Andrea Harris Task Force

TownTalk: Alice Sallins Reflects on Andrea Harris And Talks Arts Council, Black History Month

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Henderson’s city operations facility has had a few names since it was constructed – but the name it officially got today (Tuesday, Feb. 1) will be a lasting one. From now on, the building, located on Beckford Drive, will be named for Dr. Andrea Harris, who died in May 2020.

Harris grew up in Henderson and was an educator, as well as a civic leader and activist at the local and state level. The City Council voted in 2021 to rename the building in memory of Harris.

Alice Sallins was among those in attendance at the official ribbon-cutting and dedication Tuesday morning. Sallins worked alongside Harris when they both were involved with the NAACP.

“I knew her very well,” Sallins said of Harris. “When she was president of the NAACP, I was vice president.” Being involved in the community in which you live was important to Harris, and Sallins continues to follow Harris’s example.

“If you’re involved, then you represent the rest of the community,” Sallins told John C. Rose in a phone interview Tuesday morning. If you’re sitting at the table, “you’ll make sure you get a slice of the pie,” she said.

Although Sallins said things have gotten better, she said there’s still room for improvement when it comes to have diversity among the various boards and governing bodies and agencies in the community. “We’ve come a long way, but we’ve got a long ways to go,” Sallins said.

“If you’re planning for me and not including me, then you’re not planning for me at all,” she said.

As Sallins waited for the dedication to begin, she reflected on her friend, Andrea Harris. “She would be pleased, really, if she were here today.”

Henderson Mayor Eddie Ellington offered remarks on the occasion of the dedication, saying that city officials gathered “to commemorate an exceptional part of our community’s history and celebrate one of our own.”

“Looking at the City Operations building and the name that is forever etched, helps to tell a brighter, fuller story of who we are,” Ellington said in a written statement to WIZS News on Tuesday. “Many citizens pass through those doors to cast their votes in every election – local, state and federal – with a promise of democracy and it reminds us that we all are created equal. Today we remember one of the brightest lights of our time. A brilliant champion for all people, a fierce friend and truly a phenomenal lady. We cherish the time we were privileged to share with Dr. Andrea Harris.”

Vance County Arts Council Black History Month Virtual Program

The Vance County Arts Council is planning a virtual Black History Month program that will be available beginning Monday, Feb. 7 for viewing.

Alice Sallins, the council’s executive director, shared names of some of the artists who will be featured in the project, which can be viewed via YouTube. Willa Brigham, a Charlotte-based storyteller and daytime Emmy award winner, is one well-known personality who will be a part of the virtual celebration.

Sallins said Brigham will have a 45-minute session that will be recorded and offered to the Vance County Schools, as well as the general public, for viewing.

Stella Jones will share African American poetry and vocalist Evelyn Couch will perform Negro spirituals. Johnny Watkins will recite poetry by Langston Hughes, she said.

The program should be completed this week and will be uploaded by Saturday.
The link will be live from Monday through the end of February. Look for the links on the Vance County Arts Council Facebook page and in other locations, she said.

“Look for a high time,” Sallins said. “We have some very good artists who are working hard” to create a quality program for the community to enjoy.

 

 

Wayne Adcock

Adcock’s Family Humbled, Honored During Dedication Of Wayne Adcock Auditorium

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“It’s not work if you love what you do.” There is no more fitting statement to describe the way Wayne Adcock felt about his job as an educator, and members of the community and Vance County Schools school had a chance to remember the lifelong educator, former superintendent, mentor and friend at a special ceremony Monday at the Center for Innovation.

Vance County Schools named the auditorium for Adcock, who died in November 2020. His wife, Susan, and son John were in attendance at the ribbon-cutting and dedication. She reflected on the morning’s celebration in a telephone interview with John C. Rose.

“It was wonderful,” she said. “It was a very emotional day, but we were so humbled by the school board wanting to do that,” she said of the naming ceremony.

Adcock was so complimentary of the work that Superintendent Dr. Cindy Bennett and the school staff undertook to make the day a reality.

“We enjoyed hearing people remembering Wayne,” she said. A recurring theme throughout the remarks made on Monday included how much her husband loved working for Vance County Schools and with students. And, my, how he loved that building that now houses the Center for Innovation. He served as principal at the Charles Street campus when it was Henderson Middle School. “He was principal there 10 years,” she said. “He loved that building – he would always say it was the prettiest building in Vance County.”

But whether it was at Henderson Middle School or Northern Vance High School, Adcock said her husband genuinely loved what he did.

“He felt like he was the lucky one that got to (work) with the students,” she recalled. “He thought he was the fortunate one to get to do it.”

Several speakers gave remarks at the ribbon-cutting, and then the microphone was opened up for others to share their memories. Her son, John, offered remarks on behalf of the family.

Her husband made lifelong friends working for Vance County Schools, but it was the students that he dearly loved hearing from after they’d graduated and become successful in life.

He enjoyed his time interacting with the older high school students because he could hopefully give them advice that would “guide them in the right direction.”

David Cooper and David Westbrook are former students who now work in the field of education. Westbrook talked about advice that Adcock had given him when he was in high school “when he wasn’t always doing what he was supposed to do,” Mrs. Adcock recalled. “(Wayne) was always tickled when he’d call and seek advice,” she said.

Cooper talked about the encouragement Adcock offered him through the years.

School board chair Ruth Hartness shared the strong relationships that Adcock established with students and the guidance that he was so good at providing.

“Wayne valued education so much,” she said. He felt that it was one thing that could lift people out of poverty. He was awarded a scholarship to attend UNC-Chapel Hill, and he realized how fortunate he was to be able to continue his education.

When he’d bump in to former students or get updates on what they were doing, “he would be so happy that they’d gotten an education and were doing so well.”

TownTalk: Early Granville County Courts

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You won’t find a copy of Leonard F. Dean’s book on the shelves alongside Erle Stanley Gardner’s Perry Mason or Carolyn Keene’s Nancy Drew series, but Mark Pace said Dean’s

Courthouses and Courts of Early Granville County, NC is somewhat of a detective story.

Dean’s book tracks down the origins of the court system – and the first courthouses – in old Granville County, and Mark Pace and Bill Harris said it reads more like a detective story than a rehash of researched facts.

The early courts of Granville County was the topic for the tri-weekly history program on Thursday’s Town Talk. They kicked off the discussion with a quick review of Dean’s book.

“It sounds dry, but it’s really quite good,” Harris said of Dean’s book. Pace agreed, calling Dean a “meticulous researcher…who makes his arguments and backs them up with facts.”

“It’s an interesting story from an interesting time,” Pace said.

The courthouse in downtown Oxford is beautiful and an iconic structure in its own right, but the 1838 structure wasn’t the first official courthouse in Granville County – that was located up near Eaton’s Ferry in the northeastern part of what is now Warren County.

Granville County, remember, used to encompass all of what is now Vance, Granville, Franklin and Warren counties. That area around present-day Eaton’s Ferry was more heavily populated than other areas – folks moved from southside Virginia into that area, Pace said.

As the population continued to grow in other parts of Granville County, people who had business at the courthouse had to travel longer distances to get to the courthouse in Eaton’s Ferry.

But it was Col. William Eaton – considered by many to be the father of Granville County – who helped to change that. Eaton owned the property where the court was located up in the northeastern part of present-day Warren County. And he also offered a more centralized property farther south, which he also owned, on which to locate a court that wouldn’t take so long to get to from the south.

This property, known as Locust Hill, is located on Ruin Creek in present-day Vance County. And it was here where the “new” courthouse conducted business, from processing applications for taverns and canneries to hearing court proceedings and naturalizing citizens. Although there was no actual courthouse, court was convened here. Pace said Eaton also ran a tavern and a store, which benefitted from the additional court traffic.

In 1764, Samuel Benton introduced legislation to move the county seat to his plantation, “Oxford” and gave the land on where the current Granville County courthouse stands.

Benton, a member of the House of Commons, owned all the adjacent property around the parcel he offered for the courthouse, from which the town of Oxford grew.

Call Pace at the North Carolina Room of Richard Thornton library at 919.693.1121 to learn more about how to get a copy of Dean’s book.

 

 

TownTalk: Chief Cordell Gives Praise To Henderson’s Firefighters

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Firefighters with the Henderson Fire Department stand ready to respond to calls across the city, and earlier this month, they gathered to honor several among their ranks at the 45th annual awards banquet.

Fire Chief Steve Cordell said being a firefighter requires service and dedication and the individuals with the city’s fire department are true public servants. The 45th annual banquet was Jan. 12 at Clearview Church.

Battalion Chief Lee Edmonds received the Firefighter of the Year award and Cordell told John C. Rose on Wednesday’s Town Talk that Edmonds truly deserves the recognition.

The nominating committee put forth Edmonds’ name because of his behind-the-scenes efforts in navigating the department through new reporting systems with training and troubleshooting.

“Lee was the backbone of all that,” Cordell said. He trained the firefighters and also was the first person to tackle computer-related issues on the trucks or around the station.

“When staffing levels were short, Lee would jump on the truck,” Cordell said. Edmonds would fill in for firefighters who needed to take a day off, which allowed the department to stay fully staffed and ready to answer fire calls.

Edmonds worked his way through the ranks of the fire department, from fireman to engineer to captain over fire prevention and education.

“Lee takes so much pride and (is) dedicated in that job,” Cordell said. Fire prevention is a 365-day event, he added, and Edmonds is in the community every day spreading that message, with eagerness, dedication and enthusiasm.

Firefighter Matthew Pearce was presented the Valor Award, which Cordell explained is given to a firefighter who puts their life on the line to save others. Pearce was at the Dabney Drive Food Lion buying groceries when a man asked if his grandson could see the fire truck. The firefighters took their time and gave the young fellow a tour, Cordell said. But afterward, the little guy, in his enthusiasm, dashed into the path of an oncoming car in the parking lot. “Pearce jumped out, grabbed that kid and spun his back” to the oncoming vehicle. “If anyone was going to take a direct impact, it would be him,” he added.

For unselfishly putting himself in harm’s way, Pearce was awarded the fire department’s highest honor.

Capt. William Boyd was presented the Chief’s Award, which is given to a firefighter who performs his work but who also contributes to the community away from the fire station. Boyd is a deacon in his church, a family man and he also volunteers as a coach for the local high school football team.

“Not only does he give to his church, his family and community, he served our country,” Cordell said of Boyd.

Cordell said it’s been fun to watch Boyd grow as a firefighter. First as an engine captain and now a company officer, he “takes his wealth of knowledge and takes his company of men and tries to make his firefighters better than when they came into the station” every day, he added.

Cordell also acknowledged that his department honored him with an award of appreciation, an act that rendered him speechless at the banquet and an act that, days later, he said he still is processing.

“It’s a moment that I never would have expected, but it meant the world to me,” Cordell said.

“My job is to fight for those (firefighters) to make sure they have tools and equip to be safe and to do their jobs – they’re my family. Cordell’s assessment? The city of Henderson has a great fire department,” full of individuals that work together to save and protect and serve.

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TownTalk: Red Cross Makes A Difference In The Life Of Mike Peoples

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It was March 2002 and Navy veteran Mike Peoples was getting a tour of an American Red Cross facility, mainly just so he could get a couple of persistent staffers off his back. Little did he realize that it would be that day – March 22, 2002 – that he says the Red Cross saved his life.

“I was broken,” he said, reflecting on those days a couple of decades ago. But since then, his full-time volunteer work has helped to make him whole again. He works with veterans and Red Cross staffers to create meaningful, healthy programs that can help others feel whole again, too.

Being part of an organization, he says, can help get you out of your funk.

He knows that first-hand. Peoples spoke on Tuesday’s Town Talk with John C. Rose and guest co-host Phyllis Maynard to share his experiences as a veteran and as a Red Cross volunteer.

Peoples said he missed out on an overseas station assignment because of some physical problems that ultimately resulted in him having several back and knee surgeries. He was in a body cast for two and a half years, he said.

He was discharged from the Navy, and had to live with his parents because he physically couldn’t manage by himself.

“I was in a pretty dark place,” he recalled.

In an effort to help her son, Peoples said his mother “schemed up this idea with a local board she was on.” It was at these board meetings of a housing improvement program that he met a couple of folks from the Red Cross.

Topics like building resiliency and preparedness in the community were right up his alley, Peoples said, and it didn’t take long for him to raise his hand to contribute to the conversation. “I felt sorta, kinda, close to my old self,” he said. One of the Red Cross reps approached him after a meeting and said, “you know, the Red Cross really likes military folks. Come be our disaster chairman and our disaster action team coordinator.”

He protested, saying that his daily doctor visits and physical therapy six days a week would interfere with his ability to do a job. “They were persistent,” Peoples said. He was floored when, during the tour, one of the staffers pulled a key ring full of keys out of her desk and gave them to Peoples. “We made you a set of keys because we know that you’ll have to come and go” on your own schedule,” he said.

He is the Central Atlantic Division’s hospital recovery veterans and caregiver services lead, and supports Red Cross personnel primarily in hospitals. There are volunteers and programs in VA hospitals, medical facilities and Department of Defense medical facilities. “I support the folks on the ground, building capacity, programming, and executing those program and making sure they’re executing healthy programs for the military-connected communities.”

He also serves on the disaster cycle services side of things, reconnecting people who have been separated by disaster.

Another program he helped roll out, designated by the VA as a signature program for the Red Cross, pairs volunteers with veteran patients. A check-in by phone to make sure the person on the other end is doing ok can be a lifesaver. Literally.

“I’ve made a phone call and I’ve taken a phone call,” Peoples said.

He knows what it feels like to be broken and in a dark place. And he also knows that those feelings can be temporary.

Watch the Youtube video featuring Peoples here: https://youtu.be/QkWj6SCfYhM

 

 

TownTalk: Book Will Highlight Franklin Co. Historic Architecture

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The book chronicling historic architectural properties in Franklin County has taken a few years to come to fruition, but a few years is a drop in the bucket when you consider that Franklin County’s roots go back to well before the Revolutionary War.

But those on the Franklin County Historical Preservation Commission are anxious for the book to be published, and its chairman, Bill Harris, said Monday that he hopes the book will be ready in time for Christmas 2022.

The biggest part of the work was completed by 2018 or so, Harris told WIZS’s Trey Snide on Monday’s Town Talk. Jeroen van den Hurk and Megan Funk of the Commonwealth Heritage Group walked and drove the county, took countless photos and spoke with many people to identify previously documented historic properties and to find new structures that hadn’t previously been included in the survey completed in 1975.

That survey resulted in the small but well regarded Early Architecture of Franklin County by T.H. Pearce, Harris noted, but this new book is going to knock it out of the proverbial park.

He said the book, which is in final edits, will probably weigh in between 400 and 500 pages. A classic “coffee table” style book, it will have 800 photos – including a collection of color photos of places of particular historical significance – and the information will be organized by township, he said.

The COVID-19 pandemic is partly responsible for the delay in publication and release of the book, Harris said. And the historic preservation commission is seeking donations from individuals to help defray costs.

For a minimum donation of $100, sponsors will receive a complimentary copy of the book, along with recognition among a list of sponsors included in the publication. There are different levels of giving – platinum level is a gift of $1,000, gold is $500 and bronze is $250.

There are brochures at libraries in Oxford and Louisburg that give details of the process. Harris said he hoped to have copies at the Perry Memorial Library soon to share with anyone interested in learning more. A PDF of the brochure can be found on Facebook at Frankin, Granville, Vance, Warren Genealogy. The PDF can be downloaded.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/fgvwgeneaology.

The soon-to-be published book is a comprehensive architectural history of the county, Harris said. But it was important to the members of the commission that the book not be a dry book about architecture. There’s going to be a glossary of architectural terms and a section that Harris is calling “lost properties,” which will include photographs of “so many great houses that have been lost to time.”

There are existing photographs of structures that no longer exist, and often don’t appear in books like the one the commission is creating.

“It’s not just the architecture – it’s the stories behind the houses” and the families that lived in those homes, he said, that he hopes the book will capture.

“Anyone who has roots in Franklin County will find it interesting,” he said.

The book will be dedicated to a former Franklin County resident – Maury York – who Harris said was instrumental in the formation of the historic preservation commission. “He did so much groundwork,” he said of York, adding that he continues to offer advice and provide information to the commission. York also helped create the Tar River Center for History and Culture located on the campus of Louisburg College.

The focus of the project is not about making money – but not to lose money, either, Harris said. Rather, it’s to help promote historic tourism in the area, as well as to capture and preserve some of the qualities that make Franklin County unique.

“There’s an interest here,” Harris said, to promote tourism. And that helps to boost the local economy.

Send donations to Franklin County Historic Preservation Commission, 215 E. Nash St., Louisburg, NC 27549.

 

 

 

 

 

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TownTalk: Remembering Weather Events Of The Past

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There’s an old saying – everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it.  That was true of today’s installment of TownTalk. John C. Rose and Bill Harris didn’t do a thing about the weather, but they, along with several callers, certainly talked about it.

With another round of wintry weather predicted for the area beginning Thursday night, it seemed an appropriate topic. While this round of weather is NOT predicted to approach the two feet of snow the area received in 2000 or the crippling ice storm of a couple of years later, any amount of frozen precipitation could bring things to a standstill. And with the coldest temperatures of the winter coming along for the ride, whatever we get won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.

Callers to the program remembered the snow storm of 2000 which buried the entire area and shut down everything. One caller said it took hours to get his car out of the snow and another caller said of the 2002 ice storm that he had just moved here from upstate New York to escape the wintry climate only to find the winter weather followed him to North Carolina.

Another caller remembered an ice storm from 1970 that left him with no heat or power in a mobile home while going to school at Campbell University.

While winter weather is certainly foremost on everyone’s mind, hurricanes Fran and Hazel were remembered as well.

Weather can certainly be interesting in North Carolina. The residents of coastal NC have their share of Atlantic storms on a regular basis and those who live in the mountains deal with much more winter weather. It’s central North Carolina that might remember the big storms more vividly since we don’t get big winter storms or tropical systems as frequently.

Hopefully this weekend’s weather will not be severe enough to be remembered for more than a week or two.

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Kerr Tar Regional Council of Governments

TownTalk: Beth Davis Talks Kerr-Tar Regional Council Of Governments

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The Kerr-Tar Council of Governments provides assistance to a cross-section of the community, and part of Beth Davis’s job as regional engagement specialist is to share information about what the agency can do for residents in the counties it serves

The local COG serves five counties – Vance, Granville, Franklin, Warren and Person – and Davis said Wednesday that there are programs and services that benefit individuals, municipalities as well as businesses.

“We are always very busy,” Davis told John C. Rose on Wednesday’s Town Talk. There are 16 COGs in the state which received $10 million to help with American Rescue Plan, and another $6 million in disaster, recovery, resilience and mitigation monies to assist in local pandemic recovery efforts.

The Kerr-Tar COG is doing things to make the community a better place to live, Davis said. And that’s something that she enjoys spreading the word about.

“We have a lot of great services and programs for folks in our counties. We’re not a secret,” she said, adding that there are a lot of services that are of great help to the community. “How can you not get excited about that?”

Individuals can get help from Kerr-Tar through a variety of programs – from getting help creating a job resume to taking part in a walking program for people with arthritis to improve physical health.

The NCWorks agency is a part of the local COG, Davis said, which helps to connect employers with qualified candidates. In addition to workforce staff in the Kerr-Tar office, there are three career centers where people looking for help with finding a job. The Oxford location is at Hilltop on Hwy 158, the Henderson location is on Beckford Drive and the Warren location is on the campus of VGCC in Warrenton.

Traditionally, January is a “big time of year when people are looking for a change. It’s a good time to contact the workforce development office” for help in finding a job, she said.

Individuals also can get guidance about resources for seniors through the Area Agency on Aging. The agency is looking to hire an aging specialist, she said, but resources include family caregiver support and an ombudsman to help family members who have complaints about facilities.

Municipalities can get help with grant-writing and the Kerr-Tar planning and economic development arm facilitates a wide range of issues, from providing diversity, equity and inclusion training to spotlighting the use of electric vehicles and other alternate transportation such as bicycle and pedestrian plans.

Visit www.kerrtarworks.org to find out more and to view the monthly newsletter that lists many of the opportunites and upcoming events in the COG service area. There’s also a very active and up-to-date Facebook page that contains details of events.

For those who prefer telephones to computers or social media. Davis said a simple call to the office at 252.436.2040 can get you connected to services and information.

 

 

TownTalk: Ruin Creek Animal Protection Society Continues Its Mission To Save Animals

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The mission of Ruin Creek Animal Protection Society is to find homes for dogs and cats that, through no fault of their own, wind up at the Vance County Animal Shelter. RCAPS is in its 10th year of work in Vance County, and Brandon Boyd told Bill Harris on Tuesday’s Town Talk that a new facility is almost ready to further the RCAPS mission.

The construction phase is nearly complete to transform the former animal shelter facility on Vance Academy Road into a low cost spay and neuter clinic for dogs and cats.

Boyd said being a responsible pet owner can be expensive – from food and vet visits to spay and neuter procedures. But spaying and neutering is the best way to reduce the unwanted pet population, he said. And this low-cost clinic is one step toward supporting pet owners in this effort.

The weekly trips that RCAPS van driver James Jackson makes up the Northeast corridor takes adoptable animals as far away as New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania to find homes. It’s all possible through the generosity of local donors, Boyd said. From the weekly gas fillups from Rose Oil to videographer Dawn Hedgepeth who posts on Facebook Live each dog being crated and loaded on the van for their “freedom ride,” Boyd said he is thankful and appreciative of the local support that RCAPS enjoys.

“Ruin Creek is volunteer-strong and donor-supported,” he said. “Donors are the ones that make it possible.”

But when demand for companion animals – especially cats – there needs to be a different plan of action. “The (shelter’s) cat room has been full,” Boyd said, adding that the shelter staff and RCAPS has been working hard to find adoptive homes for them.

The spay and neuter clinic will hopefully be an avenue for residents to help reduce the unwanted pet population. “It’s a service we’re going to be able to provide to the citizens of Vance County,” Boyd said.

He called the feral cat situation in Vance County “rampant.”

“We’re very, very excited about it…within months, I hope we’re able to see the impact of this (clinic).”

He invited area vet techs and veterinarians to reach out to RCAPS at info@rcaps.org to learn more about how they can help with the clinic.

 

 

TownTalk: Firefighters And The Dangers They Face

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Two people – one of them a firefighter – were taken to hospital last night after a house fire broke out on Hargrove Street.

City Fire Chief Steve Cordell told WIZS News Monday that Capt. J. Bolton is back at home, and recovering from second- and third-degree burns on both shoulders and arms. “He was attempting to do a search” of the structure to locate possible victims,” Cordell said.

The fire started about 8 p.m. in the kitchen area of a residence at 1224 Hargrove St., he said.

One person was taken to the hospital, but no information is available about the person’s condition.

“She was alive when we got her to the ambulance,” Cordell said in a phone interview with John C. Rose Monday. It is not known to which hospital the victim was taken; Bolton was taken by ambulance to the UNC Burn Center.

Firefighters face risks each time that alarm sounds and they don their protective gear and head to the scene of a fire or a vehicle accident or other emergency call.

Some risks are immediate and obvious – being burned or injured when entering a burning building, for example. But firefighters face the possibility future health challenges as a result of the work they do.

And the recently passed state budget has an item in it that addresses some of those future health challenges – like cancer diagnoses.

Through the N.C. Department of Insurance, $15 million shall be used to establish and administer a pilot program to provide health benefits to eligible firefighters with a new diagnosis of cancer on or after Jan. 1, 2022. This is a supplemental program, and firefighters could receive $25,000 after getting a new cancer diagnosis, up to $50,000. The program also allows for reimbursement of up to $12,000 in medical costs associated with the diagnosis and provides eligible firefighters additional disability assistance.