WIZS Radio Henderson Local News 05-20-25 Noon
Listen On Air at 8am, 12pm, 5pm M-F
WIZS Radio ~ 100.1FM/1450AM
Click Play!
Tag Archive for: #hendersonnews
The Local Skinny! N.C. Rep. Bryan Cohn Says $10M For Water Plant Expansion Is Spent
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.
Click Play!
TownTalk: Ride to Save Lives Event
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.”
CLICK PLAY!
WIZS Radio Henderson Local News 05-19-25 Noon
Listen On Air at 8am, 12pm, 5pm M-F
WIZS Radio ~ 100.1FM/1450AM
Click Play!
Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland: Vermicomposting
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.
Click Play!
Maria Parham Health Celebrates National Nurses Week With Food, Fun, Gifts Galore!
— 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.
WIZS Radio Henderson Local News 05-15-25
Listen On Air at 8am, 12pm, 5pm M-F
WIZS Radio ~ 100.1FM/1450AM
Click Play!
TownTalk: Author Martha Gayle Book-Signing Event Saturday At Sadie’s Coffee Corner
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.
Click Play!
Cooperative Extension with Jamon Glover: The Decision-Making Muscle
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.
Click Play!
The Local Skinny! County Manager Releases Revised Budget
Vance County Manager C. Renee Perry said that her $64.3 million proposed budget presented to commissioners last week had some missing information, which prompted a line-by-line review of the numbers to create a revised budget.
The revised budget seems to be about $600,000 more than the original budget, coming in at $64,933,833.
“I know errors happen, but I hated for this to happen,” Perry told WIZS News. ”There was an issue with the data transfer from one spreadsheet to the next, and some of the expenditures and some of the requests did not make it in my budget,” she explained.
Perry said she and her team used a different process with the spreadsheets used to create the budget and “when we merged the data, we didn’t catch that some of the departments’ recommendations were missing, so it threw my numbers off.”
Perry said “something was on my mind” after the Monday, May 5th presentation to commissioners, and when she started looking through the spreadsheets, she realized something was missing.
She emailed commissioners first thing the next day, Tuesday morning May 6, to inform them of the issue.
“As soon as I was aware, I made them aware,” she said.
Perry said she and her team reviewed the budget over the last week, “making sure that we budgeted properly and that what I’m presenting to the commissioners are the things that they need to consider. I don’t want to go after July 1 and realize, ‘Oh, my God!’ we don’t have money for that,” she said.
“I need to present what we need for fiscal year 25-26 in its entirety, and I did not do that (at the Monday meeting). I’m taking full accountability, being transparent…to be able to present what I need to present to my commissioners.”
The revised budget was posted on the county’s website this Wednesday, May 14, giving commissioners a week to review before the scheduled May 20 budget work session.
The public hearing on the budget remains scheduled on June 2 at the regular monthly commissioners’ meeting.
If you happened to notice the first scheduled budget work session for this past Monday, May 12th, was cancelled. This is the reason why.
In Perry’s cover letter to the budget presented to commissioners, she wrote:
“With all funds balanced and revenues and expenditures noted, this budget will not only meet statutory requirements but primarily seek to move Vance County forward in the next fiscal year by continuing to address needs within our infrastructure, services, and targeting opportunities of growth to capitalize on the inherent strengths of the communities across the County. The following message will outline points of emphasis and funding within the budget and highlight characteristics of the County that point toward continued strength and growth.”
The manager’s proposed budget does not include an increase nor a decrease in the general fund property tax rate of .7129 per $100 in value. The budget does not include an increase nor a decrease to 5.94 cents fire tax rate.
Click Play!