Vance County Sheriff's Office

Local Man Shot Dead at Williamsboro Gas Station, Another Wounded

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— Press Release Information from Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame

On or about the 30th day of October 2021, units with the Vance County Sheriff’s Office responded to the intersection of Thomas Road and N.C. 39 North, Shell Service Station, regarding a subject possibly having been shot.

While traveling to the scene, it was advised that two individuals had just arrived at Maria Parham Hospital. Both were suffering from gunshot wounds. It was determined that one of the individuals had in fact been shot while standing in the parking lot of the Shell Station. The victim, identified as Devonte Cheek of Henderson, was pronounced deceased at MPH.

The second victim has been identified. However, the identity is being withheld for the victim’s safety as well as to preserve the integrity of an ongoing criminal investigation. The second victim is expected to recover from all injuries sustained.

It is believed that Cheek was exiting a motor vehicle to enter the Shell Service Station when unknown subjects opened fire from the intersection of Thomas Road and N.C. 39 North. The suspects were operating a dark in color sedan and fled the area headed north on N.C. 39.

This incident is being investigated by the Vance County Sheriff’s office with the assistance of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to contact the Vance County Sheriff’s Office.

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The Local Skinny! Economic Incentive Grant to M. R. Williams

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County Approves More Than $126,000 In Economic Development Incentive Grant Funding To M.R. Williams, Inc.

The Vance County commissioners on Monday approved more than $126,000 in economic development incentive grant funding for local wholesaler M.R. Wiliams, Inc., which is planning to embark on a $4 million capital improvement project.

M.R. Williams, Inc., located at 230 Raleigh Road in Henderson, plans to add 20,000 square feet of freezer space, as well as expand the warehouse and office areas.

The business currently employs about 250 people, and expects to be able to add at least 25 employees by the time the project is completed.

The grant, which totals $126,821, would be distributed basically over a 5-year period and is part of an effort to support economic development in the county – especially the creation, maintenance and retention of jobs, according to the agenda packet information. The grant specifies certain criteria that the company will have to comply with to continue to receive the funding. The project is estimated to add at least $4 million in real property improvements.

The grant will provide financial support to a local business that has a positive impact on the local economy and is designed to be an incentive for businesses like M.R. Williams to stay in the area and continue to provide jobs for the community.

Municipal Elections in Vance County Nov. 2

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Update 10 p.m. Tuesday, Nov 2 — Local Municipal Election Results in Vance County

All election results are unofficial until canvassed by the Board of Elections.

There were no contested races in Middleburg or Kittrell with all incumbents re-elected.

Jerry Joyner received eight votes for Mayor of Kittrell. There were five write-in votes.

With the option to vote for three of the names on the ballot or write in a name for Town of Kittrell Town Commissioner, Mary Jo Floyd received 12 votes, Robert Tunstall received 12, and Susan Pulley received nine. There were three write-in votes.

For Middleburg Mayor, Ray Bullock received 22 votes, and there was one write-in vote.

For Town of Middleburg Town Councilman, with the option to vote for three of the names on the ballot or write in a name, Ann Fudge received 21 votes, Ruth Nance received 18 and Mamie Turner received 17.

There was an 18.97 percent voter turnout across the two municipalities.

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Update Monday, Nov 1 —

Despite the City of Henderson municipal elections being delayed until 2022 pending potential redrawn district lines resulting from the 2020 Census, there are two other municipalities in Vance County that will have candidates on the ballot Tuesday.

In Middleburg, Ray Bullock’s name will be on the ballot for mayor, and three names will appear for town council. Annie Fudge, Ruth Nance and Mamie Turner are the names on the ballot and voters are to vote for three.  In all instances the candidates are incumbents.

Similarly in Kittrell, voters select three. And again in Kittrell, three names appear, all incumbent: Mary Floyd, Susan Pulley and Robert Tunstall.

The incumbent Jerry Joyner is running unopposed for mayor of Kittrell.

Barring a write-in candidate winning, the names on the ballot are all but certain to get elected.

Interestingly, both municipalities have a total of 98 eligible voters.

Now-retired Vance County Elections Director Faye Gill provided that nugget of information late last week. The 21-year veteran of the Board of Elections retired October 29.

Melody Vaughan became the new Vance County Elections Director Nov. 1. She has been with the board since 2013. She told WIZS New in August, “I have the confidence to do what is asked of me and I will do it to the best of my abilities.”

The aforementioned City of Henderson, non-partisan municipal elections will be delayed until March 8, 2022. Henderson is one of more than 30 municipalities across North Carolina that will delay elections originally scheduled for later this year.

According to an earlier press release from the North Carolina State Board of Elections, candidate filing periods for the delayed elections will be held either in December 2021 or January 2022, depending on when each municipality completes the redrawing of its districts.

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TownTalk: Vance Co. Students Remembered After Fatal Car Crash

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Brother and Sister Killed in Car Wreck Friday Morning on the Way to Vance County High School

The North Carolina State Highway Patrol said it was a head on collision which is still under investigation. Two juveniles were killed on the way to VCHS. The three occupants of the other vehicle, including a mother and two children, were also on the way to school. The mother and two children were all transported to Duke. The accident happened on Rock Mill Road, just south of the intersection with Vicksboro Road. Speed was not a factor in the crash, an NC SHP spokesperson said Sunday evening by phone.

Vance County Schools issued a statement. “At this time, we can confirm we lost two students from Vance County High School on Friday, October 29. We are deeply saddened by the tragedy that has impacted the family and our school community. We are committed to serving the needs of the students and employees in the days and weeks to come. Additional counselors and support staff were on campus to work with students and employees (Friday) and will continue to be made available as long as they are needed. Today, we are all Viper Strong.”

Assistant Principal and Athletic Director Joe Sharrow said, speaking of the young woman who died, “She was on our softball team. (The young man) was a freshman and I hadn’t had a chance to get to know him yet. She was an amazing student and really good kid, good softball player. It’s definitely a tough one. One of the best academic performers we had in the school. She was a junior.”

Community member and family friend Hope Hoyle Howard said, “I knew them well. Two very smart kids who were a pleasure to be around. Asia loved to cut up and KT was shy. Both very athletic and bright. I’m very thankful the family has a strong Christian faith and large support system. I taught them at Aycock and my daughters have played ball with Asia for several years. My kids are same age as them. Terrible tragedy.”

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CV-19 Local Data from Granville Vance Public Health

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In the seven days ending this past Friday, there were 82 new cases in Vance County. The percent positivity rate in Vance County is 5.2%.

In the seven days ending Friday, there have been 81 new cases in Granville County. The percent positivity rate in Granville County is 3.0%.

In Vance County, 66% of those over the age of 12 have received at least one dose of their CV-19 vaccine and 61% are fully vaccinated.

In Granville County, 71% of those over the age of 12 have received at least one dose of their CV-19 vaccine and 67% are fully vaccinated.

71% of the adult population in NC is at least partially vaccinated and 67% of the adult population is fully vaccinated.

Crossroads Christian School Cross Country State Champions

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Congratulations to Coach Trey Snide and his Crossroads Christian School Cross Country Team!  Regular season, conference and state champions!

The State 1A meet began Friday morning at 11 o’clock in the Wilmington area.  The season of work and practice and working as a team paid off by early afternoon.

Coach Snide pulled over while driving home to appear on the 5 o’clock WIZS News.

He is, of course, no stranger to the local WIZS airwaves as the SportsTalk Host at 1 p.m. M-F, his live play by play of local sports and The Beach Music Blast program at 12 noon M-F.  This in additional to his management level position with the station.

Please enjoy the audio as Trey reflects on the day’s events and season.

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The Local Skinny! Vance Furniture Celebrates 80 Years

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Eighty years ago, in 1941, Henderson’s population was just under 8,000. The U.S. was finally climbing out of The Great Depression. The attack on Pearl Harbor was less than two months away which would bring about World War II. Amid all of this, Vance Furniture Company opened its doors.

And 80 years later those doors remain open, welcoming customers into the tallest building in Henderson. It’s no skyscraper, but the five-story building does offer a unique shopping experience, complete with an antique elevator, said owner Craig Bailey.

Bailey spoke with John C. Rose on Thursday prior to The Local Skinny! broadcast segment, which can be heard below, following a Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting to mark the 80th anniversary of the independently owned and operated business located in the iconic building on 325 S. Garnett St.

Bailey said longtime business partner Sam Harper has been serving customers at Vance Furniture for almost 60 years – that’s at least four generations of customers, he said.

“It’s quite an accomplishment to have made it this long,” Bailey said of the family business.

The business model is simple: “We honestly want to help our customers find the items that will make their homes better,” Bailey said.

People come into the store, and instead of seeing one big showroom full of furniture, they get to travel on the elevator to each different level as they search for that perfect piece of furniture.

The furniture is carefully placed to create vignettes and themes to give customers an idea of how the pieces would look in their homes. “We get to know our customers one on one,” Bailey said, as they browse throughout the building with its tin ceilings and hardwood floors.

Eighty years is a long time to do business, and Bailey said they’ve had to change with the times, too. Recent delays brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic have created wrinkles in delivery times, he said. What used to take 4-6 weeks now takes twice as long, if not longer, he said.

Providing customers with quality service and the custom orders Vance Furniture specializes in is just one reason the business has continued to be successful.

And being around for eight decades is a perfect time “to pause and recognize where you’ve been and the people who’ve helped you over the years,” Bailey said. Despite the ebbs and flows over the years, being in downtown Henderson has been a positive experience. And Bailey said he believes the downtown area is on “the precipice of becoming a viable shopping area once again.” New interests, new people with a great vision are all positive signs for the whole community, he said.

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TownTalk: Michael LaChiana Investigates Things That Go Bump In The Night

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Michael LaChiana knows that old homes can create strange noises – some can be attributed to creaky floors, faulty plumbing pipes or other quirky construction features. And he can tell the difference between a plumbing problem…and the paranormal.

LaChiana has been a licensed plumber for 36 years, but he’s been fascinated with ghosts and paranormal activity for more than 40 years. As the managing director of the Heritage Hunters Society, he is producing a television program called Heritage Hunters: Journey Through The Past.

He is a ghost hunter and he captures sounds during investigations of the paranormal with high-tech equipment.

But he started out as a 14-year-old with a reel-to-reel recorder. He set up the equipment to record, and he said that he was able to capture the voice of a man screaming for mercy. There was no chance the recording picked up any outside interference, LaChiana said. After that, he was hooked.

“From there, I started researching, reading every book I could,” he told Bill Harris on Thursday’s Town Talk. He upgraded long ago to digital recorders and said he has captured much evidence of paranormal activity across North Carolina and in other countries. “I’ve traveled the world…there are so many haunted locations and I’ve captured so many things,” he said.

He’s visited sites in North Carolina like the Devil’s Tramping Grounds, the USS North Carolina battleship in Wilmington and the Country Squire Inn in Duplin County.

LaChiana is a one-man production crew – he is responsible for everything from the investigating and interviewing of local experts to the editing and final production. View the show on Amazon Prime Video. Available now is the episode on the Country Squire Inn. The next episode may be out by Christmas and will feature the Wilkesboro Jail and the true story of Tom Dooley.

He particularly enjoyed working in London, which he said is “very haunted.” Edinburgh, Scotland, is “one of the most haunted cities,” he said, which places it squarely on his bucket list of places to visit in the future.

He doesn’t do much in the way of residential investigations any more – he’s just too busy with the production company, his business and his family – but he said he has helped so many people understand the strange, unexplained activities they experience.

He goes in for a few hours alone to set up recording equipment and then just wait. “If there’s something there, there’s a very good chance we can capture it,” he added. Not literally, but digitally record it.

“I do believe that every old house has some form of former resident,” LaChiana said. He is friendly and respectful during his investigations, and he said that pays off.

“Everything isn’t dark and creepy.”

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