Donate Children’s Books To Contribute To 2024 Leadership Vance Class Project

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The 2024 Leadership Vance class invites the community to pitch in to help make their class project a success by donating children’s books that will be used to stock “Little Library” boxes at Fox Pond Park.

Please donate new or gently used children’s books and drop them off at any of several locations across Henderson, according to information from Tanya Wilson with the Henderson-Vance County Chamber of Commerce.

Donation boxes can be found at Fire Station #1 on Dabney Drive, City Hall, 134 Rose Ave. or the Chamber office, 414 S. Garnett St.

The concept of placing small boxes throughout the community and filling them with books that individuals can take free of charge has been around since 2009, and increases access to books and encourages people to take a book to read or place a book for others to enjoy.

KTCOG Hosting Family Caregiver Conference Aug. 6; Focus On Dementia Care

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The Kerr Tar Family Caregiver Conference is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 6 and registration is now open for family caregivers and professionals who are interested in learning about caring for individuals with dementia.

The half-day conference begins at 9 a.m. with check-in, breakfast and networking at the Vance-Granville Community College Civic Center Auditorium.

The conference is presented by Dementia Alliance of North Carolina. Melanie Bunn, a registered nurse and dementia care specialist with the alliance, is one of the speakers along with Michael Patterson, KTCOG’s family caregiver specialist.

Family caregivers can register for $10; professional caregivers register for $25 and have the opportunity to earn three continuing education unit credits.

Visit www.DementiaNC.org/2024Henderson to register online or contact Lisa Levine  at 919.832.3732 to register by phone. Walk-in registrations are welcome on the day of the conference.

Visit www.kerrtarcog.org to find out about all the programs and services the KTCOG provides across Vance, Granville, Warren, Franklin and Person counties.

Community Partners of Hope

Men’s Shelter Hits Snag; Move-In Day Delayed

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Move-in day at the new City Road Center for Hope men’s shelter has been delayed while a few issues with final inspections are resolved, but shelter officials have said they hope all will be addressed in as timely a manner as possible and the shelter can become fully operational.

“In spite of all of our efforts to build a safe ADA compliant structure for our men’s shelter, we have hit a snag with the fire inspection and are in negotiations now to find a solution and get things resolved as quickly as possible,” according to an email sent Thursday to WIZS by shelter staff.

The shelter is almost ready, and as soon as the final certificate of occupancy is received, the move will take place. “We ask for your prayers for a speedy resolution.”

No matter where the physical shelter is located, however, there remains a need for meals, individually wrapped snacks for clients and supplies like laundry detergent pods.

The shelter snack shelves could really use some PopTarts, breakfast bars, peanut butter crackers and chips.

Please sign up HERE if you or your organization can help provide a meal. Call 252.432.9494 if you need assistance in signing up.

Stay up to date at www.cp-hope.org

The Local Skinny! Carolina Payroll Partners Business Spotlight

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Mel Manning and Carolina Payroll Partners, LLC received a recent shout-out from the Henderson-Vance County Chamber of Commerce as recipient of the Chamber Spotlight.

Manning works out of Morehead City now, but he said he and partner Seth Ward can successfully meet their clients’ needs, thanks to technology and online software.

For the past four years, the local Chamber has been a client of Carolina Payroll Partners. Manning, who used to live in Henderson, has kept his Chamber membership current. In fact, he spent eight years on the Chamber board and one more as chair, he said during a recent interview with WIZS.

“I’m always trying to let people know about what an opportunity it was to join the Chamber, to work with the Chamber,” Manning said. “It’s a great opportunity to get your name out and meet a lot of people.”

Manning and Ward are both accountants, and have clients spread out across Vance and Granville counties, all the way to the Triangle down to the Crystal Coast. Ward is located in Cary. Together, the two handle payroll processing services for 15 clients.

Manning said he and Ward can operate remotely to provide clients exactly what they need, but they have the ability to be on site with customers if they ever need it.

They offer a range of services, but position themselves as an alternative to the impersonal national online software companies. Clients can input payroll information themselves, or they can send the raw data to either Manning or Ward and they can do it for them.

“A lot of clients will email payroll,” he said, which they then enter into the software program, generate the results and submit it for processing on their clients’ behalf.

“We wanted to be very customer-oriented when we started this… (and) take as much off our clients’ plates as possible and make it as simple as possible,” Manning explained.

The vast majority of payments come in the form of direct deposit, which Carolina Payroll Partners offers as a free option for clients. “We might have an occasional paper check,” he said, to accommodate unique situations that may crop up. In such cases, the client can prepare the check and also receives a paystub to go along with it.

Manning’s continued connection with the local Chamber runs deeper than just a business partnership. He recognizes the benefits of having a Chamber of Commerce in any given community.

“The Chamber does a lot of great things in the community, through education and things that will better all the citizens of the area,” Manning said.

Visit https://www.ncpayrollpartners.com/ to learn more or contact Manning at 252.432.0768.

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City Council Adopts Social Media Policy In Special Called Meeting Wednesday

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In a special called meeting Wednesday afternoon, the Henderson City Council unanimously adopted a policy regarding the use of social media.

Henderson City Manager Terrell Blackmon told WIZS News that the city has a social media policy for employees, but it does not apply to the city’s elected officials – the mayor and members of the City Council.

Adoption of the policy was the sole agenda item for the 3 p.m. meeting. The meeting was short, with no discussion or comments on the matter before the vote was taken. Council members Sara Coffey and Sam Seifert were not present.

The policy, just more than two pages in length, spells out best practices and suggestions for elected officials about the use of social media, including personal emails, and “liking” and forwarding posts on social media platforms.

The policy lists eight Professional and Personal Conduct Standards that range from expectations that officials follow the City’s policies and standards to reminding officials “should be honest and accurate when posting information or news, and should quickly correct any mistakes, misstatements and/or factual errors in content upon discovery. Officials should not post or share information to be false about the City, its employees, constituents, other public officials, suppliers, vendors, or contractors.”

Additionally, the policy contains eight additional best practices and guidelines for elected officials that are “strongly recommended to ensure that the personal and professional use of social media by elected and appointed officials is done in a responsible manner.”

“Other municipalities around the state have adopted social media policies specific to Councils, Boards and Commissions,” Blackmon stated in an email response to WIZS Wednesday.

“The policy Council is looking to adopt today is very similar to one that was adopted by the City of Durham which is considered a ‘model’ policy,” he continued, adding that the policy Council will review was developed with the assistance of the Mayor and City Attorney.

Blackmon said, “There is technically no violation by any member at this time,” and went on to say that the adopted policy “is not designed to be punitive, but to provide direction and guidance. However, violation of the policy could result in the code of conduct being invoked.”

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TownTalk: Welcome Chapel Pastor Celebrates Anniversary With Aug. 4 Service

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Welcome Chapel Missionary Baptist Church is hosting a special celebration to mark the first anniversary of its minister, the Rev. Dennis White.

The community is invited to take part in the event, which is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 4 at 3 p.m.

White was a guest on Wednesday’s TownTalk to discuss details of what will be happening that day. He said any pastoral anniversary is cause for celebration and this one is no exception. “It’s always a drawing card to a church,” he said.

The guest speaker for the occasion will be Rev. Kevin L. Chandler from Trinity Baptist Church in South Boston, VA and the New Sandy Creek Missionary Baptist Church Male Chorus from Keely, VA will perform.

White comes to Henderson from Greensboro, where he founded Faith Walk Baptist Church. The pandemic took its toll on the small congregation, White said, so after 17 years with that church, he accepted the call to Welcome Chapel.

“It was God’s design and God’s plan,” he said. “There’s no better place to be than where God has placed you…I am so excited to be at Welcome Chapel.”

Founding a ministry helped White become a better leader – “I was able to be very involved with every aspect of the ministry…it helped sharpen my leadership skills.”

White describes himself as a humble, faithful, people-oriented pastor. “I love being a pastor and doing it God’s way,” he said.

But he’s also a father – two children and two grandchildren – and a husband – married 32 years – and a counselor by training. Those roles feed into the role of pastor, too.

Having completed a master’s degree in pastoral counseling at Liberty University, White said he considers himself someone who is very approachable to those who seek his guidance. “This day and time, people need counseling in many areas of their lives,” White said.

The church is located at 237 Welcome Ave. in Henderson.

TownTalk: Kerr Tar COG Food Council

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To borrow a phrase from the Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Government’s Food Policy that was released in 2020, “food is big business.”

And even if you don’t happen to grow, harvest, transport, distribute or sell any type of food product, you at least eat. So food, indeed, is important.

This is the time of year that backyard gardens are bountiful – when’s the last time you had a juicy red slicing tomato? Unless you grew it yourself, got it from the local farmers market or farm stand, chances are it came from somewhere far away.

Charlie Robinette, with AmeriCorps North Carolina, has been working since last fall to strengthen what currently is considered at best a loose network to bolster the region’s food system.

The five-county Kerr-Tar region’s food policy lists six priorities to help the region establish a more cohesive and collaborative approach when it comes to creating a network for sharing resources about food. View the document here: https://www.kerrtarcog.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Kerr-Tar-Regional-COG-Food-Policy-Final.pdf

Robinette oversaw five different listening sessions in the spring – one in each of the five counties represented by the KTCOG – and from those listening sessions, a 15-member Regional Food Council was created.

Robinette, a guest on Tuesday’s TownTalk, said more than 75 individuals participated and came up with about 200 examples of successes, 200 examples of challenges and had some ideas about what should come next.

The Regional Food Council has met a couple of times already and is planning to meet again next week, Robinette said.

Robinette said the food council’s focus right now is twofold: Increasing access to healthy local foods and also increasing market and capital for farmers.

Farmers want consumers to be educated about where their food comes from and what it takes to get produce and more from the field or greenhouse to the table.

But it’s important for those who have different roles in the food chain to at least have a working knowledge of the entire system, Robinette said.

One way to achieve that is to have a centralized location where anyone can find resources. There are plenty of resources in the region, but sometimes it’s difficult to find information.

“We shouldn’t be replicating efforts,” Robinette said. Rather, a centralized location can direct individuals to agencies that already provide the services they’re looking for.

The food policy identified five “milestones” along the path of creating a regional food system. The first two have been checked off – adoption of a regional food policy and creation of a regional food council.

The next milestone involves an assessment of all available resources, cataloging them and identifying gaps in service.

Learn more at https://www.kerrtarcog.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/KERR-TAR-COG-FOOD-POLICY-PRESENTATION.pdf

 

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