H-V Rec. & Parks to Hold Annual Egg Hunt in Two Locations

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-Information courtesy Tara Goolsby, Henderson-Vance Recreation and Parks Program Superintendent, Aycock Recreation Center

The Henderson-Vance Recreation and Parks Department’s Egg Hunt will be held at two locations this year: Aycock Recreation Center (307 Carey Chapel Road, Henderson) and Rollins Avenue Park (305 Rollins Avenue, Henderson) on Saturday, April 4, 2020, from 10 a.m. until all eggs are gone!

For more information, please contact Crystal Allen at (252) 431-6091 or callen@ci.henderson.nc.us.

Town Talk 03/03/20: Have You Voted? Primary Election Day Info.

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News 03/03/20

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H-V Emergency Operations

Town Talk 03/02/20: Severe Weather Preparedness Week March 1-7

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THIS STORY IS PRESENTED IN PART BY DRAKE DENTISTRY

Brian Short, Director of Henderson-Vance County Emergency Operations, appeared on WIZS Town Talk Monday at 11 a.m.

Short announced that March 1 – March 7 is the 2020 North Carolina Severe Weather Preparedness Week. With the potential of severe weather peaking with the beginning of the spring season, Short said now is the time to prepare in case of an emergency situation.

“Mother Nature rarely gives us a break,” said Short. “It seems like there is something we face every season. As we slide into spring, there is the potential for severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, straight-line winds, flash flooding and lightning.”

The number one thing you can do to prepare for severe weather is to make a safety plan for you and your family, Short explained. The plan should include which room(s) of the home to seek shelter in and who to contact in case of an emergency.

Tips for staying safe in events such as a tornado include seeking shelter in an interior room with no windows, staying close to the ground and getting in a doorway, which tends to be more structurally-sound than other parts of the home.

In addition to making a severe weather safety plan, Short said the National Weather Service (NWS) encourages everyone to participate in a Statewide Tornado Drill, which will occur on Wednesday, March 4, 2020, at 9:30 a.m. Every school, business, workplace, and family across the state is strongly encouraged to participate.

In information Short provided to WIZS, the NWS states the following:

  • The tornado drill will be broadcast on NOAA Weather Radio and the Emergency Alert System via the Required Monthly Test (RMT). There will not be an actual Tornado Warning issued.
  • Many NOAA Weather Radio receivers (including the older Midland WR-100 radios that many schools have) do not sound an audible alert for the RMT product; instead, they may have a blinking light on the display to indicate that an RMT was received. As such, when the RMT for the statewide tornado drill is initiated at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 4, 2020, there is a chance that your NOAA Weather Radio will not sound an alarm.

Since your NOAA Weather Radio may not sound an alarm at the time the RMT is issued, you may do one of the following:

  • Manually turn on your NOAA Weather Radio receiver and listen to the audio broadcast to hear when the RMT is issued, which will mark the beginning of the statewide tornado drill.
  • Plan to start your tornado drill on your own at 9:30 a.m.

There will be no follow-up statements issued by the NWS to mark the end of the statewide tornado drill. It will end when your group feels that you have adequately practiced your tornado shelter procedures.

According to the NWS, if there is actual severe weather occurring on March 4, 2020, the statewide tornado drill will be postponed. The alternate date for the drill is Friday, March 6, 2020, at 9:30 a.m.

Short encourages Henderson residents (that haven’t already done so) to visit www.vancecounty.org/em to register for the Code Red emergency notification service. By signing up for Code Red, you will receive local weather alerts and emergency information – evacuation notices, bio-terrorism alerts, boil water notices, missing child reports, etc. – directly to your phone.

For additional information on Severe Weather Preparedness Week, please visit https://www.weather.gov/rah/2020ncswpw where you’ll find links to daily severe weather topics and useful severe weather preparedness tips and information.

To hear the interview with Short in its entirety, go to WIZS.com and click on Town Talk.

I Voted Sticker

Tues. is Election Day; Less Than 10 Percent of Vance Co. Voters Cast Early Ballots

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Early voting finished Saturday. According to election director Faye Gill for the Vance County Board of Elections, “ The grand total for entire Early Voting is 2,793.” Vance County has 28,471 registered voters, which means 9.8 percent of eligible voters in Vance County voted early.

When compared to the May 2018 primary in Vance County, which held a Democratic Primary race for Sheriff, 18.39 percent of eligible voters cast a vote in 2018. Just a head-to-head comparison would lead you to believe that half of those who will vote have already done so early.

But this is a Presidential election year and Super Tuesday.

If you go back to the March 2016 primary election – the last Presidential Election year – almost 32 percent of eligible Vance County voters cast a vote, which would be an indication that so far this year a little less than one third, or more specifically about 30.6 percent, of the people who are planning to vote have already done so early.

The Polls are open Tuesday from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

All absentee ballots must be returned by Tuesday, March 3, 2020, at 5 p.m. or must be postmarked by March 3, 2020, and received in the Board of Elections Office by 5 p.m. on Friday, March 6, 2020.

Voters WILL NOT be required to show photo ID for the March 3, 2020 Primary Election. In a December 31 order, a federal district court blocked North Carolina’s voter photo ID requirement from taking effect. This injunction will remain in place until further order of the court.

H-V Chamber Thanks Community for Support of Annual Membership Banquet (Pics)

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Information and photos courtesy Michele Burgess, president of the Henderson-Vance County Chamber of Commerce:

The Henderson-Vance County Chamber of Commerce had a very successful 2020 Annual Membership Meeting and Banquet. We had an early sell-out of our 400 available seats, so I wanted to share some highlights with those of you who were unable to attend.

We appreciate the efforts of our 2019 Outgoing Chairman of the Board of Directors, Nancy Wykle (The Daily Dispatch) and we were excited to welcome Tyler Brewer (Brewer Cycles) as our new 2020 Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Our Annual Meeting Planning Committee did an outstanding job of recommending new and exciting features to reinvigorate this signature event. The members of the Planning Committee were Stephanie Hoyle, Diane Finch, Julia Langston, Melissa Paul, John Charles Rose, Micheal Shaw, Ana Vaughan, Gayle Watkins and Nancy Wykle.

I hope you will enjoy the Chamber video that was shown at the Annual Meeting – Click on this link to watch: https://youtu.be/D2zykVWh4G4.

Special thanks to Edward Ortega with Vance County Schools, Jeannie Rose and John Charles Rose with WIZS Radio who volunteered many, many hours of their time and talent to produce this video for our Chamber.

Congratulations to our 2019 Citizen of the Year – Tommy and Carolyn Farmer – and congratulations to Desiree Brooks (The Daily Dispatch) our Chamber Ambassador of the Year.

Thank you to our Presenting Sponsor – Duke Energy. Other sponsors included: (Gold) Benchmark Community Bank, MARS Petcare, and Walmart Distribution Center; (Silver) Truist Bank, Maria Parham Health, and Wake Electric Membership Corp; (Bronze) EnviroLink and Union Bank.

We added a Social event prior to dinner at this year’s banquet; thank you to  Rose Oil Company for sponsoring the hot beverage bar and to Maria Parham Health for providing the appetizers.

Catering for dinner was provided by Ted Wheeler, Ted’s Catering Service.

We enjoyed entertainment by the Vance County High School chorus and the Just Friends band that played during our Social.

Thank you to Chick-fil-A for donating meal gift cards for the students and the band members. MARS Petcare contributed chocolate candy table favors to everyone and Emily Arner Freeman provided homemade cupcakes for a special dessert.

Door Prizes were donated by Document Systems (office supplies); Henderson Family YMCA (6-month membership); Henderson Wellness (spa package gift certificates); Lowe’s Home Improvement ($50 gift certificate); Mast Drug Company (gift basket); Ribeye’s of Henderson ($50 gift certificate); Schewels Home (LG 32” Television); Southern Laundry ($25 gift certificate); The Daily Dispatch (1-year subscription); and The Peanut Roaster (peanuts gift basket).

We appreciate your support of our Chamber and we encourage you to become involved in one of our many Chamber of Commerce committees or attend one of our networking events. Contact the Chamber at (252) 438-8414 for more information.

Registration Underway for Vance Co. Special Olympics Volleyball

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-Information courtesy Tara Goolsby, Henderson-Vance Recreation and Parks Program Superintendent, Aycock Recreation Center

Vance County’s Special Olympics Volleyball will play on Tuesday nights from March 24 through May 26, 2020, at the Aycock Rec. Center. Games will be held from 6 – 7:30 p.m.

Applicants must pre-register by Friday, March 13, 2020.

The purpose of the Vance County Special Olympics North Carolina is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.

For more information, please contact Crystal Allen at (252) 431-6091 or callen@ci.henderson.nc.us.

News 03/02/20

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Vance County Schools Addresses Coronavirus Concerns

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THIS STORY IS PRESENTED IN PART BY DRAKE DENTISTRY

-Press Release, Vance County Schools

Vance County Schools continues to follow the guidance of local, state, and federal health officials regarding all communicable diseases. With the current concerns around COVID-19 coronavirus, the state of North Carolina has no reported cases at this time. Medical experts have indicated that the best ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are the same recommendations for preventing the spread of the flu.

The district is in the process of installing hand sanitizer stations near the Main Entrances of all of our facilities. All hard surfaces will be appropriately cleaned with EPA-registered disinfectants. Also, additional refresher training is being provided to our custodial and maintenance teams. Our buses will be disinfected appropriately as well.

The district is encouraging students and staff to follow basic prevention guidelines. Here are some helpful tips that, with everyone’s help, will aid in prevention:

  • Wash your hands frequently – and thoroughly. Use a hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.
  • Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Then, throw the tissue in the trash and wash your hands.
  • Remain home with a fever – if you have a temperature of 100.4 or greater, you should remain home until you are 24 hours fever free without fever-reducing medication.
  • Use the appropriate EPA-registered disinfectants on high-touch surfaces, such as doorknobs, tabletops, electronics, light switches, and more.

We will continue to monitor the situation and adjust protocols and processes as warranted. Updates will be posted on our district website at www.vcs.k12.nc.us.

 Additional Information and links:

Vance County Schools: Emergency Health Information for Coronavirus can be found here.

What you need to know about Coronavirus (English) can be found here; in Spanish here.

Coronavirus Q&A can be found here.

How to Clean and Disinfect Schools to Help Slow the Spread of the Flu information is available here.

Coronavirus updates from the CDC can be found here.

I Voted Sticker

Reminder: One-Stop Early Voting for March Primary Ends This Weekend

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-Information courtesy the Vance County Board of Elections

A reminder that One-Stop Early Voting for the March 3 Primary will end on Saturday, February 29, 2020.  The hours of operation for February 29 are 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. There are two voting sites, one is at the Vance County Board of Elections office and the other is at the Henderson Operations Center on Beckford Drive.

All absentee ballots must be returned by Tuesday, March 3, 2020, at 5 p.m. or must be postmarked by March 3, 2020, and received in the Board of Elections Office by 5 p.m. on Friday, March 6, 2020.

Voters WILL NOT be required to show photo ID for the March 3, 2020 Primary Election. In a December 31 order, a federal district court blocked North Carolina’s voter photo ID requirement from taking effect. This injunction will remain in place until further order of the court. If you have any questions, please contact the State Board of Elections at (919) 814-0744.

For more information, please visit the Vance County Board of Election website (click here) or the State Board of Elections website (click here).