Tag Archive for: #hendersonnews

TownTalk: Salvation Army Kettle Drive And Music For The Holidays

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Jimmy Barrier describes the upcoming performance at the local Salvation Army as a Gaither-style event.

If you don’t know exactly what that means, then by all means, come out at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 11 to “An Acoustical Christmas.” And if you enjoy that Gaither style of musical performance, then you already know you’re in for a treat.

Barrier will share emcee duties with the Salvation Army’s Capt. Joshua Keaton, but he will also be behind his familiar bass as he and the Sound Barriers fill the air with Christmas music and other favorites with that Gaither-style Southern Gospel feel.

The concert is free and open to the public and will be held at the Salvation Army, 2292 Ross Mill Rd.

A love offering will be taken to benefit the Anchor of Hope and the Red Shield Club, he told John C. Rose on Monday’s TownTalk. Anchor of Hope is a women’s ministry that helps individuals in need and the Red Shield Club is the after-school program.

“It’s all acoustic, all live,” Barrier explained, “so if you make a mistake, everybody hears it.”

It didn’t take much to get Capt. Keaton and his wife, Capt. Amanda Keaton, on board with the project.

“They were elated to have the Gaither-style Christmas program,” Barrier said, adding that he hoped to make the concert an annual event and name it for the late Gill Clopton, who originally had the idea.

“I want to do that and honor him in that way,” Barrier said. He recalled that Clopton was very happy that the program had been scheduled.

Barrier said he and his wife were out shopping for blankets to donate to the Anchor of Hope’s blanket ministry the day before Thanksgiving and he found himself in the presence of someone singing Christmas carols – right inside the store.

Before he knew it, and to his wife’s chagrin, Barrier was performing a duet with Evelyn Couch.

“We started singing Christmas carols in Rose’s at the top of our lungs,” Barrier said.

But the duets didn’t stop there. He invited Couch to come and sing with the group at the recent McGregor Hall community concert last weekend.

“It was wonderful,” Barrier said of last weekend’s performance at McGregor Hall, sponsored by the Vance County Arts Council.

She will join Barrier again at the Dec. 11 concert to perform “O Holy Night.”

“She sings the fire out of it,” Barrier said.

 

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Community Partners of Hope

Community Partners Of Hope Seeks Donations For Men’s Shelter

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Community Partners of Hope is reaching out this holiday season to ask for donations to provide to the men who come for respite and a warm night’s sleep at the men’s shelter.

The shelter needs snack items like breakfast bars, single-serving sizes of snacks, chips and other individually wrapped cakes and cookies, as well as cases of bottled water, tea or sodas, preferably 12-ounce cans or bottles.

Other favorites include Pop-Tarts, tins of Vienna sausage and fruit cups.

In addition to the food items, the shelter needs paper towels, tall kitchen trash bags (13-gallon size) Clorox cleanup spray, laundry detergent (pods, please) and extra-large black garbage bags (39+-gallon size).

“For some reason we are not receiving as many supply donations as we have in the past and it’s a struggle for our shelter managers,” according to a newsletter from the Community Partners of Hope.

Donations may be dropped off at First Presbyterian Church Monday-Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or call 252.432.9494 to arrange a drop-off time. Cases of bottled water may be left outside the shelter, but other items should be received by someone at the church during the designated times.

The shelter currently has enough hand sanitizer, toiletries, toothbrushes and toothpaste on hand to share with the men, and they have plenty of bedding. Shelter staff are not accepting used clothing or food that needs to be heated.

There are opportunities for providing meals to the men who come to the shelter. To learn more, click THIS LINK.

Home and Garden Show

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On the Home and Garden Show with Vance Co. Cooperative Ext.

  • Take photos of your garden to know how to rotate planting of vegetables next spring
  • Conduct your annual shade tree inspection. Use a pair of binoculars to inspect the trunk and limbs for defects, injuries, rot, broken limbs, etc. and contact a professional if you see anything questionable.
  • If you have stored sweet potatoes make sure they are located where they will not freeze
  • Consider building a small greenhouse this winter that can be used to start seed and raise transplants for next year’s garden. Simple kits are available from various sources.
  • Purchase a NC Christmas tree this year
  • Continue planting – bulbs, pansies, perennials, trees, shrubs
  • Now is the time to collect soil samples. Get samples to us by 5 pm Wed, 11/23 for delivery before fee season. 6 week analysis. Dec 1 fee goes to $4 per sample
  • Keep leaves off of seedling grass
  • Make a compost bin if you don’t have one already

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Terrell Blackmon

Blackmon Updates West End Community Watch Group On URA, Grants And More

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Henderson City Manager Terrell Blackmon spoke to members of the West End Community Watch group at its November meeting and provided some updates to plans for the current West End and Flint Hill urban redevelopment areas.

During the meeting, Blackmon explained a bit about progress being made in several areas, including awarding grants to homeowners to repair and renovate their properties, adding to the code enforcement staff and having an animal control officer whose job would be to work within the city limits.

The city got a $750,000 community development block grant from the N.C. Department of Commerce, and the Kerr-Tar COG has taken more than 70 applications from local homeowners who would like to get some of that money to rehabilitate their homes.

“We are in the process of performing title searches on the six selected properties to confirm ownership and we hope to bid out the construction in the 1st quarter of 2023,” Blackmon said in a follow-up conversation with WIZS News.

Blackmon said the city council approved in September funding for an additional animal control officer, and the city is working on a memorandum of understanding with county officials to fund and advertise the position in the first quarter of 2023.

The city also is working with county leaders to fund an additional code enforcement officer to assist with minimum housing and other enforcement issues in the city and extra-territorial jurisdiction, Blackmon said.

As plans continue for the West End URA, Blackmon said the city is acquiring numerous blighted properties that would become controlled burn sites for the fire department. “Our intent is to bundle these properties and put them in an RFP for the development of new multi-family or single-family housing,” Blackmon stated to WIZS.

“The city does not technically ‘build housing,’ he noted, “but we want to serve as a conduit to encourage private development of new housing.”

TownTalk: Boys & Girls Club Of North Central North Carolina

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It makes Donyell “DJ” Jones happy to see young people walk through the Blue Doors of the Boys & Girls Clubs. Even when those doors aren’t blue – like those clubs that operate within schools, for example – Jones is confident that the programming and support remains aligned with the philosophy of the stand-alone clubs that have been in existence for 160 years.

Jones is CEO of the Boys & Girls Club North Central North Carolina, which operates clubs in Vance, Granville, Warren, Franklin and Halifax counties.

He talked with John C. Rose on Tuesday’s TownTalk to provide an update on the status of clubs, how COVID-19 has negatively affected staff and to talk about a couple of local renovation projects that are about to crank up to improve club facilities in Henderson and Oxford.

“We had to be very flexible over the past year,” Jones said, referring to getting back into the swing of things following the pandemic shutdown. But now, club members have returned and BGC is getting back to the business of provide quality after-school care and programming.

The administrative offices are located in Oxford, in a building that is connected to the club building. Jones said he and other office staff are once again experiencing the “laughter and energy that we missed so much when (the children) were home.”

Over the summer, key BGC leaders gathered to identify some key priority areas, Jones said. From those discussions, the group refined a three-year strategic priority plan, which includes creating safe, state-of-the-art facilities as well as intentional programming to reflect the different needs of each club site and the ever-present question of financial sustainability.

The Oxford club is getting a much-needed facelift that is set to begin in February 2023, Jones said.

Jones said a general contractor has been hired and the work, once begun, will transform current outdated bathroom facilities, how club members enter and exit the club, as well as other integral renovations to club space.

“The esthetics and lighting are going to be awesome,” Jones said. “I know it’s going to be a great thing for our young people.” Plans include a new gaming room, collaborative spaces for projects and more improvements to allow for better programming.

The Clark Street club in Henderson also is getting some attention, thanks to help from Goodwill Community Foundation. “That facility needs a little love,” Jones said, adding that Goodwill’s contribution will help take care of most of the items on the wish list there.

Simply put, Jones said, “the kids really deserve it.”

The idea is that newly renovated spaces will attract new members as well, but right now, Jones said that all clubs in BGCNCNC currently open have wait lists.

Why? Like so many other workplaces, there’s not enough staff.

The number of employees dictates the number of kids at the club, Jones said. “We need part-time youth development professionals for our after-school sites,” he said. The biggest need is in Franklin County, but more staff also is needed in the Henderson and Oxford clubs.

They’re looking for individuals who have “a patience and a genuine love for young people,” he said, and it’d be a bonus to have special skills, whether they be in the arts, or STEM education, just to name a couple.

But most of all, he said, clubs need staff who are consistent and who “bring a different vibe and energy to our clubs.”

Jones said safety is the number one priority, and staff must effectively supervise club members while engaging them to address the specific needs of the young people who attend the club.

Some clubs based in schools have reopened, including the one at Northside Elementary in Warren County. The club at Carver Elementary in Vance County is set to reopen in January, but Jones said it’s unclear when Franklinton Middle School may reopen.

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Maria Parham Health Earns “A” For Patient Safety From National Group

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Maria Parham Health has received an “A” rating from a national watchdog organization for its achievements in protecting hospital patients from preventable harm and errors.

The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit organization that promotes patient safety, published its findings recently, said Donna Young, MPH coordinator for marketing & communications.

“I applaud the hospital leadership and workforce for their strong commitment to safety and transparency,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “An ‘A’ Safety Grade is a sign that hospitals are continuously evaluating their performance, so that they can best protect patients.  Your hospital team should be extremely proud of their dedication and achievement.”

The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization with a 10-year history of assigning letter grades to general hospitals throughout the United States, based on a hospital’s ability to prevent medical errors and harm to patients. The grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. Hospital Safety Grade results are based on more than 30 national performance measures and are updated each fall and spring.

To view the complete report, visit HospitalSafetyGrade.org or follow The Leapfrog Group on Twitter, Facebook, and via its newsletter.

The Local Skinny! Jobs In Vance 11-22-22

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The H-V Chamber of Commerce and WIZS, Your Community Voice, present Jobs in Vance for November 22, 2022. 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 Michele@hendersonvance.org to be included.

Company  Autobrite Car Washes, Inc

Title of Position  Hiring for several positions in multiple locations.  Individuals must have a valid driver’s license and be able to pass a drug test.  Some knowledge of plumbing and electronics a plus. Company is willing to train the right person that is motivated and willing to learn.

How To Apply  Contact Melanie Howell Hutson at Autobrite Car Wash

 

Company  Golden Skillet Restaurant

Title of Position  Hiring now for both full-time and part-time positions for front of house and back of house.  8 hour shifts, day time and night time.  High School Graduates preferred.  At least 1 year restaurant serving or cooking experience preferred.  Having a ServSafe certificate a plus.

How To Apply  Apply in person at Golden Skillet Restaurant, located at 444 Dabney Drive in Henderson or online at www.indeed.com.

 

Company  Ribeye’s Steakhouse of Henderson

Title of Position  Hiring for multiple positions at their restaurant location at 2002 Graham Avenue.  Cook, Host, and Servers.  Night shift, Day shift, Weekend availability, and Holidays for full-time and part-time shifts.  Applicants should be able to communicate and understand the predominant language(s) of our guests.  Must have a basic knowledge of restaurant dining room and service procedures and functions.  Possess basic math skills and have the ability to handle money and operate a point-of-sale system.

How To Apply  Apply in person at Ribeye’s Steakhouse or apply online at www.indeed.com.

 

Company   Lowe’s Home Improvement Center

Title of Position   Sales Specialist Pro Services.  Full-time.  Deliver excellent service to Lowe’s Pro customers. Answer Pro customer questions. Execute Pro orders and projects. Demo Lowe’s product and service offerings.  Meet store sales goals.  Requirements:  Hold a high school diploma or equivalent. Have 1 year of sales or customer service experience.

How To Apply  Apply in person at Lowe’s Home Improvement store, located at 166 Dabney Road in Henderson.  Can also apply at https://talent.lowes.com/us/en.

 

Company  Belk Department Store

Title of Position  Hiring for Seasonal Associates – Position may be Full-time, Part-time or Flex in areas such as Sales; Beauty; Ship to Home – (which includes pick, pack and curbside pickup); and other support areas.  High School Diploma or GED equivalent preferred. Experience in retail preferred.  Excellent communication skills needed. Ability to use computer keyboard, touchscreen monitor, handheld devices, standard telephone, and other related business equipment.

How To Apply  Apply in person at Belk Store in Henderson, NC, located at Henderson Square Shopping Center.

 

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.

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Cooperative Extension with Paul McKenzie: What Works in the Garden

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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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Get Your Holiday Spirit On, Downtown Merchants!

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Downtown merchants are being asked to get into the holiday spirit by creating festive window displays, just in time for the Henderson Christmas parade next weekend.

“We want everything up by the Christmas parade,” said Alice Sallins, who works both with the Vance County Arts Council that puts on the parade and with the downtown development group.

Merchants are being encouraged to decorate their storefronts to help create a festive backdrop for the parade spectators. There’s a form to fill out on Henderson NC downtown’s Facebook page, she said.

The final judging will coincide with the day of the parade – Dec. 3 – so time’s a tickin’, merchants.

“We always find someone who’s knowledgeable about art,’ Sallins said of the judge or judges who will determine which display wins top honors. The displays will be viewed during daytime and nighttime hours, she said, to “see the lighting effects.”

Contact Sallins at 252.767.4579 to learn more.