THIS STORY IS PRESENTED IN PART BY DRAKE DENTISTRY

-Notes courtesy Claire Catherwood, West End Community Watch

The speaker for the most recent West End Community Watch held on February 18 was Mayor Eddie Ellington. The mayor is currently serving his second term of office. Ellington’s family has lived in Henderson for four generations. In addition to serving as mayor, Ellington works for Charles Boyd Chevrolet in public relations.

Mayor Ellington was pleased to announce that the police department is now fully staffed. Further, the city is in a good financial state, with a balance of $44 million dollars. This figure is 43% over the mandated requirement for city governments. No increases in taxes have been imposed in recent years, nor are they expected.

The City now has a new manager, Edward Blackmon. Blackmon replaced recently retired manager Frank Frazier. The City and County are working well together.

The Economic Development Commission has mobilized a delegation of people who organize tours for prospective industries. Tommy Hester plays a large role in hosting these events.

There have been many economic projects in recent months. Mentioned were – The M.R. Williams expansion, the Vescom expansion, Mako Labs, Maria Parham’s cardiac unit expansion, Life Flight’s helicopter pad addition at Maria Parham, improvements to the living quarters in the oldest firehouse in the state, the building of the outdoor pavilion in downtown Henderson, Sadie’s Coffee Corner, Biscuitville, Popeyes and Starbucks.

Mako was given a half-million dollars in incentives and has hired 200 employees. Maria Parham’s expansion added 25 new jobs. Sadie’s plans to soon add wine and cheese to its offerings. Henderson is close to being accepted for the NC Main Street Program.

Four hundred houses and businesses have been demolished. Included in the list were Howard Johnson’s Hotel and Mazatlán Mexican Restaurant and the adjacent hotel.

A $400 million dollar grant has been awarded towards the upgrade of the Kerr Lake Regional Water Plant. Water from Kerr Lake is being sold to Oxford.

In recent years, there had been six Henderson murders in a short span of time. At that time, Henderson had a severe shortage of police officers. A call to the Governor resulted in the mobilization of the SBI and Federal agents in Henderson. They remain active in Henderson.

As a result of state and federal involvement, area police salaries were studied. It was found that Henderson was not paying the equivalent of neighboring communities. Police salaries have not yet caught up, but improvements are being made.

Ellington commented that it is easy to criticize and complain about everything. Those present were encouraged to use what they heard at this meeting to help change the dialogue. A lot of good is going on in Henderson!