The Local Skinny! Business Spotlight Shines On Autobrite Car Wash

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AutoBrite Car Washes Inc.’s location on North Cooper Drive features touchless washes, but Manager Patrick “Bubba” Glosson said there are a few extra features that make the business special.

Glosson spoke with John C. Rose on Monday’s Business Spotlight segment of The Local Skinny! and discussed how things are going so far.

They’ve been open for about four months, and patrons who bring their vehicles choose from four different wash packages – $10, $15, $20 and $25 – and then there’s the $40/month “Wash Club,” which allows customers to come every day if they choose.

All the selections include free use of the vacuums, Glosson said. “Anything you left under the seat, it will grab,” he said, adding that the vacuums are self-serve. There also are cloths and window cleaner available at the vacuum stations for patrons to use.

The only hands-on part of the whole process, he said, occurs before the actual wash. “We prep every car,” he said, “to remove mud, bugs – stuff like that. We try to get it off before it enters the wash.”

Glosson said he enjoys working with customers and he and staff are ready to help folks choose the type of wash that best suits their needs. And customers? “They see it’s a simple process and they love it,” he said.

“Prepping the cars is pretty fun,” he said, and admitted that he gets special satisfaction from helping to clean up vehicles that really muddy or that have been left sitting under trees for a while.

Once the pre-wash prep is complete, customers drive into the wash bay area, slip the vehicle into neutral, and the automated process takes care of the rest.

“The brushes are really soft…like a neoprene fabric, (and) hold no water, hold no dirt,” Glosson said, which helps to protect paint finishes on new cars and on older ones, too.

Glosson said he’s seen brand-new Corvettes pull in for a wash, and he’s also seen 60’s model Chevrolet trucks come in, too.

“Older or newer, it doesn’t matter,” he said.

AutoBrite Car Washes, Inc. is owned by Thomas Howell; Melanie Hutson is vice president.

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Chamber In Search Of Cheerleaders For Aug. 23 Event

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Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce President Michele Burgess invites fellow Chamber members to break out the pom-poms and turn out on Aug. 23 to cheer on Vance County Schools’ teachers as they return to begin a new school year.

Teachers will arrive by bus around 8 a.m. and the Convocation Kick-off begins at McGregor Hall.

“We are asking for anyone in our business community interested in celebrating and cheering on our educators, to join us outside of McGregor Hall from 7:50 a.m.- 8:20 a.m,” Burgess said in a statement to WIZS News Friday.

Plan to come out and bring some associates or employees to join in the fun, Burgess said. The group will line up in front of McGregor Hall, and individuals are invited to bring company signs, mascots and any other business-related swag to show some “loud hometown spirit” for teachers as they arrive from their individual schools.

School officials said this year’s convocation is the first time the entire VCS staff has been together since 2019.

Although there’s not enough space inside McGregor Hall for the business and community “cheerleaders,” it should be a lot of fun to show the educators in our community that we value their work and effort as they kick off a new school year.

Aug. 25 SBA Webinar Focuses On Rural Entrepreneurs

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The U.S. Small Business Administration announces another in its series of webinars “Elevating Small Business” designed for rural entrepreneurs. The hourlong program will begin at 1 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 25 and will feature a panel of experts who will speak on topics including the importance of financial wellness, creating generational wealth through business ownership and uplifting and supporting rural-owned small businesses.

Panelists are Allen Thomas, regional administrator for SBA Region IV, Terri Billups, senior advisor to acting director/deputy director of the Office of Affairs and Morgan Beavers, co-owner of Graylee Construction and Demolition in Austin, AR.

The panel will also discuss SBA initiatives and resources that support small business recovery, new rural startups seeking to launch, and existing rural-owned small businesses as they pivot and grow in a post-COVID world.

Register for the webinar here or visit    https://SBArural.eventbrite.com.

Mike Waters

Statewide DWI Report Reveals High Marks for Eleventh Prosecutorial District

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— press release — 

The 11th Prosecutorial District (Vance, Granville, Franklin, Warren and Person Counties) successfully  prosecuted more Driving While Impaired (DWI) cases per capita than all districts but one in the past year according to a recent report.

On July 28, 2022, the North Carolina Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission released a report analyzing Driving While Impaired (DWI) convictions and sentencing across the state during fiscal year 2021 (July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021). The report found the 11th Prosecutorial District secured the greatest number of DWI convictions by population, 6 per every 1,000 adults, and the second highest total number of convictions, with 1,143, of any district in North Carolina.

“Prosecuting those who drive while impaired is one of our most important jobs in the 11th Prosecutorial District because it keeps everyone in our community safer,” said District Attorney Mike Waters. “That is why we continued prosecuting DWIs throughout the pandemic. I am proud of the work my team, together with the Clerks and Judges, has done to remove intoxicated drivers from our roads. This is the second year in a row that our district has been tied with another district at the top of the list for prosecuting DWIs.”

The complete Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission Driving While Impaired Convictions Statistical Report for Fiscal Year 2021 and for previous fiscal years can be found at https://www.nccourts.gov/documents/publications/dwi-convictions-statistical-reports.

Henderson Vance Recreation & Parks

TownTalk: Henderson Rec P.U.L.L. Event To Bring Community Together

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Events like the upcoming P.U.L.L. event are just part of the reason why the local parks and recreation department were honored at a national conference that focuses on ways to curb gang activity and gang violence.

Shantel Hargrove, youth services outreach coordinator for the Henderson Vance Recreation and Parks Department, said she and director Kendrick Vann were in Chicago for the national gang specialist training conference that concluded last week and were surprised to hear their names called as recipients of the Spirit Award, for “significant public service and issues of gang prevention, intervention and counseling.”

Hargrove spoke with John C. Rose on Thursday’s Town Talk. “We didn’t know we were getting the award,” she said, expressing surprise for being honored in front of a national audience.

The P.U.L.L. – an acronym for Peace, Unity, Love, Live – event takes place Aug. 25-28 and is designed to bring the community together with such activities as a two-day basketball tournament, bookbag and school supply giveaway, street festival and free haircuts for youngsters headed back to school.

This is the 7th year for P.U.L.L., Hargrove said, who added that the event seems to get bigger and better each year.

“It all started off with (us) going to local barbers,” she said, to ask them to donate their time to KUTZ 4 KIDS to give basic haircuts and hairstyles for children returning to the classroom. For families with children, the price of getting school supplies, clothes – and haircuts – can get expensive quickly.

“It’s a tremendous gift for the parents,” Hargrove said, referring to the free cuts and styles.

On Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Hair In Motion at 211 Orange St.  will be offering free cuts. Then, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Ice Cold Cuts and Exquisite Cuts 2.0 will be offering their services.

The activities kick off with a two-day basketball tournament, Hargrove said. Michael Bullock is instrumental in organizing the Battle of the Brands tournament, she said, calling Bullock a “great community activist…(who) is all about bringing the community together” to help youth.

“The community loves basketball,” Hargrove said. “And basketball brings out the community.” What used to be a single-elimination tournament has grown over time. “Now it’s a two-day tournament because so many teams wanted to be a part of the event,” she said.

The tournament will be held on Thursday, Aug. 25 and Friday Aug. 26 in the HVRPD gymnasium (former Eaton Johnson gymnasium). Tickets are $5 for adults 18 and older; tickets for youth 17 and younger are $2.

The street festival and community cookout on Saturday will be held in conjunction with the annual Night Out Against Crime, and Hargrove said she appreciates the collaboration of the Henderson Police Department and Lt. Jessica West.

“We’re going to combine and make it one event this year,” Hargrove said. The event will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Chestnut Street Park. There will be vendors, a DJ playing music, a dance performance and other activities including cornhole for participants to enjoy. Free hotdogs, drinks and chips will be available as well.

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New Jersey Woman Sentenced to More than Seven Years in Prison for Role in Drug Organization

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— press release — 

A New Jersey woman who was caught transporting more than a kilogram of a heroin-fentanyl mixture was sentenced today to 90 months in prison for her role in a drug conspiracy. On April 7, 2022, Bridgett Renettier Burrows, 53, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 1 kilogram or more of heroin and 400 grams or more of a mixture containing a detectable amount of fentanyl.

According to court documents, the investigation identified Burrows as a drug courier routinely used by a source of supply from New Jersey. Burrows transported heroin from New Jersey to Wilmington, NC and Henderson, NC on multiple occasions between 2019 and 2020. On September 26, 2020, investigators learned that Burrows was traveling south from New Jersey on I-95 and I-85. Surveillance was established and Burrows was observed committing a traffic violation. During the traffic stop in Warren County, NC, Burrows, who was accompanied by a minor child, acted nervously, and a K-9 sniff of the vehicle indicated positive for narcotics. The resulting search of the vehicle recovered 1.02 kilograms of a mixture of heroin and fentanyl.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launders, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Warren County Sheriff’s Office, the Nash County Sheriff’s Office, and the Henderson Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Newby and Bryan Stephany prosecuted the case.

Kerr Tar Regional Council of Governments

TownTalk: Classes Offered To Support Family Caregivers

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A six-week online class designed to help family caregivers do the very best they can for their loved ones – and for themselves – is set to get underway in early September and Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Governments staffer Susan Tucker wants folks to know how helpful the program is. Tucker speaks from first-hand experience: not only did she complete the class, but she went on to become an instructor.

“I know that it works because it worked for me,” Tucker told John C. Rose on Wednesday’s Town Talk. The class is called “Powerful Tools for Caregivers,” and she said the impact it has had in her own life has been transformative. She has been a caregiver to her mother for the past six years and the tools that she learned from the class have proved invaluable.

The class runs on Tuesday mornings from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. beginning Sept. 6 and continuing through Oct. 11. It is free and designed for any non-paid caregiver; all participants will receive a workbook as part of the class.

Michael Patterson, a family caregiver specialist with Kerr-Tar COG, said participants learn how to take care of themselves as they provide care for their loved ones, which at times can be a delicate balancing act. The class provides information about community resources, as well as techniques and skills necessary to handle and manage stress.

“That’s the wonderful thing about the class – that’s the whole point,” she said, of finding ways to manage the stress of caring for a loved one. It can be incredibly overwhelming, she added, and rarely is the caregiver prepared for or aware of what they’re getting into.

The class is different from other programs that may be focused squarely on the person who requires the care, which may provide a checklist of all the things that should be done for that person to receive proper care.

“(This) class really gives the caregiver the tools to handle their role as a caregiver,” Tucker said. “It puts tools in your hand to perform those tasks so that you can thrive while you’re caring for your loved one.”

The biggest takeaway for Tucker, she said was a feeling of confidence. “II actually felt – all of a sudden – that I could do it. I didn’t feel alone.”

Call 252.436.2040 to register for the Powerful Tools for Caregivers class.

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