Vance County Logo

TownTalk: Vance County Commissioners and Planning Board Talk UDO’s

/by

The Vance County Board of Commissioners and the Vance County Planning Board gathered Thursday afternoon for a joint meeting to get an update on progress of the development of a Unified Development Ordinance for the county.

Under the leadership of N-Focus, the county is in the process of updating policies that govern development and land use.

Michael Harvey with N-Focus shared a draft of the document during the hour-long meeting, and he walked the group through the various sections of the document.

Harvey said the UDO will provide a streamlined process that is easy for the public to read and follow, and will make policies easier to enforce.

The UDO is “born out of partnership, not mandates,” Harvey said.

N-Focus has worked with numerous counties and municipalities to develop ordinances and comprehensive land use plans over the past 20 years.

Harvey said N-Focus provides two years of service after the document is adopted to help resolve questions, address modifications or tackle other issues where support is needed.

Commissioner Dan Brummitt advocated for concentration first on Article 5 of the UDO draft, which includes data center development. If N-Focus can make that article a priority, then that part of the UDO could be adopted as a text amendment to the current ordinance.

Commissioner Valencia Perry said the current draft language is not strong enough; Harvey said N-Focus helps counties and municipalities develop their desired policies, while making sure the language is consistent with state law.

CLICK PLAY!

Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland: Insects

/by

Wayne Rowland, on the Vance County Cooperative Extension Report:

Most insects in the garden are beneficial insects. Gardeners need to learn to identify these beneficials.

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

Click Play!

More Than 40 Firefighters Respond To Fire At Glass Plant Saturday Night

/by

More than 40 firefighters responded to a call Saturday night to the Ardagh Group on Facet Road. Bearpond Volunteer Fire Department Chief Chris Pendergrass said the call about a glass leak came in about 10:20 p.m.

While the first units were on their way to the scene, firefighters got word that a tank had collapsed and flames were visible.

Firefighters from across the county helped, as well as departments from Franklin County. Crews remained at the scene for more than three hours, providing fire suppression, structural cooling and product containment.

The glass plant is still operational, he said. Damage was contained to the areas of the single tank that was involved. Apparently, the source of the incident was a furnace that holds molten glass before it is transferred through the machinery that creates the glass products. Pendergrass said the molten glass, at that point in the process, was about 2,800 degrees F.

Bearpond Fire Department got help from Epsom, Kittrell, Watkins, Vance County fire department, as well as Vance County EMS, Vance County Emergency Management and the Vance County Sheriff’s Office.

According to Pendergrass, all employees were accounted for; no injuries were reported.

“Initial crews reported fire on multiple floors as well in the ceiling area,” Pendergrass said.

A fifth department was requested for additional manpower. Fire units would operate for roughly 3.5 hours. providing fire suppression, structural cooling and product containment.

“This incident is a true reflection of our great collaboration and working relationship between our departments and mutual aid partners,” Pendergrass said.

Click the photo to see more at the Epsom Volunteer Fire Department page on Facebook.

Click Play!

TownTalk: Stephen Wolf Tapped As New Market Manager at VCRFM

/by

As the new manager of the Vance County Regional Farmers Market, Stephen Wolf is stepping right in at the height of the growing season, and he said everyone should come on out to pick up locally grown fruits, veggies and more.

“There’s a lot of beautiful produce out here,” Wolf said in an interview on Wednesday.

Since starting his new job in July, Wolf’s observations are that neither the persistent drought conditions nor sweltering heat have deterred producers or customers from coming out to the market.

Last Wednesday, for example, he said as many as 250 people visited the market. GRRO was out signing seniors up for the senior voucher program. “That was a strong Wednesday,” he said.

Topped only by Saturday, July 4, when more than 450 came in, “despite the heat, despite the holiday, they still came out and supported local. That really made us all feel good.”

The role of a market manager is complex – part cheerleader, part accountant, part community networker, part human resources expert – and that’s probably just scratching the surface. But Wolf said he brings a skill set to the job that sets him up for success.

As an entrepreneur and small business owner, Wolf has more than a decade of experience in facility management, and he knows how to market and sell products.

And while his previous experience as a farmer is limited to summertime work in a Williamsboro tobacco field when he was younger, Wolf said he’s got a soft spot in his heart for farmers. He wants to see local producers not only succeed, but thrive.

He describes himself as an inquisitive person, and he’s always willing to ask questions if he doesn’t know something. Since he’s been on board, he’s been talking with vendors at the market, shaking hands, hearing their stories and about what their business does.

“I want to build strong relationships with everyone so that we can all grow together,” he said.

“I see everybody out here trying,” Wolf said of the folks who bring their produce, locally sourced meats, eggs, fresh-cut flowers and handicrafts to market each week. “They’re hard workers, trustworthy people. “I want to see us all thrive – it’s the love of the game. I want to see Henderson come up, I want to see the market come up and I really just want to see the success.”

While he’s promoting the idea of eating local, Wolf said he also wants to make sure people know where the market is.

“I just want to help increase the visibility back here off of Beckford,” he said. In addition to more signs planted along roadsides, Wolf is beefing up the market’s social media presence.

And upcoming events – including a Misty Mayhem concert and a cooking class both on Aug. 1 – should bring some additional foot traffic to the market.

“I think we have the best facility in the entire region,” Wolf said. In addition to a great covered building, the community garden and the native pollinator garden that the Master Gardeners oversee are extra attractions for folks to come and enjoy.

Find out more at https://www.facebook.com/vcrfm/

and https://vance.ces.ncsu.edu/vance-county-regional-farmers-market/

CLICK PLAY!

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

/by

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.

CLICK PLAY!

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

/by

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.”

Click Play!

Vance County Logo

TownTalk: What Vance County EMS Means To All

/by

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.

CLICK PLAY!