The Local Skinny! Jobs In Vance

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The H-V Chamber of Commerce and WIZS, Your Community Voice, present Jobs in Vance for April 19, 2022. The Chamber compiles the information, and it is presented here and on the radio. Contact the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce at 438-8414 or email michele@hendersonvance.org to be included.

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Name of the Company: Jersey Mike’s Subs – Coming Soon to Henderson! 

Jobs Available: Hiring now for all positions.  Sub Shop is in shopping center off Beckford Drive in Henderson, NC, beside Postal Plus and movie theaters.

Method of Contact: Apply online at www.jerseymikes.com.  Under the careers tab at the top of the home page, put in Henderson NC 27536.

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Name of the Company: Belk Department Store

Jobs Available Several open positions.  Sales Associate and Beauty Associate.  Experience in retail helpful.  Full and part-time.  Positions provide competitive pay, flexible scheduling associate discount.

Method of Contact: Apply online at www.belkcareers.com.  Belk Store is located at 305 North Cooper Drive in Henderson, NC.

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Name of the Company:  Vance County Public Schools

Jobs Available Teachers, Head Football Coach, Elementary Principal, School Counselor, School Psychologist.

Method of Contact: Apply online to www.vcs.k12.nc.us – Under programs and services tab at top of page, click on job opportunities tab.  Or call Human Resource Office at 252-492-2127.

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Name of the Company:  Variety Wholesalers (Roses Stores) Corporate Office, located on Garnett Street in Henderson, NC

Jobs Available: Job Openings (multiple positions) for immediate hire.  Human Resource Coordinator, Payroll Specialist, Accounts Payable Clerk, Associate Buyer, Merchandise Analyst, Various Merchandise Department Buyers.

Method of Contact:  Send resume to poverton@vwstores.com or apply at www.indeed.com.

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Name of the Company Hoyle’s Tire and Axle

Jobs Available:  General Laborer, full-time work, day-shift 6:30 am – 3 pm.  Overtime available.  Benefits.

Method of Contact: Apply in person at business, located at 175 Bearpond Road in Henderson, NC.

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Name of the Company:  First Baptist Church, Henderson, NC

Jobs Available:  Administrative Support Coordinator.  Provide organizational and administrative assistance to church staff, maintain schedules for the use of the building, special events, and assist with printing and distribution of church publications.  Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Publisher, Exel.  Excellent verbal and written skills, interpersonal skills, recordkeeping skills, marketing on social medial.  High School diploma and 2 year college degree preferred. 9-5, Monday to Thursday, 9-noon on Friday.

Method of Contact:  Send resume to Ron Cava, Senior Minister at First Baptist Church. roncava@fbchenderson.net

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Name of the Company:  Versatrim, located at 101 Eastern Minerals Road, Henderson, NC.

Jobs Available:  Electrician. Maintenance Mechanic. Warehouse Department Leads.  Full-time work.

Method of Contact:  Apply online at Indeed.com or on the Versatrim.com websites.

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Name of the Company:  Kerr Lake Country Club

Jobs Available: Pro Shop Attendants.  Part-time.  Flexible hours for weekdays and weekends.  Must be 18 years old +.

Method of Contact:  Apply by calling Pro Shop Manager Robin Lascallette at 252-492-1895 or email robin@kerrlakecountryclub.com.

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Some of these businesses are present or past advertisers of WIZS.  Being an ad client is not a condition of being listed or broadcast.  This is not a paid ad.

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TownTalk: Noel, Purvis, Burnette Discuss Ward 2 Candidacy

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Two challengers – Lamont Noel and Dr. William R. Purvis – will face incumbent William Burnette for the Ward 2 at large seat of the Henderson City Council. All three candidates spoke recently with John C. Rose as part of WIZS’s coverage of the upcoming May 17 primary election; their recorded interviews aired on Monday’s Town Talk.

Economic development, combatting crime, increased salaries for city employees and beautification are among issues that the candidates discussed and shared ways they would work with city staff and fellow council members if elected.

Lamont Noel

Noel said he wants what’s best for the citizens of Henderson. “My ultimate goal is to improve the quality of life for the citizens of Henderson,” he said. “We have to find a way to make the city of Henderson more appealing and attractive” so businesses will want to locate here, he said.

Noel said he has been serving the community in numerous ways long before he decided to toss his hat into the ring and run for office. He has a long partnership with Vance County Schools,  and has created community gardens for the public to enjoy. He also worked with Police Chief Marcus Barrow a few years ago to co-author a city ordinance and has been on the city’s redevelopment commission for more than a year.

“I’m not just becoming visible because I’m running for office,” he said.

Noel said he would work with city department heads to figure out how to get additional resources to the sanitation department to clean up empty lots that have become unsightly dumping grounds. Private property owners must be held accountable, he said.

“We have to figure out a way to clean up this town – it cannot be that hard,” Noel said.

Improving pay for police officers and other city employees may be one way to increase the retention rate, he said.

Henderson’s residents need more choices for affordable housing, he said. Although there are more options for lower income housing, the city needs “safe and decent housing for…people of all incomes.”

Henderson, he said, is the largest city between Raleigh and Petersburg, VA. That puts the city in a unique position to be ready for economic growth. “We have to invest in this city,” Noel said. “If we don’t, we’re going to have some problems.”

As he contemplates working as a member of the city council, Noel said he would work hard to be a voice for all citizens.

His vote is only one of eight, but it is a vote that he looks forward to making.

Dr. William Earl Purvis

Purvis hold a doctorate degree in ministry and his study of transformational leadership has served him well in his ministry and in his career working in the probation and parole field with formerly incarcerated individuals as they re-enter society.

“I want to be a voice for the people,” Purvis said, and added that lowering crime, improving the city’s image and creating new initiatives are just a few issues he would tackle as a member of the city council.

“We need to wake our downtown up,” Purvis said. Promoting downtown businesses and making downtown more user-friendly would be a plus as the proposed passenger and commuter rail planned for the city would bring additional visitors downtown.

Having so many shuttered storefronts in the the downtown area make the city look bad, he said. The community needs to find ways to support local business owners and enhance their efforts to revitalize the downtown district.

One way would be to attract or create festivals to come to the downtown area – whether it’s a motorcycle rally, Christian events or parades, Purvis said more events for diverse groups held downtown would help.

He said he looks forward to working with other members of the city council to bring positive change to Henderson. “I’m only one person,” he said, but it is important to reach out to people where they are to make change happen.

One tactic he said he would employ involves collecting information from city residents before voting on issues before the council.

“I will call a town hall meeting…and sit down with citizens…and we’ll have a parking lot discussion,” Purvis said. “I will voice what the people come to agreement with – this city belongs to all of us who live here. He said he would use citizen input to guide his voting.

Purvis cited youth development as an important need. A focus on young people’s mental health needs, as well as education and access to recreation as ways to invest in the youth of the city.

“I am a community leader,” he said. “I want to lead the community and get the people organized. If they live in Henderson, North Carolina, it’s my job to activate their voice.”

Purvis said he would bring experience as a team builder to his role as a council member. He said he believes in holding others accountable for their actions, but he also believes in giving second chances. “We need to stand together,” he said, to bring unity to Henderson.

William Burnette

The incumbent Burnette is completing his first term as a council member, and he said the council has laid some good groundwork for a number of projects to make a positive change within the city.

The West End URA is one project that has tremendous potential, but Burnette hopes for much more. “We don’t have enough single-family housing under $150,000,” he said. “We need that very badly in Henderson.”

In addition to affordable housing, jobs is another big-ticket issue. Henderson, once home to textile and other manufacturing facilities, has seen a rise in distribution facilities.

“We need jobs,” Burnette said. “We need somebody to come in here and employ 150 to 200 (people)- we don’t have that right now.”

The industrial park shell building project is one way the city can attract new industry. Having an attractive, unfinished structure just waiting to be modified to meet the needs of a specific business or industry, is a big plus.

Another plus for the city and its residents is a higher retention rate of police officers. “We have stepped up, as a council, about pay,” Burnette said. The chronic challenge seems to be that the city invests in training of new officers, only to have them leave for better-paying agencies nearby.

Burnette said the Chief Barrow has “really stepped up to bring that info” to the council. “We are completely behind that…we just can’t keep losing officers to other agencies.”  But it’s not just police officers, he said – it’s all city employees. “Retention is a big thing with me,” Burnette added.

He gives credit to City Manager Terrell Blackmon for his role in offering guidance to the council. As a result, he said, the last four years have seen no increase in taxes by the city. “That’s a tribute to the council,” he said, and to Blackmon. “He’s doing a super job for the city of Henderson.”

Burnette said he’s enjoyed his term on the city council and would like four more years to continue helping to bring projects along. Projects like the water improvements, the splash park and downtown redevelopment.

“I’d like to continue to be a part of that,” he said. “I take pride in Henderson…I just think it’s a great place to live.”

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Lamont Noel begins at 0:25; William Earl Purvis begins at 16:40 and William Burnette begins at 33:40.

Small Business Nominations Due Wednesday

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— from Sandra Wilkerson, Director of Programs, Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce

Wednesday, April 20th is the deadline to submit your nominations for small business of the Year for 2021. Please consider nominating a deserving business based on the criteria:

• Employs 1 – 50 people
• Member of the Henderson-Vance County Chamber of Commerce and business must be located in Vance County
• Must be a viable, on-going business for three or more years, experiencing growth or stability over its business life
• Provides a critical service or products, fills a void in the business community, or has a unique approach to delivery of goods and services
• May have overcome diverse or extraordinary circumstances to remain in business – please explain on application
• Business is supportive of community growth and sustainability
• Is not a governmental agency, municipality, school or non-profit

These nominations will be given to a committee to review and select a winner for 2021 and an award ceremony luncheon will be held in May announcing that winner. Thank you for partnering with the Chamber and for being dedicated to our community. If you have any questions, please call the Chamber at 252-438-8414.

Citizens, not just other businesses, may nominate a local small business.

West End Baptist

Donate Through Wednesday to Help Children

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Time is running out to help.

The congregation of West End Baptist Church on Dabney Drive continues to be a collection point for the N.C. Baptist Children’s Homes. Volunteers are one hand to accept donations of food, non-perishable household items and gift cards.

Anyone can make a donation to the Food Roundup. Volunteers will be at the church, located at 619 Dabney Drive, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.  through Wednesday.

Contact the church at 252.438.6306, Will Flowers at 252.432.0787, or Jerry Parrish at 252.492.6353 for more information.

The most needed items are:

• Paper products (paper towels, toilet paper, napkins, Kleenex)
• Hand sanitizer
• Clorox wipes
• Household cleaning products (i.e. bleach, Comet, Lysol spray and wipes, Clorox spray, Windex, Pinesol, Pledge, Tilex, etc.)
• Canned fruits
• Fruit juice (apple, orange, grape, cranberry)
• Laundry detergent

Gift cards will especially help children pick out clothing that fits and that they want to wear.

Please don’t miss this opportunity to show these children God’s love by providing gift cards, food and needed items.

The Local Skinny! Around Old Granville: Louise Sneed Hill

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Louise Sneed Hill was the daughter of a very prominent family that came to the Townsville/Williamsboro area in the late 1700’s. She was educated at an elite boarding school in New York City. She was accustomed to the finer things in life, and she spent her adult married life establishing that culture and high society in her new home of Denver, Colorado.

For all her accolades and accomplishments, there’s something else that Hill did: She snubbed the “unsinkable” Molly Brown, of Titanic fame. Mark Pace recounted the story on Thursday’s Around Old Granville segment during The Local Skinny!, and he and Bill Harris discussed her family’s importance in the area.

Louise’s mother died just 11 days after Louise was born, Pace said, apparently of complications from the birth. Louise was baptized on the same day that her mother’s funeral was held; both ceremonies took place at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Williamsboro.

Although Sneed’s Mansion still stands today beside the church in Williamsboro, it is in a general state of disrepair, Pace said. Louise Sneed is a good example of someone from a locally prominent family who moved away from North Carolina and made a big difference somewhere else.

For Louise, that “somewhere else” was Denver, in a state that had just joined the United States a few decades earlier.

“She kind of set the standard for high society in Colorado at the time,” Pace said. “She brought a lot of culture to Denver,” Pace said. Hill created the first published record of members of society and provided instructions on how to get one’s name on the list – chief among them were having lots of money, knowing how to entertain properly and knowing when to pay a visit to someone.

As for her limited interaction with Margaret “Molly” Brown, the story goes like this: Molly and her husband had struck gold – literally – and were fabulously wealthy, but Molly was not accepted into Hill’s circle of society. Only when she became famous for her role in helping fellow Titanic passengers to safety did Hill change her mind about Molly.

Historical documents, including court records,  chronicle the goings-on around Sneed’s Mansion, Pace said, which include entertaining and lavish parties to horse racing and general carousing.

“When the court adjourned to Sneed’s Mansion,” Pace said, it meant that partygoers would arrive at 6 p.m., have supper at 10, then dance from 1 a.m. to dawn. Then, if anyone remained standing in the morning, they’d have brunch and head home sometime around noon.

Hill never returned to North Carolina and she spent her last years occupying an entire floor of a nursing home that serves as a hotel today.

And sometimes, Pace said, come reports that the phone from Room 904 mysteriously rings, although no one has inhabited that space since Hill’s death in 1955.

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TownTalk: Chamber Banquet A Success; Hopper Named Citizen Of The Year

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It’s always a good day to hear good news, and the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce added to the good-news cycle Tuesday evening when it announced Mark Hopper as the 2021 Citizen of the Year.

Hopper is the director and board chair of McGregor Hall, and he has guided the cultural arts center from its opening in 2016 through the pandemic shutdown and back into operation. His unwavering support for bringing back shows, productions, competitions and other events is a critical component for the continued success of McGregor Hall.

Chamber President Michele Burgess and Events Director Sandra Wilkerson said the annual dinner and banquet was a big hit, from the food provided by Chamber member Cook Shack to the highlight of the evening, which was the citizen of the year announcement.

“We did have a really nice event,” Burgess said, adding that it was nice to be back at an in-person gathering to celebrate Chamber accomplishments in the community.

Board President Ronald Bennett’s theme for the year shines the spotlight on community, and the Chamber members will focus on carrying that message far and wide to grow pride for the area and to play up the assets that Henderson and Vance County have to offer.

“Together, we work better,” Wilkerson said. By bringing together nonprofits, churches, as well as businesses large and small, she said the message will get out.

Past board chairman Dr. Levy Brown shared remarks during the evening’s proceedings. “(He) came back and made remarks as our past chairman,” Burgess said. “He still has a place in his heart for Henderson.

The committee selected Hopper from a strong list of worthy nominations, Burgess said. “We all realized how important McGregor Hall is to the community,” both in its cultural value and its economic value.

“He led the force in keeping it open,” Burgess said, and sought grants to bolster the shoestring budget, she added.

Archie Taylor, Vance County commissioner and previous Citizen of the Year recipient, announced the winner. In remarks, Taylor talked about Hopper’s influence on the success of McGregor Hall. “Soon after his election to chair of the board of McGregor Hall, he began to educate himself in the day-to-day management of a large performing-arts and learning center, including taxes, payroll, building upkeep, fund raising, and the direction of a large volunteer base – all with minimal paid employees – while continuing his artistic leadership of programing and theatrical productions. The most significant aspect of these achievements is that he has accomplished all of this entirely as an unpaid volunteer.

He said Hopper has invested himself to promote and grow his community through selfless dedication and leadership-by-example. “We can think of no one who has more humbly, sacrificially, generously and successfully contributed to the betterment of Henderson and Vance County than the man we are honoring this evening.”

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BOOKS to Develop a Love of Reading and Learning

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— Story courtesy of Aarika Sandlin, Vance County Schools

Students at Dabney Elementary School have hundreds of new books on their library shelves, thanks to the Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries.

Dabney Elementary was one of 205 schools from 43 states across the country to receive a $5,000 grant in Spring 2021. “There are many students who don’t have books at home, so having access to a library at school is essential,” the former First Lady said in a press statement. “With the grants, school libraries across the nation can restock and update their collections providing opportunities for students for years to come.”

“The timing for the funding for our library was perfect”, said Joy Suther, assistant principal at Dabney Elementary. “Through the grant, our school added books that match the students’ interests, further engaging them in a love for reading.”

Dabney’s principal, Dr. Michael Putney, agreed. “I am so in awe of finally seeing the faces of happy readers again as they come from the media center with a book in their hands. Students have gotten accustomed to using laptops and other devices to read, so it is nice to see them with the new books. They are so quick to share the name of the book they have selected. I am appreciative of the effort that our reading intervention teacher, Sherry Frazier, put forth in securing this grant for our students.”

Frazier continues to work with students on improving their comprehension and reading skills. Improving literacy is the key to ensuring students continue to grow and learn in all subject areas. “The library additions have been instrumental in increasing engagement”, shared Frazier. “The books are a mix of fiction, biographies and other nonfiction, which supports content area knowledge. Reading is one of the fastest ways to build vocabulary, which supports comprehension.”

The Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries supports school libraries with the greatest needs with the goal of encouraging all students to develop a love of reading and learning. Since its inception in 2002, it has awarded more than $16 million to more than 2,800 schools across the country.