Tag Archive for: #wizsnews

TownTalk: Spring Activities Are Bustin’ Out All Over Granville County

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Granville County is cultivating a variety of springtime activities, with some first-time events sprinkled in amongst others that have become perennial favorites.

County Tourism Director Angela Allen said that, once again, there’s something for everyone in the offerings over the next few weeks and beyond.

Allen shared details about some of the events but recommended a visit to the www.visitgranvillenc.com website for a full listing of what’s coming up in Granville County.

One unique event is The Viking Experience, which has blossomed since its inception four short years ago, Allen said.

Each year, the event has grown – from basically a backyard event when COVID-19 restrictions affected gatherings to a two-weekend event expected to bring folks from across the state and the country, Allen said on Thursday’s TownTalk.

The first weekend is Mar. 22 and 23; the second weekend is Mar. 29 and 30. The “experience” outgrew two other area venues and the mother/daughter duo from the Creedmoor area ended up buying 15 acres that will serve as the host site for this year’s activities.

Those activities include interacting with re-enactors in period dress, as well as music, games and all types of vendors who will be on hand for both weekends.

“You can truly escape into a whole other world,” Allen said. She said folks really get into the whole “other world” where history meets fantasy, but those not into the “culture” who just are curious about what the Viking experience is all about, come on out and take a look.

“They have their own community,” Allen said. “The could have chosen anywhere in North Carolina but they wanted to start at home…this is a way of life for them.”

Visit https://www.thevikingexperiencenc.com/ to find schedules of events and more.

The Bunny Hop Bash is a brand-new event this season, Allen said. It will take place at Clement Farms Saturday, Mar. 22 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

This is a family-friendly event – “a wonderful collaboration” between a wedding venue and a couple of local businesses.

Modeled after the wildly popular “Jingle Bell Bash,” Allen said Saturday’s event will take advantage of the milder weather and will have carriage rides, a bouncy house, talented local vendors and, of course, a big ol’ Easter Egg hunt and a visit from the Easter Bunny.

Check out https://visitgranvillenc.com/whats-happening/ to find a link to tickets.

Allen has become somewhat synonymous with Granville tourism, having been in the role for a decade. She said she’s witnessed a healthy collaboration grow out of relationships that sometimes get started at local events.

All the networking before and after events allow vendors to learn from – and support – others. It also shows visitors that this area north of the Triangle region is a great place to live and to visit.

“We are all here to lift each other up,” she said.

Other upcoming events and activities include:

  • Saturday, Mar. 29 – Paws for Granville, a dinner and silent auction fundraiser of the Humane Society of Granville County and the Granville County Animal Shelter. Tickets are $40. Deadline to purchase is Monday, Mar. 24. Event will be held at the Barn at Vino in Stem.
  • Sunday, Mar. 30 – Fashion Show at Carlee Farm, 1003 Carlee Farm Rd. Visit vendors for clothing, jewelry, food, beverages and more from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fashion show will be from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and includes area boutiques Kissing Booth and Tilly Outfitters, C squared, Rustic Barn among others.
  • Friday, Apr. 4 – Cedar Creek Gallery’s Spring Festival. The gallery has its annual festival, featuring live music, food and drinks, as well as tours of workshops to see artisans as they are creating works from glass, wood, clay and more. Check out https://cedarcreekgallery.com/ for a complete schedule of festival events, which runs through Apr. 13.
  • Sunday, Apr. 13 – EGGstravaganza at Carlee Farms. Allen calls this a “full on spring celebration.” The Easter Bunny will be on site and visitors can enjoy shopping with more than 30 vendors, food trucks and more. This event sponsors a local nonprofit, Families Living Violence Free.
  • Saturday, Apr. 19 – Bullock Beach Music Blast – Williamson’s Country Store, 9023 Hwy. 15 N. in Bullock hosts an evening of music with Jim Quick and Coastline and the Konnection Band, hosted by Mike Brooks and Big Allen D. Gates open at 5, music starts at 6 and lasts until 10 p.m. Bring a lawn chair and your dancin’ shoes to this one.
  • Saturday, Apr. 26 – the Granville Gardeners Expo will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Granville County Expo and Convention Center at Hwy. 15 outside of Oxford.
  • Saturday, Apr. 26 – the Central Carolina Highland Games return to Central Children’s Home for a daylong immersion into various traditional Scottish activities – from foods to music from bagpipes and those unique throwing contests where contestants throw things called cabers. It’s all to benefit the Central Children’s Home. Suggested donation is $20 a car.

For a complete listing of events coming up in Granville County, go to https://visitgranvillenc.com/

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The Local Skinny! Community Listening Event Analysis from Jayden Watkins

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Among the more than 175 folks who came to Monday’s “Breaking the Cycle” community listening session sponsored by the Pathways to Peace Coalition for Vance County was Jayden Watkins.

Watkins wears a lot of hats – he’s an author, a pastor, an entrepreneur, a leader of the Empowered youth group, among other things.

His comments during that listening session, however, came from his unique perspective as a teenager. Watkins, 16, said it’s important that teenagers’ voices be heard in discussions like this one, where the talk centered around how to combat growing violence in the community.

Another hat Watkins wears – mostly when he’s on a break from school – is that of part-time employee at WIZS Radio. And he spoke Thursday about the listening session held earlier in the week and possible outcomes that could result from so many people coming out to talk and listen to one another.

“It was important to me that my perspective as a teenager was heard,” Watkins said on Thursday’s segment of The Local Skinny! Despite the fact that some teens are indeed involved in the senseless violence present in Vance County and elsewhere, Watkins said it’s not all teens. “Not all teenagers are lost or headed down a negative path—many are looking for ways to grow, lead, and contribute positively to society,” he said.

His youth mentorship organization, Empowered, has quickly grown from about 40 to more than 120 active members. They have “meet-ups” and talk about real stuff, Watkins said – mental health, trauma brought on by violence and more.

These teens are not “out on the street causing nonsense,” Watkins said. They’re in a safe space inspiring each other to grow stronger – empowering each other to make a difference.

Call Watkins at 252.425.0354 to sign up for Empowered or to make a donation to the nonprofit organization.

And while he sees the value in talking about the challenges this community faces, talking and listening alone aren’t going to solve the problems. “It’s equally important that we take action to bring those changes to life,” Watkins said. Change begins with action, he said.

Part of the change can come by making this a normal conversation, not just a group of people coming together for a couple of hours on one day and then having the community talk about it for a week before enthusiasm wanes.

Watkins called for adults – especially those in leadership roles who can implement policies and create roadmaps for change – to be consistent advocates.

“One person can start a movement,” he said, “but for a movement to grow, there has to be collective unity.”

And sometimes, just sometimes, it’s teenagers themselves who can come up with solutions. Watkins said, however, that “we aren’t recognized or our cry is not being heard” when grownups are talking about how to fix problems or address challenges that affect young people.

Involving youth in the discussions and decision-making can create possible solutions that may just work.

“I pray that those who attended the session don’t just walk away from the conversation with complaints or ideas of what needs to change,” Watkins wrote in remarks he prepared in advance of the radio program. He shared those remarks and we include some of them here:

“I hope we, as a city, will unite and take real action to spark…change. Progress will only happen if we work together to break down the limiting beliefs that hold us back. It all starts with changing our mindset.”

He said he encourages teens to stay in Henderson and be one of the changemakers the city needs. “We have the power to make a difference, but it starts with us—and with you,” he wrote.

“I encourage the adults in our community not to dismiss the dreams and visions of youth like me. Instead, do everything in your power to uplift and support us. If you hold a position of leadership, seek out a young person to mentor. Teach them not only how to lead, but how to lead better than you. If we don’t invest in us, Henderson will remain stagnant.”

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Cooperative Extension with Jamon Glover: Healthy Co-Parenting Part 3

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Cooperative Extension

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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TownTalk: N.C. District 32 Rep. Bryan Cohn Introduces HB 269

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Just a couple of months into his term in the N.C. House representing District 32, Bryan Cohn has introduced a bill and co-sponsored another. In between crafting bills and acclimating himself to the workings of state government, Cohn has been crisscrossing the district to talk with constituents.

House Bill 269 is called the Workforce Freedom and Protection Act, which Cohn introduced just a couple of weeks ago. He said so far, it’s gotten some bipartisan compliments – from none other than the newly elected Speaker of the House Destin Hall.

The bill, briefly described as a workers’ rights bill, focuses on removing some restrictions on employees in jobs with salaries under $75,000. Those restrictions could include non-compete clauses, for example, that could affect an employee’s ability to move within their industry.

“They should have the freedom to do so,” Cohn said on Wednesday’s segment of TownTalk.

He said non-competes might be expected in a high-income, high-impact field for doctors or lawyers or company executives.

But the practice has begun to creep into everyday jobs, he said, and that could limit an employee’s freedom to find a better paying job within the same industry.

If the bill is signed into law, Cohn said it would make existing non-competes null and void for workers who make less than $75,000.

“It would immediately give that worker the ability, if they choose, to seek employment that best suits them,” he said.

Another Bill that Cohn has co-sponsored calls for raising the minimum wage to $18 an hour.

North Carolina follows the federal government’s minimum wage, which has been $7.25 since July 2009.

Cohn advocates for having a stairstep increase over a period of time “to reach an agreeable and reasonable” level.

“You can’t shock the system,” he said. “I strongly believe in a tapered minimum wage.” Workers who earn minimum wage often have multiple jobs just to make ends meet. North Carolina’s minimum wage is “not even close to being a livable wage.”

The idea is to put more money in the pockets of workers, of course, but also to invigorate the economy. Right now, many workers in lower pay bands, Cohn said, don’t have extra money left to put into the economy after they’ve paid for rent and groceries.

They’re spending less money because of inflationary pressure, he asserted, which doesn’t do local economies and local businesses any good.

During his visits throughout the district, Cohn said he’s been particularly pleased to learn more about a key community partner – Vance-Granville Community College.

The trades program, for example, Cohn said, is “phenomenal.” He said until he visited the campus recently, he wasn’t aware of just how successful the college’s trades programs have been.

With District 32 positioned so close to the burgeoning Triangle area, Cohn said the growth will continue.

“I’m excited for the growth that this region is going to see over the coming years and decades,” he said.

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Vance Co. Regional Farmers Market

Home and Garden Show: VCRFM Gardens

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The beautiful memorial garden that greets visitors as they drive into the parking area at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market once was a triangular plot of grass.

Eileen Novak, president of the Vance Warren Master Gardeners said it not only serves to beautify the farmers market campus, but it also is a place for gardeners of all sorts to get ideas about what may grow in their own home landscapes.

Novak and N.C. Cooperative Extension Agent Michael Ellington talked about the existing garden and another that is under construction at the farmers market on Wednesday’s Home and Garden Show.

“We started with a plan,” Novak explained. “And we have kept to that plan…we started it bit by bit,” she said. Over time, the garden’s focus has narrowed to native plants that support pollinators.

“We’ve got a huge variety of plants that will feed the insects in most of the seasons,” she said.

The garden has even contributed to an N.C. State University study to provide information about overwintering insects.

The garden requires regular maintenance and care, and you’ll find a core group of Master Gardeners most Fridays – when the weather allows – weeding, pruning, dividing and generally caring for a garden space for the whole community to enjoy.

One of the perks of gardening is sharing plants with friends, so when bulbs need dividing or bushes need thinning, Novak said the “extra” plants can help improve the environment in other places as well as the market garden.

Ellington said he takes calls from people who have visited the farmers market and are interested in achieving the same look as the memorial garden.

“They want that look at home, but they want easy plants that they don’t have to maintain,” he said.

That’s where native selections are perfect fits, Novak said. “Natives grew up here, they are familiar with the soil, familiar with the environment, the weather,” she said. “Rose bushes are finicky because they’re not natives.”

Novak said members of the Master Gardeners are regularly stationed at the farmers market to answer questions from the public.

“We’re like librarians,” she said. “We don’t know everything, but we know where to look for the answers.” They can help make suggestions, provide information about native plants and how to support pollinators in their own yards and landscapes.

One piece of advice Novak offers to novice gardeners: Start small.

A 4 x 8 foot garden is a perfect size to get started, she said. And that just happens to be the size of the raised beds that will be part of a community garden that is being installed at the farmers market.

Ellington said the raised beds will be rented out for $40 each during the growing season and it’s the perfect way for people who either don’t have space for a garden or who want to get a little extra support from experienced gardeners and from Extension agents.

There are upcoming workdays to come out to help with the garden installation – come out to volunteer on Mar. 21, Mar. 29 or Apr. 11.

Can’t volunteer? No problem. Plans are in the works to offer sponsorship opportunities as well, Ellington said.

If all goes according to plan, the community garden will be ready just about the time the market opens for the season on Saturday, May 3.

By that time, said Novak, gardeners can plant lettuce slips and tomato slips, as well as beet seeds and carrot seeds.

Learn more at the following sites:

Community Garden Volunteer Form (March 21st, 29th, April 11th)

https://go.ncsu.edu/vcrfmgarden

Planting: A Spring Vegetable Planting Guide (March 31st)

http://go.ncsu.edu/vancespringgarden

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TownTalk: Maria Parham Health Wall Breaking Ceremony and Staff Recognition

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Maria Parham Health has embarked on a construction project that will make trips to the Emergency Department safer and more efficient, especially for individuals with behavioral health challenges or substance abuse issues.

The project to transform the ED area will take months to complete, but the hospital can’t just shut down while construction is going on, so officials and staff have had to make some adjustments to precisely how folks in the community access the Emergency Department area.

With directional signs in place, staff and other community leaders took part in a “Wall Breaking” ceremony on Monday. Typical ground-breaking ceremonies may call for officials turning over small piles of dirt with a golden shovel, but Monday’s wall-breaking involved gloves, hammers and protective eyewear. MPH Chief Executive Officer Bert Beard welcomed participants to take a swing at a wall inside the hospital that is marked for demolition.

The lead-up to the actual renovation has taken a few years. What began as a roundtable discussion with stakeholders that included law enforcement officials, mental health and public health leaders, the District Attorney and our state representatives has been translated into a multi-million-dollar project to reshape the ED’s physical setup to better and more safely care for patients that come in seeking help, Beard said in remarks to those gathered on Monday morning.

As the MPH hospital chaplain for 36 years, Pastor Frank Sossamon shares a unique perspective on the project. As N.C. State Representative Sossamon, he helped secure $5 million in state funding to make the project a reality.

The renovation will create designated spaces within the ED specifically designed to meet the needs of behavioral health patients and patients facing social challenges.

Sossamon called the project a “win” for patients, staff and the community.

Although the hospital’s Emergency Department area is undergoing a significant transformation, the day-to-day activities that go on behind the scenes remain in place and hospital officials used the occasion on Monday to recognize several individuals for their exemplary work that keeps the hospital humming and patient care top-of-mind.

Kim Smith, chair of the Maria Parham Resilience Committee, announced the winner of the Employee of the Year and called James Boyd up to receive the honor.

Smith said Boyd always goes above and beyond what is expected and offers his considerable expertise – along with a positive attitude and with humility – that creates a true collaborative effort.

The 2025 Clinical Director of the Year is Crystal Hobgood, director of Surgical Services.

Dr. Darius Divina read some of the comments about Hobgood, including “champion of patient care,” “example of integrity to all” and “encourages team camaraderie.”

The 2025 Ancillary Director of the Year is Tracy Moseley, Market Director, Materials Management.

Moseley is a key member at both the Henderson hospital and the Person County hospital, Divina said. She demonstrates leadership qualities and comes in and covers at either hospital when someone calls out and she steps in to receive and deliver supplies where they are needed. And she does her job “with excellence and integrity,” Divina said.

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Perry Memorial Library

The Local Skinny! Author Talks About Writing Books At Next Kids Connect Program

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A published author with local ties is visiting Perry Memorial Library to share her book and what it takes to be a writer at the upcoming Kids Connect program, Tuesday, Mar. 25 at 4 p.m.

The Kids Connect program is geared to children in elementary school – grades K-5, and Youth Services Librarian Melody Peters said she’s excited to be able to let young people hear from a real, live author about writing books.

Kristen Mann lives in New York, but she’ll be visiting family in the area and is planning to stop by the library.

“I love when authors reach out to me,” Peters said on Tuesday’s segment of The Local Skinny! “Kids love to learn hands-on,” she said. They ask questions to learn about the nuts and bolts of writing, illustrating and publishing a book.

Mann latest book is called “Legendary Lessons: We Use Our Hands,” Peters said.

Mann will bring her book and talk about it, which Peters said is a great way to connect the act and art of writing a book with a child who may be developing a passion for writing, too.

“They like to think, ‘I can do that,’” Peters said.

She’s had a couple of other authors come to speak to children’s groups and said it’s hard to tell who has more fun – the kids or the grownups.

Often, authors have other jobs and writing is their passion.

“It’s so important for kids to understand that (writing) doesn’t have to be your only job,” Peters said.

She wants young people to find their passion – what they enjoy doing – that doesn’t always have to do with a device like a phone, a tablet or a computer.

Learn more about the programs the library offers at www.perrylibrary.org.

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