https://wizs.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Home-and-Garden_new030321.jpg265504Bill Harrishttps://wizs.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/wizswebsitelogoimage.pngBill Harris2023-02-01 13:40:202023-02-01 13:40:20Home And Garden Show
Professional caregivers and family members who care for loved ones with dementia can attend a workshop later this month at Vance-Granville Community College to learn about ways they can manage their roles.
Michael Patterson is a family caregiver specialist with the Kerr-Tar COG, the agency sponsoring the event on Tuesday, Feb. 21. The daylong workshop is $15 for individuals who are caring in some capacity for a family member with dementia and $40 for professional caregivers.
Patterson spoke with John C. Rose on Wednesday’s TownTalk and he discussed details of the regional workshop, as well as a couple of other programs that may be of interest to caregivers.
Sharing information about available community resources takes up a good bit of Patterson’s time, but that’s his job, he said.
“I like to be an asset to our caregivers in the region. Sometimes, they just need someone they can call and ask questions to,” he said.
The respite voucher is one program that caregivers can access, he said.
This program provides up to $750 that caregivers can use to pay for in-home aid assistance, so they can have a break to run errands or complete other tasks and be assured that the loved one will be cared for in his or her absence.
This program isn’t tied to family income or the person’s financial situation, Patterson said. Rather, it has more to do with the age, diagnosis and the ability of the patient to complete certain daily living tasks, which Patterson calls activities of daily living, or ADL.
Another program involves a community partnership with Harold Sherman Adult Day Care. There are scholarships available to allow patients to spend the day at the center.
“It’s been a great partnership,” Patterson said, adding that he has worked closely with its director to get the partnership established. “It’s a fairly new program and we’re excited about expanding our reach and opportunity.”
The day program enhances patients’ mental capacity and keeps them active and engaged throughout the day, Patterson said.
Dementia expert Teepa Snow will be the featured speaker at the Feb. 21 workshop, and Patterson said she will help participants fine tune communication skills with those individuals suffering from dementia.
It can often be very stressful dealing with family members and loved ones who may ask repetitive questions or exhibit personality changes as a result of their health condition. Knowing how to effectively engage with them may be helpful, he said.
Patterson said the workshop also will help caregivers learn “how to physically approach (dementia sufferers) and how to care and have compassion for those with dementia.”
Workshop participants also will learn differences between early onset dementia, as compared to mid-stage and late-stage dementia.
Learn more at www.Kerrtarcog.org and click on Adult and Aging Services in the options listed.
https://wizs.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/kerr-tar-cog-560x294-1.jpg294560Bill Harrishttps://wizs.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/wizswebsitelogoimage.pngBill Harris2023-02-01 13:35:262023-02-01 16:15:11TownTalk: Helping Care Givers Of Those With Dementia
The chapel of Baskerville Funeral Home, LLC is the site of an upcoming community information session, during which a variety of topics of interest to local residents will be discussed.
The info session will begin at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 14.
The public is invited to attend, and topics for discussion include gang activity, COVID updates, at-risk youth, food insecurity, social and emotional learning and community health workers, according to information received at WIZS.
The funeral home is located at 104 S. Chestnut St. in Henderson.
https://wizs.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Baskerville-Funeral-Home-Logo.png265504WIZS Staffhttps://wizs.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/wizswebsitelogoimage.pngWIZS Staff2023-01-31 15:55:042023-02-01 15:20:55Public Invited To Community Info Session Feb. 14 At Baskerville Funeral Home Chapel
Maria Parham Health’s volunteer services department is sponsoring a uniform sale later this week, and available for purchase is a wide range of name brand gear, from scrubs and lab jackets to medical arm sleeves and ID badge holders.
The Work Choice Uniforms event will be Thursday, Feb. 2 and Friday, Feb. 3 in the John T. Church classroom on the hospital campus, said Lisa Radford, volunteer services coordinator.
Come and shop for nurse shoes, t-shirts, surgical caps, compression socks and more, she said. In addition, medical equipment like blood pressure cuffs, thermometers, pulse oximeters and stethoscopes also will be available for purchase.
There will be men’s, women’s and unisex clothing from size XXS to 5XL, and from petite to tall sizes.
The sale Thursday will run from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Friday’s sale is from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The event is sponsored by Maria Parham Health Volunteer Services.
https://wizs.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Work-Choice-Uniforms-Uniform-Sale-Maria-Parham.jpg294560WIZS Staffhttps://wizs.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/wizswebsitelogoimage.pngWIZS Staff2023-01-31 15:40:452023-01-31 15:41:01Need New Scrubs? Visit MPH Work Choice Uniform Sale Feb. 2, Feb. 3
Vance County Schools is looking at where to spend the more than $841,000 awarded to the school district as part of a statewide School Safety grant.
Rey Horner, VCS executive director of student services, said the money can be used for basic safety equipment like metal detectors, but also to implement training programs for students and to hire more resource officers.
The total amount of the grant is $841,270, Horner said in an interview that aired on TownTalk Tuesday.
The district’s secondary schools have metal detectors and also have designated SROs on campus, Horner said, but the hope is to put SROs at the elementary schools, too. There is currently one vacant SRO position, but Horner said Sheriff Curtis Brame agreed to provide one of his officers until the school district can hire a replacement.
“The goal is to provide an SRO at all of our schools,” Horner said, but he added it has been challenging so far to find qualified applicants. The grant money can be used for SROs, and Horner said the district has allocated $400,000 for additional SROs.
In light of the challenge of hiring SROs, Horner said the district has asked the Center for Safer Schools if it can use that money designated for SROs on other types of safety equipment.
“We’ve put in a request to reallocate (money) for cameras, 911 beepers – anything that can make our schools safer and more efficient,” Horner said.
There’s a plan to place additional metal detectors at the high school, and to gradually phase them in at elementary schools, he added, so students will be used to them and not feel threatened by them when they move to the middle school.
Protecting the physical safety of students and staff is of critical importance, and metal detectors are one way to filter dangerous items from being brought onto school campuses.
But medical safety also is a concern for school leaders. The schools already have automatic external defibrillators – or AEDs – but the goal is to place more than one at each campus.
In addition to equipment, Horner said the district is taking preventative measures to try to reduce students experiencing crises.
“A lot of the things that we’re seeing are coming from the outside to the inside of the school,” Horner explained. One program – Project ARROW – helps build students’ self-esteem and coping skills to deal with such issues as bullying and negative effects of social media.
Horner said Project ARROW is akin to life coaching for students, who, upon completion of the training, can render the same training to their peers.
Vance County Schools was one of 200 school districts and charter schools across the state that received part of the $74 million grant money.
Horner said the district is working hard to make sure the money is spent according to state guidelines. “With all things dealing with money, you have to be very particular,” he said. “We want to make sure it impacts the kids on the largest scale.”
https://wizs.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Vance-County-Schools-Rey-Horner-Executive-Director-of-Student-Services.jpg294560Laura Gabelhttps://wizs.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/wizswebsitelogoimage.pngLaura Gabel2023-01-31 13:49:522023-01-31 14:18:27TownTalk:Vance Schools Hope To Add SRO Positions Using Part Of $841K School Safety Grant
https://wizs.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Steve-Cordell.jpg265504Bill Harrishttps://wizs.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/wizswebsitelogoimage.pngBill Harris2023-01-31 13:46:412023-01-31 13:46:41TownTalk: More Thoughts On Steve Cordell
The van fleet at Rebuilding Hope, Inc. has doubled, thanks to a recent donation by Island Creek Baptist Church.
Randolph Wilson, coordinator of the non-profit, located in the former Coca-Cola Bottling Co. location, said the 15-passenger van will be especially helpful when it’s time to take volunteers to various project sites during the summertime Servants on Site mission.
West End Baptist Church had made a similar donation earlier, Wilson noted in the group’s monthly newsletter.
RHI relies on volunteers and donations from the community and beyond to help achieve their mission of helping area homeowners repair – free of charge – roofs and install wheelchair ramps, keeping them safe and able to remain in their homes.
Early Bird registration ends tomorrow for the annual Servants on Site project, scheduled for June 19-23. The reduced cost is $125; after tomorrow, the cost is $150.
The fee includes a specially designed t-shirt, as well as all meals and lodging. Scholarships are available. SOS is a weeklong project that includes work, worship and witness – in Vance and surrounding counties. Young people who have completed 6th grade through adults may participate.
To learn more about SOS and other ways to=participate in Rebuilding Hope programsand projects, visit www.rebuildinghopeinc.org.
https://wizs.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/COOP-100322-560x294-1.png294560Bill Harrishttps://wizs.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/wizswebsitelogoimage.pngBill Harris2023-01-31 09:35:232023-01-31 09:35:23Cooperative Extension With Paul McKenzie: What Works in the Garden
City leaders and colleagues of Henderson Fire Chief Steve Cordell paid tribute to their friend and coworker, who died Sunday after a brief illness.
Cordell and his family had attended a ceremony at City Hall on Jan. 19 – on Cordell’s 51st birthday – during which he received the Order of the Guardian award for outstanding leadership and service in the fire industry and was recognized for his 30 years of work with the city.
Funeral arrangements will be announced later by Sossamon Funeral Home.
Retired fire chief Danny Wilkerson told WIZS News Monday that he remembers well the day in May 2015 when he called then-Assistant Fire Chief Cordell to his office.
“I asked him if he was ready to become fire chief,” Wilkerson said. “You should have seen his face,” Wilkerson added, recalling Cordell’s emotional reaction to the news that he would serve as interim chief upon Wilkerson’s retirement. He later was chosen for the job and succeeded Wilkerson as chief in November 2015.
Cordell joined the fire department in 1990’s and found a career that lasted more than 30 years. He got his first taste of fire service in 1990 as a 17-year-old volunteer with Watkins Volunteer Fire Department.
Watkins Assistant Chief Brandon Link said Cordell remained active with the department and continued to contribute to the department throughout his career with the city fire department.
In a post on social media, Link remembered Cordell and gave thanks for his many years of service: “Thank you for showing me what faith is when I wanted to lose hope,” Link wrote. “Thank you for choosing to love me when you had zero obligation to do so. Thank you for holding me to a higher standard than the rest because, while it seemed unfair, ultimately you knew best. Thank you for being there for me when even I didn’t realize I needed you.”
Henderson Mayor Eddie Ellington praised Cordell for his immeasurable passion and dedication to the community. “The knowledge, wisdom and service to his profession have profoundly impacted countless lives,” Ellington told WIZS News. “Although his life here on earth is over, his eternal flame will continue to burn in our hearts and memories.”
Among others sharing some of those memories with WIZS News was Henderson Police Chief Marcus Barrow, who said Monday that Cordell was a “kind soul” who would do anything for anybody. “We we poked fun at each other but always came together,” Barrow said of the friendly rivalry between public service agencies and personnel. “They were always there for us… we were always there from them,” he said.
Public safety poses challenges for those who serve, but Barrow said Cordell “never let anybody down.”
“Steve was a dedicated and a professional firefighter,” Wilkerson said, adding that he “never doubted his ability to do his job – as well as mine, when I was absent. I have many memories of our friendship and working relationship.”
Firefighters with the Henderson Fire Department were honored Monday, Oct. 24, 2022 for their role in saving a woman’s life in a January house fire. NC Insurance Commissioner and State Fire Marshal Mike Causey is seen here with Henderson Fire Chief Steve Cordell with the commissioner giving the chief a thumbs up on the floor of fire station 2 downtown
Wilkerson said Cordell was always exploring ways to do better and they would talk after going out on fire calls to see how and where to make improvements. He said the city was fortunate to have kept Cordell when he easily could have gone to be chief somewhere else.
“He’s just been a huge asset and (we)just need to keep going forward and continue what he’s started,” Wilkerson added.
Vance County Emergency Management Director Brian Short called Cordell “one of the best people I ever met – a good Christian man…someone trying to make things better.”
Short recalled that any time he’d walk into Cordell’s office, the first thing he’d notice was an open Bible. His straightforward approach was just one sign of his professionalism and leadership. “He never came sideways at you about anything,” Short said. “He elevated his people… it was never about him, it was always about ‘us,’” Short stated.
As Wilkerson explained, for Cordell, it was “God, family, fire department – in that order. “I never knew him to get (his) priorities in the wrong order.”
