Cooperative Extension With Paul McKenzie: What Works in the Garden
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TownTalk: Boo! Ghost Hunting With Michael LaChiana
It’s the spooky stuff Halloween’s made for – ghosts and spirits, wreaking havoc from the Great Beyond on unwitting humans. But for Michael LaChiana, spirits – whether benevolent or otherwise – are part of the paranormal that he enjoys investigating. And he’s serious about it.
LaChiana, founder of the Heritage Hunters Society, said his investigations aren’t like the TV shows that crowd the guides this time of year. Those shows may have an entertainment value, but he doesn’t put much stock in them.
“I just don’t feel that the paranormal should be entertainment,” he said.
He prefers to research places with a history, a past, where he can fire up his devices to try to discover those from the spirit world who may have something to tell him.
“There are spirits everywhere, as far as I’m concerned,” he told WIZS’s Bill Harris on Monday’s TownTalk. “I like to connect with the spirits that might possibly” be in a historic home or other type of property.
He recently visited again Mount Vernon, home of George Washington. “I did some recordings on the property, in some of the outbuildings,” LaChiana said. The next step is to listen to those recordings to see what may have been captured.
He’s had good success recording spirits in homes across Vance, Granville, Franklin and Warren counties over the years, he said. Those recorded sounds are called “EVPs” – electronic voice phenomena.
“We don’t hear it with our ears, but we capture it with our recorder,” Elliott explained.
He prefers to work in quieter, historic settings, and “go to places that have never been investigated.”
Besides Mount Vernon, he’s visited Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson, and Ford Theater, where President Lincoln was assassinated. He’s knocked off a few of his “bucket list” spots in the U.S. and in Europe, with no sign of slowing down.
“I love the quiet places – you can really get some good responses,” he said. “Nobody talks to them all these years,” he said of the spirits who may be inhabiting any historical spot. “A lot of them want to share.”
LaChiana doesn’t have time for many individual investigations of people’s homes these days. He’s busy with his own research and with his TV show on Amazon Prime called “Heritage Hunters: Journey Through The Past.” The second episode is due out in about a month. It’s about Tom Dooley and who killed Laura Foster. LaChiana said he’s gotten some “amazing evidence” – from a spirit, of course – about who really murdered Foster back in 1866 in the mountains of North Carolina.
The Local Skinny! Elliott Credits Community Support And Consistency To Vipers’ Success
The Vance County High School football team marched through the 2023-24 season, tackling opponents one after the other and coming out with wins each time. The Vipers hope to build on that 10-0 record later this week in the opening round of the state playoffs.
Head Coach Aaron Elliott said he and his staff have been preaching consistency to the team, and that is paying dividends.
The Vipers host the Terry Sanford Bulldogs Friday night at 7 p.m. and Elliott said he hopes the community will come out to support the local team.
“This year has been a little different than last year,” Elliott said on Monday’s The Local Skinny! Last year, he said, the coaching staff was working to build that culture of consistency to the football program that had been missing.
Elliott played football here and remembers how Northern Vance and Southern Vance fans got behind their teams. “There was a big deal for Friday night” games, he said.
And he’s looking to get that momentum going again.
“Having a 10-win season,” Elliott said, shows that the kids have bought in to what coaches have been saying. Those wins – one by a whopping 76 points – shows that the players are enjoying the process.
Elliott said he and the team appreciate all the community support that businesses, churches and others have shown, whether by providing meals or sending congratulatory emails, phone calls or text messages.
“That’s been real important,” he said.
He said he’s proud of the way the staff has worked to instill that sense of consistency to the players, and it’s what has contributed to their success this season.
“These kids really feed off the community’s energy,” Elliott said.
The 6th-seed Vipers face the Bulldogs in the first round, and Elliott said if they get the W Friday, they’ll stay at home for the next round – and possibly for a third game at home, depending on how the bracket shapes up.
He said the Bulldogs, like the Vipers, have a good quarterback who can run and throw the football. “We’re going to have to play good and not take them lightly,” he said. But they’ve got a good defense, too, and Elliott’s been watching a lot of film to be ready for Friday.
“I feel real confident on what we can do on offense,” he said. “We’ve gotten really good at executing plays on offense.”
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WIZS Radio Local News Audio 10-30-23 Noon
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Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland: Winterizing Herbs
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Four Injured By Gunfire Following Argument Friday Night On East Winder Street
A late-night argument Friday among a group of people resulted in four people being struck by gunfire, and Henderson police are sorting through information to determine just what happened.
The altercation took place about 10:15 p.m. near 328 E. Winder St., according to Henderson Police Chief Marcus Barrow. The argument escalated quickly, Barrow stated. Three of the four victims sought medical treatment for their injuries.
The victims’ conditions are not known at this time, but Barrow said the following men, all from Henderson, were hit by gunfire: Marcus Hayes, 38; James Davis, 26; Carl Williams, 36; and Tyrese Marshall, 20. Barrow did not specify which three individuals received medical treatment.
The police department’s investigative Division is vigorously working to develop leads and information about the incident, Barrow said. He requests that anyone with information contact Henderson-Vance Crime Stoppers at 252.492.1925, use the P3 app, contact the police department at 252.438.4141 or contact the police department through Facebook Messenger.
Henderson Police Investigate Early-Morning Shooting That Injured 3
Henderson police are investigating a shooting early Saturday morning near a gas station on East Andrews Avenue. Three men sustained injuries.
Shortly after midnight, police were dispatched to the Fiddlestix, 1421 E. Andrews Ave. in reference to shots being fired in the area, according to information from Chief Marcus Barrow.
When officers arrived, they located a single-vehicle accident in the entrance way of Cardinal Plaza. The vehicle was occupied by four males, all from Warren County, Barrow stated. Three of the four people inside the car had sustained wounds from gunfire.
The three individuals were transported by medical personnel to an area hospital for treatment. At this time, names and status of the victims are being withheld while the investigation continues.
Barrow said the police department’s Investigative Division is vigorously working to develop leads and information about the incident. Barrow requests the public’s assistance as officers continue to investigate. Contact the Henderson Police Department through Henderson-Vance Crime Stoppers at 252.492.1925, the P3 app, the police department’s main number, 252.438.4141 or via Facebook Messenger.
Rabid Skunk Case Confirmed On McNair Drive
Vance County Animal Services has confirmed a case of rabies in a skunk that was found on McNair Drive on Tuesday, Oct. 24.
As a reminder, state law requires all dog and cat owners to keep their pets’ rabies vaccinations up-to-date. Even if your pet is current on its rabies vaccination, if you live in the area of McNair Drive, animal services officials recommend getting a booster.
The Vance County Animal Shelter offers rabies vaccines for $5. Come to the shelter, located at 1243 Brodie Rd. on Mondays between 12:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and every other Saturday between 8 a.m. and 12 noon.
Call the shelter 252.492.3136 for more information.
SportsTalk: Vipers Tangle With Warriors For Final Regular Season Game
With the Vance Co. Vipers assured of a playoff spot and at least a share of the conference championship, one could think that the Vipers would be taking it easy in the final regular season finale Friday night against the J.F. Webb Warriors. One could also be wrong. Coming off a dominant performance last week at a rain soaked Carrboro, the Vipers want to finish the regular season at 10-0 and not share the conference championship but win it outright. “We’ve had a good week of practice,” head coach Aaron Elliott said on Thursday’s SportsTalk. That may be a bit of “coach speak” that one expects but Coach Elliott isn’t letting the Vipers relax. “We needed to clean some things up on defense,” Elliott said referring to how Carrboro was able to use a short passing game to move the ball. Win or lose, the Vipers are in the playoffs. “We won’t know who we are playing until lunchtime on Saturday,” Elliott stated. The Vipers can’t look past an improved J.F. Webb team though. “They are disciplined, it’s Senior night and it’s a rivalry,” said Elliott.
J.F. Webb Head Coach Keionte Gainey echoes Elliott’s feelings about the rivalry. He knows, even in his first year at Webb, that the rivalry is important. Gainey only has a handful of seniors on his team and has, much like Coach Elliot has done at Vance County, turned the J.F. Webb program around. Webb is 5-4 this season. “It’s the most wins we’ve had since 2010,” Gainey said on Sports Talk Thursday. While that is impressive, what may be more impressive is that his players have increased their GPA from 1.9 to 3.0. He credits the team’s improvements both on and off the field to players, teachers, administration and community buying into his program.
Expect a packed house Friday night at J.F. Webb High School in Oxford. WIZS’ live coverage will begin around 6:50 p.m. immediately following the Joy Christian Center broadcast with Bill Harris and Doc Ayscue on Vance County Friday Night Football.
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TownTalk: Around Old Granville: North Carolina Furniture
North Carolina is world-renown for many things, including its contributions to tobacco production, textiles manufacturing and the furniture industry. And while much has been written about tobacco and textiles, Granville County native and author Eric Medlin said he was somewhat surprised to learn that nobody had written a book on the history of the North Carolina furniture industry.
So he set about writing one.
“Sawdust In Your Pockets” came out last week and Medlin was a guest on TownTalk’s Around Old Granville segment Thursday to talk about how the beginnings of the furniture industry and its continued presence across the state and what the future may hold in store.
Medlin said the problem with writing the first book about a topic means that there aren’t many secondary sources to delve into when doing research. “I had to dive in and start with company records, newspapers, and things like that,” he said. He said he was fascinated to learn more about the rise of the furniture industry, the increased sophistication of the pieces that were produced and then sent all over the globe.
In the early days, the state had the three key ingredients that fueled the rise in the industry: cheap labor, access to cheap woods and access to railroad connections. Medlin cited small towns that had small furniture operations – Goldsboro and Dunn, for example – but they were overshadowed by the competition of agriculture to become leaders in the industry.
And although the manufacturing operations were called “factories,” the furniture factories weren’t like the giant textile factories with mechanized looms, Medlin said. And assembly lines weren’t the rage yet, either. The workers were equipped with basic tools like electric saws and staple guns to produce the furniture.
North Carolina, Medlin said, remains the leading furniture-producing state in the U.S., but mammoth local furniture manufacturers have scaled back in recent years, thanks to outsourcing to other countries where labor costs are lower.
The future of the state’s furniture industry, Medlin predicted, lies in the production of customized, bulky pieces – things that are not cost-effective to put in shipping containers and load on ships to sell back in the U.S.
Medlin’s book can be found on Amazon, at Barnes & Noble, the University of Georgia Press and Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh.
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