Tag Archive for: #wizsnews

Henderson Vance Recreation & Parks

TownTalk: Upcoming Activities At HVRPD

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Parents who may be looking for some engaging activities for their children this summer need look no further than the program listings at the Henderson Vance Recreation and Parks Department.

A daylong summer camp begins June 12 and continues through Aug. 11, and HVRPD facilities supervisor said Alisha Shaw said the camp will include field trips, meals and more, all for a weekly fee of $50.

Shaw and colleagues Deanne Brown and Shantal Hargrove were guests on Tuesday’s TownTalk to talk and shared information on programs and events that are happening at Fox Pond Park and Aycock Rec Center this summer.

There’s a free Gridiron program for children ages 7-12 that started May 15, but there’s still time to register, Brown, assistant director of the rec and parks department, said.
This program is focused on conditioning, she said. “That’s the whole purpose of this program – before the fall football starts.” Players and cheerleaders for the Tri-City Seahawks begins in the fall. The registration fee is $40, but parents can apply for a fee waiver. There are several different age divisions; football is for ages 4-12 and cheerleading is for ages 5-12. Registration continues through July 30.

Whether providing a spot for sports teams to practice and play or offering multipurpose rooms for rental to the community, Shaw said the department’s recreational facilities are staying busy.

“We are very busy with Fox Pond rentals at this time,” she said. The shelter rental is brisk and folks are out enjoying the pickle ball courts, trails and other outdoor amenities the park offers.

Hargrove is youth services outreach administrator and she said HVRPD offers structure and programming for children, but they also provide parents with peace of mind that their kids are in a safe, secure location while they’re at work.

“It gives the youth something to do in the summertime,” Hargrove said. “Sports gives them a chance to get back outside…and get some exercise.”

Whether it’s summer camp or being a member of a sports team, young people have a chance to interact with children their own age and meet new people who may attend different schools.

Plus, it gets them off their phones and gets them engaged,” Hargrove said. “It gives their thumbs a break,” she said.

HVRPD is planning a couple of activities for Juneteenth, including a street festival on Saturday, June 17 behind the county courthouse on Rose Avenue. There will be live entertainment, lots of food and product vendors. The festival will be held from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Anyone interested in being a vendor can contact HVRPD. The fee for food vendors is $75; other vendors are $25.

Contact Shaw for more information about the street festival at 252.438.2670.

Hargrove said a Juneteenth Jamboree will be held at Aycock Rec Center on Friday, June 16 for youth ages 14-18. There will be a glow-in-the-dark pool party, as well as a a DJ playing music, food, movies and more, she added.

Register to attend the Jamboree on Friday, May 26. All participants must be enrolled in school and have a minimum 2.5 GPA. Contact Darius Pitt at 252.431.6099 to learn more about the Jamboree.

Since 2023 has been designated the Year of the Trail, HVRPD decided to collaborate with Tina Crews and her Visions Educational Learning to create Nature’s Classroom, an interactive program that incorporates hiking trails with education to complete a scavenger hunt along the trails between Fox Pond Park and Aycock Rec Center.

All the recs and parks programs require staffing, and all available positions are listed on the city of Henderson’s webpage at www.henderson.nc.gov.

There are full-time and part-time positions available. Applications are available online and at Aycock Rec Center. Completed paper applications should be turned in to City Hall.

 

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The Local Skinny! Local Author Katherine Burnette Publishes Poems And Short Story

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Local author and N.C. Superior Court Judge the Hon. Katherine Burnette is busy working on her second book, which she estimates is about two-thirds completed.

The process of writing an entire work of fiction can be a slow one, Burnette acknowledged. So when she needs a break from writing books, she writes poetry and short stories.

Several of her poems have appeared in Deep South, an online publication that features Southern writers.

Her poem The Martins, describes the movements of that insect-gobbling bird. The setting is near the ocean’s shore, and Burnette intentionally indented the lines of her poem to mimic the waves that lap the sandy coastline.

“I find them fascinating,” Burnette said of the martin. They’re very active at dusk, picking insects out of the sky. “Just the way they fly – they have a unique flight pattern,” she added.

Other poems that appear in Deep South include The Edge of the Pool and Gray Tabby.

Visit https://deepsouthmag.com/ to read the poems and https://maudlinhouse.net/ to find her short story, Cast of Characters.

Burnette spoke with WIZS’s Bill Harris on Tuesday’s segment of The Local Skinny! to discuss her latest literary efforts.

Her first novel, Judge’s Waltz, was published in July 2021, and it has garnered a couple of awards – one for debut novel and one in the category of Mystery, she noted.

Her second work will be a thriller, not a mystery, she explained.

“If you only have one murder in your book, you can’t call it a thriller,” she said, chuckling. The new novel will be set in Henderson and nearby Oxford, where Burnette lives and will include a new set of characters, although readers of Judge’s Waltz will recognize some characters that make an appearance in the new book.

She uses her experience as a judge to help her when she writes courtroom or investigation scenes, she said. Writing is a way “to relieve stress and to think about something else” after a long day in judge’s robes.

Burnette’s book Judge’s Waltz is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble online, as well as the brick and mortar Barnes & Noble in The Village District (formerly Cameron Village) in Raleigh and locally at This ‘n’ That on Main Street in Oxford.

Read more at https://katherineburnetteauthor.com/

 

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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! Vance Co. Budget Details

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Vance County Commissioners have held a couple of work sessions to discuss the proposed 2023-24 budget and the community will have a chance to chime in during an upcoming June 5 public hearing before commissioners decide whether to adopt it.

The details of the roughly $57.5 million budget are contained in a 131-page document presented by County Manager Jordan McMillen. This is McMillan’s final budget presentation before he leaves his position later this month to become Butner Town Manager in neighboring Granville County.

The budget calls for no increase in the property tax, holding at 89 cents per $100 valuation, as well as appropriating more than $1.5 million from the General Fund to plug a gap between expected expenses and expected revenues. The proposed budget is 4.5 percent more than the 2022-23 budget.

Among the budget highlights are improvements to the county’s fire tax fund, which will provide 24-hour coverage in the north and south of the county – all with no tax increase.

On the revenue side, property tax is up some $63 million, which translates into more than $600,000 in additional tax revenue for the county.

Sales tax continues to be the big leader, with expected revenues projected at close to $2 million more than last year. Sales tax is the second largest source of revenue for the county at 21 percent.

Among the budget’s line items are funding for broadband expansion and the economic development strategic plan, as well as preparing for ongoing and increased costs in the areas of community health, education and workforce development training, to name a few.

In all, the county received requests for $7.4 million more than it was able to provide. If all those funding requests were to be granted, it would mean a 25.9 cent tax increase to county residents.

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Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland: Ticks

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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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New Granville Company Makes Game-Changer Construction Materials That Saves Trees

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— Information courtesy of Granville County Public Information Officer Terry Hobgood

A facility in Granville County that had been used to make cigarettes has new life making highly advanced building materials out of fast-growing perennial grass. That’s right: Grass.

Plantd Materials officially opened its new headquarters and production facility last week in the Knotts Grove Road building last occupied by Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, according to information from Granville County Public Information Officer Terry Hobgood.

City and county leaders, as well as the local Chamber of Commerce were on hand Friday, May 6, to officially welcome the new business.

Plantd is an advanced production technologies company that manufactures carbon-negative building materials using natural materials, like its proprietary perennial grass.

“In Granville County, we see an unparalleled opportunity to reshape the construction industry, build a credible climate change solution, and bridge this rural region into the 21st-century economy,” said Josh Dorfman, co-founder and CEO of Plantd. “Integrating into the economic and social fabric of this area is the foundation we will build upon to drive positive impact at the local, national, and global levels.”

“We couldn’t be happier that Plantd has decided to literally Grow with Granville,” said Granville County Board of Commissioners Vice-Chair Tim Karan. “A company like Plantd is such a great fit for Granville, melding our agricultural roots with a new forward-thinking production process for building materials is the perfect combination of tradition and innovation. We are thrilled that Plantd has decided to invest in Oxford and Granville County so soon after Santa Fe closed their doors.”

“When the Santa Fe Natural Tobacco decided to close its Oxford facility in 2022, Granville lost one of its anchor economic development engines,” said Granville County Economic Development Director Harry Mills. “Santa Fe was so important to Granville in providing contracts and employment for many local farmers and workers.  Plantd will provide a new opportunity for local farmers who will grow Plantd’s proprietary perennial grass, and this company will create many jobs to boost the local economy as they continue to grow. They have already made a concerted effort to hire local workers and we look forward to helping them in any way we can for years to come.”

Learn more at https://www.plantdmaterials.com.

NC DMV Notes Changes For Teen Drivers

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Parents with teen drivers, take note: there are some changes coming to the graduated driver licensing program, and the state’s Division of Motor Vehicles wants to make sure a trip to your local DMV office goes as smoothly as possible.

The General Assembly passed a bill that went into effect earlier this week which requires teen drivers to have their Level 1 learner permit for 6 months before they get their provisional license. Other requirements remain the same: drivers must be at least 16 years old, log 60 hours of driving time, pass a road test and show printed proof of insurance in the teen driver’s name.

This could lead to bottlenecks at the local DMV, as demand for road tests increases so teens can get provisional driver licenses.

“We ask for your patience as we work to accommodate the thousands of teen drivers that are suddenly eligible to take a road test and receive their Level 2 provisional license,” Goodwin said.

One reminder: road tests, which teen drivers must pass to achieve the Level 2 license, will not be scheduled after 4 p.m.

Customers who need to make an appointment for a road test or conduct DMV business as a walk-in have a new tool which will show the current average wait time at their local DMV office. Find it on the https://www.ncdot.gov/dmv/offices. Customers can now hover over the icon marking each driver license office and a box will pop up with the current walk-in wait time. The wait time is defined as the current average length of time from check-in until the customer is called to the workstation for service.

“I’m very excited about this new tool that will show customers the walk-in wait time at driver license offices so they can make an informed decision on which office to go to, or whether to try again another day,” said DMV Commissioner Wayne Goodwin. “This tool will be most useful in the afternoon when our 115 driver license offices are serving walk-ins only.”

During COVID-19 restrictions, the long-standing requirement that teen drivers have their permits for 12 months was temporarily shortened to 6 months; that requirement lapsed at the end of 2022. Furthermore, beginning Jan. 1 2024, the 6-month period will permanently extend to 9 months.

Another change to the graduated driver license process allows Level 2 permit holders to be able to drive one passenger under 21 who is not a family member, if they are being driven directly to or from school. This is in addition to the existing provision allowing one passenger under 21 that is a family member.

Schedule an appointment at https://skiptheline.ncdot.gov/

 

SportsTalk: Local Schools Making A Run In State Playoffs

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It’s an exciting time at Oxford Prep and Kerr Vance Academy.  Both schools have teams advancing through the state playoffs.

At Oxford Prep it’s Tommy Anstead’s softball team that is looking to make it to the third round of the state playoffs.   “We’ve never been as far as the third round,” Anstead said on Thursday’s SportsTalk on WIZS. On Tuesday Oxford Prep had a convincing 5-3 win over Union High School.  That school featured a pitcher with 196 strike outs this year.  When asked how you prepare for a pitcher with that type of talent Anstead said, “You hope they don’t have any,” referring to the strike outs. This is the school’s third time advancing to the second round and they must defeat Riverside Martin from Williamston Friday night to make it to round three.  Riverside Martin is ranked eleventh in the state.  That game is in Oxford and will be at 6pm Friday.

Meanwhile, Mike Joyner, Athletic Director at Kerr Vance Academy, will need to be in two places at once Friday night as both the baseball team and the girl’s soccer team will be playing.  The Spartan’s soccer team is ranked #8 in the state and escaped with a 1-0 win over Lee Christian earlier this week and will now face local rival Crossroads Christian.  That game is at 5pm Friday.  At 6pm the #1 seeded baseball team, which is coming off a first round bye, will take on North Hills Christian.  “We lost in the semi-finals last year and we felt we were in good shape to make a run this year,” Joyner said of the team.  “We are young with no seniors but we added two really good players,” Joyner added.  KVA will be at home throughout the playoffs with the championships coming up on May 19th and 20th.

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