Tag Archive for: #wizsnews

TownTalk: Macon Named Vance Co. Extension Director

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When you work with the public, effective communication is an important asset. And knowing about interpersonal communication skills is a bonus.

Dr. Wykia Macon has come back home, and she’s brought a wealth of experience with her – experience she has gained from time spent studying and working in several places across the globe.

Macon has been selected to lead the Vance County Cooperative Extension Center, a job that she officially began on Aug. 1.

The director oversees a staff of 9 – but it’s 8 right now, because, you see, Macon used to be lead the 4-H program.

“My time in 4-H gave me time to get into the community,” she said Monday on TownTalk, “to partner with a variety of people.”

As she transitions from being a member of the staff to the leader of the staff, Macon no doubt will put those interpersonal communications skills to good use. It’s all about knowing how to interact and connect with people, she explained.

With a year of coursework in the area under her belt, Macon said she spent two years in Kenya as a member of the Peace Corps. There she lived and worked in a boarding school for the deaf.

“I realized there were a lot of things I didn’t know,” she said.

Her doctoral studies took her to work for policy change in Ethiopia and then to Cambodia.

One thing that she confirmed during her time in those other countries is that Americans are a bit more direct.

As she embarks on this new stage, Macon said she plans to use those communications skills to help build connections in the community.

“I’m excited to watch us grow in different ways – across program areas,” she said.

The cooperative extension is known for its agricultural component, but there are so many more programs that extension provides.

From 4-H to parenting programs, small farms to family and consumer sciences, cooperative extension offices across the state share research-based information and best practices.

“We’re all about research-based information,” she said. “We take that information from the universities (N.C. State and N.C. A&T State) and share it with our citizens.”

Macon said she hopes to spark an interest in idea of community gardens, a place where young people can learn more about planting, harvesting and then cooking the food that comes from the garden. The local Boys & Girls Club has a new garden, thanks to a collaboration with the cooperative extension, and Macon said she would like to see more pop up across the county.

This is one example of how cooperative extension can expand into the community, and Macon said she’s listening out for other opportunities, too.

“When I interact with people, I just try to keep an open mind,” she said, whether she’s speaking with someone younger or someone with more experience.

“We don’t know how to fully serve the community if we don’t listen,” she added.

There she goes, making good use of those interpersonal communications skills again.

 

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The Local Skinny! Granville Humane Society To Hold Fund Raising Event

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The Granville County Humane Society is sponsoring Paws for Granville next month as a fun way for the community to help dogs and cats in the area.

Paws for Granville is a free event that will be held on Saturday, Sept. 30 at the Granville County Expo Center on US Hwy 15 just south of Oxford, according to Angela Gooch, a Humane Society volunteer helping to spread the word about the upcoming fundraiser.

Gooch talked with WIZS’s Bill Harris on Monday’s segment of The Local Skinny! and said it’s been a tough year for shelters all over the state.

“It’s been a very difficult year with all the surrenders and sick animals that have come in,” Gooch said.

Paws for Granville is one of two fundraisers sponsored by the local humane society each year to help pay for local spay/neuter programs.

Although the event is free, there will be a truck on site to accept donations of dog and cat food to stock the pet pantry, which is used to help low-income clients provide food for their pets.

More than 80 vendors are scheduled to bring an array of handcrafted items, from jewelry to fishing lures, Gooch said. Participants can enjoy browsing among the vendor booths from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

A variety of food trucks are driving in as well, she said. And Next Level Kennels, one of the main sponsors for the event, will have its mobile grooming van on site.

All across the area, animal shelters report being at capacity, and Gooch said rescue groups and foster agencies are working hard to get adoptable animals into homes.

In Granville County alone, the shelter has spent $15,000 to spay and neuter dogs and cats.

Gooch said that, typically, there are more cats that get turned in to shelters, but that has not been the case in Granville County lately.

“Dogs have been coming in great, great numbers,” she said, adding that “rescues are full and (they) have no place to go.”

The group needs volunteers to help with the event, and are always looking for foster families for the animals.

There are about 30 animals available now through the humane society. “It is a labor of love and it takes a lot of time and patience,” Gooch said of her work and the work of other rescuers and fosters.

To learn more, call 919.691.9114, follow the group on Facebook, email hsgcncinfo@gmail.com or visit www.hsgc.nc.org.

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Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland: Wildlife Habitat

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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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Donate Blood In August, Get $10 To See A Movie

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There are several blood donation clinics popping up in the area through the end of the month, and the American Red Cross has issued an appeal to donors to help keep hospital shelves stocked with lifesaving blood products.

Right now, the Red Cross especially needs type O negative, type O positive, type B negative and type A negative blood donors, as well as platelet donors.

Don’t know your blood type? Making a donation is an easy way to find out. The Red Cross will notify new donors of their blood type soon after they give.

Just to sweeten the pot, everyone who comes to give during August will get a $10 e-gift card to use at a movie merchant of their choice.

Find details at RedCrossBlood.org/Movie.

Schedule an appointment to give by downloading the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

Here’s a list of upcoming blood donation clinics in the area:

Vance

Henderson

8/30/2023: 10 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., Maria Parham Health, 566 Ruin Creek Rd.

Franklin

Franklinton

8/31/2023: 1 p.m. – 5:30 p.m., Solid Rock Bible Way, 2 Risen Way

Granville

Butner

8/23/2023: 12 p.m. – 4:30 p.m., Butner Town Hall, 415 Central Ave.

Dr. Wykia Macon New CED At Vance Cooperative Extension Center

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Vance County native Dr. Wykia Macon has been chosen to be the director of the Vance County Cooperative Extension.

Macon has been the county’s 4-H agent since July 2020, and began her new role as cooperative extension director just a couple of weeks ago on Aug. 1.

“I am excited to support Cooperative Extension as we bring more relevant and useful programs that will benefit the community,” Macon stated in a press release. “I am very grateful for this opportunity and I look forward to further serving the community of Vance County in this capacity.

She is a 2005 graduate of Southern Vance High School, and earned a bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies from UNC-Chapel Hill.

Learn more about Macon’s commitment to her community, her work with the Peace Corps and her vision for how cooperative extension can work within the county on Monday, when she will be the featured guest on TownTalk. Tune in at 11 a.m. or listen to the podcast later.

Sewer Line Project To Detour Traffic Along Oxford’s Hillsboro Street

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Oxford drivers are reminded to pack a little patience as they maneuver around a downtown detour that will be in place in the upcoming weeks.

According to information from City of Oxford Communications Specialist Sabrina Richards, H.G. Reynolds Co. will be installing sewer lines along a portion of Hillsboro Street, making a detour necessary.

The work will be conducted from Lewis Street to MLK/ Broad Street. There will be barricades at Lewis/West Spring Street, Orange Street, Granville Street, Hillsboro/Broad Street and then in one lane at Hillsboro/ West Spring Street to block traffic headed into town.

The detour will only be up during working hours from Monday through Thursday, stretching into Fridays if inclement weather delays work.

The barricades will be removed at the end of each workday for two-way traffic to resume.

There was no word on how long the detour will be in place or how long this part of the sewer line installation will take.

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Franklin County’s Novozymes Endows VGCC Scholarship

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  • information courtesy of VGCC Public Information Officer Courtney Cissel

A global biotech company with a facility in Franklin County has endowed a new scholarship at Vance-Granville Community College.

Novozymes and VGCC recently announced the $15,000 gift, which currently could be up to $500 based on the level of investment income generated. Current VGCC students or newly enrolled students are eligible to receive the scholarship award based on their academic achievement.

“This scholarship presents another wonderful opportunity to expand resources that will allow us to educate, inspire, and support a diverse community of learners to achieve professional and personal success,” stated Tanya Weary, VGCC Foundation executive director.

Darren Alfano, head of People & Organization for Novozymes North America, made the presentation to VGCC President Dr. Rachel Desmarais, Weary and other school officials during a recent visit to the VGCC Franklin Campus

“The biotechnology industry is growing at a record pace as biosolutions continue to be developed for more applications every day,” Alfano commented. “From the food you eat to the clothes you wear, biosolutions are part of all of our daily lives. We are excited to partner with Vance-Granville Community College in providing high quality education to the future biotech workforce in our local communities.”

Considered a world leader in their field, Novozymes’ biosolutions enable everything from more drought-tolerant crops to cold water laundry washing to advancements in renewable energy. The company has expanded to serve 30-plus industries across 130 markets with enzymatic, microbial, advanced protein and digital solutions.

While the roots of international parent organization Novo Group reach back a century to the 1920s, Novozymes has had a presence in Franklin County since 1979, when the company arrived in North Carolina to establish its North America headquarters along with a manufacturing plant in Franklinton. Novozymes quickly formed a relationship with Vance-Granville Community College when the college’s Franklin Campus opened at its current location, and the company was instrumental in the construction of the campus’s biotech lab in 2001.

The VGCC Foundation offers over 300 endowments for scholarships VGCC students—more endowed scholarships than any other program of its kind in North Carolina. Scholarships have been endowed by numerous individuals, industries, businesses, civic groups, and churches, as well as the college’s faculty and staff. Tax-deductible donations to the VGCC Foundation have often been used to honor a person, group, business, or industry with a lasting gift to education. For more information, call 252.738.3409.

Warren County Native Serves In U.S. Navy

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  • Information courtesy of Navy Office of Community Outreach

A Warren County native serves as master-at-arms for the U.S. Navy in Pearl Harbor and has stated that the lessons he learned growing up in rural North Carolina have helped him throughout his 20-year career.

Chief Petty Officer Michael Atkins, of Littleton, is assigned to Commander Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific operating out of Pearl Harbor.

“I joined the Navy because of a family tradition of service,” Atkins said in a press statement from the Navy’s office of Community Outreach.

Atkins, a 1997 graduate of Warren County High School, said he is proud to help others succeed in their careers and in life. “Being a part of an organization like the Navy is not about an individual, it is a team effort.”

“I come from a small town and we had a lot of respect for others and treating others how you want to be treated,” he said.

“Each of our sailors is an ambassador for the United States,” Atkins said, “whether they are the most junior seaman or an admiral.”

Atkins and the sailors he serves with have many opportunities to achieve accomplishments during their military service.

As Atkins and other sailors continue to train and perform missions, they take pride in serving their country in the U.S. Navy.

“To me, serving in the Navy means carrying on a tradition of our nation’s history that goes back hundreds of years and I am now part of that history,” said Atkinss.

Atkins is grateful to others for helping make a Navy career possible.

“I would like to thank my parents, Charles and Linda, my wife, Maria, daughter, Natasha, and countless mentors and service members I have served with for supporting me and giving me guidance along my career,” added Atkins.

With 90 percent of global commerce traveling by sea and access to the Internet relying on the security of undersea fiber optic cables, Navy officials continue to emphasize that the prosperity of the United States is directly linked to trained sailors and a strong Navy.

“Our mission remains timeless – to provide our fellow citizens with nothing less than the very best Navy: fully combat-ready at all times, focused on warfighting excellence, and committed to superior leadership at every single level,” said Adm. Mike Gilday, chief of Naval Operations. “This is our calling. And I cannot imagine a calling more worthy.”

SportsTalk: Hunt Prepares Eagles For Football

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The Warren County High School Eagles’ progress as a football team can be easily traced by looking at the number of wins over the last three years. Two, four and, last season, seven. Those seven wins last year put the Eagles in the state high school playoffs.  Victor Hunt, Head Football Coach and Athletic Director at Warren County, points out that those seven wins came with a struggle: overcoming an injury bug. “We were down to a fourth string running back,” Hunt said on Thursday’s SportsTalk.  The injuries caused Warren County to get off to a slow start last year and put players who were not ready to play on the field. Hunt hopes that experience along with many returning players from last year will mean that the Eagles can improve on last year’s playoff team.

Warren County kicks off their season on Friday, August 18th against Vance County in Henderson.  “It’s a rivalry game. The loss last year haunts us.  It really hurt and it really stung, ” Hunt said of the last minute Vance County win.

He has 47 players on the roster this season and is pleased with the number of kids who have turned out. “Winning helps but it has a lot to do with what is going on culturally at the school,” Hunt said about athletic participation.

As athletic director, Hunt has also kept things moving along for volleyball and cross country.  The Eagles’ volleyball team has back to back conference championships and Hunt is looking for a threepeat in that sport.  Last year also saw the cross country team bring their first conference championship back to Warren County High School as well.

You can hear the matchup between Warren County and Vance County here on WIZS beginning at 6:50pm Friday, August 18th.

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