Early Voting Back On Track For Oct. 19 In Mayoral Runoff

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During a second meeting in as many days, the Vance County Board of Elections officially certified the results of last week’s municipal elections, which paves the way for early voting to begin tomorrow (Thursday) as originally scheduled in advance of the Nov. 7 runoff race for mayor.

Since the Oct. 10 election, state and local and state elections officials have been investigating discrepancies surrounding geocoding issues, but it was announced at today’s meeting that the canvass is complete, thereby certifying results for the five contests – four City Council seats and mayor.

During Wednesday’s meeting, Vance County Board of Elections Director Jennifer Cocklin read a summary statement issued by the N.C. State Board of Elections which spelled out the steps taken since the issue arose on the evening of Election Day.

The investigation looked at 83 ballots – 68 voters were assigned to incorrect wards and 15 county residents who incorrectly voted in an city-wide election.

There were a handful of other discrepancies noted, but the investigation determined that none of the outcomes would change as a result.

WIZS Radio 5pm News Segment 1 From 10-18-23 Henderson Municipal Election Canvass

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Mayoral Runoff Election Early Voting Starts 10-19-23

Geocoding issue resolved

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TownTalk: Mayoral Election Runoff (NOT) Delayed

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UPDATE 5 P.M. WEDNESDAY, OCT. 18, 2023

Mayoral Runoff Election Early Voting Starts 10-19-23

Geocoding issue resolved

WIZS Radio 5pm News Segment 1 From 10-18-23 Henderson Municipal Election Canvass

Click Here to Play – wizs.com/wizs-radio-5pm-news-segment-1-from-10-18-23-henderson-municipal-election-canvass/

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UPDATE 11 A.M. WEDNESDAY, OCT. 18, 2023 on TownTalk

 

Three Face Drug Charges Following Search Of Home On Faulkner Town Road

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Three Vance County men face a variety of drug charges after law enforcement officers conducted a search of a home on Faulkner Town Road, according to Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame.

Sheriff deputies, along with Henderson Police Department narcotics and vice unit and the SBI, participated in the investigation, which took place at 921 Faulkner Town Road on Oct. 16, Brame said in a press release issued Wednesday.

The execution was the result of a multi-agency investigation regarding illegal drug sales from suspects located both within the target residence as well as the curtilage, Brame said in the statement.

There were five individuals in the home when officers arrived, two juveniles and Shykeyvis Lyons, 21, and Markeyvis Lyons, 20, all described as residents of the home; and Clysaveon Fields, 20, whose address was listed as Pinkston Street, Henderson.

Approximately 130 dosage units of heroin and a certain amount of crack cocaine was located and seized during the search.  Additionally, two firearms, an undisclosed amount of US Currency and various items of drug paraphernalia utilized for the packaging and repackaging of heroin was located.

The following charges have been filed as of the submission of the Press Release:

Shykeyvis Lyons and Markeyvis Lyons were each charged with possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver heroin; felony possession of heroin; maintaining a dwelling to keep/sell/store a controlled substance; and possession of drug paraphernalia. A secured bond of $20,000 was set for each.

Fields was charged with possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver heroin; felony possession of heroin, maintaining a vehicle to keep/sell/store a controlled substance; felony possession of cocaine base; and possession of drug paraphernalia.

He was placed under a $50,000 secured bond.

Brame said juvenile petitions are anticipated for the two remaining juvenile suspects, both under the age of 18. This investigation continues and further arrests are anticipated, Brame noted.

Elections Board Calls Recess In Canvass Process, Putting On Hold Certifying Oct. 10 Election Results

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UPDATE 5 P.M. WEDNESDAY, OCT. 18, 2023

Mayoral Runoff Election Early Voting Starts 10-19-23

Geocoding issue resolved

WIZS Radio 5pm News Segment 1 From 10-18-23 Henderson Municipal Election Canvass

Click Here to Play – wizs.com/wizs-radio-5pm-news-segment-1-from-10-18-23-henderson-municipal-election-canvass/

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ORIGINAL POST UPDATED 5 P.M. TUESDAY, OCT. 17, 2023

The Vance County Board of Elections has called for a “recess” in the post-election canvass process – that 10-day window following an election that officials have to verify and certify results.

This action comes one week after the Oct. 10 nonpartisan municipal elections in Henderson that included contests for four City Council seats and a four-candidate field for mayor.

A runoff had been set for the mayoral contest, but those plans also were put on hold earlier today, per the N.C. State Board of Elections. The recess means that none of the contests have been certified.

In a meeting held at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Vance Board of Elections Chair James Baines issued the following statement:

“The Vance County Board of Elections is recessing Canvass completion for the Municipal Election that occurred on 10-October-23 because the State Board of Elections has not yet completed the investigation regarding the geocoding issue. Canvass will reconvene once the State Board of Elections notifies the County Board of the completion of the investigation and resolution to the issue.”

As elections board members explained, the process of certifying election results considers all contests as one process; results must “be submitted to the state at once,”  board member Cathy Clodfelter said Tuesday. So because all of the results have not been certified, none of the contests has been certified.

Earlier Tuesday afternoon, Vance County Board of Elections Director Jennifer Cocklin informed WIZS News that early voting – set to begin in two days’ time – would not begin as previously announced.

Cocklin read the brief statement to WIZS News from the state board of elections:

“The results of the 10-October-2023 Vance County municipal election have not been officially declared by law, therefore the run-off election cannot be called for at this time.”

A glitch in geocoding is at the heart of the issue, and elections officials acknowledged the state board of the possible problem. As part of election coverage to announce the unofficial results on Oct. 10, WIZS included a statement from Baines that was issued after the polls had closed:

“The Vance County Board of Elections is aware of a geocoding issue that may have caused some voters in the city of Henderson elections to receive a ballot in Tuesday’s election that did not have the correct alderman ward contest. The County Board immediately notified the State Board of Elections, which is working with the county to determine how many voters’ ballots were affected. Election night results are always unofficial, and the post-election canvass process will ensure that the votes are counted correctly for each contest. Election officials will provide additional information about this situation as it becomes available.”

Cocklin provided few details about next steps, but she said she has provided information to the state board as it is requested.
“They’re asking us and we’re providing information as quickly as we can,” she said. “The only thing I know is they are working on it,” she said, “meeting every day – at least once every day.”

Just in case you need a refresher course in civics, here’s some information from the state board of elections website:

“Results on election night are unofficial. Canvass is the official process of determining if the votes have been counted and tabulated correctly, resulting in the authentication of the official election results.

For close elections, the canvass period is especially important. During this time, elections officials count absentee ballots that came in before the deadline and research provisional ballots to determine whether they should be counted.

In every county, the canvass meeting when the results are certified is 10 days after Election Day. Because elections thrive on transparency, the canvass meeting is open to the public.”

Vance County Logo

TownTalk: Perry Named Vance County Manager

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The Vance County board of commissioners has appointed Renee Perry to the position of county manager. Perry, currently Halifax County’s deputy manager, will begin Nov. 1, according to a press statement issued Tuesday morning.

“I am grateful to the Vance County board of commissioners for the opportunity to serve Vance County,” Perry stated in the press release. “I appreciate their faith in me to further their mission and to make Vance County an even greater place to live, work and raise a family. I am excited to begin this journey,” she continued.

Board Chair Yolanda Feimster stated that a recruitment process over the summer resulted in Perry’s selection and that Perry “will assist the board in continuing to achieve its ongoing goals as well as execute major capital projects.”

Commissioner Dan Brummitt told WIZS News Tuesday that commissioners are looking forward to Perry coming on board. “We’re looking forward to her coming in and hitting the ground running,” Brummitt said, adding that Perry would bring “some good energy to the county.”

Before being promoted to the position of deputy manager in Halifax County, Perry spend five years there in leadership roles in Human Resources. She started her work in local government 17 years ago in Greensboro and then spent time in Rockingham County before going to Halifax County.

Perry has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Human Resources from UNC-Greensboro and a master’s in Public Administration and Human Resource Management from Capella University.

 

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Corbitt Trucks

TownTalk: Corbitt Trucks Roll Into Henderson On Saturday

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The Corbitt trucks are rolling in to town this weekend for the annual car show – not as many as rolled out of town during the vehicle maker’s heyday, but that’s ok with Ken Stegall.

He is one of the locals who helps keep the memory of the Corbitt truck alive and well, and he said if the weather’s nice, there could be a dozen or more vehicles on display during the Show, Shine, Shag and Dine event in downtown Henderson Saturday.

Take the 1926 fire truck, for example. It’s one of only six that the Corbitt Preservation Society knows about that rolled off the line here in Henderson. It originally was sold to a Washington, D.C. area hospital for the insane, Stegall said on Tuesday’s TownTalk.

“When we found it, it was in really bad shape,” he said. Untold hours of loving restoration went into giving it new life. “We’re going to have it there Saturday,” Stegall said.

He said he hopes the oldest running Corbitt vehicle will be on display, too. It’s locally owned, he said. There should be some farm tractors on display as well.

Not sure whether the big 6 by 6 military truck will make it, but Stegall said that’s the one that put Corbitt on the map.
The one that John Richard Hedgepeth has restored “is probably as good or better today than when it came out of the factory,” Stegall said. “That military truck is immaculate.” Corbitt in Henderson spit out 3,400 during 1939 and 1945. There were others that manufactured the vehicle, he noted, but they all used the Corbitt design.

Stegall welcomes any and all interested in volunteering with the museum or in other ways to join the preservation effort. Membership fees have been discontinued in favor of donations, he said, to encourage more people to join the likes of founders Charles Powell and the late Mac Renn to celebrate the Corbitt Trucking Co.

Before it was producing vehicles with gas-powered engines, Corbitt was producing horse-drawn buggies.

“They were making as many as 250 buggies a month” in Henderson, Stegall said. But finding one of those buggies has proven to be a challenge.

“Something we are desperately looking for is a Corbitt buggy,” he said. “That’s the thing we made the most of in this county,” he said.

Surely there’s a buggy out there somewhere with that iconic Corbitt tag under the chassis.

 

 

The Local Skinny! Oakwood Cemetery To Host ‘Sip And Stroll With Souls’

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The second annual “Sip and Stroll With Souls” in Louisburg’s historic Oakwood Cemetery promises to shed some light on some of the dearly departed who find their eternal rest there.

Dorothy Cooper is one of the event organizers, and she told WIZS’s Bill Harris on Tuesday’s segment of The Local Skinny! that the Oct. 29 tour is shaping up to be another success.

There’s an online registration on the Louisburg Historic District’s website, Cooper said. Find the link here: https://www.louisburghistoricdistrict.com/ and click on Events/Tickets.

A $10 donation per person helps the group with its ongoing efforts to clean, restore and repair gravestones in the cemetery, one of two owned by the Town of Louisburg.

From 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., participants will have the opportunity to visit a dozen or so different gravesites, with docents on hand to provide some history on the person buried there.

In some cases, the docent is a relative of the deceased; expect to see some docents in period dress and others with family portraits on display.

“We had a really great time last year,” Cooper said, adding that a good number of participants were from outside Franklin County. She said it’s always interesting to uncover new family connections and learn more about distant relatives.

“Some people are find out about family that they didn’t know before,” she said.

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