Vance Co. Regional Farmers Market

The Local Skinny! Fall is Here at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market

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Summer gardens may be giving us the last produce of the long-growing season, but there are still plenty of choices at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market.

Market Manager Pat Ayscue said, “The summer season is winding down but thankfully since we are a regional market, there are still late summer veggies filling the farmer’s table.” Customers can still find butterbeans, field ripe tomatoes and those most sought-after purple hull peas, she said.

“Also, hats off to our farmers many who planted late crops when the rains came again after the long dry spell,” which created some extra bounty to share with customers on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The fall crops are coming in, too – tender collards, turnip greens, fall apples and grapes of many varieties, Ayscue said.

But there’s more than just fresh produce at the market. Local raw honey is available every Saturday, Ayscue said, and “Hidden Acres will be joining us with their pasture raised beef, chicken, lamb, pork and farm fresh eggs. Stop by and say hi and let them tell you all about their products,” she said.

And although we’re just a few days into fall, people are surely thinking about and preparing for Thanksgiving.

Sweet Inspirations is at the market every Saturday, and Ayscue said customers can begin placing holiday orders now.

EBT is welcome and stop by and ask the market manager about Double Bucks’.  Follow us on Facebook! Each market day the farmers and vendors that are at the market that shopping day will be posted.

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The Local Skinny! Chicken Plate Fundraiser At Rebuilding Hope

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Volunteers and supporters of Rebuilding Hope, Inc. are gearing up for the annual fall chicken plate fundraiser, which will be held Friday, Sept. 27 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the 414 Raleigh Road location.

Co-director Tom Wille said the plates include half a chicken, potatoes, green beans and dessert, all for $10 each.

Call 252.438.5132 to pre-order or to get a minimum of six plates delivered to you.

“We’ll get those to you at lunch time, or break time,” Wille said. For pre-orders, “we’ll save them and you can pick them up,” he added.

But don’t wait until the last minute – they’ll be selling until 7 p.m. or until they run out.

This chicken plate fundraiser does more than just feed hungry people, Wille pointed out.

“We’re supporting the local community by doing this,” he said.

By building ramps for people with mobility issues, Wille said, they’re also helping first responders by reducing calls for help getting people in and out of their homes.

“It changes everybody’s life for the better,” he said.

“Everything we do is in the name of Christ. Because Jesus loved us first, we can go out and love those in our community.”

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Police Search for Driver After Damage at McGregor Hall

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From Henderson Police Chief Marcus Barrow —

At approximately midnight (Sat. 9-21/Sun. 9-22), a vehicle veered off the road and collided with a bench outside McGregor Hall on Breckenridge Street, resulting in damage to a large window.

The driver abandoned the scene in an unregistered red Chevrolet Impala. Preliminary information suggests the suspect is a Hispanic male who may have departed from a gathering at the nearby Church of the Holy Innocents.

We are seeking additional information regarding this incident and encourage anyone with knowledge to contact Henderson-Vance Crime Stoppers at 252-492-1925 or with the P3 app, or reach out by phone at 252-438-4141 or on social media platforms Facebook and Instagram.

VCS Students Complete Tiny House; First Open House Sept. 20

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For the next two Fridays, the Vance County High School parking lot will be the location of an Open House.

Wait. In the parking lot?

Yep. That’s where the Tiny House is located, and high school CTE students built it.

And it’s for sale.

The open house events will be held Friday, Sept. 20 and Friday, Sept. 27 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., according to information from Vance County Schools.

CTE stands for Career and Technical Education and includes the trades that are responsible for home construction. Students on the Construction Path performed the work.

There is a minimum bid of $25,000. Sealed bids must be received by VCS Chief Finance Officer John Suther, 1724 Graham Ave., Henderson, NC 27537 no later than noon, Oct. 1, 2024.

This tiny home is 30-foot by 12-foot vinyl-sided building that has a total of 360 square feet. There’s a tankless water heater and laminate flooring throughout. The full bath includes toilet, vanity and shower.

Learn more about the tiny house at the following link: https://bit.ly/vcstinyhouse

Vance Hires Jeremy T. Jones As Assistant County Manager

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Vance County will have a new assistant county manager on Oct. 1, 2024. Jeremy T. Jones will join County Manager C. Renee Perry and other county staff, bringing more than 10 years of experience in public service and law enforcement to the job.

“I am honored to step into this new role and continue my commitment to public service,” said Jones. “I look forward  to working with the talented team here at Vance County to enhance the quality of life for all our residents and foster a safe, thriving community.”

As assistant county manager, Jones will provide strategic guidance for the county’s public safety departments, maintenance, solid waste and animal services while also streamlining operations, improving service  delivery and ensuring the county continues to meet the needs of its growing population. Additionally, he will serve as the county’s public information officer

“We are thrilled to have Jeremy join our team,” Perry said in a press statement.

“His extensive background in law enforcement and management will be invaluable as we continue to strengthen our county’s services and ensure the safety and well-being of our residents.”

Jones’s background in public safety will be a wealth of added knowledge with the many public safety projects that are forthcoming. Jones also has a great deal of experience as a public information officer and has a reputable reputation for interacting with the media.

Jones has been employed with the Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office since June 2017 as the Administrative  Sergeant but started his career in December 2013 with the Elizabeth City Police Department. Jones holds a Bachelor  of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Elizabeth City State University, a Master of Science degree in  Administration from Central Michigan University and has completed the Administrative Officer’s Management  Program through N.C. State University.

The Local Skinny! Vote For Chestnut Street Park Project To Win $100,000

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Charles Turrentine Jr. got word about 24 hours ago that the Chestnut Street Park renovation project is among five finalists from across the country vying for $100,000 from Bobcat Company.

The project to make improvements to the basketball courts that operate under the city’s recreation and parks department is going to be a “game-changer,” Turrentine said. And getting a $100,000 infusion of cash would be a big deal indeed.

“We need everyone to share and support and vote for the Chestnut Street Park revitalization,” Turrentine said on Thursday’s segment of The Local Skinny!

The project that gets the most votes wins, and Turrentine wants to spread the word so this local project comes out on top. Voters have to provide just a couple of bits of information to register and can cast one vote daily until the contest closes on Oct. 3.

Click on https://www.bobcat.com/na/en/campaigns/park-rec-makeover-2024 to cast your daily vote.

When the project was first talked about earlier this year, Turrentine said, the costs were somewhere around $100,000 to resurface the courts, add breakaway goals and lighting. That number swelled to more like $1 million to include a playground, shelter, water and bathroom facilities and a shed roof.

Turrentine reeled off some of the rough estimates: $20,000 to resurface the courts, $30,000 for new fencing, breakaway goals at $4,000 each and lights for extra security another $60,000. And that’s just for starters.

He said Kendrick Vann and the Henderson Rec and Parks Department is a partner, and the city of Henderson has committed to put in water that will allow for restrooms.

When it’s completed, it’ll change the whole landscape, Turrentine said. “We can see what redevelopment looks like.”

Turrentine and other park supporters want the city park to be a place for the whole community to enjoy; he wants the park to be known as a nice, modernized park where everyone has fun.

But it’s going to take everyone working – and voting – collectively, he said, to make the dream a reality.

“We can change the narrative of Henderson…we can get on that one path to change the narrative.”

When the construction gets underway in January 2025 – the fencing comes down, the asphalt removed and the rebuilding begins, “everybody in the city of Henderson will be well-pleased.”

If all goes to plan, the courts will be ready for action by May 2025.

And it hopefully won’t be much longer to wait to enjoy the additional amenities that will be part of the new and improved Chestnut Street Park.

Vote at https://www.bobcat.com/na/en/campaigns/park-rec-makeover-2024

 

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Brame Issues Press Release With Details of Magee Death Investigation, Timeline

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– PRESS RELEASE FROM VANCE COUNTY SHERIFF CURTIS BRAME

The Vance County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate the death of 21-year-old Javion  Magee. This morning, Sheriff Curtis R. Brame, members of his command staff, and detectives  met with Javion’s family to express our condolences and to walk family members through the  details of our investigation to date. Investigators offered to take Javion’s family to Vanco Mill  Road where his body was found. Javion’s family requested to see and were shown evidentiary  photos. Local minister Pastor Opie Terrell also attended the meeting and led a word of prayer.  Sheriff Brame wants to ensure the public his office is being as transparent as possible, while  most importantly, being respectful of Javion’s grieving family.  

The North Carolina Chief Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy and concluded  Javion did not have defensive wounds, and there were no signs of physical or sexual assault.  Javion did have hemorrhaging around the soft tissue of the neck. Toxicology results are still  pending, therefore autopsy results are not complete at this time.  

The following is a timeline of events from the GPS on Mr. Magee’s commercial vehicle, witness  statements, the 9-1-1 call, and results of cell phone exploitation, which led up to detectives  arriving to discover Mr. Magee’s body.  

September 10, 2024, approximately 01:00 hours- Mr. Magee left Hazelton, Pennsylvania after  picking up a load of goods to deliver to the Walmart Distribution Center in Henderson, North  Carolina. Mr. Magee traveled I-81 South to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, then to Highway 15  towards Frederick, Maryland. The truck gets onto I-270 South and drives to I-495 to I-95  towards Virginia. 

September 10, 2024, 06:50 hours- The truck makes a stop at a truck stop on Highway 207, 12  miles North of Ashland, Virginia for approximately one hour. Investigators are working to obtain  video from the truck stop to review.  

September 10, 2024, 07:50 hours- The commercial truck leaves the truck stop and travels on  Highway 1 South.  

September 10, 2024, 08:00 hours, the vehicle travels on I-95 South, merges onto I-64 in  Richmond, Virginia.  

September 10, 2024, 08:20 hours, truck merges back onto I-95 South.  

September 10, 2024, 08:50 hours, the truck continues onto I-85 South in Petersburg, Virginia,  traveling south into North Carolina.  

September 10, 2024, 09:54 hours, vehicle is on I-85 south. 

September 10, 2024, 10:04 hours, vehicle enters Vance County and travels to Chex Truck Stop  in Middleburg, North Carolina. Surveillance video shows Magee walking into the truck stop  alone, using the rest room and getting food from the truck stop grill. Magee is seen walking  back to his truck and getting in his truck alone.  

September 10, 2024, 12:21 hours- vehicle leaves Chex Truck Stop traveling south on I-85 into  Henderson, North Carolina.  

September 10, 2024, 12:37 hours- truck arrives at the Walmart Distribution Center in  Henderson and the contents are unloaded. 

September 10, 2024, 16:53 hours, the truck leaves the Walmart Distribution Center. Within 5  minutes, GPS shows the truck is idling in a dirt parking area in front of 285 Vanco Mill Road,  Henderson, North Carolina. Approximately ½ mile from the Walmart Distribution Center. 

September 10, 2024- 17:44 hours, the truck travels Northwest on West Andrews Avenue. At  17:49 hours, the truck pulls onto Young Street and is idling. The truck then goes to a parking lot  at the corner of West Andrews Ave and Vance Street at 17:53 hours. Magee exits the truck and  walks to a local smoke shop at 422 East Andrews Avenue to purchase tobacco products.  Surveillance footage shows Magee making a purchase at the store, he is alone. The truck leaves  the area at 18:01 hours. The truck travels west on Andrews Ave to the intersection of I-85 and  merges onto I-85 south.  

September 10, 2024, 18:11 hours, the truck travels to the Walmart Supercenter located on N.  Cooper Drive in Henderson, North Carolina. Mr. Magee is seen on surveillance footage from at  least 5 cameras walking into the store, making a purchase of a blue in color Ozark Trail rope,  and exiting the store. Magee is alone according to video footage while he shopped inside the  store and when he returned to his truck outside the store. Magee is seen wearing a white t shirt, black shorts, white socks, and dark colored crocs. Magee uses a self-checkout to make the  purchase, obtains a receipt for the purchase and is seen leaving the store with the blue rope in  his hand. Magee returns to his truck and leaves the parking lot of the Walmart Supercenter at  18:22 hours. 

Further review of surveillance footage from Walmart also shows as Magee was leaving the  Walmart Parking Lot on September 10th, he stops, exits his truck, and gives something to a  homeless person sitting at the entrance. The person was identified and interviewed by  investigators. As a result of the interview, it was learned that Magee gave the homeless person money. Magee told the person that “I don’t know how much it is, but if I had more I would give it to you.” It was a total of $228 that was given to the homeless person. The witness confirmed that after Magee gave the money, he got back into his truck and left the parking lot.  

September 10, 2024, 18:28 hours, Magee pulls into the Hampton Inn Hotel located on Ruin Creek Road and parks around the back of the building. Surveillance footage from the hotel shows Magee walking from the back of the hotel to the front wearing a white t-shirt, black shorts, white socks, and dark colored crocs. Magee is also wearing a black backpack Magee enters the hotel alone at 18:32 hours and walks up to the front desk. Magee speaks to the hotel clerk and exits the hotel at 18:34 hours and walks towards the back of the hotel.  

September 10, 2024, 18:35 hours, the truck is turned on, and at 18:36 hours, Magee’s truck is  seen on video surveillance leaving the hotel parking lot and making a right turn onto Ruin Creek  Road. 

September 10, 2024- 18:45 hours, the truck approaches the intersection of Andrews Ave and  US1 Highway, and at 18:50 hours, the truck exits US1 Highway onto Vanco Mill Road. 

September 10, 2024, 18:52 hours, the truck pulls back onto the dirt lot at 285 Vanco Mill Road  and the ignition is turned off. Surveillance footage from the area shows Magee exiting the  driver’s side of the truck wearing a white shirt and black shorts. Magee is seen walking away  from the truck alone towards the wood line on the eastern side of the dirt lot. Magee is carrying  an object in his hand. Magee walks back up around a trailer and to the front gate of T&R Tractor  & Truck Repair, then walks back to the wood line of the lot. 

September 10, 2024, 19:00 hours, Surveillance video shows Magee re-enter the truck and the  GPS shows the truck ignition is turned on. From the video, it does not appear Mr. Magee has  anything in his hand at the time he re-enters the truck. 

September 10, 2024, 19:28 hours, the truck is still in an idling state. 

September 10, 2024, 19:30 hours, the ignition is turned off and is never started again. Magee is  seen on video walking away from the truck towards the trees alone. The video does not show  Magee walking back to the truck after this time. 

September 11, 2024, 10:08 hours, Vance County 911 received a call from the owner of T&R  Truck Repair of a man with a rope around his neck on the outside of the fence at 285 Vanco Mill  Road. The 911 stated that the male was not breathing and appeared to have died by suicide. 

Vance County EMS, Bearpond Fire Department and Vance County Sheriff’s Office Deputies  respond to the scene. Additional supervisors and detectives were called to the scene to begin  the investigation.

Detectives could see the victim had a rope wrapped around his neck a total of 11 times and the  other end of the rope was wrapped around a tree branch. The rope was tight. The victim was in  a seated position with his legs extended out and his left foot crossed over his right foot. The  victim was wearing a white t-shirt, black shorts, white socks, and black crocs. The crime scene  was photographed. 

No identification was found on the victim, but a cardboard wrapper for the blue rope was found  lying next to the victim. The brand of rope was Ozark Trail which is a brand sold by Walmart. A  detective took the wrapper for the rope to Walmart in an attempt to identify the purchaser of  the rope. It was discovered that the rope was sold to the victim on 9/10/2024 at 18:20 hours.  The victim was identified from the use of his bank card at the checkout as Javion Magee. A copy  of the video was obtained for evidence. The detective saw on the video Mr. Magee was driving  a white semi-truck. The information was passed to those at the scene on Vance Mill Road, who  located a truck in the parking lot matching that description.  

An employee of T&R Tractor & Truck Repair told investigators on the scene that the trucking  company had called their shop requesting they check on the driver because the truck had not  moved. The truck was unlocked and investigators found a wallet with an Illinois identification  with the name Javion Magee and an address in Aurora, Illinois. The photograph on the  identification matched the person found nearby. A cell phone was also located in the truck, and  a receipt from Walmart in Henderson for the purchase of the rope with the date and time that  matched the transaction date and time on surveillance video just obtained from Walmart by  detectives. 

Based on this information, investigators contacted the Aurora Illinois Police Department and  requested they send an officer to the address listed on the identification for a death  notification. Aurora Police Officers contacted Javion’s Father and notified him of Javion’s death.  Javion’s body was transported to the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for an  autopsy. 

According to KLLM trucking, this was Javion’s first time making a delivery to Henderson. They  also learned KLLM Trucking was Javion’s first trucking job after obtaining his commercial  driver’s license earlier in 2024. 

September 13, 2024, The North Carolina Chief Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy  on Javion’s body. The Pathologists determined Javion did not have any defensive wounds and there were no signs of physical or sexual assault. Javion did have hemorrhaging around the soft tissue of the neck. Further findings of the autopsy are pending toxicology. The Pathologists did  speak to Javion’s Mother and explained the preliminary autopsy report.  

The Vance County Sheriff’s Office has submitted search warrants to several companies hoping  to fully access Mr. Magee’s phone. We have been able to see some of the recent searches from Javion’s phone and are working through proper legal authorities to obtain more information in hopes of having a complete picture of what occurred before Javion’s body was found on the morning of September 11, 2024.  

Sheriff Curtis R. Brame continues to release as much information as possible about this  investigation, again while being respectful to Javion’s family during this difficult time. The Vance  County Sheriff’s Office is continuing to investigate and is asking anyone with information to  come forward, call the Vance County Sheriff’s Office at 252-738-2200.