Tag Archive for: #wizsnews

Cooperative Extension with Michael Ellington: A Special Message for Farmers

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On the Vance County Cooperative Extension Report from Michael Ellington:

Today’s recording is full of helpful reminders and contains a special message for farmers about the NCDA&CS disaster relief program.

NCDA&CS Agricultural Disaster Relief Program

https://www.ncagr.gov/agdisaster

Average last and first frost dates – Map

https://gardening.ces.ncsu.edu/weather-2-2/average-first-and-last-frost-dates/

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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The Local Skinny! Tasker Fleming on MerleFest 2025

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The campus of Wilkes Community College once again transforms into a sprawling concert venue later this month when MerleFest 2025 cranks up for four days of pure musical fun.

MerleFest 2025 begins Thursday, Apr. 24 and continues through Sunday, Apr. 27.

Tasker Fleming, host of the Front Porch Bluegrass Show that airs from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays on WIZS said that folks who attend MerleFest will surely get their money’s worth – different musical groups will take to stages large and small, indoors and out, during the course of each day.

One local group, The Barefoot Movement, is scheduled for four performances on Friday, Apr. 25. They’re just one of the dozens of performers – from Bonnie Raitt and the Avett Brothers to Asleep at the Wheel and Peter Rowan – included in this year’s lineup.

singers, players and pickers

And if the musical variety weren’t enough, there will be vendors galore selling all kinds of items from food to musical instruments for the thousands of attendees expected.

When Fleming attended the music festival a couple of years ago, he said one thing that struck him was the relaxed atmosphere that existed between the musicians and the audience.

“When they get off the stage, they hang around and talk to you,” he said. “You won’t get that at a normal concert.”

Visit https://merlefest.org/ to learn more.

 

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TownTalk: Willard Haithcock Membership Scholarship

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Willard Haithcock wasn’t a gregarious person, according to his son Heath. He was quiet and soft-spoken, to tell you the truth. But he loved a good routine, you could count on him being at the Henderson Family YMCA at pretty much the same time every day of the week.

“You could set your watch by him,” he said of his dad, whom he described as the quintessential family man who provided for his wife and children

When Haithcock died in 2021, it made perfect sense to his family to establish scholarships in his memory to give others a chance to enjoy the benefits of the Y that he himself had enjoyed so much.

“My dad was not one to draw attention to himself,” Heath said on Monday’s TownTalk. But as the family considered how to best honor their loved one, a scholarship to the YMCA was what leapt to their minds.

“We wanted his life to stand for something,” Heath said, admitting that if his Dad could weigh in on the matter, he’d most likely call the idea the most ridiculous thing he’d ever heard.

His dad instilled in him to treat others the way he wanted to be treated. He taught by example – Willard treated everybody equally, his son said.

“That’s what the Y does,” Heath said. And the family chose to create one scholarship for an individual membership and one for a family membership, he said, because “they YMCA is all about inclusion.”

“He really wasn’t that into fitness,” Heath said. But those daily visits to the YMCA gave his father an outlet to reduce stress, get in a little physical activity and embrace a side of his personality that he may not have demonstrated in his business life.

“It became part of his routine…he was very regimented and routine-oriented,” he said.

He became a mainstay at the Y and Heath said the Y became one of the joys of his Dad’s life.

Sadly, Willard didn’t get to enjoy the benefits of retirement for very long. He died just a couple of years after he sold his business.

“It’s a shame he couldn’t have spent more time doing what he enjoyed,” Heath said.

There is no doubt that he would have stuck to his routine and been a 7-day a week YMCA gym rat.

“It was great that he had that venue and that outlet…to be his true self,” Heath said.

The deadline to submit an application for the scholarships is coming up this Sunday, Apr. 20. Find the application at https://www.hendersonymca.org/.

 

 

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Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland: Mini Gardens

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On the Vance County Cooperative Extension Report from Wayne Rowland:

Mini gardens can be grown in limited space and will help provide fresh vegetables for your family.

The Vance-Warren Beekeepers Association meeting will be on Monday, April 14, 2025 at 7pm at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market.

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

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

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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The Local Skinny! County Attorney Explains ‘Design/Build’ Concept For Jail Repairs

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The Vance County Board of Commissioners have approved a pathway for county staff to proceed with a “design/build” process to make necessary repairs to the jail as it weighs further options for construction of a new detention center.

County Attorney Jonathan Care explained to commissioners at their Monday meeting why he recommends this “new” approach be used for the repairs and expressed the need to move quickly, based on a letter from the state citing, among other things, the poor physical condition of the jail.

Care spelled out options for the short-term repairs needed at the existing jail while pursuing design and construction options for a brand-new jail; the consensus at Monday’s meeting was to use the design/build process for the repairs. Care told commissioners staff could have everything in place by the next meeting, if not sooner, to put that plan in motion.

One of the main components of the design/build approach, he explained, has both the construction side and the design side collaborating on the project instead of hiring an architect to design and then a construction team to build.

“I think that is the absolute best way to move forward,” Care said, “and that is my recommendation to move forward with repairs to our current facility.”

The design/build approach begins with a request for qualification – an RFQ – instead of a request for proposals – an RFP, which often results in awarding projects to the company who submits the lowest bid.

He said the design/build process won’t be the cheapest way, but it should result in fewer change orders during construction and fewer issues that inevitably pop up.

With the repairs, however, “time is as much of a factor as cost is.”

A jail is not something that should be pieced out and parceled, Care said.

“We need to know, down the road, that we’re going to have a facility that isn’t such a unicorn that we’re reliant on one person” to come in and make needed repairs, he said, referencing the problem with broken doors at the jail.

“I can tell you, unfortunately, we’ve experienced some of that in our current facility with updating, remodeling and building…that isn’t working for us, and it’s costing us dearly now.”

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TownTalk: Pink with a Passion on April 12th in Warrenton

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Look for the rainbow at the 4th annual Pink With A Passion event Saturday, April 12 at the Warren County Recreational Complex.

The theme for this year’s walk is “Walk With Strength: Fight Cancer In All Colors,” making reference to the distinct color assigned to particular cancers – pink represents breast cancer, for example.

As a breast cancer survivor herself, organizer Amena Wilson may be decked out in pink for the day’s activities, but she hopes to see a rainbow of colors represented.

Registration for the walk begins at 9:30 a.m. and the walk begins at 10 a.m, Wilson said.

The official part of the day will take place at 11 a.m., and participants can witness the Tree of Hope ceremony that Wilson says will be a unique experience.

The Tree of Hope, with its twinkling lights, will be a way to remember those who have lost their lives to cancer, as well as a way to offer hope to those facing health challenges. But, Wilson said, it’s also a joyous time to celebrate all those who have overcome challenges and are now in recovery following cancer diagnoses.

It’s a somber occasion, but it’s also going to be a lot of fun for the whole family. Last year’s event brought out about 400 people; this year, Wilson is expecting an even bigger crowd.

A mobile mammogram service is offering 25 free mammograms. Call 877.318.1349 to schedule an appointment or visit https://appointments.invisiondiagnostics.com/appoinment/

to reserve a spot.

“We’ll have a lot going on,” Wilson said. There will be a band and a dj providing musical entertainment, as well as a time to hear testimonies from cancer survivors and take part in a balloon release.

For the kids, there will be plenty of activities, including a bouncy house, face painting and a fire truck with a Smokey Bear character on board.

And let’s not forget the food trucks – Wilson said there will be everything from vegan on up to Southern Soul food on site for everyone to enjoy.

“It’s going to be a day full of joy, a day of celebration,” she said. “We’re so geared up and pumped up and ready to go!”

Bring a lawn chair and expect to have a great time, she added.

To learn more about Pink With A Passion, visit: www.pinkwithapassion.org

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TownTalk: 3rd Annual Community Resource Festival Coming Up on April 16th

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Organizers of the 3rd annual Community Resource Festival are proof of just what can be accomplished when folks and organizations come together for a common goal.

More than 100 vendors have signed up to participate in the event, which will take place Wednesday, April 16 at the Vance-Granville Community College Civic Center. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the public is invited to stop in to learn more about the businesses, programs, local agencies, nonprofits and more that are located in Vance and Granville counties.

In addition to helpful information, there will be food trucks, giveaways and plenty of time for networking.

Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce President Sandra Wilkerson summed it up this way: Community means together, resources are assets and festival means fun.

Wilkerson joined collaborators Jennifer Cufalo, with the Granville County Chamber of Commerce and Michele Walker, with Huff Consulting, LLC on TownTalk to discuss the event’s origin – and the possibilities it holds for the entire community.

“There’s nothing that makes me happier than collaboration,” Wilkerson said.

And the Community Resource Festival all about collaboration, Walker said. “It’s grown to huge heights,” she said of the festival, which began as an idea simply to gather nonprofit organizations from across the two counties.

As Wilkerson explained, once Walker brought the idea to the Chambers, the idea grew to include businesses and other service-related organizations. Stay tuned, Walker said, because KARTS is working to designate “hotspots” to pick up individuals and transport them to and from the festival. She’ll share more information as it develops.

The local Chamber has been fielding calls about how to participate in the festival, some from people familiar to the Chamber and some she doesn’t know.

“I’m excited to meet them (and) talk to them about what they’re working on,” she said. Part of the mission of the resource festival is to show the community just how much the two counties have to offer – it’s just a matter of knowing the resources exist.

“This festival is just a great way to bring programs and services under one roof,” Cufalo said. Through networking, small businesses nonprofits can join forces with one another to extend their reach into the community. “Not everybody has the same supporters or collaborators,” she said. “That little bit of knowledge you have and be huge for somebody else” to learn.

The Community Resource Festival has looked a little bit different each year, but the common thread she recognizes is the level of communication and sharing of information among businesses and to the public.

“One thing that we have to do – make sure we’re talking to one another. We have to communicate,” Walker said. And who says you can’t do that AND enjoy each other’s company at the same time?

To learn more, visit

https://business.hendersonvance.org/events/details/community-resource-festival-2191

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