Tag Archive for: #wizsnews

Home and Garden Show

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

  • The Vance County Regional Farmers Market is now open on Saturdays from 8am to 1pm.
  • Cooperative Extension has publications on most vegetables and fruits that can be grown in  the central piedmont of  North Carolina call 252-438-8188 or come by the Cooperative Extension Offices during 8:30am til 5pm M-F.
  • Harvest herbs frequently. Young foliage is more tender and flavorful Clipping promotes new growth.
  • Sharpen Garden hand tools with a file, makes chopping weeds much easier.
  • Treat fire ants now. Use fire ant bait.
  • Try electric fencing to keep wildlife out of your garden.
  • Identify your insects on plants before buying a control chemical.
  • Consider drip irrigation in your garden.
  • Use row covers to protect your garden from wildlife.
  • Continue your fruit tree spray program according to the label directions of the product that you are using.
  • Monitor strawberries closely. They ripen quicker than you know.
  • Check houseplants dust weekly with a soft cloth.
  • Check storage areas for mice.      

Thank you to our caller for calling in and leaving a question!

The Vance County Cooperative Extension is located at 305 Young St, Henderson, NC 27536

The Vance County Regional Farmers Market is located at 210 Southpark Dr., Henderson, NC 27536

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Perry Memorial Library

The Local Skinny! Events To Kick Off Summer at Perry Memorial Library

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With summertime approaching, Perry Memorial Library’s Youth Services librarian Melody Peters has planned some programs to help get families and children in the mood for warm-weather activities.

The Mother Goose Story Time returns at 11 a.m. on Thursday, June 5 and the theme of the morning is The Beach. Subsequent themes include Summer,  Art, Camping, Colors, Crayons and Boats.

When the Summer Reading program “Color Our World” kicks off on Tuesday, June 17, Peters and library staff have planned an afternoon of outdoor activities sure to please the whole family. She said it’ll be “super fun and different,” with close to 20 nonprofit partners scattered throughout the parking lot to interact with families and children – complete with prizes and giveaways.

“We wanted families to move through and interact with groups they may not normally interact with,” Peters said, mentioning N.C. Cooperative Extension and a local beekeepers’ group as just a couple of the groups on hand for the afternoon event, which takes place between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Participants can complete one reading log each week over the course of the seven-week program for the chance to choose prizes that are mostly consumable – think ice cream cones, milkshakes, movie passes and snow cones.

Teens in grades 6-12 will have an extra chance to gather at the library for Summer Thrilling Thursdays, Peters said. She tried a similar program over spring break, and she wants to keep the momentum going over the summer.

The teens will gather in the library’s Makerspace from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. and enjoy gaming, crafts and snacks.

Visit https://www.perrylibrary.org/home to learn about all the programs and services at the library.

 

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TownTalk: Flex Ride Coming to KARTS June 2nd

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Beginning Monday, June 2, two white mini vans with “Flex Ride” emblazoned on their sides will most likely be seen traveling the roads within the city limits of Henderson.

And if you look closely, you’ll see the driving force behind the Uber-style transportation: KARTS. The words “Flex Ride” are in red and are superimposed on the initials for Kerr Area Rural Transportation Service.

KARTS Executive Director Randy Cantor said the mini vans are ready for use and will take riders wherever they need to go within the city limits of Henderson.

The Flex Ride is considered a “premium service,” and riders will pay a flat fee of $6 each time they board the vehicle. The service will operate Monday – Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

And although they are certainly part of the KARTS fleet, there are notable differences that customers need to be aware of. The more familiar KARTS buses require a reservation in advance, but Flex Ride is available for same-day trips. Flex Ride travels only within the city limits of Henderson, and riders can choose to download an app to their phone, book a trip on the website or call in a request.

Unlike transportation on a KARTS bus, the Flex Ride microtransit service provides same-day service. “Use the app and get an immediate response, or close to immediate,” Cantor said.

The goal is to be able to provide the service within a 30-minute time frame, he added.

Flex Ride is for someone who needs to get back and forth to work, or someone who forgot about a doctor’s appointment or someone who needs to get to the doctor in a hurry.

“This is for an individual who decides at the last moment they want to go and do something… that’s where we’re flexible,” Cantor said.

Thanks to state and federal funding for a three-year study, there’s no cost to KARTS to try out the program. Henderson was among 11 areas across the state to be selected to participate.

For now, Flex Ride will operate Monday-Friday, but Cantor said Saturday service could be an option in the future.

“For us to have a bus on the road, we have to have someone in this building” to provide any support needed.

Saturday service for KARTS buses was halted as part of an effort to get a handle on expenses, Cantor said, but there’s a possibility it could return. He noted that ridership has returned to what it had been before the pandemic.

Neither the City of Henderson nor Vance County provided any financial support for KARTS and its Around Town shuttle, which was shut down at the end of June last year.

This microtransit service is a way to offer customers a way to get around town, and Cantor said the on-demand service will provide flexibility for riders and drivers.

“We’re bringing our options for the city of Henderson into the 21st century,” Cantor said.

The Around Town shuttle was economical at $1 a fare, but it wasn’t economically viable.

“Nobody wanted to fix the shuttle,” he said. “I wanted to offer another service…it’s not $1, but it’s also not causing the system to go bankrupt.”

As part of the study, the KARTS buses all got upgrades to the tablets that drivers use, as well as a brand new scheduling software program that can tell where the KARTS vehicles are at any given time during the day.

The same rules apply to the Flex Ride vans as for the KARTS buses, including the rule that children 13 and under ride for free with a paying adult.

There’s an option on the app and on the website to pay fares with a credit or debit card, although cash remains an option.

Cantor said he’d love to see a cashless system, mainly to reduce drivers’ responsibilities and the amount of paperwork that is involved with receipts and reconciling payments at the end of the day.

Cantor has plans for Flex Ride if things go well in Henderson. “If it works and it works well, we plan to expand it,” he said. Other towns in the KARTS service area like Oxford, Louisburg and Franklinton could eventually see a similar service, too. “We want to keep it growing so if it works well here, we can expand it elsewhere.”

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(This text and audio are not a paid ad. However, KARTS does have an advertising package with WIZS about Flex Ride.)

Cooperative Extension with Michael Ellington: Benefits of Community Gardens

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The community garden at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market has its official grand opening this Saturday, and Horticulture and Field Crops agent Michael Ellington invites folks to come out to see the result of months of preparation and what has been achieved.

Cooperative Extension staff will be on hand from 12 noon to 2 p.m. to answer questions and to share information about the newest addition to the farmers market campus.

It’s a place where gardeners of all skill levels are welcome to learn and share their own knowledge about growing fruits and vegetables.

Garden beds are available to rent for the growing season – each 4 foot by 8 foot bed is $40 for the whole season.

Community gardens provide lots of benefits, Ellington said. Fresh, healthy food is just the beginning.

Access to affordable, nutritious food can be limited, especially in underserved neighborhoods and communities, he said. Garden plots like the ones at the farmers market offer local hands-on solutions that can reduce food inequality and increase availability.

And it just makes sense that folks who grow their own fruits and vegetables are likely to eat more of each. Community gardens give people power over what they eat, he said.

Community gardens can bring diverse groups together, and soon, new friends are swapping recipes and stories while they pull weeds and keep their plots watered.

These places “reveal that social fabric that holds communities together,” Ellington said.

It’s also a place where children can learn first-hand about where their food comes from – literally – not from a video screen or a textbook.

“They learn by planting seeds, watching them sprout and harvesting what they’ve nurtured,” Ellington said.

Planting a garden can reduce grocery bills and can reduce the amount of food waste that ends up in the landfill.

Community gardens also send a clear message to prospective businesses that residents care about where they live.

If you’d like more information about the community garden, visit the cooperative extension website at https://vance.ces.ncsu.edu, call 252.438.8188 or email Ellington at maellington@ncsu.edu.

There are many ways to help, from volunteering to sponsoring to making a direct donation.

And if you don’t have a green thumb, don’t fret. Just spread the word about the community garden to friends and neighbors.

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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SportsTalk: Kerr-Vance headed to the State Championship and Minor League Update

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SportsTalk 12:30 p.m. M-Th

Scout Hughes and Doc Ayscue talk about Kerr-Vance’s win over Ridgecroft to advance to the State Championship Series. The guys also give an update on Minor League Baseball around the state. That and much more on SportsTalk!

High School Baseball Scores:

  • Kerr-Vance 7 Ridgecroft 3
  • Lawrence Academy 9 Crossroads Christian 6

Friday MiLB Scores:

  • Rochester 10 Durham Bulls 6
  • Gwinnett 7 Charlotte 6
  • Greensboro 4 Rome (GA) 1
  • Brooklyn 6 Winston-Salem 0
  • Fayetteville 5 Carolina Mudcats 1
  • Kannapolis 5 Hickory 2

Saturday MiLB Scores:

  • Durham Bulls 9 Rochester 3
  • Charlotte 5 Gwinnett 3
  • Double Header
    • Asheville 4 Bowling Green 1
    • Bowling Green 13 Asheville 0
  • Brooklyn 8 Winston-Salem 5
  • Greensboro 4 Rome (GA) 2
  • Fayetteville 18 Carolina Mudcats 6
  • Hickory 11 Kannapolis 6

Sunday MiLB Scores:

  • Rochester 7 Durham Bulls 5
  • Gwinnett 6 Charlotte 0
  • Rome (GA) 10 Greensboro 6
  • Brooklyn 7 Winston-Salem 6
  • Asheville 6 Bowling Green 2
  • Carolina Mudcats 9 Fayetteville 5
  • Kannapolis 5 Hickory 2

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TownTalk: Ride to Save Lives Event

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A Ride to Save Lives fundraiser will be held Saturday, May 31 in Henderson at Shooter’s Tavern on Norlina Road. Proceeds will go to support local participation in the Lost Voices of Fentanyl’s national event that will be held in October on the National Mall in Washington, DC.

Local organizer Patricia Drewes said the motorcycle ride will begin at 11 a.m., but the day doesn’t end there. Guest speakers will take the stage about 1 p.m., Drewes said on Monday’s TownTalk and she wants families to come out and bring their children because they need to know how dangerous illicit drugs like fentanyl can be.

Drewes is vice president of the national group Lost Voices of Fentanyl, which she said is the largest fentanyl advocacy group in the U.S. with 36,000 members. The group’s president, April Babcock, is scheduled to speak during the local event, too.

Also on display will be 50 victims impact banners and four teen banners to highlight the tragic loss of young lives to fentanyl.

Beginning about 4 p.m., several bands will perform, including local groups Legendary Lane and Heartbreak Station. Virginia-based Redbank also will perform.

The cover charge for the concert is $15; the cost to ride is $20.

Drewes said she’s organized rallies before, but this is the biggest to date. She thanked Henderson Police Chief Marcus Barrow for his help with planning the route and for volunteering to lead the ride.

“I’m on a mission to save lives,” Drewes said. Her only child, Heaven, died from fentanyl poisoning.

“I want people to come out and bring their children,” she said, stressing the importance of helping young people realize and understand the dangers of illicit drugs.

“This could happen to them,” she said. “It’s just really important that kids see it. They need to understand that ‘yes, it can happen to you.’”

She prefers the word poisoning to overdose because an overdose implies that the person simply took more than the recommended dosage.

“It’s not an overdose,” she said. “There’s no recommended dosage for any illicit drug.”

 

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Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland: Vermicomposting

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On the Vance County Cooperative Extension Report from Wayne Rowland:

Vermicomposting can improve your garden by using vermicompost to improve your garden soil.

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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