Eye on the Triangle

Nick Pinto 0:00
The views and opinions expressed on Eye on the Triangle do not represent WKNC 88.1 or NC State Student Media

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Ellie Feaga 0:36
Hi, this is Ellie Feaga with Eye on the Triangle bringing you news stories from NCSU, and our community in the triangle area. The annual Campus Security Report was posted last week, we're going to dive into that with an interview with the NC State's Chief of Police Danial House. I am here with Police Chief Daniel House, and he's going to be answering some questions about campus security and our annual Campus Security Report. Would you like to do a description of your title? I am the Chief of Police here. Perfect okay, awesome. And how long have you been here?

Daniel House 1:10
Well, this is actually the second time I've worked here. But I've been here as the chief for approximately three and a half years. Prior to that I was the Chief and prior to that I worked here.

Ellie Feaga 1:18
Can you explain little bit about what the security report is, and what is the purpose of it?

Daniel House 1:24
Yeah, so the annual security report is required for any educational institution that receives funding through like student financial aid or anything like that. So what we did, it's part of what they call the Clery Act. So the Clery Act, you know what it does is it gives students, faculty, staff, an idea of what's going on in the campus, when it comes to crime and things of that nature. So, so we're required to release it every October. And so if you look, we just released out latest one.

Ellie Feaga 1:59
How would you say that this year's crime rates have been comparatively to the past years?

Daniel House 2:06
Yeah, I mean, crime fluctuates all the time. So but it's, it seems to be pretty consistent. You know, sometimes there's like outliers, this year's report has an outlier in it. And it's that, because we're required to report crimes that are reported to us in that year. So we had somebody come and report crimes this year, that happened many years ago. But we had to show them in our in our numbers. So you will look and you'll see fluctuations in the crime sometimes, but crime here on campus tends to be pretty, pretty consistent. And it even for being in the middle of a major city, it's actually pretty low compared to what goes on around us.

Ellie Feaga 2:49
Oh good. That's good to hear. Is there a certain part of campus where you think crime is higher? Is it up by Hillsborough Street? Or is it in a place where you don't see below as much?

Daniel House 3:00
Well, if I without look, had the numbers in front of me, I couldn't really tell you. Exactly. But certainly those areas where, you know, the campus intersects with, you know, those big populations of people, we do tend to get transient population, homeless people that type that sometimes walk through the campus on that side. So I can't say that that makes our crime rate any higher. It's just it makes people nervous

Ellie Feaga 3:26
Is there a particular sort of data point on the sheet or crime that you've seen that has been concerning to you at all, something that you think needs to be be have more work going forward?

Daniel House 3:36
Well, I think that one of the things is, most of the crime that happened on campus is crime of opportunity. So people leave things in the vehicle. People break into the vehicle. People leave things unattended. That's a huge problem especially used to be a really big problem with libraries. People leave their laptops and then go down to get a cup of coffee or something. And they're surprised that their laptops gone. So So those are the types of things that generally happen. The you know, the, again, we're in a major city. So do we have some bleed over crime sometimes. Bicycles are another one that's been traditionally people don't lock their bike and people come and take them. But those that are more traditional crimes that we have.

Ellie Feaga 4:19
I read that there were a few carjackings for a period of time and maybe there was batteries, I think stolen from a certain kind of car. I don't know if you if that was within the last year but if it was, how do you think we could maybe prevent that issue?

Daniel House 4:34
Yeah, that was catalytic converters not batteries. But so yeah, we had those and and that's just because they'd have very expensive metals in certain ones that are certain types of cars. So people come and cut them off and take them to get for the metal out of them. We had a bunch of those. You only had one carjacking that actually happened on campus and when I say it was on campus it really well technically really wasn't it was over near the Food Lion on Avent Ferry were one of our fraternities are. So that had happened. But we don't. Again, we don't usually have that type of crime here.

Ellie Feaga 5:12
I remember it being kind of ironic look at because we don't we always get the reports when a crime comes out. And I think there was a carjacking where someone tried to steal a car but then they couldn't drive the stick shift. That's correct. Did I give you guys something to laugh here?

Daniel House 5:26
It always does. Yeah. So yeah, that was certainly funny. Yeah. But I hate it happened anyway. Right. At least the car wasn't stolen actually.

Ellie Feaga 5:36
I know. Yeah. That actually worked out pretty nicely. I guess maybe we should all be we're driving a stick shift. Yeah agreed. Well, what are some ways that you think that students can learn to protect themselves, whether it be from theft encountering people, strangers from the city, what are some things that students can do to keep themselves safer?

Daniel House 5:54
Probably the biggest one we see is just be alert um you see so many students walking around with there face in their cell phone. They'll cross streets like that, and not even look for traffic. And it's not just students, it students, faculty, staff, I mean, a lot of people do. So be you know, you know, keep an eye on your surroundings, things, plan your route. Those are some of the things we talked about, you know, not saying, staring at your cell phone, but have it in your hands, so you can call 911 if you needed to. And again, always have a plan. So I mean, as you're walking, you know, maybe you'll go take this path instead of that path, because that path goes through a dark alley. So planning your path out. And, again, having a plan if something does happen, what are you going to do, to know what you're going to do ahead of time. So maybe it's run into that building, or whatever it is, but have a plan ahead of time. From things being stolen, simple, just lock them up, lock them up, or don't bring them, you know, if you're gonna leave and don't leave your laptop laying out, pick it up, take it with you. Those kinds of things. Again, most of those crimes are crimes of opportunity. It's because somebody just didn't lock them up. And that's what happened.

Ellie Feaga 7:06
Do you think that there are certain challenges that specifically maybe women or young women need to be aware of?

Daniel House 7:14
Um, yeah, again, we really have a safe campus. I mean, we really do not say anything can happen. So put that caveat out there. But, but it's really safe. I mean, I think the some of the things we were just talking about is, you know, again, you're gonna go from your residence hall over to the dining hall and come back, take a friend with you two of you walk and eat together or something. Anytime you can walk with the group, you're better off for sure.

Ellie Feaga 7:43
Okay, awesome. Well, those answered some really important questions. I think about the security report. I'm glad that we got an update on it. And hopefully, we learned some tips to make ourselves safer. I want to ask you, as we're finishing up some for fun questions. So do you like working here at NC State?

Daniel House 7:58
I love working here. Good. It's a great time. The community is what I really love. So I love being around the students, faculty, the staff and kind of the energy that comes with all that.

Ellie Feaga 8:09
What is your favorite Howling Cow ice cream flavor?

Daniel House 8:13
To be honest with you, it's lemon.

Ellie Feaga 8:14
Is it the lemon waffer for one? Yeah the lemon waffer. I've never tried that one before. It's fantastic. I really liked Cherry brick road and I'm disappointed that it's being phased out right now. Yeah. Awesome. Well, it was great to talk to you. Thank you for doing this interview Chief House. No problem at all. And this has been Ellie with Eye on the Triangle, you're listening to 88.1 WKNC Raleigh HD-1?

Well, it's October in Raleigh. And that means we are all thinking about the North Carolina State Fair. We're here on Thursday, October 19, which is the Smithfield Foods hunger relief day, we're going to be talking with a food bank that accepts canned goods as admission to the state fair today. We're also going to talk with some fairgoers interview vendors in the villages of yesteryear and learn more about the North Carolina State Fair. Let's get right into it. I'm Ellie Feaga. And I am here with Holly Nelson, at the North Carolina State Fair, and we're going to be talking about the food drives she's a part of.

Holly Nelson 9:17
Yeah.

Ellie Feaga 9:18
It's great to have you, Holly.

Holly Nelson 9:19
Thank you.

Ellie Feaga 9:20
So to start off, would you tell me a little bit about the organization you work for?

Holly Nelson 9:24
Absolutely. We are the Food Bank of central and eastern North Carolina. We have been serving the local area for over 40 years now. We serve 34 counties in North Carolina. So all the way from central to eastern North Carolina. And so our service area covers about one in nine individuals who are facing food insecurity. That's about 11% of our service area.

Ellie Feaga 9:47
Wow, that is incredible. How long have you been involved in this organization?

Holly Nelson 9:51
So I've been with the food bank for almost three years now. But this is a cause that's always been very near and dear to my heart.

Ellie Feaga 9:58
Okay, so did you What What was your intention when you were younger, did you always want to do something that was within this kind of field.

Holly Nelson 10:04
So actually, um, when I was growing up, I lived in a very low income food insecure household. I gratefully to my parents did not know that that was the case. But as I grew older, I kind of realized that that was my situation. And so being able to work in this group, and then even in this community has been so important to me, because I'm helping people that helped me.

Ellie Feaga 10:26
Amazing okay and I'm going to ask a little bit about this tradition at the fair, especially because some of our listeners probably don't know exactly what the purpose of the food bank is here. So for our listeners, if you donate six cans of food, I believe to the fair on today, Thursday, October 19th. Then you can get a free entry ticket, right?

Holly Nelson 10:46
Yes. So if you bring six cans of food, any kind of cans, just six food, six cans of food, you get free admission for the whole day, October 19. But today only is this initiative.

Ellie Feaga 10:58
How long has this been a tradition at the fair?

Holly Nelson 11:01
This is our 30th year we started in 1993. So this is actually our 30th anniversary of doing a kind of can day at the State Fair. Happy 30th anniversary. Thank you. I know its exciting.

Ellie Feaga 11:13
That's awesome. Wow, that's crazy. Do you know how they got involved originally? Like what led to this being part of the fair?

Holly Nelson 11:20
Um, originally, I have to say, I'm not absolutely aware. I just know that's initiative to that several fairs in the state do as well. So I know it's been a tradition that is long standing.

Ellie Feaga 11:34
How much did you accumulate last year? And how much do you expect to accumulate this year?

Holly Nelson 11:38
Well, so I don't have the exact numbers from last year. But um, since hunger relief day began at the NC State Fair in 1993. And since then, fair goers, fair goers have donated over 6.1 million pounds of food to the food bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina and our partners. Wow. Did you say 6.1 million. 6.1 million pounds.

Ellie Feaga 12:01
6.1 million. Oh my gosh, that is amazing. Okay, I'm going to ask you now have fun questions for you. Holly, what is your favorite part of the fair?

Holly Nelson 12:09
My favorite part of the fair, has always been the rides, and my favorite ride. I don't know if it's called this anymore. But it used to be called Fireball and they would always play pitbulls Fireball when you go on it and you just go round and round and round. And then you would stop at the very top and hang upside down. So I've always been kind of an adrenaline junkie. So I love the rides.

Ellie Feaga 12:30
I love that. I cannot say the same. I don't know that I'd be able to take that but I love to watch it. Yeah. Have you been to Howling Cow before?

Holly Nelson 12:40
I have? I'm actually an NC State alumn.

Ellie Feaga 12:42
Oh you are an NC State alumn. I am. We're NC State's radio station. I'm assuming since you went to NC State. So my last question for you is what is your favorite Howling Cow ice cream flavor?

Holly Nelson 12:51
Oh, by far campfire delight. I loved it at NC State when I went and I still love it to this day. It's my favorite. I love Campfire Delight its so good. It's by far -- it's it's the best. And I think and even like you can taste that fire roasted marshmallow even I don't know how they do it. But it's by far my favorite.

Ellie Feaga 13:09
That's amazing. Well, it was great talking to you, Holly. I love the cause. And I'm so glad that this is a part of the state fair.

Holly Nelson 13:15
Yeah. Awesome. Thank you for having me.

Ellie Feaga 13:17
All right. Thank you so much. After an excellent interview with Holly, we're going across the fair to visit some vendors at the village of yesteryear. What is your name?

Bill Wallace 13:26
Bill Wallace.

Ellie Feaga 13:28
Bill Wallace. How long have you been here at the fair? 21,23 years. 23 years? Yep. And what are you doing here in the village of yesteryear doing

Bill Wallace 13:35
Doing woodturning and wood carving and I teach up at NC State and listen to 88.1. Do you really? Yeah yeah. That's amazing. Do you want to say your name?

Scott Daltrey 13:43
Janet Wallace. I'm a basket weaver. I've been here two years, but I've been here many years helping my husband with the woodworking.

Ellie Feaga 13:55
So what do you guys like about being in the village of yesteryear?

Bill Wallace 13:59
Getting the media response on your work? You know, you get you'll see a whole cross section of society so you'll get every comment in the world, you know, so it's good to hear face to face.

Ellie Feaga 14:09
Well, it's great to meet you both. Thank you for answering my question. Thank you. What is your name?

Scott Daltrey 14:13
My name is Scott Daltrey.

Ellie Feaga 14:15
And what are you selling here in the village of yesteryear. Baskets. And is this your wife that you're with?

Scott Daltrey 14:19
It is and she is the basket maker. My job is to sit here in the booth and look pretty

Ellie Feaga 14:25
Your doing a good job. How long have you guys been coming to the state fair?

Scott Daltrey 14:28
We have 20 years this year. We got a 20 year certificate. 20 years Right here in this spot in the Village of Yesteryear.

Ellie Feaga 14:35
I really like your outfits.

Scott Daltrey 14:37
Why, thank you very much.

Ellie Feaga 14:38
This is something that's cool about the village of yesteryear. So we're on the radio so people can't tell but would you describe a little bit of what you're wearing?

Scott Daltrey 14:44
Well, it's a cotton shirt, of course with the open collar like they used to be. I want to say that we are dressed colonial style 1776. That's all the people in the village. Pick a time frame and they dress him with that period style. And this is what we picked.

And I have a leather apron that I use because I do the handles and leather work for the baskets

Ellie Feaga 15:10
And a very cool hat. Yeah.

Scott Daltrey 15:11
And I'm very cool. Well its a Western style.

Ellie Feaga 15:14
What do you love about the North Carolina State Fair?

Fair attendee 15:18
Oh my goodness. She see everyone you ever knew in your whole life?

Ellie Feaga 15:21
What is your name?

Jeremy Norris 15:25
Jeremy Norris

Ellie Feaga 15:26
and you are here representing

Jeremy Norris 15:28
Broad slab distillery. We're in Benson, North Carolina.

Ellie Feaga 15:31
Benson, North Carolina. Nice. Oh, we're WKNC in Raleigh. And I'm asking people what are they here to represent? And what is their favorite part about the North Carolina State Fair

Jeremy Norris 15:40
The people that people get out to a lot of people.

Ellie Feaga 15:44
After hearing raving reviews from visitors, vendors and volunteers. This concludes our comments on the 2023 North Carolina State Fair. I'm Ellie Feaga with Eye on the Triangle and as always, thank you for listening to 88.1 WKNC HD-1 Raleigh.

Nick Pinto 16:04
Thank you for listening to this episode of Eye on the Triangle. The public affairs program of WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1 Raleigh, to listen to past episodes of Eye on the Triangle or replay this one, please visit wknc.org forward slash podcasts. The music for this episode is titled Noah stark by Krakatoa and it was made available through a Creative Commons license. You can check wknc.org forward slash schedule to catch the next episode of Eye on the Triangle live. Until then, this has been Nick Pinto with WKNC 88.1

Transcribed by https://otter.ai