Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland: Living Christmas Trees
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Tag Archive for: #wizsnews
Burn ban lifted for all North Carolina counties as conditions improve
— press release
The N.C. Forest Service has lifted a ban on all open burning effective at noon Monday, Dec. 13, for the following counties in North Carolina: Alamance, Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Caswell, Davidson, Davie, Durham, Forsyth, Granville, Guilford, Henderson, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Orange, Person, Polk, Randolph, Rockingham, Rowan, Stokes, Surry, Transylvania, Vance, Watauga, Wilkes, Yadkin and Yancey.
The ban, which went into effect Nov. 29 due to hazardous forest fire conditions, was lifted for 67 other counties on Dec. 8.
“We saw some much-needed rain during the weekend, and that has thankfully helped bring fire danger down, allowing us to lift burn ban restrictions statewide,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “Still, I’d caution residents to remain vigilant about burning responsibly and safely. Make sure you have a valid burn permit and contact your NCFS county ranger for wildfire prevention and fire safety tips.”
As of noon, burn permits are available statewide. Residents can obtain a burn permit from any authorized permitting agent or online at www.ncforestservice.gov/burnpermit. All burn permits granted before the statewide burn ban were canceled when the ban became effective. A valid permit must be obtained.
Residents with questions regarding their specific county can contact their N.C. Forest Service county ranger or county fire marshal’s office. To find contact information for your local NCFS county ranger, visit www.ncforestservice.gov/contacts.
Booze It and Lose It Holiday Enforcement Campaign Starts Today
— press release
Christmas lights won’t be the only thing lighting up the night this holiday season.
Starting today, through Jan. 2, law enforcement officers will be stepping up patrols across the state to stop impaired drivers as part of the “Booze It & Lose It” holiday enforcement effort.
“If you’re out celebrating this holiday season, make sure you have a sober ride home,” said Mark Ezzell, program director of the N.C. Governor’s Highway Safety Program, or NCGHSP. “If you drive under the influence, you have a lot to lose. Not only could you kill yourself or someone else, but you could face thousands of dollars in court costs and fines, jail time, or a revoked license.”
The “Booze It & Lose It” holiday enforcement effort is the largest of such campaigns operated each year by NCGHSP. During the 2020 campaign, officers issued more than 1,700 violations for driving while intoxicated.
NCGHSP will be supporting the campaign through a combination of paid media advertising and social media outreach.
To date, 326 people have lost their lives on North Carolina roads in impaired driving crashes in 2021.
NCGHSP reminds all travelers to stay safe on the roads this holiday season by:
• Never driving impaired and always finding a safe ride home;
• Buckling your seatbelt when riding in any seat in the vehicle; and
• Following the speed limit.
For more driver safety tips and program information, follow N.C. Governor’s Highway Safety Program on Facebook and @NC_GHSP on Twitter and Instagram
WIZS Radio Local News Audio 12-13-21 Noon
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The Local Skinny! Vance Co. Commissioners Meet
The Vance County Commissioners selected Leo Kelly, Jr. as chairman and Yolanda Feimster as vice-chair at its recent regular meeting. Kelly takes over from Dan Brummitt as chairman.
Kelly was appointed to the board of commissioners in November 2015 to represent District 5. He is retired from Vance-Granville Community College where he served as dean of continuing education. Kelly serves as president of the Community Relations Council for Kittrell Job Corps and is the financial secretary for his church, Cotton Memorial Presbyterian. He also works as a customer associate for Lowe’s Home Improvement store in Henderson.
Feimster was elected in 2016 to represent District 6. She is an attorney licensed to practice in North Carolina. She holds a B.A. degree in Political Science from UNC-Greensboro and a Juris Doctor (law) degree from UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law. She is an Associate minister at St. James Missionary Baptist Church on Oxford Road in Henderson.
The renovation of the former Eaton-Johnson campus is nearing completion, and County Manager Jordan McMillen updated the commission on the progress being made in order for the Department of Social Services and Senior Center to move in to their new building.
“Eaton Johnson is very close,” McMillen told WIZS News in an email today (Monday). “The pavement and landscaping went in last week and we are looking to move DSS and the Senior Center in during the third week in January if the certificate of occupancy is complete by then. We will also have a ribbon-cutting and tours set up closer to move-in day,” he said.
During their Dec. 6 meeting, the commissioners also got the chance to officially meet and welcome McKinley Perkinson, the county’s new economic development director. Perkinson began her new role in mid-November, and most recently has worked with Franklin County’s economic development agency as a project manager to enhance the county’s website, online presence in the areas of economic development and tourism.
The commissioners received an update from Granville Vance Public Health Director Lisa Harrison about the state of public health in the county. According to data from Harrison, cancer, heart disease and stroke remain the top causes of death in the county.
TownTalk: Why Vance County Gets Zero from State Budget
It’s sort of like a high school student who didn’t follow the directions to complete an assignment – that’s the way one caller likened the situation that Vance County finds itself in with regard to earmark projects in the new state budget.
Vance County is one of three counties among the state’s 100 counties that received no money for special projects. On Monday’s Town Talk, John C. Rose heard from several callers who offered their perspective on the issue.
“If you took our list of needs in Vance County and compared it to any one of the other 97 other counties that received money from this appropriations bill, you would see that our list of needs grows a lot longer than most,” one caller said.
“My family stopped buying the city water over two years ago – ever since we started having issues at the treatment center. We pay our water bill every month, of course. But we don’t drink it and we don’t cook with it. In essence, this household pays for water twice.
“I can’t think of a bigger failure on the political front in my lifetime,” he continued. “I probably won’t see a failure this big anymore.”
“We missed our opportunity – big time.”
Other callers offered similar sentiments and said more than state politics, local officials should be held more accountable.
“I think that it had nothing to do with politics,” another caller stated. “There are people that are supposed to keep up with all that stuff,” she said. “Grants and all the things that come to Vance County (have) to be applied for…that was a big, big oversight on Vance County personnel. “They don’t just give (money) to people who act like they don’t want it,” she added.
“I put all the blame on Vance County,” she said.
One caller said everyone in Vance County should be upset about not getting our share of money in the state budget. “We need the money – it is just crazy that we’re not getting this money.”
Slicing The Budget Pie And The Budget Process
Despite efforts by local government leaders, Vance County and Henderson were on the short end of the stick when it comes to the recently passed $52 billion state budget. Rep. Terry Garrison said he has some ideas about why it happened that Vance County didn’t receive any funding for earmark projects.
He said in a phone interview earlier today (Friday) with John C. Rose that it all boils down to politics.
“There is absolutely no question about it,” he said. “(Politics) accounts for why we didn’t get any of the earmarked money.”
It’s common for local leaders to discuss funding projects with their representatives in Raleigh informally before the formal request for funding is made, Garrison said.
There was a formal request for funding help with the Kerr Lake Regional Water System, but Garrison said it was made in August, after the April 30 request period had ended.
But Garrison also said he, along with State Sen. Mike Woodard (District 22) tried to get some money for the project, “but it didn’t happen. If the politics had been different, I feel like it would have been included.”
Garrison and Woodard are Democrats; House Speaker Tim Moore, who met with the Vance County and Henderson contingent, is a Republican.
Politics aside, Garrison did have some encouraging words for future funding for the regional water system.
“There are some funds that have been earmarked for water and sewer. I don’t think the door is completely closed…to get some funding assistance.”
Garrison said the request process works like this: he submits a formal funding request to the House Democratic caucus, which in turn presents it to the budget committee for inclusion in the budget.
Garrison did vote to approve the budget, which was long overdue. “There were a lot of things in the budget that were good for North Carolina and good for Vance County,” he said, mentioning salary increases and bonuses for teachers, rural broadband support and funding for community colleges.
“On that basis, I supported it – the good outweighed the negative.”
Unfortunately, the negative included no earmarked projects for Vance County or Henderson.
City Manager Terrell Blackmon offered his understanding about special projects. “For all intents and purposes (they) are earmarks for politicians that are loyal to the prevailing party.” Right now, the prevailing party in the legislature is the Republican party.
“We made a case to our state representatives and it was not well received by the leadership in the N.C. General Assembly. We will continue to make requests and apply for funds at the agency level to hopefully assist with many of the projects here in Henderson that need additional funding,” Blackmon said.
The regional water system did get a boost of $3.5 million, Blackmon said, thanks to Congressmen G.K. Butterfield and David Price. However, the federal government is operating on a continuing resolution because it has yet to pass a budget.
“Most of the projects appear to be in Republican districts and/or districts where Democrats voted for the Republican budget passed by the NC General Assembly,” Blackmon said of the state-funded projects awarded to 97 of 100 counties.
“It does seem to come down to politics,” Blackmon said.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Garrison concurred.
Cooperative Extension with Jamon Glover: A Proper Foundation
Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.
WIZS Radio Local News Audio 12-9-21 Noon
Click Play to Listen. On Air at 8am, 12pm, 5pm M-F
WIZS Radio ~ 100.1FM/1450AM
TownTalk: Vance Gets $0 From NC Budget
The recently passed state budget was more than two years in the making. There seems to be something for everyone. Almost everyone, that is. Vance County is among only three counties in the state that received no funding.
Nothing.
The big question is: Why?
Finding that answer may not be so simple. But one thing seems clear: Vance County did not receive any funding for projects earmarked for counties from the $3.1 billion appropriations bill that Gov. Roy Cooper signed into law last month.
Currituck and Chatham counties are the other two counties that didn’t receive funding, according to a recent analysis of the budget by the News & Observer.
Granville County got more than $45 million – the bulk of which is slated for South Granville Water and Sewer Authority in southern Granville County. Warren County got $300,000 and Franklin got a total of $1.8 million for three projects.
There are 628 pages that comprise the Senate Bill 105, which outlines details of the budget. And nothing in those 628 pages is earmarked for Vance County. According to the budget bill, Vance-Granville Community College was awarded more than $7.3 million, so perhaps some of that money will find its way to Vance County.
Henderson Mayor Eddie Ellington told John C. Rose in an email today (Thursday) that he was among a contingent of city and county officials that paid a visit to House Speaker Tim Moore. Ellington said he, along with City Manager Terrell Blackmon and county commissioners Tommy Hester and Archie Taylor went to Raleigh and were told that “no money was requested from our representatives in the House or the Senate.”
Terry Garrison represents Vance County in the state legislature, as does Sen. Ernestine Bazemore. Vance County Manager Jordan McMillen suggested that Garrison or Bazemore may have more information about what McMillen called “political maneuvering” in Raleigh.
“Sadly it comes down to the ugly side of politics,” Ellington said in an email Thursday to WIZS News. Ellington said the group asked Moore to “overlook that and make an exception for us, being that we were sitting in his office and had made the special trip.”
According to Ellington, Moore said he would look at the request again but that the budget had already been determined.
“Upon returning to Henderson, I spoke with Rep. Terry Garrison and he said he had been trying but being from the opposite party it came with strings attached and he couldn’t answer the quid pro quo. Our state Senator Ernestine Bazemore has been very sick and has basically not able to participate at all. This went on for another month before the 2021 budget was actually signed so something could have been done,” Ellington continued. Despite a couple of visits by Sen. Phil Berger to the Henderson/Vance County area, “it wasn’t enough to help us.”
He said the overdue budget, the ongoing power struggle between the Speaker of the House, the Senate Pro tem and the governor have put Henderson in a “tough spot.”
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