TownTalk: Accident Interferes With Phone And Internet Service

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Internet and phone services interrupted by accident early this morning plus Halloween is today!

 

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Early-Morning Crash Shuts Down Vance County’s Verizon, Spectrum Services

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A trash truck struck a low-hanging line near the intersection of NC 39 North and Spring Valley roads early Thursday morning, creating major disruptions to customers with Spectrum internet and Verizon wireless services.

According to Henderson Police Chief Marcus Barrow, the crash occurred at 4:30 a.m. Barrow said at this time, services are expected to be restored sometime Friday, Nov. 1.

As of Thursday morning, Vance County 911 calls are being forwarded to Granville County for dispatch during the service disruption.

Among other services affected include KARTS, which cannot receive calls during this outage. Additionally, a social media post from Vance County government states that county offices “have lost internet connectivity in all county buildings, and lost network, server and phone access in most buildings.”

 

 

 

 

 

NC Department of Insurance

Two Vance County men charged with acting as a bail bondsman without a license, breaking and entering, felonious restraint, simple assault

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— press release courtesy of NC Department of Insurance

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey (Friday, Oct 25, 2024) announced the arrests of James Otis Perry, 76, of 610 E. Montgomery St., Henderson, and James DeCarlo Alston, 44, of 177 Tungsten Mine Road, Henderson. Both were charged with felony breaking and entering and felonious restraint. The two were also charged with acting as a bail bondsman without a license and simple assault, both misdemeanors.

Special agents with the Department of Insurance’s Criminal Investigations Division accuse the two of acting as bail bondsmen without a license when they broke into an apartment on Franklin Court in Louisburg, striking a man at the apartment, restraining him and taking him to the Franklin County Sheriff’s office.

The offenses occurred on Aug. 21.

The two were arrested on Oct. 14.

Special agents expect to arrest an additional person in the case.

“I encourage everyone to report illegal behavior, suspected scams or insurance fraud immediately by calling 919-807-6840 or toll free from anywhere in North Carolina at 888-680-7684,” Commissioner Causey said.

You can anonymously report the scam or fraud. Information is also available at www.ncdoi.gov.

TownTalk: Winder Street Signs To Get Special Designation To Honor Eddie Hicks

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The City of Henderson is officially honoring the late Eddie Hicks by attaching his name – literally – to the street where he grew up.

In a ceremony scheduled for Friday, Nov. 1 at 11 a.m., local leaders, dignitaries and others will gather at the corner of Garnett and Winder streets in downtown Henderson to witness the unveiling of the new Winder Street signs, which will have a second sign attached to it bearing Hicks’s name.

City Manager Terrell Blackmon gave a sneak preview to Hicks’s widow, Jackie, and others present at the October City Council meeting. Hicks died on Oct. 31, 2022 at the age of 67.

“This council took the time to take action to recognize Mr. Hicks, based on his commitment to this community,” Blackmon said in remarks during the meeting. Hicks had a long association with the Henderson Vance Recreation and Parks Department, having worked there as a teenager and during the summers when he was in college. A college football standout at ECU, Hicks returned to his hometown – and the recreation and parks department – following a successful NFL career with the New York Giants.

“We wanted to honor his name on Winder Street, where he grew up,” Blackmon said. And the city’s Public Works Department created a design that honors Hicks without having to change the street name.

The city will dedicate Winder Street to remember one of Henderson’s most beloved residents. Each street sign along Winder Street will have the second sign bearing Hicks’s name, Blackmon explained.

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NC Coop Extension

Cooperative Extension “Winter Webinar” Series Discusses Small Ruminants

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If you’ve always wanted to learn about goats and sheep and what kind of care they need, join the N.C. Cooperative Extension for its “Winter Webinar” series.

There are five different webinars that will take place via Zoom, and each one discusses different aspects of the care and management of small ruminants.

The first webinar is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 7; webinars will be held monthly through March. Each session has a unique registration link.

Register here: https://www.ces.ncsu.edu/categories/agriculture-food/animal-agriculture/

The sessions are listed below:

  • Nov. 7 – Goats 101 covers basic nutrition, health and management
  • Dec. 5 – Hoof health, prevention and treatment of common hoof issues
  • Jan. 9 – Opportunities with sheep and solar farms
  • Feb. 6 – Livestock guardian animals – considerations and challenges
  • Mar. 6 – Pasture management for small ruminants

Contact your local extension agent to learn more.

  • Vance County: 252.438.8188
  • Granville County: 919.603.1350
  • Warren County: 252.257.3640
  • Franklin County: 919.496.3344

The Local Skinny! Morse Clinic Ribbon Cutting

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Vance Recovery’s new 7,000 square-foot facility on West Andrews Avenue was officially welcomed Monday afternoon with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by local business leaders and county and municipal officials. But for now, the clinic will continue to provide services at its 510 Dabney Drive location.

Clinic owner Dr. Eric Morse and Program Director John Mattocks look forward to being able to welcome patients to the more spacious clinic by mid- to late November.

Morse’s MOUD approach – Medications to treat Opioid Use Disorder – helps individuals overcome addictions to street drugs like heroin and Fentanyl.

Mattocks told WIZS back in September he would love for people plagued by addiction to be encouraged and celebrated for choosing the MOUD approach instead of coming to the clinic as a last resort.

Vance Recovery is one of nine – soon to be 11 – clinics owned and operated by Morse, a nationally acclaimed leader in the field of opioid treatment and recovery programs. He said at the ribbon-cutting that Vance Recovery was the second of the clinics to open – in 2013 – and will be the largest once it occupies its new space at 932 W. Andrews Ave.

“We’re really excited about being able to treat even more people,” he said. “The Fentanyl epidemic is killing a lot of people.” He said he appreciates the local partnerships that Vance Recovery enjoys, from the City of Henderson to Maria Parham Health, Granville Vance Public Health, Daymark and others.

Although Vance Recovery currently is fully staffed, there are plans to add staff and be able to serve more clients.  During a walking tour of the new clinic, Morse said, “Because we have more space, we’ll be able to have more counselors and grow. So that’s a really important thing.”

Vance Recovery staffs a medical provider, at least one, Monday through Friday.  Morse said, “We don’t like for anybody to have to wait to see the doctor. If you need to be seen that day, you should be seen that day. And if we need to increase our doctor time, we’ve got other doctors who can give more.”

Also, Morse said there are usually at least four nurses working.

Morse now owns the clinic’s physical space and will be leasing to providers who are like-minded so there will be co-location to help more people.  Morse said, “So any of our patients that need that higher level of care, they don’t have to go anywhere else, they’re going to be here anyway to dose but they can also get more intensive counseling.”

Henderson Mayor Melissa Elliott said, “We already know the challenges we have in our community,” adding that patients who come to Vance Recovery also “get that hope and stay alive.”

Margier White, a member of the H-V Chamber board, said Vance County is fortunate to have the clinic in the community, which provides support not only to the addicted individual, but also to family members. White said she has had family members who have died from addiction, so having a clinic like Vance Recovery in the local area is “near and dear to my heart.”

Dr. Shauna Guthrie, GVPH medical director and chief medical officer at Maria Parham Health, said, “Vance Recovery has been an excellent partner for the hospital, for the health department,” and other agencies who provide services to patients with addiction.

Guthrie said people with opioid use disorder “often feel forgotten, neglected, ignored.” Having a shiny new clinic shows them, she said, that they are NOT forgotten, neglected or ignored because they have “a really nice place to go for care.”

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TownTalk: New Corbitt Book – ‘Tar Heel Treasures’

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A new book is out that captures, in words and photographs, some of the most admired and loved products ever to be made in Henderson – the Corbitt truck.

Tar Heel Treasures: Richard J. Corbitt and the Corbitt Motor Co. is available for purchase now, and Corbitt truck enthusiast Kenneth Stegall said the book is the result of several years’ work by its author, Richard Gabrick.

Stegall is archivist, treasurer and webmaster for the Corbitt Preservation Association. He was a guest on Monday’s TownTalk and had nothing but praise for the book, which contains several hundred photographs of the buggies, automobiles and trucks that rolled off the production lines at the factory just off Dabney Drive. He called it “the most complete edition that you’ll be able to get your hands on” about the different types of vehicles that rolled off the production lines in Henderson for more than 50 years.

“It’s amazing to have it in your hand after about 5 or 6 years of preparing for it,” Stegall said. His role was to send photographs and to make sure the photos were properly credited, he said.

“We’re proud now that it’s done,” he said, adding that the author also is pleased with the result.

At one time, Corbitt was the largest truck builder in the South, and cranked out those behemoth workhorses used in World War II.

But when the war ended, so did the government contract. And $12 million was a lot of money to leave on the table in the 1940’s. That, along with the fact that other truck manufacturers were moving to diesel engines, stalled the meteoric ascent that Corbitt had enjoyed during its heyday.

“When the war ended, we were still in the gas truck business,” Stegall explained. “Nobody really wanted a gas truck any more…we just couldn’t get the diesel engines that others were able to get.” And with nobody left in the Corbitt family to carry on the brand, the choices were slim: either shut it down or try to sell, he said.

The company halted production in 1955, and only one other truck was completed – using leftover parts – and was titled in 1960. That vehicle is still in existence, Stegall said.

The factory that began producing horse-drawn carriages in 1899 also went on to produce a variety of vehicles that include trucks, horseless buggies, automobiles and tractors.

“Between 1899 and 1917, we were building buggies, cars AND trucks in Henderson,” Stegall said.

A self-proclaimed Corbitt enthusiast since the age of 13, Stegall said he’s learned a lot as he contributed to the book project. “We continue to learn so much,” he added. The internet has helped others who live far away from the Corbitt “epicenter” of Henderson and it’s helped immensely to gather more information about vehicles that still exist – some tractors are still being used in Brazil, he said.

And Stegall has a hunch that the company produced more automobiles than what is known about. “I think 100 automobiles is a rally low number,” he said.

He’d love to get his hands on production documents, but none have surfaced so far. Stegall remains optimistic, however.

Take the fairly recent attic discovery of a trove of photographs headed for the trash. The photos were rescued and donated to the Corbitt Preservation Association, and more than a few ended up in Gabrick’s book – with proper credit.

“It’s amazing that people kept them and I’m so glad that they did,” he said.

“I look forward every day to find that picture that I’ve never seen.”

To request a copy of Tar Heel Treasures, call Stegall at 252.432.6476 or email him at gjammer35@aol.com. The book costs $42.95.

If you need it shipped, the total price is $48.33. Visit https://corbitttrucks.com/bulletin-board/ to learn more.

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