TownTalk 03-04-21 Covid 19, Vance County Schools
Host John C. Rose discusses Covid 19, the vaccine and the effects on Vance Co. Schools.
For full details and complete audio click play.
Tag Archive for: #towntalk
TownTalk 03-03-21; Tax Time and More
For today’s TownTalk Audio Click Play.
WIZS Your Community Voice — 100.1 FM / 1450 AM
“TownTalk” Airs on WIZS M-F at 11 a.m.
“The Local Skinny!” Airs on WIZS Mon-Thurs at 11:30 a.m.
Local News Airs on WIZS M-F at 8 a.m., 12 Noon and 5 p.m.
(IRS Press Release mentioned at the end of TownTalk)
WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service reminds first-time filers and those who usually don’t have a federal filing requirement to consider filing a 2020 tax return. They may be eligible to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit, a new refundable credit, authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the COVID-related Tax Relief Act.
Most individuals eligible for the Recovery Rebate Credit have already received the full amount in two rounds of payments, known as Economic Impact Payments. All legally permitted first and second Economic Impact Payments have been issued.
Individuals who were eligible but did not receive the first or second Economic Impact Payment or received less than the full amounts may be eligible to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit and must file a 2020 federal tax return, even if they do not usually file a tax return. The IRS offers free options to prepare and file a return.
Taxpayers who received the full amounts of both Economic Impact Payments won’t claim the Recovery Rebate Credit or include any information about the payments on their 2020 tax return because the IRS already issued their Recovery Rebate Credit in advance as Economic Impact Payments.
Didn’t get an Economic Impact Payment or got less than the full amount?
People who didn’t get an Economic Impact Payment or got less than the full amounts may be eligible to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit and must file a 2020 tax return, even if they don’t usually file.
The first Economic Impact Payment was based on an individual’s 2019 tax year information or 2018 if the 2019 tax return information was not available. The second Economic Impact Payment was based on an individual’s 2019 tax year information. The Recovery Rebate Credit is similar except that the eligibility and the amount are based on 2020 information on the tax return. The Recovery Rebate Credit is reduced by any Economic Impact Payments issued.
People who were not eligible for either or both of the Economic Impact Payments may still be eligible for the Recovery Rebate Credit since it’s based on their 2020 tax return information. Those with lower income in 2020 or who were claimed as a dependent on someone else’s tax return in 2018 or 2019, but who cannot be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return in 2020, may now be eligible for the Recovery Rebate Credit.
People eligible to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit based on their 2020 tax information must file a 2020 federal tax return. For more information about the Recovery Rebate Credit, see Frequently Asked Questions at IRS.gov.
Filing a 2020 tax return
To avoid refund delays, file a complete and accurate tax return. The best way to file a complete and accurate 2020 tax return is to file electronically. The tax software will ask questions about income, credits and deductions and help taxpayers figure their Recovery Rebate Credit. The Form 1040 and Form 1040-SR instructions includes a worksheet that can also help.
Individuals will need to know the amount of their Economic Impact Payments to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit. Those who don’t have their Economic Impact Payment notices can view the amounts of their first and second Economic Impact Payments through their individual online account. For married filing joint individuals, each spouse will need to log into his or her own account.
The Recovery Rebate Credit will be included in any tax refund. It will not be issued separately. For those due a refund (which would include the Recovery Rebate Credit), combining electronic filing with direct deposit is the safest and fastest way to get their refund.
IRS Free File
Taxpayers with incomes of $72,000 or less, an use brand-name software to prepare and file their federal tax returns electronically for free with IRS Free File. IRS Free File is a great option for people who are only filing a tax return to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit. Free File Fillable Forms is the only IRS Free File option available for most taxpayers whose adjusted gross income is greater than $72,000.
Taxpayers who have no taxable income but are filing a return to receive the Recovery Rebate Credit should look for several of the Free File products that have no minimum income for eligibility. Simply go to IRS.gov/Free File, select “Choose an IRS Free File Offer” and then select “Browse All Offers” to find a Free File product with no minimum income as part of its offer.
Free online tax help for military service members, families and some veterans
MilTax, Military OneSource’s tax service, provides online software for eligible individuals to electronically file a federal return and up to three state returns for free.
Free tax preparation in local communities
First-time filers and those who usually don’t have a filing requirement may also qualify for free assistance from IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs in their community. These programs offer free basic tax return preparation to qualified individuals.
The VITA program has operated for over 50 years, offering free tax help to:
- People who generally make $57,000 or less
- Persons with disabilities; and
- Limited English-speaking taxpayers who need assistance in preparing their tax return.
In addition to VITA, the TCE program offers free tax help, particularly for those who are 60 years of age and older, specializing in questions about pensions and retirement-related issues unique to seniors.
This year, some VITA/TCE sites are not operating at full capacity and others are not opening. Check the VITA/TCE locator tool to search for nearby available sites.
Help at IRS.gov
IRS.gov has online resources to answer tax questions immediately. The Interactive Tax Assistant is a tool that provides answers to several tax-law questions specific to a taxpayer’s individual circumstances.
Visit IRS.gov/filing for details about IRS Free File, Free File Fillable Forms, free VITA or TCE tax preparation sites in the local community or finding a trusted tax professional.
TownTalk 03-2-21 Marijuana Legalization
Host John C. Rose and Co-host Bill Harris discuss recent marijuana legalization bills that have been passed in New Jersey and Virginia and how it may impact drug laws in North Carolina.
For complete details and full audio click play.
TownTalk 03-1-21 Robert J. Higdon Jr. from local Police, Sheriff Perspective
Local law enforcement leaders said Monday they appreciate the efforts of U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District North Carolina Robert J. Higdon, Jr. during his three-plus years in office and look forward to further strengthening the relationship between local and federal agencies to reduce violent crime in the area.
Henderson Police Chief Marcus Barrow spoke with John C. Rose on Monday’s Town Talk and said Henderson has benefitted from what Higdon oversaw in the EDNC.
Higdon stepped down over the weekend, and announced that First Assistant U.S. Attorney Norman Acker will be acting U.S. Attorney until a new chief is recommended and is confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Higdon, who has been a federal prosecutor for more than 28 years, released a statement last week listing several accomplishments made during his time as lead attorney for EDNC, which covers 44 counties in North Carolina.
Among the programs was the revitalization of the “Project Safe Neighborhood” program as well as the development of the “Take Back North Carolina Initiative,” both efforts aimed at reducing violent crime.
Henderson Police Chief Marcus Barrow reflected on Higdon’s influence from a local perspective and said he appreciated the effort to build relationships with community law enforcement agencies. Barrow said that under Higdon’s watch, more than 200 people had been federally prosecuted in Henderson.
Barrow said Higdon also was instrumental in the Henderson police department getting a grant for purchase of equipment to take “ballistic fingerprints” of bullets – another tool to catch criminals and reduce gun violence. Whoever follows in Higdon’s position “will have big shoes to fill,” Barrow noted.
The USAO has made a concerted effort to provide support to law enforcement all across the District, Higdon stated. The “Take Back North Carolina Initiative” involved moving attorneys and staff into the district on a daily basis, which afforded the staff “careful listening to and respect for the expertise of law enforcement officials all across the district who know their communities and who know who and what to pursue in order to drive down our crime rates and make our communities safer and more secure,” the statement read.
For complete details and full audio click play.
Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame praised the work of Higdon and his staff as well. In a prepared statement to WIZS, Brame said the USAO under Higdon’s leadership had been an integral part in the success that his department has had since Brame was elected in 2018. Since that time, five serious offenders have been convicted in federal court and another seven are awaiting prosecution.
“The continuous working relationship that Mr. Higdon has provided to the Vance County sheriff’s office has given the agency a sense of hope and accomplishment that we can provide the citizens of Vance County other ways to remove the most violent offenders from our community,” Brame stated.
In April 2018, Higdon held a press conference in Henderson during which he detailed plans to target the worsening opioid epidemic in eastern North Carolina. Violent crime and drug problems in communities are both areas that Higdon said he and his team of federal prosecutors helped to reduce with the use of regional federal prosecutors, whose mission would be to get the worst offenders off the street quickly and to add time to sentences to crimes involving guns.
In his written statement announcing his departure, Higdon said “to have the chance to work with these exceptional professionals and the brave heroes who serve us in uniform has been a true blessing. I hope that we have served the people of this district, this state, and this country well. I am proud of the work we have done together. And, I hope and pray for the continued success of these fine public servants in the years to come.”
TownTalk 02-25-21 with Mark Pace, Local Black History
(The latest in the WIZS Tri-Weekly Thursday Local History Series. Next broadcast March 18.)
Alonzo “Jake” Gaither’s Florida A&M football teams only lost four games between 1959 and 1963. But when he was football coach for Henderson Institute in the early 1920’s his team was winless in its first season.
Gaither, whose overall record for the A&M Rattlers is 204-36-4, began his coaching career right here in Henderson, and Mark Pace and Bill Harris discussed Gaither and other notable African Americans with ties to this area during Thursday’s Town Talk.
Pace, North Carolina Room Specialist at Richard H. Thornton Library in Oxford, said the powers-that-be of Henderson Institute were so thrilled with Gaither’s football and baseball coaching that they decided he should also be the basketball coach. It was a small detail that Gaither had never seen a basketball game and didn’t know a thing about how the game was played. But he took home the rule book one weekend, learned all the rules and then started coaching.
Undeterred after a winless first season on the basketball court, Gaither persevered and three years later, Henderson Institute won the state championship, Pace said.
Flemmie Pansy Kittrell was born in Henderson on Christmas Day, 1904. The first African American to get a Ph.D in nutrition, her research brought to light ways to combat malnutrition in many countries across the globe. She also was instrumental in the creation of the national Head Start preschool program.
Charlotte Hawkins Brown founded Palmer Institute, a day and boarding school for African Americans in 1902. The Sedalia school is now a state historic site. Brown was born in the Mobile area of Henderson.
And John Chavis was a free African American born in Vance County who fought in the American Revolution. He graduated from Washington and Lee University and returned to teach white children from local plantations, Pace said. One of those children was J.M. Horner, who became an educator himself, and later founded Horner College in Oxford.
Pace, who has extensive experience in genealogy research, noted that the African American community has strong roots in the area that now encompasses Vance, Granville, Warren and Franklin counties. By the 1860’s, enslaved people were held by fewer families on large plantations. Pace said his research in various Census records showed that Granville County (what is now the four-county area) had the largest number of enslaved people in North Carolina. Of 23,396 people living in Granville County in 1860, he said 1,100 were enslaved. When the war ended and the slaves were freed, Pace said, they generally took the surname of their former owners.
In the decades after the Civil War ended, many African Americans moved away from the southern U.S. states. In 1910, 90 percent of African Americans lived in the South; by 1960, Pace said, that number had dropped to 50 percent.
Matthew W. Bullock’s family moved to Massachusetts from their home in the Dabney community. His parents had been enslaved in North Carolina, headed north. Bullock attended Dartmouth and then got a law degree from Harvard University. Bullock was the first Black to coach an all-white high school – in 1899 – and went on to coach football at the University of Massachusetts.
Charity Adams Earley was born in Kittrell in 1918. She was the first African American woman to be an officer – a lieutenant colonel – in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (later WACS) and was the commanding officer of the first battallion of African American women to serve overseas during World War II.
And then there’s Henry Plummer Cheatham, who was born in Henderson in 1863 to a white plantation owner and an enslaved house servant. Cheatham became the first register of deeds in Vance County, and later was elected to Congress. He was the only Black member of the 52nd Congress. Cheatham also was the recorder of deeds in Washington, D.C. around the turn of the 20th century. He returned to North Carolina and, for the last 30 years of his life, was head of the Oxford Colored Asylum (now Central Children’s Home). He died in 1935.
Cheatham was the next-to-the-last Black to represent North Carolina in Congress until the early 1990’s, when Eva Clayton of Warren County was elected. Clayton served for 20 years and was the first African American woman to represent North Carolina and the first Black since George White won a hotly contested race against his brother-in-law in 1896.
His brother-in-law? Henry Plummer Cheatham.
To hear the complete interview and learn more, listen to the podcast below.
TownTalk 02-24-21; VGCC Personal Enrichment
Vance-Granville Community College is again offering a variety of personal enrichment classes beginning in early March at several of its campuses. Whether you’d like to brush up on your motorcycle-driving skills or want to learn how to create a TED Talk, there is a class for you, according to Cherrelle Lawrence, VGCC dean of the Franklin Campus and dean of corporate learning and professional development. You’re out of luck if you wanted to learn how to make a porcelain doll, however; that class has been filled.
Lawrence and Denise Miller, personal enrichment coordinator for VGCC, spoke on Town Talk Wednesday with John C. Rose about plans to re-open the personal enrichment classes that had been on hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Membership in the classes is limited due to COVID-19 safety protocols, but registration is open now. Visit vgcc.edu/coned/ped to see the complete listing and to register.
Click Play for Audio of VGCC Personal Enrichment as well as Henderson-Vance Recreation and Parks program information about “Know Your Rights.” “Know Your Rights” will also be presented here on WIZS.com Friday. Story continues below.
The two-day motorcycle skills class is “really, really fun,” said Lawrence. Whether you’re a novice biker or just someone who hasn’t ridden in a while, this class could be for you, she said.
The class is next weekend – Mar. 6-7, and costs $180. Upon successful completion of the class, participants will have received all necessary training for a motorcycle certification. VGCC provides the motorcycles for the class.
A couple of popular classes, Lawrence said, are two adult defensive driving classes. The Alive@25 class is for those under the age of 25 who want to take the class as a way to reduce points against them for lesser traffic charges such as speeding. The four-hour course is quick, she said, allowing drivers to complete the program in one session. This program is through the local district attorney’s office. The other defensive driving program is for drivers older than 25. Check with your attorney to see whether this program is right for your situation.
The cost for the defensive driving courses is $65. The first will be held on Mar. 9 at the Franklin campus and the second at Main campus on Mar. 23. Each class is from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.
The Alive@25 classes will be held on Mar. 11 at Main campus and Mar. 25 at the Franklin campus.
Jamica Whitaker is the instructor for the Art of Public Speaking class. Participants will have the chance to put their newly honed speaking skills to work and produce a TED Talk presentation by the end of the class, which runs from Mar. 9 to April 13, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. A TED Talk is a video presentation, less than 18 minutes long, that combines Technology, Entertainment and Design.
Contact Miller at millerD@vgcc.edu or 252.738.3631 for more information or help registering for a class. Visit vgcc.edu to learn more.
TownTalk 02-23-21 Dr. Anthony Jackson, In-Person Learning
UPDATE 2-24-21 TO ORIGINAL STORY:
COURTESY OF VANCE COUNTY SCHOOLS – As we continue preparing for our return to face-to-face interactions with students, Vance County Schools is working diligently to ensure we are providing all of the necessary safety protocols for the health and wellness of our everyone, prior to student re-entry.
On Friday, March 5, all Vance County Schools staff will have the opportunity to receive the COVID-19 vaccination. Due to the vaccination schedule, VCS will delay the re-entry of students to the week of Monday, March 8. The only change to the re-entry is that students in Pre-K, Kindergarten, and 1st grade, as well as all self-contained students will begin their re-entry the week of Monday, March 8 rather than March 4 and 5.
Thursday, March 4 will be a remote learning day as scheduled for all grades, with students logging in at their assigned times. Friday, March 5 will be an asynchronous learning day for all grades, allowing students to complete assignments in their online learning platform throughout the day.
We are grateful for this added layer of protection being afforded to our district and appreciate your understanding as we work to finish the 2020-2021 school year strong!
ORIGINAL STORY BELOW. PLEASE REFER TO UPDATED STORY ABOVE FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION.
In just over a week, Vance County schools will once again have students in the building for face-to-face instruction, but adjusting to the “new normal” means some changes are in store for students and staff alike, according to Superintendent Dr. Anthony Jackson.
Jackson spoke with Town Talk host John C. Rose about the staggered re-entry of students, which begins March 4. Below is the schedule for students to return:
- Mar. 4 – Students in PK, K and 1, and students in self-contained exceptional children’s classrooms
- Mar. 15 – Students in grades 2, 3, 6 and 9
- Mar. 22 – Students in grades 4, 5, 12 and 13
- Mar. 29 – Students in grades 7, 8, 10 and 11
“If you look at it, we’re going very cautiously, so we can assess where we are, make adjustments and do what we need to do…to make sure we’re successful. If it can be done, it can be done here in Vance County,” he added. “We’ve been very cautious and we’re going to have a very orderly return to school.
Students will come to school two days a week – either Monday/Tuesday or Thursday/Friday, according to Aarika Sandlin, public information officer for the school district. There remains an option for students to continue to participate in remote learning only, she said. Families should receive more information from their children’s schools this week.
Audio of Dr. Jackson on TownTalk. Script continues below.
Jackson said an announcement is forthcoming on a vaccination schedule for teachers. There is a “high degree of angst,” among teachers, he said. “They shouldn’t have to choose between their health and doing what’s right for kids,” he said. In addition, a full-time testing site opened Monday at the Administrative Services Building on Graham Avenue. It is available for staff, students and the community. Testing is free and results will be available in 24 hours, he said.
“Anyone who believes they have been exposed, before they even go to the school,” can get tested, he said.
The district has implemented stringent protocols, he said, from daily temperature stations and misting machines that sanitize whole classrooms daily, along with the required mask-wearing and social distancing, all of which contribute to the protocol. Students will eat meals in their classrooms instead of the cafeteria, he said, and hopefully outdoors when conditions are right.
“We feel really good about the rings of support that we have placed around getting our students back into the classroom,” Jackson said.
Students may spend part of the summer in classrooms as well, he said. Plans for a 6-week session during the summer are still in the works, he noted. He said he expects there to be some sort of summer session for “intervention or extension” for students.
“I don’t want to call it learning loss,” Jackson explained. “I think the only thing our kids have lost is time,” because of the pandemic. He said he chooses to look at a summer session as a way to give students more time to learn. They missed learning because of the pandemic, not because they didn’t understand.
“We’re going to have to learn how to operate in a new normal,” Jackson said. “What this has taught us is that we can do this and we can do it well, but we have to be very intentional and we have to be willing to make the shifts when necessary,” he added.
Jackson said he has a great team, both within the school system and in the larger community, who have worked together throughout the pandemic. “We know that if we’re going to beat this, we’re going to beat it together. We’re better, stronger and wiser together,” Jackson said.
TownTalk 02-22-21 Dr. Jennifer Rymer (Covid and Your Heart)
People with existing or underlying heart conditions could experience worse symptoms if they are diagnosed with COVID-19, and a local cardiologist wants to get the word out to the community to seek medical treatment if symptoms persist.
Dr. Jennifer Rymer, an interventional cardiologist at Maria Parham Health, often sees patients who are having heart attacks when they come to the hospital. Treating heart conditions amidst a global pandemic adds a layer of caution to the work she performs.
“COVID can take all of the heart conditions – pain, fluid retention and shortness of breath with congestive heart failure and just make it worse,” she said on Monday’s Town Talk with John C. Rose. “It can weaken the squeeze of the heart and it can cause clots to form in both heart arteries and lung arteries,” she said.
“The best way to avoid all this is to avoid the virus,” Rymer said, whether by social distancing, wearing a mask or getting the vaccine. “As soon as you can get the vaccine…you should absolutely attempt to get it,” she said.
Side effects of the vaccine, for the vast majority of those who have received the shot, are minimal and short-lived. They include mild flu-like symptoms like low-grade fever and achiness. These usually go away within 48 hours of getting the vaccine. If those symptoms do NOT go away after, say 72 hours, you should get checked out by a medical professional.
The protective properties of the vaccine are especially important, especially those with heart conditions. “The protective mechanism of the vaccine … cannot be underscored enough,” Rymer said. “It is just critical for these patients to try to get immunity to this disease and to this virus.”
That post-vaccine achiness is actually “your body’s attempt at working to develop antibodies against the virus.” Rymer said. Although not particularly pleasant to endure, she said it is “a sign that the immunization is working.”
Dr. Jennifer Rymer audio on WIZS TownTalk. Story script continues below.
Interventional cardiologists perform catheterizations, and often are able to fix blockages with either the placement of stents or balloons to strengthen a weakened blood vessel wall. Patients with underlying heart disease, who have already had a heart attack or who have congestive heart disease aren’t able to rebound as quickly from other health problems, she said. COVID-19 “puts the body under stress,” she said, and those with coronary disease are more susceptible.
People also can experience a heart attack as a result of their COVID-19 infection, she said, because of the added stress the virus infection places on the body. Additional health problems such as diabetes, high cholesterol and being overweight add more risk factors for patients, she said. Patients in these higher-risk categories often aren’t able to fight off infection as well, Rymer added.
Complications of COVID-19 can include the formation of clots in the arteries of the lungs and heart, she said. Symptoms include chest pain that is new for you, and extreme shortness of breath. Increased fluid retention is another symptom to be mindful of, she noted. These symptoms also are associated with congestive heart failure, she said. “COVID can take all the symptoms and make it worse,” she warned.
Rymer said even patients in their 20s and 30s with no underlying heart conditions have experienced heart problems brought on by COVID-19. The virus can attack the heart wall which can mimic congestive heart failure. In such cases, the patients are treated with medications to try to improve the function of the heart wall muscle – “hopefully the symptoms will resolve, but in some cases it doesn’t resolve,” she said.
(Maria Parham Health is a paying advertising client of WIZS Radio and WIZS.com. This is not a paid advertisement.)
(This post, news and audio is not meant to offer medical advice or to render a diagnosis or treatment options. Always consult with your physician or a medical professional. This is an informational broadcast and script only.)
TownTalk 2-17-21 Brian Short, Vance Co. Emergency Operations Director
A second winter storm is predicted to bring more ice and freezing rain to the area overnight and into Thursday, following on the heels of last weekend’s ice storm that residents have barely recovered from.
Brian Short, director of emergency operations for Henderson and Vance County, told John C. Rose Wednesday that the National Weather Service prediction of up to .35 inches of ice is a conservative prediction, and he said the area could experience widespread power outages again.
Power crews have been working nonstop since Saturday to restore power, he said, and a second storm means that those efforts “are going to be undone,” he said during Wednesday’s Town Talk. The storm that hit the area Friday night and into Saturday made wet ground even wetter, Short said. “A lot of the trees in danger of falling have already fallen,” he said, but this storm brings with it the potential for more ice than with the previous storm, so trees will be even more stressed.
Short expects dangerous conditions all day Thursday, with temperatures not getting above freezing until late morning or lunchtime. Although the forecast indicates the storm will last about 24 hours, “the aftermath is probably going to be with us for days, just like the last one,” Short said.
TownTalk Audio of Brian Short.
The state of emergency that was issued locally for the first storm remains in effect until the second storm has moved out, he said. As of 5 p.m., he and his staff will be operating on Level 1 status. Additional staff will be on hand beginning at 6 a.m. Thursday.
Please do NOT call 911 to report a power outage, Short stressed. “Your call could keep someone with an an actual emergency from getting help as quickly as possible,” he said.
And if you don’t have to go outside, please don’t, he added. “One of the dangers in an event like this is downed trees and power lines,” Short said. If the predictions are accurate, the ice accumulations on trees will be more significant than last weekend’s storm. “Trees are going to be snapping and breaking constantly all around us,” so walking outside or driving a vehicle “presents a really dangerous situation.”
A 911 communications employee was driving to work in last week ‘s storm and a tree fell on the car the employee was in, he said. “There is a really strong danger with storms like this that we don’t see with snow,” Short added.
Short had other warnings, which include:
- Don’t use an alternative heat source indoors that is not meant for indoor use.
- Don’t overload power strips.
- Do make sure you’re putting the right type of fuel in alternative heat sources and make sure you follow manufacturer’s recommendations for use.
The “Golden Rule” of emergency management, Short said, is to plan for 72 hours of being self-sufficient. In the event of a widespread event, that’s how long it could take for help to arrive.
For Short and his emergency operations crews, one prediction is sure: “We’re going to have a very busy day ahead of us,” he said.
Call 800.419.6356 to report a power outage. Do not call 911.