Revaluation Notices Are Hitting Property Owners’ Mailboxes

Vance County Tax Administration recently mailed its 2024 revaluation notices to all residential and commercial property owners which provides an updated appraisal of all real property in Vance County to its current market value as of Jan. 1, 2024 per state requirements.

The state statutes also allow property owners the right to appeal if they feel the market value established does not reflect true market value. Citizens must file such appeal by June 3,2024. To learn more about the revaluation and appeal process visit www.vancecounty.org. On the homepage, click on Departments  and then find Tax Administration Office in the drop-down box.

“I highly recommend, should a citizen wish to appeal, they should visit our website, review the data, and, should they disagree, file the appeal ahead of the deadline of June 3, 2024,” stated Tax Administrator Porcha Brooks.  The notices mailed to property owners, in fact, suggests that appeals be filed by May 28 to make sure there is adequate time for scheduling.

“We would like to engage in conversations with our citizens quickly, answer any questions and/or address their concerns,” Brooks said. “I would also like to apologize for the link within the notice that is not currently taking citizens to the correct location of our website. We have ensured a link is located on the County Home Page to help citizens navigate through the process,” she added.

There’s a website listed on the notice where property owners can search for comparable properties and their appraised value that property owners may find useful.

Any property owner who wants to appeal the appraised value because it’s not a reasonable estimate must file an appeal before Monday, June 3, 2024 at https://www.vancecounty.org/ departments/tax-overview/vance-appeal-app/.

Contact the tax office at 252.738.2040 or email taxoffice@vancecounty.org to learn more about the process. County staff anticipate that many of the appeals will be handled during the informal appeals period, but if not, property owners will appear before the county’s Equalization & Review board for a formal appeals process.

If an agreement isn’t reached during this formal appeals process, property owners have 30 days from the date of the E&R board’s written decision to file an appeal with the N.C. Property Tax Commission in Raleigh.

 

 

 

City Council Approves Creation of IT Specialist Job For Henderson Police Department

Police officers have access to various types of technology that helps them with their investigations, which is good. But all that technology brings with it its own challenges.

“We have a lot of computers, servers and a lot of electronics,” said Henderson Police Chief Marcus Barrow. Some are connected to federal databases; others are connected to state or local databases. Then there’s the cloud-based systems versus those that rely on servers to run properly and store information.

“We’ve limped through information technology for quite some time now,” Barrow said on Monday’s TownTalk.

But at their March meeting, the Henderson City Council approved a request from Barrow that will take steps at addressing the need to keep all that computer equipment in the “asset” category and not in the “liability” category.

City staff recommend using funds allocated in the budget for one parking enforcement officer ($31,200) and one police officer ($51,330) and create a new position called Police Information Technology Specialist, with a salary range of $63,915 and $95,871. The city currently has 10 vacant sworn officer positions and one vacant parking enforcement position.

“We’re outfitting these officers with the best technology available,” Barrow said, and it’s critical to have someone with experience manage it than someone who’s just learning about its capabilities.

“We’ve got to have a professional do it,” he said.

TownTalk: Henderson Spectacular Coming To SaddleRock Farm

The upcoming “Henderson Spectacular” is sure to check a lot of boxes for folks in the community who want to visit a local farm, play games and enjoy the outdoors, but Larry Johnson and Emily Parker are weaving in a religious theme into all the activities that will be taking place on Saturday, Apr. 27.

And they want to spread the word, especially about The Greatest Story Ever Told.

Johnson owns SaddleRock Farm, and he and his granddaughter-in-law were guests on Tuesday’s TownTalk segment to talk up the event, which is completely free for everyone to attend. Gates open at 11 a.m. and the fun continues until 3 p.m. Come early, Johnson advised, so you’ll have a chance to enjoy all the activities that are in store.

“I’m blessed to be a part of it…I’m glad to have it at the farm –  it’s special,” Parker said.

“Our farm furnishes the location,” Johnson said, and New Sandy Creek Baptist Church is a primary sponsor for this year’s “Spectacular,” which will feature horse rides and hayrides, inflatables for the kids to play on, puppet shows and much more.

Then there’s the food – think carnival food like popcorn, sno-cones and drinks to go along with all the outdoor fun – “all for zero cost,” Johnson added.

Kids of all ages can enjoy visiting with some barnyard animals, including goats, sheep, a pig, chickens, ducks, geese, peacocks – even a turkey.

Not to worry, Johnson said, all these animals have names. And you can’t eat them once you give them names, he explained.

The farm is a for-profit endeavor, providing riding lessons, field trips and birthday parties throughout the year. But it’s important to Johnson to give back to the community, and hosting the event is his way of going that.

“When I bought that farm, I didn’t buy it for the public, I bought it for my family. Not too long after that, God spoke to my heart and said he had provided that farm…not just for my family but for other people. So when we opened in April 2010, we had a pretty big dedication service and we dedicated that farm to the Lord and his work. We do have to make a living – the farm does have to support itself, but it is dedicated to the Lord and every opportunity we have to provide any service that people can learn more about the Lord, we do that.”

SaddleRock Farm is located at 1786 Weldon’s Mill Rd., Henderson.

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TownTalk: VGCC Celebrates 40 Years Of Golf

Calling all golfers! Make plans to play a round of golf, celebrate 40 years of teeing it up for Vance-Granville Community College and help students, all at once.

2024 marks the 40th anniversary of the VGCC tournament, and Sheri Jones, associate director for the VGCC Foundation said there are plenty of opportunities to support the fundraiser even if you’ve never swung a club.

“It’s a big anniversary for us,” Jones said Tuesday on TownTalk. This year’s two-day event takes place at Henderson Country Club on Monday, May 6 and Tuesday, May 7. Register four-member teams for $560 or register individually for $150.

Sponsor details can be found at www.vgcc.edu/golf, Jones said. The VGCC Foundation is still looking for a presenting sponsor; all sponsorships greatly help defray costs associated with the group’s main fundraiser.

“If we don’t have the funds – a lot of our scholarships have certain criteria they have to meet,” Jones said, and some students simply don’t meet the criteria. Proceeds from the golf tournament go toward funding needs-based scholarships for students, which “fill those gaps where students may not qualify for the other scholarship we have,” she explained.

Previous tournaments have raised between $20,000 and $40,000, depending on the number of players and the number of sponsors.

Call The VGCC Foundation at 252.738.3264 or email foundation@vgcc.edu to learn more.

Jones said planning the tournament is a lot of work, but it’s well worth it.

“It’s a pleasure to do the work because we know the good result that it has for the college and for the students and therefore, for the community as a whole.”

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Perry Memorial Library

The Local Skinny! Upcoming Events At Perry Memorial Library

How is a librarian like a fisherman?

Well, if you ask Perry Library’s Youth Services Director Melody Peters, she might just liken her job of creating programs for young people like a fisherman casting a net into the ocean – you just never know how big the haul is going to be.

Some programs, Peters said, yield a lot of participants and others are a tad slower to catch on. “You just have to keep casting a net of programs,” she said, and eventually you’ll catch something.

In addition to staple programs like Survivor Hacks, Peters said she’s excited about a program on Monday, Apr. 8 to witness the solar eclipse.

“We’re supposed to have a decent shot at visibility,” she told WIZS co-host Bill Harris. The program will be from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m., with ideal conditions around 2:30 p.m., she predicted. The library has special glasses for viewing. No registration is necessary – just show up and enjoy! There will be activities in the Farm Bureau Room to go along with the actual eclipse viewing.

The next day, Tuesday, Apr. 9, teens can come back to the library at 4 p.m. for a program called “Black Out poetry,” which involves using books that have been removed from the library shelves because they’re damaged or in such disrepair they can’t be sold at library book sales.

The way it works is this: kids become poets by blacking out words in a sentence to leave the one word or phrase that will ultimately be part of a poem.

“It’s kind of cool to see what you can create by blacking out words in sentences,” she said.

She hopes that some of the participants will share during a read-aloud session when they’re done.

And then at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Apr. 21 bring the family for a book sale and tea party to celebrate National Tea Day. Around the World Tea Day is another way to create programming for busy families who may be available during the weekend, especially Sundays.

It’s a way to support the Friends of the Library book sales and provide activities for families to  enjoy the library.

Visit https://www.perrylibrary.org/ to learn more.

 

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Community Partners of Hope

CPOH Shelter Making Progress Toward May Move; Many Ways For Community To Help

The transformation from church facility to men’s shelter continues at the former City Road Methodist Church location, and there are many opportunities for the community to help in advance of a hopeful May move-in date.

An immediate need is for groups to provide or sponsor meals for the next couple of months, according to information from Community Partners of Hope, especially for dates leading up to and including Easter Sunday – Most needed dates are Mar. 28, Mar. 29 and Mar. 31 (Easter Sunday).

Sign up HERE with this link if you or your organization can provide a meal for the men at the shelter.

There are numerous other ways to help:

  • Replenish snack items – PopTarts or breakfast bars, peanut butter crackers, bags of single-size chips and other items individually wrapped items that the men can take with them during the day
  • Laundry pods

Visit THIS LINK HERE for dropoff instructions for donated items.

Church groups, civic organizations and others can provide help through service projects – here are just a few tasks that need to be completed:

  • Help assemble and paint 3 new bunkbeds
  • Help disassemble, move, re-assemble and touch up 5 existing beds
  • Help paint exterior doors and windows (this can happen after the move)
  • Help move items from old shelter to new – washer/dryer, shelving, supplies and more
  • Clean bathrooms, carpet, etc. in the sanctuary wing to make it ready to lease to a congregation who needs a church to call home
  • Help arrange supplies in the new shelter

Please call 252.432.9494 to sign up to help.

Community Partners of Hope also needs the following items – free would be great, but at least for purchase at a reasonable price:

  • 8 single mattresses for bunk beds
  • Heavy duty washer/dryer – we will have 2 sets in the new shelter
  • Folding cots to use with air mattresses (need 12)
  • Air mattresses – easy inflatable – we have a pump (need 8)
  • TV monitor for security system – prefer 42-inch

If you or someone you know has experience with technology, the shelter needs help selecting, purchasing and installing the following:

  • WiFi router – mesh system – probably 3 nodes – need help with research
  • Electronic combination door locks – WiFi enabled (6 or 8) – need help researching best brand to purchase

And, as always, financial donations are much-needed and welcome. The 365 Dream Team campaign is one way to sustain the shelter ministry with $1/day contributions – the goal is to get 365 donors to become members of the 365 Dream Team. Learn more at www.cp-hope.org.

 

TownTalk: Police Chief Concerned With Litter Problem

Henderson Police Chief Marcus Barrow wants the public to be on the lookout for…signs in their neighborhoods that are part of an anti-litter campaign.

The signs will feature brightly colored handprints – about the size of a child’s hand – and will include a QR code that is linked directly to Crime Stoppers, so the public can report instances of littering by pointing their cell phone at the code.

Barrow told WIZS Monday on TownTalk that the campaign is as much about education and prevention as it is about catching litterbugs.

With a modest $6,000 budget from a federal asset forfeiture funds allocation, Barrow said he plans to target elementary school-aged children across the city to impress upon them the importance of keeping litter off the streets.

“It’s going to be an inclusive campaign,” Barrow said, adding that there will be ways to tie in with businesses, pastors and churches and individuals. “We’re just going to try to throw the kitchen sink at this thing,” he said.

City Manager Terrell Blackmon helped get quarterly cleanups started when he came on board, which complements the state’s annual Litter Sweep campaign, which this year is April 26.

Barrow said he still recalls those catchy phrases he learned when he was in elementary school, and they’ve stuck with him – “Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires,” and “Give a Hoot – Don’t Pollute,” to name a few.

This campaign’s catch phrases aimed at schoolchildren can have a similar lasting effect on today’s young people – “Don’t Trash Our Future” and “Children Deserve a Clean Community” bring home the message to put trash in its place.

There’s even talk of having stickers that fast-food restaurants will put on their bags that will contain the anti-litter messaging, Barrow said, “to put it in as many faces as we can to prevent (littering) instead of taking punitive measures.”

More information about the upcoming campaign should be available in the next couple of weeks.

 

 

Friday Ceremony Names Satterwhite Point Bridge Over I-85 For Master Trooper Brent Montgomery

Dozens of uniformed State Highway Patrol troopers stood solemnly Friday afternoon around a crowd of easily more than 100 friends and family members gathered for the first part of a dedication ceremony to honor the late Master Trooper James Brent Montgomery.

The bridge that carries SR 1319 – Satterwhite Road – over I-85 in northern Vance County was officially named in Montgomery’s memory.

Montgomery died in March 2021 of complications from COVID-19. He was 50.

In opening remarks, Brandon Jones, division engineer for NCDOT, said Montgomery will be remembered for the integrity and compassion that he displayed in the pursuit of law and order.

“He was a loving husband, father and friend,” Jones said, and active in his community and church.

Pastor Gary Harper offered the invocation and benediction for the brief ceremony held indoors at Kerr Lake Country Club. Harper said he married Montgomery and his wife, Heather, and he dedicated their children.

He called Montgomery a “dreamer,” someone with a vision – whether it was for a good-looking vehicle or a fancy watch, both things he was fond of.

SHP Maj. William P. Moore II was one of several speakers who recalled his friend and colleague and said the sign on the bridge will serve as a public reminder of the sacrifices that law enforcement officers make every day in the line of duty.

Montgomery’s compassion wasn’t something he learned, Moore said; rather, that compassion was “simply the core of Brent’s spirit.”

That green highway sign with the words “Master Trooper Brent Montgomery Bridge “is an outward reminder of (our) gratitude for his service…we owe it to our fallen heroes to uphold his memory.”

N.C. Rep. Frank Sossamon recalled how the whole community rallied around Montgomery and his family when illness struck. There was an outpouring of support to pull together fundraisers during his sickness and everybody pitched in to make them successful.

“He left us too soon…but he gave us so much,” Sossamon noted. “He was loved, respected, valued and appreciated.”

Unlike the other speakers, N.C. Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson said he had not had the pleasure of knowing Montgomery. Robinson said he recalled attending the trooper’s funeral, and felt a little awkward because this was someone that he really didn’t know.

“But I see him every day in the faces of the troopers…in other police officers across this state…in the faces of all these people in this room,” Robinson said.

When people drive across the newly named bridge, some of them will only know that a law enforcement officer who lost his life is remembered by the state.

“There are many more people…who will ride across that bridge and smile,” because they knew just who Brent Montgomery was.

“His name on that bridge is more than a plaque,” Robinson said. “It stands as a legacy.”

And speaking directly to the trooper’s family seated on the front row, he asked them to consider one thing when they pass over the Master Trooper Brent Montgomery Bridge and remember their loved one: “Don’t shed a tear, but smile.”

A steady drizzle Friday afternoon didn’t affect the procession of Highway Patrol cars, blue lights blazing, down the ramp to northbound I-85 at Parham Road to reach their destination at the Satterwhite Road bridge. Rescue vehicles and fire trucks of all shapes and sizes blocked traffic to allow the entourage to pass unhindered. A ladder truck was parked along the interstate at the Satterwhite Road bridge displaying a giant American flag as part of the dedication ceremony.