Michael Ellington, on the Vance County Cooperative Extension Report:
Today I bust three garden myths and confirm one before announcing an upcoming compost workshop.
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!
Listen On Air at 8am, 12pm, 5pm M-F
WIZS Radio ~ 100.1FM/1450AM
Click Play!
Wayne Rowland, on the Vance County Cooperative Extension Report:
Pine tree stands can benefit from thinning every ten years.
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!
— press release from Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame
On Saturday, October 31, 2026, at approximately 7:00 p.m., deputies with the Vance County Sheriff’s Office responded to 505 Parham Road in reference to a residential structure fire.
Responding agencies included Vance County Fire Department, Vance County EMS, Cokesbury Fire Department, Watkins Fire Department, Drewry Fire Department, and Henderson Fire Department.
Upon arrival, emergency personnel were advised that an individual was believed to be inside the residence. Firefighters immediately began efforts to extinguish the fire while conducting a search of the structure.
During the search, firefighters located a deceased individual inside the residence. The victim was subsequently identified as Herbert Newcomb, a resident of the home.
The Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM), the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) Arson Unit, and investigators with the Vance County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division (CID) are conducting a joint investigation to determine the cause and origin of the fire.
The circumstances surrounding the fire remain under investigation, and additional information will be released as it becomes available.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact the Vance County Sheriff’s Office at 252-738-2200, Henderson-Vance Crime Stoppers at 252-492-1925, or submit an anonymous tip through the P3 Tips app.
In a joint meeting, members of the Vance County Board of Commissioners and the county planning board reviewed progress on a particular section of the proposed unified development ordinance, from setbacks and traffic studies to noise thresholds and outdoor lighting fixtures.
During the Oct. 27 meeting, NFocus’s Michael Harvey walked the group through the different aspects of Section 5 of the UDO which deals specifically with data centers and reviewed recommendations that the planning board was making with regard to setbacks from external property lines and adjacent residential parcels.
Specific setback requirements would be in place for “sensitive use” parcels, a designation that includes schools, congregate care, retirement center, hospital, day care or place of worship.
Harvey said modifications have been made to fencing standards recommendations to address commissioners’ concerns that the fencing height was too low.
“We still recommend a 24-foot-high height limit on outdoor lighting fixtures and that there be a one footcandle limit at all property lines,” Harvey said. Footcandle is a way to measure a light’s intensity. “That is actually consistent with your current ordinance,” Harvey said.
What’s not in the current ordinance is a noise threshold, which Harvey said was recommended to be capped at 60 decibels.
“You don’t have noise regulations right now,” he said. “This would be brand new.”
The applicant is responsible for, among other things, paying for completion of a noise study. The applicant has to make sure a traffic impact study is conducted, too.
NFocus has recommended a 2,000-foot setback for data centers, no matter the size of the data center.
Following some discussion about small- and large-scale data centers, Harvey said NFocus could create text that would distinguish between major and minor facilities that would be available for discussion at the November planning board meeting.
That idea went over well with commissioners and planning board members, but Harvey reminded that distinctions would need to be based on power need and need for utilities.
Harvey said he’d prefer the planning board consider the concept now instead of waiting until later in the UDO process.
“What you don’t want to have happen – and it’s already going to happen on some level – is you don’t want to arbitrarily ignore or not impose reasonable regulation when you have that chance,” Harvey said.
Commissioners adopted a 60-day data center moratorium on Sept. 14. Harvey said he could have the information at the November meeting of the planning board, which then could be brought to the commissioners. County Manager Renee Perry said commissioners may need to hold a special called meeting if they would like to extend the moratorium.
(The text of this content was originally posted Oct. 30, 2026.)
Click Play!
—from the office of Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame
On Monday, October 26, 2026, five former detention officers with the Vance County Sheriff’s Office were indicted on charges of willfully failing to discharge their duties in connection with an incident involving inmates at the Vance County Detention Center.
Upon learning of the allegations, the Sheriff’s Office notified the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and requested an independent criminal investigation. Simultaneously, the Sheriff’s Office initiated a separate internal affairs investigation. All five detention officers were immediately suspended and subsequently terminated from employment with the Sheriff’s Office.
The individuals indicted are Jabarri Davis, Malajah Daniels, Bonthier Francis, Kristy Trotman, and Jessica Alston.
Sheriff Curtis Brame stated, “The responsibility entrusted to our employees is one we do not take lightly. When allegations of misconduct arise, we have an obligation to address them appropriately and take the necessary action to ensure accountability. Our commitment to the citizens of Vance County and those entrusted to our care remains our priority.”
Additional information regarding the criminal charges and court proceedings may be obtained through the North Carolina eCourts system.
Due to the pending criminal proceedings, the Sheriff’s Office cannot comment further on the specifics of the investigation at this time.
Listen On Air at 8am, 12pm, 5pm M-F
WIZS Radio ~ 100.1FM/1450AM
Click Play!
Folks around here love their sports – college and professional teams certainly have strong followings, but there’s no shortage of rec league and school-affiliated teams that bring parents, grandparents and others out to the ball fields and courts in the area to cheer on their favorites.
Sure, some parents have watched as their young outfielder has picked flowers during T-ball games or scored a goal for the other team by mistake.
But legends have to start somewhere, and there are plenty of sports legends to talk about that got their start right here in the four-county area.
WIZS’s Bill Harris and local historian Mark Pace teamed up with WIZS’s Scout Hughes and Doc Ayscue to review some of the people who had great runs in their chosen sport, either as a player, a coach or both. And when those sports notables have returned to give back to their communities – either in the off-season or in retirement – everyone wins.
Take the late Eddie Hicks, for example.
Ayscue said he and Hicks were in high school together for a year, and the friends stayed in touch over the years. “I guess he was friends with everybody in Henderson,” Ayscue said, adding that Hicks helped him and Lonnie Davis when they were coaches at Eaton-Johnson Middle School.
Hicks played football at East Carolina University and was inducted into the ECU Hall of Fame in 2014. in 2024, Winder Street in downtown Henderson was dedicated and named for Hicks, who died in 2022.
Hicks shares the hometown spotlight in the ECU Hall of Fame with another Henderson favorite, Lawrence “Cotton” Clayton, whose skills on the basketball court and baseball diamond were nothing short of legendary.
Clayton was named an All America in both basketball and baseball between 1959 and 1961; he led the ’61 Pirates baseball team in the NAIA national championship in hitting and played third base and outfielder. That same year on the basketball court, he averaged 14.9 points per game, 9.9 rebounds and shot 61 percent from the field. In 1984, he was inducted into the ECU Sports Hall of Fame.
He spent seven years playing pro baseball in the Baltimore Orioles organization, but many more years were spent back home in Henderson raising a family and giving back to the community.
Then there’s Jason Brown. The Northern Vance High School graduate and UNC standout center turned in his NFL cleats for farmer’s boots and continues to give back to his community to this day. He and his wife started First Fruits Farm in Franklin County and operate it as an event venue, but also grow crops like sweet potatoes and cucumbers that they donate to the community.
In the off-season, Ayscue said Brown would return to Vance County and go around and speak at schools in the county.
“He’d probably be the prime example of giving back,” Pace said on Thursday’s tri-weekly Around Old Granville segment of TownTalk.
Others have figured prominently into the sports scene because of extensive coaching careers. Louisburg College’s Russell Frazier, Enid Drake, Mike Dement and Sheila Cotton have worked with multitudes of junior college students playing baseball, basketball and softball during their coaching tenures.
Then there are people like Austin Ayscue, who happens to be Doc Ayscue’s father. Austin Ayscue had a long, storied relationship with Louisburg College. For years, he was the Sports Information Director there, but he did everything from drive team buses to recruit with Coach Frazier, his son said.
“He and Coach Frazier drove a million miles looking at baseball players,” Ayscue said. He provided the play-by-play for afternoon baseball games and he’d keep the clock for basketball games.
Frazier had a lot of success taking Louisburg College to the Junior College World Series over the years, and although Louisburg never won, Frazier’s teams won more than their share of regional tournaments.
Players like Otis Nixon, Cedric Mullins, Kelly Little are just a few who swung a bat for Frazier and the Hurricanes.
Listen back to the complete program at www.wizs.com to hear more stories about other athletes who hail from the area we call Old Granville County.
CLICK PLAY!
Jamon Glover, on the Vance County Cooperative Extension Report:
We continue our series called, “The Fatherhood Blueprint”. Today we talk about the promises that we make to our children and how trust isn’t built by making big promises, trust is built by keeping the small promises.
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!
Listen On Air at 8am, 12pm, 5pm M-F
WIZS Radio ~ 100.1FM/1450AM
Click Play!
