Voluntary Dismissal With Leave in Franklin Co. Murder Case

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— courtesy of The Office of DA Mike Waters

Louisburg, NC – On Wednesday, October 11, 2017, Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Robert H. Hobgood presided over an administrative session of Franklin County Criminal Superior Court which was set by the District Attorney’s Office specifically to address the pending murder cases in Franklin County. The State of North Carolina vs. Oliver M. Funes Machada was among the cases heard before the Court. Prior to today, the Defendant was committed to Central Regional Hospital to evaluate his capacity to proceed in the criminal case against him. The Court sought guidance regarding his ability to understand the nature of the proceedings against him, and his ability to assist in his defense. The Court, after reviewing the report prepared by mental health professionals at Central Regional Hospital, determined that the Defendant did not have the capacity to proceed. Therefore, the State of North Carolina will take a voluntary dismissal with leave in this case. Oliver M. Funes Machada will be committed to Central Regional Hospital for mental health treatment and further evaluation. Should the Defendant’s capacity
to proceed be restored, he would be returned to the custody of Franklin County Sheriff Kent Winstead, and the District Attorney’s Office will reinstate the charges against the Mr. Machada.

News 10/12/17

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MPH’s Dani Burton Awarded

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— courtesy Maria Parham Health

Maria Parham Health (MPH) announced Dani Burton as their Daisy Recipient for the 3rd quarter in 2017. Maria Parham is proud to participate in the Daisy Award, an international program that rewards and celebrates the extraordinary clinical skill and compassionate care given by nurses every day. Through this program, the hospital recognizes one extraordinary nurse every quarter who has demonstrated exceptional care for their patients at Maria Parham.

Dani is from Franklinton where she graduated from Franklinton High School. In 2008, Dani earned her LPN and worked as a monitor tech for several years before returning to Vance Granville Community College to earn her RN in 2012. Dani has worked at Maria Parham since 2015.

Receiving the Daisy award is a great honor and showcases the exceptional level of care provided to patients every day by our extraordinary nurses at Maria Parham! To find out more about the program, please go to www.DAISYfoundation.org.

(Maria Parham Health is a paying advertising client of WIZS.)

News 10/11/17

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I Voted Sticker

10-10-2017 Henderson City Election Results

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Unofficial Results

Robin Littlejohn is a Rockstar

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— courtesy Vance County Schools

Robin Littlejohn, a member of the faculty at L.B. Yancey Elementary School, has been recognized as a Rosetta Stone Rockstar.

Rosetta Stone is a nationally recognized foreign language software application used by L.B. Yancey Elementary and schools across our state and the nation to assist students, who don’t speak English as their native language, in learning how to speak and write in English.

Littlejohn leads the foriegn language efforts at L.B. Yancey and has been assisting Rosetta Stone officials in planning the first K-12 User Conference for the software application company. The theme of the conference is “Shaping the Future” and it will be held November 15-16 in Nashville, Tenn.

Domestic Violence Awareness Month

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October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.  If you live in Henderson-Vance or the surrounding area and you need help, please call 252-425-2492 for an emergency or 252-431-1926 for the business line.

Reference today’s TownTalk for more information, which can be done by clicking here.

In addition, on October 18 and October 25 from 9:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. or 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., there will be Domestic Violence 101 Training at Maria Parham Health.  You can register for one of the days and times by using the following link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dv-101-training-registraction-37457489359?aff=eivtefrnd.

Also, be sure to tune in to TownTalk on WIZS 1450 AM or online at wizs.com on October 17th, 24th and 31st for more information.

News 10/10/17

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City of Henderson Logo

City of Henderson Election Oct. 10

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Local, live election returns can be heard on WIZS 1450 AM and on wizs.com Tuesday night beginning at 7:30.  In addition to the live audio on air and online, there will be a live results sheet on wizs.com that you can follow as we type in the vote totals.

The City of Henderson non-partisan election will take place Tuesday, October 10th.  Based on the number of people who filed to run for the Henderson City Council seats up for grabs this year, there is one contested race, and that’s for the Ward 4 Ward Seat.  However, the Ward 2 At Large seat will see a contest as well.

The Ward 4 Ward Seat incumbent, Fearldine Simmons, is being challenged by Blakely Lee Bates.  Simmons won the Ward 4 Ward Seat back in October of 2013 with 51.08% of the vote, when a total of 325 people from the ward voted.  Bates last ran for local office in October of 2015 when he challenged Ward 4 At Large incumbent George Daye.

The filing period in Vance County ended on July 21, 2017, and you can click here for a complete list.

For Ward 2 At Large, William Burnette filed to seek the seat being vacated by incumbent Mike Inscoe.  Inscoe did not file for re-election after serving for four consecutive terms.  Bryan Hargrove is running a write-in campaign against Burnette.  In order for a vote for a write-in candidate to count, a voter must fill in the bubble beside write-in on the ballot and then write a name, according to Deputy Director Melody Vaughan with the Vance County Board of Elections.  As for Inscoe, he explained more about his decision not to run in this link to a Daily Dispatch article on August 3.

The polls open at 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday, October 10 and close at 7:30 p.m.

Early One-Stop voting has concluded.

Sara Coffey is running unopposed for the Ward 1 At Large Seat.

Garry D. Daeke is running unopposed for the Ward 3 Ward Seat.

Both Coffey and Daeke won substantially in 2013.

Ward seats are voted on exclusively by residents in the ward’s precincts.  At Large seats are voted on by all eligible voters in the city.

Seats on the Henderson City Council are elected every four years.  Also, the mayor is elected every four years.

Here in 2017, Ward 1 At Large, Ward 2 At Large, Alderman 3rd Ward and Alderman 4th Ward are being elected.  Back in 2015, the mayor was elected along with Ward 3 At Large, Ward 4 At Large, Alderman 1st Ward and Alderman 2nd Ward.

William Small pleads guilty to the 2014 murder of Gwendolyn Leake

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— press release courtesy of District Attorney Mike Waters

Louisburg, NC— On Friday, October 06, 2017, Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Robert H. Hobgood presided over a special setting of Vance County Criminal Superior Court. This session of court was held in Franklin County for the sake of convenience. District Attorney Mike Waters and Assistant District Attorney Melissa Pelfrey represented the State of North Carolina, and defense attorney, Mary Jude Darrow represented the defendant William Small. Mr. Small, whose case was set first for trial on Monday, October 9, 2017, entered into a plea agreement to Second Degree Murder and received an active sentence of 400 to 492 months in the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Division of Adult Correction for his role in the death of retired Vance County Department of Social Services employee Gwendolyn Leake. Ms. Leake was found murdered in her home on October 24, 2014. This case was investigated by Detective Donnie Thomas of the Vance County Sheriff’s Office, under the supervision of Sheriff Peter White, with the assistance of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.