WIZS Radio Local News Audio 08-09-22 Noon
Click Play to Listen. On Air at 8am, 12pm, 5pm M-F
WIZS Radio ~ 100.1FM/1450AM
Tag Archive for: #wizsnews
Cooperative Extension With Wayne Roland: Mosquito Control
Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.
Click Play!
Juror Shortage Prompts More Summonses In More Citizens’ Mailboxes
COVID-19 has been blamed for everything from global supply chain problems to schoolchildren’s lagging academic achievement. And Vance Clerk of Superior Court Henry Gupton said the current lack of jurors for local trials could also be blamed on the virus.
Gupton told WIZS News Friday that for the next five Mondays, the juror pool will bump up to 150 people receiving notices to show up to court for possible jury selection.
“We didn’t have enough Monday a week ago,” Gupton said. Of the 106 summonses that were sent, only 38 people showed up. Some of that number, he said, were excused for medical or other reasons of hardship. “But of those not excused, 38 showed up.”
The summons is not something to ignore, and Gupton said resident Superior Court Judge Cynthia Sturges could step up the process to find out why folks aren’t showing up.
“She’s contemplating how she wants to handle it,” Gupton said, adding that a decision hasn’t been reached yet.
A capital murder trial is slated to begin in Vance County on Sept. 26, but there has to be a sufficient jury pool from which to select a jury. Gupton said the jury selection process could be extended to the first two weeks in September.
“How are we going to administer justice if we don’t have jurors to do it?” Gupton asked.
Sheriff’s deputies could come knocking on your door to find out why you didn’t comply with the summons to appear for jury selection.
“We’ve got to get jurors, there’s no question about that, we’ve got to get jurors,” he said.
CLICK PLAY!
City Council To Consider Minimum Housing Code At Aug. 8 Meeting
The Henderson City Council will hold its regular monthly meeting Monday Aug. 8 at 6 p.m. in City Hall Council Chambers, 134 Rose Ave.
Council members are scheduled to review a draft of the proposed minimum housing standards, according to the agenda. The draft still needs to be finalized and approved by the council.
There was a special called meeting in late July to discuss various proposed changes and edits to the existing document, which has not yet been voted on.
Anyone who wishes to address the council must now do in person or by submitting a question or comment by 3 p.m. on the day of the meeting – questions and comments are no longer being accepted via the online platform Zoom. via Zoom.
Residents may join the meeting via Zoom at:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82231380308?pwd=OVlzUUowbmxWV1p6QVdnYS9BY0p6Zz09
Meeting ID: 822 3138 0308
Passcode: 639894
Brame Asks Commissioners For Study To Build New Jail
Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame continues to work to correct deficiencies at the local jail, but he said the fact of the matter is this: the county needs a new detention center.
Brame addressed the Vance County Commissioners at their Aug. 1 meeting, during which the most recent jail inspection report was presented for review. And he asked commissioners to provide funding for a study to build a new detention center.
“We are in a facility that has long outgrown its needs,” Brame told WIZS News Friday. “Our detention center is antiquated and outdated,” he said, and noted safety issues – for staff and detainees alike – as a result of the condition of the physical plant.
The most recent inspection was conducted on June 14, and commissioners received the report in the August agenda packet.
The 9-page report included everything from non-functioning locks on food passage doors to dirty showers, but also detailed deficiencies in staff trainings and supervision.
Brame has responded to many of the items in a correction plan that was submitted to state jail inspectors and corrections will be verified during the next inspection.
But the overall physical condition of the jai, located at 516 Breckenridge St., looms larger for Brame. “Over 31 years ago the county decided to renovate the detention
center,” he said in a statement to WIZS. He said the renovations do not meet current standards and needs and he maintains that the jail “is unsafe for both staff and detainees.”
Franklin County Has One Confirmed Monkeypox Case
Courtesy of James F. Hicks, III, Franklin County public information officer
On Friday August 5, the Franklin County Health Department was contacted by the North Carolina Department of Public Health to report the first confirmed case of monkeypox in Franklin County. The patient is currently isolating at home and Franklin County Health Department staff are working with the patient on contact tracing. No additional information about this resident will be disclosed.
As of Thursday, August 4, there were 86 confirmed cases of monkeypox in North Carolina. Franklin County will continue to work with state and other local health departments to ensure we do all we can to contain the spread of this virus in Franklin County.
Franklin County Health Director, Scott LaVigne, stated that “With monkeypox cases continuing to rise across North Carolina, we anticipated a case would eventually be detected inside Franklin County. The good news is that this is not a new virus, and there are already treatments for those with the virus, and approved vaccines for close-contacts (which we did not have for COVID-19 when it began). Having available treatments and vaccines on ‘day-one’ can help curtail the spread of this virus in the early stages of this outbreak in Franklin County.”
Testing for those experiencing symptoms of monkeypox can be provided by your Healthcare provider and by most local health departments in North Carolina, including the Franklin County Health Department. For Franklin County residents with symptoms of Monkeypox, please contact your healthcare provider directly. If you do not have a healthcare provider, please contact the Franklin County Health Department at 919-496-2533 to screen for a test.
Vaccines are available to protect against monkeypox or to reduce disease severity. Only those exposed to someone with Monkeypox in the past two weeks, or those in certain eligible groups can receive the vaccine at this time.
For complete up-to-date information on monkeypox in North Carolina, including a: description of symptoms; where to go for testing & treatment; and who is eligible for vaccines, please use this link: https://epi.dph.ncdhhs.gov/cd/diseases/monkeypox.html
SportsTalk: Hunt Looks For Improvements In Warren Co. Football
Northampton County may be the kings of the Tar Roanoke Conference in football, but when all is said and done, Warren County may be knocking on the door of the castle. Victor Hunt, Warren County Head Coach and Athletic Director, looks to have the Eagles poised to take their game to the next level this season. “We were very young last year. We started five freshmen and we are very young this year but we have eight seniors,” Hunt said of the makeup of the Eagles this season.
Last season Warren County was 4-6, but with a late season surge from his defense, the Eagles made it to the second round of the state playoffs and that was without their starting quarterback and punter, Nigel Williams who missed all of last season with a torn ACL. Williams is back and is competing for the starting job at quarterback, the defense is more experienced, and Hunt says the secondary is a strength of the Eagles this season. He also has three returning starters to his offensive line and a solid group of young men at running back and receiver who will also be factors in the success of Warren County this year.
Hunt will be starting his 4th year at Warren County and is still learning the ropes of the Tar Roanoke Conference which Warren Co. joined last season. Hunt says that during the first season in the conference Warren County was a methodical, ball control team because of their youth, but even though they are a team that is still young, they may add a few wrinkles this year since the team gained a lot of experience in 2021. He’s hoping that when the first game of the season kicks off on August 19th against the Vance Co. Vipers he will have about 40 kids on the roster.
While he remains optimistic about the Eagles going into the 2022 season he also is realistic. “We have the potential to be a champion. We also have the potential to be middle of the road.” That road begins in just a little over two weeks.
You can catch the Vance Co./Warren Co. game Friday night, August 19th here on WIZS for the kick-off of Vance Co. Friday Night Football.
CLICK PLAY!
South Granville Senior Center Has New Program Coordinator
The South Granville Senior Services center has a new program director on site at the Creedmoor Community Center.
Christy Southall brings almost two decades of experience to the job. She replaces Cheryl Carrier, who retired in July.
Southall has worked at Franklin County’s Department of Aging Services and Nash County’s Department of Senior Services, according to a press release from Granville County Public Information Officer Terry Hobgood. She most recently served as the Senior Services Program Supervisor for the Franklinton Senior Center, and before that filled roles as the Senior Center Coordinator for Nash County and Senior Center Activity Specialist for the Louisburg Senior Center. She is a native of Nash County and spent her childhood in Rocky Mount. Southall lives in Franklinton with her two daughters Halie and Michelle.
“We are thrilled to have Christy join us as program coordinator for the South Granville Senior Center,” said Senior Services Director Kathy May. “Our seniors in southern Granville County should know that they are in good hands with someone as experienced as Christy joining our team,” May said.
“The South Granville Senior Center is such a great asset for our residents by serving the southern Granville County population without always expecting our seniors to make a trip to Oxford,” May added.
The South Granville Senior Center is located within the Creedmoor Community Center, 114 Douglas Dr. in Creedmoor. The center is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
To learn more, visit https://www.granvillecounty.org/residents/senior-services/
TownTalk: NC Hospitals During The Civil War
Wade Sokolosky has done a lot of research on the Civil War. He’s from Beaufort in Carteret County, so he’s familiar with nearby Fort Macon. In fact, his great-great uncle was an artilleryman who was captured at Fort Macon and later lost his life in the Battle of Goldsboro.
And when Sokolosky was in the U.S. Army, stationed at Fort Campbell, KY, he said he and a soldier friend visited the old battlefields that dot middle Tennessee, which further piqued his interest. So much so, that his master’s thesis was on Gen. Sherman’s Logistics, especially the Carolina Campaign and the March to the Sea.
All that research and searching through historical documents led him to be curious about hospitals that had been set up to treat and house soldiers. But he couldn’t find a single book about North Carolina Confederate hospitals.
In the last few years, Sokolosky, a retired Army colonel, has been working to change that. His first book, “North Carolina’s Confederate Hospitals 1861-1863” has been out since mid-July. But it will be Volume 2 that will have information about Vance County’s own Confederate Hospital, which was set up at Kittrell Springs.
Sokolosky spoke with Bill Harris and Mark Pace on Thursday’s tri-weekly history segment of TownTalk. He said that during the time he’s spent researching, he’s run across a lot of interesting tidbits of information about the hospitals, so he decided to organize the information he’d uncovered into a study of the Confederate hospitals and why and how they came to be.
The Kittrell Springs Hotel became the site for the Vance County hospital, known as General Hospital Number One.
“When it comes to hospitals, North Carolina didn’t have as many as Virginia,” Sokolosky said, but the state was in the top three or four. He said he hopes his books will help “fill a gap in our study of our state’s role in the war.”
He visited the National Archives in Washington, DC during his research phase for the first volume, but the COVID-19 pandemic shut down hopes for a subsequent trip.
North Carolina only had two hospitals at the time of the Civil War – the marine hospital on Portsmouth Island was for seamen, not locals. And “Dix Hill” was the asylum in Raleigh.
Residents received medical care from physicians who made house calls, and only when the family remedies didn’t work.
The whole notion of hospitals to house wounded and sick soldiers during the Civil War was a novel concept. But Sokolosky said that it was during Gen. Grant’s Overlands Campaign that countless sick, wounded and recovering soldiers had to be evacuated away from battlefield hospitals to make room for new casualties.
“They were evacuated to Raleigh and (soon), they’re bustin’ at the seams,” he said. “All those Confederate wounded are coming South.” Thanks to the proximity of the Raleigh & Gaston Railroad, Kittrell seemed a fitting spot to transform a hotel into a hospital and soldiers didn’t have to go all the way to Raleigh.
The government paid rent to business owners or schools for use of the facilities for hospital space. Peace College and Wake Forest College also became sites for hospitals.
And the Confederacy maintained detailed records of what happened in those hospitals – who was treated, who died, which surgeons worked where. Sadly, most of those medical department records were destroyed by fire where they were kept in Richmond.
So Sokolosky has pieced together information by delving into the service records of individual surgeons.
He has found letters and other documents during his research, adding that when he’s able to connect the dots through his research, it’s very satisfying.
“I enjoy the research, especially when the dots come together.”
CLICK PLAY!
The Local Skinny! Immunizations For Children Returning To School
-information courtesy of N.C. Department of Health and Human Services
As children across North Carolina head back to school this month, the N.C. Dept. of Health and Human Services reminds families that vaccinations are an important part of back-to-school success and overall health and well-being.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recognizes August as National Immunization Awareness Month to highlight the importance of getting recommended vaccines throughout your life.
Whether children are homeschooled or attend a public, private, charter or religious school, state laws require they stay up-to-date for certain vaccinations based on their age, as recommended by the CDC.
Gov.Roy Cooper also proclaimed August as Immunization Awareness Month in North Carolina. Alongside the proclamation, the NCDHHS is partnering with health care providers and stakeholders in a statewide awareness campaign to help ensure school-age children are protected from vaccine-preventable diseases.
“Following CDC recommendations to control the spread of all vaccine-preventable diseases is an essential piece of both child and family well-being,” said Dr. Zack Moore, state epidemiologist. “NCDHHS is helping health care providers, parents and guardians take this essential step to protect children’s health in school and at home.”
Vaccine-preventable diseases, such as chicken pox, meningitis, measles, pertussis (whooping cough) and others are still seen across North Carolina. Keeping children up to date on vaccinations is the best way to keep them healthy and reduce unnecessary absences from school.
Children who are uninsured can still be vaccinated at low or no cost through the Vaccines for Children program which offers free vaccines to children through 19 years of age. “Vaccines are one of the most cost-effective and successful means available for preventing disease and death,” said Steven Gunn and Karin Szymanski, co-chairs of North Carolina Immunization Coalition.
“They help protect vaccinated individuals and our entire community by reducing and preventing the spread of infectious diseases.” Teens also face unique risks related to communicable diseases. “As children move into their preteen and teen years, they become more susceptible to certain diseases, making it especially important to stay current with immunizations. At the same time, preteens and teens tend to have fewer visits to their doctor’s office, increasing the chance that they are not up to date,” said Dr. Dimitrios Hondros, president of the N.C. Academy of Family Physicians. “This decrease in immunizations accelerated among adolescents during the pandemic, when stay-at-home orders went into effect.”
“You can use any health care visit, including for sports or camp physicals, school health assessments, checkups and sick visits to receive vaccines,” said Dr. Christoph Diasio, FAAP president of the N.C. Pediatric Society. “Talk with your pediatrician or health care professional to make sure your kids are protected against vaccine preventable diseases.”
NCDHHS encourages parents to talk with their child’s healthcare provider about recommended vaccinations. During that same visit, parents can talk with their physician about the importance of the COVID-19 vaccine for their children ages 6 months and older. Many pediatricians and family practitioners will provide the COVID-19 vaccine for all eligible family members, as well as teens, during that same visit.
Visit MySpot.nc.gov for more information about COVID-19 vaccines.
The CDC has more information and resources for parents and guardians, including a list of all vaccines required for school attendance from kindergarten through high school.
Find out more at immunize.nc.gov/family
CLICK PLAY!