Tag Archive for: #hendersonnews

Cooperative Extension With Jamon Glover: SFI Update

Cooperative Extension

Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.

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Clarke Elementary Family Resource Center Open For Business

Clarke Elementary now has a Community Schools Family Resource Center, and school and community leaders celebrated its opening with a ribbon cutting Tuesday morning.

The Family Resource Center will serve as a hub to connect families with resources ranging from academic support to access to health and community programs, according to information from school officials.

There’s a food pantry and a clothes closet, with all items free of charge to those in need.

Clarke Elementary Principal Dr. C’Monee Wilkins and Community Schools Coordinator Krystle Lindsey, along with Henderson Mayor Melissa Elliott, Superintendent Dr. Cindy Bennett, Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce President Sandra Wilkerson and others marked the official opening of the resource center.

The Family Resource Center is a one-stop shop to provide guidance, connect families to valuable services and strengthen community partnerships.

The resource center is located in Room 121, right across from the front office.

It’s open Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., but is also open by appointment. Please contact Lindsey at klindsey@vcs.k12.nc.us to learn more.

In addition to food and clothing, families can access other services, including laundry machines and access to shower facilities and computers.

‘Festival Of Trees’ Sign-Up Extended Through Dec. 12

The City of Henderson’s Downtown Development Commission invites you to join in the fun and participate in the Festival of Trees that will be on display for the Very Merry Henderson Holiday Fest on Saturday, Dec. 7 and beyond.

Participation is free for businesses, organizations and individuals. The Festival of Trees will be held in the gallery between McGregor Hall and Perry Memorial Library. Reserve a space by contacting Tracy Madigan at 252.425.0844 or email tracymadigan@henderson.nc.gov.

Here are a few friendly guidelines to keep in mind:

  • No live trees – only artificial trees
  • Set up Thursday, Dec. 5 and Friday, Dec. 6 between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 7 from 10 a.m. to 12 noon; Sunday, Dec. 8 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Dec. 9-12 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
  • If your tree is lighted, please bring your own 10-foot or 20-foot extension cord

TownTalk: Joint Public Safety And Fire Commission Meeting

Plans should be in place by summer 2025 to send an additional fire department to structure fires in the county, a move that has the potential to save lives and property, not to mention having a possible positive effect on the county’s insurance rating and property owners’ insurance premiums.

Brandon Link, president of the Vance County Firefighters Association and chief of the Watkins Volunteer Fire Department, said the idea of sending a fourth department on calls was solidified at a recent joint meeting of the county’s public safety committee and the fire commission.

Although a work conflict prevented him from attending the Nov. 20 meeting, Link said he was briefed by others in attendance.

The county commissioners had earlier given the green light, but the plan “had been in a holding pattern for a while,” Link said, partly because the county was conducting a fire study to consider restructuring the county’s fire departments, all but one of which are volunteer departments.

Link said he believes the Vance County Fire Department will remain the lone fully staffed station to provide support to departments when they get dispatched to fire calls.

When that additional department is dispatched, it means there will be more trucks, more water and more personnel on scene to more quickly extinguish fires and get control of the situation.

Those are the three main criteria that are factored in to determine a county’s insurance – ISO – rating. A better ISO rating translates into lower premium bills for property owners.

“It’s something we’ve all been asking for, close to five years now,” Link said.

Unfortunately, those premiums won’t be going down for this five-year cycle, he said, adding that the decision was “bittersweet – we knew it was going to make a difference… we missed the boat (this time) but hope to get it next time.”

Making the necessary changes to get that fourth department included on calls takes a little doing. The 911 dispatchers use a response matrix to determine the order that departments are called to fires, Link said.

“It is exciting, (but) it’s a long process,” he noted, adding that a good bit of the groundwork has been laid – now it’s just a matter of getting that information put into the system.

Link said there’s a good mix of seasoned and new, or newish, chiefs of the various departments who are “walking in lockstep together, which to me is a good sign.” Everyone wants what is best for the county, and his colleagues are willing to do whatever they can to provide the best service possible.

County Manager C. Renee Perry and the commissioners have heard their needs, requests and options for providing fire service, he said. “They understand our love and passion and desire to do our job.”

As for the fate of the Vance County Fire Department, Link said local fire officials have expressed their desire for it to stay in place and that the county would be “taking a step backwards” if changes are made to the way it operates. “They are vital to us in what we do,” he said of the paid firefighters at that station.

And while appreciative of all the part-timers and volunteers that are the backbone of the other departments across the county, Link said that’s not enough coverage. Part-timers and volunteers have jobs or other commitments. “They’re not obligated to respond,” he said, but “they’re committed to respond – when they’re available.”

The state requires a minimum of four firefighters to respond from the primary fire department dispatched to a call, but Link said there could be as many as eight or nine who show up.

Add four that come from VCFD – plus the chief if it’s a daytime call – and another three or four from the secondary department and now from that fourth department, and there could be upwards of a couple of dozen people on the ground to combat the fire.

But that number could just as easily be halved, he added, depending on the number of volunteers and part-timer firefighters who are available.

Having more people and equipment responding to a fire call could help when it comes to ISO ratings, Link noted.

Drewry maintained its ISO rating of 5. Epsom improved to a class 4. The Watkins department improved its rating to 5 this year. Several other departments have been evaluated but haven’t gotten their score yet, and the last three departments should be completed in the next few months. The results are a report card of sorts to reflect performance.

 

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Home And Garden Show

On the Home and Garden Show with Vance Co. Cooperative Ext.

  • Vance County Regional Farmers Market is open on Saturdays 8am-1pm.

  • “So You Want to be a Beekeeper” Workshop, will take place on December 9th, at 6pm at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market.

  • The Vance and Warren County Beekeepers Association will meet on December 9th, at 7pm at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market.

  • Leaf collection season is upon us. Compost your leaves. Don’t burn them.

  • Now is a good time to start ordering your vegetable seeds, especially a new variety for the 2025 growing season.

  • Remember to use personal protective equipment when doing chores in the fall. Eye and ear protection. Even sunscreen. Use a good pair of gloves.

  • We encourage you to buy a North Carolina Christmas Tree this year for the Holidays.

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TownTalk: Youth Mental Health First Aid

An upcoming workshop at Henderson City Hall is designed to help participants recognize signs that a young person may be experiencing a mental health crisis, as well as offer ways to step in to connect them to agencies and resources that can help.

The all-day mental health first aid workshop will be held Saturday, Dec. 7 and is a partnership between the city of Henderson and Vaya Health, according to information from Enriqueta Arroyo, Vaya’s youth mental health first aid instructor and community training specialist,

There are still some open slots, Arroyo said. Please contact her via email at Enriqueta.arroyo@vayahealth.com or by phone at 919.633.8769 to get registered no later than Friday, Dec. 6.

Early intervention is key, and Arroyo said the workshop will share strategies about how to reach out to someone who may be in crisis, how to listen in a non-judgmental way and how to refer to an agency for assistance.

The class is an 8-hour session, running from 8 a.m.  to 5 p.m. and participants must attend the entire class to receive their certification. The training is free of charge. Registration will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

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Vance County Logo

TownTalk: Vance County Board Of Commissioners Reorganization Meeting

The Vance County Board of Commissioners elected Sean Alston to chair the 7-member board and Carolyn Faines was elected as vice-chair at the regular monthly meeting Monday night.

In other action, the commissioners added June 19 – Juneteenth – to the list of county-observed holidays and approved dates for its regular monthly meetings, which will remain the first Monday of each month, the exception being Mar. 10, 2025.

The chair and vice-chair elections took place just after the newly elected and re-elected commissioners were sworn in for their four-year terms.

Faines bested challenger William Heitman in the only contested race in the Nov. 5 election to retain her District 1 seat. Commissioners Yolanda Feimster and Leo Kelly ran unopposed for their seats in Districts 6 and 5, respectively.

And newcomer Valencia Perry, who beat Archie Taylor in the March 2024 primary, was sworn in to the District 2 seat.

In an interview back in February as part of WIZS’s election coverage, Perry said her focus is on education, school funding, mental health services and the county jail. A Vance County native, Perry has a background in accounting and is an ordained minister.

As a commissioner, she said she will be “a fresh set of eyes” to help make “long-needed change in Vance County.”

Her work on the Vance County Housing Authority Board helped her realize just how critical financial responsibility is, she said at the time. “I had a chance to help people move forward and not stay stuck,” she said. “We’ve done a lot of great things and I feel good about it,” she said of her work with the housing authority.

Another need she sees in the county is a diversion center for those in crisis because of mental health or substance abuse issues. “It is so important,” Perry said, that people have “somewhere they can be safely cared for by professionals who know what to do.”

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