WIZS Radio WIZS Local News Audio 7-6-21 Noon
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The Local Skinny! Jobs In Vance
The H-V Chamber of Commerce and WIZS, Your Community Voice, present Jobs in Vance for July 6th, 2021. 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 christa@hendersonvance.org to be included.
JOB OPENINGS IN VANCE COUNTY – Week of July 6, 2021
Name of the Company: Vance County Schools
Jobs Available: Open positions for bus drivers, a plumber and an electrician
Method of Contact: to apply go to www.vcs.k12.nc.us and click on job opportunities
Name of the Company: Roses Distribution Center
Jobs Available: General Warehouse, lift drivers, maintenance, CDL truck drivers, leads, managers and security
Method of Contact: visit their hiring center to apply, located at 218 Garnett Street. Please bring a valid (not expired) photo ID
Name of the Company: Brewer Cycles
Jobs Available: Service Write/ Advisor- this position requires a person to be able to type fast, be computer smart and talk professionally about repairs and cost to customers regarding their power sort vehicles. Must be courteous and helpful to all customers. This position is full or part time. Pay is $13.00 – $18.00 per hour.
Method of Contact: Stop by Brewer Cycles at 420 Warrenton Road to apply
Name of the Company: Kittrell Job Corps Center
Jobs Available: Residential Advisors, Accounting Clerk, LPN’s (full and part time), Academic Instructor for Reading, CTT Instructor for Medical Administrative Assistant and CTT Instructor for Facilities Maintenance.
Contact Person: Angela Williams- HR Manager
Method of Contact: call 252-438-9108 or email williams.angelap@jobcorps.org
Name of the Company: Next Level Kennels
Jobs Available: Part time weekend Kennel Tech. – Will be responsible for the day-to-day care of boarders and personal animals. Must have sufficient physical strength, mobility and stamina to lift and or move heavy pets and objects. It is ESSENTIAL that they have the ability and willingness to learn and the desire to provide gentle, compassionate care for boarded pets.
Method of Contact: for more information call 252-438-4459
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.
Town Talk: Retired Colonel Helps Fellow Veterans, Stops In Henderson On 10,000-Mile Fundraiser Ride
The numbers are staggering: Since it started in 2014, RIP Medical Debt has paid medical bills for more than 2.7 million families to the tune of $4.5 billion – that’s billion with a “B” – $90 million alone to veterans and families of veterans. And if Mikel Burroughs, a retired Army colonel, has his way, those numbers will continue to grow.
Burroughs recently completed the 3rd annual RIP Ride for Veterans motorcycle ride to raise awareness and funds for the non-profit RIP Medical Debt; he took a short detour to Henderson to meet Phyllis Maynard, a fellow veteran and local Disabled American Veterans service officer. Maynard served in the U.S. Navy as a petty officer on the USS Puget Sound. She met Burroughs through an online veterans’ support group about two years ago.
When Burroughs was in Fayetteville recently during his 32-state road trip, he decided he wanted to make the 2-hour trip to meet Maynard in person.
“It was wonderful coming in to Henderson and meeting with Phyllis,” Burroughs told John C. Rose on Town Talk, which aired Tuesday. Maynard wanted to make the visit more than just a pit stop along the 10,000-plus mile journey, so she had some other guests from the community to help her welcome Burroughs to Vance County.
Maynard said she appreciated Burroughs including a stop in Henderson on his itinerary and she “wanted it to end up being special for him – I really wanted to share it with the community,” she said. He seemed to be the “glue” of the support group, Maynard said of Burroughs. “Everybody loved the colonel,” she said, adding that the group learns from each other, from the low-stress comfort of their own homes.
The RIP Ride 4 Vets 2021 fundraising goal was $50,000. RIP Medical Debt buys debt from hospitals or from a secondary market and follows a process to determine which accounts fit the criteria to be marked as “paid in full.” Burroughs said every $1 the group spends buys $100 in medical debt.
“A lot of our veterans are struggling under the burden of health care debt across the country,” Burroughs said. Add financial burdens to those invisible illnesses like PTS (post-traumatic stress) and TBI (traumatic brain injury) and the negative effects definitely mount up.
He said two-thirds of all bankruptcies in the U.S. are the result of health-care debt.
“I’ve talked to a lot of veterans on the Warriors for Life program that are struggling financially,” Burroughs said. “I hear it first-hand – I hear it in their voice and they share and they get that off their mind…it has a profound effect on our veterans and it shouldn’t,” he said of overwhelming medical debt.
Mackenzie Scott, former wife of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, recently gave $50 million to RIP Medical Debt. “That’s going to abolish a lot of debt” over the next three years – for civilians and veterans alike.
Relieving the stress of medical debt for veterans is just one way Burroughs contributes to the veteran community. He facilitates the Saturday Warriors for Life group – other volunteers cover the other five groups each week. And a Life Readiness Center is being planned to open on 165 acres in Costa Rica which will provide different therapies and treatments to help veterans with PTSD and TBI. The goal is to partner with Victory for Vets Inc. to have readiness centers in 32 U.S. cities. The centers use brain mapping, hyperbaric oxygen treatment and neurofeedback to address veterans’ needs.
“We’re very excited about what the future holds and what we’re going to be able to do for veterans holistically,” Burroughs said.
The Warriors for Life group will be a perfect place for veterans who participate in the Life Readiness Centers. “We want veterans to be able to reach out to Warriors for Life and let down the warrior barrier,” Burroughs said. “Be vulnerable… you don’t have to prove to anyone on the call that you’re a warrior – we already know that you’re a warrior. And you’ll always be a warrior,” he said.
“We want you to let that vulnerability down and be able to share it and get it off of your mind. Honestly, being able to share with others who have gone through similar experiences, I think it helps the healing process.”
Learn more at www.ripmedicaldebt.org.
For complete details and audio click play.
New Downtown Henderson Fountain Activated July 2
Henderson City Councilman Garry Daeke forwarded an email memo to WIZS from City Manager Terrell Blackmon. Blackmon sent the note to Mayor Eddie Ellington and the City Council.
It said after months of anticipation, the fountains at the intersection of Charles and Garnett streets would be activated about 7 a.m. on Friday, July 2, 2021. In the email Blackmon said, “Staff has met our goal to have the fountains (operational prior) to the July 4th holiday. The fountains will operate 24/7 and will be illuminated at night.”
There is no formal program scheduled at this time, but Blackmon said, “There will be a naming opportunity as well as benches that are being donated for the site which will allow us to celebrate the fountains at a later date.”
You are encouraged to enjoy the fountains, which are placed where the war memorial monuments had been across from First Methodist Church.
The war memorials have been moved around the corner to Young Street between Fire Station 2 with the clock tower and the old police station/municipal building. The memorials remember the names of heroes who gave the ultimate sacrifice for freedom and County in WW II, Korea, Vietnam and Irag.
Many years ago as it so happens, but long since gone now, there was a fountain near where the war memorials presently sit.
Also nearby is the memorial to Rebel the fire dog (1971-1984) and the time capsule, planted 30 years ago in 1991. It is due to be unearthed in 20 more years in 2041, surely to be part of the 200th anniversary of Henderson. The capsule was sealed during the sesquicentennial (150th) anniversary of Henderson. A huge celebration was held, including fireworks and much much more, on the blank field behind Bennett Perry’s house.
Today, that field is covered with the parking lot for and a portion of the courthouse, Sheriff’s Office and emergency management.
WIZS Local News Audio 7-2-21 Noon
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The Local Skinny! Dr. Cindy Bennett, Vance Co. Schools, Sworn In
Today is day one for Dr. Cindy Bennett as Vance County Schools superintendent. Bennett said Wednesday she would be sworn in this morning at the Vance County Schools Administration Building on Graham Avenue.
It begins her seventh year with Vance County Schools.
At the regular meeting of the Vance County Board of Education on June 14, the board voted unanimously to select Dr. Bennett.
Dr. Anthony Jackson is departing to become superintendent in Chatham County, NC. He was here for six years.
Immediately after the school board appointed Bennett, she said at the meeting, “Thank you so much. Madam chair, to all the board members, Dr. Jackson, I can’t thank you enough for this honor. I love this community. This community is my home, and I will do everything within my power to serve the children in this community and to give them all that they deserve. Thank you again. I am humbled.”
In a press release from Vance County Schools later the night of the meeting, Board Chair Linda Cobb said, “Dr. Bennett is dedicated to our community, our schools and most importantly our students. We have been impressed with her work in Vance County Schools over the last six years. Her qualifications and experience beyond Vance County will allow her to boldly lead our district. We look forward to supporting her, working together towards ongoing excellence.”
WIZS Local News Audio 7-1-21 Noon
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TownTalk: White Coat Ceremony Officially Welcomes Two Residents To MPH-Duke Partnership
According to Maria Parham Health CEO Bert Beard, it took almost four years to come to fruition, but two new physicians donned their white coats during a ceremony Wednesday to celebrate the beginning of a residency program that focuses on providing care in rural areas.
“This is a tremendous day for Maria Parham,” Beard told the gathering of local government officials and community leaders during the white coat ceremony Wednesday afternoon, hosted by MPH.
“What would it be for Duke and Maria Parham to partner on a rural track family medicine program that could facilitate health care in rural areas of North Carolina for the future,” he recalled during opening remarks.
“This is a small start, but it’s a big step,” Beard said, adding that providing appropriate medical care in rural areas is not just a concern locally, but an issue that is getting more and more attention nationally.
The first year, residents will spend a good deal of their time learning and working at Duke University Hospital and Duke Regional in Durham. In years two and three, their time will shift to Maria Parham and the Oxford office of Duke Primary Care, according to information released earlier about the program.
Dr. Tom Koinis, a physician in the Oxford office, serves as program director. Dr. Alexa Namba, once a resident Koinis worked with in 2015 on a weekly basis at the Oxford office, also will play a role in the new partnership.
As the residents who donned their white coats on Wednesday – Dr. Rashmi Saincher and Dr. Jessica Sanders – begin their work in the program, Koinis gave them a heads-up: “as you move into the physician’s world, you’ll be a major part of that community in many different ways.”
Pastor Frank Sossamon offered a blessing of hands during the ceremony. “We don’t realize sometimes how important our hands are,” Sossamon said. Hands speak, they affirm, they comfort. And they heal, he said. His blessing called for the physicians’ hands to do all those things for the patients they see in this community.
Saincher comes from a small town outside Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She studied medicine at St. George’s University in London and then completed clinicals in Philadelphia. Koinis said she is happy to leave all the cement of big cities for a return to small-town life.
Sanders is a native of Houston, Texas. She graduated from the University of Texas-Austin and worked for several years in New York City before realizing through volunteer work that her passion lay in helping people. She returned to her hometown and was admitted to the McGovern Medical School, part of UT-Houston.
Koinis said the local team submitted a 200-page application to be considered for the program, and the application was approved on Jan. 29, 2021. The national “resident match day” occurred on Jan. 30, so “we got in just in the nick of time,” Koinis said. Of the 20 “excellent applicants” that were interviewed, Saincher and Sanders were selected.
“I’m deeply honored and humbled to be able to lead this residency as it starts off,” he added, noting that it took a team effort to get the program off the ground. “And support from ‘big’ Duke has been really, positive, really strong.”
The residency program should be proof positive to this community and region, Beard noted earlier in the ceremony, that “our partnership with Duke is very strong and we’re going to advance it.”
TownTalk Broadcast including the Entire Ceremony
United Way Allocates $31,500 in Local Grants
The United Way of Vance County awarded $31,500 in grant allocations to seven local agencies Wednesday.
Local advocate Tommy Haithcock sent a picture of those in attendance at the United Way office at 715 S. Garnett Street in Henderson. Haithcock presently serves as the president of United Way, and Desiree Brooks is first vice president.
The pair told WIZS News the receiving organizations are:
Community Partners of Hope, Inc.
Franklin, Granville, Vance Smart Start
Life Line Outreach, Inc.
Vance County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council
Acts of Vance County, Inc.
Legacy Human Services, Inc.
Harold Sherman Adult Day Center
It is an annual grant cycle. However, 2020 was special. Haithcock told WIZS News, “Last year we received money from United Way International to give away for covid relief. We gave it away too, but we only gave away what we had raised once.”
The United Way assists local, non-profit agencies that seek to provide assistance to disadvantaged citizens in Vance and Warren counties in the areas of basic needs, health and education.
Town Talk: Rebuilding Hope’s SOS Project Works On Home Repairs While Spreading Gospel
Rebuilding Hope Ministry continues to fulfill its mission of helping people in the community with construction projects like roof replacement and building wheelchair ramps. The Servants on Site program sends out church groups to make repairs, also to spread the Gospel and to live their faith through works.
Robbie Parham, promotion director for Servants on Site project, and Dr. Randy Mann, lead pastor of Central Baptist Church in Henderson, were guests on Wednesday’s Town Talk and gave John C. Rose an update on how the SOS project has re-tooled itself to keep working in the community while honoring COVID-19 safety protocols.
In years past, the SOS program was a one-week blitz that sent hundreds of volunteers from local churches and those from as far away as Alabama into the community to perform home repair tasks for residents. This year’s 10th edition of SOS is a little different, however, Parham said. Instead of one week, the program is stretched over a 10-week period, which allows for church groups to do the work needed but without the customary corporate worship and dormitory-style sleeping arrangements.
“We’ve partnered with Rebuilding Hope from the very beginning of that ministry,” Mann said.
Rebuilding Hope’s mission to work alongside local churches to make a positive difference in the community is what makes it “beyond easy” to be a partner.
He has traveled the world on mission trips, but Mann said it has been rewarding to provide mission work close to home with the SOS project. He used a favorite quote to illustrate his point: “The light that shines farthest shines brightest at home.”
Mann said it was gratifying for him to see members of his congregation, from young children to senior adults, participating in the SOS project. The youngest were able to help clean up the lunch site and the 80-somethings pitched in, too, he said.
TownTalk 6-30-21 Audio; More Below
This is Mann’s first year to actually participate on-site. “I worked every day on a roof,” he explained. One thing he could see from that vantage point was the intergenerational communication that went on. “I recognized the breadth of participation from our church,” he said. As they worked side by side serving others, he said, there was a lot of spiritual development taking place as well.
The Central Baptist team just completed two roofing projects and will go out again in a couple of weeks. One resident reported to Mann that she could “literally lay on my bed at night and see the stars.” Thanks to the Central Baptist team, the roof was torn off, rotten wooden sub-roof replaced and new shingles put back on.
Through the SOS project, Mann said his church members “go and meet the practical needs in our community. But our greatest need is to share the Gospel while we do it.”
Parham said SOS has the manpower lined up to continue replacing the 11 roofs that have been identified in the area, as well as more wheelchair ramps. Although many of the church groups come from the local five-county area – Vance, Granville, Franklin, Warren and Person – he said a group from the western NC town of Franklin and another group from Georgia will lend a hand for SOS, too.
One dream that Parham hopes becomes a reality for Rebuilding Hope is completion of a bunkhouse in the upstairs of the building. The ministry occupies the former Coca-Cola Bottling Co. on Raleigh Road. Once that happens, groups can spend the night and worship on site. That way, Rebuilding Hope could sustain projects like SOS over the entire year, hosting groups for weekend or half-week mission work.