Tag Archive for: #wizsnews

RR Crossing Repairs

/by

As the old joke goes, there’s good news and bad news about a few railroad crossings in the area: The good news is that four crossings are being repaired during the next couple of weekends. The bad news is that motorists will be rerouted for a couple of days while the improvements are being made.

Beginning on Friday, Jan. 14 at 6:30 a.m., the crossing at N.C. 39 and Andrews Avenue and the crossing at Welcome Avenue near Saint Matthews St. in the southern part of the city will be closed to traffic. CSX Railroad has scheduled the repairs and routine required maintenance to begin Friday and be completed by sometime Saturday, Jan. 15.

The statement from the city said detour routes would be marked.

The following weekend – Jan. 21 and Jan. 22 – the crossing at J.P. Taylor Road, just off Raleigh Road and the crossing at State Road 1595 near Eastern Minerals, will be closed for repairs and maintenance.

Inclement weather could affect the times and dates.

Maria Parham Health

Maria Parham Tweaks Visitor Guidelines In Response To COVID-19 Spike

/by

Maria Parham Health has announced updated guidelines for visitors to the hospital, effective today, Wednesday, Jan. 5.

A hospital patient who is COVID-19 negative may have one visitor per day during the 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. visiting hours window. The visitor may change each day, but no visitor may stay overnight. Visitors are required to wear an appropriate face mask at all times, except when actively eating or drinking. Gaiter-style face coverings are not acceptable.

The visitor must stay in the patient room and observe all infection prevention protocols including social distancing and frequent hand washing in addition to wearing a face mask.

Things are a bit different for those patients who have tested positive for COVID-19, however.

Those patients may have no visitors, unless it’s an end-of-life situation, according to the hospital’s webpage and social media posts. In such situations, no more than two members of the patient’s immediate family may visit at one time.

Patients entering the hospital through the Emergency Room may have one visitor each day. Visitors may change each day, but they are not permitted to wait in the lobby/waiting area with patients waiting to be seen. Visitors should wait in their cars until the patient is put into a room, but COVID-19 positive patients that come through the ER are not allowed any visitors.

Obstetrical patients in labor or giving birth may have one support person per day, and that person may stay with the patient throughout her labor, but must stay in the patient’s room.

Pediatric patients are allowed two visitors per day and those visitors also  may change each day. Pediatric inpatients are allowed to have one overnight visitor, but, again those visitors must remain in the patient’s room.

Visit mariaparham.com to view the policy in its entirety.

Community Partners Of Hope Has New Community Network Specialist

/by

The newest staff member at Community Partners of Hope, Inc. of Henderson, may be new to the job, but she certainly is not new to the community. Delthine Watson has lived and worked in Vance County for the past 25 years, and she brings a passion for the local outreach ministry to the newly created position.

Watson, a native of Warren County, is the community network specialist for CPOH. The position is designed to help the organization expand services and outreach to homeless men in the community. Watson said she wants to take things to a new level. “I want to be instrumental in improving my community,” she said in a press release to WIZS News.

CPOH Volunteer Coordinator Jane King said, “Watson has supported our ministry for many years volunteering wherever needed and organizing her church to supply meals on a regular basis. She has a heart for service to go along with her experience in helping people navigate hard times.”

Watson understands the challenges of communities with limited resources, said Pastor Joseph Ratliff of Shiloh Baptist Church. “Yet, she knows local, state, and federal possibilities for additional resources,” Ratliff said.

Pastor Matthew Copple of First Presbyterian Church explains that CPOH’s decision to form this new role speaks loudly about the organization’s priority to expand its reach to the men it serves and the community at large. “Her [Watson’s] voice will remind our leaders and community organizations that a community’s success is defined by how it cares for its most vulnerable members,” said Copple.

Board Chairman Mike Holland has set a bold goal to relocate the emergency shelter to a location that will sustain year-round operation and space for education and job training. Under his leadership, the board of directors – coupled with Watson’s expertise – looks forward to a banner year for CPOH in 2022.

Watson said she dreams of eliminating homelessness altogether, but until that time, there is plenty more work to do by providing hot meals and temporary lodging.

Board member Ron Cava said the board is pleased to have Watson in the new position. Her education and experience in various social services and counseling uniquely qualify her for this position, he said. “We are pleased to have someone of Delthine’s character, experience, and passion for service with the homeless to join our team.” Cava said.

The community ministry serves Henderson by safely sheltering homeless men, providing them warmth, nourishment, guidance, and encouragement. Since its opening 12 years ago, improvements to the shelter and management have increased capacity to move men from chronic homelessness to more hopeful potential for housing. CPOH seasonally operates a men’s homeless shelter November through March, providing service to 60-80 men each season. Its companion service, Hope House, offers temporary residence for up to six men who are transitioning out of homelessness.

In her new role, Watson will work closely with the board of directors and other CPOH staff to provide support, coordination, guidance, and visibility for services offered to homeless men. Through her networking with regional agencies and organizations, CPOH will enhance the potential for each homeless man to find healing, work and housing.

Learn more at www.cp-hope.org.

Home And Garden Show 1-5-22

/by

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

  • New Year = New Garden Year Start your 2022 Garden Journal
  • Contact wildlife resources commission for help with wildlife damage issues
  • Start planning your 2022 garden on paper now what are your goals for 2022 garden.
  • Turf weed management is different now.
  • What problems did you have in your 2021 garden? Call Cooperative Extension we can give you recommendations that may solve some of those issues before those problems start in 2022.
  • Start preparing your seeding equipment for growing transplants.
  • Build a small greenhouse or cold frame to raise your own transplants for 2022
  • Consider fruit crops that are easier to grow.

 

TownTalk: The Jail and more Things To Know

/by

The jail; Closed railroad crossings; Thieves; Hope House; Maria Parham visitation — all “Things to Know” in this latest edition of WIZS TownTalk.

Click Play Below

Vance County Logo

Sheriff, jail staff working to fix problems noted in state inspection

/by

The Vance County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to hear a report about the recent state inspection of the county jail at their meeting Monday, Jan. 10.

Although the biannual inspection contained numerous findings regarding the state of the facility, the director’s report indicates that all deficiencies have either been corrected or are close to being corrected.

Vance County Detention Director Maj. John Shelton prepared a three-page response to the inspection, which was conducted on Dec. 1, 2021 by an inspector from N.C. Health and Human Services.

Most of the findings have to do with the actual jail building and include issues like peeling paint, rusty vents in cells and damaged glass. Sheriff Curtis R. Brame told WIZS News that the county just needs a new detention center.

“The one that serves our county is old, outdated, antiquated and unsafe for both staff and detainees,” Brame said in an email.

The peeling paint and rusty vents are both the result of condensation on exterior walls, Shelton noted in his report. “Over the years, the mildew has been painted over rather that the source being eliminated. That has caused the paint to bubble up and peel away,” the report stated.

Dehumidifiers have been placed throughout the facility and the plan is to install a vent fan to pull moisture out, as well as address any air flow issues. Once the moisture problem has been fixed, the walls will be scraped and re-painted. But that work will have to be contracted out because the jail has no maintenance person and there currently are no “suitable trustees to help,” the report stated.

Staffing shortages are the result of another finding by the state inspector in the supervision category. Regulations state that inmates be observed “at least two times within a 60-minute period on an irregular basis with not more than 40 minutes between rounds.”

A records review during the inspection found that this was not the case on at least one occasion.

The sheriff’s office report said there are not enough detention officers available to make sure each squad is fully staffed. Three squads have only three detention officers and a fourth squad only has two. The authorized staffing level is seven per squad.

“We have been offering paid overtime to detention officers and deputies to fill some of the vacant blocks of time, particularly at night and on the weekends,” Shelton stated in the report. A lieutenant has been put in charge of monitoring the rounds and taking disciplinary action when necessary.

Other issues that were identified are:

  • Inoperable fixtures, but Shelton said that the lights in the female dorm had not been turned on at the switch. “Once those lights were switched on, they worked as designed.” The bulbs that are not working in Segregation Cell 3 will be changed once the bits arrive that are needed to unscrew the bolts of the tamper-proof fixture, the report stated.
  • Perry Glass will install new Lexan to replace the damaged laminated glass in Segregation Cell 1.
  • A missing ceiling tile in a storage area has been replaced.
  • An outside  camera is not working, and Shelton noted that it had been damaged in a storm. The camera vendor has been contacted.
  • Dieticians at Maria Parham Health have been contacted to consult with planning menus for detainees.
Franklin County Logo

Franklin County Commissioners Change Location of Meeting

/by

Franklin County, January 4, 2022: Franklin County Commissioners will meet at a new location
beginning Tuesday, January 18, 2022. Later this month the Board will begin conducting meetings at
the new Franklin Plaza location at 279 South Bickett Boulevard in Louisburg in Training Room 102
beginning at 7pm. The Board currently conducts its meetings at 113 Market Street in Louisburg. The
schedule of regular meetings can be located at https://www.franklincountync.us/commissioners.
The Franklin Plaza location offers building space and parking that will better accommodate the
meeting and serve citizens by providing the opportunity for public attendance.
For additional information, please contact Kim Denton, Franklin County Manager, at (919) 496-5994.

The Local Skinny! Vance Eats: Yikky Wingz

/by

It’s no secret around WIZS that our Trey Snide likes to eat. So when we decided that a new segment of the Local Skinny was to be called “Vance Eats” the natural choice for a host was Trey Snide. Vance Eats had it’s inaugural segment with chicken wings from Yikky Wingz. Owner William Flye supplied Trey with five different types of wings. These included hot lemon pepper, jazzy honey mustard, Yikky buffalo, Yikky gold and garlic parmesan. Fresh carrots, celery and ranch dressing were also a part of the wings plate. “They blew up on social media,” Snide said of Yikky Wingz on the program today. They season and prep each item and, according to the Yikky Wingz Facebook page, the trick to their delicious wings is the secret sauce.

In addition to wings, Yikky Wingz has deep fried pineapple, chicken tenders, gizzards and more. Yikky Wingz is located in the Citgo Service Station at 1208 Andrews Ave. across from Biddie’s Grill. They are open Monday through Saturday 12noon to 8pm.

To check out their entire menu visit their Facebook page. In coming weeks Trey will be sampling many different restaurants around the area both large and small. Vance Eats can be heard as part of the Local Skinny! on WIZS. The Local Skinny airs Monday through Thursday at 11:30am on WIZS 1450AM, 100.1FM and online at wizs.com.

NCDOT Bike Helmet Program Puts Free Helmets On Kids’ Heads

/by

The goal of the state Department of Transportation’s annual bicycle helmet initiative is to reduce bicycle injuries and deaths. Applications are available now for agencies to get up to 100 free bike helmets for young cyclists.

As part of the initiative, applicants are encouraged to partner with government and non-government agencies to host bike safety events. Examples of partners include police and fire departments, parks and recreation departments, health departments and community centers, as well as churches and other non-governmental organizations.

Applications are due by 5 p.m. on Feb. 4, 2022, according to information from NCDOT. Applicants may request 25, 50, 75 or 100 helmets and the groups awarded are scheduled to receive the helmets by April 29, 2022.

The selection process has been revised and is no longer limited to government agencies. Helmets will be awarded and distributed once per calendar year in the spring and awardees will have the remainder of the calendar year to host their safety program and then provide a report within 30 days of the event.

The program was started in 2007 and is overseen by the DOT’s integrated mobility division. Money to fund the program comes from sales of the Share The Road specialty license plate. Since its inception, the initiative has provided thousands of helmets to low-income children – more than 30,000 in the past five years alone. Statistics show that less than half of all children wear a helmet while biking, but wearing a helmet can reduce the risk of severe brain injuries by almost 90 percent for children involved in bike accidents.

About 20 bicyclists die in biking accidents each year in North Carolina – one in six of those are under the age of 16. The use of bike helmets was found to reduce head injury by 48 percent, serious head injury by 60 percent, traumatic brain injury by 53 percent, face injury by 23 percent and the total number of cyclists killed or seriously injured by 34 percent.

Visit the NCDOT Bicycle Helmet Initiative webpage for more information and to download the application.