Town Talk 02/10/20
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Tag Archive for: #towntalk
Town Talk 02/07/20
100.1 FM / 1450 AM WIZS; Local News broadcasts M-F 8am, 12pm, 5pm
Town Talk 02/06/20: Linda Cobb, District 5 School Board Incumbent, On-Air
THIS STORY IS PRESENTED IN PART BY DRAKE DENTISTRY
Linda Cobb, the District 5 incumbent candidate for Vance County Schools Board of Education, appeared on WIZS Town Talk Thursday at 11 a.m.
Cobb faces challenger Clementine Hunter in the March 3, 2020 primary. The only other school board position that faces opposition is the District 3 seat, where incumbent Dorothy Gooche faces challenger Sean A. Alston, Sr.
Cobb was appointed to the Board in September after Hunter, who was elected to the school board in 2016, resigned from the District 5 position. Cobb was also unanimously voted in as Vice-Chair of the Board for the 2020 year.
In discussing the unique situation, Cobb said she was unaware of the circumstances surrounding Hunter’s resignation and decision to run in the 2020 election. “She has every right to file and run, as do I,” Cobb said. “Both of us just have to do our best and let the citizens of Vance County make the appointment.”
An educator at both the community and four-year college level for 20 years, and currently the business officer with the Vance County Department of Social Services, Cobb said the first five months in her appointed position have been a “humbling learning experience.”
Cobb said she is excited to see positive growth, pointing to the students that have been recognized in the monthly Student Spotlight program and higher VCS graduation rates as examples of the school system’s achievements.
Discussing the way the Board works together as a team, a sentiment echoed by other recently interviewed school board candidates, Cobb said her time serving as the District 5 representative has left her eager to continue in her role.
“If I’m fortunate enough to be elected for the next term, my main goal is to work along with the Board because we are a team and we have to continue to work together as a team for the better of Vance County’s schools.”
Cobb also had high praise for VCS Superintendent Dr. Anthony Jackson. “He is a great leader that’s leading the school system to a different level. The Board works very well with Dr. Jackson.”
With her years in education, the assistance she provides children and families at DSS and her time on the Board, Cobb said she brings much experience and perspective to her role. “I’m here for the students and I will do what I can with my one vote to make Vance County a better place for our kids.”
The deadline to register to vote in the primary election is Friday, February 7. Early voting begins Thursday, February 13.
To hear the interview with Cobb in its entirety, go to WIZS.com and click on Town Talk. Cobb’s segment begins at the 17:40 mark.
(This is not a paid political advertisement. Challenger Clementine Hunter will be offered an interview of equal time with WIZS.)
Town Talk 02/05/20
100.1 FM / 1450 AM WIZS; Local News broadcasts M-F 8am, 12pm, 5pm
Town Talk 02/04/20: Jobs, Removing Barriers Focus of Desmarais’ First Year
THIS STORY IS PRESENTED IN PART BY DRAKE DENTISTRY
Dr. Rachel Desmarais, president of Vance-Granville Community College, appeared on WIZS Town Talk Tuesday at 11 a.m.
Desmarais, who celebrated her one-year anniversary with the college in January, said she is pleased with the recent strides the college has made in workforce development, marketing and removing “barriers” to education.
Making it her mission from day one to “find the programs that could get people into jobs more quickly,” Desmarais and VGCC staff have worked with EMSI, Inc., a national firm that reviews job data, to provide information on the most needed types of employment in the local area.
“The number one and number two jobs of availability in this area were truck drivers and heavy equipment operators,” Desmarais explained of EMSI’s findings.
In response to the community’s need for truck drivers, VGCC, in partnership with Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute, now offers a truck driving program that gives students the training required to operate tractor-trailer rigs, obtain a Class A commercial driver’s license (CDL) and become professional truck drivers.
Orientation for the first nine-week program was completed last week with classes to begin Wednesday, February 12, 2020. Students will participate in a combination of classroom instruction, range driving and road driving.
According to Desmarais, 17 students are currently participating in the program and a waitlist has been started for others who are interested. “Local companies that need truck drivers are very excited about the opportunity to have local folks who can take those jobs.”
For more information on the truck driving program, please click here.
By changing the way the college approaches marketing, including getting back to basics with “going out, talking and listening to the people in the community,” Desmarais said the college is learning what local organizations and residents need while strengthening existing partnerships and creating new alliances.
“We are going back to some of the things we use to do such as offering classes out in the community,” said Desmarais. “We have started a new partnership and are offering classes at the Mary Potter School in Oxford, for example.”
Desmarais said VGCC staff are also focused on removing what is frequently considered “barriers” to education, with the recent announcement of the college’s partnership with public and rural transportation service KARTS being a prime example of this commitment.
“This program removes one of the larger barriers of education – students getting to and from college,” Desmarais said.
Thanks to a combination of grant funds and VGCC Endowment Fund donations, the KARTS service is provided free-of-charge to students attending all four VGCC campus locations – Henderson (Main), Louisburg (Franklin), Creedmoor (South) and Warrenton (Warren).
Students can make appointments for KARTS by calling (252) 438-2573 and then dialing “0.” Appointments can be made up to two weeks in advance. For more information on the KARTS program, please click here.
VGCC is currently piloting and tracking the success of another program aimed at reducing perhaps the largest barrier in education – the financial barrier.
“We know that students who get Pell Grants have a lot going on in their lives,” Desmarais stated. “They have a lot of challenges in terms of working and going to school, transportation, living arrangements, and sometimes they aren’t as successful at the school part as they’d like because life gets in the way.”
Explaining that students have to maintain a certain grade point average (GPA) to keep their financial aid, Desmarais said the college is offering a “Second Chance Scholarship” to those that may have fallen below the required GPA.
“We [VGCC] help connect them with other agencies to help them solve non-school problems that are getting in the way of them being successful here. Once we do that, we provide what we call a second chance scholarship for them to improve their GPA so that they can get back on financial aid.”
With all of this, Desmarais said the college is writing its narrative as a student-ready college. “We are going to be here for the students that we have. We are not a selective institution, but we are a quality-proud institution.”
To learn more about VGCC, please visit the college’s official website at www.vgcc.edu or visit its YouTube channel by clicking here.
To hear the interview with Desmarais in its entirety, go to WIZS.com and click on Town Talk.
District Court Judge Asks Voters to ‘Keep Katherine Burnette’
Katherine Burnette, the incumbent district court judge for the Ninth Judicial District of North Carolina, faces challenger Brian Cloninger in the March 3, 2020 Primary election. The district court judge position serves Vance, Franklin, Granville, Warren and Person counties.
Katherine Burnette, the incumbent district court judge for the Ninth Judicial District of North Carolina, faces challenger Brian Cloninger in the March 3, 2020 Primary election. (Photo courtesy Katherine Burnette)
Appointed district court judge by NC Governor Roy Cooper in 2018, Burnette filled the vacancy created by Judge Carolyn J. Thompson who was appointed to serve as a Superior Court Judge in the Ninth Judicial District earlier that year.
With 15 months of experience as a district court judge, Burnette said her current service coupled with her varied legal experience make her the ideal candidate for the job. “I have 35 years of legal experience, and it’s been broad legal experience; it’s been private practice, clerking for court of appeals judges and bankruptcy judges. I have also been a public servant since 2002 when I became an assistant district attorney in this district.”
Describing the district court process in an interview with WIZS, Burnette said she oversees a range of cases including mental health, child support, abuse/neglect/dependency, family law, domestic violence and criminal.
“I hope the main thing people say about me [as a judge] is that I am fair, that I listen to everyone and that I make reasoned decisions on the bench,” Burnette stated.
She graduated cum laude from Wake Forest University in 1981 with a BA in both English and politics and from the Wake Forest University School of Law in 1984. In 2019, she was awarded a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from Queens University in Charlotte.
According to Burnette’s website, she has practiced law in state and federal courts and has experience in family law, criminal law, and bankruptcy law as well as civil and commercial litigation. She served as an assistant district attorney for the former ninth (now eleventh) prosecutorial district from 2002-2007.
In her role as an assistant United States attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina from 2007-2011, Burnette received two national service awards for her work in financial litigation, as the civil division’s financial litigation attorney, primarily in the recovery of restitution for crime victims.
From 2011-2018, Burnette served the Violent Crimes Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office where she participated in multiple criminal trials and prosecutions for bank robbery, federal firearms, and controlled substance offenses in North Carolina.
Burnette has also held positions on the NC Board of Elections, NC Board of Ethics and State Personnel Commission.
Burnette and husband Tom, an attorney, reside in Granville County. For more information on her background, awards and volunteer work, please visit https://keepkatherineburnette.com
To hear the interview with Burnette in its entirety, please click the link below.
(This is not a paid political advertisement. Political candidates are offered equal time.)
Attorney Brian Cloninger Challenges Burnette for District Court Judge
Brian Cloninger, a Henderson resident and private defense attorney at Cloninger Law Offices, PLLC, will challenge incumbent Katherine Burnette for district court judge of the Ninth Judicial District of North Carolina in the March 3, 2020 Primary election. This position serves Vance, Franklin, Granville, Warren and Person counties.
Brian Cloninger, candidate for the Judicial District 9, District Court Judge seat, is shown here being interviewed on WIZS’ Town Talk program. (WIZS photo)
Cloninger attended public schools and graduated from the Reich School of Education at Appalachian State University in 2000 and the North Carolina Central University School of Law in 2006.
According to Cloninger’s website, he is a current member of the Vance County Bar, the 9th District Bar, the North Carolina State Bar, the North Carolina Advocates for Justice, and the VCS Board of Directors.
He is the Immediate Past President of the Vance County Bar, the Immediate Past Chair of the Criminal Defense Section of the North Carolina Advocates for Justice, and the Immediate Past Chair of the VCS Board of Directors Policy and Personnel Committee.
He is also a former member of the American Bar Association, the North Carolina Bar Association, the North Carolina Association of Educators, and the American Institute of criminal defense attorneys in Festus.
Sharing his knowledge with other lawyers and judges, Cloninger teaches a class titled “Traffic Practice: Doing it Right and Solving Problems: Courthouse-Based Driver’s License Remediation,” which was approved by the North Carolina State Bar for credit toward required continuing legal education.
Cloninger has 14 years of legal experience practicing in the district courts of the 9th District with a concentration in civil and criminal cases. In a recent interview with WIZS, he said it is his experience and the encouragement of his peers that prompted him to enter the race.
“I’ve been asked by people in the system to run for judge, particularly for this seat. They think that I can help because I have been in the district courts of each of the counties in our district almost every day for 14 years. I know the law. I know about the people who make up the justice system and I know what they need to help make this particular seat a better seat.”
District court handles misdemeanor criminal and traffic matters, including domestic and family law cases. According to Cloninger, with 95% of cases ending in a plea deal or some form of deferred agreement, only 5% of district court cases go to trial. District courts see an exceptional amount of cases, with 200 cases on each criminal docket in Vance County alone.
For Cloninger, the incentive of serving as a district court judge is not financial but rewarding all the same. “The incentive is the ability to help more people, to make sure that our district court is a place that people feel like they can go to get equal justice,” he said.
“The role of a judge is to help victims feel safe and comfortable that justice has been served and help offenders get the rehabilitation they need so that once they’ve served their sentence, they can become productive members of the community.”
Cloninger is married and has two children. His wife, Alison Finch Cloninger, is also from Henderson. For more information on his campaign, please visit www.cloningerforjudge.com.
To hear the interview with Cloninger in its entirety, click on the link below.
(This is not a paid political advertisement. Political candidates are offered equal time.)
Town Talk 01/31/20
100.1 FM / 1450 AM WIZS; Local News broadcasts M-F 8am, 12pm, 5pm
Town Talk 01/30/20: First Aid & CPR Save Lives When Minutes Matter
THIS STORY IS PRESENTED IN PART BY DRAKE DENTISTRY
Jim Gunderson, First Aid and CPR trainer with Durham-based Divers Alert Network (DAN), appeared on WIZS Town Talk Thursday at 11 a.m.
While Gunderson reported that a perhaps surprising 20 percent of Americans have received First Aid and CPR training, he stressed the importance of the remainder of the general public having at least a basic knowledge of how to properly assist someone experiencing an emergency.
“The average response time for EMS to arrive in an urban setting is seven minutes,” explained Gunderson. “It’s 14 minutes, on average, in a rural setting. In a cardiac event, like a heart attack, for every minute you don’t have basic aid, there is a nine percent decrease in neurological recovery.”
These sobering statistics show that “every minute counts; the faster you can get care started, even before EMS arrives, the better chance that person has of surviving.”
Unfortunately, even a well-trained, experienced person administering CPR will have a low chance of successfully reviving the victim, according to Gunderson. “When you perform CPR without an AED or an automated external defibrillator, it’s about a seven percent chance of them surviving. With an AED, the survival rate goes up to as high as 25 percent.”
AEDs are now a staple in many offices and public buildings and can be used on those experiencing a cardiac emergency. The device delivers an electric shock, or defibrillation, to help the heart re-establish an effective beating rhythm.
Even though the chances of survival are low, Gunderson said having more of the public trained on First Aid and CPR is worth the effort, especially considering it could be your spouse, child or other loved one who benefits from your training.
According to Gunderson, 70 percent of cardiac events happen in the home, with 10,000 events happening annually in the workplace. Gunderson said Good Samaritan laws help protect those that render aid to the best of their ability from possible litigation.
“Whether it’s saving a life or just making them more comfortable, it’s very rewarding to know that you’ve helped a person,” he said.
First Aid and CPR classes are frequently offered by DAN, the American Red Cross, county health departments, community colleges and first responder units. Gunderson suggested taking a look at your neighborhood events or calling your local organizations to enquire about class offerings and cost. Costs typically range from $5 to $40 depending on the qualifications sought.
“At the bare minimum, I recommend people get trained in full CPR, which is chest compressions and ventilation,” Gunderson said. “They should also be taught to use an AED and how to deal with airway obstructions that cause choking. For basic First Aid skills, they should know how to stop bleeding, how to treat shock and how to splint a suspected break.”
Classes should be taught by qualified instructors and need to be American Heart Association (AHA) and International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) compliant.
To hear the interview with Gunderson in its entirety, go to WIZS.com and click on Town Talk.
Town Talk 01/28/20: Trey Snide Named CCS Colts’ Head Baseball Coach
THIS STORY IS PRESENTED IN PART BY DRAKE DENTISTRY
WIZS’ own Trey Snide, the recently named varsity head baseball coach for the Crossroads Christian School Colts, appeared on WIZS Town Talk Tuesday at 11 a.m.
Snide said it was a conversation with the Colts’ athletic director Scottie Richardson on WIZS’ Sports Mayhem program that started the ball rolling. “They were looking for a baseball coach; it was vacant. About two weeks after that show, Scottie reached out to me and said he’d love to talk to me about the possibility of being the coach. We met at a restaurant here in town and he pitched the entire Crossroads culture to me.”
While baseball and softball have been part of the Colts’ athletic offerings for years, Snide said the school is looking to build a larger culture of excellence in these programs. “I love what they have going on at Crossroads. I love the culture they are focused on building.”
The opportunity to grow the baseball program appeals to Snide who said he was excited to “take my ideas of how I believe a baseball team should be and how they should act and build it from the ground up.”
Snide’s past coaching experience includes serving as the football coach at Dillard Drive Middle School in Raleigh, the basketball coach for the former Johnston Christian Academy in Smithfield and heavy involvement in the various sports programs at his alma mater, Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, NC, a private college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church.
With baseball season around the corner, meetings with interested players and training sessions began four months ago, including practices over Christmas break. “I told the guys that we are here to build something special. Myself and assistant coaches Wes Collier and Robin Capps are dedicated to making it work,” said Snide.
The Colts’ first official day of spring sports begins February 10. The first game will be played at home on March 3 at 4 p.m. against Crescent Christian Academy. The team schedule is available at www.ccscolts.org.
To hear the interview with Snide in its entirety, go to WIZS.com and click on Town Talk.