TownTalk: Pink with a Passion on April 12th in Warrenton

/by

Look for the rainbow at the 4th annual Pink With A Passion event Saturday, April 12 at the Warren County Recreational Complex.

The theme for this year’s walk is “Walk With Strength: Fight Cancer In All Colors,” making reference to the distinct color assigned to particular cancers – pink represents breast cancer, for example.

As a breast cancer survivor herself, organizer Amena Wilson may be decked out in pink for the day’s activities, but she hopes to see a rainbow of colors represented.

Registration for the walk begins at 9:30 a.m. and the walk begins at 10 a.m, Wilson said.

The official part of the day will take place at 11 a.m., and participants can witness the Tree of Hope ceremony that Wilson says will be a unique experience.

The Tree of Hope, with its twinkling lights, will be a way to remember those who have lost their lives to cancer, as well as a way to offer hope to those facing health challenges. But, Wilson said, it’s also a joyous time to celebrate all those who have overcome challenges and are now in recovery following cancer diagnoses.

It’s a somber occasion, but it’s also going to be a lot of fun for the whole family. Last year’s event brought out about 400 people; this year, Wilson is expecting an even bigger crowd.

A mobile mammogram service is offering 25 free mammograms. Call 877.318.1349 to schedule an appointment or visit https://appointments.invisiondiagnostics.com/appoinment/

to reserve a spot.

“We’ll have a lot going on,” Wilson said. There will be a band and a dj providing musical entertainment, as well as a time to hear testimonies from cancer survivors and take part in a balloon release.

For the kids, there will be plenty of activities, including a bouncy house, face painting and a fire truck with a Smokey Bear character on board.

And let’s not forget the food trucks – Wilson said there will be everything from vegan on up to Southern Soul food on site for everyone to enjoy.

“It’s going to be a day full of joy, a day of celebration,” she said. “We’re so geared up and pumped up and ready to go!”

Bring a lawn chair and expect to have a great time, she added.

To learn more about Pink With A Passion, visit: www.pinkwithapassion.org

CLICK PLAY!

TownTalk: 3rd Annual Community Resource Festival Coming Up on April 16th

/by

Organizers of the 3rd annual Community Resource Festival are proof of just what can be accomplished when folks and organizations come together for a common goal.

More than 100 vendors have signed up to participate in the event, which will take place Wednesday, April 16 at the Vance-Granville Community College Civic Center. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the public is invited to stop in to learn more about the businesses, programs, local agencies, nonprofits and more that are located in Vance and Granville counties.

In addition to helpful information, there will be food trucks, giveaways and plenty of time for networking.

Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce President Sandra Wilkerson summed it up this way: Community means together, resources are assets and festival means fun.

Wilkerson joined collaborators Jennifer Cufalo, with the Granville County Chamber of Commerce and Michele Walker, with Huff Consulting, LLC on TownTalk to discuss the event’s origin – and the possibilities it holds for the entire community.

“There’s nothing that makes me happier than collaboration,” Wilkerson said.

And the Community Resource Festival all about collaboration, Walker said. “It’s grown to huge heights,” she said of the festival, which began as an idea simply to gather nonprofit organizations from across the two counties.

As Wilkerson explained, once Walker brought the idea to the Chambers, the idea grew to include businesses and other service-related organizations. Stay tuned, Walker said, because KARTS is working to designate “hotspots” to pick up individuals and transport them to and from the festival. She’ll share more information as it develops.

The local Chamber has been fielding calls about how to participate in the festival, some from people familiar to the Chamber and some she doesn’t know.

“I’m excited to meet them (and) talk to them about what they’re working on,” she said. Part of the mission of the resource festival is to show the community just how much the two counties have to offer – it’s just a matter of knowing the resources exist.

“This festival is just a great way to bring programs and services under one roof,” Cufalo said. Through networking, small businesses nonprofits can join forces with one another to extend their reach into the community. “Not everybody has the same supporters or collaborators,” she said. “That little bit of knowledge you have and be huge for somebody else” to learn.

The Community Resource Festival has looked a little bit different each year, but the common thread she recognizes is the level of communication and sharing of information among businesses and to the public.

“One thing that we have to do – make sure we’re talking to one another. We have to communicate,” Walker said. And who says you can’t do that AND enjoy each other’s company at the same time?

To learn more, visit

https://business.hendersonvance.org/events/details/community-resource-festival-2191

CLICK PLAY!

Vance County Logo

TownTalk: Commissioners Will Combine Committee Meetings, Work Sessions – On A Trial Basis

/by

The Vance County commissioners will begin holding committee meetings in conjunction with scheduled work sessions – in the commissioners’ meeting room – with an eye on more efficient scheduling and as a way to be available to the public.

Based on a recommendation from the county’s IT staff, holding the committee meetings in the main meeting space will allow the meetings to be livestreamed on the county’s YouTube channel.

Merging the committee meetings with the scheduled work sessions will be done on a trial basis, but it’s unclear just how long the trial period will last. The change takes place as a result of the March 17 work session.

Commissioner Leo Kelly said, “I think it’s a good way to handle it right now,” but Commissioner Dan Brummitt said the commissioners’ meeting room may not suit the format of the less formal committee meetings.

Commissioners take no action during committee meetings; rather, committees bring discussion and recommendations to the full board to make decisions. Board Chair Carolyn Faines reminded fellow commissioners that the decision to include committee meetings in the work sessions allows citizens to see this process – either in person, via livestream or by viewing the archived recording.

Click Play!

State Gives Vance Jail April 10 Deadline To Reduce Population, Address Deficiencies

/by

Vance County has one more day to reduce its jail population from about 140 to 20, one of five corrective action measures issued by the N.C. Dept. of Health and Human Services.

In a 6-page letter addressed to County Commissioner Board Chair Carolyn Faines, County Manager C. Renee Perry, Sheriff Curtis Brame and acting jail administrator Maj. William Mitchell, DHHS Secretary Devdutta Sangvai wrote that conditions at the Vance County Detention Center “jeopardize the safe custody, safety, health, or welfare” following an inspection last month.

“I have concluded that the conditions at VCDC jeopardize the safe custody, safety, health, or welfare of the individuals incarcerated there. Based on the information set forth below and the Facility’s failure to act with a sense of urgency to implement corrective measures and substantially depopulate, I have determined that an Agreement of Correction is not appropriate, and that an Order of Corrective Action is necessary,” Sangvai wrote in the letter, dated April 1, 2025.

In addition to the jail’s depopulation, the other four corrective action measures address supervision rounds, contraband, staffing and the county’s comprehensive action plan to address deficiencies at the detention center. The county has until April 15 to submit a written plan that spells out how it will recruit additional staff as well as implementation dates for recruiting, hiring, training and retaining detention officers. April 15 also is the deadline to submit a comprehensive plan of correction for each deficiency cited in previous inspections, giving priority to repairing the video surveillance system and repair of all cell door locks.

The state of disrepair has been a topic of discussion at county commissioner meetings for quite a while, and commissioners have gone back and forth about whether to repair the existing jail or to build a new one. Recent discussions – and the dismal inspections reports – have resulted in the need to spend a significant amount of money on repairs while weighing the options about new construction – a multi-year project.

The county can appeal the decision, but County Attorney Jonathan Care said he has not yet been authorized to do so.

Although the physical condition of the jail is a major concern, the April 1 letter also cites staffing as a problem. “The Facility remains seriously understaffed,” the letter reads. “The current staff cannot adequately supervise the Facility’s current census.” Where once close to 30 officers were employed to supervise and staff the detention center, there are now only nine positions that routinely supervise the Pods, the letter stated.

Here’s a timeline of most recent inspections by the Division of Health Service Regulation:

  • July 2024 – 64 deficiencies noted, ranging from inadequate staffing and cracked security glass to damaged cell doors, pod doors and deficient supervision practices
  • December 2024 – 55 continuing deficiencies, as well as 33 new ones for a total of 88 deficiencies
  • January 23, 2025 – another inspection following report of a security breach on Jan. 1. Inspectors observed holes in cinder block walls, holes in perimeter security fencing and evidence of an undisclosed type of contraband that was brought into the jail. Numerous security cameras were out of service in three control rooms, cell and pod doors were still broken and supervision rounds weren’t being conducted.
  • February 3, 2025 – The state sent a letter to the county about “ongoing noncompliance and identified deficiencies” and informed the county of the potential safety risks to inmates and VCDC staff, ultimately requiring that the county provide “an immediate commitment to corrective action.” The letter further requested that the county send written confirmation to the state about prioritizing the issues and take the necessary action to correct them.
  • March 9, 2025 – the state received another report that detainees had used a water cooler to damage a security glass at the D Pod entrance.
  • March 12, 2025 – state conducted a follow-up inspection and learned of an assault on one staff member and dismissal of four others on allegations that they delivered contraband to detainees. The SBI had been notified of the possible criminal activity.
  • March 17, 2025 – the state sent a letter to the county requiring that the jail “take immediate action to depopulate the facility to a manageable number that staff could adequately supervise and gave the county two days – until Mar. 19 – to submit a comprehensive corrective action plan in response to the Dec. 18, 2024 inspection report.
  • March 18, 2025 – the county did submit an action plan, but the state said it failed to identify specific, actionable and achievable steps to correct all the noncompliance identified in the December 2024 report – only 4 of the 88 deficiencies were addressed.
  • March 21, 2025 – follow-up inspection showed continuing deficiencies. Only 26 of the facility’s 62 total cell doors could be securely locked and two of the Pods had no working doors. One Pod was missing a door entirely. “The lack of operable, locking cell doors seriously impacts the Facility’s function and the safety of incarcerated individuals and staff,” the April 1 letter stated.

Read the letter from the NC DHHS Secretary here: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25879915-vance-county-letter-4125/

TownTalk: The Kyle Harris Story

/by

Kyle Harris is going to graduate from Vance-Granville Community College’s automotive systems technology program next month. But it will be the second time in as many months that he will be recognized for his efforts.

Harris accepted the Dallas Herring Student Achievement Award last week, given to one student or former student from across the state that best fits the philosophy of the community college visionary of “taking people where they are and carrying them as far as they can go,” according to a press release from VGCC Public Information Officer Courtney Cissel.

Each of the state’s 58 community college systems submits a nominee for the achievement award named for a person whose work set in motion what would become the N.C. Community College System.

The awards dinner was held on Thursday, Apr. 3 at the Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary, Harris said on Monday’s TownTalk.

There were a lot of powerful people – politicians, donors to the Community College foundation, and others at that dinner. “They were all very interested in my story, and they gave me a round of applause that just really blew me away,” he said.

Things hadn’t been easy for Harris, a military veteran who found himself at the Veterans Life Center in Butner, unsure of what his next steps might be. He got sober and then he got to work on changing his life.

“I had lost a lot of hope in the fact that I would recover,” he said, recalling that period of his life that may seem in stark contrast to the life he leads today. “I’m so grateful I was given the opportunity to reinvent myself,” Harris said. “it’s changed my life. It’s changed the life of my family.”

CLICK PLAY!

Once he was at the Veterans Life Center, he said representatives from the community college came to help him figure out some next steps.

He’d been in the Signal Corps and Communication Corps when he was in the military, and “a lot of the skills I had didn’t transfer over into the civilian world.”

But he did know about mobile communication network maintenance and operations, along with troubleshooting wiring problems using wiring diagrams. With that information, Harris decided to try the automotive systems technology program, trading out communication wiring application for automotive wiring

“In the end, they’re all wires,” he said.

He’s already working at Southeastern Specialty Vehicles in Henderson, which builds ambulances and other emergency vehicles. It’s a challenging job, but it’s one he really enjoys.

With employment comes a level of financial stability Harris truly appreciates, and he said it has given him the self-confidence to assure that he “will never have to go back to a homeless situation.”

“We work on ambulances that service the community all across North Carolina, and places where I have friends and family,” he said, adding that he now feels like he’s paying back a community who supported him. “Now I’m able to help my community through my work, by producing the best ambulances to service our state.”

“Enrolling in the Automotive [Systems] Technology associates’ program is where my redemption story really began,” he noted. “I hope that my story reaches as many people as possible struggling in addiction, to not only choose sobriety but to enroll in a community college.”

It was a fellow veteran who made that first phone call on Harris’s behalf that got him to the Veterans Life Center and that person’s concern for another’s welfare is what got Harris to where he is today. Remembering the idea behind the Dallas Herring award – to take people where they are and carry them as far as they can go – is what he plans to do for others.

“I want to be that person for another veteran in this community one day,” Harris said. “There is a path forward…that if you choose a life of sobriety, the community is here to help you and that you can turn it all around.”

TownTalk: Around Old Granville – Vance County Historical Markers

/by

Placing historical markers along prominent roadways is one way to make sure that they’ll be seen by lots of people driving by, but it also means that they run the risk of being struck by a wayward vehicle or even by the occasional grass mowing crews keeping the shoulders tidy.

Vance County has 16 historical markers located within its boundaries – seven of them honor individuals and the other nine are for particular events, towns and structures.

Pace and WIZS’s Bill Harris continued their discussion of historical markers with a focus on Vance County on Thursday’s Around Old Granville segment of TownTalk.

There are no fewer than five markers in and around Williamsboro, and Pace said that’s a nod to when the area – now not much more than a crossroads – was a thriving community back in the pre-Revolutionary days of the 1700’s. Williamsborough, as it was known during Colonial times, has its own marker which reads: “Eighteenth century town, named for John Williams, judge, state legislator, congressman, who lived nearby. Old St. John’s Church is here.”

“You wouldn’t know it riding through there today,” Pace said. Except for the fact that the historical markers bring attention to St. John’s Episcopal Church, the oldest frame church building in the state, as well as James Turner, an early governor and senator who lived in nearby.

Another marker remembers the Bingham School, which didn’t stay very long in Williamsboro, but was the first military school, established in 1826.

The marker for Richard Henderson originally had been placed on Norlina Road, across from the former WHNC radio station, but Pace said it was relocated to Satterwhite Point Road, about a mile from where his grave is. Henderson was the founder of Transylvania County in Kentucky and Nashville, TN.

Another Henderson, Leonard Henderson, has a marker, too. He’s who the city is named for, Pace said, but he was also an educator and a member of the first state Supreme Court in the early 1800’s.

The majority of the markers remind passersby of people and places long gone: there’s the Glass House in Kittrell, for example, that had been a destination for wealthy Northerners to escape city winters and enjoy the healing powers the area’s springs. And there’s Kittrell’s Springs, the health resort-turned hospital for Confederate soldiers in the waning days of the Civil War.

And the Confederate cemetery, where 52 soldiers’ graves are located.

But the historical marker that was placed in 2007 recalls a more recent event that has claimed its own place in history: The strike at Harriet-Henderson cotton mill occurred between 1958 and 1961, and Pace said it helped to showcase the South as a place where unions didn’t have traction as in other areas of the country, particularly the Northeast.

And although it’s not the earliest marker to be erected, the marker for John Lederer along N.C. 39 north of Townsville honors a pioneering German explorer who traveled in the area in 1670, with the help of a Native American guide.

Pace said Lederer may very well be the first person of European descent to set foot in this part of the world, but he sort of “fell through the cracks, history wise,” Pace added.

Are there other potential people and places that could be honored with their own historical marker?

Surely, Pace said.

He would consider the Blacknall family’s Continental Plant Co. that shipped strawberry plants all over the world, Greystone Quarry as well as Kerr Lake, which was the largest reservoir east of the Mississippi when U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built between 1947 and 1952.

Find a county-by-county listing of historical markers at https://www.dncr.nc.gov/nc-historical-markers-guide-may-2024/open

 

Listen back to the entire interview at www.wizs.com.

 

CLICK PLAY!

TownTalk: Varonica “VV” Mitchell Making Her Mark

/by

Henderson’s own Varonica Mitchell – VV, as she’s known to many – has a lot going on these days. In addition to having 3 million followers on social media, VV also has been out to L.A. for a film she’s going to be in, and she’s getting ready to go to Atlanta to be part of a Christian Comedy Tour.

WIZS News caught up with VV on the occasion of her 14th birthday last week to find out what’s new and to hear what motivates her as she drums, jokes, dances and acts her way into the hearts of her fans and followers.

It’s a family affair, this enterprise that has VV traveling to the West Coast for this and down to the ATL for that. And VV would have it no other way.

“That’s the most important part,” VV said in her best professional, polished voice about working with her parents and older sister.

She really likes dancing and she is part of the iDance Praise Academy, which her mom, Vanessa, runs.

She likes dancing because she gets “to follow God. I feel like he wants me to continue doing  what I’m doing – putting His name out there to people can follow Him,” she said.

“I dance to gospel music – I get to tell his story through music and through movement,” she said.

Dancing, acting and being a comedian is serious stuff, and VV says she and her family know when it’s time for business and when it’s time for having fun family time.

“Family is family, of course, when I’m chillin’ with the family watching videos and stuff,” she said. “But family is business when we’re going out and I’m performing. They’re always there to support…but they know that it’s serious,” she said, and they know when it’s time to play and when it’s time to be professional.

Sometimes before a performance, she admits, she gets so hyped up that she’s liable to blurt out whatever pops into her mind, but she can talk herself back down and calm her nerves before a show or performance begins. That’s being professional.

But when she’s at home? Well, “I’m gon’ play my behind off,” she joked, following up with a big ol’ giggle.

The Zara Project is what took her to L.A. It’s a series about a little girl with superpowers. “I can’t wait to tell you more about it,” she said. For now, the lid is on and, just like other film stars promoting upcoming projects, details are few.

And just like other film stars, VV has an agent. Her name is Irene Dreayer and she’s with Lion Forge Entertainment.

Appearing on TV shows, granting interviews, getting sponsors and having a big presence on Zigazoo, the #1 social media app for kids is just part of what VV is and what she wants to keep doing. She sometimes feels the pressure, but that’s part of it, too.

“I do feel the pressure. I just let it roll off,” she said. Because this is what she wants to do, and she wants to keep doing it.

CLICK PLAY!

TownTalk: Pathways 2 Peace

/by

According to the 2020 Census, the population of Vance County is 42,578. According to state government statistics, there are 720 nonprofit organizations located in the county. Simple math will tell you that’s one nonprofit for roughly every 59 residents.

Matthew Todd and Charles J. Turrentine Jr. had absolutely no idea that they’d be part of creating nonprofit number 721, but that’s exactly what has happened.

Pathways 2 Peace is gathering steam and its members have their sights set on making a difference in Henderson and Vance County.

At a Mar. 17 listening session hosted by Partners 2 Peace, community members gathered to voice opinions and concerns, as well as offer possible solutions to problems like gun violence and crime that have plagued the area.

There’s state money available to launch a range of projects and programs, according to folks at the Governor’s Crime Commission who attended the listening session, but Pathways 2 Peace has a little work to do first.

Gov. Josh Stein is allocating money – earmarked by Gov. Roy Cooper – to stop violence in impoverished counties in the state, Todd said on Tuesday’s TownTalk. A message that was repeated several different times during the listening session involved the number of nonprofits in the county and the apparent disconnect among them.

There’s a need to “connect the dots,” so the folks who are giving the money know the folks who are spending the money are doing everything above board.

“What sets us apart is we’ve got a governor’s administration behind us and they’re helping us navigate the nonprofit world,” Todd said.

“They are both willing to guide us through the process and keep us in the right path,” Turrentine said.

Turrentine wants to see the group “come up with practical ways that we can collectively come together as a board or committee to inflict positive change in our town,” he said. One thing he and board members are passionate about is helping youth.

Last summer’s collaboration with AIMHigh’s Park and Play program is one example of connecting the dots. Turrentine said Jessica Rice Hawkins and team visited low-income housing neighborhoods.

“The kids were excited when they saw the van and it was time (for) Park and Play,” Turrentine said.

He got the Davis Chapel Missionary Baptist Church Soup Kitchen on board to provide meals for the participants.

This year, Pathways 2 Peace is looking forward to sponsoring those 75 youth in an upcoming road race that AIMHigh is sponsoring in downtown Henderson. “We’ll sponsor these kids and they’ll run for free,” Turrentine said.

Last summer, AIM High went to the children. This year, the children are headed into the larger community to take part in something positive and beneficial.

Nonprofits working together = dots connecting.

“We want to teach people about accountability,” Todd said. Whether you’re 5 or 6 years old on the playground, a teenager on the ball field or court or whether you’re 25 or 30 years old in a board room, taking personal accountability for your actions is critical.

Programs that involve youth are programs that are worthy of investment.

“We’re on the ground floor with Pathways 2 Peace,” Todd said.

With a mission statement that reads “Through unity, environmental design and intentional actions, we create safe spaces, shifting mindsets and changing the narrative of Henderson and Vance County, one step at a time,” Pathways 2 Peace could be a key partner in coalescing efforts from other local nonprofits in addressing challenges like gun violence and promoting youth programs.

“Through good works, through honest works, we can change things for the better,” Turrentine said.

CLICK PLAY!

TownTalk: Purple Heart Signs Reign In Henderson

/by

The Purple Heart is a combat medal for members of the military who have been wounded in battle.

Sometimes, the person gets the award while he or she is living; but the award can be given at any time to veterans who qualify and also can be awarded posthumously.

At a recent ceremony in Henderson, local veterans, city leaders and others gathered to officially designate – with signs along key roadways and elsewhere – that the city is a “Purple Heart City.”

The original designation was made more than a decade ago, in 2012, said Hartwell Wright with American Legion Post 60 and with Chapter 637 of the Military Order of the Purple Heart.

But that’s as far as things went, Wright said. “No formal action was ever taken,” he said.

The state didn’t provide funds to create signs for the designation, but city leaders decided to change that.

There are signs at NC 39 North near the water treatment plant, two small signs on Beckford Drive, one at the movie theater and one at the Henderson Fruit & Produce on Old Norlina Road, and city staff may be placing additional signs soon, if there aren’t more up already. The Purple Heart chapter donated some of the smaller signs that have been placed in the city; the city created signs that are placed at the city limits.

The signs are tangible ways to recognize all purple heart recipients as they come through town, either as visitors or as residents – “to show we appreciate them and show them they’ll never be forgotten,” Wright said.

According to information provided Tuesday by Henderson Public Information Officer Salonia Saxton, the city is providing 25 Purple Heart signs that are located under each entrance to the city and under the speed limit signs throughout the area.

Wright, himself a Purple Heart recipient, provided remarks during the Mar. 7 ceremony to provide those in attendance a little history of the medal.

It is the oldest U.S. military award still given, he said.

Originally known as the Badge of Military Merit, it was established by George Washington in 1782 as a way to recognize rank and file fighting men, Wright said. At the time, only the elite officers would receive any type of commendation for combat-related actions, but Washington sought to create a medal for the average soldier.

In 1932, it was reimagined and was given the name it still has today.

Although there’s no way to know exactly how many Purple Heart recipients reside in Vance County today, Wright said he is among a group of people that is planning – with input from city staff – a veterans memorial that will be located just in front of the police department.

“We don’t have one in Vance County,” Wright said. Once the plans make their way through the design phase, Wright said the fundraising will begin.

Veterans are invited to a free veterans breakfast next Monday, Apr. 7 beginning at 8 a.m. at the VGCC Civic Center (Building 9), located at 200 Community College Rd., Henderson.

Contact Albert Spiess with Granville County Veterans Services

at 919.693.1484 or via email albert.spiess@granvillecounty.org to learn more.

CLICK PLAY!

TownTalk: Utility Payment Scam Calls

/by

 

There’s another scam circulating in the area, according to the Henderson Police Department. This time, police officials say, they’ve received reports that someone is calling claiming to be from a utility company.

The caller says the utility service is being cut off and then provides another number to call to provide payment information – that can either be made from your bank account or cryptocurrency.

The police have one simple bit of advice: HANG UP!

Call the utility company yourself, using the number printed on your utility bill or from the company website – do NOT use the call-back number provided by the caller.

Often, the call-back numbers are fake, officials say. And if the message came via text, do not respond; rather, mark the number as junk or spam and report.

Customers should continue to use their regular method of payment and not follow the directions of the caller.

CLICK PLAY!