Stories include:
– Safe Neighborhood Initiative
– David Smith awarded Long Leaf Pine
– Covid19
– Re-entry plan for Vance Co. Schools
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Stories include:
– SAM Child Advocacy Center and the work they do for children in the area
– Vance Co. Farm Bureau establishes the Talmadge R. “Pete” Burgess scholarship at Vance Granville Community College
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100.1 FM ~ 1450 AM ~ WIZS, Your Community Voice ~ Click to LISTEN LOCAL
Henderson City Manager Terrell Blackmon appeared on WIZS Town Talk Tuesday at 11 a.m.
Blackmon briefly discussed his time with the City, stating the start of the COVID-19 pandemic shortly after his arrival in January has made for an interesting first year on the job.
“It certainly wasn’t what I was expecting when you throw in everything that’s happened with COVID,” said Blackmon. “I can say I enjoy the community, I enjoy being here and I enjoy the challenge of making Henderson a better place for everyone. Overall, I’m doing well, and the City is doing well.”
For complete details and audio, click play.
Moving on to last night’s Henderson City Council meeting, Blackmon commented on a few of the highlights from the session, including the approval of adding indoor – or crop box – farming to City zoning ordinances.
With greenhouse farming already approved for accessory-use in current zoning ordinances, the addition of crop box farming will allow participating individuals a 365-day growing season in artificial light.
Also of note, the Council rejected the Beckford Drive Widening Project that was first initiated in 2008 when construction costs were much lower. Blackmon said the delays, due to property acquisition and rising costs in construction, have pushed the project cost beyond its budgeted amount. With $1.6 million in grants and available funding already allocated, Blackmon said the City is still approximately $1.3 million short of the total project cost.
According to the meeting’s minutes, to date, $335,115 has been put towards the project, which includes the design, right of way acquisition, legal administration, stream mitigation costs and NCDOT administration costs. The City is responsible for these costs and will have to reimburse NCDOT and the Federal Highway Administration to abandon the project.
Also discussed was the use of CARES Act funding to ensure City of Henderson facilities are safer during the pandemic, the naming of a new economic development director and the City of Henderson’s Main Street status.
For more detailed information regarding these items, please listen to the Town Talk episode by clicking play above and visit the Henderson City Council’s website for meeting agendas and minutes.
Stories include:
– Local economic development gains momentum
– Maria Parham Hospital restricts visitors due to Covid19
– Some court proceedings cancelled due to Covid19
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100.1 FM ~ 1450 AM ~ WIZS, Your Community Voice ~ Click to LISTEN LOCAL
Cara Boyd Gill, founder and director of S.a.M. Child Advocacy Center in Henderson, appeared on WIZS Town Talk Monday at 11 a.m.
S.a.M. Child Advocacy Center is a 24-hour, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that serves children who are victims of physical abuse, sexual abuse and witnesses to violent crimes in Vance and surrounding counties.
Opening its doors in 2016, the center provides a safe, child-friendly environment for children who are alleged victims of abuse and their non-offending family members to receive child forensic interviews by trained staff.
For full details and audio, click play…
Victims and their non-offending family members can receive advocacy and support services, referrals to appropriate support services within the community, crisis intervention and medical treatment referrals if needed. All services are provided at no cost to the child or their families.
Gill, who worked for Child Protective Services in Alamance County upon graduating from college, said it was her experience with child investigations and the child advocacy center in Alamance that sparked her interest in offering similar services in Vance County.
“Upon leaving Alamance County – because Henderson is my hometown, and I decided I wanted to come back home – I began talking to our local law enforcement, social services, and our District Attorney’s office to see how they handled cases of child abuse and neglect,” explained Gill. “At the time, they did not have a child advocacy center here, and they would send kids to Duke or UNC with a two or three-month wait, which is not ideal for these kids.”
Gill continued, “A child advocacy center is not a stand-alone center; I also have to have social services, law enforcement, the DA’s office, a mental health provider and a medical provider. In talking with these entities, we began brainstorming how this could happen. The result was we opened in 2016, and here we are in 2020 still expanding.”
For more information on S.a.M., please visit the center’s Facebook page by clicking here.
Stories include:
– Vance and Granville Co. Disposition Court cancelled
– Vance Co. Manager receives award from Kerr Tar COG
– Lockemy named Henderson-Vance Economic Development Director
– Toy drive at Roses
For Full Details and audio click play.
Stories include:
– Mayor Eddie Ellington discusses his life and role as Mayor of Henderson
– Chamber of Commerce Banquet postponed
– Covid19 case counts
– Covid testing event
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Emigrating Over the Horizon; Where Did They Go?
WIZS TownTalk host Bill Harris and guest Mark Pace discuss emigration from Old Granville County.
What were the reasons people left the area in the early to mid 19th Century? The need of land was one reason and land was cheap in areas such as Tennessee and Alabama. Land grants from the Revolution also provided incentive, and larger quantities of land were needed as large families with eight to 10 to 12 children grew. Land quality was a factor as well because without enough land, proper crop rotations could not occur.
Where did they go? Numerous communities such as Macon, Georgia or Granville, Tennessee were named for people or locations in the immediate vicinity of Henderson and Oxford. Many families moved to and founded the communities in these areas for better opportunities.
For more details and TownTalk audio click play…and continue reading below…
Additionally, many people with roots here went on to become famous nationally and internationally. Playwright Tennessee Williams, Gen. Braxton Bragg, former Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley and “Lady Bird” Johnson all had or have roots tying them to the area.
Just as Vance, Granville, Warren & Franklin Counties were shaped by those who moved here from Southern and Tidewater Virginia, many areas in Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas and other southern states were equally influenced by those who left here to make their mark in these states and others.
For more on local history and genealogy visit Mark Pace at the NC Room at Thornton Library in Oxford and visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/fgvwgeneaology on the web for more information on Franklin, Granville, Vance and Warren county history and genealogy.
– SHPHC Presents ‘Christmas Time’s A-Comin’: A Bluegrass Christmas’
– Drewry Volunteer Fire Dept. Holding Drawing for Handmade Quilt
– Oak Level U.C.C Brunch Saturday
– Dr. Kayla J. Cagle-Colon Joins Maria Parham Women’s Care
For audio and full details, click play below…
WIZS News on 1450AM / 100.1FM at 8a, 12 noon and 5p M-F
Stories include:
– Latest Covid19 statistics
– community testing event
– enhanced rail service possibly coming to Henderson
– Granville County Schools
– VGCC partner with Elizabeth City State for degree program
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