WIZS Radio Local News Audio 05-09-22 Noon
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‘Project Give It A Shot’ Works To Educate, Improve Vaccination Rates
Project Give It A Shot kicked off in Vance County on Thursday as a way to educate people about the benefits of being vaccinated against COVID-19.
The project is not another spinoff from state or federal programs; rather, it’s more of a grass-roots effort from a group of high school and college students who are on a mission to help medically underserved areas try to reach that goal of achieving herd immunity.
Their first stop was at the Henderson office of Granville-Vance Public Health. Three volunteers stationed themselves in the clinic lobby for several hours in hopes of informing clients about the science behind the vaccines and the importance of being vaccinated.
Aanya Sachdeva, a senior at Cary Academy, and Rishi Desni, soon-to-be-graduate of ECU, were joined by local high school senior Justin Gregory. Gregory is set to graduate from Vance County Early College in a few weeks. He heard about the project and reached out to become a volunteer.
“It will allow me to see what it’d be like to work in the area of public health,” Gregory said of becoming a volunteer. He said there are others he knows who may be interested in being trained, too.
From left, Aanya Sachdeva, Rishi Desni and Justin Gregory
What began with volunteers mostly in the Wake County area has branched out in sort of a “phase 2” plan, which means the group will fan out into more rural counties like Vance.
Sachdeva told WIZS News Thursday that she and other volunteers are available to answer questions and to talk about the vaccine to help others gain understanding.
“We want to make it as easy as possible,” she said, for someone to get the vaccine. Sometimes, that means eliminating barriers.
For people without a way to get to a vaccination clinic, Sachdeva said the volunteers have arranged Uber rides. In Vance County, it could mean making an appointment with KARTS. For others who are uncertain about the safety of the vaccines, volunteers can take the time to try to explain in greater detail about how messenger RNA vaccines work. Their information is available in Spanish, also.
Desni, the ECU senior, said sometimes all it takes is patience.
“It’s not like it’s a one, two, three, you’re done” process, he said. As one of the project volunteers, he said taking the time with those who have questions or doubts is a key first step.
Desni said he will continue working as a volunteer after he graduates and hopes to raise awareness and get more shots in arms in counties including Wilson, Wayne and Edgecombe – all closer to him in the Greenville area. Volunteers will continue their work in Vance and spread out into Granville, Warren and Franklin as well.
According to DHHS COVID-19 dashboard data, Vance County has a 57 percent vaccination rate – well below the 70 percent herd immunity goal and below the overall state rate of 62 percent. The more urban counties of Wake, Durham and Orange all enjoy vaccination rates higher than 70 percent, so that’s one reason the Give It A Shot project shifted focus to counties outside the Triangle area.
At first, demand for vaccine exceeded supply. But that has shifted and now the challenge is not availability of the vaccine but having those unvaccinated individuals gaining access to clinics that have plenty of vaccines.
Some people who have interacted with Project Give It A Shot have said they didn’t know how to register to get a vaccine; others said they needed help finding a location. The support from the project volunteers has resulted in 945 vaccinated people, according to its website. And they’re not finished yet.
“Getting the remainder of our population to agree to getting the vaccine will require innovative thinking and building a sense of trust with a world of misinformation. That’s where we come in,” according to a written statement from Project Give It A Shot.
Want to learn more? Visit www.projectgiveitashot.com.
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Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland: Planting Vegetable Seeds
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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Area Churches Participate In Read-Aloud Bible Project With Local Ties
Members from area churches participated in an activity earlier this week during which they read parts of the Bible aloud – a simple act with profound effects. And although the idea didn’t originate here, there are definitely ties to Vance County.
Lois Murphy, a member of First Baptist Church in Henderson, has helped organize this effort for the past few years – at least six, she said in a telephone interview Friday.
Murphy said nine churches in the Henderson area participated on Wednesday, May 4, but she would be very happy to have more join in. “We try to add some each year,” she explained. Island Creek Baptist Church joined for the first time and were given Lamentations and part of Hosea to read, according to Pastor Johnny Yount.
Each church is assigned a different section of the Bible to read aloud, Murphy said. Her church was assigned Genesis and Exodus, the first two books of the Bible. She and a partner began the day at 8 a.m. and read, taking turns, for 15 minutes until their hour was up. Then two different readers came in and continued until the two books were completed.
One church began at 6 a.m. and continued on until late in the afternoon, she said. Although they didn’t read the entire Bible in one day, Murphy said past participants have said the experience was meaningful.
“We feel that the word of God is very powerful,” she said, “and if we read it to Him, He will listen.”
One church reported that sickness among some participants prevented them from completing their entire reading assignment, so they saved the parts that had not been read and the children and youth finished the readings when they met. “I think that is just marvelous,” Murphy said.
The read-aloud project is intentionally held on the day before the National Day of Prayer, which was observed on Thursday, May 5 this year.
“We would also like to include other towns or other areas,” Murphy said, “because this is something that we don’t care to keep to ourselves.”
Murphy said she is passionate about this project, which she learned about a number of years ago from someone who was friends with the Rocky Mount woman who inspired the project.
And here’s where the local connection comes in: In January 1982, Janice Gravely successfully landed a private plane in a field in northern Vance County. But she wasn’t the pilot – her husband was piloting the plane and suffered a heart attack mid-flight. Gravely was injured, but she was able to crawl to a nearby home to get help.
Gravely wrote a book about this life-altering event which became the catalyst for the project to read the Bible aloud. Gravely died in 2020 and her daughter is continuing her mother’s efforts, Murphy said.
“She said that God spoke to her and asked her to start a day when people would read the Bible aloud,” Murphy said. Gravely’s obituary stated that she created the project as a way to declare the importance of the Bible in our nation’s life.
She died in December 2020 at the age of 99.
Gravely’s book is titled “Won’t Somebody Help Me!” She would have celebrated her 101st birthday Monday, May 9.
Interested in participating in next year’s event? Contact Murphy at 252.432.0681.
‘Operation Fan Heat Relief’ Provides Fans To Eligible Elderly, Disabled
-Information courtesy of N.C. Dept. of Health and Human Services
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Aging and Adult Services is partnering with the N.C. Area Agencies on Aging and local service providers to distribute fans to eligible recipients through Operation Fan Heat Relief.
People over the age of 60, as well as adults with disabilities, are eligible to sign up for assistance now through the end of October at local aging agencies across the state, according to information from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
Residents in Vance, Granville, Warren, Person and Franklin counties can contact the Kerr Tar Regional COG, 1724 Graham Ave., Henderson at 252.436.2040 or visit their website https://www.kerrtarcog.org/
Since 1986, the relief program has purchased fans for older adults and adults with disabilities, providing them with a more comfortable living environment and reducing heat-related illnesses.
The program is made possible by donations from Duke Energy Carolinas, Duke Energy Progress, Dominion Resources and Valassis, and allows regional area agencies on aging and local provider agencies to purchase fans for eligible individuals. Local provider agencies can also purchase a limited number of air conditioners based on a person’s specific health conditions.
Last year, DAAS received $85,500 in donations, allowing for the distribution of 3,240 fans and 26 air conditioners.
As individuals age and develop chronic medical conditions, they are less likely to sense and respond to changes in temperature, and they may also be taking medications that can worsen the impact of extreme heat. Operation Fan Heat Relief helps vulnerable adults at risk for heat-related illnesses stay safe during the summer.
In addition to applying for fans, people ages 60 and older, as well as adults with disabilities, can take the following steps during high temperatures:
- Increase fluid intake
- Spend time in cool or air-conditioned environments regularly
- Reduce strenuous activity during the afternoon
- Speak with their physician before summer about how to stay safe while taking medication that can affect the body’s ability to cool itself (e.g., high blood pressure medications)
For more details, individuals may contact their area agency on aging or the Division of Aging and Adult Services’ housing program consultant at 919.855.3419.
More information about Operation Fan Heat Relief, including tips on preparing for extreme heat and a list of local agencies distributing fans, is available at www.ncdhhs.gov/operation-fan-and-heat-relief.
Warren Co. Schools Gets $24M Slice Of Lottery-Funded Pie For Capital Improvements
-Information courtesy of the N.C. Dept. of Public Instruction
Warren County Schools is getting $24 million from the state that can be used for school construction, renovation or other capital improvements.
More than two dozen school districts across North Carolina will share the nearly $400 million in new state lottery-funded grant awards, according to information from the N.C. Dept. of Public Instruction.
The grants, awarded under the Needs-Based Public School Capital Fund, represent the largest annual allocation under the program, created by the General Assembly in 2017 from state lottery revenues. The grants are in addition to the state’s lottery-supported Public School Building Capital Fund, from which all districts receive an allocation each year.
N.C Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt said the needs-based grants are a key support for districts where local tax resources fall short of needs for modernizing or replacing aging school facilities.
“Just as all students in North Carolina need an excellent teacher in every classroom,” she said, “students and teachers need high-quality schools in good repair that help support learning. These needs-based grants are an important boost for many districts and communities – and most importantly, their students.”
Mark Michalko, executive director of the N.C. Education Lottery, said support for school construction has been part of the lottery since it started in 2006.
“Our state Department of Public Instruction, working in partnership with counties all across our state, is putting this money to work for a great cause. We look forward to seeing all these new schools opening soon,” Michalko aIS.
Robert Taylor, deputy state superintendent for School and Student Advancement, noted that the reach of this year’s grants exceeds those of previous years.
“Not only were we able to award over $395 million, we were also able to touch a district in each of the state’s eight educational regions,” Taylor said. “We were able to support districts in desperate need of replacing entire buildings but did not have the funding to do so. We were also able to support several smaller projects, that while not costing millions such as a building replacement, proved to be equally important in the funding structure for districts. A $2 million renovation is a significant undertaking for a small/low-wealth district.”
The needs-based grant applications were reviewed by NCDPI based on priorities provided in the law, including ability to generate revenue, high debt-to-tax revenue ratio, and the extent to which a project will address critical deficiencies in adequately serving the current and future student population.
Over the last five years, the Needs Based Public School Capital Fund has awarded a total of $739 million dollars to local school districts, providing funding for 60 new K-12 construction projects, including 33 new schools, eight new buildings, and the replacement of 44 existing schools.
The Local Skinny! Timberlake Keeps An Eye On The Lake
For more than 10 years now, Frank Timberlake has been keeping an eye on Kerr Lake parks and camping areas. And he says there are some spots that haven’t changed since he was a kid.
For some, that may seem like good news. But Timberlake said he and others in Kerr Lake Park Watch don’t see it that way.
Timberlake and others formed Kerr Lake Park Watch in 2010 as a way to monitor and support improvements in the park facilities on Kerr Lake. Their online presence includes a webpage and a Facebook page where campers and other park users can read reviews or reactions to what’s happening – or not happening – at the various campsites around the lake.
From the online booking surcharges that campers pay when they reserve a campsite to the physical layout of the sites, Timberlake and the group have opinions.
He spoke with John C. Rose on Thursday’s The Local Skinny! segment and acknowledged that some would consider him a “feather ruffler” when it comes to the lake’s camping areas.
“We want to protect, promote and improve the parks,” Timberlake said. Although there are still some tent campers who visit, more visitors bring their RVs. Those vehicles require a relatively flat surface for parking, so when you have campsites, with as much as a 20-degree slant, it’s a challenge for RVers.
When COVID-19 was in full swing, all the trashcans were removed from the camp areas, which Timberlake said created significant cost savings. But none of that came back to the campgrounds, he said.
And there are several openings for rangers across the system of camp areas, which Timberlake said makes it difficult for campers to get information they need when they’re out at the lake.
“We need to get staffed up here,” Timberlake said of the ranger positions. “Rangers should be sitting at that entrance station, focused on customer service. They need to be there in the parks, not riding the roads.
He said he’s personally shown first-time visitors to their campsite because there was no one else around to help.
Help is all he and his group want to do, he said. Help others enjoy the lake and its recreational opportunities, while “improving a place that is wonderful…to protect it and improve it.”
Visit http://kerrlakeparkwatch.org/home/ or find the group on Facebook.
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TownTalk: Shriners To Hold 58th Annual Fish Fry
It’s not too soon to think about the upcoming Shriners Fish Fry, which will take place on Wednesday, May 18.
This is the 58th fish fry and local Shriner Donald C. Seifert spoke with John C. Rose on Thursday’s Town Talk about how the event has evolved over those almost six decades as it continues to raise money for local causes as well as for Shriner’s Children’s Hospitals.
The annual event has been held in numerous spots over the years, many of them at the old Henderson Armory. Patrons had a chance to eat in or take out, as well as visit with friends from across the community.
“It’s been reshaped a bit over the last several years,” Seifert said. The fish fry is held at what he called “the Slaughter building,” located between Mako Medical and Serv Pro on Industry Drive.
Local Shriner Sherby Slaughter provides the site for the fish fry, and Seifert said last year’s take-out option proved successful.
“We just don’t have the space inside to serve patrons,” he said, “and we miss that. We do have the drive-thru set up and it’s worked well.”
Lots of planning goes into the annual fundraiser, well in advance of the event date, which traditionally is the third Wednesday in May. The gates open at 11 a.m. and the goal is to sell about 2,000 plates by the time the fish fry is over about suppertime.
Thanks to some coordination with the nearby Salvation Army, Seifert said there should be no problems with having enough fish. “The Salvation Army has agreed to let us have some reserve product in their kitchen,” he said. “If we start to run low, we’ll have easy access and have plenty of fish.”
Like many organizations, the Shrine Club isn’t as large as it once was, and members rely on volunteers to help keep things rolling on fish fry day, whether it’s delivering plates of 10 or more to area businesses or cooking and packing the food into containers, volunteers play a key role, for which Seifert says his fellow Shriners are grateful.
“My hat’s off to our volunteers,” he said.
The fish fry is a highlight of the club’s year, and its proceeds help support local causes like First Responders and >> as well as the children’s hospitals that the Shriners are associated with.
“There are so many good causes around, especially local causes that we feel like we’d like to help,” Seifert said. “Of course, the hospitals get a nice donation…but we try to share as best we can.”
Tickets are $10, but you don’t have to have a ticket in advance – just follow the line of traffic out to Industry Drive, pull in, pick up a plate and get a great big “Thank You” from a Shriner.
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WIZS Radio Local News Audio 05-05-22 Noon
Click Play to Listen. On Air at 8am, 12pm, 5pm M-F
WIZS Radio ~ 100.1FM/1450AM
Cooperative Extension with Jamon Glover: Tools For Parents
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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