Local Insurance Agent Donates Equipment To Oxford Fire Department

/by

-information courtesy of the City of Oxford, from its ‘Discover Oxford’ newsletter

By its very nature, insurance is protection that we pay for and hope we never need to use. Whether it’s home, health, auto or some other type, having insurance is essential.

One local insurance agent, Ray Pegram Jr. of Henderson, has donated a piece of life-saving equipment to the Oxford Fire Department. It’s a different type of insurance, and it’s something OFD Fire Chief David Cottrell hopes they don’t have to use.

Called The Great Wall of Rescue, this particular piece of equipment helps remove individuals who are trapped in grain bins.

It’s the first donation of its kind in North Carolina through a program sponsored by Nationwide Insurance. The Pegram Agency has offices in Henderson and Oxford.

Pegram said he worked on his uncle’s farm in Middleburg as a youngster, which instilled in him a deep respect for farmers. Farming involves risks, especially when working in silos.

“I hope they never have to use this equipment, but if they do, they’ll have it when it’s needed,” Pegram said. “It hits close to home for me.”

Cottrell expressed his appreciation for the donation and explained that grain entrapment rescue scenarios can quickly escalate, putting victims in grave danger. “If a 165-pound person sinks into the grain up to their waist, the pressure can be equivalent to 365 pounds. If the grain reaches their chest, the pressure can be equivalent to 600 pounds, making it almost impossible to lift,” Cottrell said. ‘The Great Wall of Rescue allows us to respond more efficiently and provides a vital support system for our rescuers, ensuring a quicker and safer extraction of individuals trapped in grain.”

The apparatus consists of lightweight panels that can be lowered into the grain bin and then configured in various shapes around the trapped individual. Nationwide has documented eight lives saved in the past few years, thanks to this equipment.

The arrival of the equipment underscores OFD’s commitment to improving rescue operations and ensuring the safety of their community members.

Learn more about this life-saving equipment at https://www.greatwallofrescue.com/.

 

NCDOT

Vance, Granville To Get Part Of $9M RAISE Funding For Downtown Pedestrian Safety Improvements

/by

Vance and Granville counties are two of a dozen counties across the state that will receive $9 million in federal funding to make safety improvements for pedestrians in downtown areas.

The NC Department of Transportation will administer projects under Walk NC: Creating Safer Crossings as part federal Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity, or RAISE, program funds by the U.S. Department of Transportation, according to information from NCDOT.

The project, designated for economically disadvantaged areas, will add pedestrian countdown signals, crosswalks and accessible routes at signalized intersections in 15 communities, as well as add signal timing improvements and address some sidewalk gaps.

The project will put in place pedestrian safety improvements in towns identified by their poor pedestrian safety records. It will also increase transportation accessibility for many people without vehicles and prioritizes disadvantaged businesses by creating better connections in rural downtowns.

Other counties that will receive funding are Davidson, Rowan, Halifax, Wilson, Robeson, Chatham, Beaufort, Johnston, Lenoir and Richmond.

 

Vance County Logo

Filing Period For Municipal Elections Opens July 7

/by

Filing for municipal elections begins Friday, July 7 at 12 noon and will conclude at 12 noon on July 21, 2023 at 12 noon. Someone will be in the office at all times during the business week  throughout the filing period, according to Board of Elections Director Melody Vaughan.

The filing fee for the City of Henderson is $10. Candidates must live within the city limits and also must reside within the Ward for which they seek election.

Voters will elect a mayor, as well as council members in the 1st and 2nd Wards, and at-large members in Ward 3 and Ward 4.

The filing fee for the Town of Middleburg  is $5. Candidates for the office of mayor and for the three council seats must live within the city limits.

The filing fee for the Town of Kittrell also is $5 and candidates for mayor and for the three commissioner seats must live within the city limits to qualify as candidates.

TownTalk: Around Old Granville: The Legacy Of The Hawkins Family

/by

If everyone who was born and raised in the Henderson area took a deep dive into their ancestry, how far back would they have to go to find out that they were related to the Hawkins family?

Even if your last name isn’t Hawkins, local historian Mark Pace said he predicts that up to 20 percent of folks whose families are from Vance County can trace their roots to  Philemon Hawkins.

Pace and WIZS co-host Bill Harris discussed some of the notable figures who descended from Hawkins, who was born in England in 1690.

Between 1778 and 1848 there was a member of the Hawkins family in state government, Pace said.

“They were the family that developed the railroad that fundamentally changed the area,” he said on Thursday’s Around Old Granville segment of TownTalk.

What the Kennedys and Fitzgeralds were to Boston and DuPont to Delaware, the Hawkins family was to this area, Pace said.

Hawkins and his wife first settled in Gloucester County, VA, then in 1735 he moved his family and second wife (his first wife died) to what is now Warren County, NC. With him he brought two millstones and not much else and set up a grist mill in what had to be considered the frontier.

Anyone looking into the history of the area should really take a close look at this family, Pace said. “You’ll go far…by studying the Hawkins family,” whose wealth and influence was unsurpassed at the time.

By the time Bute County was founded in 1763, Hawkins had amassed more than 7,000 acres of land and had more than 100 slaves. Bute County was formed from old Granville County, and in 1779 split again into what are now Warren and Franklin counties.

Hawkins had four sons, who were influential in their own right. One was Benjamin Hawkins, who was the first senator from North Carolina. He went to Princeton and later worked on the staff of Gen. George Washington. He spoke French, and was an interpreter when Washington sought the help of Lafayette and Rochambeau in the Revolutionary War.

One of Hawkins’s grandsons, Philemon Hawkins III was born in 1752. He married Lucy Davis and they lived at Pleasant Hill in Middleburg. Today it’s called Rivenoak and it still stands as one of the best examples of antebellum architecture in the area.

In 1829, Hawkins and wife held a big family reunion, to which more than 131 direct descendants attended.

Hawkins died in 1833 and is buried at Rivenoak.

But this Hawkins also had several children who were successful in life. His three sons – John Davis Hawkins, future NC governor William and Dr. Joseph Warren Hawkins – married sisters, daughters of Alexander Boyd, who founded Boydton, VA.

“It was a real power marriage,” Pace said.

Besides the future governor, Joseph reportedly established the first medical school in North Carolina and John Davis (1781 – 1853) “was a mover and shaker of the second railroad in North Carolina,” Pace said.

But it was their sister who got the train out of the station, as it were. She had married into the Polk family of Raleigh and had the idea to build a wooden track from a stone quarry in this area all the way to Raleigh, where workers were busy rebuilding the State Capitol, which had burned in June 1831.

Her brother John Davis took that idea and, with $750,000 of his own money, set about bringing the railroad to the area.

The towns of Littleton, Henderson, Kittrell, Youngsville and Franklinton have this member of the Hawkins family to thank, Pace said, because “none existed before the railroad.”

 

CLICK PLAY!

 

 

Chamber Accepting Items For New Teacher Bags Until July 11

/by

The Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce is preparing 130 welcome bags for the new teachers preparing to come to work in the Vance County area.

But the Chamber needs your help! If you or your business would like to donate an item to help fill these bags, please contact us at 252.438.8414 or bring the items (in quantities of 130, please) to the Chamber office, 414 S. Garnett St., no later than Tuesday, July 11

The schools include those in Vance County Public Schools as well as Henderson Collegiate, Crossroads Christian School, Kerr-Vance Academy and Vance Charter School.

Some suggestions for donations include: pens, pencils, pads, hand sanitizer, coupons /discount cards, key chains, etc.

The Chamber staff thanks you in advance for your kind donation. Questions? Please call 252.438.8414 to learn more.

Tim Twisdale Named New Henderson Fire Chief

/by

The City of Henderson has selected Battalion Chief Tim Twisdale as chief of the Henderson Fire Department.

Twisdale has worked for more than 20 years with the department, and “is a very valuable asset for our city,” according to an announcement posted on social media Wednesday.

Interim Fire Chief Curtis Tyndall retired effective July 1, and City Manager Terrell Blackmon hinted last week that an announcement of a new chief was imminent.

Tyndall was deputy fire chief and stepped in as interim chief following the death of Chief Steve Cordell, who died in January.

The post on social media went on to say that “although we will miss both of them dearly, we must move forward for our community and our department. Change is inevitable, but great things can come from change.”

TownTalk: McGregor Hall To Host Book Signing For Local Author

/by

Chanel N. Scott created CheMinistry in 2015, and now Scott is on a national tour to promote her new book “Relationship Matters.” She’ll be at McGregor Hall this weekend as part of that tour.

Scott has local roots, and she’ll be back in the area on Saturday beginning at 3 p.m. for a book signing.

“CheMinistry” is now a show on FOX Soul, during which a panel of celebrities and influencers share their experiences – and expertise – on a variety of topics that center around romantic relationships in the 21st century.

She’s gained the moniker “Queen of Relationship Talk” as a result of her conversations and candid dialogue geared toward sustaining intimate relationships between a man and a woman, according to information on her website.

 

CLICK PLAY!

 

TownTalk: Interim County Manager Sees Potential

/by

Interim Vance County Manager Scott Elliott said he fell in love with North Carolina during an internship at the Forsyth County Planning Department during the summer when he was in college at the University of Wisconsin.

In the decades since that internship, Elliott has worked in various counties across the state. He retired after more than 20 years in Pitt County, coming off 15 years in Robeson, Alamance and Guilford.

If you’re counting, that’s only five of the state’s 100 counties, but Elliott said it didn’t seem to faze local leaders that their prospective interim manager had only seen Vance County from inside a vehicle traveling along I-85.

“I knew very little to nothing about Vance County,” Elliott said in an interview recorded for Wednesday’s TownTalk. “I think the board actually liked that,” because it meant that he could deal with situations in an objective way – “no preconceived notions,” he added.

Case in point: the county’s fire services. Elliott said commissioners did take the staff recommendation for a fire services study to take place. Requests for proposals went out last week as a first step toward resolution, and Elliott said a selection could be made this month.

The search process for a county manager is underway, and Elliott said there could be an announcement sometime in the fall.

He’s only been in place for about a month, but Elliott’s early evaluation is positive.

“There are a lot of good things here in Vance County,” Elliott said.  The I-85 corridor and the industrial park are just two bright spots that show potential, he said, adding that there were some job announcements “brewing” that could come to fruition soon.

Bringing consensus to the board room is always a goal, and Elliott said it’s always good when commissioners listen and approve staff recommendations. When dealing with any group – elected officials or otherwise – there’s bound to be numerous opinions and perspectives.

“There will always be disagreement,” Elliott said, “but it can be a productive disagreement.”