WIZS Radio Local News Audio 04-06-23 Noon
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SportsTalk: Mize Leads The Fun In Fungo Baseball
Brad Mize, the son of the late Howard and Lisa Mize of Oxford and former student at J.F. Webb in Oxford, certainly has his hands full. He is an assistant baseball coach at Heritage High School in Wake Forest and the General Manager for Wake Forest’s Fungo Baseball team which will begin its season on May 27th. Fungo features college players from a variety of colleges including UNCW, UNCG, College of Charleston, Hofstra, Elon, Mt. Olive, Louisburg and more.
“Between June 2nd and July 28th we will play fifty games,” Mize said on Thursday’s SportsTalk. That’s a lot of baseball. The team plays in Flaherty Park in Wake Forest and Mize said it’s a great fun atmosphere and cheaper than seeing the Mudcats or the Bulls play. “Tickets are only $7 and kids under 12 get in free,” Mize said. Special events are scheduled throughout the season like Thirsty Thursday, Hometown Heroes honoring local police and fire departments and the Centennial Weekend June 23rd through June 25th celebrating 100 years of baseball in Wake Forest.
It’s not all about baseball for Mize as part of his job is helping players find housing for two months. “We are blessed to have local families that support us and take in players during the season,” Mize explained.
The first game for Fungo is an away game on May 27th.
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The Local Skinny! Granville License Plate Agency To Open
The N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles will open a new license plate agency on April 11 in Granville County. That’s the good news – but wait, there’s more!
The agency will be located at 120 Roxboro Rd. in Oxford, which is the same location as the previous office, according to information from NC Department of Transportation spokesperson John Brockwell.
Linda Jordon is the new owner/operator. The office will be open from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, except on state holidays.
Granville County residents have been without a license plate agency since November 2022.
The NCDMV oversees the 127 license plate agencies across the state, but the offices are actually run and managed by private businesses or local governments.
In addition to license plate renewals, the local agencies offer vehicle registration services and title transactions, replacement tags, handicap placards and duplicate registrations.
Services including property tax payments and registration renewals can also be completed online at www.MyNCDMV.gov.
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The Local Skinny! Reflecting On The Chamber Banquet
Commentary: There is more going on in this speech than just the business portion that’s on the surface. And while it’s about business and was offered in a business setting and in a business context and does in and of itself have deeper business significance than just what is on the service, is this message not also about life itself? Should each person everywhere not hear it? Listen in and decide for yourself.
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2023 Chamber board chair Bert Long, of HG Reynolds, spoke at the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce annual membership meeting and banquet on Thursday, March 30, 2023 and said each chamber year has a theme. He spent some time pondering to help come up with this year’s theme, naming 2023 “A Year of Collaboration.”
The idea is to propel the business community forward, work together or cooperate.
Long said, “In the current environment, working together can go a long way. We need conflict, but hear me out. We need healthy conflict. We must have conversation and spend time to understand each other, and we can’t learn and grow without it.”
“How,” he asked. “It starts by listening. Sometimes business leadership is looked to for answers, but there also needs to be respect. Once we listen, we must respond in a respectful manner. The tone is important.”
Rather than saying “Yes, but…” Long said, “What if we could say ‘yes and.’”
That could make a difference because as Long noted, everyone has a unique perspective but may need to put themselves in the other person’s shoes because that person has also had defining experiences and perspective as well.
We must work at it, he said, and celebrate the success of others.
Long concluded, “Take some time to connect. Explore how you can collaborate. It could be with someone in this very room.”
TownTalk: Happy Easter
WIZS Radio wishes everyone a Happy Easter!
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TownTalk: NARCAN The Subject Of Public Safety Committee Meeting
The Public Safety Committee of the City of Henderson met Wednesday to discuss several topics including planning for how to spend money coming the city’s way from the second wave of the national opioid settlement.
Sara Coffey chairs the committee, which includes Melissa Elliott, Lamont Noel and Jason Spriggs. They were joined by City Manager Terrell Blackmon and assistant manager Paylor Spruill to discuss possible uses for the money, which is expected to be about $166,000. The city of Henderson got more than $200,000 in the first wave of the opioid settlement.
The city is one on only a handful of municipalities to get an appropriation – the bulk of the $600 million of North Carolina’s second-wave allotment goes to counties – Blackmon said.
And the money is supposed to be spent on treatment for those with opioid addiction, he noted.
One form of treatment is administration of NARCAN, which reverses the overdose effect of opioids. It’s a nasal spray and is fairly simple to administer.
Perhaps some of the funds – which the city will receive over the course of time and not in a lump sum – could be used to purchase NARCAN and have it available for use by police officers, first responders and even in schools.
This approach would satisfy the requirement that the money be used in ways that help people affected by opioids. Spruill said in the meeting that an over-the-counter form will be available soon.
The medicine causes no harm if administered to someone who isn’t in an opioid crisis, but it can be life-saving if administered to someone who is overdosing.
Coffey said she would hope the money would be used to help prevent more opioid issues in the community; she said first responders and the hospital deal with overdoses every single day.
This topic is on the agenda for the April 10 City Council meeting.
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SportsTalk: Local AD’s Preparing For Playoffs
The life of an athletic director at any level can be busy. This time of year not only are there sporting activities, but there are proms, graduation and other end of school year events taking place to add to the load ADs face. Both Ray Noel at Vance County High School and George Hoyle Jr. at Thales Academy certainly have full plates.
Noel says the Vance County Vipers are about at the halfway point for baseball, softball and soccer. Playoffs for baseball and soccer will begin in the first week of May with soccer following in the second week of May. The baseball and softball teams are coming off wins against Granville Central and the girl’s soccer team, which is described as young by Noel, has now started to win some games with two conference victories under their belt.
The baseball team is down a player at the moment according to Noel. “Chris Jones is in California for an All-Star Football game,” Noel said. Jones, a star on the Viper’s football team, is also a big part of the baseball team as well. Noel also said the Isman Alston Jr., another Vipers football standout, has just signed with St. Augustine. He also plays on the baseball team.
Over at Thales Academy in Rolesville, Henderson’s George Hoyle Jr. is the athletic director, and he is as busy as Noel. He also has a young soccer team with only one senior and a tough non-conference schedule has now resulted in a couple of conference wins, with the team having won its last two games. His softball team is in the same position, young but improving with a 3-5 record. Varsity baseball is definitely on the upward track at Thales as they are now 6-3. Thales’ is set to be good for the foreseeable future as well. “Our middle school talent is ridiculous,” Hoyle said on Thursday’s SportsTalk. The school, which started in 2007, has shown tremendous growth as they are now a 3A school and could soon be a 4A.
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WIZS Radio Local News Audio 04-05-23 Noon
Click Play to Listen. On Air at 8am, 12pm, 5pm M-F
WIZS Radio ~ 100.1FM/1450AM
The Local Skinny! Home And Garden Show 04-05-23
On the Home and Garden Show with Vance Co. Cooperative Ext.
- Refrain from tilling soil if it is too wet.
- Too late for broadleaf weed control in lawns.
- Central piedmont Planting Guide is available from Cooperative Extension
- Strawberry planting
- When purchasing transplants look for dark green color, no signs of disease, plants not pot bound.
- Buy a new pair of chem resistant gloves
- Add compost to garden and raised beds
- Plant for pollinators. Aim to have blooming flowers all season long
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TownTalk: Kittrell Job Corps’ Positive Impact On Students
Kittrell Job Corps Center is a place where young adults can find their way – to education, support services, training and a career. Center Director Norman Turner said there are just a few criteria that applicants must satisfy to start their KJCC journey. A
One student, Ken’Dal “Della” McCants, is currently in the CNA program and said Kittrell Job Corps just “works” for her.
Turner, McCants and Outreach Career Transition Director Vernell Milon were guests on TownTalk to discuss all that KJCC has to offer.
Turner has been working at KJCC for about 16 years, and he said there are abourt 200 students currently enrolled in one of the many programs that Kittrell Job Corps offers – from getting a high school diploma to office administration, facilities management, culinary arts and security, just to name a few.
Like so many other programs, the COVID-19 pandemic created a wrinkle how KJCC operates. The school, which has two dorms for students to live on campus, also has programs for the non-traditional college student.
“COVID put a damper on our ability to recruit students,” Turner said, “but we’re back fully open and ready to roll,” he continued. The school can accommodate 350 students.
Milon and her team of a dozen counselors and eight career transition specialists consider the individual needs of the students they work with to make sure they are successful as they continue along the path to financial independence and gainful employment.
The programs at KJCC are totally free, and there are a good number of wraparound services like medical care, clothing allowances and the like to make sure students have proper attire for jobs and can get the medical attention they need.
Milon and her team of counselors spread the word throughout the community about what the Job Corps is, what it does and who it’s for.
“It’s not just for underserved or at-risk students,” Milon said; rather, it’s for anyone between the ages of 16-24 who wants to make a difference in their lives – and find a career that they enjoy.
Not everyone is meant to go to college, Milon said, but everyone can work. And she wants all her students to have jobs that pay at least $17/hour.
“We want them to be better off than when they first got here,” she said.
McCants, the CNA student, considers herself a good fit for the Job Corps program because the teachers give you the “time and space to learn” instead of trying to get through the curriculum and moving on to the next thing.
She said her teachers are very helpful and are helping her reach her goal of becoming a traveling nurse.
The Kittrell location is one of more than 120 Job Corps programs across the country. New students are enrolled every Tuesday and Turner said there are 10 more students starting their Job Corps journey this week.
“We’re wide open,” Turner said. “We’re open for business.
Want to learn more? Contact Milon at 252.438.9116 or visit
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