Tag Archive for: #hendersonnews

Vance Co. Regional Farmers Market

Memorial Garden At Farmers Market Filled With Native Plants To Attract Pollinators – And People

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Visitors to the Vance County Regional Farmers Market have no doubt noticed the lovely garden space that greets them as they make their way up the driveway to the parking area.

It’s a beautiful space, to be sure. But if you’ve never taken a few minutes to stop and look closely at the native plant specimens that are contained in that small one-tenth of an acre, you’re really missing out.

Cooperative Extension Agent Michael Ellington explained that the garden, designed, created and maintained by Master Gardeners, is at once a natural habitat, a classroom and a sanctuary.

There are benches nestled among the greenery for people to stop and enjoy the peace within the garden.

Each different plant has its own marker that identifies it by name, and a QR code that visitors can use to learn more.

All the plants were carefully chosen to support pollinators like bees, butterflies and more.

“It’s literally buzzing with life,” Ellington said of the garden, which is chock full of pollinator-friendly perennials, herbs, flowering shrubs and more.

Volunteers from the Master Gardeners group are on hand each second and fourth Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. when the market is open to share information about the garden and practices that homeowners and aspiring gardeners can use in their own spaces.

They’re working to create a seed library, too, so if there’s a plant you like in the memorial garden and can’t find it in a retail store, just wait.

You may just be able to get some seeds from the library to take home to your own garden.

Snap a pic of the tag and be able to take a plant home soon.

Learn more about Cooperative Extension programs and activities at

https://vance.ces.ncsu.edu/ and click on https://vance.ces.ncsu.edu/vance-county-regional-farmers-market/ to learn more about the Vance County Regional Farmers Market.

Cooperative Extension with Jamon Glover: Basic Life Skills

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Vance County Cooperative Extension Report from Jamon Glover

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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The Local Skinny! Edmonds Tennis & Education Foundation’s ‘Tennis and Dentist’ Event Saturday, 10 AM – 2 PM

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The Edmonds Tennis & Education Foundation is hosting a “Tennis and Dentist” event on Saturday, May 31 to combine learning about the sport of tennis and the importance of good oral hygiene.

Things will get underway at 10 a.m. at Fox Pond Park, 375 Vicksboro Rd. and will continue until 2 p.m., according to Dr. Jerry Edmonds, who founded the organization with his wife Dorcel in 2018.

In case of rain, the event will move to Aycock Rec Center, Edmonds said.

The tennis clinic is free and is open to youth between the ages of 5 and 18.

Participants will learn tennis fundamentals, learn about dental health and get lunch, too.

Racquets and tennis balls will be provided.

Tennis is a relatively inexpensive sport, and there are public courts all around just waiting to be used. All tennis players need is a racquet, a can of balls and a good pair of tennis shoes and they’ll be all set.

The Edmonds Tennis & Education Foundation is a nonprofit that combines tennis, academics and nutrition to strengthen young people for success.

Visit https://www.edmondstennis.org/ to learn more about the organization.

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Grand Opening of Community Garden at VCRFM

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The community garden at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market held its official grand opening Saturday, May 24, 2025.

Dr. Wykia Macon, director of the Vance County Cooperative Extension, was on hand and hands on!

She spoke recently at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market and said agriculture is “undeniably central to our lives,” when addressing 100 attendees of the ‘State of Agriculture’ luncheon hosted by the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce.

Horticulture and Field Crops agent Michael Ellington was on hand and at work as well, and it’s apparent months of preparation is starting to pay off.

The community garden a place where gardeners of all skill levels are welcome to learn and share their own knowledge about growing fruits and vegetables.

Garden beds are available to rent for the growing season – each 4 foot by 8 foot bed is $40 for the whole season.

Community gardens provide lots of benefits, Ellington said recently on his weekly Tuesday segment on WIZS. Fresh, healthy food is just the beginning.

Access to affordable, nutritious food can be limited, especially in underserved neighborhoods and communities, he said. Garden plots like the ones at the farmers market offer local hands-on solutions that can reduce food inequality and increase availability.

And it just makes sense that folks who grow their own fruits and vegetables are likely to eat more of each. Community gardens give people power over what they eat, he said.

Community gardens can bring diverse groups together, and soon, new friends are swapping recipes and stories while they pull weeds and keep their plots watered.

These places “reveal that social fabric that holds communities together,” Ellington said.

Macon added that cooperative extension programs support agriculture in all its forms – from livestock and horticulture to youth programs like 4-H.

The community garden is also a place where children can learn first-hand about where their food comes from – literally – not from a video screen or a textbook.

“They learn by planting seeds, watching them sprout and harvesting what they’ve nurtured,” Ellington said.

Planting a garden can reduce grocery bills and can reduce the amount of food waste that ends up in the landfill.

Community gardens also send a clear message to prospective businesses that residents care about where they live.

If you’d like more information about the community garden, visit the cooperative extension website at https://vance.ces.ncsu.edu, call 252.438.8188 or email Ellington at maellington@ncsu.edu.

There are many ways to help, from volunteering to sponsoring to making a direct donation.

And if you don’t have a green thumb, don’t fret. Just spread the word about the community garden to friends and neighbors.

“Drive-In Movie Massacre” to Film At Local Legendary Raleigh Road Outdoor Theatre

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Wanna be in a movie? Wanna have a part in making a movie? Folks in the Henderson area will have their chance soon, because Bill DiNicola is looking for locals to be a part of Drive-In Movie Massacre, a comedy/horror slasher film that is going to be shot on location at Raleigh Road Outdoor Theatre.

And one thing he says for sure: the world premiere of the movie will be held right here in Henderson, at the iconic drive-in.

DiNicola, who got his start right here at WIZS, has moved to television and movie production, and he can’t wait to start filming. He said filming should begin in August or September of this year, and the final product is scheduled to be ready by September 2026. He’s formed a film company, ColaNatio Films, and he hopes this is just the beginning of having movies filmed in Vance County

He’s always been a big fan of horror movies, and his work in pre-production is what helped him get to this point in his career – creating a feature-length film.

Well, not Tom Cruise-Mission Impossible length feature film, but he said on Monday’s TownTalk that, with credits, the movie will be close to 90 minutes.

DiNicola said you need three things to make a movie – “a camera, a place to shoot and a story that people might be interested in.”

Camera, check. A place to shoot – the iconic drive-in in Henderson, check. And the story that people will be interested in. Check.

The script is about 54 pages in so far, and needs to be 80 pages or so. But it’s at the point where DiNicola is seeking funding for the project.

And a little star power.

He said he’s got local newsman-turned celebrity Mark Roberts on board for the project, as well as a “soft commitment” from Darcy the Mail Girl, who’s known in the horror/comedy genre.

The movie is a movie within a movie, DiNicola said – “It’s a slasher movie about people going to the movies to watch a movie about people going to the movie and getting massacred.”

And in the case of this movie, people are coming to the Raleigh Road Outdoor Theatre to see the movie.

“When you have an asset like that and you find out that people are interested in it and want to make it happen,” it’s a natural fit.

DiNicola said he sees Vance County as a great place to make movies, from the drive-in to Kerr Lake and more.

“What I really want to do,” he said, “is make movies in Vance County,” where he spent so much time as a child. “The woods, Kerr Lake…everything (is) kind of rolled into one In Vance County. The only thing you don’t have is film crews working in Vance County.”

He wants to change that.

Contact DiNicola at colanatio@gmail.com, 252.432.2235 or find him on Facebook.

 

 

 

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Home and Garden Show

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

  • The Vance County Regional Farmers Market is now open on Saturdays from 8am to 1pm.
  • Monitor rows in garden open ends of rows that have water pooled up in them.
  • Check tomatoes for leaf spot diseases. You can prune all leaves below the first fruit set.
  • Monitor tall fescue for brown patch disease, especially if you fertilized later than March 15th.
  • Treat fire ants now. Use fire ant bait.
  • Keep lawn mower blades sharp.
  • If you have young children or grandchildren, teach them how to work in the garden. They are our future gardeners.
  • Consider drip irrigation in your garden.
  • Use row covers to protect your garden from wildlife.
  • Continue your fruit tree spray program according to the label directions of the product that you are using.
  • Keep your garden journal up to date.
  • Check houseplants dust weekly with a soft cloth.
  • Check storage areas for mice.

The Vance County Cooperative Extension is located at 305 Young St, Henderson, NC 27536

The Vance County Regional Farmers Market is located at 210 Southpark Dr., Henderson, NC 27536

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City Utility Customers’ Water Meters Being Read Again Following Cyber “Event”

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UPDATED May 27, 2025 at 6:30 P.M.

Henderson’s utility customers have gotten a notification about water meters being read again in the wake of what city officials are calling a cyber “event” that created a massive disruption in the billing process.

“We would like to inform our utility customers that we have begun reading meters for the first billing cycle to be processed since the cyber event,” the notice stated.

It’s a good first step toward returning to normal since the city got hit by a cyber attack that affected the way it generates bills for utilities customers. Another bit of good news: customers who had their bills set up on bank draft should see that draft process resume, unless the customer has requested to have their account removed from the bank draft option, according to information from the city’s Customer Service Director Sharon “Shay” Bennett.

The city normally processes three billing cycles per month and bills are normally mailed on the 10th, 20th and 30th of each month depending on the customer’s service address.

The next bill customers receive will include usage from the meter’s previous reading prior to the cyber event through the date the meter is read over the next month.

“We would like to thank you for your patience and understanding as we continue to recover from this issue,” the notification read.

Although the city was unable to issue bills for several months following the time the problem was discovered, it was recommended that customers continue to pay their bills based on their last billing statement and to keep receipts for payments made until the system was back on line.

Clarke Elementary Principal Dr. C’Monee’ Wilkins Named NCAE’s 2025 Principal Of The Year

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Clarke Elementary School Principal Dr. C’monee’ Wilkins has been named 2025 Principal of the Year by the N.C. Association of Educators.

This distinguished award honors outstanding leadership, a deep commitment to student and staff success and steadfast support for public education.

Wilkins has more than a decade of experience in education. She was selected following an interview process led by the NCAE Division of Principals/Administrators Board, who chose her for her strong instructional leadership, innovative approaches and dedicated advocacy for educational equity, according to information from NCAE Press Secretary Adrian Ezell.

NCAE President Tamika Walker Kelly said, “We are honored to name Dr. Wilkins as our Principal of the Year. Her transformative work is a powerful reminder of the impact strong educational leadership can have on a school community. We are proud of all she has accomplished and excited to see what she will do next.”

Under Wilkins’s leadership, Clarke Elementary has seen remarkable gains. The school’s overall performance grade has improved, and math proficiency in grades 3-5 has tripled. She credits these achievements to the school’s structured coaching model implemented through its Opportunity Culture framework.

Beyond academic outcomes, Wilkins has championed partnerships with organizations such as Student U and Duke University to secure grants that provide critical academic support, mentorship and family engagement resources – helping students thrive both in and out of the classroom.

“Strong schools are built through collaboration, vision and dedication to student success,” Wilkins said. “Through strategic coaching, thoughtful advocacy and continuous learning, I strive to ensure that Clarke Elementary remains a model of excellence where every child has the opportunity to succeed.”

The NCAE Principal of the Year Award is presented annually by the NCAE Division of Principals/Administrators. Nominees are judged on professional practice, advocacy for the profession, community engagement and leadership skills.

The NCAE is the largest association of professional educators in North Carolina.