TownTalk: Around Old Granville – Henderson Cotton Mill Strike Pt.2

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The Henderson cotton mill strike of 1958 began as a relatively peaceful protest when workers and company leaders couldn’t agree about how to settle disagreements – for years, both sides had agreed to use arbitration as a way to settle disputes about a variety of grievances, said local historian Mark Pace.

And, Pace said, it seemed to work out that, over those years, about half the judgments were found in favor of the workers, and half in favor of the company.

The strike made headlines across the country and beyond, Pace noted in Thursday’s Around Old Granville segment of TownTalk with WIZS’s Bill Harris. And in February 1959, after months of being shut down, the mill management decided to take action.

“The Coopers put out a call for strike breakers,” Pace said. “they wanted to run one shift and crank up production.” The inventory of yarns and cotton that had been stockpiled was running low, and so the mill needed to be running again.

“Until that point, the strike had been relatively peaceful,” Pace said. But when strikebreakers were brought in, that’s when things turned violent.

There were at least 16 cases of bombings between February and May 1959. Warehouses were bombed, homes were bombed, windows shot out. About 150 people were arrested, but Pace said local law enforcement was stretched beyond its limits.

The mills in North Henderson and South Henderson both were outside the city limits, so it was up to the sheriff’s office to keep things calm near the mills as best they could.

Gov. Luther Hodges, himself once a textile mill vice president, Pace explained, called the State Highway Patrol into action to help keep the peace in Henderson. Eventually, however, the National Guard got involved.

A man making a cotton delivery to one of the mills was attacked by a mob of protesters,prompting a judge to rule that a maximum of eight strikers could be at the mill gate at any one time.

“At this point the textile workers were desperate,” Pace said. “They had tried going on strike, but that had not worked.” Although the union gave them stipends, it wasn’t enough.

And the longer the strike lasted, the less money the union had available.

In May 1961, there was a call to end the strike.

By then, however, the mills were back to running three full shifts – this time with non-union workers. Pace said 90 percent of the people who went on strike never went back to work at the cotton mills.

Harriet-Henderson was Vance County’s largest employer from 1895 to 2003 and had a footprint of close to half a million square feet at the height of its success.

The strike was significant, “not just for Henderson but for the South,” Pace said. The textile workers’ strike in Henderson was the last major attempt by unions to build effective unions in the southern United States in the textile industry, which was the largest industry in the South at that time, he said.

“By and large, they failed,” he said.

 

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TownTalk: Business Spotlight – Ballet Arts

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Since 1991, Ballet Arts has provided instruction to thousands of young people to learn about different genres of dance and experience the beauty of an art form that teaches life lessons in addition to dance moves.

In Wednesday’s Business Spotlight, Phil LaKernick said registration is now underway for the upcoming season of dance, which includes everything from traditional ballet and pointe to tap, hiphop, floor gymnastics and more.

Ballet Arts more or less follows the school year, offering in excess of 100 classes each week to children as young as 2 1/2, LaKernick said.

“Right now is crunch time,” LaKernick said, referring to registration in advance of a Sept. 2 start date.

Find details about class schedules, pricing and more at https://www.balletartsnc.com/.

LaKernick said that students learn so much more than just dance steps when they take classes – they also learn about dedication, precision, friendship and the responsibility of being part of a team.

Another component of Ballet Arts involves competitions – The Ballet Arts “All Stars” Company is a group of dancers between the ages of 7 and 18 who audition for a spot in the coveted group.

In more than 30 years of offering dance classes, LaKernick said Ballet Arts now has children and grandchildren of those original students back in the early 1990’s.

“It’s really good, because the people that have come to us have stuck with us,” he said.

“I wish more people would come out and do it,” he added. “It’s a learning experience…the dedication and camaraderie that is part of the whole package.”

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TownTalk: Henderson-Vance Crime Stoppers Annual Golf Tournament Shaping Up

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The annual Henderson-Vance Crime Stoppers golf tournament tees up Thursday, Aug. 14 at Kerr Lake Country Club. There are 19 teams signed up so far. Danny Wright, the local organization’s treasurer, says there’s still room to squeeze in a couple more.

Folks may be familiar with the way Crime Stoppers works, and Wright said the local organization has recently made a $5,000 reward for information in a case. Often, the reward is $2,000 or less, he said.

To be clear, the local group receives no state or federal funding – it relies on donations from individuals, businesses and other community organizations to be able to make the rewards.

Organizers hope to raise between $10,000 and $12,000 with the golf tournament.

The four-member teams pay $200 that includes a round of golf, lunch and snacks. Lunch and check-in begins at 11:30 a.m., with a shotgun start at 1 p.m.

The hole sponsors are key to generating the income, he said. Hole sponsorships are $100 and there’s still time to become a sponsor. Call Wright at 252.432.1141 to learn how.

“The reward is a bonus,” Wright explained, “something extra. We like to think that good community-minded citizens would share information without having to be paid to do so.”

Crime in communities is nothing new, and it seems sometimes that Vance County has more than its share, Wright said. It’s the advances in technology that are helping to make it simpler to share information to law enforcement agencies.

Crime Stoppers uses a P3 app in addition to a phone number for individuals to send helpful information.

But there also are links on the group’s social media page and website that facilitate to report information as well.

“For every crime that occurs, somebody somewhere sees something and knows something and we are the organization that facilitates the flow of that information into the hands of law enforcement – anonymously,” Wright said. Emphasis on the word “anonymously.”

The technology has changed, but the premise of seeing something and reporting it is the basis for Crime Stoppers.

“It’s still up to the individual in their community to want to watch and be vigilant as to what is going on in their community and report,” Wright said. “We are relying on the good faith of our community citizens. If you don’t have the safety and security of your citizens, you have absolutely nothing.”

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State Auditor Discloses Details Of DMV Audit As Long Wait Times, Lines Continue Across State

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— information courtesy of the N.C. Office of the State Auditor

 

The North Carolina Office of the State Auditor has released two audits of North Carolina’s Division of Motor Vehicles. The reports – including a performance audit and information systems audit – were conducted to examine the current operational challenges affecting the most forward-facing agency in state government.

“I pledged to audit the DMV to get to the root cause of its failure, and the reports dealing with licensing procedures and information systems are now complete,” said State Auditor Dave Boliek. “Our audit team has worked hard to find opportunities where the DMV can course correct and effectively serve North Carolina citizens.”

OSA’s performance audit shows the DMV experience for both customers and employees has gotten worse over the years, and that the relationship between the DMV and the N.C. Department of Transportation is a contributing factor.

Customer service has been declining, with wait times on the rise:

  • Average DMV wait times stand at 1 hour and 15 minutes, up 15.5 percent since 2019.
  • Data shows nearly 14 percent of visits exceeded 2.5 hours in fiscal year 2025, up about 79 percent since 2019.

Employees are struggling with workload and burnout:

  • Only 47 percent of DMV workers believed the DMV fostered open communication.
  • 43 percent expressed negative views of prior leadership support.
  • Employees cited low salary, burnout, security concerns, lack of support and inadequate training.
  • Average salaries are below $50,000 for examiners in both rural and urban areas.

Staffing levels are unsustainable:

  • North Carolina’s population has grown by 2.5 million (29 percent) in the last 20 years, but driver license examiner positions have only increased by 52 positions (10 percent).
  • Only 505 of the 710 driver license examiner positions are filled, roughly 160 vacancies remain.
  • In Harnett County, there is only one examiner serving over 56,000 residents.

To address the structural challenges identified in the performance audit, and ensure DMV can deliver timely, effective, and citizen-centered services, OSA makes five recommendations:

  • Policymakers should consider establishing DMV as an autonomous agency or authority with direct control over its budget, strategic planning and operations.
  • DMV leadership should adopt a comprehensive strategic plan independent of DOT.
  • DMV should conduct an in-depth staffing analysis to inform a multi-year, phased staffing plan that addresses examiner shortages and ensures service equity statewide.
  • DMV should build and maintain a centralized performance dashboard to track and report key service metrics.
  • DMV should partner with an industry expert to develop and implement evidence-based improvements to customer experience and service delivery.

The findings in the performance audit point toward a dysfunctional relationship between DMV and DOT. There are four systemic challenges stemming from the DMV’s governance structure as a division of DOT, including limited strategic input, restricted budget autonomy, insufficient performance data and exclusion from key process modernization initiatives.

Examples include:

  • DMV generates 30 percent of DOT’s overall revenue, but accounts for only 2.8 percent of DOT’s expenditures.
  • Of the 45 performance milestones in the DOT strategic plan for the 2023-2025 biennium, only two directly pertained to DMV operations.
  • Only 31 percent of DMV’s staffing requests were included in DOT’s budget requests.
  • DOT left out DMV customer satisfaction data in its performance report.
  • DMV was excluded from planning and procurement phases of improvement efforts led by DOT.

“It’s time to solve the DMV problem. North Carolina has the will and the tools to make our DMV better. Our audit lays out some concrete steps to begin the process to fix the DMV,” Boliek said.

Each recommendation includes specific timelines for impacted parties to follow. OSA will be following up on each recommendation to ensure progress is being made.

In addition to the performance audit, OSA conducted an information systems audit of DMV. The information systems audit found that since 2014, the DMV and Department of Information Technology – Transportation initiated 46 projects that resulted in a cost of approximately $42 million. However, even with all the projects, IT modernization efforts have not produced meaningful customer service improvements, and the current DMV mainframe systems are outdated and overdue for replacement.

OSA made four recommendations for the DMV and DIT-T to take to improve operations.

The audit process for the DMV involved on-site visits to multiple locations, interviews with DMV and DOT personnel, and a thorough review of current strategic plans, general statutes and employee engagement surveys. OSA analyzed key data, including budget expansion requests, wait times, transaction volumes, ZIP code transaction data, service time data, and dwell time data, to assess operational efficiency and service delivery.

Auditors and specialists also engaged external experts from the Institute for Transportation Research and Education, the Bryan School of Business and Economics at UNC-Greensboro, and the UNC School of Government.

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TownTalk: Commissioners Vote 4-2 To End Funding For Vance County Rescue Squad

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The Vance County Rescue Squad, in operation since 1953 as a nonprofit organization, will not get funding from the county commissioners beyond the 3-month contract extension that ends Sept. 30. Listen to TownTalk for a more detailed analysis of what the contract termination could mean for the rescue squad and how it may operate in the future.  Plus, some attempted explanation about the investment Vance County seems to want to make.  And, what we may hear next about these matters.

(The audio file below has been edited to remove an inaccuracy from when it was originally broadcast.  A correction has also been made on air.)

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TownTalk: Commissioners Terminate Funding and Contract Relationship with “Rescue Squad”

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In a 4-2 vote, the Vance County Board of Commissioners Monday terminated funding for the Vance County Rescue Squad, effective Sept. 30, 2025.

The county did not renew the contract with the rescue squad, which expired on June 30, but commissioners agreed to a 90-day extension. That extension ends Sept. 30.

During a joint meeting last week of the county’s public safety committee and the fire commission, the discussion ramped up to include the possibility of merging the Vance County Fire Department and the Vance County Rescue Squad, a 501(c)3 organization established in 1953.

Several people spoke Monday night to commissioners in support of the rescue squad during the public comment portion of the meeting, among them, Brandon Link, president of the Vance County Firefighters Association.

County Manager C. Renee Perry told commissioners that the county has the authority to reduce or terminate funding for the rescue squad, but not to dissolve the rescue squad, which is a volunteer organization.

Commissioner Tommy Hester’s motion to terminate funding, effective Sept. 30, was seconded by Commissioner Leo Kelly.

Commissioners Dan Brummitt and Valencia Perry cast the “no” votes and Commissioners Hester, Kelly, Chair Carolyn Faines and Charisse Fain cast votes in favor of the termination. Commissioner Feimster was absent.

“I want to save taxpayers money,” Hester said. “I want to move forward. I think we’ve got the fire chief to do it,” he said.

Commissioner Perry said, “We need to slow it down,” with regard to making a decision whether to continue funding the rescue squad, which got applause from the audience.

Commissioner Kelly said it’s a matter of looking at consolidation, not trying to put anyone out of business.

“Their service is valuable,” Kelly said, referring to the Vance County Rescue Squad.

During a joint meeting last week of the Vance County Firefighter’s Association and the Vance County Commissioner Public Safety Committee, Vance County Fire Department Chief Marvin Harrison said, “Let us move forward, grounded in truth and committed to collaboration, for the good of the public we are sworn to protect.”

At that joint meeting, Manager Perry said, “I have so much confidence in the Vance County Fire Department.  If the commissioners choose to end the contract on sept. 30, I have no doubt in my mind that the Vance County citizens will be ok.“

The outcome is contrary to what the fire association said it wanted in a letter written after its mid-July meeting.  The fire association wanted the Rescue Squad funded the same as other volunteer departments in Vance County, with a contract for 2025-2028 in place.

Click Play for TownTalk Audio on 8-5-25 AFTER the Vance County Commissioners Meeting

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Click Play for TownTalk Audio on 8-4-25 BEFORE the Vance County Commissioners Meeting

UPDATE 8-4-25 BEFORE the Vance County Commissioners Meeting

Members of the Vance County Firefighter’s Association and Vance County Commissioners Public Safety Committee held a joint meeting last week to continue discussions about the future – and fate – of the Vance County Rescue Squad.

The Vance County Board of Commissioners did not renew a contract with the rescue squad, which ended on June 30. The commissioners did, however, agree to a 90-day extension. That period ends Sept. 30, 2025.

During the joint meeting, County Manager C. Renee Perry said the item would be on tonight’s agenda for the commissioners’ regular monthly meeting, which begins at 6 p.m.

Commissioner Dan Brummitt, a member of the Public Safety Committee, shared contents of a letter signed by seven members of the Vance County Firefighters Association which offered support for the rescue squad.

“The association sees the benefit of the Vance County Rescue Squad and supports that organization and their mission to protect the citizens of Vance County,” the letter states.

“The certifications, equipment, and experience of the rescue squad, serving continuously since 1953, are an asset to all fire departments and citizens in Vance County,” it continued. The letter called for the county to reinstate the three-year contract with the rescue squad for 2025-28 and that the rescue squad be fully funded in 2025-26 just like all the other departments.

Brummitt said, “These are the guys that are out in the field. These are the guys that know what they’re doing and these are the ones that put their lives on the line every day and they’re asking for the support of the rescue squad. So I can’t see how we can do anything any different.”

Back in 2023, a fire study completed by AP Triton recommended that the county consider merging or at least increasing collaboration between the Vance County Fire Department and the Vance County Rescue Squad, County Manager C. Renee Perry reminded.

If the two entities merge, Perry said the rescue squad members would have to apply for positions with the Vance County Fire Dept and be part-time personnel. She said she didn’t know how a merger would affect the rescue squad assets (equipment). The rescue squad has been in operation since 1953 and is a nonprofit organization. Its members are volunteers.

Brummitt said he would get behind creating a combination department to allow to have paid staff and volunteers, just like the county’s other fire departments.

“It would save money and would allow us to spend money in other areas of the county to offer equal protection to all of our citizens in the county,” Brummitt said.

Brummitt continued, “It would not do away with the department, it would do away with the structure of the department.”

To which Perry said, “The study did not recommend that.” It recommended that the Vance County Fire Department (Golden Belt) remain a career fire department.

Brummitt took issue with other findings in the 2023 fire study, including response times. He said some redistricting could improve call times.

Shaping the Future in Henderson & Vance County

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It’s called “Shaping the Future: A Community Empowerment Extravaganza” and Higher is Waiting Executive Director Jayden Watkins said it’s part back-to-school, part community gathering combined with a whole lot of fun.

“The purpose of the event is to bring the community together,” Watkins told WIZS’s Scout Hughes Monday.

Watkins, 17 and a rising senior at Henderson Collegiate, invites families from across the community to the event, which is taking place on Saturday, Aug. 9 in downtown Henderson in the area near the police department and Perry Memorial Library.

There will be backpacks loaded with school supplies that will be distributed and free health screenings, along with a street fair atmosphere filled with vendors and food trucks for everyone to enjoy, Watkins said on Monday’s segment of The Local Skinny!

The event takes place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Watkins said he and Varonica “VV” Mitchell are going to co-host a talent show that is set to kick off at 12 noon.

“I welcome all ages,” Watkins said of talent show participants, whether they’re young or just young at heart – all are welcome.

Visit https://forms.gle/iWmCXjJZxEw9LXtP7 to sign up for the talent show.

Watkins said there’s still time to sign up to be a sponsor for the event.

Visit Higher is Waiting’s webpage at https://jaydenwatkins.com/higher-is-waiting and click on the sponsorship link.

“I still need more support,” he said. “That’s how we take it to the next level.”

Volunteers also are needed to help pack the backpacks on Friday, Aug. 8 and to help set up early Saturday morning. Contact Watkins at 252.425.0354 if you’d like to help make a donation of money, school supplies or if you’d like to volunteer.

Watkins has been nailing down details for this community event in between other activities he’s been busy with this summer, including preaching five times in the past week, participating in the Governor’s Page Program and another program at N.C. State University. He’s packing his bags for a 10-day residential experience for prospective journalism students at Princeton University. That’s on top of his “I Declare War” tour and cooking meals at the local shelter with his girlfriend.

“This is a vision God gave me,” he said. “Everything I do is to be obedient to God…at the end of the day, I simply want God to be pleased and proud.”

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(This information and embedded audio was orginally posted July 21, 2025.)

TownTalk: Recovery Alive Receives Opioid Settlement Money

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Tisha Temple, the founder and CEO of Recovery Alive Homes, has a passion for helping people struggling with opioid use disorder. She once struggled with it herself, and has been free from its grip for 11 years now.

Temple’s nonprofit was one of two groups to get grants from the city of Henderson in its initial disbursement of opioid settlement money.

The Henderson City Council granted RA Homes $50,000 to set up two residential sober-living homes here – and Temple can’t wait until the project is up and running.

“The money is there because people are losing their lives to opioid use disorder,” she explained on Thursday’s TownTalk.

“When we have funding to be able to create solutions in communities to give people a different pathway and to help them find recovery, the best thing to do is not leave the money sitting in the bank – the best thing to do is distribute it,” she said.

There are eight RA Homes in operation now, Temple said. She’s working with a local realtor to identify properties and then will work with an investor to purchase the homes, one for men and one for women who are already in recovery.

“That is how our model works,” she said. “We lease the properties from management teams. We are truly part of beautiful community solutions. We are good neighbors.”

She’s got her eyes on one property already, and hopes it’ll work out. If not, she said she “will patiently wait for God to open the right doors.”

Locating sober-living homes here in Henderson has special meaning for Temple. It wasn’t that long ago that she herself was regaining control of her life in a similar residential program in Raleigh.

At the time, fresh out of prison, Temple got the chance to enter a recovery treatment program and ultimately into a sober-living home.

The residential program that she created with RA Homes, however, has one important component that the one in Raleigh didn’t.

“That recovery home saved my life…(but) it wasn’t Christ-centered. It worked, but I believe that my recovery grew deeper because I was able to have a relationship with Jesus. That was my recovery,” Temple said.

And now, some years later, Temple is gearing up to plant two new RA Homes in her hometown. “It is now time to open recover alive homes in the same community where I did not have the resources that I needed to get better and stay better,” she said.

RA Homes and the 12-step, Christ-centered program will be here to help somebody else’s son or daughter as they embark on a journey of sober living.

Visit www.wizs.com to listen back to the complete interview.

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TownTalk: Community Day with Turning Point CDC

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Saturday’s Community Day at Turning Point CDC checks all the boxes for families and others who are looking to learn more about resources available in the area, but Executive Director Chalis Henderson predicts the vibe will be closer to a family reunion than anything else.

“It’s a day of networking, a day of fun and fellowship and certainly excitement as we see the different vendors out there,” Henderson said. “It’s just good times.”

More than 40 vendors are expected to be on hand to share information and network with folks who live in their sphere of influence, from the local cooperative extension to the new charter school, The Sledge Institute.

All the vendors are asked to bring some school supplies to donate, which will be distributed during the event.

“We expect everyone to leave with plenty,” she said, whether it’s food, school supplies or increased knowledge and awareness of how to access resources in the area.

“Community Day is beneficial not only for the community members,” Henderson said, “but for the vendors and partners to connect…we can all come together and get what we need on this day.”

The event will take place on Saturday, Aug. 2 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Turning Point CDC campus, located at 2495 U.S. 1/158 in Henderson.

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“We’re big on networking, building partnerships and bridges,” Henderson said, adding that there are greater outcomes for the larger community when partnerships are formed.

With so many vendors and other activities going on throughout the day, Henderson said another community partner, NC Idea, is working it out so that each vendor will have a couple of minutes with a microphone to explain what they do and services they provide.

So even if you can’t visit each table, tent or booth, Henderson said if you’re within earshot, you’ll have a better idea of exactly what services are available and how to access them.

Turning Point CDC is an offshoot of Oasis of Hope Ministries, which Henderson’s parents established almost 25 years ago.

By empowering people, communities can be transformed, she said. Whoever visits the campus can see in action a thriving preschool, after-school program, food pantry and summer learning activities.

“There’s always some form of ministry or outreach taking place,” she said. “It’s a blessing to have a space that provides those opportunities…every single thing on our campus has a purpose to it and it’s designed with great intention.”

Visit https://www.turningpointcdc.org/ to learn more.

City Of Henderson Awarded $10.7M For Water Projects

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The City of Henderson is getting $10.7 million from the state’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund for its Sandy Creek Pump Station and Force Main projects.

The announcement came last week, when Gov. Josh Stein and the Department of Environmental Quality said that 48 projects in 27 counties would receive more than $204 million in funding for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects.

The awards will improve drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, address PFAS and other forever chemicals, identify and replace lead pipes and improve resiliency after future storms, according to information on the DEQ website.

“When you turn on the faucet in your home, you shouldn’t have to worry about whether that water is safe for your family,” said Governor Josh Stein. “These investments will help ensure North Carolinians have access to clean drinking water and will help keep people safe when disaster strikes.”

“At DEQ, we’re committed to ensuring everyone in North Carolina has access to clean water,” said DEQ Secretary Reid Wilson. “This funding will address aging infrastructure and improve public health for communities large and small.”

The town of Warrenton also is set to receive $10 million for its Phase IV Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvements project.