The Local Skinny! New Website Regarding Information About Vance County Jail

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Vance County Manager Renee Perry told commissioners Monday that there’s a new web page to visit that contains all relevant information about the detention center.

Perry said the web page came about from a request by Commissioner Yolanda Feimster, who wanted to see detention center-related issues in one location.

“It has all the jail inspection reports, the authority of the sheriff…all presentations that have come to the commissioners,” Perry said during her report at Monday’s regularly monthly meeting.

 

According to the agenda packet, the web page will include sections on:

  • jail inspection reports
  • Sheriff’s office replies to jail inspection reports
  • DHHS Division of Health Service regulations notifications
  • Commissioners’ approved budgets
  • Commissioners’ meeting minutes
  • A link to the county’s YouTube channel
  • Commissioners’ agendas
  • Presentations by architects on the design/build concept
  • General Statutes for Sheriff’s authority at the detention center

 

Visit https://www.vancecounty.org/vcdc/ to see a broad range of information that pertains to the detention center.

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Local Business Under Contract to Purchase Industrial Park’s Shell Building for $2.97M to Manufacture Axles

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Sure Trac of North Carolina is planning to create 50 new jobs at the shell building in the Henderson, NC industrial park over the next 3 years.

Locally known as Hoyle’s Tire and Axle, the planned purchase will advance their position to two locations within a couple of miles of each other.

The Industrial Park Board called a special meeting for 9 a.m. Tuesday to act on the proposed $2,970,000 sale of the 50,000 square-foot building located at 39 Commerce Dr. The purchase price includes an additional three acres of county-owned property, according to Henderson-Vance Industrial Park Board President Tommy Hester.

“This was one of the first companies that got a building reuse grant” for the space the company currently has on Bearpond Road, Hester said at the meeting.

Since it was founded in the late 1970’s in Vance County, Hoyle’s Tire & Axle has grown into a trusted tire and axle manufacturer and supplier serving the manufactured housing industry.

In 2016, the company relocated from its 6,000 square-foot facility on Highway 39 South to 175 Bearpond Rd. The additional space enabled the company to purchase components on a greater scale and expand into in-house axle assembly.

The shell building will support the expansion of Sure Trac of North Carolina, said Dylan Hoyle.

In a statement, Hoyle said “the company’s success is rooted in its faith, its people, and its commitment to serving customers with excellence. We believe God has faithfully guided our growth throughout the years. As we often say, ‘He steers the boat and we row.’ Equally important has been the dedication of our employees. Every milestone we have achieved is the result of talented individuals working together toward a common goal.

“We believe that any business or organization will only grow as far as its people can take it, and our team has been the driving force behind our continued success,” he stated.

Hester said, “Nothing makes me prouder than to see a company in Vance County North Carolina expanding and growing and doing something…If we had not had this building available, they had offers from other states to move. But they wanted to stay here because of the fact they were tied to Vance County.”

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TownTalk: What Vance County EMS Means To All

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Vance County EMS essentially indicates the difficulty of having resources well positioned and that its a moving target.  Right now it seems EMS is having to react to evolving data but is trying to be as proactive as possible.

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TownTalk: Vance County EMS Ambulance Placement

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The Vance County Board of Commissioners voted 4-3 against a motion made by Commissioner Dan Brummitt to restore the location of the Vance County EMS ambulance to Bearpond Volunteer Fire Department.

The contract to house the ambulance at Bearpond VFD ended on June 30, 2026 and was not renewed.

Several commissioners expressed concern that this item was not brought before the board for review before being terminated.

Commissioner Yolanda Feimster said she learned about it from a social media post; Commissioner Valencia Perry, who also sits on the county’s Public Safety Committee, sent WIZS a copy of a letter late last week stating her objection to the removal of EMS services from Bearpond.

Commissioners Brummitt, Feimster and Perry cast votes in favor of restoring EMS services to Bearpond; Commissioners Leo Kelly, Tommy Hester, Carolyn Faines and Charisse Fain voted against.

At Monday’s meeting, Assistant EMS Director Billy Jenkins presented data that focused on calls and call volume, as well as days when there was limited staffing or no staffing.

When asked by Commissioner Tommy Hester for his recommendation, Jenkins said he would move the ambulance to the Central station.

Jenkins said the decision had nothing to do with any disagreement and said Bearpond leaders were aware that the EMS contract would be ending.

Increased call volume to the northern and central areas of the county have increased, and Jenkins said they are “bleeding red” as it relates to call data.

“EMS is always behind the eight ball,” Jenkins said. “We’re never going to have the trucks where you need them – never going to have enough staff.” He said he’d like to ultimately see two in the north, two in the south and four at a central location to be able to adequately cover the whole county.

He said it will take continued collaboration with county commissioners and county administration to achieve the goal of providing EMS service across the county.

Brummitt, who disputed the call volume data Jenkins presented as well as the projected response times to calls, said the contract should have been brought to commissioners, since it was a 5-year renewal. He said the county manager is authorized to negotiate contracts or leases that are up to one year in length.

Assistant County Manager Jeremy Jones is acting EMS director, County Manager Renee Perry said. Perry said she supports her staff’s decision.

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Perry Memorial Library

The Local Skinny! Films, Fossils & Fun at Perry Memorial Library

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Books can transport readers to faraway lands, take them on fun adventures or lead them back through history. And now, with July’s heat cranked all the way up, Memorial Library Youth Services Director Melody Peters says the library is a very cool place – in every sense of the word – to enjoy the summer. Come and choose some books, then hang around for all the extra activities the library offers.

In addition to all the reading selections, children can enjoy movies – The Good Dinosaur is up this afternoon at 4:30 p.m., tying into the summer reading theme of Unearth A Story.

And the summertime STEAM activities continue next week with construction of catapults, Peters told WIZS’s Scout Hughes on Tuesday’s segment of The Local Skinny!

STEAM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math – and the activities are compliments of a partnership with Goodwill Industries of Eastern North Carolina.

The first program was a big hit – making pens using 3-D printers – and Peters said the kids loved it. So did she!

“I had never used anything like that,” she said. “It was really exciting to be able to create something like that.” You don’t just flip a switch or press a button, she said. There’s a bit of a learning curve and it takes time to understand how those printers work.

But it’s not all 21st century technology at the library. Next Tuesday, July 14, come check out the ancient sport of falconry. Chip Gentry with Hawk Manor Falconry will be in the gallery at 10:30 a.m. with his birds of prey to give patrons some insight into falconry, which has been around for thousands of years.

Then Coleman Davis of the N.C. Fossil Club is bringing his extensive fossil collection for the kids to see at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, July 14. “It is quite something to behold,” Peters said of the collection, which fits right in to the summer reading theme, too.

Then, on Thursday, July 16, visiting artist Michael Albert will lead a workshop from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. for youth ages 10-16.

Albert creates collages and his medium of choice is cereal boxes! Workshop participants will create their own collages.

Space is limited, so please register using the signup link at www.perrylibrary.org.

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Cooperative Extension with Michael Ellington: Q&A Session

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Michael Ellington, on the Vance County Cooperative Extension Report:

Today’s show answers 4 common gardening questions from listeners about lawn care, gardening, soil amendments, and backyard chickens.

Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.

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Vance County Commissioners, Planning Board Schedule July 9 Joint Work Session On UDO

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The Vance County Board of Commissioners and the Vance County Planning Board are scheduled to have a joint work session next week to discuss and review the county’s unified development ordinance.

According to a notice from Clerk to the Commissioners Dywanda Pettaway, the meeting will be held on Thursday, July 9 at 4 p.m. in the commissioners’ meeting room in the Vance County Administration Building, 122 Young St., Henderson.

This meeting is work session #1 regarding the development and review of the proposed county UDO. Discussion will focus on the structure, content and implementation of the proposed ordinance, as well as opportunities for feedback and collaboration between the two boards.

Although open to the public, work sessions do not include public comment periods. The meeting also can be viewed on the county’s YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUMNYAAhyvKx5leijt5iK6Q