N.C. Rep. Sossamon Plans Forums In Vance, Granville To Raise Awareness About Human Trafficking

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Human trafficking continues to be a concern in North Carolina, with the state consistently ranking within the top 10 for the highest number of trafficking cases. To address this pressing concern, N.C. Rep. Frank Sossamon is scheduling a couple of forums for his District 32 constituents to raise awareness and foster community engagement.

Sossamon said, “The more we know about human trafficking, the lower the number of trafficking cases.” With this in mind, he emphasizes the importance of community involvement in recognizing and reporting suspected instances of trafficking. “When it comes to human trafficking, vocalizing suspicions is essential to saving lives,” he said.

The forums will be held Tuesday, Mar. 12 at Perry Memorial Library and Thuersday, Mar. 14 at the Granville County Expo Center. Members of the North Carolina Human Trafficking Commission will facilitate the meeting, which will feature local highway patrol, victim advocates and community leaders, who will provide insights into the prevalence of human trafficking, its impact on communities and ways individuals can help prevent and address it. Both sessions will feature a 4 p.m. session tailored for law enforcement professionals and a 6 p.m. session open to the general public.

Cooperative Extension with Paul McKenzie: What Works in the Garden

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

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Vance County Manager Sees Growing Vacancies As “An Opportunity”

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According to the Vance County website, there are 22 departments within county government, from administration to tax administration. Of those 22, County Manager C. Renee Perry reports that four departments face vacancies in the director role after one director was fired and three more turned in resignations.

That’s a lot of vacancies, but Perry, now in her fourth month as county manager, remains positive: “It gives me the opportunity to build my team and move forward…I’m looking at it as an opportunity.”

Perry said Vance County Economic Development Director McKinley Perkinson’s last day is Mar. 19; she was named to the job in November 2021. Perkinson told WIZS that she is leaving for another opportunity, but wasn’t ready to divulge what that opportunity is.

Vance County Board of Elections Director Jennifer Cocklin has resigned her post. Cocklin said she’d see the county through the Mar. 5 primary elections and will leave on Mar. 29.

Cocklin said her resignation has nothing to do with the job, but she cited personal reasons for deciding to step down. “The board has been very good to me, as well as the poll workers,” she said.

The county elections board is responsible for naming her successor, Perry noted.The Department of Social Services has an interim director Tilda Marshall, who stepped in when Denita DeVega resigned. Perry said DeVega is the new DSS director in Nash County. The DSS director reports to the DSS board, which is charged with finding a replacement.

All that on top of the Feb. 9 firing of County Deputy Manager/Chief Finance Officer Katherine Bigelow, and Vance County is facing some big holes in its administrative leadership.

If you count new Planning Director Sherry Moss and Animal Services Director William Coker, both of whom assumed their duties in the last month or so – and County Manager Perry, who came on board in November 2023, that’s seven of the 22 departments -close to one-third of the county’s departments.

Perry, sounding undeterred, said Vance County “is not unique in the amount of vacancies…other counties are experiencing the same.” She said she would continue to recruit and look for the best candidates for the open positions, adding that she hopes that prospective employees will see her as “a manager who wants to support them and lead Vance County in a different direction.”

TownTalk: County Commissioner Candidate Archie Taylor

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Vance County Commissioner Archie B. Taylor, Jr. is seeking re-election to his District 2 seat and said he’s interested in helping the county continue to attract economic development, work on public transportation, reduce crime, support education and get a new jail built.

An interview with Taylor aired on Monday’s TownTalk segment as part of WIZS’s ongoing coverage of local contests in the Mar. 5 primary elections. Taylor faces challenger Valencia Perry. Early voting continues through Saturday, Mar. 2.

Taylor, a highly decorated and retired Colonel in the U.S. Army, has been a commissioner for more than a decade and said that he wants to continue to help attract businesses to the county that will provide jobs for high school graduates as well as for college graduates so people who grow up here don’t “run off to Raleigh or Charlotte” for higher paying jobs.

It’s economic development that will bring jobs to the community, he said.

“I’m interested in helping the sheriff build a new jail,” Taylor said, adding that commissioners are looking for “north of $30 million” to make that a reality.

Public transportation is an issue that Taylor also supports. As a member of the KARTS board, he said he hopes to continue to increase public transportation throughout the county.

He, along with others, are awaiting the release of the county fire study. “I certainly am interested in seeing what the fire study will say about our fire station,” he said. “We are blessed in this county to have something that many in this state envy – we have a county-owned, fully paid fire department,” he said. “It’s extremely important for us to maintain a fully paid station that is reporting to the county and is on the county payroll. I think our study is going to support that.”

He applauded the efforts of McGregor Hall and its contributions of not only culture, but revenue to the city and county. He said he would like to see the city and county return the favor by providing some form of financial support to the entertainment venue.

The current project to create a men’s shelter in the former City Road Methodist Church building is something that Taylor is watching with interest, too. He thanked N.C. Sen. Lisa Barnes and N.C. Rep. Frank Sossamon for their help in getting $150,000 toward the transformation.

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TownTalk: County Commissioner Candidate Valencia Perry

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Valencia Perry grew up in Vance County and said she is running for county commissioner so she can be a part of a “powerful team” that uses money wisely to help people.

“Spending money takes research and takes knowledge,” Perry said during a recorded interview on Monday’s TownTalk. “I want to be a part of that team.”

Perry is challenging incumbent Archie Taylor, Jr. for the District 2 seat on the Vance County Board of Commissioners.

She’s gained perspective over the years and said she will be an asset as a commissioner. “I will be a fresh set of eyes,” she said, to help make “long-needed change in Vance County.”

Perry has a background in accounting and she also is an ordained minister. She is a mother and a grandmother who said her personal and professional experiences have shaped her ideas and sharpened her focus.

She said her focus is on education, funding for schools, pursuing services for those with mental health issues and the county jail situation. “My goodness, that’s a sticking point,” she said, adding that it’s important to have a detention center that keeps inmates – and staff – safe.

For Perry, education is the key issue. Without a proper education, she said, people have a tendency to get off track, or make bad decisions that fuel the crime rate, those in detention and in mental health crisis.

Her three-word mantra is “resilience, transparency and reliability” and she said she would work hard for the people of Vance County.

Her work on the Vance County Housing Authority Board helped her realize just how critical financial responsibility is. “I had a chance to help people move forward and not stay stuck,” she said. “We’ve done a lot of great things and I feel good about it,” she said of her work with the housing authority.

Another need she sees in the county is a diversion center for those in crisis because of mental health or substance abuse issues. “It is so important,” Perry said, that people have “somewhere they can be safely cared for by professionals who know what to do.”

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Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland: Container Gardens

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

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VGCC Logo

VGCC Set To Launch Court Reporting Program At Franklin Campus In March

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– Information courtesy of VGCC Public Information Officer Courtney Cissel

When its new Court Reporting program launches next month, Vance-Granville Community College will become the only community college in North Carolina to offer the program to students.

The court reporting profession plays a critical role in ensuring that legal proceedings are accurately documented for future reference. Using specialized dictation equipment, court reporters produce real-time transcriptions of courtroom proceedings.

At the time of publication, there are open reporting positions in North Carolina state courts with annual starting salaries above $45,000 and maximum salaries surpassing $80,000 per year, according to information from VGCC Public Information Officer Courtney Cissel.

The program will be part of the school’s Continuing Education program, which means it’s designed for adults who are already in the workforce; participants can successfully complete the training for their new career without the demands of a full-time class schedule.

The program consists of four courses, each of which typically lasts four to eight weeks. According to Instructor Richard Jester, students committed to an accelerated pace could potentially complete the full program in the span of a single semester. Upon completion, students will be prepared to take the career’s national certification test.

At its launch, the new program will only be offered at the VGCC Franklin Campus in Louisburg. Jester anticipates offering portions of the program online in the future.

To learn more about Court Reporting and other career-enhancing programs at Vance-Granville Community College, please contact Lisa Rodwell, Director of Occupational Extension, at rodwelle@vgcc.edu or 252-738-3276. Register for this program today at www.vgcc.edu/coned/oex.

 

 

Upcoming Blood Drives

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Recent inclement weather across the country has hampered blood drive efforts, and demands for blood and plasma and blood donations continues to be greater than supply. There are several local opportunities to give blood in Vance and Granville counties through February.

The American Red Cross urges donors to give blood or platelets now to continue to strengthen the national blood supply.

Book a time to give by visiting RedCrossBlood.org, download the Red Cross Blood Donor App, or call 1-800-RED CROSS. People of all blood types – especially type O blood donors, the most needed blood group by hospitals – and platelet donors are needed daily to ensure blood products are available for hospitals at a moment’s notice.

As February continues, so does the potential for additional weather systems to disrupt blood drives and the ability to provide critical blood products to hospitals. While thousands of donors have answered the call to donate in recent weeks to combat a significant drop in the blood supply, more donors are needed now to ensure the blood supply remains ready for those in need of lifesaving medical procedures.

 

As a way to say thanks for helping, all who come to give in February will get a $20 Amazon.com Gift Card by email. Details are available at RedCrossBlood.org/Heart.

Upcoming blood drives:

Vance

Henderson

2/20/2024: 11 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., Vance Granville Community College, 200 Community College Road

2/20/2024: 1:30 p.m. – 6 p.m., Kerr Lake Country Club, 600 Hedrick Road

 

Granville

 

Butner

2/29/2024: 12 p.m. – 4:30 p.m., Butner Town Hall, 415 Central Avenue

 

Creedmoor

2/16/2024: 12 p.m. – 5 p.m., Creedmoor Community Center, 116 Douglas Drive

 

Oxford

2/23/2024: 9 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., Oxford United Methodist Church, 105 W McClanahan St

2/28/2024: 12:30 p.m. – 5 p.m., Thornton Branch, 210 Main Street