TownTalk: Bridging the Digital Divide

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A group of local, state and regional partners is teaming up to host a daylong summit in Henderson on July 23 that will focus on closing the “digital divide” in rural areas as a way to improve access to healthcare resources with the ultimate goal of having a positive effect on health outcomes for rural residents.

Organizers say the summit is designed to move beyond discussion and into action by creating a regional framework for collaboration, investment, and measurable outcomes. Participants will explore how broadband can serve as a catalyst for improved healthcare access, stronger workforce participation, economic opportunity, and enhanced quality of life throughout eastern North Carolina.

The Centre for Homeownership and Economic Development Corp. is partnering with state-level departments – Information and Technology and Health and Human Services –  along with collaboration from Henderson Mayor Melissa Elliott and numerous other community entities to present the program, which will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at McGregor Hall in downtown Henderson.

“I’m excited about this,” Elliott said. “I know that collaboration is key…we have to collaborate for the betterment of the whole, to make sure people get the care they deserve.”

She hopes that one outcome of the summit will be to gather data that will be used to craft legislation to take to the General Assembly.

Elliott said she’s working with CHOEDC as program director for the “Here to Help” program that’s getting everything organized for July 23. It’s a 12-month contract that began in September 2025, with $100,000 in funding from the U.S. based biotechnology company Genentech.

Broadband accessibility, Elliott said, is becoming more and more critical for people to get access to health care. Patients increasingly are accessing their medical information through online portals, completing screenings and conducting telehealth visits with their health care providers, she noted.

Rural residents without reliable broadband access may not be able to access those medical services.

“The digital divide was contributing to the health care divide,” Elliott said.

Take the idea of telehealth, for example. Elliott said part of the “Here to Help” program included a survey of individuals who live in Vance and surrounding counties. She said only 23 percent of respondents were familiar with the term “telehealth.”

“There are a lot of people in our community and across the rural spaces – particularly the seniors – that can really benefit from telehealth services,” Elliott said, who called herself a telehealth advocate.

This summit is designed to bring together public health, health care systems, local government, nonprofits, broadband providers, educational institutions and community organizations under one shared vision – greater accessibility to broadband service to ultimately have a positive effect on health outcomes for rural residents.

“Reliable internet access has become a critical component of healthcare delivery, education, workforce development, and economic mobility,” said Glyndola Massenburg-Beasley CHOEDC’s chief development officer.

“Yet many households across Vance, Granville, Warren, Franklin and surrounding counties continue to face barriers to broadband connectivity, limiting access to telehealth services, behavioral health support, chronic disease management resources, and preventive care,” Massenburg-Beasley said in a press statement.

The use of telehealth is becoming more and more frequent, and it can be a convenient way for patients to be in touch with their physicians or other health care providers. People who live in rural areas where broadband access can be sometimes spotty, can’t take full advantage of telehealth visits.

“Broadband access is no longer a luxury—it is an essential component of access to healthcare,” said Massenburg-Beasley.

Educating the public is a key component, Elliott said. Placing an emphasis on having reliable internet connectivity is more than just a convenience for streaming movies and television shows.“We want to make sure that we have the same access that they have in a Raleigh or a Greensboro or Charlotte. We want our people to have the same access to internet services for health care, education, working – whatever they’re utilizing it for.

The hope is to change the mindset of the end user so it’s not just internet for social media and streaming movies. Elliott wants rural consumers to be able to use internet for doctor’s appointments, prescription refills and more.

“Broadband is health care infrastructure,” Elliott said. “Once people understand that connection, the conversation changes from ‘I don’t need the internet’  to ‘I need access to care.’”

The upcoming summit will take a comprehensive look at the needs of rural residents and then work with community stakeholders including managed care organizations, local governments, faith-based institutions and community stakeholders to come up with ways to expand broadband access, strenghthen digital inclusion that improve health outcomes.

Below are some examples of how different groups can contribute to the overall goal:

  • CHODEC –  focus on community engagement, outreach and implementation strategies that integrate housing stability, workforce development, health equity, and family support services
  • Faith-based organizations – serve as critical partners in the initiative. Churches, ministries and interfaith networks will assist with community outreach, digital literacy education, telehealth navigation and trust-building efforts that ensure residents can effectively utilize new technologies and healthcare resources
  • Managed care providers – contribute expertise in care coordination, population health management, and telehealth implementation, while local governments are helping identify infrastructure needs and community priorities
  • State-level participation – partnership aligns with statewide broadband expansion goals led by NCDIT and healthcare priorities advanced by NCDHHS

Elliott said registration is encouraged, mainly to ensure there’s enough food for everyone. But if you can’t pre-register and would like to come to at least some of the day’s programs, she said by all means, do so.

Contact gmbeasley.com/events to register or to learn more.

 

 

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TownTalk: Friends, Colleagues, Family Gather To Honor Retiring Superintendent Dr. Cindy Bennett

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More than 100 well-wishers gathered Monday afternoon in Vance-Granville Community College’s Civic Center to congratulate Dr. Cindy Bennett on her upcoming retirement and to reflect on her impact as superintendent of Vance County Schools and on public education.

With family, friends, coworkers and community leaders in the audience, Bennett said she knew very early on that she wanted to be a teacher.

Now, looking back on a career that has spanned more than 40 years, Bennett is set to retire at the end of July. She was named superintendent of Vance County Schools in June 2021, succeeding Dr. Anthony Jackson.

Bennett thanked her parents for instilling in her and her siblings the basics: “hard work, to be people of integrity, to be good human beings and to love God most of all,” she said.

Starting out as a 2nd and 3rd grade teacher, Bennett said she was a “little afraid” to share the faith aspect of her life. But over the years, she has been able to champion others to share their faith, and to give hope to those who may need it most.

“Hope is what educators can offer,” she said. A teacher’s job is to give students the best possible opportunity to succeed, she said. “That begins with hope. From that, we move forward.”

Bennett said God had given her many wonderful opportunities, and she got a little emotional when she said she was “a child of God doing the work that he has called me to do.”

Representing the central office leadership, Dr. Destiney Ross-Putney spoke about their colleague and their friend, wishing her well as retirement nears.

Ross-Putney praised Bennett for her steady leadership, “keeping students the priority, believing in people. Kindness and accountability can coexist,” she said.

Kristen Boyd, principal of E.O. Young Elementary, spoke on behalf of the district’s principals. Boyd called Bennett a transformational leader who is authentic and collaborative – someone who is “solution-oriented” and who leads with optimism.

Bennett’s oft-used “I wonder if…” and “what’s the best that can happen?” are examples of how she approaches difficult situations that plant seeds of encouragement “to keep the focus where it belongs – on doing what is best for children,” Boyd said.

Boyd described Bennett as “a fearless woman of faith,” who guided the school district with wisdom, grace and integrity.

School Board Chairperson Ayana Lewis thanked Bennett for leading with care and compassion, for her visionary leadership, for creating expanded opportunities for students and for her unwavering belief in every child.

“Education is about more than academics,” Lewis said, adding that she sees the heart that the outgoing superintendent has for the students, staff and families.

Bennett, she said, is a “servant leader whose heart has always been centered on the students of Vance County Schools.”

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Henderson Vance Recreation & Parks

TownTalk: Children Left At RCE Movie Theater

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Family members of one of the two 6-year-old boys left behind at a local movie theater following a Recreation & Parks outing have said they’ve met with recreation staff, but they’re not satisfied with answers they’ve gotten.

On June 15, about noon, RCE Movie Theater employees located the boys after the larger group had left the building following the movie; camera footage showed the group in the parking lot returning to two vans and a school bus while the two boys were walking – then running – through the halls, apparently searching for the group.

Neither child could provide a parent’s or guardian’s phone number, and the theater employees contacted the recreation and parks staff to inform them that the boys were still at the theater.

On June 22, the mother of one of the boys posted on social media that her son had informed her that day of what had happened, but she didn’t get a call from anyone from the recreation and parks department.

The boys remained at the theater for about 30 minutes until a staff member returned to pick them up.

The theater employees appeared to keep both boys comfortable, and everyone remained calm during the half hour or so that the children were separated from their group.

And, to the boys’ credit, they never ventured outside the building.

WIZS News has reached out to Henderson-Vance Recreation & Parks Director Kendrick Vann for a comment; we’ll update this story with more information when that happens. He did say to WIZS preliminarily, the matter is “still an ongoing investigation.”

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TownTalk: Around Old Granville – Townsville

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It’s a short drive today on Highway 39 to get from Williamsboro to Townsville – about seven miles separate the two Vance County communities. But back in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s, it most likely took a lot longer to get between the two areas to conduct business or to go to church.

Ironically, it was wars and the railroad that heavily influenced both towns – for good and for ill. Today, both are little more than busy crossroads.

In the early 1900’s, Townsville boasted a bank, a hotel, a funeral home, a box factory, a drug store and a post office. Local historian Mark Pace said back then, Townsville was the second largest community in Vance County.

“It had a bright future,” Pace said Thursday on TownTalk’s Around Old Granville segment. He and WIZS’s Bill Harris talked about the heyday of the township and how it came to be.

It was originally called Lyneville, for the Lyne family that came from Caroline County in Virginia in the late 1700’s.

John Penn – yes, THAT John Penn – had married Henry Lyne’s daughter, Susannah, and she wanted to move to North Carolina to be closer to her family. And that’s how John Penn came to live in the area and be one of three North Carolinians to sign the Declaration of Independence, Pace explained.

Fast forward to 1855 or so, and a man named Edmund Townes living in the area donated the land for the railroad right-of-way. And so the name was changed to Townesville in his honor.

(Who knows why the “e” was dropped from the town’s name.) The railroad came through in the general area between where the post office and the historic Holy Trinity Episcopal Church now stand.

Townsville was the halfway point along the railway between Clarksville and Manson, Pace said.

“That’s why they put the box factory there, that’s why they put the bank there,” Pace said – because of the railroad.

In the mid 1800’s, the railroad played a significant role for folks who lived nearby. At that time, most farmers were producing tobacco, and the railroad “brought access to the rest of the world” for tobacco farmers. They could get their crop to markets in Richmond and Petersburg. It was a game-changer.

But the rails were taken up during the Civil War, the metal used for the Confederacy’s war effort in shipbuilding.

The Marrow brothers led the effort to bring the railroad back to Townsville. In the early 1900’s, the town passed a bond referendum. “The citizens of Townsville ponied up $75,000,” Pace said, which meant that the railroad was owned by the citizens.

At that point, the railroad only went to Manson, via Drewry and across Nutbush Creek. And because there was only one track and no place to turn around, the train had to back up to make its return trip from Townsville to Manson.

In 1918, a forest fire got very close to the 90-foot wooden bridge that took the train over Nutbush Creek, Pace said.

Everybody thought the bridge was ok, and the storage, passenger and coal cars were pushed safely across. But when it was the heavy locomotive’s turn – remember, it was going backwards – the bridge collapse under the weight. The engineer and brakeman died in the accident as the locomotive plunged deep into the muddy creek bed.

“The train engine was never brought up or salvaged,” Pace said. And now it’s just part of the underwater landscape of Kerr Lake that was built in the early 1950’s.

The town bought a new engine but it was so hard to maintain it was replaced with a sturdy, locally built Corbitt truck that was fitted with wheels to move along the tracks. It closed for good when the Depression hit in the 1930’s.

Pace attributes metal drives held during World War II for the lack of metal remains today along the railway path.

But unused rails and rail spikes aren’t the only thing that Townsville contributed to the war effort. A couple of hopeful gold prospectors, Joseph and Richard Hamme, discovered tungsten in 1942 just a little ways outside Townsville.

“Within six weeks, they were producing tungsten for the U.S. Army,” Pace said. Tungsten is the hardest naturally occurring metal known and has the highest melting point. The army put a tungsten coating on artillery shells so they could better penetrate brick and other metals.

Townsville has a number of historic churches in its vicinity, including Tabernacle Methodist Church. Most likely, Bishop Francis Asbury was one of the circuit riders that visited this American outpost after it was established.

Nutbush Presbyterian Church, established in 1757, is likely the oldest Presbyterian Church in the Old Granville area. The first building was built in the mid 1700’s; a 1941 wooden addition burned and was rebuilt.

These churches still stand, as well as homes including Machpelah and the David King Glover house, which Pace said may well be the oldest home in Vance County.

Its “brick knobbing” construction – placing pieces of brick as insulation between exterior and interior walls was used in the 1750’s and 60’s.

 

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TownTalk: Advanced Manufacturing At VGCC; Big Opportunities; Big Pay

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Once associated with low pay and manual labor in dirty, hot conditions, today’s manufacturing facilities are clean, temperature-controlled spaces where it’s the robots that do the heavy lifting, and right here in the four-county area that Vance-Granville Community College serves, a full list of companies contribute to the more than $44 billion of goods that the state sends to consumers near and far each year.

That’s where you come in.

Having those manufacturers within the VGCC footprint provides a unique opportunity for the community college to help students with education and training and to create a highly trained pool of employees to fill jobs these employers need.

Stephanie Tolbert, VGCC’s dean of Business and Applied Technologies, said the college has been offering programs like mechatronics and electronic engineering, among others, for a long time. And now, VGCC is getting ready to break ground for construction of its Center for Advanced Manufacturing in Granville County that will ultimately bring all those programs under one roof.

“We have tons of manufacturing companies, and that equals a lot of jobs,” Tolbert told WIZS TownTalk.

With more than 250 workers 55 or older in area manufacturing facilities, Tolbert said VGCC is positioning itself to provide a trained workforce as employees take retirement so companies can keep their production strong.

There are several different paths to get trained, from certificates to an associate’s degree, she explained.

A full-time student can take 4-5 classes and finish in one semester. In one year, a full-time student can take 10-12 classes and receive a diploma credential. An associate’s degree takes two years.

A student can get started in a certificate program, secure a job upon completion and then return for the additional classes – sometimes on the employer’s dime.

“They need employees now but know that this education is valuable and will make them a better employee,” Tolbert said.

The new center, a 35,200 square-foot building that will be located in Triangle North business park, is scheduled to open in January 2028.

“We are extremely excited,” Tolbert said. “This is a project that has been in the making for a decade.”

Initially, the center will house the mechatronics, electronic engineering, electrical systems technology, welding and HVAC programs. There will be conference space for meetings and trainings and open labs that will serve as expansion spaces, she explained, so future programs can be brought in.

David Bullock is the department chair for Applied Technologies, and Tolbert said the program has grown under his leadership – in the past four years, in fact, enrollment is up 40 percent.

Students learn technical skills that transfer to programming, repairing and maintaining automated and robotic equipment that continue to transform manufacturing.

But don’t believe everything you hear about robots and AI taking over all the jobs that humans do, Tolbert said.

A robot doesn’t move until it’s commanded to – by a human punching in instructions with a device akin to an iPad or tablet. “These robots are here to work collaboratively,” she said, doing the hard work which frees up the humans to do other things.

“AI and robots, I promise, will not take over manufacturing,” Tolbert said. “They cannot do anything until we program them to do it.”

Not sure whether mechatronics or advanced manufacturing is something you’d be interested in or good at? Come out for a visit or take a tour at a summertime “Thursday Connect” event, Tolbert said. Tomorrow’s (6-25-26) event will be held at the Franklin Campus from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

And if you’re someone who built Lego creations when you were a child or still enjoy taking things apart, figuring out what’s wrong and putting things back together again, then Tolbert says, “mechatronics may be your jam.”

There’s plenty of time to apply, enroll and get registered for fall semester, which begins mid-August.

Visit https://www.vgcc.edu/ to learn more about programs, classes, registration and future Thursday Connect events.

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TownTalk: Vance County Detention Center

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A detainee at the Vance County Detention Center was injured Monday afternoon in a failed escape attempt. Two other detainees were on the run for close to a week before being recaptured on June 9 in the Asheville area.

The Vance County jail is under state sanctions that, among other things, limit the number of individuals that can be housed there. Adequate staffing remains a concern for Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame, who is responsible for employees at the detention center.

Although the county oversees maintenance of the jail, it’s the sheriff who has complete authority over everything else, County Manager Renee Perry said.

Brame said the jail is housing up to 90 detainees at present. In April, state inspectors ordered that nearly all detainees be moved to other detention centers because of unsafe conditions and lack of adequate staffing at the Vance County facility.

The county commissioners are moving forward with construction of a new jail and simultaneously paying for upgrades to the existing facility.

The new detention facility has a price tag of roughly $71.2 million and is expected to take a minimum of two years to complete. Perry noted that the county currently is in the land acquisition phase; no location has been settled on yet.

The repairs and renovations to the existing jail are expected to be completed by November 2026, said Perry.

She also included a $3.34 million detention center capital reserve in the FY 2026-27 budget adopted by the commissioners earlier this month.

TownTalk: Henderson Music & Arts Festival Recap

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Bridger Stewardson is one cool dude.

The 19-year-old just pulled off the first Henderson Music & Arts Festival in his hometown, which, from all accounts, was a great success. Hundreds of people came out to check out the lineup, which included local bands as well as other musicians and vocalists from Durham and Boston, MA.

Stewardson, who just completed his freshman at the renown Berklee School of Music in Boston, is an accomplished jazz pianist. The 2025 Vance Charter School graduate told WIZS in an earlier interview that the festival is a way for him to give back to his hometown.

He mentioned a couple of takeaways from having the first year under his belt.

One, “That I’m going to do it again next year, for sure, and every year after, hopefully,” Stewardson said on Monday’s TownTalk.

Second takeaway – he’s going to hire some more help.

He got to the site about 8:30 in the morning on Sunday, June 14 and was still there finishing up at 10 that night. In addition to setting up and making sure everything was ready for the performances, Stewardson was a great festival greeter and ambassador. And that was all before he took the stage.

“It was just great to see so many people show up,” he said. “Five, six hundred people, in and out all day…everybody smiling the whole time, dancing. It was a good day.”

People from all different ethnicities, backgrounds and ages made up the crowd, which Stewardson attributes to the music.

“It was the music that worked all that other stuff in,” he said.

Listening to live music creates a special feeling among concertgoers. “You feel like you’re almost part of it, of the moving organism that the event is based around,” he noted.

Jimmy and the Sound Barriers kicked things off, and the Westbrooks provided the intro to Bridger & Friends, which was the final group to take the stage.

“All of the groups were stellar. I couldn’t have asked for a better turnout for the music,” he said.

As he thinks about next year’s festival, Stewardson said he may consider moving the date up just a bit to avoid the heat – it was in the upper 80’s on festival day before a quick shower cooled things off a bit.

There were tents and misting fans which helped, and the breeze was “super nice” under the tents to help keep folks comfortable.

“Everybody I talked to had a great time,” Stewardson said. It was just a happy time, he said, adding that he loved seeing folks out dancing in front of the stage, smiling and talking to old friends and meeting new ones.

Bridger & Friends will be playing from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday, June 25 at Tobacco Wood Brewing Co. in Oxford for the final installment of Quittin’ Time.

Then he’ll be headed off to NYC to hang out with the Parliament Funkadelic guys and the bassist for the Allman Brothers Band and Dead & Company.

All this before beginning his sophomore year.

Yep, Bridger Stewardson is one cool dude.

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TownTalk: Mental Health Resources Available To Farmers/Public

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Even under optimal conditions, farmers face daily challenges – mending fences, managing livestock, keeping gardens picked, maintaining tractors and equipment – and that’s just for starters.

But factor in extreme circumstances like persistent drought and higher-than-normal temps, and the additional stress can compound an already stressful lifestyle that can have serious implications on their mental health.

Vance County Cooperative Extension Agent Michael Ellington and Granville Vance Public Health clinical social worker Mary Constantino shared some sobering information about national suicide rates among farmers and what family members can do if they see concerning behaviors in their loved ones.

Ellington said it’s important to be aware of how stress impacts us – farmers and others, alike. It’s all about knowing what we can do and focusing on what we can control, he said on a recent TownTalk.

Constantino, GVPH Human Services Clinical Counselor Specialist, said the national data around suicide is about 14.4 deaths per 100,000. In North Carolina, that average is 14.1. But farmers, she said, have a higher rate per 100,000 than the average population – as much as 2 to 4 times the national average.

Ellington said he’s heard different people expressing feelings of desperation, that they can see no way forward, no way out.

“This is a problem happening right now,” Ellington said, “your family, your neighbors. It’s here.”

He wants to send the message that provides a lifeline to those in distress. “Whatever problems you’re facing,” there is a way out, a way forward.

“It’s really hard to talk about feelings and things that are stressful,” Constantino said.

When things aren’t going well, it’s human nature to blame ourselves, and she said it’s also natural to think that we should be able to handle the stressful situations without help.

It may be useful to change perspective from “I should be able to handle these feelings myself” to “gosh, maybe I do need some help trying to process through some of this,” she said.

Ellington said often, a farmer’s support system includes the very ones who are dependent on him or her.

“They probably are the folks they’re worried about letting down the most,” he said.

Constantino suggests having a daily “process check” when stress levels are high. The stress is acknowledged – now what to do about it?

Sometimes, it’s helpful to just ‘vent’ to someone. That can be enough, but not always. And it’s important to know what steps to take when venting hasn’t helped.

Ellington says there’s a difference between venting and problem-solving.

“Farmers are natural problem solvers,” he said.

“Venting is when we just need to put something out there, knowing that we can’t fix it.”

The weather. The drought. That tractor part that won’t be in stock for two weeks.

Sleeping more, drinking alcohol to excess, not wanting to socialize or even get out of the bed may be signs that there’s more going on than just reacting to normal stress.

GVPH has a variety of programs that address mental health and positive outcomes, Constantino said. Crisis lines in Vance and Granville counties can provide referrals to callers who reach out about services.

Of course, if you are fearful for the safety of your loved one, you can always call the national 988 suicide hotline.

“The best place to start is to say ‘Hey, we care about you,’” Constantino said.

GVPH can help manage medications and oversee people who need mental health support. In Granville County, there are therapists who go into schools; in Vance County, it’s mostly group-focused programs.

Clinicians all operate a little bit differently, Constantino explained, but clients often find relief when what they need is support and encouragement and strategic questions about how to move forward.

Call GVPH at 919.693.2141 or visit https://gvph.org/ webs to learn more.

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Commissioners Approve $72.4M Budget 5-2

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(This story was originally published on June 2, 2026.)

The Vance County Board of Commissioners adopted the county’s $72.4 million 2026-27 budget Monday by a vote of 5-2.

Dan Brummitt reiterated his opinion that the county is spending too much money.

“We’ve got to figure some way to lower the cost of government,” he said. He voted against the budget ordinance.

Brummitt and Commissioner Valencia Perry cast the two dissenting votes.

The budget follows County Manager Renee Perry’s recommendation with funding for the health department, school system or library funding, and KARTS will get the same allocation as last year – $75,759. Franklin-Vance-Warren Opportunities allocation almost doubled – from $13,000 to $25,000 and VGCC will receive $400,000 for capital expenditures.

The newly approved budget includes creation of a Detention Center Capital Reserve at $3.4 million, along with several other major capital projects like a city/county communications tower, Senior Center sprinkler project and a 2030 revaluation catchup fund. In total, the budget appropriates $7.06 million from fund balance to balance the budget.

View the budget ordinance on the county’s website at https://www.vancecounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Signed-FY-2026-2027-Budget-Ordinance.pdf

In other action, the commissioners:

  • heard a recommendation from Manager Perry to discuss and research the idea of a data center moratorium at its next work session, after hearing from numerous individuals speaking out against data centers during the public comment and public hearing portions of the meeting. More than one speaker called on commissioners to establish a moratorium on data centers – one said one year and another said two years – in the county. Commissioner Valencia Perry asked the board to consider a moratorium, and Manager Perry suggested further discussion at the board’s upcoming work session.
  • approved a new social worker position in DSS to oversee adult services. The salary range is from is 98,000 to $124,092, which Perry said includes between a minimum to midpoint salary, including benefits. The new position will allow adult services to be separated from child services, currently under supervision of N.C. Dept. of Health and Human Services. Finance Director Stephanie Williams will bring a budget amendment to commissioners at its next meeting. Commissioner Tommy Hester made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Leo Kelly. Motion passed.
  • Progress continues to ready the county-owned building to be housed by city and county departments to make a “one-stop shopping” destination for prospective developers and others seeking permits and information about planning and zoning. The city is expected to complete work on the parking in the next week and will then move to fencing and landscaping. Hester called the city/county collaboration “outstanding.”

TownTalk: Low-ABV Spirits in NC

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Visitors to the Outer Banks can experience the convenience and novelty of any one of five Brew Thru locations in the area, delighting in the fact that they can drive their Jeeps, SUVs and other vehicles literally through the store to pick up cold drinks from sodas to beer and more.

As Philip Foreman, the company president and owner, prepares to celebrate 50 years of Brew Thru next year, he said he’d like to be able to add some spirits-based ready-to-drink beverages to his coolers for folks to pick up instead of having to make a special trip to the ABC store.

It seems that many people are looking for seltzer-based beverages that contain spirits like vodka, not malt-based.

These beverages often have fewer calories and a lower alcohol content, but it’s the wrong kind of alcohol – spirits can only be sold in the state’s ABC stores.

“These canned cocktails are not hard liquor,” he explained, and he wants to be able to add them to the products that he can legally sell.

Foreman said he’s excited about the 50-year anniversary coming up, and he thinks it’s only fair that these ready-to-drink products find themselves on Brew Thru shelves along with their other choices, which range from beverages to t-shirts and other merchandise.

“Everybody comes through for the first time and then they’re hooked,” he said in a recent interview. “It’s a fun way to shop,” he said. “We work really hard to make sure our employees are super friendly – it’s an experience going to a Brew Thru versus going to a store.”

Foreman is advocating for passage of a bill which would allow these RTDs to be sold in retail locations and not just at ABC stores.

N.C. District 32 Rep. Bryan Cohn told WIZS that House Bill 921 would allow retailers who are licensed to sell beer and wine to carry canned cocktails that could contain up to 9.9 percent ABV, but that bill has not cleared the full House. The Senate’s version – Senate Bill 198 – does not include retail RTD access, Cohn said, but both bills remain active.

According to Cohn, State Sen. Tim Moffitt (R-Dist. 48) has said publicly that if the House bill clears, the Senate will take it up. “Until that happens, nothing changes,” Cohn said.

Moffit told NC Newsline (see link here) and reporter/writer Brandon Kingdollar of the publication in a Tuesday story (link here), “The Senate’s approach to alcohol legislation this biennium was more of a technical corrections type of bill where we were working directly with the ABC Commission on some of the hurdles that a lot of our ABC permittees have to deal with.” Sen. Moffitt told NC Newsline, “If the House can get their bill over to the Senate, then the Senate will consider it.”

Senate Bill 198 and House Bill 921 haven’t been passed yet and seem to be somewhat stuck. There’s some wording that has to be refined, Foreman said, but he’s hopeful that the omnibus bills will pass.

He said he’s not trying to take any business away from the ABC stores; rather, he contends that the drinks should be more accessible and convenient to purchase.

North Carolina is one of 17 states that emerged from the Prohibition era with controls over the sale of spirits. Of those 17 states, 12 already have revised their laws to allow for a low-beverage spirit-based RTD to be sold in retail outlets. And Foreman wants to add North Carolina to that list.

“That’s not fair,” Foreman said. “I just want to be treated fairly. It’s not only me upset about this.”

“It’s not getting rid of the ABC system,” Foreman said. “I’m just against controlled states competing with taxpaying retailers on a low alcohol beverage cocktail.”

Nothing in the bills change the way the alcohol is regulated – that part remains the same, he explained. But it would allow for wholesalers to deliver RTDs to restaurants and retail outlets along with the wine and beer they currently put on their trucks and which often have a higher ABV than the canned cocktails.

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