Tag Archive for: #wizsnews

TownTalk: Vance County Fire Chief Recaps First 7 Months, Looks Ahead To Future Plans

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Vance County Fire Chief Marvin Harrison has accomplished a good bit since coming on board in April.

From equipment purchases and rebranding efforts to training exercises and team-building opportunities, Harrison can check off quite a few boxes on the “to-do” list.

Like most good leaders, Harrison took some time to think about the future of the department and evaluate what it would take to make sure the department remains ready to serve the community in the long-term.

From that process comes this realization for Harrison: “The future of Vance County is bright.”

Harrison discussed his first months on the job on Thursday’s TownTalk, reflecting on where the department had been and how he hopes to lead it into the future.

Over his career, Harrison said he’s learned from mentors about goal-setting and being prepared. He said he’s got a five-year plan and a 10-year plan for the fire department. It’s just how he operates, he said. And although he’s happy with the state of things as they are now, he’ll probably never be satisfied – things can always be better, he said.

There are just a couple of openings right now, if you don’t include a few more positions that weren’t funded, he said. Coming from a larger department to Vance County, Harrison recognized that there simply aren’t the same number of firefighter positions available to a department this size.

“You can never have enough personnel,” he added. Sending a couple of dozen firefighters to a fire call simply doesn’t happen here – it’s more like between 5 and 10.

And because departments have to be ready to cover each other and respond to calls, Harrison said strengthening collaboration is critical.

“In Vance County, we have been asked to do a lot more with less,” he said, adding that he is impressed with the commitment he sees from firefighters in the area to be willing to step in to provide mutual aid.

“Their call can become my call,” Harrison said. “We all have to do our best and always ensure we are communicating with each other to provide the best public service we can.”

As for equipment, Harrison emphasized that purchases his department makes is for equipment that can be used by any of the volunteer departments when it’s needed.

“If we purchase equipment, we want to make sure that all departments know they’re not just for us, they’re for everybody – for every one of the other departments in the county if they need it.”

There’s already a new boat and a couple of UTVs and hopefully some dive equipment will be selected soon. And certainly plans are still underway for a new station, he said.

“Day by day, week by week, we are getting better…We have a game plan (and) we are working to get more,” Harrison said. “We need a lot more, honestly.” Part of that equipment includes trucks. “We need a new fleet in here in our department as soon as possible,” Harrison said.

“We’re just trying to cover all areas and thoroughly planning for the future in Vance County because we want to be mentioned with the ‘best of the best’ when it comes to fire departments and public service.”

 

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TownTalk: County Fiscal Operations Policy Stalls In 3-3 Board Vote

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The Vance County Board of Commissioners did not approve a proposed fiscal operations policy presented Tuesday during a special called meeting.

The vote was 3-3, with Commissioners Leo Kelly, Carolyn Faines and Charisse Fain voting in favor and Commissioners Yolanda Feimster, Valencia Perry and Dan Brummitt voting against. Commissioner Tommy Hester was not in attendance.

In presenting the document for their consideration, County Finance Director Stephanie Williams explained to commissioners the need to have a comprehensive policy in place.

The 30-page document includes “clear, uniform standards” across all county departments to ensure compliance governing the county’s finances.

“You want to hold people to a standard, but you have to give them standards to put in place,” Williams said.

County Manager C. Renee Perry stated that the county has never had such a policy.

“This is really big for us, for sure,” Perry told commissioners.

Williams said she found an 8-page policy when Perry brought her on board.

“No way you can run a county with eight pages of policy,” she said, adding that although the League of Municipalities doesn’t mandate counties to have fiscal operations policies, she stressed “the absolute importance we have a policy to move forward.”

The existing document addresses topics including debt, cash management and budget policy, but doesn’t include policy about bidding, purchasing and cash handling – internal controls that have been found lacking in recent LGC audit findings.

Perry asked commissioners to send her via email any questions or concerns regarding the proposed policy by Dec. 29.

The commissioners will gather for their annual retreat on Friday, Dec. 19. Their next regular meeting will take place on Jan. 6, 2026.

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Home and Garden Show

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On the Home and Garden Show with Vance Co. Cooperative Ext.

  • The Vance County Regional Farmers Market is now closed for the season. Thanks to all customers and vendors for a successful year in 2025!
  • Soil Samples are $4 per sample, Don’t guess soil test!
  • Use foliage from your Landscape to make festive decorations.
  • Check your compost pile and turn it if you haven’t done so recently.
  • Check local nurseries and garden centers for gift ideas and hints to Santa.
  • You can continue to plant trees in your landscape.
  • Visit a public garden/arboretum over the holidays to see which plants look good during the winter.
  • Clean old nests out of bird houses.
  • Remember to check your natural Christmas tree for water every day.
  • Do not use salt on your drive, use sand or cat litter for added traction.
  • Remember to use the proper personal protective equipment when doing fall chores.
  • Check houseplants dust weekly with a soft cloth.
  • Check storage areas for mice.

The Vance County Cooperative Extension Building is located at 305 Young St, Henderson, NC 27536

The Vance County Regional Farmers Market is located at 210 Southpark Dr., Henderson, NC 27536

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Perry Memorial Library

The Local Skinny! Wrapping Up 2025 at Perry Memorial Library

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As 2025 winds down, Perry Memorial Library Youth Services Director Melody Peters reflects on successes throughout the year as patrons, staff and the community celebrated the library’s centennial.

Libraries have transformed over the years to being so much more than just a place to check out books, and Henderson’s library is no exception. Families can come in to watch movies, like the recent showing of The Polar Express in the Farm Bureau room, bring homeschool groups in for special activities and participate in events that reach into the community.

Staff and others from the community will gather at 4:30 p.m. today Wedat the library and then set out for Garnett Street to serenade local downtown businesses with Christmas carols.

“This is a new program and I’m glad the weather’s going to be cooperating, Peters said on Tueday’s segment of The Local Skinny!

“We just want to spread the joy of the season around downtown,” she said, promoting literacy and the downtown district in the process.

It’s not unusual for the library to try new programs and events, all in the name of promoting reading, literacy and community togetherness.

Peters said she was particularly pleased with the summer program. “I was just so thrilled the way the summer reading program reached a new level of continued engagement,” she said. Community read-in events and book bins throughout county businesses filled with books for the taking were just a couple of examples of the library making new connections and reviving old connections with patrons.

“We were really busy, and that’s ok” Peters said, recalling the hustle and bustle of summer activities coming on the heels of a full calendar year filled with special events and regular monthly programming.

More than 7,000 individuals participated in the various programs the library offers, and Peters no doubt is looking for more in 2026.

Community support is critical to make sure individuals and families are aware of the programs and services the library offers.

“It really takes everybody working together promoting literacy,” she said.

we couldn’t’ do it without that comm support.

Visit www.perrylibrary.org to learn more.

 

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TownTalk: Dwaynna Ramsay Graduate Speaker at WGU

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Growing up in Jamaica, Dwaynna Ramsay wanted to be a pharmacist. She excelled in school, and set her sights on college to continue on the career path she dreamed of.

She was accepted into a couple of different schools, but money was tight, and Ramsay said she deferred her dream so she could work and earn money.

“I never stopped believing that learning was my key out,” Ramsay said on Tuesday’s TownTalk.

She certainly isn’t the only person to tell a similar story, and she won’t be the last. But, as a teacher today in Vance County Schools, she wants her students to hear her message: Your struggles do not define who you are.”

And that was the message she delivered in Atlanta last month in her commencement address during last month’s graduation exercises for Western Governor’s University, when she received her master’s degree in education technology and instructional technology.

Ramsay’s path is different than the one she had envisioned when she was a high school student in Jamaica, but it is a path that has her inspiring students to keep their sights on their goals and dreams and to believe in themselves.

In 2021, her husband, Kemar Morgan, took a job in Warren County Schools. He is a CTE teacher and has classes in brick masonry and construction math.

And that’s when her association with Vance County Schools began, with Ramsay becoming a permanent substitute at Vance County Middle School.

She acknowledged the “culture shock” and said the job taught her to be patient. It wasn’t easy, but she persevered. “Every day I kept going back,” she explained, and it wasn’t too long before she was invested in her students’ lives.

“Once you get to know that and understand their challenges, you realize they need a ‘constant,’” Ramsay said. “Yes, the grades do matter, but we have to be that ‘constant’ in their lives.”

So when kids fail tests or don’t do homework or get off track in some other way, they can count on Ramsay saying, “I’m going to believe you can do it until you can believe you can do it.”

The young people she connects with in school demonstrate a variety of aptitudes that they simply haven’t recognized or tapped into, she said.

During her speech to her fellow graduates, she offered a tip of the mortarboard to Dr. Stephanie Ayscue, who Ramsay said decided to give her a chance.

“She was not only a leader, but my mentor,” she said later. “She was always so encouraging. I want to be someone like that, not just for students but for anyone who encounters me,” she said during TownTalk.

Her path may not have been a straight one, and it certainly was strewn with challenges and obstacles to overcome. But scholarships came through to pay for tuition – more than once – and Ramsay said her faith buoyed her when she lacked the energy to keep up with family, work, and school.

One low point came when she failed a test – she never failed tests, she said. After a couple of weeks of feeling sorry for herself, some words of encouragement from her husband and a dream that she said she could recall word for word the next day, something changed.

“I got up and studied a little harder and actually passed with almost 100 percent,” Ramsay said. “The second and third exams, they were pretty hard, but I aced them, too.”

“If you fail something right now, it doesn’t mean it’s going to be forever,” Ramsay said. It’s what she told herself then and it’s what she shares with her students now.

“You own your failure. It’s ok to fall down,” she said. Remember, your struggles don’t define your value.

Find Ramsay’s speech here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj4Cy82ZC1M

 

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Cooperative Extension with Michael Ellington: Mistletoe and Holly

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Michael Ellington, on the Vance County Cooperative Extension Report:

Today’s segment explores the botanical side of mistletoe and holly. Also included are reminders of Small Farm Boot Camp and the upcoming Tobacco GAP meeting.

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! Vance Co. Commissioners’ Special Called Meeting Tuesday, Dec. 16 At 4 P.M.

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The Vance County Board of Commissioners will hold a special called meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 4 p.m. to hold public hearings on several zoning requests and to receive and potentially approve a fiscal operations policy.

According to information from Clerk to the Board Dywanda Pettaway, Board Chair Carolyn Faines called the meeting, which will be held in the commissioners’ conference room of the county’s administration building, 122 Young St.

The two rezoning requests – (ZMA25-003 & ZMA25-004) – are pursuant to Section 11.2(D)(1) of the County Zoning  Ordinance and N.C. G.S. 160D. Article 6.

Public hearings regarding the two rezoning requests will be held beginning at 4 p.m., after which the commissioners will receive an updated fiscal operations policy. The board may choose to approve this policy, which contains information detailing county procedures and policies “designed to reflect best practice, not minimum practice,” according to information from Finance Director Stephanie Williams. “The intention is to create a consistent, disciplined framework that supports the long-term financial health of Vance County,” the statement continued.

 

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TownTalk: The Blast Newspaper!

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There are so many ways to get news and information these days – the more traditional methods like radio, television and print media often take a back seat to the ubiquitous screen.

When the COVID pandemic shut down Faicia Elliott’s radio advertising job, she hatched a plan to get a real newspaper in the hands of young people.

And that’s how The Blast got its start. Today, the newspaper is published monthly and is distributed free for the community to enjoy.

“Kids are on electronics for everything,” Elliott said on Monday’s TownTalk. “My vision was to have them to be able to have something tangible in their hands and to promote literacy.”

Fourth graders in Vance County Schools get copies each month, and Granville County Public Schools and Person have been added to the list, too.

It’s a one-person effort, with Elliott choosing the content, selling the ads and even distributing the 3,700 copies each month.

Printing is done at the Masonic Home for Children in Oxford print shop, a point of pride for Elliott because she likes to shop local.

The Blast began as a for-profit enterprise, and after a few years, Elliott said it became a nonprofit – which means she can apply for grants. She also has advertising clients, some of which have been clients since the paper’s inception.

“It’s working, or they would not keep paying for it,” Elliott said.

As for the newspaper’s content, Elliott said she likes to include word games and other activities that get the whole family involved.

“It is important to me to promote literacy and family togetherness,” she said. “It’s a really fun paper.”

King Features Syndicate provides all kinds of content for the “big” papers, but they also provide content for The Blast. “I called them and said this is what we do, could you give me some content,” Elliott recalled, “and they gave me some puzzles for minimal (amount) compared to what the big papers pay.”

The newspaper contains nothing political, Elliott said, and it’s not pushing any agendas.

Readers of the current issue will learn, however, that Today, Monday, Dec. 15 is National Cupcake Day. The monthly calendar noting those special, silly days is a staple of The Blast.

She also includes local activities on a town calendar. This month includes dates for Christmas parades, for example, but she also likes to include what’s going on at the libraries and with the different recreation departments.

Another staple – and a favorite of Elliott’s – is the fishing page. Everybody can fish, she said, and there are so many fishing tournaments that take place locally, she wanted to include a page devoted to the sport and to learn more about fish.

That’s where the fish facts come into play. “I like that page because it’s fun to find those facts,” she said. Add that to her list of responsibilities. Fish Fact Finder.

As a nonprofit, Elliott has a board to help manage and oversee the organization, but the day-to-day falls to her. “I am it,” she said, “and it is not easy, but it’s important to me.”

And it’s important to her that the young people have access to information that they enjoy and have fun with. That’s how the paper got its name, in fact. “We wanted the kids to have a blast.”

Find TheNCBlast on Facebook, use ncblastsales@gmail.com or pick up the phone and call 919.482.9335 to learn more.

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