Cooperative Extension With Jamon Glover Balancing Family And Work, Pt. 4
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Vance Charter FFA Students Attend AgFest, Set Goals For Future
Members of Vance Charter School’s Future Farmers of America were among the more than 1,800 FFA and 4-H’ers who attended the 8th annual AgFest recently at the University of Mount Olive in Wayne County.
The club’s advisor, Kelly Dixon, said Vance Charter is one of only four charter schools in the state with an FFA chapter. Since its inception in 2019, Dixon said the local FFA has grown and will continue to add programs.
“I am excited for our future and proud of the progress we have made,“ Dixon said. “In the near future we will have students raising and showing livestock. We will have a running greenhouse and a great laboratory facility for our students to learn in.”
AgFest, a daylong event to celebrate and promote agriculture, is just one way for FFA chapters like the one at VCS to meet other FFA members from across the state, participate in activities and educational opportunities to learn about more about career paths in agriculture and related fields.
“My favorite aspect of FFA is … being able to learn new things about doing what I love while doing it with hands-on opportunities,” said Katelin Guerrant, a VCS 9th grader who attended AgFest. Guerrant and fellow FFA’er Haleigh Burnette spoke about their experience at AgFest.
Burnette, a senior at VCS, reflected on her time in FFA.
“FFA prepares kids for success, whether they travel the country in their corduroy jackets or never leave their high school shops.”
The event included music and line dancing, friendly games of corn hole, spike ball and chicken slinging BINGO. Lambs from UMO’s Kornegay Student Farm were a big hit with the crowd, as were horses from the Wilson County Mounted Search Team, Horseback Heroes and the N.C. Troopers Association Caisson Unit.
High school students had the chance to test their skills in archery, bull riding, log rolling, virtual welding, and on a zero-turn lawnmower course. Country music artist Drake White performed an afternoon concert, along with others who took the stage during the day.
“This by far has been our biggest and best AgFest to date,” said Dr. Sandy Maddox, dean of the School of Agriculture and Biological Sciences. “The purpose of this event is to introduce FFA members and advisors to what the University of Mount Olive has to offer academically and to what the agriculture industry has to offer (for) career opportunities.”
“Many of these students have never been on a university campus,” said Edward Olive, director of the Lois G. Britt Agribusiness Center. “Our UMO students in the School of Agriculture and Biological Sciences and other departments across campus enjoyed hosting these high school students and sharing what life is like at UMO.”
The University of Mount Olive is a private institution rooted in the liberal arts tradition with defining Christian values. The University is sponsored by the Convention of Original Free Will Baptists. For more information, visit www.umo.edu.
SportsTalk: Highland Games Coming To Oxford Saturday
Kilts and haggis and all things Scottish will descend on Oxford’s Central Children’s Home this Saturday for the Premier Highland Games. Buck Buchanan, a board member of the Central Children’s Home, Organizer of the games and Scottish Descendent is expecting a big turnout for the event. “Last year we raised $10,000 in our first year. This year we are hoping for $25,000,” Buchanan said. The money will all go to the Central Children’s Home. “We want to provide a beautiful place for the children,” added Buchanan, and the money raised at Saturday’s free event will help. While the event itself is free, there is a $20 fee for parking which also goes back to support the home.
The events will feature “large men and women” according to Buchanan. These large men and women will be hurling heavy objects including 56 pound weights, 16 pound burlap bags, 20 pound Scottish hammers, 21 and 28 pound metal blocks, 18 pound river stones and logs in a variety of competitions. All part of a Scottish tradition that goes back 700 years.
After the heavy objects are hurled you may need food, and there will be plenty of traditional Scottish food on hand from sausages and meat pies to haggis. Music will be provided by three pipe and drum bands to bring not only the sights but the sounds of Scotland to Oxford.
The event will take place 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Central Children’s Home in Oxford at 211 W. Antioch Dr.
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WIZS Radio Local News Audio 04-26-23 Noon
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The Local Skinny! COVID Has Not Gone Away
There aren’t as many people still following the CDC guidelines that call for mask-wearing in public, but there remain some for whom “COVID fatigue” has not affected.
Schools, hospitals, doctors’ offices and other places that once required temperature checks and masks before entering have loosened those protocols.
Dr. Tracei Ball, a spokesperson for NC Department of Health and Human Services, encourages everyone to stay current on COVID vaccinations to reduce the risk of contracting the disease.
As long as it’s around, people are susceptible, so it’s imperative to stay protected, Ball said.
Ball is chief medical officer for OnCall Mobile Medical and Wellness in the Charlotte Metro area, and she told Bill Harris on Wednesday’s segment of The Local Skinny! that even though COVID no longer steals the headlines and news broadcasts as it did over the past couple of years, it still poses a risk.
“We’re still seeing hospitalizations and deaths,” she said. “We need to stay abreast of what’s happening with COVID regardless of what’s happening in the headlines.”
The bivalent vaccine against COVID works, she said. “That’s going to give you the greatest protection against COVID right now,” Ball said.
And by the way, if the last vaccine you received was before September 2022, you’re due for a booster. And anyone 65 or older or who has a medical condition that puts you in a higher risk for infection is eligible for a booster if it’s been more than four months since your last one.
“If we all work together and do our part, we protect not only ourselves, but our loved ones as well,” Ball said. “We may have to deal with COVID for some time.”
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The Local Skinny! Home And Garden Show 04-26-23
On the Home and Garden Show with Vance Co. Cooperative Ext.
- Protect transplants from cutworms by placing a cardboard collar made from a empty paper towel roll around the stem of the transplant . You can make 4 collars from 1 paper towel roll.
- Tomato tip: Plant multiple varieties, including cherry and disease resistant hybrids.
- When planting transplants try to plant them on non windy days.
- Tomato tip: Provide consistent soil moisture through drip irrigation.
- When planting seed in conventional rows and we get a hard rain within two days of your planting use a leaf rake to lightly loosen the soil surface to get rid of crusty soil so seedlings can emerge through the top edge of soil.
- Tomato tip: Look for healthy transplants – stocky, deep green foliage, healthy roots.
- Don’t over water plants check soil media first if it is moist wait another to water your plants
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TownTalk: VGCC Concert Band To Perform Monday Night
Join the VGCC Community Band for its spring concert at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, May 1 at McGregor Hall. Director Brian “Doc” Miller says the 40-plus member band will perform in the style of a good, old-fashioned band concert. And if you look closely, you may see an unusual percussion instrument that Miller himself will play for one selection.
The audience will be invited to sing along with a “nice and brisk” rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner, the band will continue with the state song of North Carolina, “The Old North State.”
Other selections include an overture from a movie called “The Cowboys,” Miller said on TownTalk. The movie was a dud, but composer John Williams’s music has endured. “It’s a great piece of music,” Miller said.
More along the tradition of the high school band concerts of yore are “In A Chinese Temple Garden” and a waltz called “Song of Love” from the 1921 musical “Blossom Time.”
Miller also will lead the band in another of what he calls a classic American march – the National Emblem March by E.E. Bagley, who composed the music in 1906.
And stay tuned for the concert finale, a piece originally created for the organ and transcribed for the band by UNC’s band director back in the 1920’s and ‘30’s.
“It’s a real barn burner,” Miller said. “It’s a technical challenge but I think the audience will enjoy it.”
That seems like a lot of music to pack into one hour, but that’s the goal, Miller said, remembering advice given long ago to always leave the audience wanting more, not wishing it were already over.
Will there be Sousa?
As long as Miller has a say, that answer will always be a resounding and emphatic Yes!
“Nothing beats a good old-fashioned Sousa march,” he said.
But what about that unusual percussion instrument?
It’s a typewriter – an Underwood Model 5 typewriter, to be precise – and it’s from Miller’s personal collection.
Miller will yield the baton to Sam Morgan to perform with the band in its performance of Leroy Anderson’s classic “The Typewriter,” which he composed in the 1920’s.
Want to join in the fun and play with the VGCC Community Band? It’s open to all. Call 252.738.3371 to learn more.
WIZS Radio Local News Audio 04-25-23 Noon
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The Local Skinny! Maria Parham Unveils Oasis Room Art
The staff at Maria Parham Health have enjoyed the amenities of their Oasis room for about a year – the massage chairs, a TV, soothing music, beverages and snacks are just a few of the perks that filled the space.
The blank wall was a perfect candidate for some artwork, and thanks to high school junior and budding artist Abi Short, that wall now is the permanent home for a painting Short calls “Peace.”
Short, 16, is the daughter of MPH Cardiologist Dr. Sydney Short. She joined her parents, hospital staff and community leaders as her painting was unveiled Monday.
The idea for the Oasis room came about as hospital employees and health professionals everywhere were strained because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The hospital came up with the idea for a spot where staff could take a step away from the stress of their jobs for just a few minutes – a quick cup of coffee while listening to some music or a few minutes in a massage chair can do wonders during the work day.
MPH CEO Bert Beard told those assembled at the unveiling that the space is a place to recharge and relax. “We want to continue to do things that are going to enhance our workplace,” Beard said, because we know “that enhances the care we give to our patients.”
Cancer Center Director Kimberly Smith is on the hospital’s Awards and Resilience Committee and she said having a spot like the Oasis room helps reduce staff burnout – it’s a place where people can “come in and take a break and a breather,” she said.
Donna Young, MPH marketing director, said the hospital invited employees’ families to enter an art contest to find the perfect painting for the accent wall inside the Oasis room.
“We knew we wanted something really special,” Young said. “We got some wonderful entries…put it to a vote and Abi’s won.”
The young artist described her work as a reflection of memories of family vacations to the mountains.
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TownTalk: Remote Area Medical Returns To Henderson
For the second year, Duke Remote Area Medical is bringing a pop-up clinic to Henderson to provide free medical, dental and vision care.
RAM is partnering again with Vance Charter School, which is hosting the two-day clinic on Saturday, May 20 and Sunday, May 21. The school is located at 2090 Ross Mill Rd. The co-organizers for the clinic are Duke students Saajan Patel and Anvi Charvu, both of whom aspire to be physicians one day.
But that’s years away, and the undergraduates have teamed up with RAM to be able to make a difference now.
Last year’s clinic provided assistance to about 150 individuals, and this year the organizers hope that number doubles because additional optometrists and dentists have joined the team to see patients. The clinic operates on a first come, first served basis, but the services are provided right on the spot.
Charvu said she remembers one woman who was seen in the dental clinic last year. “She was so grateful” for the care she received, Charvu said. And the price is right, too.
“RAM does a great job of having great providers who make you comfortable while you’re there,” she added.
The patient parking lot will open around midnight on Friday, May 19. Clinic doors open at 6 a.m.
Once in the parking lot, additional information about the clinic will be provided. Neither insurance nor ID is required.
Because there is a high demand for dental and vision care, Charvu said, patients will elect to go to either the dental clinic or the vision clinic on a given day. But a client could get dental care on Saturday and then return on Sunday for vision care, she noted.
Those who need glasses can be fitted for them and actually get their glasses on the same day from the on-site lab. If bifocals are prescribed, they’ll need a little extra time and clients will get them in the mail.
Clients will get information about local providers who are willing to provide follow-up care, at no cost or at a reduced fee.
Local businesses, civic groups and other community partners are teaming up to provide food for the medical professionals who work in the clinic over the course of the weekend. Patel and Charvu said they appreciate the support the community continues to offer to allow the clinic to take place.
“All of these community partners have been such a help this year,” Charvu said. Local Rotary clubs, the Salvation Army and the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce all have contributed in one way or another to make sure the clinic is successful.
Services available at a RAM free clinic include dental cleanings, dental fillings, dental extractions, dental X-rays, eye exams, eye health screenings, eyeglass prescriptions, eyeglasses made on-site, women’s health exams and general medical exams.
In addition to the medical professionals who donate their time during the clinic, there are about 20 Duke students and 120 general support volunteers who work behind the scenes to make sure things run smoothly.
But other local volunteers are needed as well, Charva and Patel noted. If you’d like to help set up on Friday, May 19 and take down on Sunday, May 21, please call 865.579.1530 or visit www.ramusa.org. In addition, overnight parking staff to greet patients is also needed, and interpreters can volunteer to aid patients through the process, either in the parking lot or during clinic operations. Individuals do not need to work in the medical field to volunteer as general support.
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