Entries by WIZS Staff

Franklin Co. Approves $125M Budget

– information courtesy of Franklin Co. Public Information Officer James F. Hicks III The Franklin County Board of Commissioners approved a $125 million budget earlier this month that includes a tax rate of 50.5 cents per $100 valuation and a capital improvement plan for the general fund, public utilities and solid waste. The previous tax […]

Vance County Hitting All The Right Notes For ‘Make Music Day’ On June 21

What are you doing this Friday? The Vance County Arts Council invites you to join in “Make Music Day” – performances are popping up all over Henderson and Vance County in celebration of the global event that involves more than 1,000 cities all over the world. The performances are free, and Dr. Alice Clark Sallins […]

Second Round Of VCS Commencement Exercises Held June 14

-information courtesy of VCS Chief Communication Officer Aarika Sandlin The second round of high school graduations concluded for Vance County Schools on Friday, June 14, with a total of 83 students turning tassels and receiving diplomas in two separate graduation exercises for AdVance Academy and Vance Virtual Village Academy. Fifty-three students received their diplomas from […]

TownTalk: More Information on Revaluation and Tax Rate Increase

Vance County commissioners are divided on the issue of how often to conduct a property reappraisal and revaluation – state law requires the revaluation occur at least every 8 years, but many counties have opted to have them more often. According to Commissioner Sean Alston, only about 20 percent of the state’s 100 counties – […]

The Local Skinny! Events At Perry Library

Perry Memorial Library’s Youth Services Director Melody Peters took a few minutes Tuesday from tending to last-minute summer reading program details to talk about upcoming events that will be taking place soon at the library. There’s a lot going on at the library, but Peters said she’s especially excited about the summer reading program kickoff. […]

Granville Adopts $87 M Budget

The Granville County Board of Commissioners approved an $87 million budget earlier this month that calls for a 63-cent tax rate per $100 valuation. The lone dissenter in the budget adoption vote was Commissioner Russ May. The tax rate dropped 21 cents from 84 cents after the county’s most recent revaluation. The Fire Protection Service District […]

Sossamon To Participate In Area Juneteenth Activities

— information courtesy of the office of Rep. Frank Sossamon There are a couple of Juneteenth celebrations taking place in the area this week to mark the day – June 19, 1865 – when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, TX with news that the Civil War had ended, which also brought enslaved people their freedom. […]

TownTalk: County Budget Deliberations

In a budget work session last week, the Vance County Board of Commissioners worked to reach consensus to raise the tax rate by 10 cents – to 71 cents per $100 property valuation – a move that will provide cost-of-living increases for staff and have funds for capital projects and a possible salary study. The […]

Fire Departments Could See Additional Funding

The county’s volunteer fire departments stand to gain an additional $30,000 annually as commissioners and County Manager C. Renee Perry hammer out details of the FY 2024-25 budget. Commissioners held a budget work session last week, with sights set on June 24 as a possible date to adopt the $57 million budget. Each department, as […]