Tag Archive for: #hendersonnews

Perry Memorial Library

The Local Skinny! What’s Happening At Perry Memorial Library

Perry Memorial Library is abuzz with activity during the day, helping patrons with book checkouts and providing a spot for a variety of groups to gather. But have you ever wondered just what goes on after-hours at the library?

If so, Youth Services Director Melody Peters may have just the activity to grab your little ones’ attention. It’s called a Teddy Bear Sleepover and Peters said plans are shaping up for the Saturday, Jan. 20 event.

The library staff continually strives to find host programs and activities that appeal to a variety of folks – from the preschooler through high school-aged students and beyond.

The Teddy Bear Sleepover is one that is geared for the younger kids, Peters said on Tuesday’s segment of The Local Skinny!

The idea is to have the children bring to the library a favorite stuffed animal, doll or other type of “lovey” and then do some activities before they leave them overnight for a sleepover – the stuffed animals stay overnight, not the children, Peters said, chuckling.

The next day, when parents bring their children to pick up their lovey, they’ll get a photo album filled with all the overnight antics that occurred after the library was closed.

This is just one of the new offerings for younger patrons, and Peters said teens are invited to another new program on Tuesday where they’ll create vision boards.

A vision board, she explained, is a type of goal-setting activity, and teens can “come have a good time…and think about where you want to be in a year, in five years.”

Using pictures from magazines, participants will create their unique vision board.

“When you have it visually, you can look at it every day,” she said.

Another new program will kick off on Monday, Jan. 22. It’s called “Community Read Aloud” and it will be held from 5:30 p.m. to about 6:15 p.m.

“It’s definitely geared to kids who are reading,” Peters said, but there will be volunteers on hand to help those who may be struggling readers. She’ll kick things off by reading from a chapter book while people gather, and then participants will choose their own books to read. Then they’ll have a chance to read aloud at their tables when they break off into groups.

The idea, she said, is that everyone will read aloud and to be more comfortable in a small-group setting.

Check out the library’s complete schedule of programs and services at www.perrylibrary.com.

Email Peters at mpeters@perrylibrary.org if you’d like to learn more about the new programs at the library.

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Cooperative Extension with Paul McKenzie: What Works in The Garden

Listen 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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Henderson Vance Recreation & Parks

H-V Rec and Parks Offers Beginner Yoga Class On Thursday Evenings Starting Jan. 5

Start 2024 off right with a beginner yoga class at Aycock Rec Center.

Classes will be offered on Thursday evenings from 6:15 p.m. to 7 p.m. beginning Jan. 5, 2024.

According to information from the Henderson Vance Recreation and Parks Department, instructor Beryle Lewis will focus on basic yoga techniques to inspire physical, mental and spiritual peace from within through balance, stretching and breathing.

Register online at https://hvrpd.recdesk.com/. The cost is $1 for members; $2 for non-members.

Aycock Rec Center is located at 307 Carey Chapel Rd., Henderson.

Call 252.492.9400 for more information.

Local Ophthalmologist Daniel Bernstein Passed Away Dec. 23

Local ophthalmologist Dr. Daniel Bernstein died Saturday, Dec. 23.

Bernstein, 81, retired in 2022 and relocated to Virginia to be closer to family.

Bernstein was initially appointed to the Maria Parham Health medical staff in 1975, according to a social media post from Maria Parham Health, which included condolences to his family, friends and patients. He retired from Four County Eye Associates, where he practiced with partner Dr. Cynthia Hampton.

A funeral service will be held Sunday Dec. 31 at 11 a.m  at Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, 1701 E. Millbrook Rd., Raleigh, followed by a graveside service at 12 noon at Raleigh Hebrew Cemetery, 450 N. State St., Raleigh.

Known for providing quality eye care to his patients for more than five decades, Bernstein also was quick to share jokes, whether in the office or during other activities in the community.

He had been a long-time member of the Henderson Kiwanis Club, and current Kiwanis Club President Danny Wilkerson said he remembered Bernstein as being “just a genuine guy (who) was so supportive of Henderson.”

Wilkerson said he appreciated Bernstein’s civic-mindedness and his support and advice when he was elected back in the fall to be the club’s new president.

Bernstein attended the club’s Christmas party that was held a couple of weeks ago, Wilkerson reported.

Jan. 6 “I Survived The Battle” Service To Benefit Domestic Violence Victims

The public is invited to a musical event on Saturday, Jan. 6 to raise money to help victims of domestic violence.

Dorothy Wimbush, one of the event’s organizers, said the “I Survived The Battle” program includes numerous musical performances. Minister Brenda Hunt Moore will be the emcee.

The program will be held at Vance-Granville Community College. Doors open at 3 p.m. and the service begins at 4 p.m. Advance tickets are $15; tickets at the door are $20. Children under 12 get in free.

Wimbush said all proceeds will be used to help women find a place to stay after they have left an abusive relationship.

The service, a production of Helen Gill and TMT Promotions, is scheduled to include the following:

  • New Creation
  • The Gospel Prophets
  • The Senational Friendly Five
  • The Anointed Ones
  • Mary Brown’s Spiritual Singers
  • Legacy
  • Latoya Merrill & Nu Prayze
  • The Anointed Voices
  • The Gospel Disciples

To learn more, contact Helen Gill at 919.538.9179 or Cynthia Turner at 919.798.1432.

Henderson Residents Can Pile Loose Leaves, Pine Straw Curbside For Collection Through Jan. 26

Henderson residents have a few more weeks to pile their leaves and pine straw curbside for collection by the Public Works Department.

The designated collection period ends on Jan. 26, however – an important deadline to remember. Any leaves or pine straw piled curbside after the deadline will result in a $78 charge added to the resident’s sanitation bill.

It’s also important to note several key details about where and how to place the loose leaf litter:

  • Behind the curb so it doesn’t interfere with vehiclular or pedestrian traffic;
  • Not in an open ditch, gutter or street area to avoid interference with the storm drainage system;
  • Free of trash and debris – like glass, cans, rocks, limb cuttings – that can damage collection equipment;
  • Not be placed on top of a water meter.

Loose leaves and pinestraw will generally be picked up on a two or three week rotation; however, this is dependent on weather conditions and leaf accumulation. Residents can continue to bag leaves or place them in containers, but it’s not necessary during the loose collection period.

Call the Public Works Department at 252.431.6115 or 252.431.6030 for more information.

 

Outdoor Learning Centers Provide Different Classroom Environment For Elementary Students

Ten elementary schools now have outdoor learning centers to provide teachers and students a breath of fresh air when it comes to teaching and learning. It may be a little chilly when students return on Jan. 3, but the learning centers can expect increased use when the weather warms.

Vance County Schools leaders, along with local officials and the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce, recently gathered at Aycock Elementary’s Outdoor Learning Center to celebrate the additions to the elementary campuses. Superintendent Dr. Cindy Bennett shared valuable insights into the purpose of this innovative workspace. The Outdoor Learning Center features benches, learning screens and Internet access, which all serve to provide students with a conducive environment for instructional lessons while enjoying the outdoors.

These outdoor learning centers are just one of the innovative ways that VCS is working to support teachers and student achievement. The school district will get more than $12 million to hire eight instructional coaches and 16 lead teachers – one for each school in the district.

Through the Raleigh-based nonprofit The Innovation Project and a three-year funding cycle from the U.S. Dept. of Education, VCS leaders say they can boost recruitment and retention of teachers, a chronic challenge for many rural school districts.

In an interview last month, Bennett said the instructional coaches will have the opportunity to work with students and teachers, whether through co-teaching situations, professional development sessions and more. Ideal candidates will be professionals with a proven track record of high achievement and student progress and who possess a strong skill set of working with adults.

TownTalk: Around Old Granville: Gen. Thomas Person

 

 

 

Thomas Person of North Carolina has several things in common with George Washington, the first president of the United States of America: Both were generals in the Revolutionary War, both were surveyors, both were involved in politics of the day and both rose from humble beginnings to become wealthy landowners.

We only need look at a $1 bill to see an image of Washington gazing back.

But we don’t have any visuals to inform us as to what Person looked like – heck, historians aren’t even sure where he’s buried.

“Person kind of falls through the cracks, historically speaking,” said Mark Pace,

local historian and NC Room Specialist at Thornton Library in Oxford. But Person, he said, is one of the most significant – if not THE most significant – figures there is in the area known as Old Granville.

By the time he was 21, Person was surveying land for Lord Granville. “He had a reputation for not being a crook,” Pace told WIZS co-host Bill Harris on the Around Old Granville segment of TownTalk Thursday.

He used his job to his advantage, Pace said. By 1792, he owned 85,000 acres in North Carolina and Tennessee – roughly half the size of present-day Vance County.

He may have been the wealthiest man in Old Granville County, and he had 100 or more enslaved persons to work on the four expansive plantations that dotted his holdings.

But he also was a proponent of just government, Pace said. And not just for Granville County, but for the whole state.

This liberal ideology, coupled with the notion that persons of power and influence had an obligation to make their communities better places to live for everyone got Person in trouble from time to time with other wealthy people in positions of power.

One of those people was Richard Henderson, a member of the Colonial Assembly alongside Person.

“Richard Henderson brought some charges up against Thomas Person,” Pace said, formed a 79-person committee of fellow assembly men, and accused Person of “extortion, usury, perjury, purloining of tax money and levying illegal fees.” Henderson had more than 20 witnesses come in from all across the colony to testify, but after several days of testimonies, the claims were deemed baseless.

And that’s when the tables turned on Henderson – the committee made him pay for all the travel costs for those witnesses he’d called to testify against Person.

In 1770, Person found himself in jail in Hillsborough, awaiting trial for making treasonous comments. Gen. Tryon was on his way from New Bern for the trial, and that’s when Person hatched a plan.

Pace said Person desperately needed to get back to Goshen, his plantation located near present-day Berea in western Granville County, apparently to destroy some papers that contained some incriminating evidence.

After promising the jailer that he’d be back just as soon as he’d “taken care of some business,” Person raced to Goshen after supper and was, indeed, back the next morning. To seal the deal, the local preacher vouched for Person’s character.

Pace said Person’s desk – complete with axe marks made by Gov. Tryon’s men looking for the letters – is on display at UNC-CH’s Wilson Library.

“They never could get him on charges,” Pace said.

Although Person married, he and wife Jenna never had children, so there are no descendants. The plantation home at Goshen burned in 1932 and the recently restored Person’s Ordinary in Littleton is one structure that remains from Person’s holdings.

As settlers went westward from Granville County to claim frontier land, Person was honored by having a county named for him. Those names usually are made posthumously, but Person County got its name while the namesake was still alive.

 

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