Calling it a branch library may be a bit of a stretch, but Perry Memorial Library Director Patty McAnally invites the public out to Fox Pond Park Saturday to celebrate the grand opening of Story Walk, which features a storybook along one of the walking trails – a page at the time.
McAnally explained the concept of Story Walk and shared more library news on Wednesday’s Town Talk.
Kelly Starling Lyons, the state’s current Piedmont Laureate, will kick off the Saturday festivities at 10 a.m. in the Farm Bureau room at the library, she told John C. Rose. Lyons writes children’s books and will discuss the importance of reading and how to get started writing. Then, at 1 p.m., there will be a ribbon-cutting at the Fox Pond Trail, where the Story Walk stations are located.
The books will change each month, she said, and the first selection Zip, Zoom – by Kelly Starling Lyons. There’s a page at each station, McAnally said, “so as you walk along the trail, you read a page.”
There also will be participation cards that, upon completion, can be redeemed at the library for a prize.
Perry Memorial Library is open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Curbside pickup is available, and there’s free wi-fi in the parking lot between Breckenridge and Winder streets.
Another service the library now offers
Patrons, whether they come in to browse for books to check out or use the curbside service should take note of a new policy that was approved last week – overdue fines are permanently abolished!
The local library is following other libraries, large and small, to do away with overdue fines. “If that’s kept you from coming in, please come back and check us out again,” McAnally said. Fines, had been suspended during the pandemic, were seen to be a barrier, she said, adding that the return rate is the same, if not better.
Now, a book will be automatically renewed after it’s been out three weeks, she said. DVDs can stay out two weeks.
After 30 days, the book or other item will be marked “lost” until it is returned. “If you bring it back, we’re all good,” she said.
The library receives most of its funding from the city and the county, for which McAnally is grateful and appreciative. But other programs come about through grant funding, and McAnally mentioned a couple that the library has received in addition to the Story Walk project.
One grant, from the state library system, resulted in Story Cubes, which McAnally describes as “a little machine that spits out a 1- to 3-minutes story or poem – pre-programmed stories” for library patrons. Right now, there’s a Story Cube at the library – dressed up for Halloween – that will spit out a spooky story or poem for patrons.
Our local library is the first public library in North Carolina to have Story Cubes, she said, and there are plans to travel to schools and other locations to share stories. Now, the stories and poems are already-published works, but McAnally said she would like to have contests that would feature local writers’ works.
The most recent grant will help the library partner with NASA to provide STEM education. Perry Memorial is one of only two libraries in North Carolina to be awarded one of 60 grants. Although in preliminary stages of implementation, McAnally said she is excited to be working with NASA, which will result in tapping into NASA experts’ knowledge with topics like earth science and oceanography.
For more information about the library, call 252.438.3316.
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Support ‘Shop With A Cop’ Project – Buy A Ticket For Chance To Win Cash Prize
/by Laura GabelThe “Shop With a Cop” program kicked off Wednesday, and there are 180 opportunities to help make the project a success.
This year marks the sixth year that the Henderson-Vance County Chamber of Commerce has partnered with the Henderson Police Department and the Vance County Sheriff’s Office to raise money for local law enforcement to go Christmas shopping with underprivileged youth in the community.
Chamber President Michele Burgess said she is pleased to report that many sponsors are helping to provide financial support, which means that at least $5,000 will be raised for the shopping spree that will take place in December at the Walmart in Henderson.
In addition to sponsors, there are 180 tickets available for purchase. The number of the ticket is the price you pay, and four winners will be drawn. The top prize is $2,000, followed by prizes of $1,000, $500 and $200, according to the Chamber.
Stop by the Chamber office to purchase a ticket, or purchase a ticket from members of the Chamber board as well as from members of the police department and sheriff’s office.
Burgess said she hopes all tickets will be sold by Oct. 22 – the drawing for the cash prizes is scheduled for Nov. 10.
It remains to be seen whether the Nov. 10 event will be a small event like last year, or whether it can be larger, as in 2019 when the community gathered at Sadie’s Coffee Corner to hear the winners announced.
The real winners, of course, are the children who get to shop with a cop in December.
“They will actually go with a policeman or a law enforcement person to Walmart and they’ll be able to pick their gifts,” Burgess said.
The children get to have fun and have positive interaction with a law enforcement officer, and the officers get quality one-on-one time with a young citizen, she added.
Burgess is especially appreciative of the support from sponsors and said one sponsor reported that he had always had a great Christmas, and wanted to make sure that children in the community had a similar experience.
Contact the Chamber at 252.438.8414 to learn more or visit www.hendersonvance.org.
A Second Suspect, David Lee Chavis, Jr., Arrested for First Degree Murder in Wynn Case
/by WIZS StaffUPDATE: 9-22-21
Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame issued the following press release 9-22-21 to update this matter.
On the 22nd day of September 2021, members of the Vance County Sheriff’s Office CID (Criminal Investigations Division) served arrest warrants on David Lee Chavis, Jr., of Henderson N.C., for the First Degree Murder of Trevon Wynn.
Wynn was killed on the August 27, 2021, as he was traveling on Stagecoach Road.
Chavis has been placed into the Vance County Detention Center. No bond has been set.
The investigation is continuing.
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UPDATE: 09-07-21
Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame issued the following press release September 3 to update this matter.
On August 27, 2021, the Vance County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to Crowder Lane regarding gunshots fired.
Once at the scene, Vance County Patrol Deputy identified the victim as Trevon Wynn who was pronounced dead at the scene.
After further investigation, Hykeem Henderson was identified as personal of interest/suspect in the Wynn murder investigation.
On September 2, 2021, members of the Vance County Sheriff’s Office CID (Criminal Investigations Division) served arrest warrants on Hykeem Henderson. Henderson was charged with First Degree Murder and placed in the Vance County Detention Center without bond.
This investigation is continuing.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
ORIGINAL UPDATE: 08-31-21
Friday, August 27 the Vance County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call for a gunshot victim. The caller stated that an individual had been shot and would be located at 184 Crowder Lane.
When deputies arrived a black male, identified as Travon Wynn, was found suffering from a single gunshot wound to the chest. He was in the rear passenger seat of a 2011 Mitsubishi car.
Local EMS pronounced him deceased on the scene.
The press release on the matter from Sheriff Curtis Brame states, “It is believed that the vehicle Mr. Wynn was a passenger in was shot into as it traveled down Stage Coach Road shortly after turning off on N.C. 39 North of Henderson. The incident occurred shortly before 7:00 p.m.”
If you have any information related to this, you are asked to contact the Vance County Sheriff’s Office or the Vance County 911 Center.
Gena Mccray Appointed County Attorney For Franklin
/by WIZS Staff— press release courtesy of Franklin County
Franklin County, September 22, 2021: Franklin County Commissioners unanimously appointed Gena McCray of the firm of Gena Walling McCray, PLLC, to serve as County Attorney on September 20, 2021. McCray’s appointment is effective September 27, 2021.
McCray received her undergraduate degrees in English and Psychology from South Carolina College (University of South Carolina’s Honors College). She graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law in Columbia, South Carolina with a Juris Doctor Degree. She was born in Orangeburg, South Carolina but has been a citizen of Franklin County since 2006 when she opened her practice in Louisburg.
While attending law school, McCray served as Clerk for the Honorable Judge C. Tolbert Goolsby at the South Carolina Court of Appeals and interned one summer in Raleigh for the North Carolina Family Policy Council gaining intimate knowledge of the legislative process in North Carolina. In her third year, she served as Clerk for the respected law firm of Sweeny, Wingate & Barrow, P.A. After law school graduation, she married Michael McCray and moved to Raleigh to practice family law, criminal law, parental rights cases, estates and civil litigation. In addition, McCray supervised Wake County’s Wills and Estates Division for the Clerk of Superior Court and gained valuable insight into Estate Administration, Special Proceedings and operations of the Clerk’s Office. McCray is licensed to practice law in North Carolina and South Carolina and a member of the North Carolina Bar Association, South Carolina Bar Association, and the 9th Judicial District.
McCray has experience in Franklin County Government having served as attorney for the Department of Social Services since 2016. She said, “I am honored to have the opportunity to serve the people of Franklin County and look forward to working in this new role.”
McCray and her husband, Michael, currently reside on a small farm in Louisburg.
For additional information, please contact Kim Denton, Franklin County Manager, at (919) 496-5994.
ACTS Donations, Fundraising and Volunteers Key to Providing Meals
/by WIZS StaffImagine hosting the biggest Thanksgiving meal ever, providing all the food for the biggest family imaginable. Every day. There’s the food preparation, then serving, then the cleanup. That’s how Lee Anne Peoples describes the operation at ACTS – the executive director said it takes dozens of volunteers to provide the hot meals five days a week for area residents.
It takes volunteers – and money – to feed sometimes as many as 200 people each day, Peoples said recently on WIZS Town Talk.
Area Christians Together in Service is sponsoring a fundraiser on Sept. 25 at McGregor Hall that Peoples said will serve the dual purposes of raising money for ACTS as well as providing entertainment for the community.
“Make a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord” is set for Saturday, Sept. 25 at McGregor Hall and will feature local talent for an evening of inspirational entertainment for the whole family.
The doors open at 6 p.m. and the performance begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5 and children 12 years and under get in free.
Tickets are available from any ACTS board member or from the ACTS office at 201 S. William St. Tickets and also are available at the door.
There are several sponsorship levels that businesses or individuals can purchase, she said, adding that the community has long been supportive of ACTS and the work it does to feed hungry people. Sponsor levels are platinum ($1,000), gold ($500) and silver ($250).
Reach Peoples at lapeoples@actsofhenderson.org.
In 2020, Peoples said ACTS served 25,527 meals. She’s done the math for 2021 and if the numbers continue as they are now, 2021 will top 30,000. In a city with a population of about 15,000, that’s a lot of meals, she noted. “I’m surprised at how the numbers have jumped up” in the past couple of years, Peoples said.
In addition to the hot meals, ACTS provides food boxes, dozens of Backpack Buddies (weekend bags of food for schoolchildren) and Mobile Meals for people who can’t make it to the ACTS location.
All these ongoing projects get done largely through the work of about 45 loyal volunteers who come on a regular basis. “There is absolutely no way we could do what we do without volunteers,” Peoples said. And there is always a need for more help, especially in the afternoons. Many of the volunteers leave at noon or shortly thereafter, but there are still things that need to be done in the afternoons. “Even if you just have a few minutes between 12 and 2, it would be a big help.”
Just like that gigantic Thanksgiving dinner – the food has to be put away, the kitchen cleaned up and ready for the next day.
(The original version of this story appeared on WIZS.com on 9-14-21 and was written by Laura Gabel.)
Home and Garden Show
/by WIZS StaffOn the Home and Garden Show with Vance Co. Cooperative Ext.
Perry Memorial Library Open, Serving Community Including Special Programs
/by Laura GabelCalling it a branch library may be a bit of a stretch, but Perry Memorial Library Director Patty McAnally invites the public out to Fox Pond Park Saturday to celebrate the grand opening of Story Walk, which features a storybook along one of the walking trails – a page at the time.
McAnally explained the concept of Story Walk and shared more library news on Wednesday’s Town Talk.
Kelly Starling Lyons, the state’s current Piedmont Laureate, will kick off the Saturday festivities at 10 a.m. in the Farm Bureau room at the library, she told John C. Rose. Lyons writes children’s books and will discuss the importance of reading and how to get started writing. Then, at 1 p.m., there will be a ribbon-cutting at the Fox Pond Trail, where the Story Walk stations are located.
The books will change each month, she said, and the first selection Zip, Zoom – by Kelly Starling Lyons. There’s a page at each station, McAnally said, “so as you walk along the trail, you read a page.”
There also will be participation cards that, upon completion, can be redeemed at the library for a prize.
Perry Memorial Library is open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Curbside pickup is available, and there’s free wi-fi in the parking lot between Breckenridge and Winder streets.
Another service the library now offers
Patrons, whether they come in to browse for books to check out or use the curbside service should take note of a new policy that was approved last week – overdue fines are permanently abolished!
The local library is following other libraries, large and small, to do away with overdue fines. “If that’s kept you from coming in, please come back and check us out again,” McAnally said. Fines, had been suspended during the pandemic, were seen to be a barrier, she said, adding that the return rate is the same, if not better.
Now, a book will be automatically renewed after it’s been out three weeks, she said. DVDs can stay out two weeks.
After 30 days, the book or other item will be marked “lost” until it is returned. “If you bring it back, we’re all good,” she said.
The library receives most of its funding from the city and the county, for which McAnally is grateful and appreciative. But other programs come about through grant funding, and McAnally mentioned a couple that the library has received in addition to the Story Walk project.
One grant, from the state library system, resulted in Story Cubes, which McAnally describes as “a little machine that spits out a 1- to 3-minutes story or poem – pre-programmed stories” for library patrons. Right now, there’s a Story Cube at the library – dressed up for Halloween – that will spit out a spooky story or poem for patrons.
Our local library is the first public library in North Carolina to have Story Cubes, she said, and there are plans to travel to schools and other locations to share stories. Now, the stories and poems are already-published works, but McAnally said she would like to have contests that would feature local writers’ works.
The most recent grant will help the library partner with NASA to provide STEM education. Perry Memorial is one of only two libraries in North Carolina to be awarded one of 60 grants. Although in preliminary stages of implementation, McAnally said she is excited to be working with NASA, which will result in tapping into NASA experts’ knowledge with topics like earth science and oceanography.
For more information about the library, call 252.438.3316.
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WIZS Radio Local News Audio 9-22-21 Noon
/by John C. RoseClick Play to Listen. On Air at 8am, 12pm, 5pm M-F.
WIZS Radio ∼ 100.1FM/1450AM
Franklin’s $11.4 Million Wastewater Treatment Plant Project Gets Underway With Sept. 24 Groundbreaking Ceremony
/by WIZS StaffThe official ground-breaking for a $11.4 million rehabilitation project to Franklin County’s wastewater treatment plant will be held Friday at 10 a.m., according to information from the county’s public utilities department.
The treatment plant, located at 1099 Lane Store Rd. in Franklinton, was built in 1987 and has had two capacity upgrades – one in 1997 and a second in 2004. This rehabilitation project has a price tag of $11,479,000 and should be completed by February 2023.
The project is made possible through a loan from the N.C. Division of Water Infrastructure, which offered a 20-year, zero-interest loan with $217,083 in principal forgiveness.
The wastewater treatment facility serves more than 4,500 residential, commercial and industrial customers.
Call the public utilities department at 919.556.6177 to learn more or visit www.franklincountync.us.
Volunteer To Pick Up Litter During CommUNITY Cleanup Day Sept. 25
/by WIZS StaffIt’s not too late to sign up for CommUNITY Cleanup Day, as Henderson joins with the N.C. Department of Transportation’s Fall Litter Sweep program on Saturday morning.
Individuals, as well as churches, businesses and other organizations can pitch in and make a difference along the city’s roadways. City staff will be at the Operations Center parking lot, 900 S. Beckford Drive, at 7:45 a.m. on Sept. 25 to hand out safety vests, gloves and bags to volunteers.
Visit http://cms8.revize.com/revize/henderson/residents/index.php to sign up.
To learn more, contact Tracey Kimbrell at
252.430.5702 or traceykimbrell@henderson.nc.gov
TownTalk: VGCC Offers 8-Week Terms To Adapt, Respond To Students’ Needs
/by Laura GabelWhether they come to learn job skills or start their journey toward earning a college degree, students at Vance-Granville Community College have some interesting options when it comes to the length of time they take to complete a class.
It’s called “compressed learning,” and VGCC director of Advising & College Success Amy O’Geary discussed some of the options available for VGCC students with John C. Rose on Tuesday’s Town Talk.
A traditional college semester is 16 weeks long, but O’Geary said that, as students’ needs change – maybe they hold a full-time job while going to school – and the environment changes – think virtual learning because of the COVID-19 pandemic – the way school is organized needs to change, too.
“It’s hard for people to predict what they’re going to be doing for 16 weeks,” she said, adding that the shorter terms can more easily accommodate schedules and commitments.
The first 8-week term began in August, and registration is underway now for the second term, which begins Oct. 13. And then on Nov. 1, registration for Spring 2022 begins.
O’Geary said the shorter terms are designed to give students more valuable assignments for their learning – it’s not a matter of cramming more information into a shorter time-frame. Another benefit of offering two shorter terms, she said, is to keep students motivated.
“A lot of times, when students come to us, they’re ready,” O’Geary said, with emphasis on “ready.” They’re ready to get started right then, she said. “When they have to wait until January, sometimes they can lose their momentum.”
She said a lot of the major programs at VGCC have gone to the 8-week format, and even more will be offered for Spring 2022 and beyond.
Some of the classes O’Geary highlighted are keyboarding, intro to computers and public speaking, all of which provide essential skills for employees in today’s workplace.
Computers are used everywhere, and knowing how to properly use a keyboard, as well as the various software programs, are valuable to today’s workers.
But public speaking?
“A lot of people shy away from public speaking,” she said. “There aren’t many jobs that don’t require public speaking. (And) the more you do it, the better you get.”
Whether it’s a question of brushing up on computer skills or learning something entirely new, VGCC encourages students to start whenever they can and then just keep moving forward.
And for some, working in eight-week bursts instead of the traditional semester, may be a better option to keep moving forward.
Visit www.vgcc.edu to learn more.
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