Tag Archive for: #wizsnews

Red Cross Offers Safety Tips for Memorial Day, Summertime Activities

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Red Cross officials have some safety suggestions for people as they prepare for the Memorial Day holiday – and don’t forget pets as we head into the warmer summer months.

“Summer is a great time of year to get outside and have fun with your friends and loved ones,” said Barry Porter, Regional CEO of the American Red Cross Eastern North Carolina Region. “But there are dangers if you don’t swim, camp or grill properly. We here at the Red Cross want you to have a safe summer and offer these steps you can follow.”

Read the suggestions below whether you’ll be enjoying watersports, camping or grilling.

PET SAFETY

Summer’s heat can be dangerous for your family pets. Follow these steps to take to help ensure your pet stays safe this summer.

  • Don’t leave your pet in a hot vehicle, even for a few minutes. The inside temperature of the car can quickly reach 120 degrees even with the windows cracked open.
  • Animals can suffer heat stroke, a common problem for pets in the warmer weather. Dogs with short noses or snouts, like the boxer or bulldog, are especially prone to heat stroke, along with overweight pets, those with extremely thick fur coat or any pet with upper respiratory problems such as laryngeal paralysis or collapsing trachea.
  • Some of the signs of heat stroke in your pet are heavy panting and being unable to calm down, even when lying down, brick red gum color, fast pulse rate and being unable to get up.
  • If you suspect your pet has heat stroke, take their temperature rectally. If the temperature is above 105 degrees, cool the animal down. The easiest way to do this is by using the water hose. Stop cooling the animal when the temperature reaches 103 degrees.
  • Bring your pet to the veterinarian as soon as possible as heat stroke can lead to severe organ dysfunction and damage. Download the Red Cross Pet First Aid appfor instant access on how to treat heat stroke, other emergencies and general care for cats and dogs and take the Cat and Dog First Aid Online Training

WATER SAFETY

Every day, an average of 11 people die in the U.S. from unintentional drowning — and one in five of those are children 14 or younger according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Red Cross wants everyone to know critical safety knowledge and skills that could save your life in and around the water. We encourage families to build confidence in the water by learning to be safe, making good choices, learning to swim and how to handle emergencies.

  • Preventing unsupervised access to water, providing constant, active adult supervision and knowing how to swim are critical layers of protection to help prevent drowning.
  • Classes to learn how to swim are available for both children and adults. Check the map for Learn-to-Swim providers in your community. Everyone should learn first aid and CPR too, so they know what to do in an emergency.
  • Download the Red Cross Swim app, sponsored by The ZAC Foundation, for safety tips, kid-friendly videos and activities, and take the free Water Safety for Parents and Caregivers online course in English or in Spanish.
  • It’s best to swim in a lifeguarded area. Always designate a “water watcher” whose sole responsibility is to keep a close eye and constant attention on everyone in and around the water until the next water watcher takes over.
  • Drowning behavior is typically fast and silent. Unless rescued, a drowning person will last only 20 to 60 seconds before submerging. Reach or throw, don’t go! In the event of an emergency, reach or throw an object to the person in trouble. Don’t go in! You could become a victim yourself.

CAMPING SAFETY

If a camping trip is in your plans, know the level of ability of the people in your group and the environment around you. Plan accordingly.

  • Sprains and falls are some of the most common misfortunes travelers may face. Falls are the biggest threat, many due to poor decision-making, lack of skill or not being properly prepared. Dehydration is also a danger. Plan ahead for these dangers.
  • Share your travel plans and locations with a family member, neighbor or friend.
  • Bring nutritious food items and water, light-weight clothing to layer and supplies for any pets.

GRILLING SAFETY

More than three-quarters of U.S. adults have used a grill — yet, grilling sparks more than 10,000 home fires on average each year. To avoid this, the Red Cross offers these grilling safety tips:

  • Make sure everyone, including pets, stays away from the grill.
  • Keep the grill out in the open, away from the house, deck, tree branches or anything that could catch fire.
  • Use the long-handled tools especially made for cooking on the grill to help keep the chef safe.

About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.

Business Owners: Still Time To Apply For NCDOR Recovery Grant

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There’s still time to apply for the Business Recovery Grant Program through the N.C. Department of Revenue (NCDOR). This second phase of applications has approximately $200 million left in funding for eligible businesses. While there is a June 1 deadline, all applications will be considered after June 1, according to information from the local Chambers of Commerce.
Two types of grants, up to $500,000 per business, will be available to eligible business owners that suffered substantial economic loss during the pandemic:

  • A hospitality grant will be available to eligible arts, entertainment, recreation, and accommodation or food service businesses such as a hotels, restaurants, and bars.
  • A reimbursement grant will be available to an eligible business not included in the hospitality program.

Grants are not awarded on a first come, first served basis.  No grant money in this Phase II has been given out yet.  This is not a difficult application process. Visit

https://www.ncdor.gov/business-recovery-grant to learn more.

TownTalk: Maria Parham Memorial Day Ceremony

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Maria Parham Health was the site Thursday morning for a solemn ceremony to remember all the members of the military who have given their lives in service to the country and to hear read aloud the 77 names of members from the local area who died serving their country.

CEO Bert Beard welcomed those in attendance to begin the “No Greater Love” observance, in which various members of the hospital staff had roles. Pastor Frank Sossamon led opening and closing prayers and members of hospital security presented the colors. Travis Thompson, director of imaging and wound care, led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance and Hope Schuler, daughter of MPH employee Lisa VanFleet, sang the National Anthem.

Rickey Padgett, with N.C. Detective Agency and also a member of the hospital staff, shared remarks and reflected on what the Memorial Day holiday means. It’s a time to remember all men and women in uniform, Padgett told the gathering but especially those who sacrificed their lives.

“They paid the price so that we could be here today,” he said. The families of the fallen continue to grieve, so it is also important for us to remember, Padgett said, “and to celebrate the freedoms that we have and the life we are given…to remain grateful and never forget.”

Padgett said he had been friends with one particular man who also was a veteran of World War II. This friend had told Padgett that, upon his death, Padgett would receive something from him. That “something” turned out to be a long, typewritten letter – from a real typewriter, not a word processor – that recounted some of what the man had encountered as a U.S. infantryman in the European theater.

Padgett read excerpts from this letter, which chronicled snowy, muddy conditions on and near battlefields in France and the grim task of recovering soldiers’ bodies strewn along the countryside.

“’I could hear the Germans digging foxholes’” in the snowy landscape not far from where this soldier and his unit were camped, the letter read. “’We had to pick up dead bodies, American and German,’” Padgett continued.

Although he said he has met and talked with many veterans of World War II, Padgett said this letter helped answer a question he had often wondered about: How do the bodies of fallen soldiers make it back home, where they can be laid to rest and receive a proper burial?

Soldiers like the one who wrote the letter and sent it to Padgett, that’s how.

Whether it was from a battlefield in Europe or the desert-like conditions in Afghanistan, members of the military take care of each other until the end.

Padgett said he asked this friend what he did in the war. “He said, ‘I was a soldier,’” Padgett recalled.

A simple answer with layers and layers of meaning.

Listen to the recorded ceremony in its entirety just below.

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The Local Skinny! Around Old Granville: Doing The Numbers For Memorial Day

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There are about 110,000 veterans of World War II still alive in the United States, and at least one of them lives in Granville County, according to Mark Pace. He and Bill Harris discussed war military service veterans as part of the Around Old Granville segment of The Local Skinny! Thursday.

The average age of the WWII veteran is 93, Pace said. Several veterans have died in the past year, he said, along with a couple more in Vance County.

It’s sometimes difficult to determine exact numbers, Pace said, but his research has shown that there are 20 soldiers from the Old Granville area who died in the American Revolution. At least 450 (but probably more like 550) who died in the Civil War from the approximately 2,600 who fought for the Confederacy, down to 1 soldier who died in Iraq. He said 3 soldiers from Granville County and 7 from Vance County died in Korea, and 13 from Granville and 8 from Vance dying in Vietnam. One Granville County soldier died in Iraq.

By comparison, he found that 68 soldiers from Vance County died in WWII, along with 37 from Granville County.

Records are sometimes hard to come by, Pace acknowledged, and therefore having a truly accurate count is almost impossible.

Pace said a 1973 fire in St. Louis destroyed many records related to servicemen in WWI, making it far easier to locate records from the Civil War and WWII.

Even the Revolutionary War has records that remain, he said.

“There are some pretty good records from the Revolution,” he said. Many people had to sign an Oath of Allegiance against King George. Those signatures are pretty good indications of which side you were on, Pace said.

There’s still one world leader, however, who served her country in WWII and serves her country today, Pace said:

Ninety-six-year-old Queen Elizabeth II. When she was 19, she served in the transportation and ambulance service for England.

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SportsTalk: Johnny Yount of Vance Charter and Mike Joyner of Kerr Vance

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Johnny Yount and Mike Joyner are used to success. They expect it.

Vance Charter Girls Soccer Coach Johnny Yount and his team are coming off a playoff run. The Knights were eliminated on Wednesday night with a 2-0 loss to Hobbton.  While they didn’t make to the state finals, Yount was happy with his team which will be losing five seniors to graduation. Next year he will have another senior heavy team with six girls on the roster plus a strong class of freshmen will be moving up as well. “Give it your best and demand it from everyone around you,” Yount said on Thursday’s SportsTalk. Those are the words he tells his team. No doubt next year’s Vance Charter Girls Soccer team will hear those words many times during the season.

Speaking of Hobbton, that’s a school familiar to Mike Joyner, Kerr Vance Academy Athletic director. It’s one of several schools where Joyner has been involved with athletics. He recently spent 8 1/2 years as athletic director at Wake Forest High School and six years as the head baseball coach. This year he retired, or so he thought. “I was retired for seven hours. I worked a basketball game at Wake Forest, slept seven hours and worked a basketball game the next night for KVA,” Joyner said. He said it was tough leaving the kids at Wake Forest but he had to make the right decision for his family and step back. Wake Forest fielded 32 teams where Kerr Vance fields nine. His duties don’t include coaching at KVA so he can actually get home at a normal time and spend time with family.  He says the difference from working in public schools as opposed to private schools is the closeness of the relationships. “It’s more of a family atmosphere,” Joyner said. At KVA he actually gets to spend time with the kids and that was something he was unable to do at Wake Forest.

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Cooperative Extension With Jamon Glover: Biting, Pt. 1

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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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Keep Road Safety At Top Of Memorial Day To-Do List

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Even with today’s high gas prices, the State Highway Patrol expects about 35 million folks to be on the road during the long Memorial Day weekend. And although the following safety suggestions aren’t new, they do bear repeating as a way to ensure safe travels on the state’s 80,000 miles of roads, highways and interstates.

This time last year, the average prices of a gallon of regular gas in North Carolina was $2.91, compared to $4.36 this year, according to AAA. But families are apparently ready to get out of town for the four-day holiday, some long overdue for even a short vacation.

This weekend traditionally kicks off the unofficial start to summer, and AAA predicts an increase of almost 5 percent in the number of people who will travel by car compared to last year, when COVID-19 precautions still had people sticking close to home.

The Highway Patrol will be out in full force, taking steps “to monitor driver behavior in an attempt to reduce collisions that occur from speeding, impaired and distracted driving, as well as reducing the severity of collisions through seat belt use enforcement.  Using the Vision Zero approach, law enforcement officials hope to report zero fatal collisions throughout the holiday weekend,” according to a press release from the North Carolina Dept. of Public Safety.

The Highway Patrol is again teaming up with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission to participate in the annual “On the Road, On the Water” campaign. The same rules apply to boat operators as apply to drivers of motor vehicles – don’t drink and drive.

Additionally, the SHP is partnering with the NC Governor’s Highway Safety Program’s “Click It or Ticket” campaign.  This campaign began Monday, May 23 and continues through June 5, with an emphasis being placed on seat belt violations.

Motorists are encouraged to follow these suggestions while traveling:

  • Plan Ahead – Plan routes in advance to include secondary routes, detours and possible road closures.  Up-to-date information regarding delays and closures can be found at www.DriveNC.gov.
  • Slow Down – Obey the posted speed limit and be mindful of speed limit reductions within work zones.
  • Use Restraint Devices – Seat belts must be worn in both front and back seats if available.  Children should be properly restrained in compliance with child passenger safety laws, www.buckleupnc.org.
  • Don’t Drive Distracted – Avoid any distraction(s) while driving that reduces your ability to drive safely.
  • Plan Ahead if Consuming Alcohol – Have a predetermined plan to arrive home safely by identifying a designated driver or by utilizing one of the many ride sharing services.
  • Reporting Dangerous Drivers or Other Emergencies – Motorists are encouraged to dial *HP(47) or 911 if they encounter a situation needing a law enforcement response.