Health Department Launches New Online Registration System for COVID-19 Vaccine Registration

Orange County Health Department unveiled a new online registration system for residents seeking to sign up for a COVID-19 vaccine. The system allows residents to choose how to be notified when an appointment is available—either via text, automated phone call or email—and will help the county manage the process to ensure that all vaccines are distributed efficiently.

It may be accessed at the same link as the previous form: https://redcap.link/OCHDvax. Residents who have already registered, either via phone or the online form, will not have to re-register. Their information will be migrated into the new system.

“The automated system will help the county manage the COVID vaccine distribution more effectively,” said Orange County Health Director Quintana Stewart. “We hope to receive more vaccines as supply increases, and this system will help us distribute them quickly.”

Residents are asked to save (919) 913-8088 and covid19vaccine@orangecountync.gov as trusted contacts to avoid the calls and emails being treated as spam.

Individuals who can’t access the Internet or need assistance filling out the form can register by calling (919) 913-8088 seven days a week, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Spanish and other languages are available.

Click here for more information.

People with High-Risk Medical Conditions in Group 4 Eligible for COVID-19 Vaccine

Governor Roy Cooper and North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) Secretary Mandy K. Cohen, M.D. announced beginning on March 17, people in Group 4 who have a medical condition that puts them at higher risk of serious illness and people who live in certain congregate settings will be eligible for vaccination. The rest of Group 4, which includes other essential workers, will become eligible April 7. (See Deeper Dive)

People with high-risk medical conditions, people experiencing homelessness, and incarcerated people who have not been vaccinated will be eligible March 17. North Carolina plans to move to other essential workers and other people in close group living settings on April 7.

BOCC names new Agriculture Center after longtime agent Bonnie B. Davis

The Orange County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to name the new Orange County Environmental Agriculture Center after Bonnie B. Davis, a longtime extension agent in Orange County, during its March 16 business meeting.

Davis worked with the extension service for more than four decades before retiring in 1990. She began her career during the era of segregation, but proved to be a calming influence throughout the integration of the Orange County Extension Service.

“Over the course of her career, she gave tirelessly of her time, expertise, and resources on many occasions, sacrificing time away from her family to serve the needs of Orange County families,” wrote former Orange County Extension Director Dr. Fletcher Barber, Jr., in a letter endorsing the honor. “Both during and after my tenure as Extension Director, I have heard countless positive testimonies from county residents who were beneficiaries of the educational training they received from Mrs. Davis.”

Photo of Medline presenting masks to Orange County

Medline Account Manager Emily Jesserer (center), presents 5,000 procedural masks to Orange County to help Emergency Services with the COVID response. Accepting for Orange County were Economic Development Steve Brantley (left) and Emergency Services Director Kirby Saunders (right).

Medline donates 5k masks for Orange County COVID response

Medline, one of the nation’s leading distributors of medical equipment to hospitals and other providers, donated 5,000 procedural masks to Orange County Emergency Services to help the county as it responds to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic, Orange County has been fortunate to receive many donations from throughout the community,” said Emergency Services Director Kirby Saunders. “We are extremely appreciative of the donation from Medline. These masks will be a critical tool in our ongoing COVID-19 response including vaccine operations, support to healthcare partners and essential operations that Orange County residents depend on daily. We express our profound appreciation to Medline and welcome them to Orange County.”

Medline is building a 1.2 million square foot distribution center in Mebane that is expected to open in 2021. The facility will initially create 250 new full-time jobs that will provide health, educational and retirement benefits. At full capacity, Medline anticipates the new Orange County operation will boast as many as 600 jobs.

“It’s truly about helping the community,” said Emily Jesserer, an Account Manager with Medline who presented the masks. “We’re super excited about the distribution center coming. It’s obviously going to help so much with operations.”

LIEAP program offers assistance with heating bills for low-income households

The Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) is a federally funded program that provides for a one-time vendor payment to help eligible households pay their heating bills.
Households are eligible to sign up for assistance from through March 31 or until funds are exhausted. The program is managed by the Orange County Department of Social Services.

Click here for eligibility requirements and how to apply.

Human Relations Commission to host webinar examining the Defund the Police debate

The Orange County Human Rights and Relations Commission is sponsoring a Community Conversation on March 21: Unraveling the #DefundThePolice debate. Presenters from the NAACP, the Orange County Sheriff's Office and El Centro will discuss the issue and what it means to the community.

"The goal of the event is to try to find common ground for the meaning and understanding of #DefundthePolice," said Annette Moore, Orange County Human Rights and Relations Director. "Since the term has a different meaning for people, we want to hear what Orange County residents' understand the term to mean and how their defined meaning of the term would look in Orange County."

Moore says she hopes the event will result in a “community understanding” of the term and an action plan of next steps. The information will be given to the Board of County Commissioners.

The session will begin with a panel of community leaders discussing the issue. After that, participants will break off into Zoom breakout rooms for small group discussion prompted by a series of questions.

Registration is free. Visit www.orangecountync.gov/communityconversation to sign up.

HAUNTED play traces roots of anti-Black violence in America

The Orange County Arts Commission together with the Orange County Community Remembrance Coalition, Free Spirit FREEDOM, and The ArtsCenter, present HAUNTED, a new commissioned theatrical work by playwright and actor, Dr. Sonny Kelly. The production will air live from The ArtsCenter in Carrboro at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 27, 2021, and be available for streaming following the live production. To learn where to view the livestream event and sign up for an event reminder, visit https://artscenterlive.org/performance/haunted-presented-by-sonny-kelly/.

In the play HAUNTED, actor and playwright Sonny Kelly takes on the voices of historians, ancestors, elders, youths, politicians, pundits, and poets, as he traces the roots and routes of modern day anti-Black violence in America. Kelly recounts the roots of hatred and fear embedded in the story of the 1898 lynching of Manly McCauley in Orange County. He also tracks the routes of racialized violence in America as manifested in the colonial justice system, the Wilmington Massacre of 1898, the 2015 shooting at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, and the 2020 lynching of Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia. Kelly digs deep to examine the impact that racial violence has historically had on our minds, bodies, and souls in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

HAUNTED is part of a series of events presented by the Orange County Community Remembrance Coalition (OCCRC) whose work has been inspired by the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) of Montgomery, Alabama. EJI has embarked on a multi-year project to recognize the victims and survivors of racial terror lynching in the United States, focusing on restorative truth-telling and memorialization.

To date, EJI has documented at least 4,400 African American victims of racial terror lynching between 1877 to 1950, with at least 119 racial terror lynchings documented in North Carolina during that period. Manly McCauley is one of those victims in Orange County. With HAUNTED, the OCCRC recognizes Manly McCauley and other victims of racial terror lynching and works to disrupt and overcome the detrimental systems and mindsets that have plagued America for generations, and to help usher forth a future of humanity, equity and justice for all of us.

Upcoming events from the Orange County Senior Centers

2021 Orange County Senior Games
Senior Games is a year-round health promotion program for adults ages 50 plus. Activities include sports and games competitions/tournaments, social activities. SilverArts includes visual, heritage and performing arts.

April 19 - June 1: Sports Events
June 9 – June 23: SilverArts Virtual Show (view all entries during this time)

Sports & SilverArts Registration:

Early Bird – Register by Friday, March 12; Fee: $13
Final Deadline – Friday, March 26; Fee: $16

Cost includes: Registration Fees (Sporting Events & SilverArts), participant gift, medals, SilverArts performance and reception and closing celebration event.

Visit our website or see the flyer for information and registration. For additional information, contact Lee Schimmelfing or Myra Austin at (919) 245-2020.

Orange County to host panel discussion on advance directives

The Orange County Department on Aging and the Project EngAGE End of Life Choices Senior Resource Team invite the public to attend a virtual panel discuss on, Advance Directives: A Medical Professional’s Point of View on March 30.

Medical and health care’s primary objective should be to serve the well-being and wishes of the patient. You’ve joined us for discussions on how to create your advanced directives and how to discuss them with your family now let’s talk to the medical professionals.

Engage with our professional panelists as we have an honest conversation on how your loved ones, medical teams, and proxies must support one another to ensure your end of life choices are respected and fulfilled.

The free event will take place on Tuesday, March 30, from 4-6 pm via virtual platform. Please register at this link .

If technology assistance is needed please contact Shenae McPherson at 919-245-4243 by Monday, March 29.

Orange County to celebrate International Transgender Day of Visibility

The Orange County Department on Aging and the Project EngAGE LGBTQ+ Senior Resource Team invite the public to attend a virtual documentary screening of The Ties that Bind on March 31.

As we celebrate International Transgender Day of Visibility we invite you join us for a showing of The Ties that Bind. The documentary delivers an introspective and honest exploration of acceptance as it details Diana Newton’s journey with her sister Christine, a Trans woman and their family as they navigate the emotional and physical struggles of transitioning. Diana Newton offers a glimpse into the world of a Southern family as they confront society’s cultural bias and learn to face their own personal journey to live authentically.

Join us as we explore this thoughtful and heartfelt documentary with Diana offering a Q&A Session to follow.

The event will take place on Wednesday, March 31, from 6 – 8 p.m. via a virtual platform.
Please register here:

If technology assistance is needed please contact Shenae McPherson at 919-245-4243 by Monday, March 29.

The Orange County Public Library’s 3rd Annual [Virtual] Literary Peep Show Contest. Make a family-friendly, literary-themed, marshmallow peep diorama in any of the following categories: family; juvenile; young adult; adult. Enter a picture of your work for a chance to win a prize!

www.orangecountync.gov