Tag Archive for: #wizsnews

N.C. First Lady Kristin Cooper Stops In For A Visit On 100-County Tour

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North Carolina First Lady Kristin Cooper paid a visit to downtown Henderson today as part of her statewide tour to visit all 100 counties.

Cooper toured McGregor Hall with Director Mark Hopper and other local officials before heading to George’s for lunch and then stopping by Sadie’s Coffee Corner, Nella Roo’s Boutique and the Vance County Arts Council before departing by mid-afternoon.

“This place is absolutely amazing,” Cooper told members of the media following the tour of McGregor Hall. “I didn’t expect to see something like this…y’all should be real proud of it.”

Cooper made her way across the state not so much by geography, but in alphabetical order. “This is my 98th county,” she noted.

She said she’s had a wonderful reception everywhere she’s visited, and as a self-professed “city girl,” has learned a lot about what North Carolina has to offer.

“It’s amazing to see the pride of place that people have,” she continued. “Even cities that are struggling…have enormous pride in their community” and are willing to sacrifice to make it better.

Throughout her tour, she’s ridden ferries, climbed mountains, walked in forests and on sand dunes. And now, having completed her tour in this community, she can add McGregor Hall and downtown Henderson to the list.

Vance County’s issues surrounding public education, health care and attracting medical professionals and educators to rural areas are not unique, unfortunately, she said.

Cooper encourages individuals to get out and find destinations in the state that may be unfamiliar.
“There may be something great just around the corner from you,” she said.

TownTalk: Study Scheduled To Measure McGregor Hall’s Economic Impact

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An economic impact study conducted locally in 2019 showed that McGregor Hall brought in close to $3 million in direct revenue to the city and county – researchers conducting that study looked at receipts from restaurants, hotels and retail to come up with this figure, said Mark Hopper, McGregor Hall executive director.

Hopper said the downtown venue is a big tourism magnet that attracts people from across the state and the Southeast to attend performances, competitions and more. By late summer, a second economic impact study will be underway to measure the extent to which McGregor Hall is bringing money to the area. Hopper predicts that it could be twice the amount from just four years ago.

“We have come back with a big roar in the past year,” Hopper said on Wednesday’s TownTalk. “We’ve added a lot of rental events (and) bringing in a lot of people from outside the area – people who spend money for food, lodging and more.

Known as a spot for performances and concerts, McGregor Hall also has become a popular spot for dance competitions.

“Next year, we have 15 straight weekends of dance competitions,” Hopper said. The various events hosted at McGregor Hall serve to infuse the local economy with additional revenue, which is its main purpose.

“We are first and foremost an economic endeavor,” Hopper said. “Even before the arts.” The arts just happen to be the way McGregor Hall contributes to the local economy.

The economic impact study is a good way to measure in concrete ways how the venue is achieving its mission.

The research is expected to be conducted in late August or early September, and Hopper said he hopes to have results by the end of September. N.C. State’s Municipal Research Lab and Tom White will come back to do the second study for about half the cost of the first one, since much of the foundational work has been done already.

Measuring a venue’s economic impact is relatively easy compared to measuring the impact theater and performing arts has on the people who participate and enjoy them. Researchers can study a store’s receipts and compare them with days or weekends that competitions or events were held at McGregor Hall.

But Hopper said he can only provide anecdotal evidence of the way McGregor Hall performances have affected the lives of patrons and artists who come to the venue.

It’s not hyperbole that “theater can change lives. And save lives,” he said. So many people have found a community within the walls of McGregor Hall.

That community “starts with the way we work with people,” he added.

More than 50 children – half of whom have no experience with theater – met for the first time Tuesday to begin working on Seussical Jr., a production of a two-week long theater camp.

In just over a week, that same group of youngsters will take the stage at McGregor Hall for the opening performance.

Children from different schools, neighborhoods and backgrounds come together for the grand sum of $50 for the two-week camp, Hopper said.

“Children desperately crave communities,” he noted. We can provide a healthy community, or they’ll create their own. We’re creating community for them in the best way possible.”

That’s an impact that surely will pay its own kind of dividends.

 

 

Home And Garden Show

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

  • If going on vacation have someone harvest vegetables for you,
  • PPE tip when using gas powered equipment: Eye protection guards against possible injury. Hearing protection guards against almost certain injury.
  • Harvest vegetables in the morning and refrigerate as soon as possible.
  • Learn to recognize invasive plants such as paulownia, tree of heaven, Chinese privet and others. Eliminate them when you find them.
  • Make sure weeds are actively growing before using weed control post emergence herbicides.
  • There are hundreds of species of bees and wasps in NC and the vast majority are non-aggressive and beneficial.
  • Watering your garden thoroughly once a week is much better than watering just a little each day.
  • Leave snakes alone. The majority are harmless and beneficial. Learn to recognize copperheads and leave them alone. Trying to move or kill them will likely increase your risk of getting bitten.
  • Check garden each day for harvestable vegetables ex Squash
  • Avoid spray drift. Don’t spray in windy conditions and set the nozzle to spray larger droplets.
  • Check the product label every time you use a pesticide.

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SportsTalk: Oxford’s Adcock Called Up to the Majors

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Oxford’s Ty Adcock has been called up to pitch for the Seattle Mariners.  The South Granville High School Graduate made his Major League Baseball debut Monday night in relief during the Mariners 8-1 win over the Miami Marlins.  Adcock pitched two innings and gave up no hits, no runs and no walks.  The 26 year old pitcher is the son of Keith Adcock and Jennifer Strickland Adcock. He played college ball at Elon.

The road to the majors has been a long one for Adcock. While at Elon, Adcock developed a back injury in his freshman year, fracturing his L5 vertebra, and shoulder issues hampered his senior season.  After being drafted by the Mariners, the team kept him off the field in 2019 to rehab.  In 2020 Covid took care of the season. In 2021 Adcock tore his UCL ligament in his elbow while facing his 6th batter of the season during a stint in the Mariner’s farm system.  That injury resulted in Tommy John surgery and 17 months of rehab.

Adcock was called up to the Mariners after an injury to pitcher Penn Murfee.

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TownTalk: VGCC Hosts Off-Campus Enrollment Event

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Vance-Granville Community College has scheduled an Enrollment Day

Enrollment Day is set for Thursday, June 22 in Henderson and rather than having prospective students come to the college’s Main Campus, staff from Main Campus will be set up at Perry Memorial Library to assist individuals with registering for Fall 2023 classes, according to VGCC Director of Admissions Sherry Alston.

Taking the enrollment show on the road is just one way that VGCC officials are thinking outside the box to get the information out about the various programs and services that VGCC offers.

“Knowing that transportation can sometimes be a barrier, we wanted to go where the people are,” Alston said on Tuesday’s TownTalk.

VGCC representatives will be at the library from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. to provide information on the enrollment process, as well as the academic programs and student support services available – including financial aid. Advisors will be ready to help with registration for the fall semester, which begins Monday, Aug. 14.

Both 8-week and the traditional 16-week classes will be available.

Unsure about whether this Enrollment Day is for you? No matter how far along in the enrollment and registration process you are, Alston said there will be VGCC staff on hand at the library to help. Linda Fletcher with Career Services has an interest assessment for prospective students who may not have a career path in mind.

The interest assessment helps individuals learn more about their likes and dislikes, and helps to match them with possible career paths.

“We interact with individuals who may not know or understand what their next step is – they know they want to go to school, but not much more,” Alston said.

An orientation for new students will be held at 10 a.m. on June 22 as part of Enrollment Day. Orientations can be completed online on June 22 or students can arrange for an in-person orientation at a later date.

Alston said participants will get a chance to learn more about all the academic programs available at VGCC, whether that’s a certificate or degree program or a college-transfer program.

“We want to make it a productive day,” Alston said.

For more information about Enrollment Day, or to sign up for orientation, visit www.vgcc.edu/enrollment-day.

 

 

 

The Local Skinny! Elder Abuse Walk To Be Held Thursday In Creedmoor

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Kerr Tar Council of Governments, Granville County Senior Services and Granville County Department of Social Services are hosting an Elder Abuse Awareness and Prevention Conference and commemorative walk Thursday, June 15. The event will be held at the Creedmoor Community Center on 108 East Wilton Street in Creedmoor, according to Kimberly Hawkins, regional ombudsman for the Agency on Aging and a key organizer of the day’s event.

The conference will include various workshops and information sessions on topics including avoiding scams, identifying and preventing financial abuse and much more, Hawkins said.

The walk is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. and lunch will be served about 12 noon. The activities will be held at the Creedmoor Community Center on 108 East Wilton St. in Creedmoor. The event will begin at 8:30 a.m. with registration and end around 1 p.m. There will be more than 30 vendors onsite from a variety of agencies that support the prevention and mistreatment of our disabled adult population.

This is a free event open to the public of all ages. The first 200 people will receive a free t-shirt, a tote bag and lunch will be provided. There will be a contest with prizes for 1st,2nd and 3rd place to the individuals that show the most “spirit” or express their efforts to support the prevention of elder abuse, Hawkins said.

Even if you can’t attend, please support this international opportunity by wearing purple and silver on this day.

Community partners are very supportive of the event, from sponsoring meals and providing t-shirts to donating space to hold the event.

“By doing all that we can to strengthen the social support structure, we can reduce social isolation, protect communities and families against elder abuse, and build a nation that lives up to our promise of justice for all,” Hawkins stated.

There will be presentations on Financial Abuse by the NC Attorney General Office and the Butner NCSECU branch, Fraud and Scams by the Creedmoor Police Department, Healthy living thru exercise by Ms. Rumsey and Elder Abuse Trivia Bingo hosted by Mr. Ed Wilson. Staff from our local Departments of social services and senior centers will be on hand to answer questions about their services, several Long Term Care facilities such as Louisburg Healthcare and Rehab, Roxboro Healthcare and Rehab, Warren Hills, and Kerr Lake Nursing and Rehabilitation centers. Medicare service vendors, NC DOI/ SHIIP and United HealthCare, Granville Medical Center, NCDHHS Services for the Blind, The Help Center, Warren County Health Department, Land Loss Prevention Project, NC PACE, VGCC, SafeKey Staffing and Respite care and more.

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Cooperative Extension With Paul McKenzie: What Works in the Garden

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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! City Council Adopts 2023-24 Budget

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The Henderson City Council adopted the 2023-24 budget at its regular monthly meeting Monday evening, but it was not a unanimous vote. The budget was approved on a 3-2 vote, with three council members absent. Council members Jason Spriggs, Ola Thorpe-Cooper and Lamont Noel voted to approve the budget, with Garry Daeke and Mike Rainey casting a ‘no’ vote.

Council members Melissa Elliott, Sara Coffey and Marion Brodie Williams were not present at the meeting. Daeke said Monday evening to WIZS after the meeting that although he was in favor of raising revenues, he thought the 3.8 cent tax increase was too much. Rainey said that the upcoming revaluation would bring extra revenue to the city’s coffers as well.

Mayor Eddie Ellington said if he had been called to break a tie vote, he would have voted against approval of the budget.

“The city’s budget is of the utmost importance and will have major consequences for the following fiscal year,” Ellington told WIZS News. “I have expressed my concerns during the budget work sessions and I am against raising our city tax rate and placing the burden on our taxpaying citizens, especially during this time of uncertainty with a county wide property value revaluation already underway.”

The budget includes a 3.8-cent tax increase and sanitation fee increases, but as of now, no increases in water and sewer rates.

The tax rate in the new budget is .75, up from .71 per $100 valuation, and the sanitation fee will rise to $32, up from $29.

The $23.4 million budget calls for a $1,500 bonus for all full-time employees of the city in lieu of a COLA (cost of living adjustment), except members of the police department, whose salary increases were approved in March.

The council received the budget on May 8,  and had several work sessions and offered at least one public hearing since then. The increases in the tax and sanitation fees is expected to add more than $500,000 to the city’s coffers.

These proposed increases would be the first since 2014, and Blackmon said there could be a slight increase in the water rate in the near future, now that financing for the Kerr Lake Regional Water System has been secured.

“Additional revenues will help sustain a stable fund balance to balance the budget and to help meet increased costs related to salaries, utilities, supplies such as chemicals, and other expenses impacted by inflation,” Blackmon told WIZS last week.

Some of the capital outlay expenditures budget highlights include IT upgrades police vehicles and equipment, fire truck upfitting and redevelopment.

Capital projects include McGregor Hall signage, Food Truck Court and redevelopment through land purchasing initiatives.

The Council also voted unanimously 5-0 to approve the request for purchase of bulletproof vests. Police Chief Marcus Barrow said the vests have a five-year life expectancy. The department has just hired four new officers, and the vests, which are custom made for each officer, will be provided. Barrow said the department is hoping to get additional funds from the N.C. League of Municipalities to help defray the cost of the vests.

The city is a step shy of designating a “social district,” which allows for public consumption of alcohol within a specifically defined area of downtown. The council approved giving the city manager authority to say “yay” or “nay” when event organizers request permission for the public to consume alcohol during particular events, upon his first receiving a recommendation on the request from a committee comprised largely of public safety officials.

Council also approved a request from Recreation and Parks to pursue a $150,000 grant from Triangle North Healthcare Foundation as it continues with construction of the new park at William and Montgomery streets, on property that once was the site of the Vance Hotel.

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