Cooperative Extension with Paul McKenzie: What Works in the Garden
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WIZS Radio Local News Audio 12-28-21 Noon
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The Local Skinny! Henderson Oxford Airport Flies High
Chris Welsh likens the Henderson-Oxford Airport to a rest area along the interstate – when a traveler needs to stop, that blue road sign announcing that a rest area is ahead is a welcome sight.
Welsh and his wife, Amanda, have been the fixed-base operators at the airport for the past several years, and he said things are – pardon the pun – looking “up.” Traffic at the airport with its 5,500-foot-long runway is up, he said. And he points to a few reasons for why that is so.
Because the couple can offer maintenance on the aircraft – which other local airstrips do not provide – Welsh said pilots will fly in if they need to get something like a landing gear tire fixed.
But he also said they have seen an increase in small planes coming in since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I think a lot of businesses have started (using private aircraft) since COVID – we’re seeing more 4- and 6-seaters coming in for business,” he told John C. Rose today during Tuesday’s segment of The Local Skinny! “And Mako is flying all the time – at least three or four times a week, and I know they’re coming out here at night,” Welsh added, even though he and his wife typically are not there for their arrival.
The pilots communicate on the radio frequency, follow standard traffic patterns, land and then just park the aircraft and follow the sidewalk to the building and parking lot beyond.
Since beginning their jobs there, the Welshes have overseen a couple of project completions, including a runway lighting upgrade and an extra row of hangars, where 10 additional planes now call home.
Some larger aircraft also have flown in – like a King Air 12-passenger turboprop – that previously had used the airstrip in Clarksville, VA. But that runway was shortened by 900 feet recently, which makes landing a larger aircraft a bit more difficult.
“The landing is usually more of the problem,” Welsh said, “because you have to slow down, right?”
Revlon flies a Gulfstream aircraft that is similar in size to a commuter plane, Welsh said. It uses the airport regularly, along with private travelers.
“You could probably land a 737 here,” he said. The problem, however, comes after the landing. “It’s probably too heavy for the pavement,” and then there’s the issue of what kind of vehicle would be available on the ground to tow it.
That rest-area concept Welsh alluded to plays into the airport’s support role for nearby Raleigh-Durham International, which could divert aircraft to the Granville County airport if the need arises.
Raleigh has a couple of flight schools, and Welsh said more student pilots are using the local runway in their training.
“In the first 10 or 15 hours of learning, you don’t need any distractions,” Welsh said. He is a seasoned pilot himself and he also has a commercial license to operate a drone.
“If you’re practicing repetitive landings, you can do three or four here in an hour,” he noted. A student pilot would get half that amount at RDU – and they’d have the added stress of watching for incoming aircraft using the same runway.
Welsh said the airport is home to a couple of flying club airplanes – a Cessna and a Piper – that are based here as part of the RDU flying club. “You can join the club if you’re not a pilot,” Welsh said. “It’s basically the cheapest way to rent an airplane.” Individuals can use the planes to accumulate training hours toward their license, rent it to fly over the lake or take it to the beach for a couple of days. The planes can stay gone overnight, he said, but most of the time they’re tucked back in the hangars after each outing.
Visit www.flyhnz.com to learn more.
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TownTalk: Smart Start Year End Review
The Franklin Granville Vance Smart Start Inc. annual report has been released and the agency’s executive director said his agency and staff undoubtedly have learned how to be flexible and adaptable as it continues to advocate for children, in spite of pandemic restrictions.
In a letter accompanying the 8-page report, FGV Executive Director Dr. Tony W. Cozart said the 2020-21 year had been “difficult but very gratifying as well.”
FGV’s fiscal manager, Garry Daeke, agreed wholeheartedly. Daeke spoke with John C. Rose Tuesday on Town Talk and said he was very happy to report that, despite the difficulties of the pandemic, FGV staff had been able to maintain relationships with both child-care providers as well as parents.
“We’ve been able to keep in contact and provide service and information to people,” he said, acknowledging that the one-on-one contacts have been limited, but FGV has found ways to do an end-around some challenges.
For instance, Daeke said FGV has been able to provide technical assistance via videotape and through increased filming of sessions. By filming programs and activities, FGV staff can critique and provide suggestions to help child-care providers with everything from how to set up a classroom to being financially efficient – staying safe and healthy at the same time.
There are 112 child-care programs in the three counties that FGV serves, Daeke said. “They’ve kept people working, because people need childcare.”
The agency gets most of its funding from the state (85-90 percent), and it has spent $907,689 to help parents pay for childcare in the past year, according to the report. The subsidy is available to parents who send their children to programs with a 4- or 5-star quality rating.
“We spend a great deal of money to provide a subsidy” to parents, Daeke said. FGV also supplements wages of teachers who stay in their jobs for a certain length of time and who continue to further their education. The report notes that 80 teachers received an average of $1016 in supplements in a six-month period.
“We spend a lot of money to make sure child care is high quality and that parents are able to access that child care,” Daeke said.
A number of programs that FGV supports don’t happen within the walls of a child-care center at all; rather, there are a variety of agencies that FGV contracts with that are quite successful as well.
Vance County’s adolescent parenting program that Annie Perry oversees, for example, focuses on keeping teenage moms in school so they can graduate. Daeke said Perry, a longtime program administrator, does an excellent job and consistently has graduates go on to continue their educations at Vance-Granville Community College or four-year universities.
“The main goals are to keep them in school and to prevent a second pregnancy. The program “helps them become the parent they need to be,” Daeke said. “We’ve had a lot of success over the years.”
Other programs like Parents as Teachers is a home visitation parenting program that operates primarily in Granville County through a partnership with Granville County Public Schools. And the Incredible Years program partners with the Vance Cooperative Extension to provide several sessions each year to work directly with parents to help them “be the very best parent you can be,” Daeke said. Although only in Vance County now, Daeke said he’s looking for grant funding to expand the program to Granville County and possibly Franklin County.
And a child-care health consultant has just come on board to visit child-care programs to help providers with health concerns. FGV has contracted through the Granville-Vance Health District to provide a nurse to help child-care providers, he said.
According to the report, total FGV expenditures for FY 2021 was $3,381,751. Almost three-fourths of that funding is used to ensure the availability and accessibility of high-quality childcare for children ages 0-5 years. That is done a variety of ways, including subsidies for working families through the Department of Social Services to help pay for childcare. It also administers the NC Pre-K program in Franklin County and offers wage incentives to retain childcare workers and ensure continuity of care.
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County Employees Recognized For Years Of Service
Several employees have been recognized for their years of service within county government. County Manager presented Cathy Hope, payroll specialist, with a certificate marking her 15-year anniversary. Hope started as an income maintenance caseworker and worked her way up to income maintenance supervisor. She transferred in July to the county’s payroll department.
Tax Administrator Porcha Brooks thanked Sandra Durham and Jonathan Morris for completing five years of service. Durham is a personal property appraiser with the tax office and Morris is a real property appraiser.
Kevin Brown, the county’s first information technology director, recently completed 10 years of service with the county. McMillen presented him with a 10-year anniversary certificate and said that Brown also recently announced his retirement. “We wish him all the best. You will certainly be missed,” a post on the county’s social media site.
Several members of the Vance County Sheriff’s Office received certificates for their years of service as well. Sheriff Curtis Brame recognized Lt. C. Welborn for 15 years with the sheriff’s office; Deputies L. Carter and T. Terry join Sgts. J. Marrow and M. Burns with completing five years of service. Maj. J. Shelton, the detention center administrator also was recognized for completing five years of service.
Congratulations for your accomplishments and for working to serve your county and community.
Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland: Small Woodlots
Got wood? Or, more precisely, small wood lots? If so you may want to develop a management plan for those lots. “There are over two million acres of woodland holdings in lots of less than 20 acres,” said Wayne Rowland, Vance Co. Extension Agent. The majority of these holdings are owned by 341,000 families and are unmanaged. These woodlands provide environmental, economical and social benefits to both owners and communities.
According to Rowland, management is a step by step process and developing a management plan is essential for these small lots. He recommends assess the land and the intent to help with development of a management plan.
The basic elements of developing a management plan includes goals and objectives for the property in question, preparing a property map, inventory the property and write a description of the land in question. It also should include activities and a schedule. Additionally, Rowland suggests a legal property description, ownership information, property history and contact information for forestry professional, particularly if they have designed the management plan. Lastly Rowland says establish priorities for the property based on the type of land it is and what the property owner wants to do with the land.
For more information contact Wayne Rowland at the Vance Co. Extension office at 252-438-8188. You can hear the Vance Co. Extension Report on WIZS at 11:50am Monday, Tuesday and Thursday and the Home and Garden Show on the Local Skinny! with Rowland and Paul McKenzie at 11:30am on Wednesdays.
Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.
WIZS Radio Local News Audio 12-27-21 Noon
Click Play to Listen. On Air at 8am, 12pm, 5pm M-F
WIZS Radio ~ 100.1FM/1450AM
Vance Citizen Of The Year Nominations Due By Jan. 6, 2022
There’s still time to nominate a resident of Vance County to be considered for the 2021 Citizen of the Year, and Henderson-Vance Chamber officials encourage the community to consider making a nomination by the deadline of Jan. 6.
“This distinguished award is presented at the Chamber membership meeting and banquet held each year in January,” according to Chamber official Sandra Wilkerson.
This year’s meeting is scheduled to b be held Jan. 27, 2022 at the Vance-Granville Community College Civic Center. Invitations and more information on the banquet will be emailed out to chamber members in January.
Contact the chamber office to get a nomination form, which also lists criteria for candidates. Call 252.438.8414, visit the website https://hendersonvance.org/ or drop by the office 414 S. Garnett St., Henderson to get more information.
Agricultural Extension to Offer Classes For Fruit Growers
Fruit production has been a recent topic of conversation by both Wayne Rowland and Paul McKenzie on recent Cooperative Extension reports this week on WIZS. If those reports have got you thinking about having a back yard fruit crop then there is an upcoming class you may want to attend. The Extension Service will be offering the same class over two day, January 7th and 8th. The January 7th class will be in Oxford at the Expo Center at 2pm and the Saturday class will be in Warrenton at the Warren Co. Armory Civic Center at 9am. The class is free but registration is required. Visit the Extensions Service’s website or call 252-438-8188 to learn more.
McKenzie will be partnering with Johnny Coley of the Warren County Extension Service for these classes. “You can’t beat the flavor and can’t beat the fun,” McKenzie said of growing back yard fruit crops. He also recommends that anyone thinking about planting a fruit crop to research the various cultivars in order to make sure that it is appropriate for this area. “Research is the first step in having success with fruit crops,” Mckenzie said. He said it is vitally important to do cultivar research if you are planning a back yard fruit crop.
Home And Garden Show 12-22-21
On the Home and Garden Show with Vance Co. Cooperative Ext.
- Review your garden journal,what went well, and not well, most important what did you learn?
- What if you missed fescue fertilization in late November?
- Check holiday plants for moisture.
- What if you haven’t planted your pansies?
- Inventory your seed before ordering more seed.
- Prepare, clean and organize seed starting supplies
- Build a small greenhouse or cold frame to raise your own transplants for 2022
- Research fruit cultivars before planting.
- Check water under your christmas tree each day