Bill Harris and Mark Pace dig deep into the places around Old Granville County that are a part of the National Register of Historic Places.
(Our WIZS written coverage will appear here soon.)
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If you’re looking for a little holiday cheer to transition from Thanksgiving to Christmas, look no further than Saturday, Nov. 29 for the 10th annual Tidings of Comfort and Joy performance at McGregor Hall.
The doors open at 3:30 p.m. for the 4 p.m. performance, and Dr. Alice Sallins with the Vance County Arts Council promises there will be a good mix of returning groups and newcomers to help folks get into the holiday spirit.
“We want to get you in the mood to celebrate” the season, she said. The arts council wanted to bring a free event to the community “that would bring a bit of joy” to those who were sad during the Christmas season.
In addition to Clearview’s Dr. Abidan Shah sharing the Christmas Story from the Gospel of Luke, there will be music from Evelyn Couch, Tia “Catillia” Cheek, Jimmy & the Sound Barriers and Eugene Taylor & Jimmy Williamson, among others.
The Henderson Christmas Parade is set for Saturday, Dec. 6.
“We’re looking for a good turnout,” Sallins said. There are more than 100 entries, and she said there are a half dozen or more new businesses and schools that are planning to join the parade this year.
The parade begins at 2:30 p.m., so spectators should grab a good vantage point along the parade route. All entries in the parade should be lined up by 1:30 p.m. or so – no later than 2:15 p.m., she said.
Get more information at https://vanceartscouncil.com/.
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The filing period for the March 3, 2026 primary begins in one week.
The filing period begins at 12 noon on Monday, Dec. 1 and ends at 12 noon on Friday, Dec. 19. In Vance County, candidates may file to run for sheriff, as well as seats on the board of commissioners and the board of elections, register of deeds and clerk of court.
The March primary is a lead-in to the November mid-term elections.
Candidates for the local offices must file in person at the Vance County Board of Elections and pay the associated filing fees in full, either by check or money order. The filing fee constitutes 1 percent of the base annual salary for the position.
Fees range from $72 for seats on the board of education to $1,275.09 for sheriff.
The three seats on the Vance County Board of Commissioners are districts 3,4 and 7, currently held by Charisse Fain, Dan Brummitt and Tommy Hester, respectively.
Hester, most recently elected in 2010, has said previously that he would not seek re-election; Fain was appointed in February 2025 to fill the seat vacated by Sean Alston, who resigned his seat after taking job as a magistrate in Warren County.
Brummitt was elected in 2006.
The seats on the Vance County Board of Education that will be included in the upcoming primary are those in districts 1,2,6 and 7.
Those seats are currently held by Gloria Jefferson White, Randy Oxendine, Omega Perry and Ruth Hartness, respectively.
Clerk of Superior Court the Hon. Henry Gupton is retiring at the end of the calendar year – there’s a retirement celebration scheduled for mid-December – and Judge John Dunlow will appoint an individual to fill Gupton’s unexpired term.
Cassandra Neal is the current register of deeds in Vance County. Neal ran unopposed in the 2022 election.
Learn more at https://www.vancecounty.org/departments/board-of-elections/
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North Henderson Baptist Church is the drop-off site for Operation Christmas Child Shoebox ministry of Samaritan’s Purse. Pastor Eddie Nutt said there will be someone at the church at various times now through Monday, Nov. 24 to receive the boxes, destined for distribution across the globe.
Drop off the filled boxes at the church, located at 1211 N. Garnett St., during the following times:
Nutt said volunteers will pack the boxes into larger cartons and load them onto a truck for delivery to Wake Forest, the central collection site for this area. From there, they’ll head to Charlotte, where they’ll get sorted and sent all over the world.
For anyone unfamiliar with the project, it simply involves filling a shoe box with small toys and hygiene items that children across the world can enjoy, use and appreciate.
Nutt says no war-related toys should be included in the boxes, and also no liquid items – no toothpaste, shampoo, for example.
However, toothbrushes, wash cloths and combs or brushes would be perfect to pack.
Find details at https://www.samaritanspurse.org/
Being a collection site for the Operation Christmas Child shoebox project is just one of a number of things that the church is gearing up for as the holidays approach.
There’s a Brunswick stew sale on Saturday, Dec. 13, Nutt said. The stew will be ready for pickup by 11 a.m. No pre-orders needed – just swing by the church and get as many quarts as you’d like. Nutt says there will be plenty. The price is $10 a quart.
All proceeds will go to the church’s third annual “Night to Shine” event, which will be held this year on Feb. 13.
“This year we’ll be hosting it at Kerr Lake Country Club,” Nutt said. “We’ve outgrown our fellowship hall.” The Night to Shine is a prom for individuals 14 years and older with special needs.
Nutt said he’s busy planning for the prom, which as become quite popular in just a couple of years.
But between now and then, the community is welcome to attend the church’s Thanksgiving service, which will take place Sunday, Nov. 23 at 5 p.m., the Nov. 30 Chrismon service at 5 p.m. and the Sunday, Dec. 7 Christmas Cantata at 5 p.m.
Visit https://www.nhbcnc.org/ to learn more.
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– Information courtesy of the N.C. State Highway Patrol
Three members of the N.C. State Highway Patrol serving Vance County are among 115 sworn officers recognized with promotions during 2025 during a recent ceremony in Cary.
Sgts. B.M. Black and S.E. Fuller were promoted to the rank of First Sergeant; Trooper J.K. Legan was promoted to the rank of sergeant, according to to information from the N.C. State Highway Patrol.
In addition to the troopers, 15 civilian members who work with the SHP earned promotions.
The ceremony began with an invocation provided by Pastor Steve Stadtmiller and the singing of the national anthem by Trp. Joshua Geter. Remarks for the ceremony were provided by First Lady of North Carolina, Anna Stein, and Col. Freddy L. Johnson, Jr., commander of the State Highway Patrol.
Johnson said, “Today marks the culmination of hard work and a dedication to our life saving mission by both sworn and civilian members of our State Highway Patrol. These members are a large part of why our state is considered a leader on so many levels; their work as ambassadors to residents and visitors of our state is invaluable in our continued efforts to provide the very best in law enforcement services.”
The promoted members were administered their oath of office by the Hon. Judge Terrence W. Boyle of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Lt. Col. Jason Deardorff provided remarks to those receiving civilian promotions, recognizing their esteemed service to our state. The event concluded with a benediction given by Patrol Chaplain Matthew Cornett.
The attached spreadsheet reflects the new ranks of those receiving a promotion. Photographs from the ceremony will be made available on the Patrol’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/NCHighwayPatrol.
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Community Invited to a Festive Evening of Lights, Performances, and Holiday Cheer on December 4
Maria Parham Health is proud to announce a special community celebration in honor of its 100th anniversary of providing healthcare to Henderson, Vance County, and surrounding areas. On December 4, the hospital will host an evening of family-friendly festivities as it illuminates its campus for the first time, marking a century of hope, healing, and service.
The event will take place from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in front of the hospital and will feature:
Community members, families, and former patients are warmly encouraged to attend and create a new holiday tradition together on the campus of Maria Parham Health. The celebration also invites former patients to reflect on and celebrate their own journeys of healing.
“As we mark 100 years of caring for this community, we wanted to create a celebration that reflects the warmth, resilience, and togetherness that define Henderson and Vance County,” said Bert Beard, CEO of Maria Parham Health. “This event is our way of saying thank you to every patient, family, staff member, and neighbor who has been part of our story. We hope everyone will join us as we light up our campus and celebrate a century of hope and healing.”
Community members wishing to honor a loved one with a luminary may reserve one free of charge by emailing donna.young@lpnt.net.
Maria Parham Health will also be accepting canned food donations for ACTS (Area Christians Together in Service) during the event.
— Press Release from MPH and Donna Young
(MPH is our advertising client on air and online. The information and audio available here is not a paid ad.)
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The phone rings and, when you answer it, you hear a recorded voice that says your power is going to be disconnected. All you have to do is make an easy, online payment to avoid a disruption in service.
Many consumers recognize this for what it is – a SCAM!
And as utility companies like Duke Energy and Piedmont Natural Gas know all too well, their customers often must navigate choppy internet waters to avoid becoming victims of online schemes and scams.
Duke Energy’s Beth Townsend offers some tips to stay safe as the utility recognizes Wednesday, Nov. 19 as the 10th annual Utility Scam Awareness Day—a decade-long commitment to helping communities slow down, verify and stop utility scams.
Townsend said Duke Energy and Piedmont Natural Gas will never:
“If you’re targeted, hang up, shut the door, or delete the message,” she said. Contact your utility using the info on your bill or the utility’s official website. And if you ever feel unsafe, call 911.
Townsend, Duke’s East Region director for Government and Community Relations, said the utility received more than 5,600 scam reports in 2025, with 2,338 coming from North Carolina.
“Scammers often demand immediate payment, threaten service cut-off or request payment via prepaid cards or cryptocurrency. Utilities will never do this,” Townsend said.
The most common types of scams, she said, include disconnection threats, links to fake webpages, a promise to mail refund checks and utility worker imposters, she noted.
Customers can protect themselves in several different ways:
Townsend included the following resources to report scams or to learn more:
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The Vance County Sheriff’s Office is hosting a Harvest Festival on Saturday, Nov. 22 and Sheriff Curtis Brame invites the community out to enjoy an afternoon of fun, food, music, vendors and more.
The event is free, Brame says, so come on out between 12 noon and 4 p.m. to the courthouse parking lot. There will be games, face painting, and more for the kids, along with complimentary hotdogs, chips and drinks for all.
Having an event like the Harvest Festival is a way to bring people together, Brame said – “to let people know the Vance County Sheriff’s Office is here to serve them.”
He said he encourages his deputies to stop by schools to meet young people on a positive note and let them know that “we’re here to serve and protect.”
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Henderson-based Green Rural Redevelopment Organization – GRRO – is partnering with several other groups to host a Rural Health Day Fair Thursday, Nov. 20 at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market.
As GRRO co-founder Ardis Crews explained, the national celebration of Rural Health Day occurs each year on the third Thursday of November. And this year, GRRO is making the celebration local.
In addition to the farmers market, partners include Duke University Rural Health Equity Hub, and the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina.
More than 30 vendors will be on hand from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to share information, resources and more with participants.
And GRRO will share food boxes, filled with healthy fresh options with all participants as well, Crews said on Wednesday’s TownTalk.
“One of the things we believe here at GRRO is that food is medicine, so certainly that which you consume is important,” she said.
There are so many health conditions that could be corrected by good food and healthy living, Crews said, adding that addressing other things that affect health – like mental health, for example – could prevent problems from arising.
“One must take a holistic approach to health,” she said, “and that includes all the determinants of health.”
Crews said she and husband Henry are honored and humbled to serve the community through GRRO. Originally interested in housing, Crews said GRRO’s focus turned to food availability in the community.
“This is my best life,” she said. “I love being in Henderson, I love being in Vance County and I love what I do. I just wish we had the capacity to do more.”
In a press release, GRRO Executive Director Henry Crews said, “National Rural Health Day was founded by the national organization of the State Office of Rural Health. It’s about honoring the people and places that sustain the Power of Rural. We are proud to celebrate the providers, partners, and residents who are creating a healthier, more vibrant future for our rural communities. GRRO is all about ‘Rural’ and we’re grateful for the people and organizations that are helping us make this work possible.”
Come out to the farmers market, 210 Southpark Dr. to learn more about rural health resources and opportunities.
Learn more at https://www.grronc.org/
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