20th Annual Crime Stoppers Banquet

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Thursday night at the Vance Granville Community College Civic Center, the Henderson-Vance Crime Stoppers organization held its 20th annual awards and recognition banquet.

Crime Stoppers Chairman Lorraine Watkins emceed the event, which included remarks from Henderson Police Chief Marcus Barrow, Vance County Sheriff Peter White and the keynote address from Dr. Stelfanie Williams, President of Vance Granville Community College.

The following individuals received awards:

Jimmy Ayscue received the Community Watch Award, representing the West Henderson Community Watch.

Herman Davis of Senior Citizens Home received the Local Citizens Award.

Dr. Ron Cava of The First Baptist Church of Henderson, NC won the Public Service Award.

Eric Brinkley of Superior Chrysler Dodge Jeep received the Corporate Award.

John Faucette of Carolina Carpet received the Business Award.

CrimeStoppers Awards 2015

Pictured left to right: Irvin Robinson, Craig Thorpe, Gene Washington, John Faucette, Ron Cava, Larry D. Carrol who received on behalf of Herman Davis, Jimmy Ayscue, Bobby Choplin, Lorraine Watkins

The Crime Stoppers Board Member of the Year is Bobby Choplin.  Watkins said Choplin is known for taking care of the smallest details and for providing encouragement to others that they can get a job done.  She said Choplin is always saying, “If you need me, I’m only a phone call away.”  Choplin said, “This belongs to you all, not me, but I have the pleasure of displaying it at my place, and I thank you.”

The Special Recognition Award was presented to Ret. Lt. Irvin W. Robinson Jr.  He was introduced by Deputy Sheriff Craig Thorpe.  Thorpe said Robinson has been a member of every committee in Henderson and Vance County trying to make Henderson a better place.  He said, “If you want it done and done right, give it to Irvin.  He’s always been dedicated to the cause.”  Robinson said, “I could not have done it without everyone in the community helping me, and thank you for this award.”

The Sam Pearson Memorial Crime Stoppers Law Enforcement Award was presented to Gene Washington of the Henderson Police Department, the agency’s Parking Enforcement Agent.  Barrow introduced Washington, and Barrow described many of the difficult situations that he and his officers face in the line of duty.  In speaking of Washington, he said, “He always makes us smile.”  Washington was described as a man who can use his good personality take the edge off some of the things officers encounter.  Barrow said, “The staff was unanimous that it was well overdue to give to Gene Washington.”  Washington said, “I am glad they thought about me this time, and I want to thank all of y’all.”

The Tom Long Memorial Crime Stoppers Law Enforcement Award was presented to Deputy Sheriff Craig Thorpe.  White introduced Thorpe by saying, “He works closely with Crime Stoppers and community watch.  He has right at about 30 years of law enforcement experience.  He follows up with all domestic violence victims we deal with to make sure they have all the resources at their disposal that are available out there.  He has true compassion, and I’ve never seen him speak negatively.  He is just an all around good guy.”  Thorpe said, “I am just a big teddy bear.  I am truly blessed.  There is nothing special about me, and I thank Jesus Christ for all that he is doing in my life.”

Williams, in her keynote speech, encouraged those in attendance to invest in the community and described what she called a “deep sense of connection” between VGCC and the law enforcement community.  She said the mission of the college aligns with Crime Stoppers in many ways.  “Vance Granville is a partner in your effort to reduce and fight crime through education and training.  As people are more educated, they are statistically less likely to commit crime.”  She said the value of the college and to any individual is “measured by our benefit to the community.  We must believe that our community is worth our investment, whether resources or time or public-private partnerships, but, whatever the form, we should all invest in our community.  If we each do what we can, our community will continue to progress.”

If you would like to hear the audio in its entirety, it is provided here.

[wonderplugin_audio id=”20″]

Special Broadcast

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Not only is Thursday, September 17 the day of the annual Crime Stoppers Meeting and Banquet, but the Crime Stoppers Crimes of the Month for September 2015) are out as well.

The banquet is Thursday night a 6:30. Tickets can be purchased from Crime Stoppers Board Members and from several area business like Screen Master downtown and Carolina Carpet on Parham Street.

The banquet will also be broadcast live over WIZS 1450 AM as well as live streamed on wizs.com, if you can’t make it in person. Awards will be presented, along with a keynote address, and your ticket includes a meal.

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Crimes of The Month
September 2015

Shooting Case:
On August 3, 2015 around 12:21 AM officers with the Henderson Police Department responded to Highland Green Apartments, 111 S. Pinkston Street Henderson, NC in reference to shots being fired. While in route, officers were advised that there was a 9 year-old female that was transported by a personal vehicle to a local medical facility with injuries. The 9 year-old victim is currently being treated for her injuries. Officers on scene at Highland Green Apartments located a 19 year-old female, Aisha Taylor, of Henderson, who was suffering from a gunshot graze to her arm. Ms. Taylor later went to a local medical facility for treatment. The incident was reported to have occurred when a vehicle pulled up to a group of people that were standing in front of the apartments and began firing a firearm.The incident is under further investigation by members of the Criminal Investigations Division. The Henderson Police Department encourages anyone with information related to this crime to contact the Henderson Police Department at 252-438-4141 or Crime Stoppers at 252-492-1925. You can put anonymous tips on the web sitewww.hvcrimestoppers.com. Callers may remain anonymous. Crime Stoppers offers a reward up to $2,000 for information that leads to an arrest.

Armed Robbery & Assault
On August 31, 2015 at approximately 1:15 PM officers with the Henderson Police Department responded
to the Marathon gas station,located at 1201 Dabney Drive, in reference to an armed robbery.Uponarrival
officers talk to a female store clerk who described the suspect as a black male, with a hand gun
approximately 5’7, wearing acamouflage hat, gray t-shirt with writing and odd colored pants. The suspect
struckher in the head with the butt of a handgun. The suspect took the cash register and left the store
The Henderson Police Department encourages anyone with information related to this crime to contact the Henderson Police Department at 252-438-4141 or Crime Stoppers at 252-492-1925. You can put anonymous tips on the web sitewww.hvcrimestoppers.com. Callers may remain anonymous. Crime Stoppers offers a reward up to $2,000 for information that leads to an arrest.

Larceny Case
On August 13, 2015 at approximately 3:06 pm, the Vance County Sheriff’s Deputy were dispatched to C & P Body Shop 3251 Raleigh Road reference to a larceny Upon arrival Deputy talked to Jerry Patterson who stated that someone during the night had taken four eighteen inch rims and tires from a vehicle parked on the lot. The Vance County Sheriff’s Office encourages any person with information related to this case to contact Henderson –Vance Crime Stoppers at 492-1925 and also you can put anonymous tips on the web sitewww.hvcrimestoppers.com. Citizens with information can also contact the Vance County Sheriff’sOffice Investigation Division at 738-2200.

Larceny Case
On August 14, 2015 at approximately 12:47pm, the Vance County Sheriff’s Deputy were dispatched to Cavalier Auto Sales 1469 US 1 Kittrell NC reference to a larceny. Upon arrival Deputy talked to Ronnie Gayles who stated that someone had taken a aluminum drive shaft from a Dodge truck during the night. The Vance County Sheriff’s Officeencourages any person with information related to this case to contact Henderson –Vance Crime Stoppers at 492-1925 and also you can put anonymous tips on the web sitewww.hvcrimestoppers.com. Citizens with information can also contact the Vance County Sheriff’s Office Investigation Division at 738-2200.

Note: Crime Stoppers will pay rewards up to $2,000.00 for information leading to the arrest of persons responsible for this and other criminal offenses. All information received is kept confidential. The Crime Stoppers phone number is 492-1925. Callers do not have to give their name.

Hard Shoes to Fill

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By George Rush and WIZS News Staff

Former County Manager Jerry Ayscue announced his retirement in August 2014 after 30 years as Vance County’s first and only manager starting in 1984. He gave the Board of Commissioners six months notice and actually retired in January 2015.

At the time of his retirement, one of the commissioners noted that “It will be hard to replace someone like Jerry.” Several commissioners commented that Jerry had been here a long time and had a great wealth of knowledge, and with his leaving, the County was losing a great treasure.

Now, the position after eight months is still not filled. Robert Murphy was appointed Interim County Manager in January 2015 and remains on the job. The position was advertised, interviews were held, but still no appointment. What is the holdup, and what are some of the possibilities:

• After all the interviews, no one was qualified.
• Several candidates were qualified, but did not meet the strict standards set by the Board.
• Too many candidates were qualified and the Board could not make up its collective mind.
• Deputy County Manager, Jordan McMillen, who is also the Director of Planning and Development in still in the race.

The County seems to be in good hands with the current employees. Vance County continues to function along the same lines as it has for the past 30 years.

So What’s the Problem? Why no new, full-time County Manager? What is it that the Vance County Commissioners can’t agree on? Stay tuned…

EJMS and Zeb Vance Principals

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The Vance County Board of Education Monday night approved Dr. Brad Jones as the new principal at Eaton-Johnson Middle School and Mr. Kristian Herring as the new principal at Zeb Vance Elementary School.

Jones and Herring will begin their new duties on October 1.

Jones has been the principal at Cedar Grove Elementary School in Nash County since July 2012. He also served as a middle school principal at Rocky Mount Preparatory School from July 2010 to June 2012. Prior to holding that position, he was a middle school assistant principal in Alamance-Burlington and Halifax County schools. He began his career in 1999 as a high school social studies teacher. Jones has taught in Johnston, Wake, Edgecombe, Caswell and Vance county schools. He received a doctorate of education degree in 2015 from N.C. State University, a master’s degree in school administration in 2005 from East Carolina University and a bachelor’s of science degree in history in 1999 from East Carolina University.

Herring most recently has served as the interim principal and assistant principal at Red Oak Middle School in Nash County. Additional experience includes assistant principal’s positions at G.W. Bulluck Elementary School, West Edgecombe Middle School and Southwest Edgecombe High School, all in Edgecombe County. He began a career in education in August of 2005 as a choral music educator in Wilson County and then in Edgecombe County schools. Herring received a master’s degree in school administration in May of 2011 from East Carolina University, an associate in applied science degree in paralegal technology in May 2004 from Wilson Community College and a bachelor of arts degree in sociology in December of 2002 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Head Start Under Fire

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by George Rush and WIZS News Staff

RECENT UPDATE

The Head Start Board has held two special meetings,  the most recent being on September 10.  The two meetings have been described as “Mass Chaos,” with those in attendance challenging the Board and Staff with comments such as: don’t you dare look at me or I will get up in your face.  Those in attendance have openly stated that they felt threatened by a vocal and hostile environment exhibited at the two special meetings.

The next chapter in the saga of the FVW Opportunity took place at Thursday’s meeting where the board voted to remove Sara Coffey as the Board Chair.  Ms. Coffey was not at the meeting because she was in the hospital.  Now the only remaining question is, how long will the CEO of Head Start remain now that the Head Start Board Chair is no longer?

The Franklin-Vance-Warren Board of Directors and Administration are under attack by local activists who have alleged many areas of misconduct by the Board and Administration, including the following:

  • Deplorable Conditions at Head Start Facilities
  • Bullying by the Administration of Certain Employees
  • Spoiled food, Rat droppings in FVW Facilities
  • Wrongful Termination of Employees
  • Mismanagement of Federal Funding

Current and former employees picketed local facilities for about three weeks carrying signs saying CEO Must Go, this as a part of the public display that organizers believe will result in major changes at FVW, such as getting rid of the CEO.  There are also questions about who is the attorney for the organization, and whether the Board approved the appointment of a new attorney in late April.

The local activists also claim that they were not able to get a meeting with the Board on two different occasions and have filed complaints with the EEOC, State Department of Labor and the Department of Health and Human Services.

The Board has agreed to hire an outside investigator who will look into all the allegations that have been voiced by the protesters.  The Board also agreed to contact the State Auditors and discuss the protesters’ concerns about how agency funds were spent. At a recent meeting, a motion was made to suspend the CEO, Sara Rudolph, with pay until the results of the investigation were available.  The motion did not pass by a vote of 11 to 5.

Head Start works to address the needs of at-risk children in the community.  Their charge is to provide additional schooling for children to promote language, literacy, math and science concepts and social and emotional development.  Children receive health screening, nutritional meals and mental health services.  These are very important services for rural, Tier 1 and 2 communities.

Commissioner Wright’s Funeral Arrangements

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Funeral arrangements have been finalized for Commissioner Eddie Wright.

The funeral is scheduled for Monday, September 14 at 1:00 p.m. at South Henderson Pentecostal Holiness Church in Henderson.  The family visitation will be at 11:00 a.m. that same morning.

Mr. Wright will be buried Tuesday, September 15 at the Maryland National Memorial Cemetery in Beltsville, MD.

Longtime District 5 Vance County Commissioner Eddie L. Wright passed away during the night Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.

Wright was first elected in 2000.  His seat was due for election next year, although for many it seemed as if he never ran opposed all these years.   He served on the Granville-Vance Public Health District Board and was a minister of a local church.

The Vance County Board of Commissioners has 60 days to fill Wright’s unexpired term.

Vance County Attorney Jonathan Care provided WIZS News with the North Carolina General Statute.  N.C. G. S. 153a-27 essentially means the newly appointed board member must be of the same political party, a resident of the same district, that the board shall consult the county executive committee of, in this case, the Democratic Party and, if an appointment is not made within 60 days, then the appointment is to be made by the Clerk of Court.  Neither the board nor the clerk is bound by the Democratic Executive Committee’s recommendation.

For now, however, it is not about who will be appointed.

Archie B. Taylor is the Chairman of the Vance County Board of Commissioners.  Wright’s death came as a shock to him as it has to many others.  While Wright has suffered from joint ailments for years, no one in the public seems to have expected his death at this time.

Taylor said, “The county is going to feel his abscence.  He was a man of great faith and spiritual beliefs, an elder of the church, a pastor and preacher, and he was a champion of the little man.  He was definately wanting of a better quality of life for everyone in this county.  He was a great advocate for those who didn’t have a voice.  He is going to be missed.

“His voice of reason and compassion will be missed.  He showed his faith by his work.  (Wright) had a very supportive family during this illness.  They have been extremely supportive of him and that speaks highly of them and their spiritual values.”

Taylor said, “Our prayers are with the family.”

FORMER VANCE COUNTY EMPLOYEE PLEADED GUILTY TO CLASS C FELONY

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Vance County residents now have more answers in an embezzlement case that dates back to July of 2014.

Christa Harris Reavis pleaded guilty late Wednesday afternoon to one count of embezzlement by a government employee in excess of $100,000, a Class C Felony. As a part of her plea, Harris was ordered to pay $20,000.00 to the Vance County Clerk of Superior Court within the next two weeks.

District Attorney Mike Waters said, “Other terms of the plea are: She will have to cooperate with the Vance County Sheriff’s Office and the State Bureau of Investigation which will include her being debriefed on the matter, and she will then have to submit to a polygraph exam.”  Being debriefed and then undergoing a polygraph exam will allow investigators to determine if Reavis knows something else and assist the County of Vance in recovering additional funds.

Sentencing will be November 30th before the Honorable Robert H. Hobgood, who is the Senior Resident Superior Court Judge of the Ninth Judicial District, which includes Vance County.

Waters said, “The delay in sentencing will allow authorities to fully investigate the matter to make sure no one else was involved, possibly recover additional assets and allow Vance County to review internal procedures.”

It is not always the case that a county can fully evaluate itself with the help of someone providing information who previously exploited the county.

Waters said, “She will be sentenced November 30th, and she will get a sentence of 44 to 65 months, provided that she cooperates with law enforcement, including submission to a polygraph exam and providing that she gives $20,000.00 to the clerk within nine days.”  Waters concluded that if she does not cooperate, the sentence could be more.

The plea to a Class C felony is a plea to the highest offense possible.  The forgery and uttering charges were dismissed in this matter and did not include the possibility of jail time anyway.  Reavis will not be charged further.

This all stems from the July 2014 discovery that a vendor check was intercepted and altered out of state, unrelated to the Reavis case. The internal review uncovered irregularities that began the criminal investigation.

The plea arrangement followed a hearing on the Defendant’s Motion to Suppress her statement given to investigators with the Vance County Sheriff’s Office. A previous Motion to Suppress regarding the seizure of bank records had also been denied by Judge Hobgood.  Waters said, “A plea arrangement saves the County of Vance and the State of North Carolina thousands and thousands of dollars by not having to go to trial, especially in a case like this that would take weeks to try.” The trial of the case had already been moved to Franklin County because of the extensive press coverage.

Waters was emphatic that the hard work of investigators with Sheriff Peter White’s Office helped bring the matter to a successful conclusion.

What is now of additional interest to the residents of Vance County is the missing bank bag, and if additional information learned between Wednesday’s plea and the date of Reavis’ sentencing could provide resolution to that matter as well.

Cocaine Trafficking Arrests

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Press Release- September 3, 2015

On Tuesday, September 1, 2015, members of the Henderson Police Department Special Operations Unit and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation arrested three individuals on cocaine trafficking charges.  Those arrested and charged are as follows:

Arnold Frank Booth Jr., 52, 125 Bearpond Road Lot 8, Henderson was charged with trafficking cocaine(2cts) and maintaining a vehicle for keeping a controlled substance.  (He) was placed in the Vance County Jail after failing to post a 300,000.00 secured bond.  A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for September 14, 2015.

Rodderick Jesus Booth, 20, 125 Bearpond Road Lot 8, Henderson was charged with trafficking cocaine(2cts) and maintaining a vehicle for keeping a controlled substance.  (He) was placed in the Vance County Jail after failing to post a 300,000.00 secured bond.  A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for September 14, 2015.

Lance L. Bradley, 46, 263 West 152 Street- 2C, New York, New York 125 Bearpond Road Lot 8, Henderson, was charged with trafficking cocaine(2cts) and maintaining a vehicle for keeping a controlled substance.  (He) was placed in the Vance County Jail after failing to post a 300,000.00 secured bond.  A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for September 14, 2015.

Authority: Chief Marcus Barrow

Be Careful with Wi-Fi

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It should come as no shock to you that internet, computer and Wi-Fi scams are on the increase.  Your favorite coffee house or the lobby of a hotel/motel or the local public library, where ever you find yourself using the internet in “public,” this may be a train wreck waiting to happen.

Some people (scam artists) are out to get into your computer in order to steal your personal information by setting up their own Internet or Wi-Fi  networks in those locations.  When you log in you get the scam network rather than the trusted network of the library/coffee house/hotel/etc that you intended.

Once you are connected, the scam artist has access to your data and the scam is on.  They can get into your bank, stock account and can see your password data and clean you out, including your bank and stock account, run up big bills on your credit cards and if they want, cancel your insurance.

Make sure that the internet network is legit and that it is protected by the facility, usually with a password.  When in doubt, ASK.