WIZS Radio Local News Audio 04-13-23 Noon
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Author James Becker discusses his recent book “Secrets of the American Revolution”.
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On the Home and Garden Show with Vance Co. Cooperative Ext.
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The Northeast Piedmont Chorale will perform its spring concert at McGregor Hall in Henderson on Sunday afternoon, April 23. The concert is free and open to the public, and Director Cindy Edwards said the concert’s theme – “What A Wonderment” – describes perfectly the selections that will be performed.
The audience will see and hear “a trend in our musical selections,” Edwards said on TownTalk, “all about the wonder about the world that we live in.”
Chorale baritones Tom Burleson and Harvey Jackson joined Edwards to talk about the upcoming performance, as well as the state of the chorale. Which is quite, good, by the way.
Since Edwards became director in 2016, the chorale has doubled in size, from just shy of 40 to close to 80. Seventy-five performers are scheduled to take the stage for the spring concert, Edwards noted.
(The chorale will perform the spring concert at New Hope Baptist Church in Raleigh on Friday, April 21 at 7:30 p.m. The church is located at 4301 Louisburg Rd. in Raleigh.)
“For next season, we’ll have an even bigger choir,” she said. “I’m very, very pleased about the size of the group.
Although there are a handful of chorale members for whom music is a vocation, Jackson said the majority are just like him and Burleson – folks who’ve sung in church or school groups, but who aren’t music majors.
Jackson, who serves as vice president of the chorale board, said the upcoming concerts are the result of “many, many hours (of practice) put in by 70-plus people. This stuff doesn’t happen by accident.”
In addition to the two-hour weekly practices, Edwards offers “sectionals,” where smaller groups can come together to practice their particular parts. And individuals spend hours and hours outside the common practice time to listen and learn their parts.
Burleson said the process is important. “It’s painstaking and time consuming,” he said. “But if we didn’t want to do it, we wouldn’t be there. There’s a great reward.”
Edwards said the group has worked hard to create what she hopes will be a memorable performance. “The choir is ready – they need an audience…they sound beautiful.”
Kristen Allred accompanies at piano for some of the musical selections, but there will be a full orchestra to offer accompaniment as well.
The concert will begin with “A Shaker Celebration,” sure to delight the audience with its processional, and handbell and drum accompaniment. The program continues with “Te deum,” which translates to “We praise thee, O God” a 20-minute master work of composer Dan Forest.
The group will perform “Alleluia For Our Time” by Raleigh composer, Jay Althouse, whom Edwards described as someone who has become a close friend of the chorale.
After a short break, the theme of the concert focuses on the world around us – earth, stars, sky and water.
The chorale will perform “Earth Song,” followed by a couple of a cappella selections.
Local musicians Wayne Kinton and his son David Kinton provide electric guitar and double bass accompaniment to the Bluegrass-style “Touch the Sky” from the movie Brave.
The chorale’s final selection, complete with full orchestra, is “The Impossible Dream.”
Visit www.npchorale.org to learn more about the Northeast Piedmont Chorale.
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Bill Stanley says if you just want to throw a line in the water at Kerr Lake, Satterwhite Point and Nutbush are pretty good spots to head to. Now, if you’re headed out in a boat for a day of fishing, there are really too many good spots to count.
Stanley, superintendent of the Kerr Lake State Recreation Area, said that no matter what you choose to do lakeside – camping, fishing, hiking – there are plenty of opportunities awaiting. He spoke with Bill Harris on The Local Skinny!
The COVID-19 pandemic created a ripple effect among camping enthusiasts, which has resulted in a higher volume of campground reservations.
“It seemed like everybody got a camper and wanted to be outside” during the pandemic. As a result, “the campgrounds are staying a little fuller…it’s harder and harder to get a campsite during the week” and especially on weekends.
Reservations are made online through ReserveAmerica Inc.at
https://www.reserveamerica.com/
J.C. Cooper and Hibernia are probably the two most popular for campers. Cooper is located near Satterwhite Point, but Hibernia has more sandy beaches and upgraded campsites, he said.
Stanley said he expects there will be more building projects and upgrades begun in the near future – better campsites and renovated bath houses – that will give Kerr Lake campgrounds “a little facelift in the next few years.”
Maintenance crews manage the “to-do” list – from facilities upkeep to building new trails in different areas. The overall feel of the lake is a little slower pace than other lakes that either have more developed shorelines or are closer to big cities.
There’s a half-mile or so of new ADA-accessible paved trail, as well as hiking trails at Hibernia and J.C. Cooper that campers and locals alike enjoy
“It’s not as busy as Falls or Jordan or any of the other lakes closer to Raleigh,” Stanley said. “Things are not right on top of you (here)…we’re still a little bit of a hidden gem.”
He credits the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the quieter atmosphere. “The Corps has done a good job of protecting the shoreline as best they can,” he said. Fewer homes lakeside makes for quieter surroundings.
Things ramp up, however, when there’s a fishing tournament on the lake. Stanley said there already have been four so far this year, and summer will bring more fishers in search of striped bass and catfish, not to mention prize money and bragging rights.
However you enjoy fishing – whether from shore or in a boat, Stanley reminds everyone they need to make sure they pack one essential item in their tackle box: a current fishing license.
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As drivers make their way through the city on the morning of Friday, April 21, chances are they’ll see some roadside crews picking up trash. It’s all part of the Community Cleanup event, scheduled to coincide with NC DOT’s spring Litter Sweep and Earth Day.
City Manager Terrell Blackmon invites business owners, employees and other individuals to join in the larger community cleanup event when they reach their morning destinations, whether it’s their road front footage once they get to work or back in their neighborhoods after dropping the kids at school.
Crews from the city will be joined by business people, school groups and others beginning at 8 a.m. next Friday, strategically scheduled to coincide with the statewide cleanup effort, Blackmon explained.
Blackmon was a guest on TownTalk and spoke about the upcoming cleanup effort as well as several items presented to the City Council during the Monday evening meeting, including recommendations from the Public Safety Committee, which met April 5 to discuss several topics, including using opioid settlement funds, construction of a communications tower and grant funding to reduce gun violence.
Community Cleanup Event
The cleanup effort does more than simply get trash off the street, Blackmon said.
It checks off a box of one of the city’s strategic goals, for one. “We want to improve the image and perception of our city,” Blackmon said.
The cleanup also builds community among its businesses and residents who are “working together to make our community a more aesthetically pleasing community,” he said.
Groups will be venturing out into the West End area this time, and Blackmon said any individual or group is welcome to participate “to just clean up in your neighborhood or in front of your business,” he said.
The middle and high schools will be participating, as well as several elementary schools.
The decision was made to move the cleanup event from Saturday to Friday to give more business people a chance to participate, but also to provide a “visual” for weekly commuters.
“What an impact it could be, doing it on Friday during rush hour,” Blackmon said.
Visit henderson.nc.gov for details of the cleanup event or contact City Clerk Tracey Kimbrell at 252-430-5705 or traceykimbrell@henderson.nc.gov.
City Council action
Three items on the consent agenda included information from the Public Safety Committee, and Blackmon said all three were approved at the April 10 meeting.
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