WIZS Radio Local News Audio 9-21-21 Noon
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WIZS Radio ~ 100.1FM/1450AM
Tag Archive for: #hendersonnews
Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland: Cicada Killer Wasp
Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.
The Local Skinny: National Opioid Settlement to Have Impacts Locally
The proposed $26 billion settlement with drugmaker Purdue Pharma for its involvement in the national opioid crisis could have a ripple effect that would help fund future opioid crisis intervention programs locally.
In 2020, it is estimated that 70 percent of drug overdoses involved opioids. Twenty-eight states in the U.S. saw at least a 30 percent increase last year, with North Carolina coming in higher at 40.5 percent.
Some state leaders have estimated that North Carolina’s share of the settlement could be as much as $750 million over a 17-year period. Counties and municipalities, including Vance County, are adding their names to the list to receive a share of that money.
The Vance County Board of Commissioners approved a Memorandum of Agreement at their Sept. 7 meeting, and County Manager Jordan McMillen told John C. Rose today that this positions Vance County to be a recipient of this funding stream. To date, nearly 60 of the state’s 100 counties have signed the memorandum of agreement.
“The NC MOA provides us guidance as to how funds will be distributed in North Carolina, how they can be spent, as well as audit and reporting requirements, McMillen said in a statement to WIZS News Monday. “The NC MOA is important as it provides local governments with 80-85% of the funds that come into North Carolina versus a lower standard percentage within the national settlement,” he added.
Not only does the MOA govern distribution of funds, but it gives some assurance of the local governments that would participate in the settlement, McMillen noted. It’s not final yet, but if the settlement process continues smoothly, money could start flowing in the next year or so, he estimated.
If Vance County’s share were $3 million over the next 17 years, that means more than $176,000 could be available each year. The memorandum of agreement spells out how each county and municipality must account for, report and audit the funds it receives.
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WIZS Radio Local News Audio 09-20-21 Noon
Click Play to Listen. On Air at 8am, 12pm, 5pm M-F
WIZS Radio ~ 100.1FM/1450AM
Watch Out for Scam Email, Those Impersonating Others
Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce President Michele Burgess reminded members Friday to ignore potentially spam emails.
Be especially careful at this time due to the fact that the subject line of an email going around right now is misleading about the Chamber itself.
Burgess wrote to members, including WIZS Radio, in a legitimate email and said, “Several of our business members reached out to me yesterday afternoon to report a strange email they received … (The sender) was asking our business owners if they were interested in purchasing our Chamber of Commerce professional contacts for your sales, marketing, and promotional activities.”
Burgess said, “This is a scam!
“The Henderson-Vance County Chamber of Commerce would never sell your business contact information to a third party for any reason. I am working to now to try to track down this person and her company to warn her to stop using our Chamber of Commerce name in her company marketing.”
Delete the email.
Burgess can be reached for additional details or if you have more you can report to her. Call 438-8414 or email michele@hendersonvance.org.
WIZS Radio Local News Audio 9-17-21 Noon
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WIZS Radio ~ 100.1FM/1450AM
SportsTalk: Vipers To Return To The Field On Sept. 24th
There may be some who recall the old PAC 6 – 4A conference and hard fought battles between the Vance Vikings and the Northern Durham Knights at Veterans Field in downtown Henderson or at Durham County Stadium. Those two teams hooked up for some great high school football games back in the 1980’s. While the Vikings are no longer with us, their spirit remains in the Vance County Vipers and they will once again tangle with the Northern Durham Knights in Durham on Sept. 24th. It will be the Vipers first game since defeating Durham-Riverside almost two weeks ago where, unfortunately, they were exposed to Covid shuttering the school’s football program for two weeks. The good news is that even though there was exposure, none of the Viper’s players or coaches tested positive.
Vance County Head Football Coach Wilbur Pender said today on SportsTalk with Trey Snide, “This week has been something else. It’s different. It’s weird. When you have football in the fall and have to sit on your hands for two weeks you get a bit antsy.”
While the team has been quarantined coaches have stayed in touch via phone and computer. Coach Pender said he and his staff check in on the players to make sure they eat right, get in workouts instead of playing video games and stay on top of their school work. “Players are chomping at the bit,” Pender added about the chance to return to action. However, Pender also noted that the health and well being of players and staff is the top priority. They won’t have to wait much longer as the quarantine ends Friday and the students return to school and practice on Monday to begin preparations for the Knights.
They will have their work cut out for them too. The Knights boast several offensive line men on the northside of 300 pounds and will run hard at the Vipers. The Knights are 1 -2 having been beaten by Scotland Co. 52 – 0 and losing 56 – 6 against Knightdale. There only victory was a 25 – 23 win against Franklinton.
Meanwhile, the Vipers put their 2 – 1 record on the line but Coach Pender feels good about his chances. Effective execution on offense, allowing a good mix of run and pass should put the Vipers where they want to be against Northern Durham. “Any play can become a home run play,” Pender said.
The Vipers will play the Knights on Friday Sept. 24th in Durham with kick off at 7pm.
Remember to listen to the Live Play by Play on WIZS Radio if you are unable to attend the game.
Cooperative Extension with Jamon Glover: Balancing Work & Family Pt. 2
In this broadcast: Routine, Stability; Avoid Unnecessary Conflict Before Work; Make Sure You And Your Partner Are On The Same Page; Choose Your Childcare Provider Wisely.
Click Play or Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.
Local Covid Q & A with Maria Parham Health
WIZS 1450 AM/ 100.1 FM News reached out to Maria Parham Health with several local covid questions. Maria Parham quickly responded through its public information officer and provided the following answers:
Q1 – How many people are currently hospitalized at Maria Parham with COVID?
A1 – We are currently treating fewer than 20 COVID-positive patients. 90% of those people are NOT vaccinated.
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Q2 – What COVID-related restrictions are placed on patients? On visitors?
A2 – We are limiting visitors to only one per day, but no visitors are allowed for COVID-19 patients with the exception of end of life circumstances. No one who is COVID-19 positive, exhibiting symptoms or has a recent exposure is permitted as a visitor at this time.
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Q3 – Is there any other relevant information you would like to share with the public?
A3 – Numbers don’t lie. The overwhelming majority of our hospitalized COVID-19 patients are unvaccinated, and vaccination is still our best defense against serious illness, hospitalization and death. We urge citizens to protect themselves, protect their families and protect our community by rolling up their sleeves and getting vaccinated against COVID-19 if they have not already done so. Maria Parham Primary Care in Henderson and Maria Parham Multispecialty Clinic in Louisburg are offering the vaccine and can be contacted directly for vaccine needs. Maria Parham Primary Care, 252.436.0440. Maria Parham Multispecialty Clinic, 919.497.8380.
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Q4 – Are you experiencing staffing issues due to the latest COVID surge?
A4 – Staffing is an industry-wide issue, and we are experiencing the same relative resource pressures in this regard as most other healthcare providers. Given the increase in volume we are experiencing, patients may expect extended wait times as our staff do their very best to provide each individual the appropriate level of care they need. We know the community understands this dynamic, and we appreciate their continued support.
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Q5 – Will an employee’s vaccination status have an effect on his or her employment status at some point?
A5 – At this time, Maria Parham Health is strongly encouraging and supporting all of our team members to become fully vaccinated against COVID-19, but vaccination is not currently required. We are aware of President Biden’s recent announcement about new federal COVID-19 vaccine requirements, and we agree that the vaccine is our best defense against this virus. Right now, we are working to understand the details of this development and the impact it will have for employees and providers at our facility.
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Maria Parham Health is an advertising client of WIZS. This is not a paid ad.
Upcoming Listening Sessions Give Residents A Chance To Give Input On Redrawing District Boundaries
Vance County residents have the opportunity to attend several public listening sessions in the next month as the county begins the business of redrawing district boundaries for commissioner and school board seats.
The first meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 28 at 6 p.m. at the Vance County Administration building. The second meeting will take place at the Townsville Volunteer Fire Department on Monday, Oct. 11 and the third meeting will be Monday, Oct. 18 at Kittrell Volunteer Fire Department. All meetings begin at 6 p.m., according to information from Kelly Grissom, clerk to the board of commissioners.
Every 10 years, counties use updated Census data to ensure that voting districts have essentially the same number of constituents. Changes are required after every Census to ensure the “one person, one vote” standard. To do so, an ideal population is established for each district by dividing the population by the number of elected officials to be elected from those districts.
Information on the county’s website notes the population by district, based on 2020 Census data. The ideal population for each district has been calculated at 6,083. Districts 1, 2 and 7 stand to lose some constituents and districts 3,4,5 and 6 could gain some constituents as the boundaries are redrawn.
Although there is some room for flexibility, districts must still meet federal and state guidelines. The state’s guidelines are stricter, allowing for a 5 percent deviation.
For Vance County to meet that 5 percent or better threshold, lines must be drawn so that there are no more than 304 people in any one district versus another. District 7 will get the most attention as it is 13.1% over at the present time in population. No other district is more than 2.7% worse than ideal. Since three of the four districts that surround district 7 are in pretty good shape, minor adjustments should correct all issues related to population and district lines.
District 7 is largely what could be described as north and west Henderson, extending west between the I-85 and U.S. 158 Business corridors and including areas like the Dabney community and west as well as south of Oxford Road to Old County Home Road.
As a result of the Census data, Henderson’s fall election was rescheduled for spring 2022; municipal elections in Kittrell and Middleburg are not affected.