Tag Archive for: #wizsnews

Vance County Schools Logo

TownTalk 02-23-21 Dr. Anthony Jackson, In-Person Learning

/by

UPDATE 2-24-21 TO ORIGINAL STORY:

COURTESY OF VANCE COUNTY SCHOOLS – As we continue preparing for our return to face-to-face interactions with students, Vance County Schools is working diligently to ensure we are providing all of the necessary safety protocols for the health and wellness of our everyone, prior to student re-entry.

On Friday, March 5, all Vance County Schools staff will have the opportunity to receive the COVID-19 vaccination. Due to the vaccination schedule, VCS will delay the re-entry of students to the week of Monday, March 8. The only change to the re-entry is that students in Pre-K, Kindergarten, and 1st grade, as well as all self-contained students will begin their re-entry the week of Monday, March 8 rather than March 4 and 5.

Thursday, March 4 will be a remote learning day as scheduled for all grades, with students logging in at their assigned times. Friday, March 5 will be an asynchronous learning day for all grades, allowing students to complete assignments in their online learning platform throughout the day.

We are grateful for this added layer of protection being afforded to our district and appreciate your understanding as we work to finish the 2020-2021 school year strong!

ORIGINAL STORY BELOW.  PLEASE REFER TO UPDATED STORY ABOVE FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION.

In just over a week, Vance County schools will once again have students in the building for face-to-face instruction, but adjusting to the “new normal” means some changes are in store for students and staff alike, according to Superintendent Dr. Anthony Jackson.

Jackson spoke with Town Talk host John C. Rose about the staggered re-entry of students, which begins March 4. Below is the schedule for students to return:

  • Mar. 4 – Students in PK, K and 1, and students in self-contained exceptional children’s classrooms
  • Mar. 15 – Students in grades 2, 3, 6 and 9
  • Mar. 22 – Students in grades 4, 5, 12 and 13
  • Mar. 29 – Students in grades 7, 8, 10 and 11

“If you look at it, we’re going very cautiously, so we can assess where we are, make adjustments and do what we need to do…to make sure we’re successful. If it can be done, it can be done here in Vance County,” he added. “We’ve been very cautious and we’re going to have a very orderly return to school.

Students will come to school two days a week – either Monday/Tuesday or Thursday/Friday, according to Aarika Sandlin, public information officer for the school district. There remains an option for students to continue to participate in remote learning only, she said. Families should receive more information from their children’s schools this week.

Audio of Dr. Jackson on TownTalk. Script continues below.

Jackson said an announcement is forthcoming on a vaccination schedule for teachers. There is a “high degree of angst,” among teachers, he said. “They shouldn’t have to choose between their health and doing what’s right for kids,” he said. In addition, a full-time testing site opened Monday at the Administrative Services Building on Graham Avenue. It is available for staff, students and the community. Testing is free and results will be available in 24 hours, he said.

“Anyone who believes they have been exposed, before they even go to the school,” can get tested, he said.

The district has implemented stringent protocols, he said, from daily temperature stations and misting machines that sanitize whole classrooms daily, along with the required mask-wearing and social distancing, all of which contribute to the protocol.  Students will eat meals in their classrooms instead of the cafeteria, he said, and hopefully outdoors when conditions are right.

“We feel really good about the rings of support that we have placed around getting our students back into the classroom,” Jackson said.

Students may spend part of the summer in classrooms as well, he said. Plans for a 6-week session during the summer are still in the works, he noted. He said he expects there to be some sort of summer session for “intervention or extension” for students.

“I don’t want to call it learning loss,” Jackson explained. “I think the only thing our kids have lost is time,” because of the pandemic. He said he chooses to look at a summer session as a way to give students more time to learn. They missed learning because of the pandemic, not because they didn’t understand.

“We’re going to have to learn how to operate in a new normal,” Jackson said. “What this has taught us is that we can do this and we can do it well, but we have to be very intentional and we have to be willing to make the shifts when necessary,” he added.

Jackson said he has a great team, both within the school system and in the larger community, who have worked together throughout the pandemic. “We know that if we’re going to beat this, we’re going to beat it together. We’re better, stronger and wiser together,” Jackson said.

Local News Audio

WIZS Local News 02-23-21 Noon

/by

WIZS Your Community Voice — 100.1 FM / 1450 AM

Click Play for today’s Local News Audio.

PRESENTED IN PART BY OUR SPONSOR DRAKE DENTISTRY

Local News Airs on WIZS M-F at 8 a.m., 12 Noon and 5 p.m.

“TownTalk” Airs on WIZS M-F at 11 a.m.

“The Local Skinny!” Airs on WIZS Mon-Thurs at 11:30 a.m.

 

The Local Skinny! 02-22-21; Brent Montgomery

/by

(Editor’s note – Just prior to today’s “The Local Skinny!” our “TownTalk” program covered “Covid and Your Heart” with an interventional cardiologist. The fight against covid for two local families was mentioned on air as well.  Avoiding all fanfare and promotion, we tell you today’s guest is Heather Johnson Montgomery.  You will hear her voice after a pair of callers phone in to the show. Also, there is a script below written from Heather speaking about her husband Brent.)

Heather Johnson Montgomery reads every single comment, post and email that comes her way. That she cannot possibly respond to all of them is an indication of the sheer volume of prayers, well wishes and support she and her family continue to receive as her husband, Brent Montgomery, battles COVID-19 at UNC Medical Center.

Montgomery, a NC Highway Patrol trooper, was diagnosed with COVID-19 in early February.  He has been in ICU for 11 days and his wife updated his condition Monday on WIZS’s The Local Skinny.

Brent had been on 80 percent oxygen, she noted, and a chest X-ray looked a little worse, “so they started taking some fluid off of him and he’s responded well,” Heather told John C. Rose. The hope today is to continue to wean him from some of the medicines and from ECMO, a treatment that basically performs the job of the lungs and/or heart. ECMO stands for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation; the heart-lung machine gives the organs a chance to rest and heal when patients are extremely ill.

“I really believe that he is going to make it home to us,” Heather said, adding that the support the family has received from the community has been, well, a Godsend.

“All you hear is bad things about Henderson,” Heather continued. “But this community has really stood up for my husband and my family. I just can’t express the thanks that we feel and the love we feel and the support we’ve had from our community,” she said.

Prayers continue to pour in “from all over the world,” Heather said, from “people I don’t even know.” She said that, before he was intubated in the hospital, Brent told her to pray for the others sick in the ICU who couldn’t have their loved ones near.

“I have to know that God is in control, and he is going to find a way when I feel like there’s no way” she said. “Somehow, God has given me the strength to push through,” she said. “I don’t want people’s faith to waver.”

Maria Parham Health

TownTalk 02-22-21 Dr. Jennifer Rymer (Covid and Your Heart)

/by

People with existing or underlying heart conditions could experience worse symptoms if they are diagnosed with COVID-19, and a local cardiologist wants to get the word out to the community to seek medical treatment if symptoms persist.

Dr. Jennifer Rymer, an interventional cardiologist at Maria Parham Health, often sees patients who are having heart attacks when they come to the hospital. Treating heart conditions amidst a global pandemic adds a layer of caution to the work she performs.

“COVID can take all of the heart conditions – pain, fluid retention and shortness of breath with congestive heart failure and just make it worse,” she said on Monday’s Town Talk with John C. Rose. “It can weaken the squeeze of the heart and it can cause clots to form in both heart arteries and lung arteries,” she said.

“The best way to avoid all this is to avoid the virus,” Rymer said, whether by social distancing, wearing a mask or getting the vaccine. “As soon as you can get the vaccine…you should absolutely attempt to get it,” she said.

Side effects of the vaccine, for the vast majority of those who have received the shot, are minimal and short-lived. They include mild flu-like symptoms like low-grade fever and achiness. These usually go away within 48 hours of getting the vaccine. If those symptoms do NOT go away after, say 72 hours, you should get checked out by a medical professional.

The protective properties of the vaccine are especially important, especially those with heart conditions. “The protective mechanism of the vaccine … cannot be underscored enough,” Rymer said. “It is just critical for these patients to try to get immunity to this disease and to this virus.”

That post-vaccine achiness is actually “your body’s attempt at working to develop antibodies against the virus.” Rymer said. Although not particularly pleasant to endure, she said it is “a sign that the immunization is working.”

Dr. Jennifer Rymer audio on WIZS TownTalk.  Story script continues below.

Interventional cardiologists perform catheterizations, and often are able to fix blockages with either the placement of stents or balloons to strengthen a weakened blood vessel wall. Patients with underlying heart disease, who have already had a heart attack or who have congestive heart disease aren’t able to rebound as quickly from other health problems, she said. COVID-19 “puts the body under stress,” she said, and those with coronary disease are more susceptible.

People also can experience a heart attack as a result of their COVID-19 infection, she said, because of the added stress the virus infection places on the body. Additional health problems such as diabetes, high cholesterol and being overweight add more risk factors for patients, she said. Patients in these higher-risk categories often aren’t able to fight off infection as well, Rymer added.

Complications of COVID-19 can include the formation of clots in the arteries of the lungs and heart, she said. Symptoms include chest pain that is new for you, and extreme shortness of breath. Increased fluid retention is another symptom to be mindful of, she noted. These symptoms also are associated with congestive heart failure, she said. “COVID can take all the symptoms and make it worse,” she warned.

Rymer said even patients in their 20s and 30s with no underlying heart conditions have experienced heart problems brought on by COVID-19. The virus can attack the heart wall which can mimic congestive heart failure. In such cases, the patients are treated with medications to try to improve the function of the heart wall muscle – “hopefully the symptoms will resolve, but in some cases it doesn’t resolve,” she said.

(Maria Parham Health is a paying advertising client of WIZS Radio and WIZS.com.  This is not a paid advertisement.)

(This post, news and audio is not meant to offer medical advice or to render a diagnosis or treatment options.  Always consult with your physician or a medical professional.  This is an informational broadcast and script only.)

Local News Audio

WIZS Local News 2-22-21 Noon

/by

WIZS Your Community Voice — 100.1 FM / 1450 AM

Click Play for today’s Local News Audio.

PRESENTED IN PART BY OUR SPONSOR DRAKE DENTISTRY

Local News Airs on WIZS M-F at 8 a.m., 12 Noon and 5 p.m.

“TownTalk” Airs on WIZS M-F at 11 a.m.

“The Local Skinny!” Airs on WIZS Mon-Thurs at 11:30 a.m.

 

Local News Audio

WIZS Local News Audio 02-19-21 Noon

/by

Click to Listen to Local news Audio.

WIZS Your Community Voice — 100.1 FM / 1450 AM

PRESENTED IN PART BY OUR SPONSOR DRAKE DENTISTRY

Local News Airs on WIZS M-F at 8 a.m., 12 Noon and 5 p.m.

“TownTalk” Airs on WIZS M-F at 11 a.m.

“The Local Skinny!” Airs on WIZS Mon-Thurs at 11:30 a.m.

New Director named at Camp Oak Hill

/by

Missy Edlin has been involved with Camp Oak Hill in a variety of ways, from camper to counselor to board president. The camp’s board of directors announced last week that Edlin has been named interim executive director, and she couldn’t be happier.

The board unanimously elected Edlin to lead the camp and retreat center, located in northern Granville County. In her new role, Edlin “sets vision and culture, furthers history and traditions, grows leaders, and embraces the need to remain relevant in an ever-changing overnight camp environment,” according to a written statement.

“I am thrilled to serve Camp Oak Hill in this role as executive director, and I look forward to supporting the staff and nurturing the love of Christ in campers’ lives this summer,” Edlin stated. “Camp is a special place to so many and I feel fortunate to be a part of this organization and the families it represents,” she said.

Edlin was introduced to Camp Oak Hill in 1986, her first year as a camper. Through the years, she participated in leadership training, then was a camp counselor and pool manager. Her relationship with the camp continued through her adult life, and most recently, Edlin headed up the fundraising campaign to mark the camp’s 40th anniversary. She has served on the board as vice president and since April 2020, as president.  “I am hopeful for the future of Camp Oak Hill, continuing to build upon the legacy of those who came before me,” she said.

This role is a natural fit for Edlin, who has a long history of ministry to others. She was chaplain for Delta Zeta sorority at UNC-CH, has led Bible study groups for campers and others for women. She has experience leading a a variety of church-based education endeavors, including developing a church-wide curriculum for community groups.

Edlin and her family live in Wake County, where she is active in community and civic activities there, including the Junior League of Raleigh and Step Up Ministries and Avent West Community Outreach. She also has served on annual fundraising campaigns for both the NC Boys & Girls Club and Urban Ministries.

Edlin leaves SoftPro Corporation after 11 years, where she was a training coordinator, implementation specialist and customer care ambassador. She previously had worked as a corporate paralegal and then as director of children’s ministry for Midtown Community Church in Raleigh. “It is a true joy to find my work at Camp (Oak Hill) as a privilege and not just a duty,” she added.

Visit www.campoakhill.org to learn more.

Local News Audio

WIZS Local News 02-17-21 Noon

/by

Click to Listen to Local news Audio.

WIZS Your Community Voice — 100.1 FM / 1450 AM

PRESENTED IN PART BY OUR SPONSOR DRAKE DENTISTRY

Local News Airs on WIZS M-F at 8 a.m., 12 Noon and 5 p.m.

“TownTalk” Airs on WIZS M-F at 11 a.m.

“The Local Skinny!” Airs on WIZS Mon-Thurs at 11:30 a.m.

 

The Local Skinny! 02-17-21

/by

Each broadcast of “The Local Skinny!” invites you to call 492-5594.  You can call with an item you’d like to sell or something you are looking for.  Also, you can call about anything on your mind…a grip, a praise, a news item of interest, a question you’d like to know more about.

And, we’re always ready with local news and information, guests, business spotlights and the latest from Vance County Cooperative Extension.

Run down for Wednesday:

11:30 a.m. – Items to Buy or Sell and your calls

11:40 a.m. – Discussion of impending ice storm

Later this week on the program, guest Marcia Allen, Vance County Democratic Party Chair, on Thursday … plus your calls and items.

Stay tuned and tell a friend!