Tag Archive for: #hendersonnews

Cooperative Extension with Paul McKenzie: What Works in the Garden

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There’s nothing quite like picking a fresh apple or a peach right from the tree and taking a big bite.  If you’d like to be able to do that right from your back yard then prepare to spend a lot of time and effort to get that big bite.  Paul McKenzie of the Vance Co. Extension Service says that this is the cold, hard truth when it comes to back yard fruit crops.

“It can be incredibly rewarding,” McKenzie says of the work required for apples, peaches, nectarines and plums. An intensive spray program is required. Approximately 10 to 15 applications per year is usually needed to keep pests away from these fruit trees.  “If you don’t follow through with, then you don’t have success,” McKenzie said.

However, McKenzie does have some other ideas for those who don’t have the time or energy for such intensive work but still want to have a fruit crop in their backyard. These crops will still require some work but not as intensive. McKenzie says growing figs is relatively easy with little or no pest control required. Pruning is simple as well and fig trees are reliable producers. Additionally, McKenzie suggests Muscadine grapes, blackberries and blueberries.  The biggest effort required is installation and soil prep but little pest management is required.  Once the prep work is done, the rest of the work is fairly straight forward.

Lastly, McKenzie also suggests strawberries. “They are easy to manage,” McKenzie said. Some soil and site preparation is required but McKenzie said that after the first planting you can expect to harvest berries for up to three years.

For more information on back yard fruit crops contact McKenzie at the Vance Co. Cooperative Extension Service at 252-438-8188.

The Cooperative Extension Service Report can be heard on WIZS at 11:50am Monday, Tuesday and Thursday as part of the Local Skinny!  The Home & Garden Show with Wayne Rowland and Paul McKenzie can be heard every Wednesday during the Local Skinny at 11:30.

 

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TownTalk: Politics And Its Impact On Local Law Enforcement

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Local politics in Vance County certainly lends credibility to the adage that there are two sides to every story.

The three sheriff’s deputies that remain on suspension with pay want their day in court, and District Attorney Mike Waters said he predicts that a trial could be late summer 2022 or later in the making.

But Sheriff Curtis Brame said he feels like it’s a ploy to wait until after the 2022 elections to decide the fate of the three deputies.

John C. Rose spoke by telephone to both Waters and Brame today (Monday), and both men sounded frustrated with the situation and progress – or lack thereof.

The deputies were indicted earlier this year and Brame said it was his decision, upon hearing from an independent investigation, to suspend the deputies with pay. During a recent county commissioners’ meeting, a member of the public asked the commissioners just how long the deputies would continue to draw their pay while on suspension.

Waters agreed that it was up to the sheriff about what to do with his employees. “He always has discretion about how he’s going to deal with his employees going forward,” Waters said.

“I know I can’t do this indefinitely,” Brame acknowledged. But he contends that politics is playing a role, adding that he feels the district attorney is dragging out the process, “and that puts the burden on me.”

Brame also said he predicts the cases will not be resolved before the 2022 elections. And he blames that on politics, too.

Waters said additional orders will be released soon that will “illuminate” details of the internal investigation of the sheriff’s office as well as release transcripts that presently are sealed.

Waters said the sheriff has made some statements that he “vehemently” disagrees with regarding the case, but he didn’t elaborate for publication. And, because it is an ongoing investigation and it will be litigated, he cannot discuss details on the record.

Brame said all he and his deputies want is to have their day in court.

On that statement, he and the district attorney agree.

“Yeah, there will be a day in court,” Waters said.

 

Click Play – about the 17 minute mark starts the politics and law enforcement part

 

NC Coop Extension

Tips for Starting a Fruit Orchard

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Who doesn’t enjoy an apple or a peach pulled right from the tree?  Or gathering pecans for a perfect pie right from your own backyard? If you are considering starting an orchard of your very own then Wayne Rowland of the Vance Co. Extension Service has some advice for you.

The climate and soil in our area is good for planting an orchard according to Rowland. “Site selection is the most important decision,” Rowland said about starting your own orchard.

In order for your orchard to produce the highest quality and quantity of fruit it’s important that the fruit trees have full sunlight. Correct spacing and pruning of trees will be helpful in keeping that all important sunlight on the trees. “It’s important that the trees don’t shade each other,” Rowland said of proper spacing.

Temperature is another important consideration. Some trees are more tolerant of late season freezes than others. Peach trees, in particular, are not fond of late season frost or freezing temperatures whereas pecan trees are a bit more hearty when it comes to cold weather.

If you need more information about planting an orchard call Wayne Rowland at the Vance Co. Extension Service at 252-438-8188.  The Coop Extension Report can be heard as part of the Local Skinny on WIZS Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at 11:50am and the Home and Garden Show airs on Wednesday at 11:30am.

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

 

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Council Approves Amendments To Wards; Minor Changes May Affect Voters’ Polling Places

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The city of Henderson’s population decreased by 2 percent since 2010, according to 2020 Census data, and the City Council approved changes this week to the municipal voting districts to reflect that change.

According to 2020 Census data, 15,060 people live in Henderson. The deadline to approve changes is today (Friday). The council approved the changes at its Dec. 13 meeting.

The city’s Development Services Director, Corey Williams, presented information about the redrawn ward boundary lines to the council during the Monday meeting. The city began the task of redistricting the wards in September, when information from the recently completed Census was received.

Federal law requires that the wards have balanced populations, and the ward maps were redrawn to within 1.5 percent of each other, according to information from the city council minutes.

The council held a public hearing on Nov. 30 to share the information and to hear from citizens. City Manager Terrell Blackmon said the current maps needed to be adjusted to comply with federal and state laws.

The four wards had minor adjustments, but Ward 1 saw the biggest drop in population, according to Census figures. Ward 1 basically comprises the north and east sides of Henderson.

At the public hearing, Williams said the ideal population average for each ward is 3,762. The redrawn districts show that the existing four wards are balanced to within 20 people.

Anyone interested in knowing whether their ward information has changed should contact the Vance County Board of Elections at 252.492.3730.

Read the complete public notice and view ward maps at https://henderson.nc.gov/.

Following is a list of the council members and the wards they represent:

Ward 1:

Marion B Williams

Sara Coffey, at-large

Ward 2:

Mike Rainey

William Burnette, at-large

Ward 3:

Gary Daeke

Melissa Elliott, at-large

Ward 4:

Ola Thorpe-Cooper

Jason Spriggs, at-large

SportsTalk: Introducing Mike Joyner, The New AD At Kerr Vance Academy

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Mike Joyner has been named as the new Athletic Director for Kerr Vance Academy.  His first day on the job isn’t until February 1st, but Joyner has already been on campus to meet people and take in a basketball game.

Joyner, who currently is in the same position at Wake Forest High School, got his career underway coaching middle school baseball in Johnston County in 1994. He also was a coach at Smithfield-Selma High School as well.

Joyner, who spoke with Trey Snide on Thursday’s edition of SportsTalk, says he is looking forward to getting his hands dirty and starting a new chapter in his career at KVA. “I’m excited about taking over a program with such a rich history.” KVA has multiple state championships in a variety of sports.

At Wake Forest High School, Joyner enjoyed the football season. “It will be really different without football,” Joyner said when describing the transition to KVA.

“I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel,” Joyner said when asked about his immediate goals at the school. He is looking forward to meeting the people involved with the school and immersing himself in KVA’s culture along with involving himself with the booster club.

He has already had the opportunity to make assessments on the baseball field and he will have to hit the ground running on his first day, February 1st as KVA has a basketball game scheduled that night.

 

TownTalk: Vance County Architecture Survey Continues

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Work continues on the architectural survey for Vance County, and the 2-person team responsible for checking on already-identified properties will be back in 2022 to collect information on new places in the county that will be included in the completed survey.

That work will continue until October 2023, said Elizabeth King, architectural survey coordinator for the state’s historic preservation office.

Bill Harris and Mark Pace, of the North Carolina Room at Richard Thornton Library in Oxford, checked in with King today on the tri-weekly history segment of Town Talk.

The consultants who are doing the field work have updated about 360 files that already existed in the state’s files. The files are in the review process now, she said. “After the new year, they will do some more field work on new properties that we don’t have files on.”

That could take another six months, she predicted, and then the team will move to the city of Henderson to do the same thing.

King said that, so far, about 80 of the state’s 100 counties have been surveyed. Vance County’s was long overdue, and King said she was glad to be able to have the work started. Once Vance and Person counties and a few others are completed, that number will rise to 86.

Most of the architectural surveys have resulted in publication of a book, and King said she usually works with a local historical society, nonprofit or local government to collaborate with.

So far, she hasn’t heard from anyone in Vance County about a collaboration.

“I’d be very happy to talk to anyone interested in sponsoring that type of project,” she said, adding that, in her experience, “the cost is almost immediately offset – and surpassed – with book sales.”

The survey is not just about capturing information about those old family homes that have been a part of the county’s landscape for generations, King noted. Her team uses the Fifty-Year Rule, which basically means that if a building or structure has been around for 50 years, then it may have architectural significance.

Using that rule, there are structures today that may not have met that requirement when the last survey was completed, but they do now. Whether it’s a church, a school, a post-World War II subdivision or a prison unit, there are many properties that warrant attention by the surveyors.

It is vitally important to the survey to be able to talk with people in the community about the different types of buildings to provide a living memory, she said. The survey “gives us a chance to talk to people about how a building was used, how it was contructed,” King said. But they also want to hear comments like “Oh, we thought it was hideous,” or “Well, my granddaddy told me…” King said.

“We can collect stories from people who can remember those early impressions,” she said, which provides valuable information for future generations who will read the documents that are created today.

Tobacco buildings like curing barns are well-documented because tobacco was such an important cash crop for this area, but King wonders whether there is information about other important crops in the area that also may have special outbuildings associated with them.

King said she has known about the rich history in Vance County for a long time, and she is pleased that, as this project continues, “more and more people I work with have realized it, too.”

There’s a growing awareness in the preservation community about the treasures in Vance County.

The project will continue to see the public’s input to learn about prospective new listings for the survey.

“We’d be so pleased to hear from whoever is interested in this project,” King said.

Contact King at elizabeth.king@ncdcr.gov or 919.814.6580 or survey team member Heather Slane at heather@hmwpreservation.com.

 

The Local Skinny! County Commissioners Minutes Review

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Local meeting minutes are like a system of checks and balances.  You get a recap of news, a chance to double check anything that may have been missed and the words written as the entity in question saw it.

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Plain and simple, I love reading meeting minutes for the locally elected boards, commissions and councils … particularly for the school board, the city council and the county commissioners.

It’s to last month’s Nov. 1 Vance County Board of Commissioners meeting that we turn to today on WIZS for The Local Skinny!  Just another chance to dig around in the dirt and to learn more about what’s going on in Vance County.

These are direct quotes from the meeting minutes found online at vancecounty.org.  This is not the whole meeting minutes but rather highlights that read as newsworthy at this time.

“The Vance County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Monday, November 1, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. in the commissioners’ conference room, Vance County Administration Building, 122 Young Street, Henderson, NC.”

…

“Public comments were heard first. Mr. Ron Regular spoke about a WRAL report regarding the Vance County’s Sheriff’s Office and the three employees who were indicted. He also stated that he would like to see high speed internet available throughout the county.

“Mr. John Miles expressed his concerns with the Sheriff’s Office continuing to pay three employees who are on administrative leave due to being indicted by a grand jury. He asked the board how long are they going to allow this to continue.”

…

“Mr. Chase Wingate with Open Broadband was next on the agenda to provide the quarterly project report for the county’s broadband initiative as well as an activity update. He explained the trouble they have had with delays in receiving equipment and stated that it was slowly improving.

“After lengthy discussion, Chairman Brummitt expressed his concerns with agreement milestones not being met. Mr. Wingate responded that he anticipates a great deal of progress to be made soon.”

…

“Committee Reports and Recommendations section

“Properties Committee – Surplus Property Offer from Vance County Schools. Mr. McMillen stated that the committee reviewed a letter from the school board seeking to surplus Western Vance School and offering the property and the old two story Eaton Johnson building to the County. Both properties are no longer needed or necessary for public school purposes, and in accordance with NC General Statute 115C-518, the school system is required to offer the properties to the county before attempting to sell the properties. The committee discussed the possibility of utilizing the Western Vance property for a rural park in the future, but did not see an immediate need for the county to take ownership of either property offered. The committee recommended providing a written response declining interest in taking ownership of either property.”

…

“From the County Manager’s Report

“Vaya Health Transition and Regional Board Appointments. Mr. McMillen advised that Vaya Health anticipates finalizing their consolidation with Cardinal Innovations January 1, 2022. Vaya anticipates approval from the DHHS Secretary of their alternative board structure in the coming days. A total of 31 counties are in the Vaya catchment area and their intent is to create four regions of counties. Vance County would be in region four with Granville, Franklin, Person, Caswell, Alamance, Chatham, and Stokes County. Maps of Vaya counties and region designations were provided to the board. Mr. McMillen stated that each of the counties are to appoint two members to the regional community board and each of the four regional boards will appoint two members to the newly consolidated and reconstituted Vaya Health Board. Additionally, four members will be appointed to the Vaya Board by the Consumer and Family Advisory Committee (CFAC), one will be appointed by the DHHS Secretary, and up to eight at-large seats will be appointed by the current Vaya Board. Vaya is aiming to have the board in place by January 1st. Vance County will need to appoint two members to the regional community board at the December board meeting. One member must be a commissioner and the second member can be a commissioner, DSS Director, Health Director, Law Enforcement representative, or County Manager.

“Chairman Dan Brummitt expressed his interest in serving in this capacity.”

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.