Tag Archive for: #localnewsaudio

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SportsTalk 5-11-21 Scottie Richardson, Crossroads Christian

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“It’s a great day to be a Colt!” said Scottie Richardson, athletic director at Crossroads Christian after the school’s golf program won the state 1A championship by two strokes on Monday at Bryan Park-Players Course in  Greensboro.  The championship is the first athletic championship of any type ever won by the school. Two years ago Crossroads Christian was runner up in the state.  Richardson gave credit to golfing coach James Darnell. “He’s a local legend,” Richardson said. He went on to say that Darnell has to be part caddy and part psychologist as a golfing coach.

Richardson, who is also head basketball coach at the school, said all of the coaches of the school’s various athletic programs would “trash talk” with each other about which one would win the school’s first state championship but all of the coaches at the school have been very supportive of Coach Darnell and his team.

Speaking about Monday’s championship Richardson said, “It was a great atmosphere when the sun was out.” The tournament had to shut down for an hour and a half due to thunderstorms to rolled through the Guilford County area on Monday afternoon.

Richardson also acknowledged that the golf team will lose some players to graduation this year but feels that the team’s underclassmen are good enough to keep the team competitive in the coming seasons.

Representing the Crossroads Christian School Colts this year at the NCISAA Boys’ State Championship were Caden Woodward, Tyler Darnell, Merritt Cogdill and Colby Taylor.

For full details and complete audio click play.

 

 

TownTalk 5-11-21; KARTS Provides Key Service To Rural Residents

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Irene Johnson, executive director of KARTS discusses the transportation services offered by the agency, the effects of Covid-19 and the need for drivers.

Johnson stressed Kerr Area Rural Transportation Authority operates with a “safety first” approach to everything.

For Broadcast Audio Click Play. Written story below.

 

The term “public transportation” may conjure up images of crowded buses headed across a busy commercial district in a large city, but rural areas have public transportation services that help people get to medical appointments or complete errands in town.

In Vance, Franklin, Granville and Warren counties, 55 KARTS buses travel the country roads to pick up rural residents who rely on public transportation.

KARTS, or Kerr Area Rural Transportation Authority, has been serving the four-county area since 1983, said Irene Johnson, KARTS executive director. She told John C. Rose Tuesday on Town Talk that she wants to spread the word about KARTS.

Anyone who needs a ride to get a COVID-19 vaccine can ride for free, Johnson said. “We will make that possible at no cost” to the rider, she said. Just call KARTS at 252.438.2573 after scheduling the vaccine appointment.

Johnson said KARTS buses are on the road Monday through Saturday, and some drivers begin their shifts behind the wheel by 2:30 a.m. Many riders go to dialysis centers she said, and appointments there start as early as 4 a.m.

But KARTS buses take riders to Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, too. A scheduler can provide details about schedules and fare costs. Visit www.kartsnc.com for a breakdown of roundtrip fares. A roundtrip fare between 1-10 miles costs $8; a roundtrip fare between 11-20 miles is $10.

Those Around the Town shuttles that scurry throughout Vance County are KARTS buses, too. Johnson said there are designated stops for those shuttles, which generally run between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

COVID-19 restrictions created extra steps for KARTS, including sanitizing machines for the vehicles when they’re off the road, as well adding hand sanitizer stations on each bus. Masks are required to board the bus, and drivers have extras for anyone who needs one.

In addition to transporting people to their medical appointments and grocery shopping, Johnson said KARTS also takes people to work. She said at least four buses deliver workers daily to their jobs at Revlon in Oxford. Johnson estimated that those 55 buses are handling an average of 400 appointments a day, down from as many as 700 at one time.

KARTS, like many other rural transport agencies across the state, need qualified drivers. “We’re comfortable at 400 (trips), but we could use 20 drivers right now,” she said.

Drivers must be at least 21 years old and pass a background check and a drug screen.

“You’ve got to be someone who likes people,” she noted. “The easy part is being behind the wheel – you may be the only person they see all day.”

(KARTS is an advertising client of WIZS.  This article and audio are not paid ads.)

TownTalk 05-10-21 Economics, Jobs, Inflation

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Host John C. Rose discusses economics, employment and inflation including the effect stimulus payments have had, how the lack of employees has effected the shipping of goods and concerns about inflation.

For complete details and audio click play.

 

The Local Skinny! Home And Garden Show 5-5-21

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WIZS, Your Community Voice.  Thank you for listening! 

The Local Skinny! each Wednesday on WIZS is the Vance County Cooperative Extension Service Home and Garden Show.

 

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SportsTalk 5-4-21 Paul “Showtime” Gaffney, Gaffney Athletic Prep Academy

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Before he was known as “Showtime,” Paul Gaffney was a kid from a rural coal mining town in Kentucky. He was born to an unmarried teenage mom who placed him for adoption. At the age of two, his adoptive mother died and Gaffney was raised alone by his adoptive father. Gaffney would be considered as an “at-risk child” but Gaffney overcame these issues through his love of athletics and basketball. He is the Tennessee Wesleyan University Hall of Fame, where he received a B.S. in Business Management and, through his fifteen years with the Harlem Globetrotters, he is in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Now he is the founder of Gaffney Atletic Preparatory Academy (GAPA) in Tennessee which Gaffeny calls, “An innovative school dealing with sports careers including sports medicine, marketing, communications and nutrition serving grades six through twelve.” There is also a post grad program available to students who need it to help with GPA’s as well. GAPA enhances opportunities for students to move up to prestige college, according to Gaffney.

Gaffney says, “There were always people around me who inspired me to be a better athlete,” and this is what he hopes that GAPA will do for his students. Gaffney says GAPA teaches kids to find out what they love. While they may love athletics they might not be the world’s greatest athlete but might be great at cooking which could lead to a career as a sports nutritionist allowing them to be involved in athletics while not being on the field or court.

Students are from all over the world. He recruits students locally as well as Italy, Portugal and other locations.

However, GAPA isn’t his only interest. Gaffney is manager of the Tennessee Conductors of the WABA Basketball League. This women’s league is an opportunity to showcase talent so players may be able to move on to the WNBA. The team is scheduled to begin its season in July.

Gaffney credits his fifteen years with the Harlem Globetrotters in helping him open doors on these ventures. “The Globetrotters helped me develop the needed character for these endeavors,” Gaffney said.

Speaking of his Globetrotter experience Gaffney said, “We played eight days in a seven day week.” The constant travel all over the world helped the team develope a brotherhood that remains to this day. “The court was my office for 15 years and I enjoyed every minute of it,” Gaffney said. He calls the Globetrotter a tight knit family.

Gaffney also said playing with the Globetrotters was probably harder than playing basketball in the NBA due to the number of games involved and the travel which saw them go all around the world but the millions of smiles and memories those games brought to fans are special not only to those fans but for him as well. One of Gaffney’s fondest memories and one that changed his life was in 1996 when he met then South African President Nelson Mandela.

For complete details and audio click play.