Tag Archive for: #wizsnews

The Local Skinny! “Shop With A Cop And Friends” A Success This Holiday Season

Early-morning shoppers in the vicinity of Walmart Tuesday morning may have noticed a large presence of law enforcement officers, but there was nothing amiss – in fact, Police Chief Marcus Barrow said it was a great day for Shop With A Cop And Friends.

There were plenty of uniformed officers on hand from Henderson Police Department, Vance County Sheriff’s Office, State Highway Patrol and other agencies to help children choose some toys, clothing items and more, Barrow told WIZS News Tuesday. One of the PD’s lieutenants shucked his uniform and put on a Grinch costume, he added.

“We shopped for 52 kids and nine elderly adults,” Barrow said. In addition to the generous fundraising efforts of the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce that netted about $15000, Barrow said some additional donations brought the grand total to just about $20,000.

City Manager Terrell Blackmon, District Attorney Mike Waters, Henderson Fire Chief Tim Twisdale and Battalion Chief Lee Edmonds were just a few of the local leaders who took part in the event.

Newly elected Henderson City Council member Sam Seifert said he helped a 5-year-old named Donna fill up a couple of carts.

“The toy section was a popular one today,” Seifert told WIZS News Tuesday. “We went there first – we had to dodge others on the aisle,” he said, but everyone was good-spirited about it.

“I pointed out things that she might be interested in,” he said. “We filled up two carts and (got) This was his first experience with Shop With A Cop, but he said he heard others remark that they were impressed with the turnout.

Barrow said it was important to add the two words “And Friends” to the “Shop With A Cop” moniker.
“We’ve always had more kids than the police department and sheriff’s office could handle,” he said. “We’ve always done the law enforcement side, and the fire department came along (over) the last couple of years.” Having representatives from the District Attorney’s office, state parks, Parks and Rec and Animal Services has strengthened the community support for the program.

Barrow recalled a special moment from the morning’s activities: “I talked to one of our brand new officers,” Barrow said. “This is his first experience” with Shop With A Cop. “I actually saw him tearing up a little bit.”

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Cooperative Extension With Paul McKenzie What Works In The Garden

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: Pack And Ship Deadlines For Christmas

 

At this time of year, the folks you see out shopping fall into two camps: Those who sat down to a Thanksgiving meal way back in November, content in the knowledge that the Christmas cards had been addressed and mailed, and gifts for everyone on the list had been purchased, if not already wrapped.

Then there’s that other camp – you know the one…the one where folks are flying around town in search of THE perfect gift, often passing up very nice, suitable gifts in search of THE perfect one.

Whichever camp you find yourself in this holiday season, if you must ship gifts to friends and family, time is running out if you want that gift opened on Dec. 25. In case you’re not looking at a calendar, that’s one week from today.

Mike Moore has watched folks come in to his Postal Plus location in Henderson for 33 years. He and his staff are ready to help you get those boxes weighed, labeled and in the bin for pickup.

Several key deadlines for shipping have already passed, but Moore said shipping packages out today or Tuesday should still be ok for getting those gifts to their destinations by Christmas.

“We can still get it done for you,” Moore said on Monday’s TownTalk.

Monday was the deadline for the U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail service, and Tuesday is the “drop-dead” deadline for 3-day guarantee service.

If you’re pushing the envelope, as it were, for shipping, Moore said Dec. 20 – Wednesday – is the deadline for 2-day shipments. And for those champion procrastinators, the 22nd is the last day for next day service – but it’s a service that comes with a price. “You’ll have to pay the overnight fee to get the Saturday delivery,” Moore said.

Of course, Moore also uses shipping giants Fed Ex and UPS, which generally make their pickup rounds about 3 p.m.

Things get a little busy by that time, so if you need extra help getting gifts in shipping boxes or wrapped securely to ensure a safe delivery, Moore said it’s a good idea to come in a little bit earlier in the day.

“We try to make things as easy and stress-free as we can,” Moore said.

“My staff is here ready to help you get it done.”

Visit Postal Plus at 993 S. Beckford Dr., online at https://www.postalplusbizcenter.com/ or phone 252.430.7771 for more information.

 

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Families Living Violence Free

The Local Skinny! Families Living Violence Free Seeks New Executive Director

Families Living Violence Free is in a search process to identify a new executive director to succeed Executive Director Peggy Roark, who is retiring.

Like many directors at many agencies, the FLVF director will report to the board of directors and will oversee planning and directing the operations of the agency. This role, however, also requires having extensive knowledge about crimes of domestic violence, assaults and how to help victims in crisis.

An ideal candidate will have a four-year degree and will have a combination of credentials and experience to be an effective leader for the agency who demonstrates the ability to manage complex, sensitive matters creatively, effectively and confidentially. The new executive director should have a commitment to philanthropic causes and will have held leadership roles in other non-profit agencies for at least two years.

Visit flvf.org to learn more about this position.

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Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland: Meat Goats

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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One Commissioner Contest in the Primary and One in the General Election

It looks like there will be two contested seats on the Vance County Board of Commissioners in next year’s election, with two candidates running for the District 1 seat and two candidates running in District 2. The two-week filing period ended at 12 noon today, Friday, Dec. 15.

Valencia L. Perry filed Friday for the District 2 seat and will face incumbent Archie B. Taylor, Jr., according to information provided by Shelly Wood, deputy director of the Vance County Board of Elections; Taylor filed last week. In addition to Taylor, three other commissioners filed to retain their seats on the board: Carolyn Faines in District 1; Leo Kelly in District 5 and Yolanda Feimster in District 6.

Faines also faces a challenger in next year’s election. William Heitman filed as a Republican candidate for the District 1 seat.

There are three seats up for election on the Vance County Board of Education, with District 5 the only contested race of the three. Incumbent Linda Cobb filed for re-election. She will face challenger William Earl Purvis, who filed on Wednesday as a Democratic candidate. Incumbent Dorothy Williams Gooche filed as the Democratic candidate for District 3 and Ayana Fritz Lewis filed as a Democratic candidate for District 4.

Primary elections will be held on March 5, 2024 and the general election is slated for Nov, 5, 2024.

SportsTalk: Sandlin Signs Letter Of Intent To Play For Methodist University

Gavyn Sandlin, a senior at Vance Charter School, signed his letter of intent to play college lacrosse for Methodist University of Fayetteville last week.  The signing took place at Vance Charter. Sandlin has been part of the varsity lacrosse program for the last three years. He earned All-Conference his freshman year. During his sophomore year, he earned All-Conference, All-Region, All-State and was named a US Lacrosse All-American. During his junior year he repeated his honors of All-Conference, All-Region, and All-State.  

Sandlin was a guest on Thursday’s SportsTalk.  Dennis Sandlin, Gavyn’s grandfather, is the head coach of lacrosse at Vance Charter and his dad, Dan Sandlin, is an assistant.  One could say that lacrosse is the family business.  “It never ends,” Gavyn said about lacrosse and his father and grandfather.  “I knew I wanted to play from the age of five,” Sandlin continued.

Sandlin has been named the Tar River Prep player of the year for the last three years, served as a team captain, been a scholar-athlete and has been named conference player of the year and Vance Charter Offensive Player of the Year.

Having over 200 career points and over 100 career goals, along with holding a state record for most points in a single game, he will add to that this season as Vance Charter starts its season on Valentine’s Day. 

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The Local Skinny! Pop The Hood: What That Battery Light Could Indicate

For our sponsor, Advance Auto Parts, as part of a paid radio sponsorship on WIZS.

 

You’re driving along, getting yourself from Point A to Point B, and you see it: That red light that just suddenly pops on. It’s the battery icon.

Now what?

Although it’s a picture of a battery that has suddenly illuminated on your vehicle’s dashboard, it could indicate a problem with not just the battery, but the whole charging system.

Let the staff at Advance Auto Parts conduct a battery check to see what’s causing the light to come on.

If it’s not the battery, then it could be the alternator. And alternators in newer models have a voltage regulator located inside the alternator assembly. So the problem could be something simple, like replacing a battery, or it could require a bit more investigation to determine whether it’s the alternator that’s causing the trouble.

Either way, it’s something to get checked out fairly quickly. If the alternator is faulty,  it can drain a perfectly good battery in short order.

If you’re driving and the light comes on, there are a couple of things you can do to reduce the pull on your vehicle’s electrical system: turn off the heat or AC (they use fans), turn off the radio and unplug any other devices that may suck up electricity.

And don’t kick yourself for not noticing earlier signs that the charging system may need some attention.

Dim lights, odd noises emanating from under the hood, automatic windows that seem to be sluggish or the engine stalling out momentarily are all signs that your car’s charging system is not functioning at its optimum level.

Advance Auto Parts has a wide assortment of alternators that range anywhere from just more than $100 to $250.

Let the staff guide you to choose the best kind for you and your pocketbook. They offer replacement alternators that are refurbished and remanufactured that will cost you less than a brand new one.

The information contained in this post is not advice from Advance Auto Parts or WIZS.  Safety First!  Always seek proper help.  This is presented for its informational value on and is part of a paid advertising sponsorship.

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