Henderson Vance Recreation & Parks

TownTalk: Upcoming Activities At HVRPD

/by

Parents who may be looking for some engaging activities for their children this summer need look no further than the program listings at the Henderson Vance Recreation and Parks Department.

A daylong summer camp begins June 12 and continues through Aug. 11, and HVRPD facilities supervisor said Alisha Shaw said the camp will include field trips, meals and more, all for a weekly fee of $50.

Shaw and colleagues Deanne Brown and Shantal Hargrove were guests on Tuesday’s TownTalk to talk and shared information on programs and events that are happening at Fox Pond Park and Aycock Rec Center this summer.

There’s a free Gridiron program for children ages 7-12 that started May 15, but there’s still time to register, Brown, assistant director of the rec and parks department, said.
This program is focused on conditioning, she said. “That’s the whole purpose of this program – before the fall football starts.” Players and cheerleaders for the Tri-City Seahawks begins in the fall. The registration fee is $40, but parents can apply for a fee waiver. There are several different age divisions; football is for ages 4-12 and cheerleading is for ages 5-12. Registration continues through July 30.

Whether providing a spot for sports teams to practice and play or offering multipurpose rooms for rental to the community, Shaw said the department’s recreational facilities are staying busy.

“We are very busy with Fox Pond rentals at this time,” she said. The shelter rental is brisk and folks are out enjoying the pickle ball courts, trails and other outdoor amenities the park offers.

Hargrove is youth services outreach administrator and she said HVRPD offers structure and programming for children, but they also provide parents with peace of mind that their kids are in a safe, secure location while they’re at work.

“It gives the youth something to do in the summertime,” Hargrove said. “Sports gives them a chance to get back outside…and get some exercise.”

Whether it’s summer camp or being a member of a sports team, young people have a chance to interact with children their own age and meet new people who may attend different schools.

Plus, it gets them off their phones and gets them engaged,” Hargrove said. “It gives their thumbs a break,” she said.

HVRPD is planning a couple of activities for Juneteenth, including a street festival on Saturday, June 17 behind the county courthouse on Rose Avenue. There will be live entertainment, lots of food and product vendors. The festival will be held from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Anyone interested in being a vendor can contact HVRPD. The fee for food vendors is $75; other vendors are $25.

Contact Shaw for more information about the street festival at 252.438.2670.

Hargrove said a Juneteenth Jamboree will be held at Aycock Rec Center on Friday, June 16 for youth ages 14-18. There will be a glow-in-the-dark pool party, as well as a a DJ playing music, food, movies and more, she added.

Register to attend the Jamboree on Friday, May 26. All participants must be enrolled in school and have a minimum 2.5 GPA. Contact Darius Pitt at 252.431.6099 to learn more about the Jamboree.

Since 2023 has been designated the Year of the Trail, HVRPD decided to collaborate with Tina Crews and her Visions Educational Learning to create Nature’s Classroom, an interactive program that incorporates hiking trails with education to complete a scavenger hunt along the trails between Fox Pond Park and Aycock Rec Center.

All the recs and parks programs require staffing, and all available positions are listed on the city of Henderson’s webpage at www.henderson.nc.gov.

There are full-time and part-time positions available. Applications are available online and at Aycock Rec Center. Completed paper applications should be turned in to City Hall.

 

CLICK PLAY!

 

Vance County Logo

The Local Skinny! Vance Co. Budget Details

/by

Vance County Commissioners have held a couple of work sessions to discuss the proposed 2023-24 budget and the community will have a chance to chime in during an upcoming June 5 public hearing before commissioners decide whether to adopt it.

The details of the roughly $57.5 million budget are contained in a 131-page document presented by County Manager Jordan McMillen. This is McMillan’s final budget presentation before he leaves his position later this month to become Butner Town Manager in neighboring Granville County.

The budget calls for no increase in the property tax, holding at 89 cents per $100 valuation, as well as appropriating more than $1.5 million from the General Fund to plug a gap between expected expenses and expected revenues. The proposed budget is 4.5 percent more than the 2022-23 budget.

Among the budget highlights are improvements to the county’s fire tax fund, which will provide 24-hour coverage in the north and south of the county – all with no tax increase.

On the revenue side, property tax is up some $63 million, which translates into more than $600,000 in additional tax revenue for the county.

Sales tax continues to be the big leader, with expected revenues projected at close to $2 million more than last year. Sales tax is the second largest source of revenue for the county at 21 percent.

Among the budget’s line items are funding for broadband expansion and the economic development strategic plan, as well as preparing for ongoing and increased costs in the areas of community health, education and workforce development training, to name a few.

In all, the county received requests for $7.4 million more than it was able to provide. If all those funding requests were to be granted, it would mean a 25.9 cent tax increase to county residents.

CLICK PLAY!

 

NC DMV Notes Changes For Teen Drivers

/by

Parents with teen drivers, take note: there are some changes coming to the graduated driver licensing program, and the state’s Division of Motor Vehicles wants to make sure a trip to your local DMV office goes as smoothly as possible.

The General Assembly passed a bill that went into effect earlier this week which requires teen drivers to have their Level 1 learner permit for 6 months before they get their provisional license. Other requirements remain the same: drivers must be at least 16 years old, log 60 hours of driving time, pass a road test and show printed proof of insurance in the teen driver’s name.

This could lead to bottlenecks at the local DMV, as demand for road tests increases so teens can get provisional driver licenses.

“We ask for your patience as we work to accommodate the thousands of teen drivers that are suddenly eligible to take a road test and receive their Level 2 provisional license,” Goodwin said.

One reminder: road tests, which teen drivers must pass to achieve the Level 2 license, will not be scheduled after 4 p.m.

Customers who need to make an appointment for a road test or conduct DMV business as a walk-in have a new tool which will show the current average wait time at their local DMV office. Find it on the https://www.ncdot.gov/dmv/offices. Customers can now hover over the icon marking each driver license office and a box will pop up with the current walk-in wait time. The wait time is defined as the current average length of time from check-in until the customer is called to the workstation for service.

“I’m very excited about this new tool that will show customers the walk-in wait time at driver license offices so they can make an informed decision on which office to go to, or whether to try again another day,” said DMV Commissioner Wayne Goodwin. “This tool will be most useful in the afternoon when our 115 driver license offices are serving walk-ins only.”

During COVID-19 restrictions, the long-standing requirement that teen drivers have their permits for 12 months was temporarily shortened to 6 months; that requirement lapsed at the end of 2022. Furthermore, beginning Jan. 1 2024, the 6-month period will permanently extend to 9 months.

Another change to the graduated driver license process allows Level 2 permit holders to be able to drive one passenger under 21 who is not a family member, if they are being driven directly to or from school. This is in addition to the existing provision allowing one passenger under 21 that is a family member.

Schedule an appointment at https://skiptheline.ncdot.gov/

 

Sheriff Brame: Four Arrested For Sale, Delivery Of Cocaine and Heroin

/by

Four people were arrested late last week on a variety of charges related to the sale and delivery of cocaine and heroin from a house in Vance County.

The arrested were made as a result of an operation that involved narcotics and CID investigators of the Vance County Sheriff’s office late last week, according to information from Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame.

The operation was focused upon the illegal sale and delivery of both cocaine base and heroin from within the residence located at 226 1st Street, Henderson, NC 27537.

Officers executed a search warrant at the home early in the morning of Friday, May 1. Brame stated in the press release that more arrests are anticipated.

The four people arrested are:

  • Maurice Harrison, 60, charged with possession with intent to sell and deliver cocaine, sell and deliver cocaine, maintain a dwelling to keep/sell a controlled substance. Harrison is in the Vance County jail under a $105,000 secured bond.
  • Teelah ElHitu, 36, charged with possession with intent to sell and deliver cocaine, three counts of sell and deliver cocaine, conspiracy to sell and deliver cocaine, two counts of maintaining a dwelling to keep/sell a controlled substance. ElHitu is in Franklin County jail under a $210,000 secured bond.
  • Johnathan Williams, 37, charged with possession with intent to sell and deliver cocaine, sell and deliver cocaine and conspiracy to sell and deliver cocaine. He is in the Vance County jail under a secured bond of $105,000.
  • Lindsey Allen, 34, charged with possession with intent to sell and deliver cocaine, sell and deliver cocaine and conspiracy to sell and deliver cocaine. Allen is in the Vance County jail under a secured bond of $105,000.

Front Porch Bluegrass Show With Tasker Fleming

/by

Tune in to Tasker Fleming’s Front Porch Bluegrass Show on Sunday evenings on WIZS and you’ll surely find yourself tapping your toes to some familiar songs, featuring fiddles, mandolins and more.

But tune in to the program on Sunday, May 21 at 6 p.m. and you may hear some familiar – and local – artists as well.

Fleming said he plans to mark the second anniversary of the show being aired on WIZS with some nods to all things Henderson.

“I’m going to dedicate the whole show” to Vance County, whether he’s featuring local bluegrass musician Wayne Kinton or reminiscing about eating in local restaurants as a child traveling through Henderson on his way to visit relatives in Virginia.

The show originates from Albemarle, in Stanly County, and it is aired on numerous stations in North Carolina and Virginia. He’s in talks now with a station in Galax, VA. “I’ll offer my show to anyone who wants to listen,” he said.

Folks who tune in on May 21 may just hear him tell the story about his days as a new UNC graduate who landed his first job at Vance Senior High School. The superintendent at the time was Wayne Adcock. Fleming said he was the only employee in the school system who could “boast” of having been paddled by the superintendent.

He’d deserved that paddling, Fleming confessed, when he had been a second-grader with Adcock as his principal.

Fond memories of Nunnery-Freeman and Hereford House restaurants are sure to bring back memories, Fleming noted. And bringing up good memories is part of what the Front Porch Bluegrass show is all about.

“I love doing the show,” Fleming said. “I’ve always had a passion for bluegrass.”

Tune in on Sunday evenings and contact Fleming at frontporchbluegrass21@yahoo.com.

CLICK PLAY!

 

H-V Emergency Operations

TownTalk: Short To Retire As Director Of Emergency Operations

/by

Brian Short, director of Vance County emergency operations, is retiring at the end of May. But you won’t find him on the golf course or puttering around in the yard for very long – he’ll begin a new state job just four days after he turns over his local duties to Vivian Lassiter, who will serve as interim director.

Short and Lassiter were guests on Thursday’s TownTalk segment to talk about the state of emergency operations in the county and what may lie ahead.

“With the exception of being a husband and a father,” Short said, “this is the most important thing I’ll do in my life.” He started out in 1991 as a part-time 911 dispatcher and rose through the ranks to become its director in 1998.

“I’ve got a lot of faith and a lot of pride in this agency,” Short said. Lassiter said she’s been preparing for this new role as interim director and said she feels confident because of the way Short has prepared her.

“Brian’s worked with me one on one…I feel as ready as anyone else. I believe I’ll do fine (but) I’ve got big shoes to fill.”

Short said he always tried to make sure the emergency operations staff was ready to work outside their comfort zones “so they’d be ready to grow and progress when the opportunity presented itself.”

Having the safety and welfare of close to 50,000 people is a heavy burden, he acknowledged, but he has great confidence in the people who run the 911 call centers and everyone else who responds to emergency situations.

“They’re the ones in there on the front lines, making split-second decisions, making the right calls,” he said.

Today’s local 911 dispatchers have the best equipment and technology available, Short said. You may find bigger operations functioning in larger cities, “but you won’t see one with any more or better technology than what we have,” he added. “We try to always be on the cutting edge.”

Lassiter knows all about that technology – she’s currently the acting operations manager for the 911 center and occasionally fills in as a 911 operator when needed.

“I just enjoy saving lives,” she said. And that desire was only heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic. “I wanted to do more,” she said.

She plans to keep the agency running just like it’s running now. “I think the way that we do things and involving the community is the right thing to do,” she said.

CLICK PLAY for TownTalk broadcast with Brian Short and Vivian Lassiter!

 

FarmsSHARE Program Connects Small Farmers, Local Residents With Fresh, Healthy Foods

/by

FarmsSHARE is a program that was started in 2020 by Carolina Farm Stewardship Association as a response to COVID-19. And now, almost three years later, federal and state agriculture officials have funded the program to keep it going – and even expanding its reach to help underserved communities increase its access to fresh, local-grown foods.

Working Landscapes, a Warren County non-profit agency, is one of FarmsSHARE’s  hub partners that provides fresh, locally grown produce to three locations in Vance and Warren counties.

FarmsSHARE began as a way to help connect people with healthy food, but it also was a way to provide financial support to small businesses during the pandemic shutdown.

State agriculture officials have gotten $7.6 million to keep the program up and running, working with 15 hub partners and more than 200 community-based organizations across the state to obtain and distribute 133,000 boxes of local food. The farms and food hubs also receive assistance to enter new markets for local food.

Working Landscapes works with local partners Turning Point CDC in Henderson, as well as the H.O.P.E. Regional Medical Clinic and Loaves & Fishes Ministries, both in Warren County.

ByWay Foods Hub is one aspect of the Working Landscapes operation, works out of two downtown Warrenton locations. The primary location is on Franklin Street, on a repurposed historic site that once housed a cotton gin and flour mill.  That’s where the fresh-cut vegetable operation is based. It’s also where the team manages the CSA-style program provides fresh, healthy foods to community residents.

“Creating more opportunities for North Carolinians to source local products from North Carolina farmers is beneficial all around, for consumers, farmers, and our local food supply long term,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “Expanding FarmsSHARE…is expected to strengthen and expand our efforts and allow food hubs to connect and develop relationships with socially disadvantaged farmers, small farmers, and small businesses to the benefit of local farmers and communities.”

Funding for the program comes from the American Rescue Plan. Questions regarding how to participate as either a farmer or distribution site should be sent to Kana Miller, Local Food Distribution Coordinator, kana@carolinafarmstewards.org and 919.542.2402 ext. 831.