TownTalk: Around Old Granville – Nathaniel Macon

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Some may say that the area known as Old Granville County can lay claim to having the original “Senator ‘No’” among its residents, more than a century before the longtime TV editorialist-turned politician Jesse Helms was known by the dubious nickname.

That man – Nathaniel Macon – was perhaps the foremost public figure from North Carolina in the early 19th century said WIZS’s Bill Harris. Bill and local historian Mark Pace recounted stories about Macon and his rise to prominence in the political arena in the 1800’s on Thursday’s Around Old Granville segment of TownTalk.

“He might have been the most important and significant North Carolinian in his time and his day,” Pace said. “He personified North Carolina.” The North Carolina of that time, anyway. Which meant that he was a staunch conservative who didn’t believe the government had any business doing much of anything that interfered with individual rights and private industry.

His ideas aligned more with those of Thomas Jefferson, who was a champion of individual liberty and states’ rights and talked up the virtues and the lifestyles of landowners.

Macon was a 24-year-old serving in the New Jersey militia during the American Revolution when he got word that he’d been elected to the State Senate. That set him on a career path that spanned close to four decades and sent him to Washington, D.C.

He was in the State Senate from 1781 to 1785, and then was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1791. He served there until 1815 and was elected Speaker of the House and served for six years – from 1801 to 1807.

He was elected to the U.S. Senate and served from 1815 to 1828, including seven years President pro tem from 1825 to 1827.

Over the years, he said ‘no’ to cabinet posts, appointments and even re-entered military service in 1780 as a private instead of accepting a higher rank that could have been his for the taking.

He didn’t like making government appropriations and didn’t think government had any business in private industry.

Despite his penchant for saying ‘no,’ however, Pace said Macon’s oratory skills and ability to compromise served Macon the politician well.

“You always knew where you stood with him,” Pace said. “He was a personable guy. It was  hard not to like him.”

Macon retired to his home in present-day Warren County – Buck Spring – in 1828, following his storied career in the House and the Senate.

But the home was nothing fancy, no columns across the front or sprawling staircases inside.

No, in keeping with his humble, no-frills ideas, Macon instead lived in what amounted to a one-room house that contained few possessions other than books.

Although the original Buck Spring home was partially burned about 40 years ago, Pace said some parts were salvageable and the reconstructed home currently is part of a park in the Littleton area.

The project received some federal funds to complete, an appropriation Macon himself most likely would have frowned upon.

 

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TownTalk: House of Hope International School Of Ministry Orientation Friday, July 17 At 7 PM

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Dr. Bonnie Davis, pastor of House of Hope on Alexander Avenue in Henderson, invites interested individuals to participate in an online orientation at 7 p.m. on Friday, July 17 to learn more about the bible college where she learned what she said is her true calling: being a pastor.

But Davis also serves as president of House of Hope International School of Ministry, and she and Dr. Joe Fears, the school’s founder and dean, want the community to know about the different programs the school offers. The classes are web-based and affordable, and students can earn an associate’s bachelor’s and master’s degrees, they told WIZS’s Steve Lewis on Wednesday’s TownTalk.

Fears started the school in 2011, and Davis herself was a student when she and her husband lived in Italy while he was in the military.

Davis has been a pastor since 2016 and established House of Hope, which is located on 355 Alexander Ave.

Fears said it’s been a lifelong desire of his to have a bible college. He’s a military veteran as well, and has completed studies at Lancaster Bible College and earned his doctorate from Liberty University.

Davis thought she’d be in Italy only three years until her husband’s tour was over and then she’d come on back home. “God had other plans,” she said. She ended up working with Fears in Italy as an associate pastor. Together they worked with missionaries there, “loving on the people and teaching people about God.”

In addition to typical classes one would expect at a bible college – Spiritual Formation, Greek, Hebrew and homiletics (how to preach and deliver sermons), Fears said there also are classes on leadership. Pastors need to be effective leaders, too, he said, and lead with integrity.

The affordability is an attractive selling point, Fears said, but students have told him they love the way the classes are presented.

“We’re not focused on a denomination,” Fears said. “We’re focused on the bible. We look at the bible and go from that angle.”

With more than 20 years in the post-secondary education world, Fears said he’s borrowed from in-person and online teaching to create an “exciting” format for students.

The groups meet twice a week for a few hours each time, Davis said. “We’ve become a family. We get to know each other… we learn and grow together.”

The online format is a good alternative for those who can’t afford to get their degrees at brick-and-mortar schools.

Fears said the school partners with schools in California as well as Liberty, Regent and Lancaster Bible College. They use a platform called Learning World in conjunction with Zoom to for instruction.

Davis was a student in 2011, before the school had a true home. With Henderson as its new homebase, she and Fears are excited about the future.

“What I’ve learned from this school has been wonderful,” Davis said. “It stretched me, it grew me…The school had me take a leap into what God created me to be.”

Visit https://www.hohisom.com/ to learn more about registering or call 252.432.8509.

 

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Water Line Extension Promotes Economic Growth For Henderson-Oxford Airport, Regional Presence

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With the sound of small aircraft in the background and a corporate jet parked nearby, local officials gathered Monday morning for a groundbreaking ceremony to kick off a water line extension project at the Henderson-Oxford Airport.

Or, to borrow Airport Manager Amanda Welsh’s term: Hotel November Zulu. HNZ – the airport’s official 3-letter code.

Welsh and husband Chris established flyHNZ in 2018 and are the fixed-based operators at the local airport situated in Granville County near the Vance County line. The couple, along with Chris’s father, handled everything at first, but Welsh told those gathered at the airport to officially kick off the $1 million-plus project on Monday that it now takes a full-time staff of 8 to manage the operation.

Granville County Economic Development Director Charla Duncan said although project involves less than a mile of water line, it represents a critical infrastructure investment that is needed to keep up with growth and support economic development.

The whirr of plane engines at times drowned out speakers at the podium, but as Golden Leaf Foundation representative Scott Hamilton noted, “That’s the sound of money.”

The airport got a $600,000 grant from the Golden Leaf Foundation for the project to go along with the initial state appropriation of $500,000 that then-N.C. Rep. Frank Sossamon was instrumental in securing. But the airport authority learned pretty early in the process that it would need at least that much again, if not more, to see the project to completion.

Granville County Commissioner Rob Williford represents District 2, where the airport is situated. He told those in attendance that he learned a lot about the airport from Airport Board Vice Chair Jon Carver, who painted a rosy picture for the future of an airport with appropriate infrastructure.

To see growth, there needed to be infrastructure, Williford said. For the airport to grow and be able to provide hangar space for corporate jets, there needed to be adequate fire suppression. And that meant having public water.

Williford, a Democrat, said he and fellow commissioner Russ May, a Republican, worked together across the aisles of the legislature to seek additional funds. “We went to see them all together,” Williford said, referring to state legislators of both parties. “They all listened. They all understood. And they all said, ‘We can’t get you the money.’”

But the Granville County Board of Commissioners voted 7-0 to provide up to $300,000 for the project and then the Golden Leaf grant came through, so the project is set to begin.

With dozens on the wait list for hangar space, Duncan said there’s a focus on promoting the concept of a regional airport.

She said as RDU looks to move away from general aviation services, HNZ could be a good option for businesses and individuals for hangar space,  flight training and more.

“We want to be able to say that our transportation facilities – whether it be highways or whether it be general aviation resources – can compete with the Piedmont Triad, with the Sandhills as well,” Duncan said.

Welsh said the aviation industry continues to grow, but there’s a pilot shortage and a support personnel shortage.

And flyHNZ is poised to train and bring up the next generation of aviation professionals.

“Once the water service is in place, our business in and of itself hopes to add additional services,” she said, from flight school and training options to the heavier restoration of older aircraft.

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TownTalk: Vance Commissioner Dan Brummitt On Current Status Of Data Centers At State, Local Levels

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There’s been a lot of speculation and rumors swirling about recently about the location of a data center or centers within Vance County. And while District 4 Vance County Commissioner Dan Brummitt said there has been communication from a Maryland developer, he said the fact is:

“There has been no application made to Vance County for a data center.”

That doesn’t mean it won’t happen, just that it hasn’t happened. Yet.

Brummitt said pending legislation – the Ratepayer Protection Act- that contains strict language governing data centers, and he said Tuesday on TownTalk that developers are waiting to see what the final bill entails.

From what he has heard, Brummitt said Maryland-based developer Tom Natelli is planning to schedule some community meetings in the county “to dispel some of the misinformation and also give more about what their plans are for the community.”

No dates have been set, however, as all parties are waiting to see what legislators do.

Many residents have been in an uproar since a rezoning request came before the planning board about a property along U.S. Hwy 158 Business. The commissioners ultimately approved the planning board’s recommendation to grant the request, which has resulted in residents near the property to voice their concern and disapproval both during meetings and as recently as Wednesday, July 8, when a group of concerned citizens held a town hall-style gathering to express their opposition to a proposed data center.

Brummitt cited Mecklenburg County, VA as an example of the type of economic impact a data center can make. Microsoft has a data center complex there, and Brummitt said it accounts for 65 percent of the county’s property tax base. They just completed construction of a new school and announced just recently that all students’ school supplies will be provided this year.

Those are both beneficial for Mecklenburg County residents, he said.

The cons of having a data center, he said, come into play “if they’re not properly done. Then you’ve got some issues that you may have to deal with.”

During last week’s joint meeting between the planning board and the board of commissioners about the unified development ordinance, Brummitt proposed that N-Focus get started on the portion about data centers first so that the wording can be used as a text amendment to the existing plan that is being updated.

“I think with the information that we have, we can get a text amendment done in fairly short order,” Brummitt said. He said he hopes to get input from the public, too. “They’ve been more than happy to do that in the past,” he added.

Although there was a lot of resistance at first, Brummitt said he’s hearing from people who are studying ordinances from other municipalities and counties. “There’s a number of people who are contributing positive information now to us so that it should make it easier for us to work on the text amendment,” he said.

He said he gets a lot of calls from people about data centers. “At first, it was a lot of ‘No, No, No.’ Now people are starting to study them some and look at other ordinances.”

The calls he gets now are fairly evenly divided into three camps: for, against and still studying.

Brummitt said he’s told people who are upset about the prospect of having a data center in the county that he wouldn’t have a problem with it. “I’ve told them… if there was a 500acre parcel close to my farm, I wouldn’t have a problem with it. And I honestly believe that. Part of development is noise, when you have commercial business, they’re going to make some noise, but that’s part of what we’ve got to have to live in society. As long as those things are not toxic and not poisoning people, then I think that’s just a part of what we have to do. I wouldn’t have a problem if there was one right next to my farm.”

Brummitt is kicking off a series of community town hall forums on Wednesday, July 29 at the Bearpond Volunteer Fire Department to discuss a variety of topics, from public safety and infrastructure to economic development and county priorities.

The event will be from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Submit a question or comment before the event at https://www.vancecounty.org/vance-county-community-town-hall-district-4/

 

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TownTalk: Vance County Commissioners and Planning Board Talk UDO’s

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The Vance County Board of Commissioners and the Vance County Planning Board gathered Thursday afternoon for a joint meeting to get an update on progress of the development of a Unified Development Ordinance for the county.

Under the leadership of N-Focus, the county is in the process of updating policies that govern development and land use.

Michael Harvey with N-Focus shared a draft of the document during the hour-long meeting, and he walked the group through the various sections of the document.

Harvey said the UDO will provide a streamlined process that is easy for the public to read and follow, and will make policies easier to enforce.

The UDO is “born out of partnership, not mandates,” Harvey said.

N-Focus has worked with numerous counties and municipalities to develop ordinances and comprehensive land use plans over the past 20 years.

Harvey said N-Focus provides two years of service after the document is adopted to help resolve questions, address modifications or tackle other issues where support is needed.

Commissioner Dan Brummitt advocated for concentration first on Article 5 of the UDO draft, which includes data center development. If N-Focus can make that article a priority, then that part of the UDO could be adopted as a text amendment to the current ordinance.

Commissioner Valencia Perry said the current draft language is not strong enough; Harvey said N-Focus helps counties and municipalities develop their desired policies, while making sure the language is consistent with state law.

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TownTalk: Stephen Wolf Tapped As New Market Manager at VCRFM

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As the new manager of the Vance County Regional Farmers Market, Stephen Wolf is stepping right in at the height of the growing season, and he said everyone should come on out to pick up locally grown fruits, veggies and more.

“There’s a lot of beautiful produce out here,” Wolf said in an interview on Wednesday.

Since starting his new job in July, Wolf’s observations are that neither the persistent drought conditions nor sweltering heat have deterred producers or customers from coming out to the market.

Last Wednesday, for example, he said as many as 250 people visited the market. GRRO was out signing seniors up for the senior voucher program. “That was a strong Wednesday,” he said.

Topped only by Saturday, July 4, when more than 450 came in, “despite the heat, despite the holiday, they still came out and supported local. That really made us all feel good.”

The role of a market manager is complex – part cheerleader, part accountant, part community networker, part human resources expert – and that’s probably just scratching the surface. But Wolf said he brings a skill set to the job that sets him up for success.

As an entrepreneur and small business owner, Wolf has more than a decade of experience in facility management, and he knows how to market and sell products.

And while his previous experience as a farmer is limited to summertime work in a Williamsboro tobacco field when he was younger, Wolf said he’s got a soft spot in his heart for farmers. He wants to see local producers not only succeed, but thrive.

He describes himself as an inquisitive person, and he’s always willing to ask questions if he doesn’t know something. Since he’s been on board, he’s been talking with vendors at the market, shaking hands, hearing their stories and about what their business does.

“I want to build strong relationships with everyone so that we can all grow together,” he said.

“I see everybody out here trying,” Wolf said of the folks who bring their produce, locally sourced meats, eggs, fresh-cut flowers and handicrafts to market each week. “They’re hard workers, trustworthy people. “I want to see us all thrive – it’s the love of the game. I want to see Henderson come up, I want to see the market come up and I really just want to see the success.”

While he’s promoting the idea of eating local, Wolf said he also wants to make sure people know where the market is.

“I just want to help increase the visibility back here off of Beckford,” he said. In addition to more signs planted along roadsides, Wolf is beefing up the market’s social media presence.

And upcoming events – including a Misty Mayhem concert and a cooking class both on Aug. 1 – should bring some additional foot traffic to the market.

“I think we have the best facility in the entire region,” Wolf said. In addition to a great covered building, the community garden and the native pollinator garden that the Master Gardeners oversee are extra attractions for folks to come and enjoy.

Find out more at https://www.facebook.com/vcrfm/

and https://vance.ces.ncsu.edu/vance-county-regional-farmers-market/

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Veterans Field in its Current State

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It’s been more than a few years since the last football game was played at Veterans Field, but George Hoyle said the field is still in good shape.

The rest of the facility needs a little TLC, and Hoyle and WIZS’s Scout Hughes wondered aloud about what it would take to restore one of Henderson’s gems.

The short trip down Memory Lane came about after Scout said he stopped by to visit the football field recently. And although he didn’t grow up in Henderson, he said he could feel the nostalgia that so many – including his grandfather Howard – have for the football stadium that sits just behind the current Center for Innovation on Charles Street.

Depending on your age, you may remember Friday nights in the crisp fall air sitting on the Home side under the press box. If you didn’t arrive in time, you’d be relegated to the Visitor Side and those massive stone bleachers to watch the local high school team defend its home field.

June commencement exercises were held on Veterans Field, too. Oh, the stories that field could tell.

One well-documented story took place on Thanksgiving Day in 1947. That’s when Henderson High School hosted the state Class A football championship. And the local boys won, beating Mt. Airy, 25-14.

It’s probably been since the late 1980’s or early 90’s that any football has been played at Veterans Field, but Hoyle said it might just take the right person or people with the right vision to get football back.

There are grants through the NFL, for example, to support youth football.

The right person with the right vision could breathe new life into a space that has been the source of many good memories for generations in Henderson.

(This audio was originally played on the June 25th, 2026 edition of SportsTalk)

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Local Business Under Contract to Purchase Industrial Park’s Shell Building for $2.97M to Manufacture Axles

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Sure Trac of North Carolina is planning to create 50 new jobs at the shell building in the Henderson, NC industrial park over the next 3 years.

Locally known as Hoyle’s Tire and Axle, the planned purchase will advance their position to two locations within a couple of miles of each other.

The Industrial Park Board called a special meeting for 9 a.m. Tuesday to act on the proposed $2,970,000 sale of the 50,000 square-foot building located at 39 Commerce Dr. The purchase price includes an additional three acres of county-owned property, according to Henderson-Vance Industrial Park Board President Tommy Hester.

“This was one of the first companies that got a building reuse grant” for the space the company currently has on Bearpond Road, Hester said at the meeting.

Since it was founded in the late 1970’s in Vance County, Hoyle’s Tire & Axle has grown into a trusted tire and axle manufacturer and supplier serving the manufactured housing industry.

In 2016, the company relocated from its 6,000 square-foot facility on Highway 39 South to 175 Bearpond Rd. The additional space enabled the company to purchase components on a greater scale and expand into in-house axle assembly.

The shell building will support the expansion of Sure Trac of North Carolina, said Dylan Hoyle.

In a statement, Hoyle said “the company’s success is rooted in its faith, its people, and its commitment to serving customers with excellence. We believe God has faithfully guided our growth throughout the years. As we often say, ‘He steers the boat and we row.’ Equally important has been the dedication of our employees. Every milestone we have achieved is the result of talented individuals working together toward a common goal.

“We believe that any business or organization will only grow as far as its people can take it, and our team has been the driving force behind our continued success,” he stated.

Hester said, “Nothing makes me prouder than to see a company in Vance County North Carolina expanding and growing and doing something…If we had not had this building available, they had offers from other states to move. But they wanted to stay here because of the fact they were tied to Vance County.”

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TownTalk: What Vance County EMS Means To All

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Vance County EMS essentially indicates the difficulty of having resources well positioned and that its a moving target.  Right now it seems EMS is having to react to evolving data but is trying to be as proactive as possible.

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TownTalk: Vance County EMS Ambulance Placement

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The Vance County Board of Commissioners voted 4-3 against a motion made by Commissioner Dan Brummitt to restore the location of the Vance County EMS ambulance to Bearpond Volunteer Fire Department.

The contract to house the ambulance at Bearpond VFD ended on June 30, 2026 and was not renewed.

Several commissioners expressed concern that this item was not brought before the board for review before being terminated.

Commissioner Yolanda Feimster said she learned about it from a social media post; Commissioner Valencia Perry, who also sits on the county’s Public Safety Committee, sent WIZS a copy of a letter late last week stating her objection to the removal of EMS services from Bearpond.

Commissioners Brummitt, Feimster and Perry cast votes in favor of restoring EMS services to Bearpond; Commissioners Leo Kelly, Tommy Hester, Carolyn Faines and Charisse Fain voted against.

At Monday’s meeting, Assistant EMS Director Billy Jenkins presented data that focused on calls and call volume, as well as days when there was limited staffing or no staffing.

When asked by Commissioner Tommy Hester for his recommendation, Jenkins said he would move the ambulance to the Central station.

Jenkins said the decision had nothing to do with any disagreement and said Bearpond leaders were aware that the EMS contract would be ending.

Increased call volume to the northern and central areas of the county have increased, and Jenkins said they are “bleeding red” as it relates to call data.

“EMS is always behind the eight ball,” Jenkins said. “We’re never going to have the trucks where you need them – never going to have enough staff.” He said he’d like to ultimately see two in the north, two in the south and four at a central location to be able to adequately cover the whole county.

He said it will take continued collaboration with county commissioners and county administration to achieve the goal of providing EMS service across the county.

Brummitt, who disputed the call volume data Jenkins presented as well as the projected response times to calls, said the contract should have been brought to commissioners, since it was a 5-year renewal. He said the county manager is authorized to negotiate contracts or leases that are up to one year in length.

Assistant County Manager Jeremy Jones is acting EMS director, County Manager Renee Perry said. Perry said she supports her staff’s decision.

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