TownTalk: People
The passing of Dr. Daniel Bernstein, a missing Henderson woman and battery safety for youngsters were discussed.
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WIZS Radio Local News Audio 12-27-23 Noon
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Cooperative Extension: Recycle Christmas Trees To Provide Refuge For Birds, More
That live Christmas tree that has sheltered gifts under its needled boughs can have a second life once it’s served its purpose for the holidays.
N.C. Cooperative Extension Agent Paul McKenzie said those live trees – many of them probably Fraser Firs raised right here in North Carolina – can create useful habitats for birds and other woodland animals right in your landscape.
You’ll want to make sure all the decorations are removed, of course, but once that’s done, the tree can be placed out of the way in your yard – if it’s big enough – or in or near a wooded area.
The trees provide a wonderful refuge for birds and other furry mammals who may be looking for a safe spot to hide from predators, McKenzie noted.
For years, discarded trees have been used along the state’s beaches to add stability to the sand dunes along the coast.
And pond owners also know the benefit of submerging discarded trees to create a protective spot for fish and other water-dwelling creatures.
If none of those options work for you, McKenzie said the trees are considered yard waste, so they can be collected and then sent through the chipper to become compost.
The Local Skinny! Fire Safety During The Holidays
It’s easy to get distracted during the holiday season when we’re off our regular routines – children are out of school and family or friends are visiting. We’re in and out of the house, juggling errands, cooking meals and still hoping to get a couple more days’ enjoyment out of the Christmas decorations. This time of year, it’s especially important to think safety first to avoid potential problems.
Perhaps the biggest safety post-Christmas household safety hazard are those live Christmas trees that have been decorated with strings of lights and other ornaments. In some cases, the trees have been inside – drying out – since Thanksgiving Day, for those of us who like to enjoy holiday decorating for a while before Dec. 25. Most likely, the tree that you bought in early December was cut in late November, so it’s been drying out now for a few weeks, despite your best watering efforts.
Take care to make sure those strands of lights are in good working order, and the extension cords that snake around from the tree to the nearest outlet.
Did you know that unattended cooking is the leading cause of home cooking fires?
Check – and double-check if you’re that type of person – to make sure that the stove and oven are turned off before you head off to run errands!
This time of year, folks like to use candles to add a festive aroma. That Balsam Cedar sure smells good, and so does the Holiday Peppermint.
Christmas is the peak day for candle fires – did you know? On Dec. 25 each year, there’s an average of 35 fires – about 2.5 times the daily average. Second highest day? Christmas Eve.
Over the course of a year, the NFPA said 33 percent of fires are caused by candles. In December, however, that number jumps to 46 percent.
In three of every five candle fires, the candle was too close to something that could catch fire.
Falling asleep without extinguishing the flame was a factor in 10 percent of home candle fires and 12 percent of the associated deaths.
Cooking is the leading cause of reported home fires (49 percent) and home fire injuries and the second-leading cause of home fire deaths.
Unattended cooking is the leading cause of home cooking fires.
Thanksgiving is the peak day for home cooking fires, followed by Christmas Day and Christmas Eve.
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TownTalk: Christmas Traditions And A Visit From Santa
You better watch out, you better not cry, you better tune in to WIZS.com, I’m tellin’ you why: Santa Claus was a special guest on Thursday’s TownTalk.
WIZS’s own Steve Lewis and Bill Harris spoke with the Jolly Old Elf himself, and learned, to their great relief, that their names are NOT on this year’s Naughty List.
“I believe you’ll both be very pleased with the outcome on Christmas morning,” Santa reported.
Santa spared a few moments for the phone call, but admitted that there’s still a lot to do to get ready for his global trek Sunday night.
“It’s a very busy time, very busy indeed,” Santa said, followed by the iconic “Ho, Ho, Ho,” which he practiced throughout the interview.
The reindeer, he reports, are “fat and sassy and ready to roll” but he did say that those reindeer stay in shape in the off-season with the help of some capable trainers.
Santa’s got his own personal trainer, too. “I’ve tried to stay as svelte and strong as possible,” he said, but every year he has to go on an eating binge to recapture that classic round holiday profile that makes for such a comfy lap for all the good little girls and boys.
Santa’s Workshop has really outgrown its greater North Pole location, sort of like urban sprawl, so “everything within the Arctic Circle is part of the Christmas world,” he said. With that expansion, the workshop has various CEOs and CFOs who help make things run smoothly. But Santa said he’s still the chairman of the board and president of the whole shebang – after all, he’s got a reputation to uphold.
We in the Northern Hemisphere are used to seeing Santa in his cold-weather duds because Christmas comes during our wintertime. But it’s summertime in the Southern Hemisphere and it’s warm, which presents a wardrobe dilemma for St. Nick.
“I start out with the fur-lined jacket and boots and end up with a rather attractive Aloha shirts, Bermuda shorts and sandals,” Santa explained, which make it “much more comfortable south of the Equator.”
No matter what side of the Equator you call home, Santa has one request:
“I would like to ask everyone to love one another and respect one another…and stay off the Naughty List.”
It’s a tough job to keep the Naughty List updated, and Santa would rather have more names recorded on the Nice List, but it’s a job he and his team are willing to do each year.
He said he’s got a big ol’ pile of coal up at the North Pole, just in case someone needs a gentle reminder.
Cooperative Extension With Jamon Glover: Consequences Overview
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: Rep. Sossaman Invites Local Youth To Participate In Youth Legislative Assembly
N.C. Rep. Frank Sossamon invites high school students from his district to apply for the N.C. Legislature’s annual Youth Legislative Assembly that will take place in April.
The three-day program is designed to give students an up-close look at how state government functions while fostering the development of essential leadership skills. The 2024 YLA session is April 19-21.
“The Youth Legislative Assembly is an invaluable opportunity for our high school students to actively participate in the democratic process,” Sossamon stated in a press release about the program. “They not only gain a deeper understanding of how our government functions, but also develop the leadership skills necessary to shape a brighter future for North Carolina.”
YLA participants will have the opportunity to engage in mock legislative sessions, debates and committee meetings, providing them with a comprehensive understanding of the democratic process. The YLA also allows students to enhance their communication skills, critical thinking abilities and understanding of public policy. By actively participating in the program, students will be equipped with the tools and knowledge to become informed and engaged citizens.
Applications and details about cost, accommodations and more are available online at https://www.ncleg.gov/YLA and should be submitted no later than Jan. 16, 2024.
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TownTalk: No Labels Looking To Be More Than A Spoiler In Presidential Race
Two North Carolina men are playing key roles in the No Labels movement, a national effort to get a “Unity ticket” on the ballot for President and Vice President in next year’s elections.
Dr. Benjamin Chavis, a prominent attorney with ties to Granville County, joined former N.C. Gov. Pat McCrory for a virtual press briefing on Tuesday.
They’re not ready to name candidates, and there’s a chance that it won’t happen, but No Labels is getting ready, just in case. No Labels is not “in it” to be a spoiler, they explained – they’re in it to win it.
McCrory said he is hopeful to be able to talk more about the process in early 2024, perhaps at or around Super Tuesday in March. “We firmly believe as a team that America deserves a better choice,” he said. “We’re working to have a better choice for them.”
McCrory and Chavis are two of several national co-chairs of No Labels, which was founded in 2010 by former Presidential candidate Joe Lieberman. So far, a No Labels Unity ticket will be on 27 states’ ballots in November 2024.
And Chief Strategist Ryan Clancy said Tuesday the organization is on track to add states in the coming months.
“I’m very proud of my home state of North Carolina,” Chavis said in remarks during the briefing. Chavis said No Labels has made “significant” progress in Blue states, Red states and Purple states to gain ballot access. “North Carolina is getting things done,” he added.
Chavis and McCrory may seem unlikely collaborators whose allegiances have previously been with opposing parties, but Chavis said they’ve become friends. He praised McCrory for being a politician who is “not just reaching across the aisle (but) working across the aisle.”
McCrory said No Labels polling shows that 65 percent of Americans don’t want to vote for either Democratic or Republican frontrunner in the Presidential race.
Clancy said more voters are reporting that they’d consider voting for a Presidential ticket that included a moderate Republican and a moderate Democrat – a blended ticket, which is the crux of the No Labels philosophy.
When asked in February 2022, polls showed 64 million would be willing to consider a blended ticket. More recent polls show that number has risen to 84 million. North Carolina numbers are similar – in March 2022, 32.1 percent of North Carolinians said they’d consider voting for a Unity ticket. In January, that number was 36.8 percent and now it’s at just over 40 percent, Clancy said.
Critics have suggested that a No Labels ticket would serve as a spoiler for the mainline parties’ candidates, but McCrory cited statistics that show 37 percent of N.C. voters are registered Independents, which means more people are registered outside the Republican and Democratic parties.
Clancy, the No Labels chief strategist, likened the No Labels effort for ballot access to people working to build a rocket launchpad. Candidates who comprise the Unity ticket are the ones who must “build the rocket ship to get to the White House.”
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Home And Garden Show
On the Home and Garden Show with Vance Co. Cooperative Ext.
- Clean your greenhouse! Ex seedling trays
- Begin bed prep for cool season vegetables.
- Extend your holiday plants by keeping them watered.
- Consider creating a snag for woodpeckers and other birds.
- Order new varieties of seed released for 2024
- When purchasing vegetable seed, look for disease resistant options if available.
- Store garden equipment according to the manufacturer recommendations
- Anytime you fill up a gas can, write the date on it with a permanent marker. Next time, cross out the old date and write in the new one.
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TownTalk: Brandon Link Discusses County Fire Services
–UPDATED Wednesday, Dec. 20–
It looks like the county’s Public Safety Committee is going to recommend to the full commission that the county fire department be given the green light to purchase needed safety equipment, to the tune of about $70,000.
The committee met Wednesday afternoon and Vance County Firefighters Association President Brandon Link was in attendance. Link told WIZS News that the meeting was “very positive, very fruitful.”
The unanimous decision to move forward with the recommendation to the full board was exactly what Link said he expected to happen. “It’s positive for everybody,” he said of the committee’s action. “Everybody got a win for that…we’re grateful for the outcome.”
The department plans to purchase three sets of turnout gear to replace damaged gear, as well as four new sets of gear that are reaching the end of their 10-year “shelf life.” They also will get new air packs to replace older units that lack the universal connection for buddy breather systems, which would be used to assist firefighters in distress while battling a blaze.
The recommendation is set to go before the full commission for consideration at the Jan. 8, 2024 meeting.
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The Vance County Commissioners’ Public Safety Committee is scheduled to meet Wednesday at 3 p.m. and at least one item up for discussion has gotten the attention of fire services officials whose job it is to keep safe the county’s residents as well as fire personnel.
The commissioners sent to that committee an issue regarding purchase of equipment and turnout gear, which was frozen in the most recent county budget that was passed.
Vance County Fire Chief Chris Wright had requested that the freeze be waived so the department could purchase needed gear, and County Manager Renee Perry presented that request to commissioners at their December meeting, but it was referred to the Public Safety Committee for discussion.
Commissioners are awaiting the results of a fire study that should be released in early 2024, which could result in some changes to how the county’s fire departments are structured.
Brandon Link is president of the county firefighters association and he said getting the best turnout possible is important to protect personnel and employees.
“We order gear every year and it’s considered part of our operating costs,” Link, assistant chief at Watkins Fire Department, said.
Departments like his, he said, are bound by the National Fire Protection Association, to remove and replace turnout gear every 10 years.
The gear is custom fit, and sometimes it takes months for an order to be filled – especially since COVID-19.
“That gear and those air packs – without those, we’re useless,” Link said. “Without that protection, we’re useless.” He said some of the turnout gear is approaching the end of its 10-year lifespan in mid-February.
The commissioners’ next meeting in Jan. 8, so that leaves precious little time to place an order before being out of compliance with NFPA guidelines.
“It should have already been ordered,” Link said.
When a firefighter is injured in the line of duty, Link said his gear is “bagged and tagged” so it may be inspected for its level of protection.
There’s an outer shell, a moisture barrier and then an inner liner – all of which serves a purpose to protect the firefighter who’s wearing it. If any section is compromised, the safety of the firefighter is, too.
“It’s just like a suit (of clothes),” Link said. “You don’t wear a set of turnout gear that’s not custom fit for you when you do your job.”
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