Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland: Invasive Plants
Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.
Tag Archive for: #thelocalskinny
The Local Skinny! Gang Free Inc. Has Masks; COVID-19 Update
Need some N95 masks? Look no further than Gang Free Inc. Founder Melissa Elliott said she’s got plenty, with more ordered and on the way.
Elliott told WIZS News Monday that anyone in the community who would like masks can simply head out to the Gang Free, Inc. location at 940 County Home Road any weekday between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Elliott said the masks come from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services and are free. She also has COVID-19 at-home rapid tests available.
She estimates that her organization has distributed more than 6,000 masks and 2,000 test kits in the past couple of weeks. Recipients include area police departments and other agencies.
“If people need them, they can come and get them,” Elliott said.
Each box contains 20 N95 masks, and she gives larger groups like churches a whole case – 240 masks in all – if they need them. The test kits come two to a box, with 90 boxes in a case.
She said she didn’t want anyone in the community to have to pay for taking a COVID-19 test when her organization has them available free for the asking.
According to the most recent COVID-19 update from Granville Vance Public Health, both counties continue to be in the high community transmission rate. Vance County reported 358 new cases for 28.7 percent and Granville County reported 439 new cases for 22.5 percent positivity rate.
There have been 13,461 cases of COVID-19 in Granville County and 11,380 cases of COVID-19 in Vance County for a total of 24,841 across the health district.
In the Bureau of Federal Prisons in Butner, there were 44 Granville County inmates whose positive test results were reported to the local health department in the last week. In addition, there are currently 20 staff of the federal prison with COVID-19 (including 17 Granville County residents and 3 Vance County residents).
Granville County has documented 110 deaths as a result of COVID-19 and Vance County has a total of 111 deaths for a total of 221 deaths across the health district.
Cooperative Extension with Jamon Glover: Supervision And Safety, Pt. 1
Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.
NC Homeowner Assistance Fund Open Statewide
North Carolina Homeowners Financially Impacted by Pandemic May Be Eligible for Housing-Related Help
— press release
The NC Homeowner Assistance Fund is now accepting applications from North Carolina homeowners whose finances were impacted by the pandemic and who need assistance with housing-related expenses. Established through the 2021 American Rescue Plan to prevent mortgage delinquencies, defaults, displacements and foreclosures for homeowners experiencing financial difficulties due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Fund offers assistance of up to $40,000 for qualified homeowners as long as funding is available.
“The economic impact of COVID-19 has been felt by many North Carolinians,” said Scott Farmer, executive director of the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency, which is administering the NC Homeowner Assistance Fund. “This program is designed to help homeowners who are experiencing pandemic-related financial hardships hold on to their homes while they get back on their feet. Ensuring that families have stable housing has always been our mission and that has become even more critical during this ongoing public health crisis.”
For qualified homeowners, the fund offers:
• Housing payment assistance for primary residence in North Carolina (for example, single-family home, townhome, condo or mobile home).
• Assistance for mortgage reinstatement to catch up on late payments (first or second mortgages) or other housing-related costs due to a period of forbearance, delinquency or default.
• Assistance covering other housing-related costs such as homeowner’s insurance, flood insurance, mortgage insurance, homeowner’s association dues/fees or delinquent property taxes to prevent foreclosure.
Homeowners may be eligible for assistance if they are experiencing financial hardship due to job loss or business closure, reduction in hours or pay, difficulty obtaining new employment, death of a spouse or co-borrower or increased expenses due to the pandemic. Increased expenses can be due to health care, the need to care for a family member, increased child care costs due to school closures or increased costs associated with quarantine. Applicants must be seeking assistance for a primary residence in North Carolina and meet income and other requirements.
Homeowners can learn more and apply for help by calling 1-855-MY-NCHAF (1-855-696-2423) or by visiting NCHomeownerAssistance.gov.
The Local Skinny! Vance Eats: Tru Soul
Breakfast…most of us start off the day with some type of breakfast. It is said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. If that’s truly the case, then perhaps we should all eat breakfast more often! Breakfast for supper? Sure, why not or, as Trey Snide found out today on The Local Skinny’s Vance Eats segment, breakfast makes for a pretty good lunch as well. Vance County’s Raynard Fitts has opened Tru Soul in Oxford and Creedmoor and his food was featured on today’s show.
The “Multiverse”, as it is called, is perhaps best described as a pancake sandwich. In between the pancakes, the hearty eater will find bacon, eggs and hamburger. This is all topped off with syrup which Trey had high praise for. In fact, he was so pleased with the syrup he added more after a couple of bites.
Tru Soul Food is more than breakfast as they also serve fried chicken, fried fish, hamburger steak and gravy, oxtails, a wide variety of vegetables and much more.
According to Fitts it’s delicious. “I promise you, you will not be disappointed,” he told Trey this morning. Fitts also explained that the business is about to change the name and are in the process of rebranding. Tru Soul is located at 1102 Goshen St. in Oxford and at 1597 NC 56 in Creedmoor. They are open 11am until 8pm seven days a week.
The Local Skinny! on WIZS can be heard at 11:30am Monday – Through Thursday on WIZS 1450am, 100.1fm and at wizs.com.
Home And Garden Show
On the Home and Garden Show with Vance Co. Cooperative Ext.
- Use vermicomposting (earthworms) to compost food scraps into compost for your garden
- Go ahead and start pruning grapevines whenever we get a few mild days. Don’t worry if they exude sap.
- Keep a good thermometer in your greenhouse and cold frame when growing plants
- Get ready to fertilize your tall fescue lawn. Pick up a slow release turf fertilizer for application in mid-Feb. It’s fine to use one combined with crabgrass preventer, but I recommending avoiding other combinations.
- Prepare your pruning equipment because pruning season is fast approaching.
- Take stock of stored gasoline. Any stored gas that has an ethanol component can cause starting and running problems for lawn and garden equipment.
- Check seedlings growing indoors, light and moisture are key.
- Get ready to do a dormant spray on your fruit trees. Also check your stock of chemicals and spray equipment so you’ll be ready to make the necessary treatments that start soon after flowering.
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.
The Local Skinny! Around Old Granville: Weldon’s Mill
It’s been decades since Weldon’s Mill closed, but it remains a local landmark that represents memories of times gone by, when just about every creek or stream had a mill on it.
And although Weldon’s Mill is still standing, it’s not in good condition, but Mark Pace said the foundation of the old mill is probably original. That means it’s been around since the 1700’s, when Granville County included what is now, Vance, Granville, Warren and Franklin counties. Pace joined Bill Harris for the Around Old Granville segment of The Local Skinny! Tuesday and waxed poetic about the legacy of mills in and around the area.
In 1884, there were two dozen mills still in operation in the area. That number dropped to half a dozen by the mid-1950’s. But one of those was Weldon’s Mill, located on Sandy Creek in the southern part of Vance County.
The mill was originally started between 1785 and 1790, Pace estimated, and then had a series of owners before Canadian James Amos bought it in 1874. The Weldon family bought it in the 1930’s and it stayed open until 1964.
There were actually two mills located on opposite sides of the creek, Pace said. The one that still stands today wasn’t the grist mill – that one got washed out in 1917. The mill that stands today had a saw mill on the first floor and a cotton gin on the second floor.
“They took the old mill that was still standing and retrofitted that as a grist mill,” Pace said.
The mills weren’t just a place to get wood sawn, cotton ginned or corn ground, he said. When Vance County was formed in 1881, the Sandy Creek Township was divided into two voting precincts. Depending on which side of the creek you lived on, you voted at one mill or the other.
At least one congressman representing the area would have meetings there, too. “Edward W. Pugh would come there and hold his political rallies there” at the mill.
While the foundation probably dates back to the 1700’s, Pace is skeptical that the rest of the building also is original. “A curious thing about the mill,” he said, is that there is mortise and tenon and peg construction, “the actual boards have been cut with a circular saw,” indicating that the boards may have been salvaged from previous structures.
The Local Skinny! Jobs In Vance
The H-V Chamber of Commerce and WIZS, Your Community Voice, present Jobs in Vance for February 1, 2022. 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 February 01, 2022
Name of the Company: Boys and Girls Club of NC
Jobs Available: Director of Facilities and Safety – is responsible for the planning organizing, managing and directing various technical responsibilities associated with the maintenance of facilities, vehicles, grounds and equipment
Method of Contact: For more information call 919-690-0036
Name of the Company: Boys and Girls Club of NC
Jobs Available: Resource Development Coordinator – is responsible for providing administrative support for the generating of fundraising income through campaigns targeting local businesses, churches, civic groups and individual donors within the community
Method of Contact: For more information call 919-690-0036
Name of the Company: Vance County Department of Social Services
Jobs Available: Child Support Agent II, Income Maintenance Caseworker III, Social Worker II
Method of Contact: For more information call or go by your local NC Works Office
Name of the Company: Vance County Department Sheriff’s Detention Center
Jobs Available: Sr. Maintenance Specialist, Kitchen Worker
Method of Contact: For more information call or go by your local NC Works Office
Name of the Company: Eckerd Kids
Jobs Available: JJ Case Manager
Method of Contact: For more information call or go by your local NC Works Office
Name of the Company: Hollander Sleep Products
Jobs Available: Truck Driver and Lead Distribution
Method of Contact: For more information call or go by your local NC Works Office
Name of the Company: Boys and Girls Club of NC
Jobs Available: Youth Development Professional – Creates an environment that facilitates the achievement of Positive Youth Development Outcomes and provides guidance and role modeling for members while promoting and stimulating daily learning. This is a part time position
Method of Contact: Interested applicants may send resume to SLAVETT@BGCNCNC.COM
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 Wayne Rowland: Pine Thinning
If you have a stand of pine trees on your property and plan to harvest them you may want to consider thinning out the stand to increase growth and profit. Wayne Rowland, of the Vance County Extension Service, explained the reasons for this on Monday’s Local Skinny. “Cutting and removal of trees is used to accomplish management objectives,” Rowland said. While thinning obviously reduces the number of trees it does help in the distribution of quality trees. Sometimes, depending on the trees that are thinned, they can be marketable enabling the property owner to sell the trees.
According to Rowland, the number of trees per acre can affect yield and growth. Size and vigor of trees can be increased by thinning your stand. Trees will go poorly if there are too many or too few trees per acre. Rowland says there are a number of benefits to thinning a stand of pine trees. Trees will be able to grow quicker meaning they can be harvested and sent to market in a shorter period of time. It also allows trees to grow larger and larger trees bring higher prices. Thinning trees also increases health of the forest. For more information on thinning pine tree stands contact Rowland at 252-438-8188. The Vance Co. Extension Report can be heard Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at 11:50am as part of the Local Skinny on WIZS 1450am, 100.1fm and at wizs.com.
Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.