Cooperative Extension with Paul McKenzie: What Works in the Garden
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: Covid Data for Vance and Granville Counties
— Info Courtesy of Granville Vance Public Health —
Covid Local Data Update previous 7 days ending Saturday, August 7th
In the past 7 days, there have been 42 new cases in Vance County, a 16.67% increase from the week before. The percent positivity rate in Vance County is 6.03%. According to the CDC COVID Data Tracker, there is substantial community transmission in Vance County.
In the past 7 days, there have been 63 new cases in Granville County, a 6.78% increase from the week before. The percent positivity rate in Granville County is 5.64%. According to the CDC COVID Data Tracker, there is high community transmission in Granville County.
In Vance County, 50.5% of those over the age of 12 have received at least one dose of their COVID-19 vaccine and 40.8% are fully vaccinated.
In Granville County, 58% of those over the age of 12 have received at least one dose of their COVID-19 vaccine and 50.6% are fully vaccinated.
In North Carolina, 62% of the adult population is at least partially vaccinated and 58% of the adult population is fully vaccinated.
Safe Routes Program Encourages Biking And Walking To School
There may be a couple of bike racks outside some school buildings in the area, but gone are the days that students’ bicycles fill those racks during the day while children are in class. The familiar crosswalks still function, but they are more for students getting out of cars than for those who have walked from their nearby homes.
Kisha High recognizes that rural areas and small towns may face challenges when they encourage children to walk or bike to school, but the Safe Routes to School program does more than just promote those practices.
High is the Safe Route to Schools program coordinator for the Kerr-Tar COG. She spoke with WIZS News about all the ways her program can have positive impacts on schoolchildren – on or off school campuses.
“The name can be misleading,” High said. “It’s not just about school – you’re a pedestrian when you’re in the parking lot at the grocery store.” By sharing information about safety practices when people are in areas where there also are vehicles, High said the program can improve overall safety and health.
The program is funded by federal and state departments of transportation. It’s a non-infrastructure grant, so her efforts are largely aimed at outreach. Whether it’s a Back To School event or a walking competition within a particular school, she’s willing and ready to participate or help organize.
She will be at the Back to School Bash in Oxford tomorrow, for example, raising awareness about how important it is to be healthy and how important it is to be safe.
Although the program’s mission is to promote walking and biking to schools, she added the words “where possible” to take into account that there aren’t many sidewalks in rural communities and schools are in more centralized locations.
But children may still walk to bus stops, for example, and it’s important for them to understand safety rules, she said.
Friendly competitions are one way to promote walking as a way for children to exercise. High said students at West Oxford Elementary in Granville County used pedometers last spring to track their steps. They calculated their mileage in a “Walking to Tokyo” race in advance of the Olympics.
Whether walking to school, in the store parking lot, or the neighborhood, safety should be top of mind, High said.
“We’re all pedestrians at some point during the day,” she added.
For more details, listen below.
Cooperative Extension with Jamon Glover: Redirecting
Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.
The Local Skinny! Home and Garden Show 8-4-21
Thank you for listening to WIZS Radio. Your Community Voice!!
Each Wednesday at 11:30 a.m., Paul McKenzie and Wayne Rowland of the Vance County Cooperative Extension Service join us on air.
Click play below for the latest episode including information on:
- You can start planting fall garden vegetables if you can irrigate when needed.
- Avoid pruning unless absolutely necessary. Delay until late-November at the earliest!
- Lawn mower maintenance is crucial to extend the life of your mower. Check owners manual.
- Planning to renovate your tall fescue lawn? Need to start herbicide applications ASAP.
- Keep a close watch for squash bugs on squash and pumpkins as well.
- Purchase fertilizer to apply to tall fescue lawns in early September.
- Gardening questions call Cooperative Extension 252-438-8188 or come by the office we are located at 305 Young street M-F 8:30am to 5pm.
Cooperative Extension With Wayne Rowland
Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.
The Local Skinny: Jobs in Vance
The H-V Chamber of Commerce and WIZS, Your Community Voice, present Jobs in Vance for August 3, 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 August 3, 2021
Name of the Company: McDonald’s Restaurant
Jobs Available: Looking to fill MANY positions within four locations – Butner, Oxford, Dabney Drive and Andrews Ave. Hiring everything from Maintenance, Openers, Closers, Overnight and Mid- day Crews and Managers. Our rates start at $9.25 up to $12.00 at some locations. Pay depends on experience and Managers MUST have food retail experience. Some of the benefits include FREE Uniforms, Health benefits, Paid vacation, 30% discount and MUCH, MUCH more.
Method of Contact: Can apply online at www.mchire.com or go to NC Works at one of their locations for more information..
Name of the Company: Legacy Human Services
Jobs Available: Full and Part time Direct Support Professionals – These positions are for the group homes which are 24- hour residential facilities serving adults with Intellectual / Developmental Disabilities in Vance, Granville, Franklin and Warren Counties. These positions are for every other weekend and require sleepover. Positions require high school/GED and valid NC driver’s license.
Contact Person: Laura Newton
Method of Contact: come by the office at 626 S. Garnett St. for application or call 252-438-6700 Ext. 204 for more information
Name of the Company: Rural Health Group, Inc.
Jobs Available: Bilingual Interpreter – Henderson Clinic, Clinical Assistants – CMA/LPN/RN for Henderson and Stovall Clinics, Community Health Worker – Henderson and Stovall Clinics, Behavioral Health Specialist- Henderson Clinic, Patient Accounts Specialist- Henderson Clinic, Patient Service Representative – Henderson Clinic
Method of Contact: Applications are available for each position on the Careers tab on www.rhgnc.org. website ONLY ACCEPTING ONLINE APPLICATIONS – NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE
Name of the Company: Community Partners of Hope, Inc. (Men’s Homeless Shelter)
Jobs Available: Community Network Specialist – this position will evolve into an executive director type position and will provide services provided to the homeless men shelter. This is a part-time position and this person will be highly collaborative with other agencies, businesses, health care agencies, law enforcement, governmental reps and congregations. This position will report to the Board of Directors. Experience in a supervisory or management role is required and working with a non-profit is preferred.
Method of Contact: Email resume and references to: cpofhope@gmail.com
Name of the Company: Belk’s in Henderson
Jobs Available: Having a job Fair on August 7th from 11:00 – 3:00 – Looking for Full and Part-time Sells Associates
Method of Contact: Come by the store at 350 North Cooper Dive, Henderson
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.
Cooperative Extension with Paul McKenzie
Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.
The Local Skinny! A Graduation Journey
Journey Coleman is a young woman on a mission. The easy part’s done – she is the first official graduate of Vance County High School’s Class of 2022. Vance County Schools held a graduation ceremony – just for her – on Thursday, July 29 at 3 p.m.
The hard part is yet to come, but Coleman has been determined since she was a little girl, her mother says. The hard part? Beating cancer.
Journey is the younger daughter of Sherronda Minor of Henderson and Richie Coleman of Fremont. She turned 18 in March, just a few months after getting the life-altering news that she had a rare form of cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma.
Her mother spoke with WIZS News last week from her daughter’s hospital room at UNC Hospitals, where she receives her care. She got a chemo treatment on Wednesday, but by Thursday, she had spiked a fever of 102.3 and so back to the hospital she went. She developed pneumonia, Minor said. The chemo compromises her immune system and can cause complications.
Principal Rey Horner, Journey Coleman, Dr. Cindy Bennett
When hospital staff suggested she may not be able to attend the graduation, her mother told the 75 or so in attendance at the graduation that Journey didn’t even consider that an option. VCS Superintendent Dr. Cindy Bennett, along with school board chair Linda Cobb and members of Omega Phi Psi, Inc. and other district officials joined VCHS Principal Rey Horner at the commencement.
“She wasn’t due to graduate until next year,” Minor said. But Journey insisted on completing her course work early. She was not convinced by either her mother or her guidance counselor to shoot for perhaps a mid-year graduation in December, since she spends so much time in hospital getting treatments.
“And here she is, graduating,” Minor said. She said it was heartbreaking to hear her daughter say to her, “Mommy, I just knew I was going to die before I graduate.”
<Click Play for the Graduation Ceremony Audio>
“She had her computer at the hospital,” Minor said. “She was getting chemo and still doing schoolwork.” The plan hit a slight snag when she couldn’t find her charger cord and she couldn’t send her Math 4 work electronically, recalled Journey’s mom. Enter Journey’s godmother, who also happens to work at Vance County High School. She picked up the packet of work and delivered it to school so it could be checked off.
Minor said Journey’s cancer is very rare. It affects the soft muscle tissue. And that’s just what happened with Journey – she complained of pain in her foot. She was visiting her father in Fremont and the parents decided to take her to an orthopedist and podiatrist. After an initial consult on Wednesday, x-rays on Thursday and then an MRI, the parents got the phone call no parent wants to get: “They called us back the next day and said ‘We need to talk,’” Minor recalled.
She started chemotherapy treatments in early October 2020. Since then, doctors tell Minor that Journey’s Stage 4 cancer has spread; despite this news, Journey and her family are still hoping, still praying.
“She’s fighting it unbelievably,” Minor said. “She’s very strong.”
A happy graduate twirls and dances in front of the crowd!
And, once her body has had a chance to recover from the chemo treatments, Journey’s a normal teenager. She and extended family recently returned from a trip to Florida’s SeaWorld, Minor added.
Minor speaks about white counts, updating chemo regimens and regular stays in the hospital for treatments. She knows firsthand about how this all works – she is a cancer survivor herself. She was diagnosed in 2016 and received her care at Maria Parham Health. She is healthy today and said that, back in 2016, she didn’t understand God’s plan for her, why she was having to deal with cancer.
With more clarity now, she said her daughter has a very strong support group of family and friends. Chances are, they all helped to celebrate Journey’s high school graduation Thursday.
The post-graduation festivities include a meal with Journey’s hand-picked favorites: Buttered corn on the cob, collards and ham hock, potato salad, ribs and a ham that her dad is going to prepare. Oh, and cake.
A fitting meal for a deserving young woman and newest graduate of Vance County High School.
The Local Skinny! Home and Garden Show 7-28-21
Thank you for listening to WIZS Radio. Your Community Voice!!
Farmers market and beekeepers update on the show today. Also, electric fencing around gardens, mosquito mitigation, fall turnips and collards as well as yellowjacket nests.
Click play.