Tag Archive for: #wizsnews

TownTalk: Around Old Granville – 250th Anniversary of the USA in Old Granville County

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Mark Pace was a teenager when the United States celebrated its 200th birthday in 1776. He remembers watching CBS’s ‘Bicentennial Minute’ productions, mini history lessons that aired in 60-second episodes, featuring celebrities and other famous people talking about snippets of history from 200 years ago.

In fact, Pace credits the whole Bicentennial celebration as one of the main reasons that he first became interested in history. Pace, North Carolina Room Specialist at Thornton Library in Oxford, and WIZS’s Bill Harris talked about some key people and events from that time when the 13 Colonies were subjected to taxes they considered unfair and laws they considered unjust.

Massachusetts has Boston and the Tea Party; it has Lexington and Concord, the site of the first military conflict in the American Revolution. The city claims Paul Revere and John Hancock, too.

But North Carolina has the Halifax Resolves, the Battle of Moores Creek and  the area known now as Old Granville County.

No battles were fought in the area that now encompasses present-day Vance, Granville, Warren and Franklin counties, Pace said, but there were many individuals who became quite well known for their roles in the American Revolution.

John Penn, one of the three signers of the Declaration of Independence, made his home in northern Granville County, near what is now Stovall.

But there were other “movers and shakers,” Pace said, who hailed from Granville County.

Take Thomas Person, for example. He was the largest landowner in the county, with about 80,000 acres, Pace said. “But he was a behind-the-scenes guy,” he added. It was Person, he said, who pushed for Penn to be a delegate to the Continental Congress, the group which ultimately produced the Declaration of Independence.

Person was a key player in the creation of the Halifax Resolves, which was drafted in April 1776 calling for independence from Britain – three months before the iconic Declaration of Independence.

That three-month head start is the reason that North Carolina license plates boast “First in Freedom.”

Truth be told, Pace said, in 1775, North Carolina was sitting the proverbial fence about whether to remain loyal to the Crown or to take up the cause for freedom and a new form of government.

The Battle of Moores Creek, which took place near Wilmington, was one example of that divided allegiance.

“It was a significant battle because it was North Carolinians versus North Carolinians,” Pace said. The battle was short, he said, only lasting about 10 minutes. On the Patriot side, there was only one casualty; but on the other side, more than 100 Tory sympathizers were captured.

That short encounter showed the British that they couldn’t count on having support from that part of the American Colonies.

“It was going to be a little bit tougher than they thought to put down this rebellion,” Pace said.

The sentiment around Granville County back then, however, most definitely came down on the side who backed independence from Britain. Pace said residents were an independent-minded group, and support to break from the Crown rule was strong.

One way they pushed back included renaming a part of Granville County that had splintered off in 1764 to form Bute County. By 1779, the area known as Bute County was split again to be known as present-day Franklin and Warren counties.

See, the Lord of Bute was a tutor of the much-maligned King George III, and Pace said the new counties were renamed “specifically for patriotic reasons, in addition to practicality.”

Franklin County is named for Benjamin Franklin; Warren County gets its name from Dr. Joseph Warren, who died in the Battle of Bunker Hill.

Franklin County lays claim to Richard Fenner, who was born in New Bern but who moved to the area after his military service came to an end. Fenner joined the Second Regiment of the Continental Line of the N.C. militia in 1777 and was a lieutenant when taken as a prisoner of war. He was held in Charleston until the war ended.

He came to Franklin County, studied medicine and was elected to be the first president of the N.C. Medical Society in 1799.

As for Warren County, Pace said perhaps its most famous son was Nathaniel Macon.

He became the fifth Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, made him one of the most powerful North Carolinians in the 1810’s and 1820’s.

Before rising to national political prominence, Macon served in the American Revolution as a teenager – probably when he was 16 or 17.

At that time, Warren County was very influential in state and national politics. At one point, the governor, both U.S. senators and a congressman all were from Warren County and in office.

As a private in the American Revolution, Pace said, Macon no doubt developed at an early age a mindset of individualism – and a dislike of the British Empire.

One person from the area – Philemon Hawkins – had been supportive of the British Crown during the Regulator War, which had taken place in North Carolina just a few years prior to the start of the Revolution.

This Philemon Hawkins (there was an original and then many namesakes, Pace and Harris explained), was Philemon Hawkins II, who lived from 1717-1801.

Hawkins was Gov. Tryon’s aide-de-camp during the Regulator War, but then he shifted his allegiance to back the movement for independence.

He is buried in Warren County.

 

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Cooperative Extension with Jamon Glover: Feeling Like Less

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Jamon Glover, on the Vance County Cooperative Extension Report:

We continue our series called Strong Fathers Under Pressure. In part two of this series, we talk about what happens when we feel like we are not enough.

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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Two adjacent panels show abundant geraniums in a garden—left panel with pink and red blooms, right panel with mixed red, yellow, and orange flowers beside green foliage.

TownTalk: No April Showers in Current Drought

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(Check out tips from Sam Franklin at Franklin Brothers Nursery)

For some, Earth Day is one day out of the year when people may pay special attention to what it means to be good stewards of the planet that we humans call home. More and more people, however, have begun thinking about putting positive environmental practices into place as the airwaves get crowded with news about increased extreme weather events, pollution and more.

Farmers around here are thinking about planting their annual crops, but local producer Sam Franklin, owner/operator of Franklin Brothers Nursery, said with the whole state in a drought situation, area farmers may be playing a waiting game.

They’re waiting for rain.

For people with backyard gardens or landscaped areas in their yards, Franklin said it’s ok to go ahead and plant. “But you need to plan ahead and use some good management practices with the water you have at your disposal,” he said on Wednesday’s TownTalk.

For those planting acres and acres of crops like soybeans, corn and tobacco, it can be a bit trickier, Franklin said. Farmers face the challenge of getting the crop in the ground and get it growing when there’s been little rainfall and meteorologists aren’t seeing much hope in the forecast.

Bright red and pink geraniums in pots arranged in a greenhouse, with hanging baskets overhead.

Franklin Brothers Nursery and Greenhouses at www.facebook.com/samfranklinjr

We’re lucky around here, Franklin noted, because we’ve got a bountiful supply of water at nearby Kerr Lake. “But that doesn’t mean we can abuse it. We need to use it wisely.” Whether you’re tending a backyard vegetable garden or thousands of acres of cropland, Franklin said there are things we can do to conserve water as we remain mindful of current environmental issues.

The familiar saying of April showers bringing May flowers is usually a reliable indicator, but Franklin said this year has been different.

The last measurable rainfall was sometime back in January, which means that anybody doing any planting is having to deal with dry, dusty soil – not an ideal environment for seeds and plant slips to thrive in.

Much of Vance, Granville and Warren counties are in the “extreme drought” category, with Franklin County in the “severe drought” category.

“This year, we’re starting out in a more dire situation with soil moisture, at least in the upper few inches of soil,” Franklin said. The dry weather, combined with windy conditions and low humidity, add additional wrinkles to a farmer’s planting timeline.

If they plant anything now, they’ll have to supplement with water and sometimes that’s just not practical, he said.

There’s a chance of rain on Saturday, which is good news. Whether that rain materializes or not, the long-term impacts brought by climate change probably include more of an up-and-down cycle when it comes to weather.

“We’ll have to adapt to it,” he said. “We may go from extreme drought to more rain than we actually need.”

Until we do get that rainfall, Franklin offers several tips when it comes to managing gardens, landscapes and water resources, on Earth Day and every other day:

  • If you have a deep well, you’ve got an advantage when it comes to water supply
  • Catch water off roofs or other structures in rain barrels
  • Plant crops like tomatoes and peppers in your backyard garden – they produce abundantly in a small area
  • Add compost. It helps soil retain moisture
  • When you water, water deeply and don’t wait until the soil is too dried out to reapply – that creates extreme conditions that can affect plant health
  • Plant more trees and shrubs in your landscape. It not only reduces the amount of grass you have, but they sequester carbon
  • Grass is a water hog and takes lots of nutrients from the soil. “It’s heresy to some people, but it’s a fact,” Franklin said on the idea of shrinking the amount of turf to grow and maintain.
  • Make a hole in the bottom of a gallon-size plastic jug, fill with water and place it upside-down by newly planted shrubs. It’s a crude, but effective, drip system.
  • And speaking of drip systems, soaker hoses are a good way to water garden beds. There’s a lot of evaporation with overhead sprinklers.
  • If you do use overhead sprinklers, water at night when evaporation is less. Nighttime watering also reduces the risk of disease in plants and lawns.

We need about 10 inches of rain to get caught up with the amount that has fallen by this time of the year, so being mindful of how and when you water your vegetable plants, flowering plants and trees and shrubs is just a good practice.

Franklin Brothers has a wide selection of garden vegetables, herbs, plants, shrubs, trees and more at their location on Vicksboro Road.

One thing he’s noticed is that folks seem to be interested in growing more vegetables, whether for the pure pleasure of it or whether they’re trying to save money at the grocery store.

“There’s nothing better than planting a tomato plant in the middle of April and going out the middle of June and picking a vine-ripened tomato,” he said.

Slice it up, slather a piece of bread with some mayo and maybe a slice of bacon and some lettuce, and you’ve got yourself a real summertime meal.

“Man, you can just taste that,” Franklin said.

You sure can.

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Group of people at a ribbon-cutting outside Henderson Chamber of Commerce, with a Deal Plumbing van in the background.

TownTalk: Chamber Holds Ribbon Cutting for Deal Plumbing

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Deal Plumbing has been doing business in the Henderson area for more than 50 years, and its new owners want to keep the Deal name – and reputation – going strong into the future.

Their last name is Gault, not Deal, but the company’s name isn’t changing, according to Matt Gault.

“While I’m kind of new to it,” Gault said at Wednesday’s ribbon-cutting sponsored by the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce, the company is not new to the area. Deal Plumbing has provided residential and service plumbing for 51 years.

Out front of the Chamber office for the occasion sat a brand-new service truck, and “we are looking for plumbers” to add to the employee currently on staff, Gault said.

Jim Deal also will continue to serve the company, Gault added.

Elmer A. Deal started the company, which later was run by his two sons. Gault and his wife Annie are the third generation of owners who want to continue to provide quality service to the area. Call them for leaks, new faucet installation, hot water heaters and clogged drains, just to name a few of the challenges that homeowners may face and need to call a professional.

Because as Chamber President Sandra Wilkerson rather delicately put it, “when you flush, you need to say good-bye.”

Call 919.873.3365 or book online at the Deal Plumbing website www.dealplumbing.com

Click Play (and you’ll also hear about John Rose’s cat named Elmer Deal!)

Home and Garden Show

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On the Home and Garden Show with Vance Co. Cooperative Ext.

  • Reminder that there is a burn ban in effect all across North Carolina.
  • There will be a Container Gardening Event on April 27th, starting at 6pm at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market.
  • Purchase quality transplants, dark green color, not root bound in the pot.
  • Consider drip irrigation for your garden.
  • Identify insects before you start spraying. Send us a picture and we can identify it for you.
  • Use row covers to protect seedlings from birds. Ex: corn seedlings.
  • If you have a bee swarm contact cooperative  extension we have bee keepers that can retrieve the swarm.
  • Check ponds for aquatic weeds, bring us a sample so you can have a positive ID before purchasing a chemical.
  • When mowing, use safety glasses and hearing protection. No extra riders on mower. One seat means one rider!
  • Continue your fruit spray program according to product directions.
  • It’s now ok to plant trees and shrubs but don’t forget to water them.
  • Get your vegetable publications from Cooperative Extension.
  • Check houseplants dust weekly with a soft cloth.
  • Check storage areas for mice.

The Vance County Cooperative Extension Building is located at 305 Young St, Henderson, NC 27536

The Vance County Regional Farmers Market is located at 210 Southpark Dr., Henderson, NC 27536

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Perry Memorial Library

The Local Skinny! Wrapping Up April at Perry Memorial Library

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This week is National Library Week, but if you think that the staff at Perry Memorial Library is taking a break to enjoy the moment, think again. There’s a lot going on, and it’s not all happening inside the library, according to Melody Peters.

Because April is also National Poetry Month and Earth Month, the library staff has been working at warp speed to make sure there’s plenty of activities to help the celebration.

In fact, the Bookmobile is cruising over to the Vance County Regional Farmers Market on Wednesday, April 22 for an Earth Day celebration from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The library is joining forces with the N.C. Cooperative Extension Vance County unit and Pathways 2 Peace to create fun-filled activities for the whole family to enjoy.

“We’re excited to introduce young people and their caregivers to the amazing farmers market,” Peters said on Tuesday’s segment of The Local Skinny!

There will be a special Earth Day Story Time and then the kids will rotate through a variety of hands-on activities that show appreciation and support for the Earth.

“We need our Mother Earth,” Peters said. “Children care, they care about our Earth – trees and flowers and plants. It’s important to show them that grownups care about them, too.”

The farmers market is located at 210 Southpark Dr.

Next up is a Star Party, which will take place in the Farm Bureau Room this Friday, Apr. 24. This event is part of a statewide event thanks to a partnership with NC SciFest.

Two programs – one at 1:30 p.m. and a second at 4:30 p.m. – are open to the whole community, Peters said. The later program will include a visit from North Carolina author Sue Soltis, who will read her book The Moon Moved In, Peters said.

Participants will get to take in some daytime sky viewing, and they’ll get to use some eclipse glasses as they gaze skyward. They’ll learn about the sun, moon and have their hand at some pretty cool astronomy-themed activities, too.

The Earth Month celebration continues on Sunday, Apr. 26 for Family Story Time, which begins at 3:30 p.m. The story, songs and crafts for the day will be all about celebrating gardening.

As April – also Poetry Month – comes to a close, join the Vance County High School S.A.V.E. Club and the VCHS Chorus for an “Evening of Poetry and Performances” on Tuesday, Apr. 28 at 6 p.m.

This event will take place in the gallery area outside the library. This collaboration came about because the students wanted to perform original poetry and the spoken word. “We talked about bringing it to the library to share with a larger audience,” Peters said.

The chorus did such a fantastic job during a February performance to celebrate Black History Month that they’re returning to take part, too.

Visit https://www.perrylibrary.org/ for a complete listing of programs and activities at Perry Memorial Library.

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Cooperative Extension with Michael Ellington: Farmland Loss

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Michael Ellington, on the Vance County Cooperative Extension Report:

In this segment, we discuss farmland with a local farmer in our area.

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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Vance County Logo

Commissioners Approve Rezoning Request 6-1 In Special Called Meeting

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In a 6-1 vote, the Vance County Board of Commissioners voted Monday afternoon to approve a rezoning request for a 40-acre tract on U.S. Hwy 158 Business.

Board Chair Carolyn Faines last week called for a special meeting to be held just prior to a regularly scheduled work session to consider the rezoning request. The special called meeting began at 4 p.m. and the work session began at the conclusion of the special called meeting, which lasted only a few minutes.

Commissioner Tommy Hester made the motion to approve, seconded by Commissioner Dan Brummitt, to “approve the zoning map amendment and to adopt the resolution with the statement of consistency and reasonableness.”

In opening remarks, Faines reminded those in attendance to behave in a respectful orderly and quiet manner.

“The board is here to deliberate and take action,” she said. “We ask for your cooperation in maintaining a respectful environment so the board can conduct the county’s business efficiently.”

After the vote was taken, however, there were boos that emanated from the members of the audience, which exceeded that of the Apr. 6 meeting. One person called out to ask for a roll call vote, but that request was declined. Commissioner Valencia Perry cast the nay vote. All commissioners were in attendance.

The beginning of the work session was delayed by several more minutes as members of the audience, visibly and audibly angry and upset at the board’s action, left the commissioners’ meeting room.

CLICK PLAY for broadcast audio prior to the meeting.