Tag Archive for: #wizsnews

Duke Energy

Winter Weather: Forewarned Is Forearmed

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Meteorologists are watching a cold front march across the Midwest today, and Duke Energy officials are keeping a close eye on the weather forecast for the next couple of days. While nobody is predicting frozen precipitation here, things could get a little dicey as blustery winds and single-digit lows combine to make for extreme winter conditions.

Duke District Manager Tanya Evans said Thursday that high winds early Friday could create issues in the area, and utility crews stand at the ready to restore power if outages occur.

National Weather Service meteorologist Jonathan Blaze said an Arctic cold front will blast through the area Friday morning and temps will plunge as the day goes on.

The combination of the arctic air mass and the strong winds will result in very cold wind chills across the region from Friday afternoon through Saturday morning.

As winter weather approaches, Duke Energy suggests that residents prepare in advance for outages.

“While there is never a good time to be without power, we recognize that the possibility of outages over the holidays is particularly worrisome for the customers and communities we serve,” said Jason Hollifield, Carolinas storm director. “Our crews are prepared and will work as quickly and safely as possible to restore power when outages occur.”

High winds and saturated ground may lead to downed trees, limbs and power lines. These winds can also impede Duke Energy workers’ ability to assess storm damage and restore power, and any outages that occur early Friday could linger into the evening as high wind gusts are forecast throughout the day.

Duke’s 24-hour hotline is 800.559.3853.

Below is a list of suggestions to consider before, during and after a storm:

Before the storm

·       Create (or update) an emergency supply kit to save valuable time later. The kit should include everything an individual or family would need for at least two weeks, especially medicines, water, nonperishable foods and other supplies that might be hard to find after a storm hits.

·       Keep a portable radio or TV or a NOAA weather radio on hand to monitor weather forecasts and important information from state and local officials.

·       Charge cellphones, computers and other electronic devices in advance of storms to stay connected to important safety and response information. Consider purchasing portable chargers and make sure they are fully charged as well.

·       Maintain a plan to move family members – especially those with special needs – to a safe, alternative location in case an extended power outage occurs, or evacuation is required.

·       Pet owners should arrange to stay at evacuation shelters that accept pets; friends’ or family members’ homes; or pet-friendly hotels.

After the storm

·       Stay away from power lines that have fallen or are sagging. Consider all lines energized, as well as trees, limbs or anything in contact with lines.

·       If a power line falls across a car that you are in, stay in the car. If you MUST get out of the car due to a fire or other immediate life-threatening situation, do your best to jump clear of the car and land on both feet. Be sure that no part of your body is touching the car when your feet touch the ground.

Outage reporting

After a storm hits, restoring power as safely and quickly as possible is our top priority, while keeping our customers informed.

·       Customers who experience an outage during a storm can report it the following ways:

·       Visit duke-energy.com on a desktop computer or mobile device.

·       Use the Duke Energy mobile app – Download the Duke Energy App from a smartphone via Apple Store or Google Play.

·       Text OUT to 57801 (standard text and data charges may apply).

·       Call the automated outage-reporting system, at: 800.POWERON (800.769.3766).

·       Visit our interactive outage map to find up-to-date information on power outages, including the total number of outages systemwide and estimated times of restoration.

Understand how Duke Energy restores power

Our crews are ready to respond should outages occur. Learn more about the restoration process following damaging winds.

WIZS Radio Local News Audio 12-22-22 Noon

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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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Cooperative Extension With Jamon Glover: Wandering, Pt. 3

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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 Renames Street For Eddie Hicks

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It won’t quite be the same as having him there in person, but Melissa Elliott says she’ll be glad when she can look out her window at Gang Free, Inc. and see the street sign that proclaims the street nearby as “Eddie James Hicks Street.”

The Henderson City Council voted to rename E. Winder Street for the local hero who died in October.

Elliott’s Gang Free, Inc.’s location is in the community known as Flint Hill, where Hicks grew up.

“He had many ties to Winder Street and the surrounding area,” Elliott said on Thursday’s segment of The Local Skinny!

Newly elected council member Lamont Noel presented the request to the council, along with signatures on a neighborhood petition, and the matter easily was approved.

“Eddie’s heartbeat is in Flint Hill,” Elliott said. “It was an honor to be able to put this on the calendar so fast and to get it passed.”

Henderson Mayor Eddie Ellington told WIZS News that the street name change will “honor the memory of one of (our) own who had many ties as a young man to Winder Street and the surrounding area. We remember that legends never die, they live on in our hearts forever

Eddie did so many things in this community, and the word “no” was not in his vocabulary when it came to requests for assistance from others.

“He would always help out,” Elliott said, from taking food to a senior adult to coaching a child, to waiting while Elliott finished up work for the day – which often turned into evening.

“He would not leave me at the building by myself,” she recalled.

Gang Free, Inc. is having a celebration gala Thursday evening, and Hicks’s widow, Jackie, is scheduled to attend.

“I’m excited about honoring Eddie – he will be with us tonight in spirit. He celebrated life and I’m just grateful to have known Eddie…he just wanted to make his community better.”

And while a street sign can’t take his place, Elliott said reading Eddie James Hicks Street will motivate her to keep Hicks’s memory alive by trying to make the community better.

 

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The Local Skinny! Gang Free Inc. Year In Review

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In the nonprofit world, so much emphasis is placed on the good that organizations do throughout the year. And that certainly is the case for Gang Free, Inc.

From the thousands and thousands of pounds of food that have been distributed to more than 34,000 people in need, founder and president Melissa Elliott is not short on praise for what the volunteers and so many community agencies have done to help the community in 2022.

But sometimes, you just need to stop for a second and celebrate successes, large and small.

That’s just what Elliott and others plan to do Thursday evening during the second annual gala event – celebrate accomplishments.

“It has been a very challenging year, trying to find our normalcy,” Elliott told John C. Rose on Thursday’s The Local Skinny! “We never stopped throughout the pandemic, (so) it’s time to wind down and celebrate accomplishments.”

The nonprofit world also is keen on quantifying efforts, and Elliott said she is pleased to see the numbers of those that Gang Free, Inc. has “effectively impacted -it’s quite overwhelming and I’m totally grateful to God,” she said.

Among those expected to attend the gala are elected officials – Elliott herself is a Henderson City Council member – as well as volunteers, community health workers and representatives of various community-based agencies that Gang Free partners with.

“We did things that had never been done before,” she said, referring to various minority-run entities that connected with Gang Free to provide services ranging from COVID-19 vaccine education to establishing a food pantry in collaboration with Vance County Schools.

Then there are the 267 toys given out to children in kindergarten-fifth grade, assistance to 165 families experiencing homelessness and fighting food insecurity throughout the area.

Elliott is quick to point out that Gang Free does not do this in isolation; rather, she praised the community for working together.

“We share and we do this work together – that’s what makes us such a wonderful community,” she said. “There is great connection in our community.” Working together relieves one agency of the whole responsibility to provide for those in need, she added.

Nonprofit leaders like Elliott may take a moment to reflect on the year’s work, but that moment is fleeting and, next thing you know, plans for the new year are taking shape.

There are plans for a new transitional housing and remodeling the homeless shelter, just to name a couple of projects for 2023.

Elliott and her volunteers have plenty of work to do, but tonight, they’re going to revel in what got done in 2022.

“I’ve seen God work miracles this whole year and I look forward to more,” she said.

Want to help? Phone 252.598.0067 or learn more  www.gangfreeinc.org.

 

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TownTalk: Police Chief Barrow Talks Shop With A Cop

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It may have been cold – it IS December, after all, but there’s a pretty good chance that area law enforcement officers and 47 youngsters in the community felt nice and warm on the inside during the annual “Shop with a Cop” event this week.

Henderson Police Chief Marcus Barrow said individuals representing the police department, sheriff’s office, fire department, highway patrol, animal control and park rangers got to shop with children at Walmart in Henderson.

“We got to see some kids that we interacted with throughout the year,” Barrow said on Thursday’s TownTalk. One child had a special request to shop with an officer who was working a shift, but Barrow said they were able to make some adjustments in the schedule to grant the child’s request.

“He was able to shop with that kid – it was heartwarming,” Barrow said.

In all, the bill came to about $8,000, and that’s after Walmart generously knocked a little bit off the final tally, Barrow said.

In years past, law enforcement agencies have worked in partnership with the local Chamber of Commerce to raise money for the spending spree, but it just didn’t happen this year. Chalk it up to the residual pandemic restrictions and the strain on law enforcement agencies to provide adequate staffing.

“We look forward to partnering with them next year,” Barrow said.

In the meantime, it was important to keep the event alive, so that’s what they did.

It’s a time to let children be children and roam up and down the toy aisles. But it was sobering for Barrow to see some of the older kids get everyday items like hygiene products.

“We want them to think of themselves,” Barrow said. The adults usually steer the kids to clothing items, including coats, during the shopping spree.

But many of the children also wanted to pick out gifts for their parents or other family members, too.

Sometimes, the gift is in the giving, not in the receiving.

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TownTalk: Protecting Animals In Bitter Cold

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Whether you’re keeping up with weather forecasts as you stay warm indoors or whether you have to be out in the elements, here’s the main takeaway: it’s going to be bone-chilling cold for the next few days.

And while we humans can add an extra layer of clothing or stay bundled up by the fire if we’re lucky, Animal Services Chief Frankie Nobles reminds pet owners to be mindful of the needs of our furry friends, too.

If you have a pet outside, bring it inside the house or into a garage – anything you can do to block the wind, Nobles told John C. Rose on Thursday’s TownTalk.

“When that wind gets to blowing, it gets colder and colder” for pets who must remain outside. If possible, move doghouses to a more sheltered spot in the yard or throw an extra blanket on top of the doghouse for an extra layer of protection, leaving just enough of an opening for the dog to get in and out.

Use wood shavings inside dog houses instead of blankets, which can get wet and make matters worse.

If you use heat lamps, make sure they’re not too close to things that can catch fire, he warned.

In addition to these measures, it’s equally important to make sure outside animals have access to fresh water.

“Water’s gonna freeze, that’s a guarantee,” Nobles said. Clearing out water bowls is essential when temps dip below freezing.

And they need to have plenty of food, too. “Feed helps produce energy, which produces heat,”

He said. This goes for outside pets and livestock, too.

Some horse owners put blankets on their horses, which helps them stay warm.  Horses can be seen in pastures wearing blankets, Nobles said, “but you’ll also see a bunch of hay. Their body has to break that hay down (and) that’s what keeps them warm,” he said.

 

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Granville Residents Safely Dispose Of 31,000 Pounds Of Recyclables, Hazardous Materials During November Clean-Out Event

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The final tally is in and Granville County residents brought more than 16 tons of recyclable materials to the November 19 recycling and hazardous waste disposal event.

Teresa Baker, recycling and sustainability coordinator for Granville County and Granville County Public Schools, said that by the end of the event, more than 31,000 pounds of everything from paint to paper made its way to proper disposal at the Granville County Convention and Expo Center on Highway 15 just south of Oxford.

Here’s a breakdown from the Fall Clean-out event:

  • Veolia Environmental Services – 7,340 pounds of paint included in a total of 13,400 pounds of hazardous household waste
  • Department of Agriculture Pesticides Division – 1,110 pounds of pesticides
  • Green for Life (GFL) – 2,700 pounds of scrap metal
  • Shred Ace – 7,820 pounds of shredded paper
  • Granville County Sheriff’s Office – 154.3 pounds of medications and medical waste
  • METech Recycling – 4,334 pounds of electronics
  • Interstate Batteries – 817 pounds of various batteries
  • RMR Book Recycling – 860 pounds

In addition, residents dropped off donations for the Granville Humane Society, including 6 large bags of towels, sheets, toys, leashes and collars and 40 pounds of kibble, 16 cans of wet pet food, medical supplies and one crate.

Learn more about the county’s Environmental Services at  https://www.granvillecounty.org/residents/solidwaste/.

Warren County’s CERT Class Set For Jan. 28-29

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The Warren County Community Emergency Response Team will have a class to prepare individuals to help during emergencies, natural disasters and other events.

The class will be held Jan. 28 and 29. There is no charge to take the class, which will take place at the Warren County Emergency Services Headquarters, 890 US Hwy 158 Bypass in Warrenton.

CERT members receive training in the following areas to help them care for themselves, their families, and their communities: disaster planning, damage assessment, emergency operations center assistance, team organization, disaster psychology, and disaster simulation.

Volunteers in the CERT program learn how to prepare for natural and man-made disasters that may affect their community. The program provides a consistent approach to disaster preparedness training and organization that first responders can rely on during a disaster.

Individuals 18 years and older who live in Warren County may become a certified CERT member by meeting and maintaining the following requirements:

  • Obtain FEMA’s Incident Command System (ICS) online training certificates after completing the 21-hour CERT training series;
  • Take the American Heart Association’s CPR class;
  • Volunteer for at least 16 hours a year in emergency management, training, outreach and community involvement programs;
  • Must be of good moral character and adhere to the Warren County Emergency management beliefs and ethics; and
  • Submit a signed Code of Conduct form.

The classes will be held from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. Class size is limited and the deadline to apply is Jan. 23, 2023. Students must complete all 20 hours of the course to receive a certification of completion. Contact Chris Tucker or Lewis Mustian to learn more. Tucker can be reached at

252.257.1191 or by email at  christucker@warrencountync.gov; Mustian’s phone number is 804.512.3045 and email is lmustian@verizon.net.