Tag Archive for: #towntalk

TownTalk: Upcoming Events For Louisburg Historic District

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Unless you’re a history buff, you may be surprised to learn that cemeteries once were considered like parks are today, where people could come and visit the graves of their dearly departed and then stay and enjoy the outdoor space.

Dorothy Cooper, and her fellow board members on the Louisburg Historic District, have embraced this concept and have planned some events that will take place in Oakwood Cemetery in Louisburg.

Local historian Joe Pearce will present a “Graveside Chat” on Saturday, Sept. 9 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. This is a free event, but participants are asked to register. Pearce will be discussing the Davis / Allen family. Bring a lawn chair, a blanket to spread on the ground and even a cooler to enjoy the afternoon’s program.

“I’ve always had a love and fascination for cemeteries,” Cooper told WIZS co-host Bill Harris on Wednesday’s TownTalk. When she and her family bought an old home on Main Street 17 years ago, she visited Oakwood to learn about the family that had built the home.

“We wanted to know more about the home before we did anything,” she said. Not only did she locate the family plot, but also located descendants of the original owners.

Cemeteries can provide valuable information about the people whose births and deaths are recorded on headstones, which range from simple, flat markers to elaborate works of art carved from marble.

Over time, however, headstones require maintenance and sometimes repair. And the Louisburg Historic District helps to raise funds for that work.

The city-owned cemetery is in better shape now than in the recent past, Cooper said, adding that an arborist has been called in to assess the health of the trees that dot the cemetery.

Taking care of the landscape is as important as taking care of the grounds, she added.

The group will sponsor a headstone cleaning and monument preservation workshop on Saturday, Sept. 30 from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

This workshop costs $50 and will be limited to 20 participants, but all supplies and materials will be provided.

“You come away with hands-on experience” in cleaning gravestones. “It’s amazing what water and a soft brush can do,” Cooper said.

The cemetery also will be the site for the second “Sip and Stroll with Souls” on Oct. 29 from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Docents will be on site, some in period dress, to discuss various noteworthy individuals buried in Oakwood. This event is a fundraiser for the group; proceeds go toward cemetery upkeep.

Visit www.louisburghistoricdistrict.com to learn more or find the group on Facebook.

 

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TownTalk: Introducing Philip Weil, Athletic Director At Vance Co. High

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The Vance County High School’s new athletic director has been on the job just over a week, but in that short time, Philip Weil has learned a good deal about its coaches, its student athletes and their desire and determination.

Right now, it’s all about football, but Weil has his eyes and ears on volleyball and soccer, cross country and baseball.

If it has to do with sports and Vance County High School, Weil is ready.

Coming from an urban setting like Las Vegas to a rural area may take some getting used to, but Weil has already found one advantage: Vance County has history.

He switched on the lights at the football field on a recent evening and was wowed by what he saw. “It was gorgeous.”

As he gets to know the process of being an AD, understand the school atmosphere and the sports conference, Weil said he wants to get the community more involved.

One thing he’d like to do is have some high school basketball games held in the gym at the middle school campus. After all, it used to be the home of the Northern Vance Vikings.

But right now, it’s football.

“From what I’ve seen so far from Coach Elliott’s team, they are determined and strong,” Weil said. He called their first tackling practice last week “phenomenal,” in fact.

“I think they are determined to get that state championship.”

As a middle-school baseball and football coach from 2013-22, Weil said he was able to develop student athletes’ skills by getting them involved in a strength and conditioning program.

“Scholarships are made in the weight room,” he said. It wasn’t always easy to get those middle schoolers interested in weight training, but he said the student athletes here at VCHS are motivated.

“They just want to get better and stronger and faster,” he said.

 

 

TownTalk: Cruise In For Christ Coming This Saturday

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Come to the Cruise-In for Christ this weekend and prepare to satisfy your tastebuds as you see up-close and personal some pretty delicious-looking vehicles.

Union Chapel Church is hosting the Cruise-In on Saturday, Aug. 12 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Tony’s Automotive at 415 Raleigh Rd.

Proceeds will be donated to the Vance County Special Olympics, according to organizer Tony Sanford and Radford Frazier, pastor of Union Chapel Church in Kittrell.

Last year, Sanford pitched his idea of a cruise-in to the church’s missions team. Frazier admitted it sounded a bit unorthodox, but the cruise-in got the green light. There were three cruise-ins last year; this year, there will be six.

“It was such a good idea as a way to reach the community,” Frazier told WIZS co-host Bill Harris on TownTalk. “It was a great way to get back in and get engaged with the community” following the pandemic resitrictions.

“Everything is given to the cause,” Sanford said.

The guidelines are simple, he said: Come on out, have some food, see some cars, have some fun.

Car enthusiasts love to get up close to vintage cars, lovingly restored to glimmering perfection. Whether you have one or just like to look, Saturday’s event is sure to please.

The cruise-ins average 25-25 vehicles, and Sanford said there’s plenty of room for more at his location.

Next month’s event is Saturday, Sept. 9 and will benefit Community Partners of Hope as it continues its plan to transform the former City Road Methodist Church to a year-round men’s shelter.

Contact Frazier at 919.482.2319 to learn more about becoming the recipient of the Cruise-In proceeds.

Or better yet, find Sanford and Frazier Saturday at the Cruise-In – or Sunday, at Union Chapel’s 10:30 a.m. worship service.

 

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TownTalk: 15-Year-Old Jayden Watkins Strives To Be Unique

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Jayden Watkins is not your ordinary teenager.

And that suits him just fine – in fact, Watkins said, he’s known for some time that his uniqueness is a gift from God. It’s a gift that he embraces as he continues to answer God’s call to service.

“It’s OK to be unique and different,” the 15-year-old said on TownTalk this week. “I’m grateful and blessed and honored to be unique,” he told WIZS co-hosts (and for the summer, colleagues) Steve Lewis, Bill Harris and John C. Rose, all of whom chatted with Watkins about his accomplishments and what’s ahead for the future.

A synonym for the word “unique” is “different,” which can carry a negative connotation. And Watkins is all about being positive. God’s call for us, he said is to make positive changes – within our families, households, jobs and the community.

“We must work in unity, despite our differences,” he said. “The needed change will not come if we only dream or think it,” he added. But if we are brave enough to be it.”

Watkins currently is in the middle of his Limitless 2023 tour, which has him speaking and preaching in the area from June through September.

Chances are he won’t be wearing the football jersey Watkins said he used to don on Sunday afternoons as a young child pretending to be a minister delivering the Word.

“It was my preacher’s robe,” Watkins said of that jersey, recalling that his father has shared the story when introducing his son to a group or congregation.

The purpose of the Limitless tour, he said, is “to inspire people to activate and maximize their God-given potential.” He has several upcoming engagements, including Sunday, Aug. 13 at 11 a.m. at New Grassy Creek Missionary Baptist Church in Oxford and Sunday, Aug. 20 at 11:15 a.m. at St. Andrews Christian Church in Henderson.

And his ministerial licensing service will be held Sunday, Sept. 10 at 3 p.m. at 16 Big Ruin Creek Lane in Henderson.

Whether you listen to him live or tune in to his Preferable podcast, the message Watkins delivers is one of positivity and finding purpose.

The Preferable podcast, which he started in March 2020 can be found on platforms like Spotify, Amazon and YouTube, just to name a few. According to Fox 50 and ABC 19, Preferable is one of the longest-running podcasts by a person of Watkins’s age.

“It feels a blessing to be able to host a podcast and to receive that recognition,” Watkins said, adding that he hopes the podcast’s message inspires listeners “to activate their God-given talents…to go out and build beloved communities.”

There are challenges, he acknowledged, like sending a flurry of emails just to book one particular guest. “But when I hear the testimonies that people give…I am encouraged to keep going,” he said.

His humble nature shines through during his daily routine, from his work at the radio station to the simple act of holding the door for an elderly woman making her way into the library. She recognized him, by the way, as “that” young man who makes the podcasts, Watkins recalled. She said she listens as part of her nighttime routine, which helps her have a good night’s sleep.

Check out Preferable, follow Watkins on Facebook and Instagram, email him at iamjaydenwatkins@gmail.com  and complete a booking form at https://jaydenwatkins.com/

 

 

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TownTalk: Choosing The Right Long-Term Care

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For many choosing a long-term care facility for a loved one can be a difficult choice.  Kim Hawkins, Regional Ombudsman at Kerr Tar Regional Council of Governments, says there is variety in the level of care offered at area facilities.  She says there is a difference between a nursing facility and an assisted living facility. “A nursing facility requires an RN on site 24 hours a day and an assisted-living facility requires an RN be easily accessible. If you find an assisted-living facility with an RN on site 24 hours a day, that’s a plus,” Hawkins explained on Wednesday’s TownTalk.

Another thing to keep in mind is if a patient will require short-term or long-term care and to find the correct facility that meets those needs. Doctor recommendations should also be considered when deciding on the the type of facility that is right for your loved one.

“There are 47 licensed long-term care facilities in our area,” Hawkins says.  That area includes the five counties of Vance, Granville, Warren, Franklin and Person.  Hawkins says this is a fair amount for the region but that level of care provided at these facilities is more of an issue when choosing a place for your loved one.

Larger facilities in Raleigh, Durham or Chapel Hill offer the same basic minimum services as required by law but facilities in the larger cities may offer more amenities than those located in rural areas.

What if your loved one doesn’t like the facility they are placed in? “In theory, it’s easy to transfer but in reality it usually isn’t,” according to Hawkins.  If your loved one has an issue with a facility, Hawkins suggests giving the facility an opportunity to fix the problem.

If you have further questions about long-term care, call Kim Hawkins at 252-436-2050 or email her at khawkins@kerrtarcog.org.

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TownTalk: Rebuild Communities NC Partners With AARP To Help Seniors Navigate The Digital World

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Coming off a successful series of classes in Vance County, Rebuild Communities NC and AARP’s Senior Planet workshop continues next month with sessions in Oxford.

Edy Thompson, executive director at Rebuild Communities NC said the classes will be held at Oxford Housing Authority, 101 Hillside Drive.

The classes are designed to give senior adults knowledge, experience and practice with the use of technology, from smart phones to telehealth.

The classes will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

“It’s easy…and it’s fun,” Thompson said of the way the classes are designed to meet the needs of older adults who may not have much exposure to the world of the Internet through the use of smart phones, iPads and computers.

It’s a way for senior adults to gain confidence in their abilities to access services and find information without having to bother others for help.

“Most of the seniors say they’re tired of asking their grandchildren for help,” she said. “They’re fast and agile with the Internet – they don’t want to take the time to teach the ABC’s” of how to use a device like a smart phone.

Thompson doesn’t want seniors to be left behind – or left out – just because they aren’t as tech savvy as other groups. She said seniors can keep up with world events, and those that happen right here at home, with the click of a mouse.

“Through the Internet, you can travel wherever you want – see what’s going on and be engaged,” she said. “There are so many ways we can be active and engaged, not set aside just because we are older individuals.”

On Sept. 5 and 7 participants will learn about smart phones and Google Maps. The next weeks features ways to find information online and then protecting your personal information. Zoom basics will be the topic on Sept. 19 and then hosting a Zoom meeting will be presented on Sept. 21. Finally, telehealth and locating health information online are topics for Sept. 26 and 28.

Sign up for the classes by calling 252.915.1663.

 

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TownTalk: Author Michael Bean Will Have Book Signing At Perry Memorial Library

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Local author Michael Bean has a unique insight on the trials that middle schoolers face.  Not only was he once a middle schooler himself, but he also teaches middle school students at Vance Charter School.  That insight has contributed to Bean writing a book simply called “Jazz.”  The book follows the character Mitchell Williams as he navigates the intricacies of middle school at fictional King’s Hollow.

The coming of age story is told through two intersecting yet different timelines, one as a middle schooler and one as a high schooler.  Mitchell has to deal with bullies, preparing for band competition with the school’s jazz group as they raise money for a trip to New York and with meeting a girl.

Bean says the book started off as a story about himself.  “After I started writing it, I realized I was not all that interesting,” Bean said on Tuesday’s TownTalk with Bill Harris.  “That’s when I changed the characters name from Michael to Mitchell and realized I could throw everything at a fictional character,” Bean continued.

The beginnings of the book date back to 2020 and was written in about a year, according to Bean. “I edited it eight times,” Bean added.  The book is self published, and his son designed the cover. The book is available through Walmart and Barnes & Noble.  An e-book is available through Amazon.

To help draw attention to the writer’s efforts, Bean will host a book signing in the Farm Bureau Room at Perry Memorial Library on Breckinridge Street in Henderson on Saturday, August 12th from 11 a.m. to 12 noon.  Bean said he initially ordered 75 books for the signing, but interest has been so good he ordered an additional 100 books for the event.

While this is Bean’s first novel, he has more writing on the horizon he said. “I have two other books I’m working on and a graphic novel,” Bean said.  It’s a slower process Bean said with these projects.  “Jazz” was written during the pandemic, but now Bean is back to teaching, attending Vance Charter athletic events and he and his wife have three children of their own so there isn’t as much time to write as before.

With “Jazz” Bean hopes that not only teenagers but everyone will find something to identify with and see something of themselves in the pages he has written.

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Kerr Tar Workforce and NCWorks

TownTalk: Workforce Wednesdays To Connect Employers With Prospective Employees

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Whether you’re looking for a career change or that first job after high school or college, the local NCWorks Career Center may have just what you need to set off on the path of employment.

The latest program offering, Workforce Wednesdays, is a time when people in search of a job can come in for help with developing or updating resumes and actually talk to an employer who’s looking to fill positions.

“It’s booming right now,” said Sherita Ohno, business services representative with NCWorks Career Center, located at 826 S. Garnett St.

This week’s Workforce Wednesday guest employer is Pallet One from Granville County, Ohno told WIZS co-host Bill Harris on Monday’s TownTalk.

“We want to be involved,” Ohno said, “and give employers (that) onsite advantage…and pick up some of that traffic that’s coming into the Career Center.”

Desiree Brooks, business services manager of the KTCOG Workforce Development board, said there are plenty of people who are actively looking for work, and the NCWorks Career Center serves as a hub to connect job seekers with employers.

They are working closely with young people – especially students – “to educate them early and promote career awareness so they know what’s available” in terms of jobs and careers.

One way they do that is with technology – specifically virtual reality.

Through the use of VR equipment, individuals can experience what it’s like to work at particular jobs.

Using VR goggles and a handheld joystick, participants can enter a simulated workplace to get the feel of what different careers or jobs may look, sound and feel like.

“Young people love technology, Brooks said. “We’re meeting them where they are…you are on that worksite – it is so real.”

Ohno and Brooks have tried out the VR experience. “I thought I had left and gone somewhere,” Ohno said.

One recent event that featured a single employer brought out about 80 people who were interested in jobs.

“People are out there and they DO want to work,” Brooks said. “And we want to help them.”

Employers are struggling to get workers and to retain employees, and Brooks said that either workers or businesses that use the services of the NCWorks Career Center get support and resources that improve retention rates.

Career advisors can guide job seekers through the process of creating a resume that reflects their skillsets and help match those skillsets with jobs in the area. Training opportunities are available as well.

Call 252.598.5200 to make an appointment or just drop by the center to learn more about services and programs.

The NCWorks Career Center in Henderson serves the KTCOG five-county region that includes Vance, Granville, Warren, Franklin and Person counties. KTCOG offers programs and services in all five counties. Visit https://www.ncworks.gov/vosnet/Default.aspx to learn more.

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TownTalk: Around Old Granville: More On The Hawkins Family

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If the Hawkins family genealogy were a road map, there would be featured destinations at almost every turn. The descendants of Philemon Hawkins played key roles across the state from governors to railroads, not to mention a couple of Texas cattle barons and the wife of none other than Nat King Cole.

The patriarch arrived in Virginia with his wife from their native England in the early 1700’s and he died there in 1725. One of his sons, also named Philemon, had a son – Philemon III.

This Hawkins had three sons who married daughters from a prominent family in Boydton, VA, explained local historian Mark Pace on Thursday’s Around Old Granville segment of TownTalk.

John Davis Hawkins established what would become the Raleigh to Gaston Railroad. Older brother William was elected governor of North Carolina in 1810 and their brother Joseph established the first medical school in the state – right out of his home in Middleburg, Pace said.

“The Hawkins family is wealthy and talented,” Pace said. “Each generation, no matter what they do, they’re successful.”

In 1836, John Davis Hawkins figured $750,000 would be enough to construct the Raleigh to Gaston rail that would ultimately tie in to the main line to Richmond and beyond; he underestimated by half, and the state of North Carolina came to the rescue.

“They ran out of money…they went bankrupt,” Pace recounted. “The only entity that had the money was the state of North Carolina.”

Eventually, the Hawkins family purchased the railroad back from the state and the rest is history.

The railroad “changed the world here,” Pace said. “It brought the outside world here to this part of North Carolina.” The rail allowed local tobacco farmers to send their leaf to the larger markets in Virginia.

Truly, towns popped all along the rails, including Henderson, Norlina and Kittrell.

But John Davis Hawkins also fathered children of enslaved women. One daughter, Rebecca, was raised by her spinster aunt – Hawkins’s sister – who made sure she received a good education and was well equipped in the arena of polite society.

One of Rebecca’s granddaughters, Charlotte, established the Palmer Memorial Institute, a boarding school for Black children near Greensboro in the early 1900s. Charlotte Hawkins Brown had a niece named Maria, Pace said.

And this is where the famous Nat King Cole intersects with the Hawkins family. Maria, grew up to be a jazz singer and caught the ear – and eye – of the famous crooner.

“Maria had a successful musical career,” Pace said. And Maria became Cole’s second wife in what was widely considered “the social event of the year in Harlem” on Easter Sunday in 1948.

John Davis Hawkins also had two sons who moved to Texas and went into the sugar cane business on a little piece of land – 52,000 acres – south of Corpus Christi.

When the Civil War ended and enslaved people were emancipated, the two brothers cut a deal with the state of Texas to basically have a prison farm. Prisoners would get room and board in exchange for their labor.

When the sugar cane business tanked, the brothers switched to cattle, operating the second largest ranch in Texas.

And then, luck struck again in 1901. That’s right, the brothers struck oil. The old Hawkins house still stands there in Hawkinsville, TX, looking for the world that it was plucked right out of Old Granville County and plopped onto a little tract of land in south Texas.

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TownTalk: VV Mitchell Stays Busy But Grounded In Faith

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Varonica Mitchell is a drummer, an actor, a comedian, a cheerleader, a dancer and a model with her own Internet-based show that has attracted more than 1 million supporters.

She relies on a schedule to keep her on track, what with posting videos, bookings and school work.

VV, as she is known to family, friends and her growing fan base on social media is headed to 7th grade this year.

“It’s a lot of work,” she told WIZS co-host Bill Harris Wednesday on TownTalk, referring to all the videos that she produces, with the help of her father, the one behind the camera.

This pre-teen exudes confidence and positivity and her natural talent shines through, but she is quick to give credit where credit is due.

“I get it from God and definitely from my mama,” she said.

Her mom manages VV’s bookings and also creates costumes for VV’s characters, including Grandma Roseanne and Mr. Eggnog, who sports a big belly and a beard.

“The VV Show basically is all my talents mixed together,” she said, part acting, part modeling, part drumming.

Drumming? “I just hopped on the drums as a two-year-old,” she said, when her church was without a drummer. Those who heard her thought she was good, she said and “it just went on from there.”

Whether she’s in front of the camera in costume as one of her original characters or playing drums, VV said one thing’s on her mind.

“I get to make people happy and put a smile on their face,” she said. “It makes their whole day – that’s what I’m looking for.”

Her local friends are among her biggest supporters, and despite the bookings and traveling, VV said she does still have time to spend with her buddies.

“They are really big supports – I love them so much! They are supporting me all the time.”

You can find her on all the social media platforms – Tik Tok, Instagram, You Tube, Twitter and Facebook.

“And,” she said, with the perfect pause – for maximum effect – “you can Google me!”

VV leaves us with a little cliffhanger: she’s going to Atlanta but she can’t really tell us more until it happens…

Stay tuned, VV fans.

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