Town Talk 09/05/19: H-V Crime Stoppers to Hold 24th Annual Banquet

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The 24th Annual Henderson-Vance Crime Stoppers Awards Banquet will be held Thursday, September 19, 2019, at Vance-Granville Community College’s Civic Center at 6:30 p.m.

James Baines, Crime Stoppers president, was on Thursday’s edition of WIZS’ Town Talk to encourage the public and business community to support the organization’s largest fundraiser of the year.

Individual tickets for $12 and reservation of tables are available by contacting Lorraine Watkins at Henderson’s Screen Master on S. Garnett St., John Faucette at Carolina Carpet & Flooring on Parham Street or by calling Baines at (252) 430-9218.

Speaker for the occasion will be Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, with dinner provided by Ted Wheeler Catering.

The Tom Long Memorial Award, Sam Pearson Memorial Award, Community Award and Citizen of the Year Award, among others, will be issued to deserving community members and are always a big draw for the banquet.

“I’m hoping the community will come out and support Crime Stoppers because we support our community and our law enforcement,” Baines said.

To hear Baines’ interview in its entirety, please click the play button below. Listen live to WIZS’ Town Talk Monday-Friday at 11 a.m. on 1450AM, 100.1 FM or online at www.wizs.com.

Man Wanted in Multiple Franklin Co. Vehicle Break-Ins Arrested in Georgia

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-Press Release, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office

Kedrick Derrell Jones, who was wanted by the Youngsville Police Department and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office as a result of being a person of interest in numerous Breaking and Entering of Motor Vehicles and Felony Larceny offenses, was arrested in Chamblee, Georgia on September 4, 2019. 

During the past several months, multiple subdivisions in Youngsville and in the county experienced a rash of vehicle break-ins during the night time hours. After a joint investigation by the Youngsville Police Department and Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Mr. Jones was identified as a suspect and warrants for his arrest were obtained. 

Mr. Jones has been charged with over 70 criminal offenses and is currently in the DeKalb County Jail in Georgia awaiting extradition to Franklin County. 

Kedrick Derrell Jones, 29 years of age, 120 School Street, Rolesville, NC.

Kedrick Derrell Jones, who was wanted by the Youngsville Police Department and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office as a result of being a person of interest in numerous Breaking and Entering of Motor Vehicles and Felony Larceny offenses, was arrested in Chamblee, Georgia on September 4, 2019. (FCSO photo)

BBQ Contest, Parade Planned for 9th Annual Oxford Masonic Homecoming

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-Information courtesy the Masonic Home for Children at Oxford

The Masonic Home for Children at Oxford, 600 College St., will hold its 9th Annual Masonic Homecoming Festival on Saturday, October 12, 2019, from 9:30 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Admission is free and festivities are open to the public. Campus tours of the Masonic Home will be available.

Enjoy a fun day full of games and activities for kids, homecoming activities for alumni, music, food and the annual Shrine and Community Parade. Parade begins at the fire department at 11 a.m.

$10 lunch tickets will be sold on-site and include all-you-can-eat samples from the BBQ contest.

Don’t miss music performances by The Tams with hits such as “Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy,” “What Kind of Fool” and “Hey Girl Don’t Bother Me.”

For more information, please visit www.mhc-oxford.org.

(This is not a paid advertisement)

Vance County Logo

Adopt-A-Highway Volunteers Needed to Tackle Local Litter Problem

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-Press Release, Vance County Appearance Commission

The Vance County Appearance Commission is seeking help from citizens in our community to join together to improve the appearance of Henderson and Vance County.

We can all help with this endeavor by doing some small and easy things like throwing trash in proper receptacles, recycling appropriate items and doing what we can to keep the property around our homes and businesses as clean and orderly as possible.

Through the years, we have found that citizens joining the N.C. Adopt-A-Highway Program have made a real difference in improving the appearance of our community with their efforts. Groups who join the Adopt-A-Highway Program simply commit to cleaning up a two-mile stretch of a roadside in our county at least four times each year and report their clean-up efforts to the N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT).

Officials with NCDOT will post signs at each end of the adopted section of roadside with the Adopt-A-Highway group’s name on the signs to show their participation in the program. The local Adopt-A-Highway coordinator will work with each group to record their efforts and ensure they have the proper materials, including safety vests, gloves and bags for trash and recyclables, for cleanups.

Individuals and groups joining the Adopt-A-Highway must sign a contract with NCDOT agreeing to remove litter from their adopted roadside a minimum of four times each year. Contracts initially are for four years and can be renewed at the end of the four-year period and if the required number of cleanups have been completed. Volunteers in the Adopt-A-Highway Program also receive safety training.

To become involved in the N.C. Adopt-A-Highway Program, interested persons may visit the N.C. Department of Transportation website at https://apps.ncdot.gov/LM/ or call 1-800-331-5864 for information on the program and how to contact the local program coordinator.

We have about 60 Adopt-A-Highway groups now in Vance County, but we hope local citizens will get involved to create more participating groups to help deal with the roadside litter problems we have in our county. Such efforts would greatly enhance our work to improve the appearance of Vance County.

Our County Appearance Commission also continues to work with county officials to increase recycling efforts in households and businesses, clean up abandoned and unkept properties and encourage the Sheriff’s Department to hire a full-time litter control officer.

To deal with our littering, illegal dumping and abandoned properties issues in an effective manner, it will take all of us working together.

Open Broadband

Community Meeting Planned for Broadband Expansion in Franklin Co.

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-Press Release, Franklin County Government

Franklin County citizens will have an opportunity this fall to learn more about Open Broadband’s plans to expand broadband internet service in Franklin County.

On October 22, a Community Information Meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the Multi-Purpose Room at Franklin County’s Vance-Granville Community College Campus, 8100 Hwy 56 West in Louisburg. Citizens will hear about the plans Open Broadband has to address areas within the county which lack sufficient broadband service to meet the needs of residences, businesses and government. Attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions as they learn about how they can sign up, the initial areas where service will be introduced and how other areas will be selected for service deployment.

Open Broadband’s expansion into Franklin County is the result of an agreement County Commissioners approved June 17, 2019. The seven-year agreement provides funds of up to $188,000 per year for a four-year time period to Open Broadband to assist in bringing internet service to unserved and underserved areas of Franklin County.

The agreement is the result of the Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Government’s effort with Franklin, Granville and Vance counties that began in late 2017. The three counties were guided by consultant Joe Freddoso of Mighty River LLC. Broadband Action Teams in each county conducted citizen surveys, developed an RFP and ultimately selected Open Broadband LLC to bring their service to the region.

Information about the Franklin County Broadband Initiative is available at www.franklincountync.us along with links to the Open Broadband website and Frequently Asked Questions. Please attend the Community Information Meeting on October 22 to learn more about how service can be expanded into your area.

Open Broadband provides hybrid fiber and fixed-wireless internet service, up to gigabit speed, to many communities across North Carolina. Service is provided to residents, small and medium sized businesses, technology incubators, universities, and government locations including police, fire, town hall, and airport facilities. Open Broadband also provides free public Wi-Fi zones in downtown areas, parks, and campuses.

Network deployment in Franklin County will take place in phases over the next four years. The first customer service activation is planned for the end of 2019.

Open Broadband is now accepting waitlist signups on the Franklin County tab of the website: https://openbb.net/franklinco/. Those on the waitlist will receive regular updates on the progress of the network build and will be contacted once service is made available in their area.

Open Broadband is North Carolina owned and operated. Visit the company at https://openbb.net or follow them on LinkedIn and Twitter @OpenBBNet. For questions, email info@openbb.net or call 919-205-5400.

NC Coop Extension

Cooperative Extension with Jamon Glover 09/05/19

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News 09/05/19

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Henderson Police Department

HPD: Two Arrested, Two Wanted in Rockspring Street Murder

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-Press Release, Henderson Police Department

In the early morning hours of August 14, 2019, Quintin Rogers, 27, of Durham, NC, succumbed to gunshot wounds that he received while in the area of the 600 block of W. Rockspring Street in Henderson.

The investigation of this matter has led to the arrest of Erica Champion, 25, of Vance County, for First Degree Murder and Antavis Jones, 30, of Henderson, for Conspiracy to Commit Murder and Conspiracy to Sell/Deliver Schedule I Narcotics. Both are in the Vance County Jail.

The Henderson Police Department has also obtained warrants for First Degree Murder on Morey Bernal Champion, 30, and Tradarius Delmont Jones, 29.

If you have information on their whereabouts or more information about this case, please contact the Henderson Police Department at (252) 438-4141, Crime Stoppers at (252) 492-1925, or through the use of the P3 mobile app.

National Weather Service

Local Dorian Effects to Begin Late Thursday, Significant Impact Not Expected

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Information courtesy Brian K. Short, director of Henderson-Vance County Emergency Operations

Please check the WIZS websiteFacebook page and listen live to WIZS 1450 AM and 100.1 FM for storm updates. The latest briefing from the National Weather Service can be found any time by clicking here.

Hurricane Dorian is now expected to maintain its category 2 status as it approaches our coast. Additionally, the Tropical Storm Warnings have been extended inland to now include Franklin and Wake County.

If the current track and timing of the storm hold true, we should begin to feel the effects of the storm late Thursday afternoon and evening. At the height of the storm we can expect periods of heavy rain and wind gusts of up to 35 mph that could cause isolated downed trees, blocked roadways and power outages, but overall our impact is not expected to be severe.

Vance County and the City of Henderson remain under a local State of Emergency and will continue to be as long as needed.

At this time, we do not plan to implement any additional emergency protective measures and do not feel that our impact will be significant enough to open any emergency shelters.

The 911 center will be overstaffed throughout the event just in case there is a surge of emergency calls.

Please like and follow us on Facebook – Vance County Emergency Operations – to stay informed on current preparedness efforts and other storm related information.

‘Cops on Top’ Event at Chick-fil-A POSTPONED Due to Weather

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Due to the threat of inclement weather from Hurricane Dorian, the “Cops on Top” Fundraiser originally scheduled for September 5 has been postponed and will now be held on Tuesday, October 15, 2019, from 6 a.m. until 5 p.m. at Chick-fil-A of Henderson.

Officers and deputies from the Henderson Police Department and Vance County Sheriff’s Office will be collecting donations at the restaurant’s drive-through and side entrances. Money raised will cover the expenses Vance County athletes incur while participating in the Special Olympics.

A bouncy house and face painting will be provided by BoHo the Clown with Character Antics. Guest appearances by kid-friendly characters are also scheduled.

Please mark your calendars for this rescheduled event!