The Summer Olympics in Tokyo have just passed, and it will be several years before the Summer Games again capture the world’s attention. But did you know that Special Olympics events are ongoing throughout the year?
For more than 50 years, athletes with intellectual disabilities train, practice and prepare to compete in about 20 Olympic-style events. And Special Olympics of North Carolina touts one of the largest contingents in the world – about 40,000 athletes – who bring a wide range of skills and abilities to the Games.
Madeline Safrit is one of two directors of communications for Special Olympics of North Carolina. She spoke with Trey Snide on Wednesday’s Town Talk program about upcoming events for athletes across the state and how athletes in Vance, Granville and Franklin counties have stayed in touch with their teammates across the state during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She said Special Olympians thrive on having a set schedule, and pandemic restrictions and lockdowns interrupted training schedules. SONC created a virtual program called Partner Up, Power Up last fall and again in the spring to allow athletes to “gather” virtually. “It’s been really challenging to keep that social interaction going for them,” Safrit said. A third Partner Up, Power Up session will launch this fall, even though there are athletes who are able to go back in to in-person training.
Using a fitness tracker booklet, athletes can follow a structured plan and know what class will be held on which day.
The virtual program has involved individuals with and without intellectual disabilities, “partnering together to participate,” Safrit said. She added that 10,000 people participated in the 10-week sessions.
Safrit said the virtual sessions are important for athletes who live in smaller communities. “They can hop on these calls…and can see their teammates. They also are able to train alongside athletes across the state,” keeping them ready for getting back to competition.
The competitions occur year-round, and this year, instead of having one large fall event, the organization will have numerous regional invitationals to keep the size of the group smaller.
During the course of a year, she said athletes participate in 8,000 practices to train for competitions in track and field, tennis, equestrian events, volleyball, sailing, gymnastics, cheerleading and many more. For a list of events and invitationals, visit www.sonc.net.
Vance County is preparing to train later this month for bocce, or lawn bowling and will participate in bocce invitationals in the fall.
“You would not believe how fierce the competition is out there” for bocce, Safrit said.
Safrit mentioned 40,000 athletes in North Carolina, but she also said there are at least that many volunteers that work throughout the year in some capacity to support and promote Special Olympics.
If coaching a sport isn’t your thing, there are other ways to participate, she said. Several fundraiser events are being planned for the fall, including “Over the Edge.” A minimum donation of $1,000 earns you the privilege of rappelling down the Wells Fargo Capitol Center building in downtown Raleigh. It’s a 30-story building – about 400 feet tall, just so you know.
For a $100 donation, those who are a little afraid of heights can enter the world of virtual reality and rappel virtually.
Visit www.sonc.net to learn about other fundraiser opportunities and how to be involved in Special Olympics.
Listen to the entire program here.
SportsTalk: Hairston Readies Granville Central For Football
/by Bill Harris“I’m very excited,” says new Granville Central Football Coach Travis Hairston. He’s only been on the job a week and half but has already identified a core group of players who are working hard to help the team turn around last year’s 1-5 record. He looks to bring his extensive knowledge of defense to the team and says defense will be a priority this season.
Hairston’s experience includes defensive coordinator positions at several schools in North Carolina and Maryland including Sanders, East Wake and Rolesville High Schools. His defensive philosophy is simple: “Score points and not allow them to score.” He also emphasizes preparation and expects the Granville Central team to be prepared every week. “I believe we are going to win some games and be competitive,” Coach Hairston says.
He will have to get prepared quickly as Granville Central takes on Ravenscroft in the first game of the season a week from Friday. Ravenscroft has a diverse offense and gets after the ball on defense. Ravenscroft will not be the only tough team Granville Central will face this season as later on this year the will play South Granville in an in-county rivalry game and Carrboro.
WIZS Local News Audio 8-11-21 Noon
/by Bill HarrisThank you for listening to WIZS Radio, Your Community Voice!
Home And Garden Show With Paul McKenzie
/by Bill HarrisWIZS, Your Community Voice. Thank you for listening!
The Local Skinny! each Wednesday on WIZS is the Vance County Cooperative Extension Service Home and Garden Show.
TownTalk: NC Special Olympics Busy with Upcoming Events
/by Laura GabelThe Summer Olympics in Tokyo have just passed, and it will be several years before the Summer Games again capture the world’s attention. But did you know that Special Olympics events are ongoing throughout the year?
For more than 50 years, athletes with intellectual disabilities train, practice and prepare to compete in about 20 Olympic-style events. And Special Olympics of North Carolina touts one of the largest contingents in the world – about 40,000 athletes – who bring a wide range of skills and abilities to the Games.
Madeline Safrit is one of two directors of communications for Special Olympics of North Carolina. She spoke with Trey Snide on Wednesday’s Town Talk program about upcoming events for athletes across the state and how athletes in Vance, Granville and Franklin counties have stayed in touch with their teammates across the state during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She said Special Olympians thrive on having a set schedule, and pandemic restrictions and lockdowns interrupted training schedules. SONC created a virtual program called Partner Up, Power Up last fall and again in the spring to allow athletes to “gather” virtually. “It’s been really challenging to keep that social interaction going for them,” Safrit said. A third Partner Up, Power Up session will launch this fall, even though there are athletes who are able to go back in to in-person training.
Using a fitness tracker booklet, athletes can follow a structured plan and know what class will be held on which day.
The virtual program has involved individuals with and without intellectual disabilities, “partnering together to participate,” Safrit said. She added that 10,000 people participated in the 10-week sessions.
Safrit said the virtual sessions are important for athletes who live in smaller communities. “They can hop on these calls…and can see their teammates. They also are able to train alongside athletes across the state,” keeping them ready for getting back to competition.
The competitions occur year-round, and this year, instead of having one large fall event, the organization will have numerous regional invitationals to keep the size of the group smaller.
During the course of a year, she said athletes participate in 8,000 practices to train for competitions in track and field, tennis, equestrian events, volleyball, sailing, gymnastics, cheerleading and many more. For a list of events and invitationals, visit www.sonc.net.
Vance County is preparing to train later this month for bocce, or lawn bowling and will participate in bocce invitationals in the fall.
“You would not believe how fierce the competition is out there” for bocce, Safrit said.
Safrit mentioned 40,000 athletes in North Carolina, but she also said there are at least that many volunteers that work throughout the year in some capacity to support and promote Special Olympics.
If coaching a sport isn’t your thing, there are other ways to participate, she said. Several fundraiser events are being planned for the fall, including “Over the Edge.” A minimum donation of $1,000 earns you the privilege of rappelling down the Wells Fargo Capitol Center building in downtown Raleigh. It’s a 30-story building – about 400 feet tall, just so you know.
For a $100 donation, those who are a little afraid of heights can enter the world of virtual reality and rappel virtually.
Visit www.sonc.net to learn about other fundraiser opportunities and how to be involved in Special Olympics.
Listen to the entire program here.
A Mess; More Cost Than Future Value?
/by Laura GabelThe fate of the former Henderson Laundry property remains undecided and local officials are working to take steps to get the site cleaned up and figure out its future.
The property, located at the corner of Chestnut Street and Andrews Avenue, is considered an abandoned property – no taxes have been paid since 2011.
The county commissioners’ Properties Committee shared an update during last week’s August 2 meeting. City representatives have asked the county’s support to take ownership of the property through tax foreclosure which would allow the property to be included in the N.C. Dry Cleaning Solvent Cleanup program.
Members of the Properties Committee – Dan Brummitt, Leo Kelly and Gordon Wilder – met to discuss the issue and shared their concerns with their fellow commissioners about taking possession of the property without knowing about costs and potential liabilities.
Investing in cleaning up a property that may not be usable or marketable in the future is another concern the committee shared.
According to information city representatives shared with the county, the state Dry Cleaning Solvent Cleanup (DCSC) program would limit cleanup cost liability to $16,000 around the building with an additional $15,000 estimated to cleanup residual chemicals within the building.
In addition to this amount, the city anticipates having to purchase the adjoining property and then spending as much as $400,000 for demolition of the structure in the next few years.
While the committee recognizes the need to clean up the property, the committee wonders whether the state N.C. Department of Environmental Quality could clean up the property and demolish the building without city and county involvement.
The committee requested the city to provide additional input and organize a meeting with N.C. Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) to better understand their timeframe for enforcement on the property before recommending whether the county should begin foreclosure or take ownership.
County Manager Jordan McMillen told WIZS News that the county has had some follow-up conversations with NCDEQ at the staff level and intends to speak further with the properties committee, but no details or commitments have been made yet.
8th Annual Granville Chamber Golf Tournament Set For Sept. 21; Moves To Kerr Lake Country Club
/by Laura GabelThe Granville County Chamber of Commerce has announced that its 8th annual golf tournament is scheduled for Tuesday, September 21, 2021. This year’s tournament will be held at Kerr Lake Country Club.
The club, located at 600 Hedrick Drive, Henderson, is a new member of the Granville Chamber.
Registration begins at noon and a box lunch will be provided, according to information from Executive Director Lauren Bennett Roberson. The shotgun start will be at 1 p.m.
Snacks and beverages will be included during play and there will be various contests throughout the day, including a 50/50 raffle, longest drive, closest to the pin challenge and a hole-in-one shootout.
Corporate sponsorships are $450 and include a 4-player team. Individual spots are $100, as are hole sponsors.
To learn more, contact the Chamber office at 919-693-6125.
More Money Needed to Expand Kerr Lake Regional Water System Plant
/by John C. RoseUpdate: Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021 – The Henderson City Council voted to allow City Management to find funding options up to $20 million. Before anything is actually borrowed, the Council would have to take action to approve it.
•••••••••••••••••••••
Henderson City staff are recommending the Henderson City Council authorize getting more funding to cover the present shortfall in project funding for the upgrade and expansion of the Kerr Lake Regional Water System.
The council will take a look at this and possibly vote on whether to seek the funds at the regular monthly meeting Monday night, August 9. Regular meetings start at 6 p.m. at City Hall on Rose Avenue.
Costs have gone up. About $20 million more is needed to get the three Kerr Lake Regional Water System partners Henderson (60%), Oxford (20%) and Warren County (20%) to the now guaranteed maximum price of $66 million. Henderson is the managing partner.
If the funds can be had by grant or loan, then it will be the second time more money was needed, if you want to look at it that way. First it was rehab, then expansion and now, simply, costs have gone up.
To express it in more progressive terms, the process being employed is actually called Progressive Design-Build delivery, allowing the KLRWS to work from a single contract, retain control, budget carefully and stay flexible to arrive at a quality result.
According to Henderson City Council agenda packet information, containing script written by City Manager Terrell Blackmon, “This $20.107 million funding shortfall is currently preventing this project from moving forward into construction.”
Blackmon indicated in a fiscal note to the Council in the agenda packet that “project costs will cause the City of Henderson to raise water rates slightly to cover these increased costs of the project but will be determined later prior to the City taking on any additional debt service.”
If you’d like to read more and see more of the recent history, continue reading the quoted words of Blackmon from the agenda packet below:
“The City of Henderson, on behalf of the three Partners, applied for funding to rehabilitate portions of the Kerr Lake Regional Water Treatment Plant (KLRWTP) in the spring 2017 Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) funding cycle. The DWSRF funding amount approved for this work was $19,893,000. Subsequently, in 2017, the KLRWS Partners determined that a capacity expansion of the KLRWTP was needed, and submitted two additional applications for DWSRF funding. Those two applications were approved in March 2018, allocating an additional $15,000,000 in funding to the City of Henderson and $5,000,000 to Warren County. Further, the
City of Oxford was awarded $6,000,000 bringing the total amount of DWSRF project funding as of August 4, 2021 to $45,893,000 for the KLRWTP Upgrades Project. The project will rehabilitate aging facilities, replace old equipment, and expand the facilities at the existing KLRWTP to bring the treatment capacity to a reliable 20 million gallons per day (MGD). The subject project is being delivered by a Progressive Design-Build delivery method, and CDM Smith was selected by a competitive procurement process in 2017 to be the project Design-Builder. CDM Smith has nearly completed Phase 1 of the design-build process, which includes design to a 70% milestone and development of construction pricing. In September 2020, CDM Smith notified KLRWS that they had received pricing and quotes from their subcontractors, vendors, and suppliers, and that the construction cost of the project had increased significantly since a budget was set in 2017, and since the last estimate had been prepared in early 2019. CDM Smith has arrived at a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) of $66 million. The revised construction cost of $66 million is $20.107 million greater than the approved SRF funding amount of $45.893 million. This $20.107 million funding shortfall is currently preventing this project from moving forward into construction.”
TownTalk: The Millstone
/by John C. RoseThank you for listening to WIZS Radio, and TownTalk!
We hope you enjoy listening to today’s show.
WIZS Local News Audio 8-10-21 Noon
/by Bill HarrisThank you for listening to WIZS Radio, Your Community Voice!
The Local Skinny: Jobs In Vance
/by WIZS StaffLocal Skinny Jobs in Vance
The H-V Chamber of Commerce and WIZS, Your Community Voice, present Jobs in Vance for August 10th, 2021. The Chamber compiles the information, and it is presented here and on the radio. Contact the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce at 438-8414 or email christa@hendersonvance.org to be included.
JOB OPENINGS IN VANCE COUNTY – Week of August 10, 2021
Name of the Company: Chick-fil-A
Jobs Available: Daytime Cashiers/ Drive thru Team Members – Must be available to work 6:00am – 4:00pm Monday thru Saturday, be 16 years old, have a valid driver’s license and have basic computer skills
Method of Contact: to apply text FRONTHOUSE to 252-359-3232
Name of the Company: Chick-fil-A
Jobs Available: Also Hiring for all positions- necessary skills – friendly, excellent communication, trustworthy, accurate and quick to learn
Method of Contact: to apply text CHICKEN to 252-359-3232
Name of the Company: Pizza Inn of Henderson
Jobs Available: All Positions
Contact Person: Randy Poythress
Method of Contact: please stop by 1250 Coble Blvd. to apply
Name of the Company: Belk, Inc. of Henderson
Jobs Available: Hiring for full time and part time employees – Competitive pay, flexible schedules and employee discounts
Contact Person: Chris Tilley
Method of Contact: Come by the store on 350 North Cooper Drive and apply in person
****JOB FAIR Saturday August 21st from 9:am til noon located at Hix Field in Oxford, NC. This job fair is Sponsored in part by NC Works. Area employers will have booths set up.
Some of these businesses are present or past advertisers of WIZS. Being an ad client is not a condition of being listed or broadcast. This is not a paid ad.