Vance County Logo

TownTalk: The Stepping Up Initiative

/by

The Five County Stepping Up initiative has been working in Vance County since 2015 to help people suffering from mental illness or substance abuse disorders who find themselves in jail or detained because of their health challenges.

Stepping Up is a national movement, with almost half of North Carolina’s 100 counties participating, including the counties that team with Vance – Granville, Warren, Franklin and Halifax – to create the Five County collaborative.

At their Sept. 22 work session, Granville-Vance Public Health Director Lisa Harrison gave Vance County commissioners an overview of its progress and a projection for how the group plans to continue making gains over the next five years.

Simply put, Stepping Up isn’t a program in and of itself, Harrison said. It’s a framework that creates connections for both service providers and those who find themselves either headed to jail, in jail or ready to be released.

In her presentation to commissioners, Harrison shared sobering statistics about mental illness, substance use disorder and people who find themselves in the judicial system.

More than two-thirds of jail detainees have a substance use disorder, and another 17 percent of the jail population has a serious mental illness. Three-quarters of those with a serious mental illness also have a substance use disorder.

The toll these health challenges have on individuals can be staggering, but there are economic consequences, too. It costs more to house detainees with these conditions – 50 percent more than someone without mental illness or substance use disorder.

Stepping Up helps people stay out of jail and return to jail less frequently by connecting resources with people who need them.

Access to appropriate services could mean someone doesn’t get in trouble with the law, so Stepping Up serves as a diversion tool. But a person who finds himself in detention may need a plan for when he’s released so he doesn’t go back into the system. That works to lower the recidivism rate.

“Jails have become crisis facilities,” Harrison said, adding that detainees rarely receive the treatment they truly need once they’re behind bars.

Nationally, inmates with addictions stay longer in jail, she observed.

“We know this is an issue we’d like to address.”

While Stepping Up doesn’t provide direct service, Harrison said it works to “connect the dots” among service providers and community resources so they can be as effective as possible.

“We want to make sure we reduce the number of people in jails with substance abuse,” she said.

Ways to do that include promoting crisis response efforts, working within the judicial system and supporting individuals through the re-entry process.

Stepping Up uses something called the Sequential Intercept Model approach which has four shared goals that include increasing connection to appropriate services, shortening time in jail, reducing recidivism and improving data collection systems.

The regional group meets quarterly, bringing more than 30 or so to the table to share successes and best practices, as well as to help solve problems.

The individual county groups also meet, in alternate months, to work on things more specific to their own needs.

Over the next five years, Stepping Up has identified five priorities:

  • expand diversion and crisis response
  • improve continuity of care and re-entry
  • advance data and evaluation capacity
  • strengthen workforce and trauma-informed systems
  • expand youth and prevention strategies

Find out more about Stepping Up at www.gvph.org and review the slide presentation Harrison shared with commissioners online at  https://www.vancecounty.org/departments/board-of-commissioners/agenda/ and click on Sept. 22, 2026 Work Session.

CLICK PLAY!

Cooperative Extension with Jamon Glover: What’s Behind The Behavior

/by

Jamon Glover, on the Vance County Cooperative Extension Report:

We continue our new series called, “Nobody Taught Dad This”. Today we speak about how sometimes the behavior that drives you crazy, is actually trying to tell you something.

Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.

Click Play!

TownTalk: Vance County Schools to Hold Fall Festival & Jersey Sale

/by

Vance County Schools invites families, students and the whole community out to its annual fall festival happening on Thursday, Oct. 8 at Vance County Middle School.

“Autumn Around the World” is being planned as a way to celebrate the many cultures represented throughout the school district, and Grace Herndon, VCS digital media coordinator, said it’s a great way “to bring everyone together and showcase what makes Vance County schools so special.”

Herndon joined VCS Chief Officer of Accountability, Research and Communication Aarika Sandlin on Wednesday’s TownTalk to share details about the fall festival, as well as to promote another special activity in conjunction with Vance County High School’s Homecoming festivities.

In addition to a variety of foods representing different cultures, there will be special performances and other activities that will take place between 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. around the Vance County Middle School stadium – on the field and around the track, Herndon said.

This year’s theme is a nod to the wide range of cultures represented in the district’s school, both in the student population and in the international faculty.

Sandlin said faculty hails from countries like Jamaica and the Philippines, as well as India and South Africa.

“We are truly grateful for the cultural exchange our students have,” Sandlin said. Having international faculty exposes schoolchildren to cultures that they otherwise would probably never have, she said.

“That, to us, is part of the Vance advantage,” she added.

These days, middle and high school VCS students have one traditional school option – Vance County Middle and Vance County High – but it wasn’t so long ago that there were two middle schools and two high schools in the district.

Sandlin shared a unique opportunity that VCS is embarking on that she said will appeal to former students of Northern Vance, Southern Vance, Henderson Middle and Eaton-Johnson Middle.

It’s merch – and it’ll be available beginning on Friday, Oct. 9 at Vance County High School’s stadium lot. It’s a chance to own a piece of Vance County School’s history and celebrate the district’s legacy, whether you’re looking for apparel featuring the Eaton-Johnson Cougars, Henderson Middle School Rams, the Northern Vance Vikings or Southern Vance Raiders.

Athletic apparel – jerseys, pullovers, sweatshirts, jackets – all bearing the different logos from the four schools will be available for purchase at just $10 an item.

“It’s going to be a fabulous day for alumni,” Sandlin said. The Legacy Jersey sales event kicks off from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. the day of the Vipers Homecoming game at 7 p.m.

Payment by cash or card will be accepted, she said.

In addition, take a few minutes to stop by the 500 Hall where jerseys, trophies and more will be on display from as far back as the days of the Henderson High School Bulldogs and Vance Senior High School Vikings.

The sale will continue on Fridays in October while supplies last, she said.

CLICK PLAY!

TownTalk: NCDMV Eliminates License Plate Sticker, Paper Registration Card Beginning Oct. 1

/by

Beginning Oct. 1, vehicle owners no longer have to worry about placing that little sticker in the upper right corner of their license plates.

And making sure you keep that paper registration in your glove box or other safe spot in your car or truck? Nope. Not necessary.

The state is moving to an electronic registration system that will eliminate the need for both the renewal sticker and that paper registration.

The renewal process itself hasn’t changed, however. Vehicle owners can still expect to get their annual notification in the mail that it’s time to renew – and get their vehicle inspected and pay the vehicle property tax. There is an option for a paperless renewal notification, too.

The transaction can be done online or in person at the local tag office.

Phil Lynch at the Vance County tag office told WIZS News Wednesday that you’ll no longer get a paper registration card with the sticker stapled to it when you pay in person at the office.

“Rather than a visual sticker on the tag, law enforcement will be verifying a plate online.”

Individuals who wish to have that paper registration for tucking away in their glove box can download the document and print it at home, or they can request a copy at the tag office for $5.

So, if you just happen to get pulled over, chances are you will not hear “license and registration, please” from the law enforcement officer standing by the driver side door. They’ll already know the status of your vehicle and that it’s properly registered – or not.

 

CLICK PLAY!

TownTalk: Henderson Family YMCA Construction Update

/by

This time next year, the Henderson Family YMCA is most likely going to be in its brand-new facilities. CEO David Caudle and H.G. Reynolds’s Bert Long agree on some time next summer, and so far, the timeline is humming right along.

“It’s really exciting,” Caudle said Tuesday, speaking outside beside the construction zone. “They’ve moved really fast in the past couple of months.” Passersby can’t help but notice the crane that’s been busy lifting steel beams into place.

As he spoke, he was watching the crane lifting roof rafters or ceiling joists atop the two-story structure.

“Maybe there’ll be a roof on this thing in the next week or so,” he said. “Once they get the roof on, it’ll definitely help. Weather won’t be so much of a factor.”

There’s a lot of activity that is visible from the road, but a lot of things are happening that passersby can’t see. The concrete’s been poured on the second floor, plumbing’s done and HVAC ductwork and some electrical work, too.

And the new pool’s been poured. It’s going to be something special – and unique to this area – because it’s going to have a retractable dome. Other amenities include a hot tub, steam room and sauna.

“They lifted the elevator in last week,” Caudle said. “That was really exciting – they lifted it in and bolted it down.”

The current Y building will become a designated space for youth programs, Caudle said. And there will be a new outdoor track that will once again welcome the public. The “old” track is no more – it’s currently a construction zone.

Caudle, who is coming up on one year as the Y’s CEO, said he won’t be surprised if this construction project doesn’t mirror a project he saw when he was at the Y in Wilson.

Membership there had been at 4,500 or so before the construction project. The last he heard that number was more like 10,000.

“The membership exploded in Wilson with that new facility,” Caudle said.

“I know what excitement this can bring, and I truly do expect it to be similar,” he said. “This is a very positive thing for our community.”

CLICK PLAY!

The Local Skinny! Henderson City Council Agrees on Granite Benches for Veterans Memorial

/by

American Legion Post #60’s Hartwell Wright appeared before the Henderson City Council and was almost apologetic about it, prefacing his request with a comment along the lines of “you’re probably tired of seeing me here.”

But it was Council Member Garry Daeke who spoke up first, making a motion that was seconded by Council Member Michael Venable to approve Wright’s request: permission to purchase and install eight 5-foot long polished granite benches, putting the finishing touches on the newly installed Veterans Memorial on Breckenridge Street outside the Henderson Police Department.

“We’re prepared to order them,” Wright said, keeping good on Post 60’s plan to first create the memorial and then install benches that will provide visitors a comfortable spot to view the monument and reflect on what it represents.

Interim City Manager Kendrick Vann said Kelley Wade Perdue proposed the addition of a POW/MIA flag on the Purple Heart flagpole, recently dedicated in honor of former City Council Member Sara Coffey.

Perdue was not at the Council meeting, Vann said, because she was at the Vance County Board of Commissioners’ meeting making a similar request of county leaders.

In a statement to WIZS News Tuesday, Perdue provided an update on the project.

An event is being planned for Veterans Day – Nov. 11 – to celebrate, honor and recognize Vance County as a POW*MIA County, with the hope that a flag will be permanently displayed at the Veterans Memorial. The ceremony will begin at 8 a.m.

The commissioners approved a resolution presented by Perdue at its Sept. 14 meeting and Friday, Sept. 18, the POW/MIA flag replaced the Purple Heart flag for the National Day of Recognition, Perdue said.

CLICK PLAY!

TownTalk: Henderson City Council Opioid Settlement Advisory Board

/by

The Henderson City Council revisited the formation of an opioid settlement advisory board at its Sept. 14 meeting, and Mayor Melissa Elliott cast the tie-breaking vote for a 5-4 decision. The question that remains, however, is what the Council actually voted on – whether to approve the whole list of applicants or just to remove a Ward 2 applicant and replace her with someone who doesn’t reside in the city.

The Council previously had agreed that it wanted to change the way the applicants were to be selected in order to provide equal representation across the city’s four wards. Interim City Manager Kendrick Vann said at that time the application period would be reopened to provide for this change, which would allow for two residents being selected from each of the city’s four wards.

At the regular September monthly meeting, Council Member Geraldine Champion made a motion, seconded by Council Member Michael Venable, to remove Ward 2 resident Natalie Butler from the group and replace her with Danetta McKnight, who is program director at Community Partner of Hope’s Freedom Bridge.

McKnight, however, does not reside in the city.

Council Member Sam Seifert questioned whether there is a residency requirement to be on the city’s opioid advisory board. Council Member Lamont Noel also objected to the idea of replacing a non-city resident on a city committee. Seifert is the Ward 2 Ward representative, and Noel is the Ward 2 At-large representative.

Elliott pointed out McKnight’s professional experience and called for a vote, ending discussion.

“The motion, to be clear, is to remove Natalie Butler and to replace her with Ms. Danetta McKnight,” Elliott said.

The now-familiar 4-4 split had Seifert, Noel and Council Members Garry Daeke and Kenia Gomez-Jimenez vote against and Champion, Venable and Council Members Tami Walker and Catherine “Kitty” Gill voting in favor. Elliott cast the tie-breaking vote in favor of the motion, which passed 5-4.

But the motion, as Elliott stated, did not include approval of the list of applicants.

So, did the whole list of applicants get approved or was it just the removal and replacement of the Ward 2 applicant with someone with professional experience who lives outside the city?

WIZS News has contacted City Clerk Tracey Kimbrell for clarification. Kimbrell said she would seek clarification from the city attorney.

We’ll keep you updated.

CLICK PLAY!