolina, N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services officials are expanding the quarantine zone to include all of Granville, as well as portions of Person and Caswell counties, effective Jan. 1, 2022.
That means that residents and business owners in these counties will need to obtain a permit before moving plants, sod and related equipment into or through non-infested areas. Certificates can be obtained from a local plant protection specialist or by contacting the Plant Protection Section at 800-206-9333 or 919-707-3730.
Items requiring a permit include nursery stock, sod, soil, hay and straw, logs or pulpwood with soil, and soil-moving equipment, according to information from NCDA. Also, the movement of any other products, items or infested materials that present a risk of spread from areas that have fire ants to non-infested areas is prohibited.
“Failure to obtain the needed inspections and certifications may result in the issuance of a stop-sale notice and rejection or destruction of the regulated article,” said Bill Foote, director of the NCDA&CS plant industry division. “Fire ants can be harmful to humans and livestock. It is important we continue proactive efforts to slow down fire ant movement into non-infested areas of the state.”
Fire ants can be found in the majority of the state’s 100 counties; most recently, fire ants have been confirmed in Jackson and Madison counties in the western part of the state.
The imported fire ant was first identified in Brunswick County in 1957. As it spread and became established, it was recognized as an aggressive pest of farmlands, pastures, residential areas and wildlife, Foote said. The imported fire ant is considered to be a nuisance and a health concern to humans, livestock and wildlife due to its painful sting.
For a map of the quarantine area, visit https://www.ncagr.gov/plantindustry/Plant/entomology/documents/Imported_Fire_Ant_2022_Quarantine_Expansion_Proposal.pdf
Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland: Small Woodlots
/by Bill HarrisGot wood? Or, more precisely, small wood lots? If so you may want to develop a management plan for those lots. “There are over two million acres of woodland holdings in lots of less than 20 acres,” said Wayne Rowland, Vance Co. Extension Agent. The majority of these holdings are owned by 341,000 families and are unmanaged. These woodlands provide environmental, economical and social benefits to both owners and communities.
According to Rowland, management is a step by step process and developing a management plan is essential for these small lots. He recommends assess the land and the intent to help with development of a management plan.
The basic elements of developing a management plan includes goals and objectives for the property in question, preparing a property map, inventory the property and write a description of the land in question. It also should include activities and a schedule. Additionally, Rowland suggests a legal property description, ownership information, property history and contact information for forestry professional, particularly if they have designed the management plan. Lastly Rowland says establish priorities for the property based on the type of land it is and what the property owner wants to do with the land.
For more information contact Wayne Rowland at the Vance Co. Extension office at 252-438-8188. You can hear the Vance Co. Extension Report on WIZS at 11:50am Monday, Tuesday and Thursday and the Home and Garden Show on the Local Skinny! with Rowland and Paul McKenzie at 11:30am on Wednesdays.
Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.