Deputies Arrest Two On Drug Charges, More Following Traffic Stop

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-information courtesy of Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame

Two people face a variety of charges following a motor vehicle stop made early on Friday, Sept. 1.

Deputies from the Vance County Sheriff’s Office stopped a car about 3:30 a.m. on Southerland Mill Road for a revoked license plate, according to information from Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame.

A search of the vehicle resulted in drug charges for the driver,

Devonte Venable, 26,  and passenger Kiana Epps, 22, Brame said in a statement to WIZS News on Tuesday.

Venable and Epps were each charged with possession of heroin. Venable also was charged with driving while license revoked and displaying a revoked registration plate, in addition to having outstanding warrants for failure to appear in court and for violating probation.

Epps also was charged with two counts of failure to appear in court, one count of second-degree trespass, resisting a public officer and assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury. She was placed under a $51,000 secured bond and has a court date of Sept. 22, 2023.

Venable was placed under a $90,000 secured bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 19, 2023.

Both were transported to the Vance County Detention Center.

 

 

The Local Skinny! Baskerville Funeral Home Hosts Mental Health Community Info Series

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The community is invited to attend an informational session on Sept. 12 to learn more about programs offered by Greater Outreach Services.

Charlie Baskerville has held numerous community info events to share resources with people in the area, and the one scheduled for next week will provide information about mental health and other programs and counseling services.

The meeting will take place at Baskerville Funeral Home, 104 S. Chestnut St., and Baskerville said it’s a way for him to give back to his community. It begins at 6 p.m. and will last about an hour, with time for questions afterward, as well as light refreshments.

His experience as a pastor and a military veteran contributed to his idea about providing and serving.

“Those things enlightened me about service,” Baskerville said on Tuesday’s The Local Skinny!

He’s a retired pastor now, but he considers the community info series a type of ministry.

It’s a way to “inform the community of the resources available…to make the community a better place.”

Call 252.430.6824 to learn more.

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N.C. Rep. Sossamon To Sponsor Sept. 18 Meeting To Learn About Broadband Progress In The Area

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Want to learn more about the state of broadband internet access in your area?

Rep. Frank Sossamon has organized a community forum to share information about what may be in store for the area with regard to broaband internet access.

The meeting will take place on Monday, Sept. 18 at Perry Memorial Library, 205 Breckenridge St. and will begin at 6 p.m.

Staff from the N.C. Department of Information Technology are scheduled to be present to provide residents with the most up-to-date information about this issue.

 

VGCC Logo

VGCC To Host Community Engagement Nights

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Vance Granville Community College has scheduled a series of “Community Engagement Nights” through its four-county service area to allow individuals to partner with school leaders and plan for the future. The first one is Thursday, Sept. 7 in Warrenton; please RSVP to let college officials know you’re planning to attend.

The discussions will be from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., according to information from VGCC Public Information Officer Courtney Cissel.

VGCC strives to be a catalyst in developing strong communities where everyone can experience a fulfilling quality of life, which comes “through educating, inspiring and supporting a diverse community of learners to achieve professional and personal success.”

 

VGCC President Dr. Rachel Desmarais and attendees of the events will engage in strategic planning activities, which will help leaders make recommendations about various areas of the institution. Light refreshments will be served.

Attendance at each event is limited; sign up at www.vgcc.edu/events.

Below is a list of the Community Engagement Night sessions:

 

  • Thursday, Sept. 7 – Warren County Armory Civic Center, Warrenton
  • Tuesday, Sept. 12 – Perry Memorial Library, Farm Bureau Room
  • Wednesday, Sept. 13 – VGCC Main Campus Civic Center
  • Thursday, Sept. 14 – Wake Electric Operations Facility, Youngsville
  • Thursday, Sept. 19 – Karl T. Pernell Public Safety Complex, Louisburg
  • Wednesday, Sept. 20 – Mary Potter Center for Education, Oxford
  • Wednesday, Sept. 27 – VGCC South Campus, Room G1131, Creedmoor

TownTalk: The 2023 Ducky Derby is Here!

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There’s a deluge expected in downtown Henderson next month, but you won’t find details on any weather app or forecast – not even the farmer’s almanac. Flooding will be minimal and isolated to Garnett Street, officials say – just long enough for that last little rubber ducky to cross the finish line.

No need to gather your rain gear just yet – it’s just the 14th annual Ducky Derby!

This year’s event takes place Saturday, Sept. 16 in downtown Henderson, with the Henderson Fire Department supplying the water and Greystone Concrete Products pouring the ducks from one of its cement mixers.

The Franklin Granville Vance Smart Start hosts the annual fundraiser and Garry Daeke was on Tuesday’s TownTalk to share details and how to purchase tickets.

“We hope to have a good day and have fun – it’s always a blast,” Daeke said.

Ducks are $5 each, or you can purchase more than one and save a little cash – a Quack Pack is 5 ducks for $20 and a Flock gets you 25 ducks for $100. Tickets are available the day of the derby, too.

“I’m continually excited about how much fun people have” Daeke said. The fun includes children’s games, food trucks and music. This year, there’s a “blender bike” that kids can use to pedal their way to create their own smoothies.

And there are prizes for the top three finishers, as well as for that last little straggler to cross the finish line.

First prize is $1,000, second prize is Chick-fil-A for a year and third prize is a $250 gas card from Sheetz. The last duck wins $100.

Tickets are available from FGV staff or board members and by calling the FGV office at 252.433.9110. You can reach Daeke at the office or at 252.432.3145.

The event begins at 11 a.m. and continues through 2 p.m.

The race begins at Garnett and Breckenridge streets and the finish line is at Orange Street.

Sponsorships are available; contact Daeke to become a sponsor.

“We get new folks every year that want to be a part of what’s going on downtown,” he said.

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Vance County Logo

Brodie Road Convenience Site Now Open On Sundays

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The Brodie Road waste convenience site will be open on Sundays beginning this Sunday, Sept. 3, a move that county leaders hope will be helpful for residents and also reduce the amount of illegal dumping that occurs in the area.

The site is located at 900 Brodie Rd.and will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays throughout the year, according to Jason Falls, county solid waste director.

“This is a service improvement approved by the Vance County Board of Commissioners to improve access for customers as well as a way to decrease illegal dumping in the area,” Falls said in a press statement. This is the only change planned in operating days/times, he noted. All other convenience center hours of operation remain the same.

Falls also reminds residents to secure their loads when hauling trash to the convenience centers. Call Falls at  919.691.0928 if you have questions.

 

Democratic Party

Municipal Election Candidates’ Forum Set for Sept. 7

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The Henderson-Vance Leadership Caucus has scheduled a “Meet the Candidates Forum” next week in advance of the upcoming nonpartisan municipal elections on Oct. 10.

The forum will take place Thursday, Sept. 7 at 6 p.m. at the Vance County Administration Building, 122 Young St., according to information from Terry Garrison, caucus president.

All candidates on the ballot have been invited to participate, Garrison stated.

“The forum is intended to allow the candidates an opportunity to give their platforms and answer prepared questions of importance to many voting citizens,” Garrison said.

The event is open to the public and is sponsored by the Henderson Vance Black Leadership Caucus, the Vance County branch of the NAACP and the Vance County Democratic Party.

Local GOP Hosts Candidate Meetings

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The Vance County Republican Party is hosting a series of meetings designed to hear from candidates in the upcoming nonpartisan municipal elections.

Jimmy Barrier, local GOP chair, told WIZS News Wednesday that the Ward 1 candidates will be the focus of the meeting on Thursday, Aug. 31. The meetings begin at 6:30 p.m. and will take place at Tony’s Automotive on Raleigh Road.

Mayoral candidates were invited to participate in the first meeting held Tuesday, Aug. 29, Barrier said. Candidates Sara Coffey and Greg Etheridge attended; Melissa Elliott and Jason Spriggs did not participate.

Barrier said the meetings are a chance to learn about the candidates and their platforms.

“We’ve invited them to come to us,” Barrier said, “to speak to us and tell us why we should vote for them.”

The meetings are open to registered Republicans, Barrier said. “We want to be what’s best for Vance County and the city of Henderson,” he said, adding that the objective is to inform voters.

The candidates receive a list of questions in advance of the meetings, Barrier said, so nobody is caught off guard and can prepare their responses.

“We want…what’s best for Vance County and the city of Henderson,” he said.

“We’re not going to sit on the sidelines. We’re going to get in the game,” Barrier said.

Community Partners of Hope

TownTalk: Community Partners Of Hope To Open Men’s Shelter October 1

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The men’s emergency shelter will open for the season in just over a month, but if Delthine Watson has anything to say about it, it will be the last time that the shelter will be open only in the fall and winter months.

“People need a place to go…away from the elements,” Watson told WIZS’s Bill Harris on Thursday’s TownTalk. The weather is something we have no control over, so whether the shelter can provide relief from the harsh winter cold or the relentless summer heat, that’s what she wants to do.

“(Homelessness) is not a seasonal problem,” she said, “we’re just a seasonal shelter – at this point. But we are working on that.”

Watson, community network specialist for Community Partners of Hope, said plans to upfit the former City Road Methodist Church to become the permanent 12-month location for the men’s shelter is taking shape.

Once all the paperwork is signed – and the money raised to make the necessary renovations to transform the church property – Watson said they’d be able to accommodate more men.

“At City Road, we might be able to prepare meals and give the men a place to not just sleep,” she said, but also a place to socialize with others and make connections with other people.

CPOH is working hard to raise the money to fulfill the vision that’s been in the making for the past 15 years – this is the 16th year of operation for the men’s shelter.

This is the only men’s shelter in the four-county area, but Watson said they get calls from Durham and Wake counties and even from Virginia.

It’s hard to say just how many homeless people are in Vance County and beyond, but Watson said this about the problem: “When we are open, we are almost filled to capacity.”

“We have a lot of displaced people who have nowhere to go,” she said.

She said the shelter is a “beacon of light” to people who have nothing. “If you come to the shelter, we give you clean clothes, and a meal and we give you hope.”

The shelter opens its doors at 5:30 each afternoon, but staff doesn’t always know how many men will enter. They try to have various sizes of clothing on hand and Watson said they have a special need for pajama bottoms and underwear.

They’ve got a lot of socks, but she said she would never turn away a donation from the community.

We are Community Partners of Hope, she said, emphasis on community.

There are opportunities for individuals and groups to support and contribute to the shelter, from signing up to provide a meal to making a monetary donation.

Visit www.cp-hope.org or follow them on Facebook to learn about all the ways to help

“Whatever it is you’re willing to do, we appreciate it,” Watson said. “We welcome whatever it is you want to do.”

Here’s how she looks at homelessness: “it’s not a goal you strive for, it’s something that happens to you. Showing a little kindness can go a long way.”

The shelter staff and the community that offers support lets the men know that they are loved and cared for, she said.

Watson can be reached at 252.767.0344.

Make checks payable to CP-OH Building Fund of CP-OH Operating Fund, P.O. Box 1791, Henderson, NC 27536.

 

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