Mike Waters

Death Investigation Suggests 21-Year-Old Died By Suicide

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The Vance County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate the death of a 21-year-old man who was found Wednesday morning, but District Attorney Mike Waters said the man apparently took his own life.

In a phone interview with WIZS News on Friday afternoon, Waters said he had reviewed evidence in the case and the evidence suggests that Javion Magee, of Aurora, IL, died from an apparent suicide.

The investigation is ongoing in the case, but Waters provided some details.

He said sheriff’s deputies responded to a 911 call about a man who “appeared to be hanging from a tree.”

“He was in a supine position, basically like he sat down,” Waters added, “with his feet touching the ground, but (he) did have a rope tied around his neck, in such a manner as to asphyxiate himself.”

Further investigation at the scene turned up a Walmart bag containing packaging that had a barcode, which led investigators to a local Walmart where they obtained a video of the subject entering the store by himself and purchasing a rope that was recovered at the scene.

That rope is currently in evidence.

The subject drove his tractor trailer rig, minus the trailer, to a nearby hotel where he inquired about a room, but none was available, Waters continued. He drove to a nearby distribution facility where he parked the tractor, “and that video shows him walking into the woods with a white plastic bag,” Waters said. “He was found very close to where he was last seen.”

None of the video footage shows Magee was accompanied by anyone else. “He did not appear to have anybody with him at any point,” Waters said.

The investigation is ongoing, and an autopsy will be performed by the chief medical examiner, as Sheriff Curtis Brame explained in a press statement released earlier Friday.

Waters said a search warrant will be issued for the vehicle Magee was driving to attempt to recover any digital evidence including phone records.

Sheriff Brame: Death Investigation Continues After Body Found Wednesday On Vanco Mill Road

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The Vance County Sheriff’s office is investigating the death of a 21-year-old man whose body was found Wednesday on Vanco Mill Road.

Sheriff Curtis Brame said deputies responded to a call for service about a deceased person just after 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11 at 285 Vanco Mill Rd.

The Vance County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division responded to the scene to conduct a death investigation into the incident. During the investigation, the male victim was identified as Javion Magee from Aurora, IL, a southern suburb of Chicago.

As Brame told WIZS News and as he stated in the press release, “Magee was transported to the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for Autopsy,” which would be as described standard procedure.

Sheriff Brame has asked for an independent investigation and the State Bureau of Investigations is expected to do so, to review and possibly corroborate the Vance County investigation.

Near the Vanco Mill Road address are several businesses, plus the local bus station, as well as the U.S. 1 entrance and exit ramps.

The Sheriff will not be offering additional information until the results of the autopsy are known.

This case remains under investigation. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Vance County Sheriff’s Office at 252.738.2200 or the Henderson-Vance Crime Stoppers at 252.492.1925 or through the P3 App.

Sowing Seeds NC, Inc. Named 2024 VGCC Small Business Of The Year

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The Vance-Granville Community College Small Business Center recently named a Franklin County family-owned farm as the recipient of the Small Business of the Year award.

Sowing Seeds NC, Inc. is the nonprofit food ministry of Mcphetridge Family Farms, a sustainable small farm located outside Franklinton.

Leadership joined Franklin County officials and community members as the VGCC Small Business Center presented Sowing Seeds NC, Inc., with its 2024 Small Business of the Year award.

Joni and Todd McPhetridge had a passion for combatting food insecurity long before moving to the Franklinton area in 2018. A few years later, a local food pantry began sharing their leftover items with the McPhetridges, who figured the farm animals could consume items past their prime—but when they realized some of the food was still good, the McPhetridges decided to share with friends and family. The pantry began supplying more items to support this new initiative, to the point the family had to start announcing the extras on social media to make sure they did not go to waste.

By early 2023, the McPhetridges realized their ministry was growing consistently enough to warrant its own air-conditioned building, somewhere to keep food preserved in the summer. They officially launched Sowing Seeds NC, Inc. and they have grown tremendously since. According to their website, the organization has already served over 13,400 individuals this year, and they anticipate serving 31,800 by the end of 2024. A small team of volunteers regularly helps unload and organize food, as well as man the pantry during its open hours.

In spring 2024, Sowing Seeds NC participated in the Entrepreneurial Business Grant Program, a collaborative effort between the VGCC Small Business Center and the Northeast Franklin Revitalization Group. Joni McPhetridge completed the course with a robust arsenal of tools to foster the success of Sowing Seeds NC, an expanded network of professional relationships, and a grant to improve the Sowing Seeds NC facilities.

Carolyn Perry, director of the Vance-Granville Small Business Center, has added her own perspective on what makes Sowing Seeds an exceptional organization:

  • Sowing Seeds serves with open hearts. Because they serve others genuinely and selflessly, positive outcomes have followed. Whether it’s volunteering, helping their neighbors in the surrounding communities, or contributing to a cause, their open-hearted approach has led to meaningful connections and positive change throughout Franklin County.
  • Sowing Seeds shows up and gives its best. When good things started happening, it was essential that Sowing Seeds be present and actively participate—showing up consistently, whether it’s at work, in relationships, or in community activities. Giving their best efforts supports their ever-growing network of partners.
  • Sowing Seeds reflects adaptability and openness. Life is full of changes and challenges. Being adaptable and open-minded allows Sowing Seeds to navigate these transitions effectively—embracing new opportunities, learning from their setbacks, and remaining flexible in their approach.
  • Sowing Seeds treats people well. Building a strong network involves treating others with kindness, respect, and empathy. Positive interactions create lasting connections, both personally and professionally. When people are treated well, they won’t forget that feeling.

TownTalk: Property Tax in Vance County

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Vance County residents have until Jan. 6, 2025 to pay their property tax bills before getting hit with a 2 percent interest penalty. That may add insult to injury this year, when many taxpayers are facing higher bills as a result of last year’s revaluation.

Vance County is among a handful of counties across the state that waits eight years – the state’s mandatory maximum interval to conduct revaluation – and some county leaders have said it needs to be done more often to reduce the sting and surprise of pricey tax bills.

The county published a list of questions and answers following the public comment portion of the Sept. 3 county commissioners meeting. Tax bills were sent out on Aug. 22, according to information on the county tax department webpage.

Much of the information had been discussed already, either during meetings of the board of commissioners or budget work sessions – the merits of sticking with a revenue-neutral budget versus the need for capital improvement projects that include a new fire station, 911 call center and jail, just to name a few.

One issue that county officials said they will explore is splitting the tax bill to show the breakdown between city tax and county tax for those city residents who must pay both. This hasn’t been done in more than a decade, and a change could come as soon as the 2025 tax bills.

County commissioners adopted the 2024-25 budget on June 24, which included a 10-cent tax increase per $100 valuation. The basic breakdown of that 10-cent increase is $.01 for salary increases to help attract and retain county employees and $.09 for those future capital projects.

As the county faces more opportunities for growth, be they commercial, industrial or residential, there also is a demand for adequate infrastructure to support that growth.

The question that municipalities and counties face is how to balance that growth – providing more services for residents, creating a better and bigger tax base that ultimately may reduce an undue burden on homeowners.

Property owners could appeal their tax bills, as long as they met a few conditions; there was an online mechanism to appeal property tax bills as part of the revaluation process. But 157 property owners in Vance County who completed an online submission got news that their data had been inexplicably lost during a routine computer program update.

To make matters worse, “the normal backup procedures failed to restore the data. The company is working “to better the situation and recollect the lost data,” the FAQ statement read.

Visit https://www.vancecounty.org/departments/tax-overview/ to learn more.

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The Local Skinny! VGCC Foundation Receives $50,000 Grant To Help Small Business Owners

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The Vance-Granville Community College Foundation has received a $50,000 grant award from Duke Energy Foundation to support small businesses in the four-county area it ser.

And community college officials have come up with a creative way to make sure that the money is equitably distributed to do the most good.

The VGCC Small Business Center will select grant fund recipients through a series of workshops, one based in each of the four counties the college serves.

Owners of retail shops, restaurants and other small businesses looking to expand, their business, upgrade technology, improve marketing or downtown storefronts are just the kind of participant VGCC’s Small Business Center is looking for.

“We want to see how creative they’ll be,” said Carolyn Perry, director of VGCC’s Small Business Center. The timing right before the holidays could prove extra helpful; some small businesses depend on a brisk holiday sales season to boost their bottom line.

The first workshop will be held next week in Granville County on the South Campus in Creedmoor, Sept. 16-19.

Subsequent workshops will take place in the other three counties served by VGCC:

  •       Sept. 30 – Oct. 3: VGCC Main Campus, Henderson
  •       Oct. 7–10: VGCC Warren Campus, Warrenton
  •       Oct. 14–17: VGCC Franklin Campus, Louisburg

Each workshop session will be comprised of four evening classes for a total of 10 hours of instruction. The sessions will culminate with a five-minute pitch contest, after which five of the session’s 10 participants will receive a $2,500 award to support their small business.

Perry said there are just a few requirements to participate – applicants must be 18 years old and must be residents of the county of the workshop they sign up for. Only one participant per household is allowed and anyone associated with VGCC is not eligible to take part, she said.

If you do a little quick math, $50,000 divided by 4 equals $12,500. There will be 20 awards – 5 per county – which means that each grant will be $2,500.

The first three days of the process will involve coaching and developing a plan that will be pitched on day 4, Perry said, sort of like TV’s “Shark Tank.”

VGCC Dean of Business and Industry Solutions Kyle Burwell, provided details about how the money would be used.

“When you start off with some capital,” Burwell said, you increase a business’s survival rate, not to mention provide stability and create additional employment opportunities. She said it’s a way to help businesses learn how to use funding and market themselves, which creates “a true impact for all of our communities.”

The VGCC Foundation was one of 21 community organizations from across the state to share in $700,000 in this round of funding, said Beth Townsend, Duke Energy local government and community relations manager. Since it was established in 2020, the program has given more than $2 million in grant funds to small businesses across the state.

To learn more about this program and participant requirements, contact Perry at 252.738.3240 or perryc@vgcc.edu.

 

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TownTalk: Angie Ellington – Autumn at Apple Hill Movie

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Angie Ellington said she’s been a fan of Hallmark movies for quite some time, and chances are she’ll be tuning in on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 8 p.m. when “Autumn at Apple Hill” premieres. No need for spoiler alerts for Ellington, however – she already knows the story.

In fact, she wrote the book.

Ellington is a local author who has had numerous books published, but “Autumn at Apple Hill” is the first one that has been made into a movie.

Main characters Elise and Luke are portrayed by Erin Cahill and Wes Brown, and Ellington said they’re both good choices for the characters she first created on paper.

Erin’s hair color is different in the movie, but other than that, “I could totally see Erin as Elise,” Ellington said on Wednesday’s TownTalk. And Brown, she said, “fits the description of Luke perfectly,” even down to the Tom Cruise-like smile Ellington writes in the novel.

Sometimes, movies based on books turn out quite different from the original story, but Ellington said that’s not the case with “Autumn at Apple Hill.”

For one thing, the producers kept the title, she said. And they kept the name of the town the same as the one in the book.

The movie is set in upstate New York, not Maine where Ellington has the character of Elise coming home to operate her grandparents’ bed and breakfast.

In the book, Luke comes to town to open a bistro, but Ellington said that the movie has him as a CFO of a hotel chain – a storyline change made into “something you can tell in a 90 -minute movie,” she explained.

The movie is scheduled to air at least four times during the “Fall into Love” themed movies on Hallmark, Ellington said. Visit https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/fall-into-love/fall-into-love-2024-movies to learn more.

And there will be other events to promote the movie as the premiere date draws near, including what Ellington called a “Zoom-along.”

A woman with an Instagram and Facebook link called “Hungry for Hallmark” creates recipes that pair with Hallmark movies.

What’s on the menu to go with “Autumn at Apple Hill,” you ask?

“She’s going to make an apple tart,” Ellington said. Cahill will take part in the Zoom-along and Ellington will join the small-screen activity for a few minutes as well.

Find out more at https://angienellington.com/

Click on any of the titles there to be directed to Amazon where the books can be purchased in book form or in audible format.

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Rebuild Communities NC, AARP Team Up To Offer Technology Classes For Senior Adults

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Information courtesy of Edythe Thompson, Rebuild Communities NC

Rebuild Communities NC has partnered with Senior Planet from AARP to help people over 50 learn new online skills. When you sign up for the Digital Skills Ready@50+ program, you’ll gain the essential skills you need to navigate an increasingly digital world.

Whether you’re hoping to stay connected with family and friends, interested in learning new technology, exploring entrepreneurship, or looking for a job, the Digital Skills Ready@50+ lectures and workshops offer training on a wide range of technologies, from video conferencing and online job search tools to office productivity software.

To sign up for the classes, call Edythe Thompson at 252.915.1840 or email Deborah Hall-Robinson at dhallrobinson@gmail.com.

Classes will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the Perry Memorial Library’s Farm Bureau Room from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The first session was held Tuesday, Sept. 10 and gave an overview of Smartphones.

Additional sessions include:

Thursday, Sept. 12: Finding information online

Tuesday, Sept. 17: Google Workspace

Thursday, Sept. 19: Google Maps

Tuesday, Sept. 24: Gmail Tips & Tricks

Thursday, Sept. 26: Staying Safe Online Workshop

Stay tuned for the October schedule, coming soon!