Kerr Lake Regional Water System Immediate Need and Planned Upgrades

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The Henderson City Council at its Jan. 11 meeting approved a request from the Kerr Lake Regional Water System to accept a revised project cost of $57 million for regional water system upgrades. This action, along with approval to purchase a new pump, is the latest in a years-long effort to supply water to the 15 municipalities in the region.

Construction costs have risen significantly from earlier estimates, and KLWRS advisory board chair Garry Daeke said Thursday that the council’s approval will allow for the project to continue, but if grants or other types of funding can’t be found to pay for the shortfall, customers could see a rise in water rates.

“If we can’t find anything (in grants or loans), we’d be talking rate increases,” Daeke said in an interview on Thursday. “We could see some rate increases, but we’re trying to stay away from that,” he said. “We’re all on board with it,” he said, referring to the other partners in the regional water system. “We’re just trying to figure out how to pay for it.”

The new pump will cost about $3 million, Daeke said, and it can still be used in the new construction project. The money will come from the KLWRS  fund balance, he said.

Originally, the project cost came in close to $40 million, but in the fall of 2020, the company undertaking the project reported that costs had risen and it would cost significantly more to complete the project.

After reviewing several options to lower the price tag, the KLWRS advisory board chose to reduce the amount of water the new system will be able to process, for the time being. “The 15 (million gallons a day) should be fine because we don’t have that demand yet,” Daeke said, adding that the regional water system needs to make sure it can meet increased demands in the future.

Henderson is the majority partner in the regional water system at 60 percent, with the cities of Oxford and Warren County rounding out the balance with 20 percent each. Oxford recently requested, and received approval for, a $6 million grant, which would reduce the overall shortfall to just more than $11 million.

All three partners are still in favor of the project, Daeke noted. “We want to do it, obviously,” he said of the construction upgrades, “but the longer we wait, the more it’s going to cost, I think.”

Preparing for future needs with infrastructure upgrades now can be challenging, he said.
“We don’t know what our customer base will be in the future, so it’s kind of unpredictable as to how much we want to go to,” Daeke said, of the water system’s capacity. We can draw 20 million (gallons a day), so we want to be able to process that much if we can,” he added.

The project will rehabilitate aging facilities, replace old equipment and expand facilities to bring the treatment capacity to, ultimately, a reliable 20 million gallons a day. The City Council must approve any additional requests for funding, in the event that loans or grants are not secured to cover the shortfall.

Volunteers Needed for Vance County Teen Court

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Teen Court Club Volunteers – Henderson-Vance Recreation & Parks Department’s Youth Services Unit is looking for adult volunteers and youth volunteers ages 14-18 for Teen Court Club.  Teen Court Club is a group of youth volunteers that are trained under adult supervision to perform several duties during the Teen Court process. Youth volunteers serve as Defense Attorneys, Prosecutors, Bailiffs, Clerks and Jury Members.   Adult volunteer roles include Jury Facilitator, Court Room Monitor, Attorney Coach, Teen Court Trainer or Guest Speaker.  For more information, please contact Jaleel Johnson at 252.431.6099 (jjohnson@ci.henderson.nc.us).

— submitted by Tara Goolsby, Henderson-Vance Recreation and Parks Program Superintendent

Wheeler honored for leadership at VGCC

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Cecilia Wheeler, the Dean of Arts and Sciences at Vance-Granville Community College, recently received the President’s Excellence in Leadership Award, presented by the college president, Dr. Rachel Desmarais.

This honor is one of VGCC’s three Glen Raven Excellence in Teaching and Leadership Awards. Glen Raven, Inc., the custom fabrics manufacturer with a facility in Warren County, is a longtime partner and supporter of the college. In addition to sponsoring annual stipends to recognize excellence among VGCC instructors and staff members, Glen Raven has endowed several scholarships for students.

“Dean Wheeler is an exceptional leader for our School of Arts and Sciences, the largest division within credit instruction at VGCC,” Dr. Desmarais said. “She brings a flexible strength to her leadership position. She is known as a ‘problem-solver’ to students and a project leader to her colleagues. Dean Wheeler exemplifies bridge-building, truth-telling, dedication to the College mission, and true humility.”

A resident of Oxford, Wheeler has worked at VGCC for more than 30 years. She joined the college as assistant coordinator for VGCC’s South Campus in Granville County in 1989. In later years, she served as leader for that campus, as, progressively, its coordinator, director and dean. In 2018, Wheeler assumed her current role, in which she leads more than 40 full-time and adjunct faculty members in eight curriculum programs, offered on all four of VGCC’s campuses. For many years, she was an adjunct instructor herself, teaching courses such as American History and Southern Culture.

Wheeler holds a master’s degree in History from Appalachian State University and a bachelor’s degree in History from Mars Hill College. She is also a graduate of the N.C. Community College System Leadership Institute, conducted at N.C. State University.

Wheeler is also the current president of the Granville County Chamber of Commerce board of directors.

“I am deeply humbled and honored to receive this award,” Wheeler said. “I am very fortunate to work with very talented and dedicated faculty, staff and colleagues to help our students achieve their dreams and our communities to grow.”

VGCC Press Release

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Fire Safety; Fire Budget; New Henderson Fire Station

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The airwaves these days may be filled with news of COVID-19 vaccinations, politics and the economy, which means more mundane topics such as fire safety can get pushed out of the spotlight. But Henderson City Fire Chief Steve Cordell urges everyone to continue to be mindful of potential fire hazards, especially during the cold winter months.

Be careful with any supplemental heat source, Cordell said in an interview on Wednesday. Make sure that they are UL-approved, and make sure that those space heaters or kerosene heaters have at least a 36-inch clearance on all sides. And please do not use your stove or oven to heat your home, he stressed. “There are programs…to assist you,” Cordell said. “I encourage folks to reach out if you need assistance with heating.”

If your smoke detector is making that annoying chirp that indicates it needs a new battery, he said, there is help for that, too. “We tell people to give their battery a birthday,” Cordell said. Change the battery every six months, such as when the time changes in November and in April. “If you have a battery that is bad, that’s what we’re here for,” he noted. At this time, because of COVID-19 restrictions, city residents must schedule an appointment for city fire personnel to come to their home to change that battery or perform a home safety inspection.

Cordell said city residents should call Capt. Lee Edmonds, fire prevention coordinator, at 252.432.5108 or 252.438.7315 to make an appointment.

The pandemic has “really affected our message on the public safety side of our department and education…(and) definitely hindered what we do normally, on a day-to-day basis,” Cordell said, adding that their work with school children is what they may miss most, from reading with kindergartners and being mentors, to playing Dodge Ball or Duck, Duck, Goose with the younger students, he said. “Just seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces, we miss it,” Cordell said. Even the annual fire prevention campaign in the schools looked different in 2020. Instead of going into schools to talk about fire safety, the fire department had to deliver packets of information instead. Cordell said teachers got instructions on how to go over the materials provided.

Fire safety and prevention are priorities for Cordell and his staff, which has grown by 6 in the last year. The city budget allowed for 6 additional staff for the city fire department, which Cordell said came about after completion in 2020 of a study to assess needs. Those six additional hires allowed, for the first time ever, his department to fully staff two engines and a ladder company.

He is currently compiling budget information to present to the city manager and the city council that he hopes will result in progress toward the addition of a third fire station situated on the west side of the city. A third station “will give us better response time. We are providing great coverage throughout the city,” he said, but noted that there is “major growth” on the west side of Henderson. “When things start developing, you have to prepare for that in all aspects,” Cordell added, from sanitation to street maintenance to water and sewer and public safety, including, of course, fire departments.

The city fire department is staffed at sufficient levels during the pandemic, and Cordell said he has had his first dose of the vaccine. “We’re doing our very best to stay safe on calls and in the station,” he said. He encourages everyone in the community to be vaccinated, his fellow firefighters included. “Our job as first responders is to take care of the public,” he said.

Facts That Say A Lot From Health Director Lisa Harrison

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Of the many wonderful tasks that Granville Vance District Health Director Lisa Harrison has worked towards in recent months, one of them has been solid communication.

For example, an email January 19th from Harrison that contained bullet points that tell a story about what is going on right now.

  • There are 15 super-dedicated nurses working for Granville Vance Public Health across the district in both COVID-19 Communicable Disease Response and Vaccine Distribution Efforts.
  • (January 19th) alone, there were more than 13,000 calls to the vaccine hotline at Granville Vance Public Health.
  • We receive approximately 700 doses of (first dose) vaccine a week across the district – we only know the number of vaccines that will be shipped for the following week a few days in advance and we restrict our appointments to meet our vaccine allocation.
  • More than 2,500 vaccines have been given by our staff so far in the first four weeks.
  • Of the 100,000 population we serve in these two counties, there are a total of 17,265 people who are 65 years old and older across our health district – 7,746 in Vance and 9,519 in Granville.
  • We have 2 hospital partners across the district and are impressed by the work of Granville Health Systems and Maria Parham Health as we work together to serve our communities and get this important work accomplished – many thanks to their efforts and people too

Also, we quote Harrison as she wrote, “Second dose appointments will be added beginning this week so we will be doubling up our distribution capacity to keep going with first doses, and add in second doses of vaccine for people too – that’s the main reason for a slower start the first few weeks… we have to leave room in the schedule to add those second doses in and… here they come.”

Mt. Moriah Continues Fight Against Food Insecurity

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If you are presently facing food insecurity, Mt. Moriah A.M.E. Zion Church, in partnership with Livingstone College and the NC Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, is hosting a free Covid-19 testing event that will include free chicken and personal protective equipment. The event will be held this Friday from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the church located at 5448 Highway 158 Business. Forty pound cases of fresh chicken and personal protective equipment will be given away while supplies last.  For more information call 252-430-7999.

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Pair of Pleased TownTalk Callers Receive 1st Shot

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The logistics involved in rolling out COVID-19 vaccinations are complicated, to say the least. But area agencies are getting high marks from residents who have gotten their first dose. A couple of satisfied vaccine recipients phoned in to Town Talk Tuesday and told host John C. Rose about their experience.

In addition to the local health departments in Vance and Granville counties, Maria Parham Hospital and Vance Family Medicine in Henderson are giving vaccinations, as is Granville Health System in Oxford by appointment only.

A Granville County resident phoned in to report her experience getting her vaccine on Sunday afternoon at Granville Health System. “It was one of the best organized things have ever done,” Jean said. “We went in, they checked our name off, we got the shot,” she said, adding that they waited the required 15 minutes or so to make sure there were no reactions to the vaccine. “The shot did not hurt at all,” Jean said, adding that she has experienced no soreness at all at the site of the injection.

CLICK PLAY TO LISTEN TO WHAT THE CALLERS SAID

She spoke highly of the overall experience, and she expressed her gratitude to all the workers at the drive-up event. “They were doing a fantastic job,” she said. “We didn’t even have to get out of our car.”

The whole process was easy, Jean said, from start to finish. Cars filed in to the medical park adjacent to the hospital campus and then pulled in to the hospital parking lot to wait for 15 minutes after the vaccination, to make sure those who got the vaccine didn’t experience an adverse reaction. “I’m not a very good waiter,” Jean confessed, “but I didn’t even have to think about it, it was just a good medical experience.”

Another caller phoned in to express her pleasure with the experience she had in Vance County. Jane received her shot at the Vance health department. After being registered a couple of weeks ago, she got a call back for an appointment. “I was expecting to have a full parking lot, wait in line outside, the whole bit,” she told John C. Rose during Tuesday’s Town Talk. “I walked right in, there was no problem parking…I waited a few minutes, they gave me a shot,” she explained. The needle, she said, happily, was smaller and shorter than what she had seen on television. She described normal soreness at the site of the vaccination, like if she had gotten a flu shot. “I haven’t had any problems since,” she said.

“I was very happy to get my shot,” Jane said, adding that other family members living in other states also have gotten their vaccinations. “If you have the chance to get the shot,” she said, “go ahead and get it.”

Register to get the vaccine at www.gvph.org or call the local COVID hotline 252.295.1503 to learn more.

NC State Board of Elections

County Boards of Elections Begin Regular Voter List Maintenance Processes

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— press release

RALEIGH, N.C. – In 2021, county boards of elections across North Carolina will conduct several important and required processes designed to keep the state’s voter rolls accurate and up to date.

These routine processes are required by state and federal laws. Accurate voter rolls are maintained by removing voters who have moved or died or are otherwise ineligible to vote in that jurisdiction.

Voter roll list maintenance is important because it ensures ineligible voters are not included on poll books, reduces the possibility for poll worker error and decreases opportunities for fraud.

As a result of these processes, the number of North Carolina voter registrations will decrease in the coming months. As of January 9, nearly 7.2 million voters were registered in the state.

[See Voter Registration Statistics]

[See “Maintaining the Voter Registration Database in North Carolina.” Updated July 27, 2017]

“The removal of voters who have moved and are no longer eligible to vote in that jurisdiction is a routine and important aspect of elections administration,” said Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the State Board of Elections. “Before any voter’s registration is canceled, the county boards of elections attempt to contact the voter to allow them to confirm or update their registration.”

The following are details about three of the many list maintenance processes the county boards of elections will complete in 2021:

Biennial List Maintenance (No-contact process)

In the early part of every odd-numbered year, if a county board of elections has had no contact with a voter for two federal election cycles – a total of four years – and the voter has not voted during that time, it will send the voter a forwardable address confirmation mailing. The voter will be required to return the confirmation mailing within 30 days.

If the voter does not return the mailing, or the U.S. Postal Service returns it to the county board as undeliverable, then the voter’s record will be marked “inactive” in the state’s voter registration database. Inactive voters are still registered voters. If an inactive voter shows up to vote, the person will be asked to verify their address and update it, if necessary.

County boards will send mailings this year to voters with whom there has been no contact since October 12, 2018. Counties have started printing and mailing these notices, which must go out by April 15. More than 450,000 of these mailings are expected to be sent out statewide in 2021.

The registrations of these voters will be canceled if they do not confirm their registration by 2023.

Removal of Inactive Voters

County boards of elections also have begun to remove certain “inactive” voters from the rolls. Voters will be removed from registration lists this year after being sent a no-contact mailing in 2016. Any voter removed in this way would not have had any contact with their county board of elections for four federal election cycles, not voted in any election during that time and not responded to a confirmation mailing.

The State Board estimates about 380,000 inactive voters will be removed from the voter rolls in 2021.

Any removed registrant must be reinstated if the voter appears to vote and gives oral or written affirmation that the voter has not moved out of the county and has maintained residence continuously within the county. These voters’ votes will be counted absent evidence that they moved out of the county.

Voters may check their registration status at any time using the State Board’s Voter Search Tool: https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/.

National Change of Address (NCOA) Mailings

In January and July of each year, the State Board provides the 100 county boards of elections with change of address data from the U.S. Postal Service. County boards must send voters in this dataset postcard mailings to the new address to confirm whether they have an unreported change of address for voting purposes.

These mailings allow voters to update their names or addresses within a county or notify the board of elections of a move outside of that county. The voter is asked to respond to the mailing within 30 days. If the voter does not respond, the voter will be mailed a traditional address confirmation notice to their existing mailing address.

If the voter does not respond to that notice within 30 days, the voter’s registration status will be changed to “inactive.”

If a voter is deceased, a near relative may use the mailing to report the death so the county board can cancel the registration.

Additional List Maintenance Efforts

N.C. elections officials also routinely remove voters who have died from the voter rolls. Death notifications are made available by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. County boards of elections also regularly remove voters who are convicted of felonies, using records from the N.C. Department of Public Safety and U.S. attorneys’ offices.

To learn more about registering to vote in North Carolina, visit: https://www.ncsbe.gov/registering.

N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles customers may register or update their registration online here: https://www.ncdot.gov/dmv/offices-services/online/Pages/voter-registration-application.aspx.