WIZS Radio Local News Audio 9-24-21 Noon
Click Play to Listen. On Air at 8am, 12pm, 5pm M-F
WIZS Radio ~ 100.1FM/1450AM
Tag Archive for: #wizsnews
SportsTalk: Vipers Ready For Northern Durham
“It feels like the universe is back set right,” said Vance County High School Head Football Coach Wilbur Pender about the return of the Vipers to the field this Friday night. The Vipers have missed the last two games due to a Covid exposure. Now they are ready for some football. Northern Durham, 1-3 on the year, will travel to Henderson to take on the Vipers who put a 2-1 record on the line.
Coach Pender said the Vipers have had a good week of practice for a team coming off quarantine. He expected some drop off after missing two ball games but he and his coaching staff have worked hard to make sure any drop off has been kept to a minimum.
The last game the Vipers played was a victory against Durham-Riverside and Coach Pender said the secret of the win was that the team executed better. They will have to be consistent about execution to be the team that Coach Pender has in mind. While Northern Durham may be 1-3, the Vipers will have to be on top of executing their game plan. Northern Durham is big and their losses have been against very stiff competition: perennial state power Scotland County along with Knightdale and Wakefield. Those two Wake County teams play in one of the toughest 4A conferences in the state. Northern Durham is expected to run the ball about 80% of the time and Vipers have had some trouble with stopping the run so far this season.
Coach Pender says the Vipers will need to run the ball, help the quarterback, catch the ball and tackle better. “I’m still learning,” Pender says of his first year. “We are improving each and every day,” added the coach. “I want to be undefeated,” continued Pender. While that won’t be possible this year, the Vipers are looking to become a force to be reckoned with. “Vance County has a pretty good football team. The state is going to be knowing about that soon,” said Pender. A bold statement from a first year coach. Perhaps Northern Durham will be one of the first schools to discover just how good the Vipers are.
The game will be broadcast live on WIZS with Trey Snide and Doc Ayscue. Airtime is 6:45 with kickoff at 7pm from Vance County High School.
TownTalk: History of Kerr Lake, Part 2
(Photo courtesy R.F. Timberlake – Kerr Lake Park Watch on Facebook and Shutter Art Gallery)
••••••••••••••••••••
Kerr Lake covers about 50,000 acres when it’s at normal elevation, but if the lake level were to reach its maximum elevation of 320 feet above sea level, the lake would more than double in size. In short, Kerr Lake is a BIG topic. So big, in fact, that Kerr Lake, Part 2, was the subject of Thursday’s tri-weekly history program on Town Talk.
Bill Harris and Mark Pace talked about what’s around – and under – the lake, which has 850 miles of shoreline and touches six counties in North Carolina and Virginia.
A plane that crashed into the lake in Clarksville was eventually removed, but there’s still a train submerged in Nutbush Creek, Pace said.
The plane crashed in 1962 and it took almost a month to find the right equipment to extricate it. The lake is between 90 feet and 100 feet deep in the deepest channels, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers didn’t cut down all the trees in the area that soon would be submerged. The plane, as it turned out, had gotten tangled up in that submerged forest. A barge equipped with a crane had to be transported from the coast to retrieve the wreckage.
As for the train, Pace said a forest fire scorched a wooden bridge over Nutbush Creek in the early 1900’s. A group of Townsville residents went together to start up a short railroad line that ran from Manson to Townsville. “It was a barebones affair,” Pace said, with two engines, a coal car and a couple of passenger cars.
When the train pulled into Townsville, there was nowhere for it to turn around, he said, so it had to go backwards on the return trip to Manson. The bridge was about 70 or 75 feet above the water, and it held up for the passenger cars and the coal car to cross. But the engine was too heavy, and the train plunged into the water “and basically impaled itself into the mud of Nutbush Creek,” Pace said. The engineer and the fireman were killed.
There are stories of picnics and church gathering being held near the wreck site years later and whoever could swim down to the wreckage and ring the train’s bell would get a prize.
The lake has a long history of providing recreational activities like picnics and church gatherings, as well as boating and camping, but there remain residual bad feeling toward the Corps, Pace said. “Most of what they bought was farmland, and not particularly good farmland,” he said. But it was still family land and the average price was only about $75 per acre. That amount would only be between $400 and $500 an acre today.
“Now there’s a strip of land that you’re not allowed to develop around Kerr Lake,” Pace said, to adhere to Corps restrictions. Fifty years ago, however, the shoreline would not have looked at all like it does today because it had been farmland and would have taken some years to become wooded.
WIZS Radio Local News 9-23-21 Noon
Click Play to Listen. On Air at 8am, 12pm, 5pm M-F
WIZS Radio ~ 100.1FM/1450AM
The Local Skinny! Vance County Grapples With Employee Discontent
A recent survey of county employees conducted by the UNC School of Government has turned up several areas of discontent, which county officials are hopeful could be eased by providing targeted training opportunities and following recommendations from the surveyor.
Three focus groups totaling 23 county employees were convened during the week of May 24 of 2021, and the Human Resources Committee comprised of Commissioners Carolyn Faines, Archie B. Taylor, Jr. and Gordon Wilder met in July with UNC School of Government representatives to receive the results.
The three focus groups were titled Department of Social Services, Cross-organizational and Department heads. The results were shared at the August commissioners’ meeting, during which time several distinct themes emerged. The full report can be found at www.vancecounty.org and as part of the August commissioners’ meeting minutes.
The survey results captured employee sentiment, which ranged from feelings of disrespect to intimidation from supervisors. But the survey also reported that employees find their jobs interesting, they enjoy serving their community and have caring co-workers.
The recommendations, designed for the entire organization and not a specific department, include investing in supervisor training that emphasizes on effective communication, the role of supervisors as stewards and as a player in conflict resolution. Another recommendation is development of a set of values that govern and guide workplace behavior – to be developed at the employee level and involving the whole organization in the process.
Among the survey results were comments that ranged from employees enduring disrespect and intimidation from supervisors to feeling expendable or having their ideas not valued or taken seriously.
During the August meeting, county staff explained that efforts already are underway to provide additional training opportunities for supervisors, but those efforts have been hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. The HR committee discussed the importance of group trainings and felt that on-site workshops would be especially valuable for supervisors.
As for the suggestions for the board of commissioners, the survey results showed that employees value greatly the opinion of the commissioners, and they would like to see more commissioners attend employee events to show their interest in the county’s employees; the employees work hard to bring ideas for discussion – don’t dismiss them outright.
One idea the commissioners considered, but decided against pursuing, is taking over the responsibilities of the local Social Services board. A handful of counties in the state have made this switch, but Vance County commissioners decided not to join that group.
Commissioner Faines said the DSS board had not addressed several concerns from DSS employees, but Commissioner Taylor – who also sits on the DSS board – disputed that notion. It was reflected in the minutes that Taylor said the DSS board is focused on employee morale, employee treatment and the best operation of the department.
“When issues come up, they are addressed,” the minutes read. Taylor also said that the current structure is working properly and there is not need to change it.
Chairman Dan Brummitt said he would like to hold a work session to further discuss the matter.
Click Play
Support ‘Shop With A Cop’ Project – Buy A Ticket For Chance To Win Cash Prize
The “Shop With a Cop” program kicked off Wednesday, and there are 180 opportunities to help make the project a success.
This year marks the sixth year that the Henderson-Vance County Chamber of Commerce has partnered with the Henderson Police Department and the Vance County Sheriff’s Office to raise money for local law enforcement to go Christmas shopping with underprivileged youth in the community.
Chamber President Michele Burgess said she is pleased to report that many sponsors are helping to provide financial support, which means that at least $5,000 will be raised for the shopping spree that will take place in December at the Walmart in Henderson.
In addition to sponsors, there are 180 tickets available for purchase. The number of the ticket is the price you pay, and four winners will be drawn. The top prize is $2,000, followed by prizes of $1,000, $500 and $200, according to the Chamber.
Stop by the Chamber office to purchase a ticket, or purchase a ticket from members of the Chamber board as well as from members of the police department and sheriff’s office.
Burgess said she hopes all tickets will be sold by Oct. 22 – the drawing for the cash prizes is scheduled for Nov. 10.
It remains to be seen whether the Nov. 10 event will be a small event like last year, or whether it can be larger, as in 2019 when the community gathered at Sadie’s Coffee Corner to hear the winners announced.
The real winners, of course, are the children who get to shop with a cop in December.
“They will actually go with a policeman or a law enforcement person to Walmart and they’ll be able to pick their gifts,” Burgess said.
The children get to have fun and have positive interaction with a law enforcement officer, and the officers get quality one-on-one time with a young citizen, she added.
Burgess is especially appreciative of the support from sponsors and said one sponsor reported that he had always had a great Christmas, and wanted to make sure that children in the community had a similar experience.
Contact the Chamber at 252.438.8414 to learn more or visit www.hendersonvance.org.
Perry Memorial Library Open, Serving Community Including Special Programs
Calling it a branch library may be a bit of a stretch, but Perry Memorial Library Director Patty McAnally invites the public out to Fox Pond Park Saturday to celebrate the grand opening of Story Walk, which features a storybook along one of the walking trails – a page at the time.
McAnally explained the concept of Story Walk and shared more library news on Wednesday’s Town Talk.
Kelly Starling Lyons, the state’s current Piedmont Laureate, will kick off the Saturday festivities at 10 a.m. in the Farm Bureau room at the library, she told John C. Rose. Lyons writes children’s books and will discuss the importance of reading and how to get started writing. Then, at 1 p.m., there will be a ribbon-cutting at the Fox Pond Trail, where the Story Walk stations are located.
The books will change each month, she said, and the first selection Zip, Zoom – by Kelly Starling Lyons. There’s a page at each station, McAnally said, “so as you walk along the trail, you read a page.”
There also will be participation cards that, upon completion, can be redeemed at the library for a prize.
Perry Memorial Library is open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Curbside pickup is available, and there’s free wi-fi in the parking lot between Breckenridge and Winder streets.
Another service the library now offers
Patrons, whether they come in to browse for books to check out or use the curbside service should take note of a new policy that was approved last week – overdue fines are permanently abolished!
The local library is following other libraries, large and small, to do away with overdue fines. “If that’s kept you from coming in, please come back and check us out again,” McAnally said. Fines, had been suspended during the pandemic, were seen to be a barrier, she said, adding that the return rate is the same, if not better.
Now, a book will be automatically renewed after it’s been out three weeks, she said. DVDs can stay out two weeks.
After 30 days, the book or other item will be marked “lost” until it is returned. “If you bring it back, we’re all good,” she said.
The library receives most of its funding from the city and the county, for which McAnally is grateful and appreciative. But other programs come about through grant funding, and McAnally mentioned a couple that the library has received in addition to the Story Walk project.
One grant, from the state library system, resulted in Story Cubes, which McAnally describes as “a little machine that spits out a 1- to 3-minutes story or poem – pre-programmed stories” for library patrons. Right now, there’s a Story Cube at the library – dressed up for Halloween – that will spit out a spooky story or poem for patrons.
Our local library is the first public library in North Carolina to have Story Cubes, she said, and there are plans to travel to schools and other locations to share stories. Now, the stories and poems are already-published works, but McAnally said she would like to have contests that would feature local writers’ works.
The most recent grant will help the library partner with NASA to provide STEM education. Perry Memorial is one of only two libraries in North Carolina to be awarded one of 60 grants. Although in preliminary stages of implementation, McAnally said she is excited to be working with NASA, which will result in tapping into NASA experts’ knowledge with topics like earth science and oceanography.
For more information about the library, call 252.438.3316.
Click Play
WIZS Radio Local News Audio 9-22-21 Noon
Click Play to Listen. On Air at 8am, 12pm, 5pm M-F.
WIZS Radio ∼ 100.1FM/1450AM
Franklin’s $11.4 Million Wastewater Treatment Plant Project Gets Underway With Sept. 24 Groundbreaking Ceremony
The official ground-breaking for a $11.4 million rehabilitation project to Franklin County’s wastewater treatment plant will be held Friday at 10 a.m., according to information from the county’s public utilities department.
The treatment plant, located at 1099 Lane Store Rd. in Franklinton, was built in 1987 and has had two capacity upgrades – one in 1997 and a second in 2004. This rehabilitation project has a price tag of $11,479,000 and should be completed by February 2023.
The project is made possible through a loan from the N.C. Division of Water Infrastructure, which offered a 20-year, zero-interest loan with $217,083 in principal forgiveness.
The wastewater treatment facility serves more than 4,500 residential, commercial and industrial customers.
Call the public utilities department at 919.556.6177 to learn more or visit www.franklincountync.us.
Volunteer To Pick Up Litter During CommUNITY Cleanup Day Sept. 25
It’s not too late to sign up for CommUNITY Cleanup Day, as Henderson joins with the N.C. Department of Transportation’s Fall Litter Sweep program on Saturday morning.
Individuals, as well as churches, businesses and other organizations can pitch in and make a difference along the city’s roadways. City staff will be at the Operations Center parking lot, 900 S. Beckford Drive, at 7:45 a.m. on Sept. 25 to hand out safety vests, gloves and bags to volunteers.
Visit http://cms8.revize.com/revize/henderson/residents/index.php to sign up.
To learn more, contact Tracey Kimbrell at
252.430.5702 or traceykimbrell@henderson.nc.gov