Tag Archive for: #wizsnews

TownTalk: Adopt From The Local Animal Shelter This Holiday Season

The dogs and cats at the Vance County Animal Shelter are so stinkin’ cute, according to Director William Coker, that even he couldn’t resist the temptation.

Coker said he’d never been a cat owner – until he fell in love with a kitten at the shelter.

“I ended up adopting that kitten myself,” he told WIZS’s Scout Hughes on Tuesday’s TownTalk. “When I get up in the morning, that kitten is at the coffee pot with me,” he said.

The shelter is full – literally – of dogs and cats waiting to be adopted. There are 44 kennels for grown dogs – all occupied at the moment – as well as a puppy room and two cat rooms, one for adoptable felines and one for cats in quarantine for one reason or another.

The puppy room has eight beautiful puppies right now, Coker said. “I would love to have them adopted before Christmas,” he said.

Coker didn’t begin his job as director until January 2024, so he doesn’t know how Christmas-time adoptions went last year. But he said he hopes to see some folks come in and “adopt, don’t shop” at the shelter.

The application process is pretty simple, he explained. There’s a short form to fill out and the adoption fees are reasonable – $155 for dogs and $105 for cats. The cost includes the spay and neuter fee, as well as first shots and a one-year rabies shot.

And while Coker said the shelter staff is always hopeful to get animals adopted to good homes, they’re shifting their focus to educating the community about the need to spay and neuter pets. “I want to push spay and neuter in the community, to keep the animals from coming into the shelter” in the first place, he said.

Anyone interested in seeing the adoptable dogs and cats can visit the shelter during business hours. The shelter is located at 1243 Brodie Rd. and is open on Mondays from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Tuesdays – Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., all day every other Friday and half days every other Saturday.

Coker hasn’t turned down many adoption applications. “If the dog seems to be a good fit for the family, I adopt him out,” he said.

It’s a win-win-win for the animal, the community and the adopter, he explained: You’re saving an animal, taking a stray out of the neighborhood, and gaining a member of the family.

“You just carry him home and start loving him,” Coker said.

To learn more, visit the shelter at https://www.vancecounty.org/departments/animal-control/or call 252.492.3136.

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Cooperative Extension With Michael Ellington: Recap Of The Last 6 Months

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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The Local Skinny! Friday Car Chase

 

Friday, Dec. 13 proved unlucky for one teenaged motorist who led law enforcement officers on a 30-plus mile chase through Vance and Franklin counties, ending in a crash in Henderson near Chavasse Avenue and Raleigh Road.

The driver, 19-year-old Eli-Javron Williams of Roberts Avenue in Vance County, faces a slew of charges, including two felony charges for fleeing to elude and hit-and-run, according to Henderson Police Chief Marcus Barrow.

Barrow said officers from the Henderson Police Department observed a silver 2013 Honda Accord driving erratically on Harriett Street about 3:15 p.m.

In a statement to WIZS, Barrow said, “When the officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop, the driver accelerated and refused to pull over.
The vehicle fled the area, prompting the officers to initiate a pursuit. The chase covered nearly 35 miles, extending to the city limits of
Franklinton, NC, before returning to Henderson.”
During the pursuit, the fleeing vehicle collided with a 2005 Toyota Scion while trying to turn onto Chavasse Avenue from Raleigh Road. The
occupants of the Toyota Scion were assessed by EMS at the scene. After the collision, the occupants of the pursued vehicle exited their disabled car and attempted to escape on foot. Officers quickly apprehended the driver and a 17-year-old passenger after a brief foot chase. A third individual, who remains unidentified, was not
apprehended, and no information about that person is available at this time.
The unnamed passenger who was apprehended was charged with resisting, delaying, and obstructing an officer. He was released to his mother at the police
department.

In addition to the two felony charges, Williams faces charged of careless and reckless driving, injury to personal property and multiple traffic violations.  He was given a $40,000 secured bond.

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Cooperative Extension With Wayne Rowland: Incentives For Forest Management

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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“Shop with a Cop and Friends” in full force as Holidays Approach

The holiday season is here in The Gateway City. It’s also a time of giving with the “Shop with a Cop and Friends” program here in Henderson. Law Enforcement partnered with the Chamber of Commerce and the Vance County Department of Social Services for “Shop with a Cop and Friends.”

$16,000 was raised for the “Shop with a Cop and Friends” fundraiser. Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce President Sandra Wilkerson presented the police department with the check. The money is aimed at helping out children and families in need this holiday season.

This year’s “Shop with a Cop and Friends” event, will take place at Walmart on December 20, 2024, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Officers from the Henderson Police Department and the Vance County Sheriff’s Office will be there during the event.

Henderson Mayor Melissa Elliott conveyed her appreciation to the Chamber of Commerce, the Henderson Police Department, the Vance County Sheriff’s Office, and everyone who helped in this year’s “Shop with a Cop and Friends” program for families in need.

Cooperative Extension With Jamon Glover: The Power Of Presence

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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Home And Garden Show

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

  • Vance County Regional Farmers Market’s last open day for 2024 will be this Saturday, December 14th, from 8am-1pm.
  • We encourage you to buy a North Carolina Christmas Tree this year for the Holidays.
  • If you have a cut live Christmas tree, check that live reservoir. Make sure it has an ample water supply. You do not want that tree to dry out. Do not put your tree next to a heating source or a fireplace.
  • Take a visit to our local plant nursery. Check out our other Christmas plants for the Holidays.
  • Remember to use personal protective equipment when doing landscaping. Eye and ear protection. Even sunscreen. Use a good pair of gloves.
  • Leaf collection season is upon us. Compost your leaves. Don’t burn them.
  • Now is a good time to take inventory of your seeds. That way you will know what vegetable seeds to order, try ordering a new variety of seeds for the 2025 growing season.

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