Tag Archive for: #hendersonnews

Cooperative Extension with Michael Ellington: Benefits of Community Gardens

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The community garden at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market has its official grand opening this Saturday, and Horticulture and Field Crops agent Michael Ellington invites folks to come out to see the result of months of preparation and what has been achieved.

Cooperative Extension staff will be on hand from 12 noon to 2 p.m. to answer questions and to share information about the newest addition to the farmers market campus.

It’s a place where gardeners of all skill levels are welcome to learn and share their own knowledge about growing fruits and vegetables.

Garden beds are available to rent for the growing season – each 4 foot by 8 foot bed is $40 for the whole season.

Community gardens provide lots of benefits, Ellington said. Fresh, healthy food is just the beginning.

Access to affordable, nutritious food can be limited, especially in underserved neighborhoods and communities, he said. Garden plots like the ones at the farmers market offer local hands-on solutions that can reduce food inequality and increase availability.

And it just makes sense that folks who grow their own fruits and vegetables are likely to eat more of each. Community gardens give people power over what they eat, he said.

Community gardens can bring diverse groups together, and soon, new friends are swapping recipes and stories while they pull weeds and keep their plots watered.

These places “reveal that social fabric that holds communities together,” Ellington said.

It’s also a place where children can learn first-hand about where their food comes from – literally – not from a video screen or a textbook.

“They learn by planting seeds, watching them sprout and harvesting what they’ve nurtured,” Ellington said.

Planting a garden can reduce grocery bills and can reduce the amount of food waste that ends up in the landfill.

Community gardens also send a clear message to prospective businesses that residents care about where they live.

If you’d like more information about the community garden, visit the cooperative extension website at https://vance.ces.ncsu.edu, call 252.438.8188 or email Ellington at maellington@ncsu.edu.

There are many ways to help, from volunteering to sponsoring to making a direct donation.

And if you don’t have a green thumb, don’t fret. Just spread the word about the community garden to friends and neighbors.

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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The Local Skinny! N.C. Rep. Bryan Cohn Says $10M For Water Plant Expansion Is Spent

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N.C. Rep. Bryan Cohn said House Bill 74, signed into law last week by Gov. Josh Stein, is not anticipated to have any impact on the $10 million that had been reappropriated away from the City of Oxford as part of the Kerr Lake Regional Water expansion.

“That money has been distributed and contractors have been paid,” Cohn told WIZS News Monday morning. “That money no longer exists.”

Cohn learned in early March that the bill contained language that would “claw back” money that had been appropriated to the City of Oxford in 2023 to expand the water plant. The project is underway, and once complete, will increase capacity to up to 20 million gallons a day.

“The facts are that the city of Oxford, through the water authority, applied for reimbursement to DEQ. DEQ evaluated that reimbursement request, just like they would any other reimbursement request, and they issued the final payment,” Cohn explained. “So that money has been distributed and the contractors working at Kerr Lake Regional Water plant have been paid – at least they’ve been paid using the funds allocated by the General Assembly.”

You can’t spend money twice, and Cohn said he is unsure what will happen next, but he added “the law is on our side.” The money was originally allocated in 2023 by the N.C. General Assembly for the regional water expansion project.

“That project is underway and they followed all the proper protocols and procedures for executing the work and getting reimbursement as required,” he said.

Cohn said when he learned that there was an attempt to reallocate the funding, he said he recommended that they needed to request reimbursement and follow the process given.

“At no point did I ask DEQ or anyone to circumvent or expedite anything,” Cohn explained, adding that he “simply asked the regional water authority and the city of oxford to go ahead and put in for reimbursement before this became law.”

In House Bill 74, South Granville Water and Sewer Authority was appropriated $3 million for an expansion project of its own, and Cohn said he fully supports those efforts. The other $7 million was to have been used in Franklin County and a couple of other counties, for similar projects.

“We have the opportunity to do something right now with this budget,” he said, referring to the fact that legislators are in the middle of creating the state’s budget. But he said he didn’t want to be in a situation of robbing Peter to pay Paul.

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TownTalk: Ride to Save Lives Event

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A Ride to Save Lives fundraiser will be held Saturday, May 31 in Henderson at Shooter’s Tavern on Norlina Road. Proceeds will go to support local participation in the Lost Voices of Fentanyl’s national event that will be held in October on the National Mall in Washington, DC.

Local organizer Patricia Drewes said the motorcycle ride will begin at 11 a.m., but the day doesn’t end there. Guest speakers will take the stage about 1 p.m., Drewes said on Monday’s TownTalk and she wants families to come out and bring their children because they need to know how dangerous illicit drugs like fentanyl can be.

Drewes is vice president of the national group Lost Voices of Fentanyl, which she said is the largest fentanyl advocacy group in the U.S. with 36,000 members. The group’s president, April Babcock, is scheduled to speak during the local event, too.

Also on display will be 50 victims impact banners and four teen banners to highlight the tragic loss of young lives to fentanyl.

Beginning about 4 p.m., several bands will perform, including local groups Legendary Lane and Heartbreak Station. Virginia-based Redbank also will perform.

The cover charge for the concert is $15; the cost to ride is $20.

Drewes said she’s organized rallies before, but this is the biggest to date. She thanked Henderson Police Chief Marcus Barrow for his help with planning the route and for volunteering to lead the ride.

“I’m on a mission to save lives,” Drewes said. Her only child, Heaven, died from fentanyl poisoning.

“I want people to come out and bring their children,” she said, stressing the importance of helping young people realize and understand the dangers of illicit drugs.

“This could happen to them,” she said. “It’s just really important that kids see it. They need to understand that ‘yes, it can happen to you.’”

She prefers the word poisoning to overdose because an overdose implies that the person simply took more than the recommended dosage.

“It’s not an overdose,” she said. “There’s no recommended dosage for any illicit drug.”

 

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Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland: Vermicomposting

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On the Vance County Cooperative Extension Report from Wayne Rowland:

Vermicomposting can improve your garden by using vermicompost to improve your garden soil.

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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Maria Parham Health Celebrates National Nurses Week With Food, Fun, Gifts Galore!

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— information courtesy of Donna Young, Maria Parham Health Marketing & Communications coordinator

The nurses at Maria Parham Health enjoyed a little pampering during the recent National Nurses Week, celebrated May 6-9, to honor their extraordinary dedication, compassion and resilience of its nursing team. Throughout the week, events were held to show appreciation for the difficult and essential work nurses perform every day, according to Donna Young, MPH Marketing & Communications coordinator.

The celebration kicked off on Tuesday, May 6, with a festive ice cream sundae bar available to both day and night shift nurses. MPH team members also enjoyed a delicious variety of lunch options from local food trucks including Soulbachi, Bologna Boyz Food Wagon, and Smoking Aces.

On Wednesday, May 7, the hospital hosted its much-loved Annual Nurses’ Breakfast, providing a hearty meal to energize our healthcare heroes for the demanding day ahead.

Thursday, May 8, featured a particularly meaningful tradition: The Blessing of the Hands. Led by Pastor Frank Sossamon, this sacred ceremony acknowledges the physical and spiritual work of nurses, asking for strength, compassion and protection as they provide care and healing to others. The Blessing of the Hands is a long-standing ritual in healthcare settings, symbolizing the deep connection between the caregiver and the patient, and affirming the sacredness of the healing profession.

The week concluded on Friday, May 9, with a caffeine boost: nurses were treated to coffee from Love is Coffee.

Throughout the week, nurses were also entered into drawings for nearly 100 valuable prizes, generously donated by community sponsors. Maria Parham Health extends heartfelt thanks to the following businesses and individuals who made these giveaways possible:

Henderson Sponsors

Nella Roo’s • Charles Boyd • Chick-fil-A • Auto Brite • George’s • The Attic • Hair Loft • Jersey  Mike’s • Postal Plus/NC Flavors • Wester Insurance • NG Nails • Ichibar • Vanco Outdoor  Equipment • Sossamon Funeral Home 

Oxford Sponsors

Art and Craft Space • Southern Style Mercantile • Tobacco Wood • Oasis • Bliss Nutrition 

Wake Forest Sponsor

Salon Serenity 

Special thanks also go to Jane Haithcock, Connie Roberson, Kay Hall, and our MPH doctors for  their generous contributions and support throughout the week.

Maria Parham Health is deeply grateful to its nurses—not just during Nurses Week, but every day—for their tireless service and commitment to patient care.

“Our nurses are truly the backbone of this hospital,” said Maria Parham Health CEO Bert Beard.  “Their compassion, expertise, and unwavering commitment to our patients and community are nothing short of inspiring. This week was just one way for us to say ‘thank you’ for all that they do.”

Maria Parham Health proudly celebrates the vital role nurses play in delivering high-quality, compassionate healthcare across our region.

TownTalk: Author Martha Gayle Book-Signing Event Saturday At Sadie’s Coffee Corner

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Author Martha Gayle will be at Sadie’s Coffee Corner Saturday morning, May 17, for a book signing event for her second book, When Jesus Leads. Come out to chat with Gayle between 10 a.m. and 12 noon at Sadie’s located at 324 S. Garnett St.

When Jesus Leads picks up chronicling the lives of Mary and Jimmy, and picks up where the first book, When Jesus Calls, ends.

“Both of the books are all real life,” Gayle said, and recall events in her own life journey.

Through these characters, Gayle said, she hopes to share the importance of learning to trust God above all else.

“When we walk in His way and His will, it’s always perfect, always beautiful on the other side. That’s a lot of what these stories share is just trusting God above all else,” she said on Thursday’s TownTalk.

Martha Gayle, her pen name, said it’s a humbling experience to speak to others about her life. “That’s why God gave us this life, to share it.”

Gayle said she has found healing in writing the books.

“Writing has been the easiest part of the journey,” she said.

The first book was published in 2023, and When Jesus Leads was published in January of this year. She working on a third now – she’s on Chapter 7, so far.

“It’s a story that just continues,” she said, but wouldn’t give away any secrets about what happens in the lives of her characters Mary and Jimmy in this second book.

“There’s a twist in the second book,” she said, “I’m not going to say anything else, because it’s pretty awesome, actually.”

She said reviews have been positive thus far, and she read from one that said called When Jesus Leads a “heartfelt and faith-driven novel” that deals with themes of redemption, forgiveness and faith.

“Believing, trusting and walking in the will of God is the only thing that any of us need to do,” Gayle said. “It’s not always easy but to see the blessings and to see God glorifying himself in those moments – there’s nothing like it in the world.”

She gave a little clue at what the third book may include, but readers will just have to wait until it’s out to know for sure. “I believe this third book…is going to be a healing season for Jimmy, not as much for Mary,” she hinted.

 

A line of Scripture that features prominently in her life, her writing and her website is John 11:40, which reads: “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”

For Gayle, that verse is central to her life and to her endeavors as an author.

“God has planned this to the minute of what’s happening,” she said. The reviews and rewards (are) just been total confirmation that I’m doing exactly what God wants me to do in telling the story.”

 

Gayle dedicated her first book to her father; the second book is dedicated to her father and to her daughter.

We’ll have to wait and see to whom the third – and maybe more – books are dedicated.

Both books will be available for purchase at Saturday’s book signing, and Gayle said anyone who wants to bring books they’ve already purchased, she’ll sign those, too.

Visit www.marthagayle.com to learn more. She welcomes comments and prayer requests, too.

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Cooperative Extension with Jamon Glover: The Decision-Making Muscle

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Vance County Cooperative Extension with Jamon Glover

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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