TownTalk: Celebrating The Career Of Lt. Ray Shearin

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Lt. Ray Shearin spent almost half his career with the Vance County Sheriff’s Office with two of the best partners he could have hoped for. They never took turns driving and never once paid for his lunch, but he’d have done anything for them, and probably the feeling was mutual.

His patrol buddies were part of the K-9 unit and Juneau and Rex were among the first canines to join the sheriff’s office.

Shearin reflected on his 28-year career with the local sheriff’s office during Monday’s TownTalk with John C. Rose. He will retire at the end of the month with 30 years of service, once you add in sick days, he said.

The Shearin family has a long relationship with the sheriff’s office – and with Sheriff Curtis Brame. Shearin’s father Henry retired in 1992 from the sheriff’s office just before his son left military service.

“My dad trained Sheriff Brame and Sheriff Brame trained me,” he explained. And all three have had the same VCSO number – S-4. “The sheriff was gracious enough to give me my dad’s number,” Shearin said, adding that it meant so much to him to be able to have the same number that his father had used.

Shearin said his father imparted many important life lessons that have stood the test of time:

“Dad’s work ethic. When you go to work, do your job,” Shearin said, adding that his father had been raised on a farm, “so he knew work. You go in and you give 110 percent and make sure everyone goes home safe, just like you.”

Shearin currently serves as the VCSO’s operations lieutenant, but he’s worked his way up like so many others from serving papers to working patrol shifts, up through the ranks of sergeant and now lieutenant.

There are about 60 employees in the sheriff’s office, he said, and estimated that between 20-30 are working at any given time of the day to keep the residents of Vance County safe and sound.

As he thinks back on his career and looks forward to his retirement, he said it is the camaraderie that he has enjoyed the most. “It’s a brotherhood and sisterhood,” he said of his fellow sheriff’s office employees.

“We’re a family,” he said. “We try to take care of each other.”

“The people in Vance County have been great to me.”

Which leads to another life lesson he learned from his father and utilizes every day he represents the Vance County Sheriff’s Office: “the goal is to treat people like you want to be treated,” Shearin said. “He’s the one who told me how to treat people and how to do your job and do it well.”

He said the use of computers has greatly enhanced the ability to be prepared in law enforcement, from typing reports instead of writing them in long-hand using carbon paper to make copies to having information readily available to ensure the safety of officers on patrol.

Deputies never know what a patrol shift may bring, so they have to be prepared for most any situation at all times.

Shearin said he will never forget when he and Juneau were called out to help locate a young child who’d followed her dog off into the woods and hadn’t returned home. It was just getting dark, he said, and he sent Juneau, a tracking dog, ahead. That dog “tracked her for over a mile,” located her by a pond, barking each time Shearin called the dog’s name – just like it had been trained to do.

“That’s the gratifying part,” Shearin recalled, “when something like that happens” and families are safely reunited.

“Having a partner like that, you always have someone you can rely on,” Shearin said. “Even when backup is coming.”

Both dogs retired to Shearin’s farm and lived out their days there. Juneau died of cancer and Rex suffered hip dysplasia in his older years. But they were – and remain – cherished members of the Shearin family.

 

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TownTalk: Local Lore Rooted In History

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Once upon a time, the tiny town of Stovall in northern Granville County wasn’t so tiny. In fact, it once claimed the honor of having one of the largest private residences in the state, second only to the famed Biltmore Estate in Asheville.

“Waterloo,” as it was known, was built by James Daniel in 1840 and ultimately had a whopping 48 rooms.

After the Civil War was over, a Mr. Dickerson frequented the area, where he spent time hunting quail. “He liked the place so much, he bought it,” said Mark Pace, local historian and North Carolina Room specialist for the Richard Thornton Library in Oxford.

Pace said it is Dickerson who is credited with a couple of other “firsts” for the town – he was the first person to bring a car there, he had the first graded road constructed and he also had the first telephone, according to Mark Pace,

Pace and WIZS’s Bill Harris chatted about a few examples of such historical lore during Thursday’s tri-weekly TownTalk history segment.

Dickerson lived up North and turned the sprawling home into a hunting lodge. He would travel down on the train, which stopped in Stovall, unload his car, and stay for weeks at the time, Pace said.

“When he came, it was quite a big deal,” Pace said. His office in New York was across the street from the Federal Reserve.

“Not only did he have money, but he had brand-new money,” Pace explained. That new money also prompted rumors that circulated at the time that Dickerson was actually printing money at his Stovall digs.

He did infuse the local economy, however, running a store next to the railroad depot with its own bar and drugstore.

When he got older, Dickerson returned to New York, leaving area residents bummed. It seems that Dickerson paid all his neighbors’ property taxes – in exchange for hunting rights.

The Vance County connection is this: Henderson native Charlie Rose owned the property for a number of years, although the main house burned in 1962, leaving several outbuildings and an overseer’s house.

It’s sometimes difficult to ascertain fact from lore when dealing with stories like these, but that just adds to the interest.

One story from right here in Henderson when, in December 1932, a real estate agent and stock broker driving to Richmond on business vanished, never to be heard from again.

Or was he?

Rufus Sidney McCoin was a well-respected member of the community, Pace said. He served in the state legislature and on the state advisory budget commission, which Pace said afforded him access to some of the state’s influential leaders.

It was the height of the Depression, Pace said, and “there was no indication that anything was going on in his life” that would raise questions or concerns for his welfare.

He was last seen at a gas station just outside Richmond, and that’s where the tracks went cold.

“He bough gas using a Gulf courtesy card…used the phone and took off down the road,” Pace recounted. “And that was the last anybody heard of him.”

Fast-forward a couple of weeks and the chief justice of the state supreme court received a letter postmarked December 25 from Chicago, IL. The letter, of which Pace read a lengthy excerpt, detailed what had transpired two weeks prior outside Richmond.

“It was signed ‘a boy in distress,’” Pace said, adding that the letter still exists. He’s seen it and he’s read it, and he has his own theories as to what may have happened.

 

The contents of the letter accurately disclosed where to find McCoin’s car – in a garage in Ohio. Also recovered were his wallet, a bloody glove and his eyeglasses.

Although there were alleged sightings of McCoin in the years that followed, the mystery has never been solved.

Which is where educated guesses and speculation come into play, Pace said.

“I think whoever wrote this was an educated person trying to sound like an uneducated person,” he said, questioning why some common words like “hotel” and “gas”would be misspelled while other less common names of towns would be spelled correctly.

The letter itself has stains on it that appear to be blood, but how those stains got on the letter will probably never be known.

To hear more stories of interest, listen to the entire interview at wizs.com.

 

TownTalk: Rebuilding Hope Wraps Up Another Year

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There are at least 20 homes whose residents need wheelchair ramps, and Randolph Wilson of Rebuilding Hope Inc. said the lumber is in their warehouse and the tool trailers are stocked and ready to roll.

There’s one thing missing, however: volunteers. People who will pull those trailers to the job site and use that lumber to build the ramps that so many in the community need to make entering and exiting their homes easier.

Wilson spoke with John C. Rose on Wednesday’s TownTalk and said God has richly blessed the ministry during the six years or so that it’s been in operation at the former Coca-Cola Bottling Co. on Raleigh Road.

“God has given us all the things that we need,” Wilson said, adding that the ministry relies solely on financial support from churches, individuals and businesses – it operates without benefit of government grants.

“We’ve been blessed that we have never needed money – we just need volunteers.”

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Teams have gone out into the community to construct dozens and dozens of ramps so far this year, but there are still quite a number of households on the wait list.

If you’d like to help, contact Wilson at info@rebuildinghopeinc.org or phone 252.438.5132.

The mission and ministry of Rebuilding Hope is “rebuilding homes, lives and hearts.” It strives toward those goals in a variety of ways, including sending youth out into the community to tackle repairs and home rehabs.

Over the summer, young people from near and far to take part in a program called “Servants on Site.” Close to 100 young people participated in the 2022 event and put roofs on 10 houses in the area in just about 4 days’ time.

The youth bunked at Central Baptist Church, and a dozen area churches prepared food each day at the job sites as well as helped purchase materials for the roofing projects.

“We had a great week with all those kids in town,” Wilson said.

Details of the various activities and events that Rebuilding Hope undertakes are included in the ministry’s monthly newsletter, available electronically to anyone who would like to receive it.

Simply email info@rebuildinghopeinc.org to be added to the mailing list and to stay updated on ways you can help.

Rebuilding Hope is open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Applications for assistance are received on Wednesdays, Wilson noted.

Can’t climb up on a roof or take the 6-8 hours that it takes to complete a standard wheelchair ramp? No problem. Volunteers also are needed for small repair jobs like deck and interior floor repair, Wilson said.

There are opportunities to help keep the warehouse in good order, as well as cleaning and restocking the various trailers that are available to the community.

There’s a food trailer for churches and other groups to borrow when they’re having events, and even a trailer outfitted with popcorn, cotton candy and sno-cone machines.

Add to that the game trailer – stocked with different games and you’ve got yourself a portable party.

“You can pull both of those trailers out and have a pretty good event,” Wilson said, adding that there is no fee to use the trailers.

Wilson said he would be happy to come out and speak to any church or other organization that wants to learn more about its mission and how to help Rebuilding Hope help others in the community.

But mostly, he said, it’s volunteers that are needed.

“Our volunteer base is getting older – we need some young people to come on board,” he said.

In the meantime, he said, his prayers are simple: that folks “will choose to come and help.”

Visit www.rebulidinghopeinc.org to learn more.

TownTalk: Disc Golf At Granville Athletic Park

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We see them everywhere: those flexible plastic discs that get flung through the air on beaches, college campuses and playgrounds.

Toy manufacturer Wham-O was the first to call them Frisbees in the late 1950’s and since then, the flying discs have been tossed about for fun – and competitively.

Local disc golf enthusiasts have a high-quality 18-hold course to practice their sport at Granville Athletic Park, and the board of commissioners recently recognized their efforts to bring such a course for the public to enjoy.

The course is called “The Incinerator,” the result of Granville County native David Nicholson and a group of dedicated volunteers who partnered with GAP parks and grounds crew to create. It began in 2018 with nine holes and the final nine was completed in 2022.

It was built with minimal labor and expenses by county staff and has already put Granville County on the map in the disc golf world, according to a press statement from Granville County Public Information Officer Terry Hobgood.

“These volunteers have succeeded in creating a destination for disc golf enthusiasts from across the state in a uniquely themed course that pays tribute to the rich history behind the park’s development,” the statement continued.

For more information about the Incinerator Disc Golf Course, please visit the Granville County website:  https://www.granvillecounty.org/residents/recreation/granville-athletic-park-gap-2/34051-2/

In addition to Nicholson, commissioners also recognized the following disc golf course volunteers: Kyrston Nicholson, Jeff Schons, Michael Fortlage, Ben Lewis Benjamin, Fermin Calderon, Russell Davis, Heyward Gignilliat, Andy Mathews, Joe Tartamella, Justin Crow, Dilon Lawson, Dionicio Salazar, Paul  Shelton Jr., Parker Schons, Samuel Sirianna, Adam Weisbrodt, Larry Smith, Davis Lever and Sam Taylor.

 

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TownTalk: Exciting Times For Vance Charter Cheerleading

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Members of the Vance Charter School cheer team weren’t able to get a lot of practice time in before last weekend’s state championship competition – it was that weeklong trip to New York City to participate in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade that kept them off the practice mat.

But just like their months-long fundraising efforts to get all 20 of the VCS high school cheerleaders to make the trip, things turned out OK.

Actually, better than OK.

They brought home another state championship, winning in the the large varsity, no-tumble division.

“The girls put in the work and made it happen,” said Coach Stacey Long, clearly satisfied with the outcome of all the events that have transpired in the last few weeks.

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But Long isn’t just talking about the most recent competition. She’s talking about the way the girls went out into the community, seeking the $70,000 in donations to help get the whole team to New York, all expenses paid.

That was their goal, she said, and that’s exactly what happened. Thanks to the generosity of more than 50 sponsors across Vance and Granville counties – and beyond – the entire cheer team spent a whole week in the Big Apple, for what surely is a trip of a lifetime.

They visited the Empire State Building, took a harbor cruise to see the Statue of Liberty, visited the 911 Memorial and took in a Rockettes show and a Broadway performance, Long said, all thanks to generous sponsors.

“But the actual Thanksgiving Day parade was very magical,” Long told John C. Rose on Tuesday’s TownTalk. “The girls were just so excited to be a part of that.”

The parade organizers had many activities planned for the participants, but Long and Assistant Coach Shelley Whitehead planned additional outings. But the girls and their chaperones also had some free afternoon time over the course of the trip, too. Some went shopping, visited Central Park and did a little ice skating, among other activities.

“They really got a lot of New York in,” Long said.

And although the iconic tree at Rockefeller Center wasn’t ready for viewing, they did get to see the Saks Fifth Avenue light show display.

“Every day we got up, there was a little more Christmas,” Long said. “The girls really enjoyed seeing that part of New York.”

But no sooner had they returned home than they set their sights on last weekend’s state championship, held in Raleigh on Dec. 3. Add to that cheering for their Knights’ basketball games and next week’s exam schedule, the girls have maintained a tight schedule.

With practices at 6 a.m. and then again in the afternoon, they put the finishing touches on their 2:30-minute routine.

“These girls have put in at least 12-14 hours (of practice) since May,” Long estimated. Logging all those practice hours has paid off, she added.

With another trophy added to the school’s awards case, Long said she wants the young women to take a little time off from practice and focus their attention to next week’s exams.

Then she hopes they’ll take some time to enjoy the holidays with their families. “We’ll let them reset and recharge,” Long added.

Because as soon as the New Year kicks in, they’ll be back on the practice mats. They have another state competition on Jan. 28 in Raleigh. And they’ll be looking to defend their title, which they won last year.

Here’s a list of cheer team members:

Abby Cole

Brianna Dickerson

Helena Florez

Kelcey Hardee

Catherine Hedgepeth

Emma Hicks

Emma Long

Olivia Long

Maya Lloyd

Shakera Macon

Ziya Perry

Mia Satterwhite

Pearla Tabor

Kelsey Waddle

Cheyanne Burroughs

Kate Carrington

Summer Francis

Alina Gonzalez

Ashley Hennessey

Lauren Taylor

Stacey Long- Coach
Shelley Whitehead- Assistant Coach

Following is a list of Sponsors, provided by the VCS cheer coaches:

Platinum Sponsors:

Oxford Cheer Elite

Spectrum Medical Solutions

Stainback & Satterwhite Law Office

Better Beach Rentals & Sales

Silver Sponsors: 

Parkview Office Plaza

2000/5 Partners, Inc.

Sprinkle Properties

Drake & Seymour Dentistry

Bronze Sponsors:

Currin Dental Lab, Inc.

Shadowing Oaks

Carrington’s Clearing & Grading

Floyd Management & Realty, Inc.

Goddard & Peterson, PLLC

Wilson’s Carpet

Coffeys Bail Bonds

Dr. Hal & Betty Westerholm

Cloninger Law Office, PLLC

Kim Hedgepeth

Joe Rebo & Associates, Inc.

Larry’s Service Company

Kilian Engineering, Inc.

Granville Haunt Farm/Granville Christmas Farm

The Church of the Holy Innocents

Carolina Sunrock

Margier White State Farm Insurance

EFP Capital, Inc.

Henderson Optimist Club

Roberson Family Dentistry

Individual Sponsors:

Medical Arts Pharmacy

The Pegram Agency

River Wind Farm

C&P Body Shop

Jean Burwell

Milano’s in Oxford

Shalag

Jonathan Care, Attorney at Law, PA

C Squared

Wesco, Inc.

Johnny & Callie Yount

Sammie McCraw

Danny & Jane Williams

Union Bank

Oxford Lions Club

Jerry & Dorcel Edmonds

Skippers Forsyth’s BBQ Inc.

John Young

Bojangles

Ray’s Window Cleaning Services

Newcap Inc.

Ed & Angela Reeves

Sparkly Strands Fairy Hair

Susan Crews

John Wyche

TownTalk: Aycock School Festival of Lights is This Week

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Aycock Elementary’s 3rd annual Festival of Lights is almost here! The campus transforms into a glittery, shining drive-through experience sure to put folks in the holiday spirit.

Whether you prefer Who-ville or Polar Express, Aycock Principal Kristen H. Boyd said there’s something magical about the lights display. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s a really fun time,” Boyd said in a recent interview. The two-night event kicks off on Wednesday, Dec. 7 and continues on Thursday, Dec. 8, with vehicles driving through from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

This event is free and open to the community; donations will be accepted, with proceeds going to the festival of lights fund, as well as supporting various school clubs for the students.

Boyd said some of the school’s clubs include a garden club, an Imagineering club, as well as clubs for art and engineering.

Some display favorites are back – like Who-ville and Polar Express, but a new display called Santa’s Workshop will make its debut in this year’s event.

Vehicles will enter via the Aycock Rec Center, Sandlin noted, adding that there’s a specific traffic pattern to follow that will weave onlookers through the various light displays.

Boyd said turnout was great the past two years, and she hopes this year’s festival of lights will be bigger and better attended than ever.

The festival of lights is a way to give back to families in the community, and it’s also a time to give folks a chance to experience the result of teachers’ collaboration.

 

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TownTalk: Sheriff Curtis Brame Sworn In; Begins Second Term

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Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame officially began his second term of office today, after a swearing-in ceremony that took place at the Vance County Courthouse at 11 a.m. Monday.

The oath of office was administered in the presence of retired judge Randolph Baskerville.

Henderson Police Chief Marcus Barrow was one of the speakers during today’s swearing-in ceremony. He said he is proud of their close working relationship when it comes to protecting Vance County and Henderson and keeping residents safe.

In his remarks, Barrow said he picked up on a theme that Baskerville had mentioned in his remarks at the beginning of the ceremony: Character, the judge said, is doing the right thing when nobody is looking.

“I wanted to build off of what the judge had said,” Barrow told WIZS News by telephone Monday. So he added, “Character is doing the right thing when everybody is looking.”

He said that is what Brame does – he makes decisions that the public may not understand, but it’s “still…the right choice, even though it might not be the popular choice.”

“Sometimes we can’t tell the public why we make the decisions we make,” Barrow said.

In previous interviews with WIZS News, Brame has said his office needs more funding to try to fill job openings, and he has been vocal about the need for a new jail. He also has strongly stated to the community that parents need to play a role in the lives of youth in the area, and helping to keep them out of trouble and off the radar of law enforcement.

 

 

NCWorks

TownTalk: NCWorks Job Fair

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The NC Works Career Center is having an end-of-year career fair on Friday, Dec. 9 at its new location, 826 S. Garnett St. More than a dozen representatives from numerous employers will be on hand to share information with individuals looking for employment.

“This will be a fun and exciting event and the perfect way to start a new career before the holidays,” said Desiree Brooks, business services manager for KTCOG workforce development board.

The job fair will be held in the parking lot of the agency’s new facility, and will include employers from manufacturing, health care, IT and more.

The event will be held from 12 noon to 4 p.m. and features employment opportunities across the five-county region served by Kerr-Tar: Vance, Granville, Warren, Franklin and Person, Brooks said in an email to WIZS News.

 “There will be opportunities for everyone,” Brooks said. “If anyone needs additional assistance, they can easily access the new NCWorks Career Center and learn about additional services while they are there.” She said employers are eager to meet qualified candidates and discuss what they do and the positions they have available.

Brooks said RJ’s Grill will be on hand with food to purchase

For more information about NCWorks, visit www.facebook.com/NCWorksKT

or www.kerrtarworks.com or phone the NCWorks Career Center at 252.598.5200.

 

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TownTalk: Raleigh Ringers Coming To McGregor Hall

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The Raleigh Ringers are coming to McGregor Hall this weekend for a weekend performance at McGregor Hall. Director David M. Harris and the group of musicians have performed in 39 states, Canada and Europe, delighting audiences with music throughout the year.

But when Harris realized there was an opening in the schedule, he called Mark Hopper. And the rest, as they say, is history. The Raleigh Ringers concert is part of the McGregor Alive! Series.

The Raleigh Ringers performed at McGregor Hall in 2019, and Harris told John C. Rose on TownTalk Wednesday that he was impressed with the acoustics, as well as the overall beauty of the performing arts center. “We were anxious to come back,” he said.

“It’s not often we have a Christmas slot open,” Harris explained, and he and his fellow ringers have a short trip for the Sunday performance. Doors open at 1 p.m. and the concert begins at 2 p.m. Tickets are available at https://www.mcgregorhall.org/

The concert will include some holiday standards, including “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” and “Do You Hear What I Hear?” juxtaposed with “Blue Christmas” and selections popularized by Siberian Orchestra.

Also in the repertoire are a couple of songs especially written for handbells.

Harris said the group has played original music written by Henderson’s own Dr. Phil Young, who Harris called a “pioneer” in the area of handbell music.

The Raleigh Ringers began in 1990, when different church handbell choirs formed a loose network and would have a summer concert at the end of their performance season.

Once dependent on the kindness of retirement centers for storage of their equipment, the Raleigh Ringers now has its own building where they can keep their bells and all the other things needed for concerts, as well as having their own practice space.

“Ringers can come in off hours and work on their parts,” Harris said, on top of the three-plus hours a week that the whole group comes together to practice.

For those who may not know too much about handbells, there’s more to a performance than just ringing a bell, Harris said.

“There’s so much choreography,” he said, and ringers need to know all their roles, whether it’s moving different bells for other ringers to use during a song, or exactly which ringer is going to turn the page of music.

“All of that has to be worked out well in advance,” Harris said.

Part of the mission of the Raleigh Ringers is to provide education about the instruments to their audiences. Members of the audience often are invited to the stage after the concert to try their own hand at handling the bells, from the giant ones at one end of the table to choir chimes at the other.

Handbell ringers play in coordination with other ringers to produce a complete line of music, unlike other musicians – like pianists – who play the complete line of musical notes to create the desired music.

For Harris, this is just a part of what sets handbells apart from other musical instruments, and he said it’s part of their mission to educate the community about this particular type of music.

“It’s such amazing teamwork when a piece comes together,” he said.

Visit www.rr.org to learn more about Raleigh Ringers.

 

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TownTalk: Ragland Produces Christian Stage Play

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Connie Ragland’s newest play is called “This Is Why We Don’t Come To Church,” and it premieres on Saturday, Dec. 10 in the Vance-Granville Community College Civic Center.

The Christian stage production takes a somewhat satirical look at a serious topic – attitudes about church.

Have you ever known a “pew-owner” – that person who gets into a snit when someone else is sitting in “their” pew? Or have you seen churchgoers shun someone simply because they didn’t dress the right way for church?

Ragland said that these behaviors may contribute to a decline in church membership, and she said her play is going to poke a little fun at some stereotypes.

Things have shifted in the church and in the country, Ragland told John C. Rose on Tuesday’s TownTalk. Whether it’s because churches had to close their doors during COVID-19 and embrace virtual services, or whether it’s for other reasons, church membership is down, she said.

The play’s title, she said, “is a way to grab your attention and say ‘hmmm, I wonder what that’s all about,” Ragland said.

The play includes plenty of local talent, but some cast members are traveling from as far away as Winston-Salem and Elizabeth City.

“There’s something in it for everyone,” Ragland said. “A lot of the cast are millennials,” she said, with other age groups and generations represented as well.
With a blended cast representing a wide range of ages, she said “everyone will get something out of this show.”

As she was writing the play, she said a particular person’s name popped into her head for a particular role. She called that person, who immediately accepted, saying she had been searching for a way to return to the stage.

“I’m just overwhelmed with joy when people say ‘yes’ to me,” Ragland said, “that people want a part of something of this nature.”

The play is made possible thanks to a joint effort with Connie Ragland Productions, Youth Christian Center and its board, led by Delthine Watson “to help bring positive things back to the community.”

Formed several years ago by the Rev. Eddie Williams, the Youth Christian Center’s mission is to educate and inspire young people, whether they’re learning the finer points of etiquette or how to tie a necktie.

“We’re excited – we’ve got more rehearsals coming up, but the general feeling is yes, we’re ready to get the message out there,” Ragland said.

The play is for the whole family. “It will make you laugh, cry and think,” Ragland said.

Tickets are $15 for youth and and $25 for adults. Purchase them at eventbrite.com or call Vincent Ragland at 252.213.2095. A portion of the proceeds will benefit local charities.

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