The Local Skinny! Around Old Granville with Mark Pace

/by

Watch out, Oxford. Your tiny neighbor to the south is gaining on you. It will only take a couple of hundred more people to stake the claim of being the largest town in Granville County.

That, according to local historian Mark Pace, who talked with WIZS’s Bill Harris for the “Around Old Granville” segment of The Local Skinny! Monday.

Butner’s growth today, however, pales in comparison to the early to mid-1940’s when the U.S. government built Camp Butner as it was gearing up for World War II.

Pace said William B. Umstead and his brother John were instrumental in getting the federal government to locate Camp Butner in the southwest corner of the county, close to a big city (Durham), but not “too” close, Pace said.

Construction began in February 1942, on more than 4,000 acres of mostly farmland, much of which had been owned and worked by families for 200 years or more.

“It was amazing how quickly it was built,” Pace said. Within five months, there were numerous structures, including an armory, sports building and a water tower, all of which are standing today.

“They had 15,000 people working 24-7 to build that camp,” Pace said. And because it was a federal project, the state’s segregation laws were superseded by federal jurisdiction, which meant that for the first time, African Americans were hired the same as their White counterparts, he added.

Camp Butner was home for thousands of workers, civilian and military, but also for more than 4,000 German and Italian prisoners of war.

“So many farm people had been called up to serve, POWs would go and work farms,” Pace said. “And they’d get paid a little bit, too.”

After the war ended, much of the property reverted back to the landowners, but the footprint of Camp Butner became what is now considered the town of Butner. But until it was incorporated in 2007, the town was run by the state of North Carolina.

“Go to the town hall,” Pace said. “There’s a marvelous museum in the lobby” chronicling the creation of the town that once was known as Camp Butner.

 

CLICK PLAY!

 

TownTalk: Andy Perkinson Reflects On Public Works Service

/by

Growing up, Andy Perkinson watched his daddy work tobacco. By watching, and working, he developed a strong work ethic. But he also listened to his father, who told him to find a job that had some benefits and some retirement.

“I listened to him,” Perkinson told John C. Rose on Monday’s TownTalk. “I’m grateful that I did.”

Perkinson, who turns 51 next month, recently retired from a career with the City of Henderson.

He started out in 1993 as a maintenance worker. But when he officially retired on Jan. 1, held the position of public works director.

“The city was good to me,” Perkinson said, but added that he felt he also was good to the city. “Whatever I did, I did it with my whole heart,” he said.

City employees are responsible for everything from maintaining city cemeteries to fixing broken water mains, with lots of other things in between.

All the city’s department heads have great responsibilities, he said, it’s the public works director that responds to calls for service from everywhere.

A city’s public works director has got “everybody to worry about – police, fire, recreation,” Perkinson said.

The utilities and public works groups were combined under previous city manager Frank Frazier, which Perkinson said was a way to get employees cross-trained so they could multi-task or fill in where needed.

Whether dealing with a water main break or other problem that is going to result in an interruption of service, Perkinson said often the actual repair was the easy part.

“The repair isn’t the hard part,” he said. “It’s getting to it.”

Placing a call to 811 is a critical step to knowing where all the other utility lines are located. Having the right inventory in the warehouse is another key component to timely restoration of the service.

“If we didn’t have it in the warehouse and couldn’t fix it, it means people would be without service for an extended time,” Perkinson said.

Handling administrative tasks as public works director probably wasn’t tops on Perkinson’s list of things to do, but he did them, and credited the city staff for incredible support while he was learning the role.

Mayor Eddie Ellington reflected on Perkinson’s time with the city.

“I tell you, we already miss him,” Ellington said in a recent interview with WIZS News. “Andy was a guy (who) would delegate, but he would also get his hands dirty,” the mayor said.

Ellington said he happened to stop by the site of a city repair crew and asked where Perkinson was. “He pops up out of the ditch and says ‘I’m right here,’” Ellington said with a chuckle.

 

CLICK PLAY!

 

Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland: Wildlife – Forest Stewardship

/by

Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.

Click Play!

 

Fire Chief Steve Cordell

/by

Celebration of Life Audio Feb. 2, 2023

Click Play

Vance Welcomes New Assistant County Manager Feb. 13

/by

Vance County’s new assistant county manager is set to begin work in just more than a week.

Chris Dillon comes to his new position from Wake County, where he worked for almost seven years in various roles, including assistant county manager and senior assistant county manager. His responsibilities included overseeing transportation, economic development, workforce development and elections staff.

Through his work in Wake County, he gained experience as the chief county representative to federal, state and local governments and was instrumental in assisting the county in its negotiations for business incentive grants with several large economic development investments, according to a press statement issued by Vance County this week.

Prior to his time in Wake County, he spent four years as director of governmental affairs for the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. Before that, he spent more than six years as deputy chief of staff for special projects for the president pro tempore in the state Senate. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, having authored several successful pieces of legislation at the state level and has built key relationships across the state.

Dillon has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from Campbell University and he has completed various continuing education programs including the Public Executive Leadership Academy at the University of North Carolina and the Colin Powell Professional Development Academy through the National Association of Counties.

Oxford’s Vision Behavioral Health Services Walk-In Clinic Now Open

/by

Vision Behavioral Health Services is a new walk-in center in Oxford offers support and services to individuals in crisis. Local officials, health care providers and community partners gathered earlier this week for a ribbon-cutting to officially open the clinic, located at 111 Hilltop Village.

The center will primarily serve residents of Granville County, offering support and services to help people experiencing a behavioral health crisis in the same way an urgent care clinic serves people who need immediate help for physical health issues.

“We are humbled by the opportunity to serve Granville County, and understand the responsibility given to us today,” said Nicole Qualls, Vision’s owner and clinical director.

Donald Reuss, vice president of behavioral health and intellectual/developmental disabilities network operations for Vaya Health, recognized the outpouring of local support that made the walk-in center a reality.

“At Vaya, we’re thrilled to see this walk-in center come to life for this community,” Reuss said. “This is why we are passionate about the work we do, and none of it would be possible without the support from the people who call Granville County home.”

The new facility will offer an array of services to help individuals in crisis, including same-day assessments with recommendations for care, de-escalation, stabilization and safety planning. Other services, such as medication management and individual and group therapy will be available for individuals seeking ongoing support after a behavioral health crisis.

Granville County Commissioner Russ May also serves on Vaya’s regional board. “We can never give up or stop trying. We must explore a full array of tools, and this clinic, I hope, will be such a tool,” May said at the ribbon-cutting.

In addition to May, officials attending the event included Granville County Sheriff Robert Fountain Jr.; state Sen. Mary Wills Bode; state Reps. Frank Sossamon and Matthew Winslow; Granville County commissioners Tony Cozart, Jimmy Gooch, Sue Hinman, Zelodis Jay, Tim Karan and Rob Williford.

To learn more about walk-in crisis centers and the services they provide, visit https://www.vayahealth.com/get-help/walk-crisis-centers.

One Dead In Apparent Shooting Jan. 28

/by

One man is dead following an apparent shooting over the weekend, according to Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame.

Deputies responded to the 1600 block of Stewart Avenue in the early-morning hours of Saturday, Jan. 28, where they located a male victim. There also was evidence that a shooting had taken place, Brame said in a press statement received at WIZS Friday.

The victim was pronounced dead at the scene by Vance County Emergency Medical Services.

The victim, who later identified as Brian Lamont Burton, was transported to the state Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy.

No other information about the circumstances of the incident was immediately available.

The SBI is assisting sheriff’s detectives as the investigation continues. Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact the Vance County Sheriff’s Office.

Cordell Motorcade To Pass By Fire Departments, City Hall Friday

/by

The funeral service for Henderson Fire Chief Steve Cordell will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 3.

Beginning at 12 noon, however, a motorcade will accompany Fire Engine 5, which will transport Cordell’s coffin from Sossamon Funeral Home to South Henderson Pentecostal Holiness Church.

According to Downtown Development Director Tracy Madigan, the motorcade route will pass by both city fire stations as it makes its way from the funeral home to the church.

Upon departure from the funeral home, located on Oxford Road, the motorcade will drive past E.M. Rollins School, where Madigan said schoolchildren are expected to line the street to honor the chief as the motorcade passes by. From there, it will continue past Station 1 on Dabney Drive before turning onto Garnett Street, turning onto Rose Avenue to pass by City Hall and then back up Andrews Avenue to make its final turn onto Americal Road and arrive at the church.

Individuals are invited to gather in the vicinity of Garnett Street and Rose Avenue beginning about noon to pay their respects to the chief, who died Sunday after a battle with cancer.

The motorcade will consist of numerous public safety safety agencies, including fire personnel and motorcycle units of the State Highway Patrol.

WIZS will broadcast live the funeral service from the church at 2 p.m. and will broadcast special music and programming beginning and 1 p.m. as well as following the SHPHC service.

 

SportsTalk: Henderson’s Lance Stewart Talks About His Work As A Sports Cameraman

/by

As unlikely as it may seem, there are two people named Lance Stewart based in the Charlotte area who operate cameras in sports arenas and venues across the country for outfits like Raycom, FOX and ESPN.

But only one of the two is from Henderson. And “our” Lance Stewart chatted with George Hoyle, John C. Rose and Bill Harris Thursday on Sports Talk as he made his way to his next assignment.

Stewart is a 1988 graduate of Vance Senior High, where he snapped photos for the school yearbook and newspaper. His interest in both sports and photography continued in his college years at Elon, and it’s there that he developed (pun intended!) an interest in video production.

He hung around Elon for awhile after he graduated in 1992, making his way as a free-lancer until he took a buddy up on his suggestion of moving to Charlotte.

He has a vivid memory of that time: “The day I went down to look for an apartment, they announced the franchise,” Stewart recalled, referring to the Carolina Panthers.

He’d been a Houston Oilers fan, but they’d moved to Tennessee, so he hitched his wagon to this new North Carolina team. And just a couple of years later, he found himself working the games.

“I’ve been fortunate to work their preseason team since they’ve been a team,” Stewart said.

Whether it’s the Panthers or the Hornets in Charlotte, the ‘Canes at PNC in Raleigh or the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA, chances are Stewart is there, working his magic with the cameras to capture all the action.

He does this as a freelancer, which means he depends on others to pick up the phone and call him about jobs.

That’s exactly how he got to check off one of his “bucket list” gigs: working the Little League World Series.

“Growing up, watching it,” Stewart said of the international competition, he said he remembers thinking, “that is really cool, I would really love to do that someday.” That someday came a couple of years ago when he got a message from a business contact asking him what he had going on in August. When he learned that it was doing camera work for the Little League World Series, he had just two words: “I’m in.”

“It’s something that I really look forward to every year. The Little League (World Series) is amazing because you’ve got all these kids from different countries…and the excitement they have” is something to see.

Stewart gets to see a lot of the action through the cameras he uses.

It’s work, to be sure, but he said he feels so fortunate to be one of those people who gets to do what they love and love what they do.

“Even if it’s back-to-back Hornets games,” he said, “no two days are the same.

He puts in a lot of miles traveling by car during basketball season, and he’s flying just about every weekend to work during football season, but you’ll not hear Stewart complain one bit.

“I get to cover the teams that I love – the Panthers, Hornets, and occasionally the Hurricanes – I’m getting paid to see my favorite teams play,” he said. “I’m very blessed and very fortunate.” And although it was a radio interview, odds are he had a great big smile on his face.

 

CLICK PLAY!