Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland: Fall Planted Bulbs
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TownTalk: Jimmy Sidberry Explains Insurance Options During Annual Enrollment Period
The adage “One size does not fit all” is especially true for insurance coverage, a point to which local insurance representative Jimmy Sidberry can attest.
“This is my season,” Sidberry said on Tuesday’s TownTalk with guest host Steve Lewis, referring to the annual enrollment period open now through Dec. 7.
The annual enrollment period is a time for Medicare beneficiaries to take a look at their existing plans and make sure they’re still getting the best deal for their situation.
As Sidberry, with The Health Insurance Store on Dabney Drive explained it, Medicare is a federal insurance that pays 80 percent of a plan for people over 65. Medicaid is a state plan that helps low-income people pay that 20 percent not covered by Medicare.
Medicare is for people over 65 and for people under 65 with certain disabilities.
There are Medicare Advantage plans that provide coverage for extras like dental and vision, Sidberry said.
The main thing that Sidberry said people approaching Medicare age should remember is this: Apply during the all-important window before your 65th birthday and no later than two months after. “If you wait, you can run into penalties,” he said. Penalties that won’t go away.
Same with prescription drug plans. The federal government requires beneficiaries to select a drug plan.
Beneficiaries who follow all the guidelines and meet all the deadlines have options before committing to a yearlong plan, Sidberry said. The open enrollment period runs between Jan. 1 and March 31.
“If a plan isn’t working for you, talk with your agent during the open enrollment period,” Sidberry suggested.
Want to learn more? Contact Sidberry at 919.500.9648.
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The Local Skinny! Events At Perry Memorial Library
The Perry Memorial Library has a flurry of events planned between Thanksgiving and Christmas, providing lots of interactive activities for the whole family.
Youth Services Director Melody Peters invites patrons to take the long way in to the library and enjoy reading a story along the sidewalk outside and lingering among the lovely Festival of Trees exhibit in the Gallery between the library entrance and McGregor Hall.
The library will be closed Thursday through Sunday, but come Monday, Nov. 27, activities at the library are going to be heating up.
The StoryWalk, Peters explained, is geared toward those preschool-aged children. Families can join in the fun and get in a little exercise while they read a book, panel by panel, along the sidewalk.
“It’s just a fun activity,” Peters said on Tuesday’s The Local Skinny! “This is a good way to build in exercise…and read a story along the way,” Peters said. The StoryWalk will be up for a month for all to enjoy.
On Tuesday, Dec. 12, at 4 p.m., Durham-based StoryUp! Aerial Theater will perform the classic fable of The Lion and the Mouse. “It’s like going to the circus, but then imagine theater,” Peters said, sort of a mini Cirque de Soleil with aerial artists interpreting the story that’s basically about being kind.
The library is launching another story time beginning Thursday, Dec. 7 for elementary-age children, Peters said. She hopes the 3:30 p.m. time slot will be just right to get children engaged before they head off to tackle homework assignments or Lego Club.
These books will be a little longer than those selected for younger children’s shorter attention spans, she said. The theme for December will focus on different holiday traditions. First up is a book titled “Hershel and the Hannukah Goblins.”
She said she plans to incorporate this new story time offering as a way to encourage children of all ages to enjoy being read to.
Consider embracing your inner crafter on Saturday, Dec. 16 when the library opens up for all ages to join in a variety of crafts for the whole family.
Speaking of crafts, the Mother Goose story time slot is giving way in December to make-and-take craft activities for those kiddos birth to 5 years, Peters noted. “We’ll take a break in December and offer…crafts,” she said. And while they may just seem like fun activities, there’s a lot of learning going on. Stringing cereal on a pipe cleaner involves developing that pincer grasp, as well as sorting by colors. “There’s so much learning happening,” Peters said.
Learn about all the services and programs at Perry Memorial Library at www.perrylibrary.org.
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WIZS Radio Local News Audio 11-21-23 Noon
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WIZS Radio ~ 100.1FM/1450AM
Cooperative Extension With Paul McKenzie: What Works in the Garden
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TownTalk: Mental Health And Substance Use Forum Takes Place Next Week
The approaching holidays bring families together to celebrate and spend time together, but those family gatherings also can place undue pressure and stress on those who also may struggle with mental health and substance abuse issues.
Melanie Griggs, a behavioral health clinical counselor at Granville Vance Public Health, said two upcoming listening sessions are designed to provide resources and information about services in the community.
“It’s a big, big problem,” Griggs said of individuals who find themselves in a mental health or substance abuse crisis.
Above and beyond those modern-day stressors that creep into people’s lives from time to time, other people experience anxiety, depression, loneliness and even suicidal thoughts.
“It affects the family, employers, our entire community,” Griggs said. “All of us are touched by someone who struggles with either of these issues on a day-to-day basis,” she said.
GVPH is one of the partners hosting the discussions.
The Vance County forum will be held Tuesday, Nov. 28 at 6 p.m. at the Spring Street Missionary Baptist Church, 511 Orange St., Henderson.
The Granville County forum will be held Thursday, Nov. 30 at 6 p.m. at Cornerstone Christian Community Church, 3237 Knotts Grove Rd., Oxford.
“We’re going to talk a lot about access and where in our communities…you can go to get more information and support to address (people’s) particular concerns.”
Provider booths will include those that specialize in medications for Opioid Use Disorder (e.g., Buprenorphine, Methadone), individual and family counseling, medication management, crisis management, intensive outpatient services, and residential treatment.
“We want to make sure that people in our community know what’s out there…making sure they know where to go to get these services.”
Griggs said the community has access to a mobile crisis management unit, accessible by phone 24 hours a day, 365 days a year at 1.844.709.4097.
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The Local Skinny! Franklin County Releases Historic Architecture Book
The much-awaited Franklin County architectural history book has been published and is ready for purchase, just in time for Christmas.
The books are $60 and feature more than 400 photos and list 800 properties of interest throughout the county.
There will be a special book release party at the Louisburg Senior Center, 279 S. Bickett Blvd., on Monday, Dec. 4 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Books will be on sale at the event, and also will be available for sale at the various library branches in the county, said WIZS’s own Bill Harris, who also serves as chair of the Franklin County Historical Preservation Commission.
The book is the result of a comprehensive survey conducted before the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, which slowed the process of completing the book.
The previous survey undertaken by the state preservation office was completed in the 1970’s, but didn’t result in a book, he said.
Now, half a century later, this most recent survey includes properties that would not have been considered historically significant back in the 1970’s, Harris explained.
There also was an effort to focus on the southern part of Louisburg, which had not been thoroughly considered in the previous survey, he noted.
The book’s main editor is J. Daniel Pizzone, but there were numerous others who contributed to the completion of the book, Harris said. It was published in Oxford by BW&A Books.
Copies of the book are available now at the following locations:
- Central Library, 906 North Main St., Louisburg
- Bunn Branch Library, 610 Main St., Bunn
- Franklinton Branch Library 9 West Mason St., Franklinton
- Youngsville Branch Library, 218 US-1A Hwy. South, Youngsville
- Franklin County Planning & Inspections Department, 127 S. Bickett Blvd., Louisburg
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WIZS Radio Local News Audio 11-20-23 Noon
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WIZS Radio ~ 100.1FM/1450AM
Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland: Clothes Moths
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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SportsTalk: Elliott Reflects On Vipers Season
Vance County Vipers Head Football Coach Aaron Elliot summed up the school’s loss to Terry Sanford in the first round of the state high school playoffs with three words “Too many mistakes,” he said on Thursday’s SportsTalk. The 34-27 loss followed an undefeated regular season for Vance County. “We knew they were a good team. Certainly not a 26th ranked team,” Elliott commented. After the loss Elliott gave his team one week off but now they are back to work preparing for next season. The Vipers have already headed back to the weight room.
The Vipers will lose 10 seniors from this year’s team when the hit the gridiron late next August but Elliott sees a bright future for the Vipers. “Our team will work personnel. We will put kids in the right place to be successful,” Elliott said. He says he expects the conference to improve next year. Louisburg went to the second round of the playoff, J.F. Webb had their best season in years and there’s always Southern Durham to contend with.
While naturally disappointed that the Vipers lost he continues to look favorably on this past season and should have another great year in 2024.
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