Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland: Container Gardens
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Tag Archive for: #wizsnews
TownTalk: Local News Items Of Interest
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SportsTalk: Oxford Prep Softball Looking For Back To Back Championships
It’s never easy to repeat as a champion, but Oxford Prep Softball Coach Tommy Anstead feels as though his team has a pretty good chance to win a conference championship in 2024. “We have 12 or 13 girls returning including all of our starters except one,” Anstead said on Thursday’s SportsTalk.
The team is counting on another strong performance from pitcher Addison Faucette. Last season, as a freshman, Faucette was 16-3 on the year with an earned run average of 1.79. Oxford Prep can hit the ball too. “We had seven players with a batting average of over .300 and of the seven, four were over .400,” Anstead said.
Anstead expects tough competition this season citing Roxboro and Vance Charter as teams that could cause problems for Oxford Prep this season. Anstead also says the team has a tougher schedule this season. Oxford Prep opens the season on March 1st against county rival J.F. Webb.
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WIZS Radio Local News Audio 02-15-24 Noon
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Cooperative Extension With Jamon Glover: Biting, Pt. 3
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SportsTalk: UNC Baseball Starts Friday
Former Kerr-Vance Academy standout and Granville County native Daniel Wilkerson is excited about Friday! Wilkerson, assistant to the head coach for UNC Baseball, is ready to get the 15th-ranked Tar Heels on the field for the first game of the season Friday. “I can’t sleep the night before. It’s like Christmas morning,” Wilkerson said.
The Tar Heels open the season with a three-game series against Wagner. The first game is Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. The Tar Heels are just one of six ACC teams ranked in the top 15 nationally including No. 1 ranked Wake Forest. “We didn’t play them last year and I can’t wait to go to Winston-Salem this year,” Wilkerson said. “The rankings are meaningless. I ignore the rankings. We still have to go win baseball games,” Wilkerson added.
Wilkerson is also excited about his team’s prospects. “We’ve got young arms and a good pitching staff. We are deep in the bull pen,” said Wilkerson.
Daniel Wilkerson joined the UNC baseball program as Assistant to the head Coach and Clubhouse/Equipment manager during the 2022 fall semester.
SportsTalk: Crossroads Gets Ready For Tournament
Scottie Richardson has reason to be happy, back-to-back regular season championships for the Crossroads Christian boys basketball team. Richardson, the school’s athletic director, was a guest on Wednesday’s Sportstalk, and he said, “The boys will get a bye in the first round and we will play at home at 2 p.m. Saturday.” The opponent will be the winner of the New Garden/Halifax matchup.
Richardson is very proud of the accomplishments of his team. “This is the third year in a row the boys team has been a top 4 seed. “We’ve played New Garden three times this year and I think we will play them a fourth time Saturday,” Richardson added.
His girls team is also in the state tournament and plays at 6 p.m. Friday against Albemarle. “If they win, they will play again Saturday against Ridgecroft,” Richardson said.
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TownTalk: Linda Cobb, Board of Education Candidate
Vance County Board of Education member Linda Cobb, seeking re-election to the District 5 seat, said the school district faces challenges common in many districts, and applauds leaders for their innovative efforts to provide a quality education experience for students and teachers.
Cobb was first appointed in 2019 to fill an unexpired term on the board of education, then was elected in 2020.
The county’s schools aren’t immune to challenges like bus drivers and attracting and retaining certified teachers, but Cobb said she celebrates successes like the creation of the SPARK lab to help students discover future career paths through hands-on experiences.
Her vision for the school system is “to lead and guide our students to success once they finish high school,” she said.
A couple of priorities she has on her radar include building community relationships and making sure students are “catching up” from COVID. “We can’t blame everything on COVID, but we need to make sure we have enough tutors in schools and teachers to teach the kids…what they need to know to progress to the next level,” she said.
Having been an instructor at Vance-Granville Community College for 20 years, she said she’s worked with students who are products of Vance County Schools. In close to 30 years in her role with the Department of Social Services, she’s worked with a variety of people, including children.
She continues that work in her role as a school board member, which includes strategizing “very carefully how we spend the money.”
“Our needs are growing,” she said, “but the amount of money coming to the district is not growing with the need.”
Money that comes from federal and state streams is usually already designated for particular budget items, and Cobb said she believes the district is managing those funds very well. “We just had a clean audit report,” she added.
Some of the stimulus money from the federal government was used for bonuses to employees and to other sustainable things, she said – not on one-off funding for seed money.”
“We always have to put the students first…(making sure) that they’re getting the very best education they can.”
Early voting is underway for the Mar. 5 primary elections.
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TownTalk: William Purvis, Board Of Education Candidate
William Earl Purvis said he is promoting a “vision for transformation” in his bid for a seat on the Vance County Board of Education. Purvis faces incumbent and fellow Democrat Linda Cobb for the District 5 seat.
Henderson voters may remember his name from his unsuccessful bid for City Council in 2022; Purvis said his experience as an educator in a neighboring county, his background as a pastor and his training as a licensed clinician all serve to make him the right person for the job.
“I’ve talked to many parents, students and teachers,” he told WIZS News on a segment of TownTalk that aired Wednesday. “They want a voice,” and he said he would work to collaborate with the community to shape the board’s decisions.
Purvis said he’d like to have quarterly “town hall type” meetings to share with the community what’s going on in the school system.
The school system does a good job collaborating with the community now, he said. “It’s my job (to) take that even further and enhance it with all our students.”
He said his work as a clinician, pastor and educator all serve to make him an advocate for children and for school system employees.
“We’re all in this together to build a successful school system,” he said, adding that he would work to improve low-performing schools and would support all staff – teachers, administrators, custodians – to effect change.
He said he would work to promote school safety, mental health services, programs for parents and appropriate and fair building codes if he’s elected to the school board.
He’d also like to find ways to recognize students for successes that aren’t limited to academics or athletics.
“We need to recognize our kids with disabilities,” he said. “I have a spirit to advocate for the children.”
His platform is not focused on one district; rather, he is interested in what’s going on in all schools.
“I plan to lift up the school system,” he said. “If I’m elected, you will not be disappointed.”
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Home And Garden Show
On the Home and Garden Show with Vance Co. Cooperative Ext.
- If you have plants in a greenhouse or cold frame, always check the projected high temperature for the day 70F or higher. You will need to ventilate your greenhouse or cold frame. Also have a good thermometer in these structures.
- Do not over water seedlings in greenhouse or cold frame
- When pruning, always wear safety glasses and gloves.
- Cut back ornamental grasses and liriope, but be careful not to cut into emerging growth.
- Get your Piedmont Planting guide from Cooperative Extension
- Do a germination test on old seed.
- Have all your lawn mowers serviced before the rush
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