Tag Archive for: #hendersonnews

Henderson Man Sentenced To 10 Years In Prison On Drugs, Weapons Charges

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-information courtesy of the office of Eastern District of North Carolina U.S. Attorney Michael Easley

A Henderson man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for trafficking fentanyl and possession of firearms, including a firearm loaded with a large capacity magazine, and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina praised the efforts of local police for their help in the case.

Tyrik Pettaway, 21, pled guilty in July 2023 to conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute a quantity of heroin and fentanyl and possession with the intent to distribute a quantity of heroin and fentanyl, according to information released Monday by the Eastern District office of U.S. Attorney Michael Easley.

“The unwavering dedication and relentless efforts of the Henderson Police Department have been instrumental in upholding justice and ensuring the safety of our community,” Easley said in the press statement. “Their exemplary commitment to teamwork among state and federal law enforcement is commendable and emboldens public trust in our justice system.”

“Our collaboration with the Eastern District of North Carolina U.S. Attorney’s Office continues to benefit our community,” commented Henderson Police Chief Marcus Barrow. “The efforts of all involved are evident. I am hopeful this sentence gives pause to those in our community walking a similar path.”

 

According to court documents and other information presented in court, after receiving multiple reports that Pettaway and Neno King were dealing drugs, law enforcement conducted multiple controlled purchases of suspected heroin containing fentanyl from Pettaway and King in the spring of 2022. In March 2022, agents executed a search warrant at a residence used by Pettaway in Henderson where they recovered a firearm with a large capacity magazine and approximately 1,100 dosage units of a substance containing fentanyl, rifle ammunition, marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Pettaway has prior felony convictions for possession of a stolen firearm (2020), possession with the intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver heroin (2020 and 2021), and breaking and entering to terrorize (2020). King pled guilty to drug trafficking and gun charges in March 2023 and was sentenced in August to 180 months in prison.

 

Democratic Party

TownTalk: NC Gubernatorial Candidate Josh Stein Coming To Henderson Jan. 9

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UPDATE 1-9-24:

N.C. gubernatorial candidate Josh Stein’s scheduled visit to Henderson this afternoon has been postponed because of the threat of severe weather forecast for later today.

Vance County Democratic Chairperson Angela Thornton told WIZS News earlier Tuesday.

“We look forward to coordinating with his campaign for a rescheduled date,” Thornton said in a written statement to WIZS.

Stein is the current state attorney general.

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ORIGINAL POST:

Blue may be the dominant color at next week’s meet and greet for one of the Democratic candidates for governor, but local party officials invite the entire community to Perry Memorial Library on Tuesday, Jan. 9 – no matter their party preference.

Joseph Brodie, first vice president of the Vance County Democratic Party, said Thursday that current N.C. Attorney General and gubernatorial hopeful Josh Stein will be in Henderson to meet voters and discuss the upcoming elections.

“All the public is invited to come down if they want to hear what Attorney General Josh Stein is going to be putting on the table,” Brodie said on Thursday’s TownTalk. “They can hear it for themselves.”

The doors open at 5 p.m. and the event begins at 5:30 p.m. Brodie said this visit does not constitute an endorsement by local party leaders. “We have the door open for all our Democratic candidates to come down and introduce themselves to the voters of Vance County,” he explained.

With the March primary elections fast approaching, Brodie said he is pleased with the progress that is being made within the local Democratic Party.

“I feel real good,” he said. “The Vance County Democratic Party has come a long way…people are in place, working together for one common cause – to elect Democrats, not only in Vance County, but in surrounding areas.”

Brodie said the focus now is in organizing the local precincts so that voters can get important information concerning candidates and races.

“We’re always striving for excellence,” Brodie noted, adding that more work needs to be done.

 

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Maria Parham To Host Jan. 24 Open House For New Nurses

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Maria Parham Health invites nursing students or recent graduates of nursing programs to an Open House on Wednesday, Jan. 24 to learn about career opportunities in the health care industry.

The event will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the hospital’s main campus, 566 Ruin Creek Rd., according to information from MPH Market Coordinator Donna Young.

Prospective nurses will get the chance to speak with experienced nurses and health care leaders as they learn more about job opportunities and a variety of career paths that involve nursing.

Visit https://www.mariaparham.com/event/42 to register online.

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Cooperative Extension With Jamon Glover: Logical Consequences

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Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.

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TownTalk: 2024 Election Information

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We’re three days into the New Year, which means that early voting for the March 5 primary elections is a mere 43 days away. Vance County voters will have two locations to cast their votes early, but neither of them is the Henderson Operations Center.

Early voters will go to either Aycock Rec Center, 307 Carey Chapel Rd. or the Eaton Johnson gymnasium, located at 500 N. Beckford Dr., according to information from Vance County elections officials.

“The decision for two early voting sites was made by the Board to increase accessibility considering this is a Presidential election year,” said Vance County Board of Elections Director Jennifer Cocklin, whenthere usually is a higher voter turnout.

Early voting begins on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, and continues through Saturday, Mar. 2, 2024, according to a notice issued by Vance County Board of Elections Chair James R. Baines.

In an email to WIZS News on Wednesday, City Manager Terrell Blackmon said the city reached an agreement with county officials to move the early voting site away from the city’s operations center for a simple, practical reason: “The City has run out of file and storage space in other parts of the building and we desperately need to utilize all available space in our facility for engineering and public works,” Blackmon said.

“There is no dissatisfaction by the City. We just need the space,” he added.

Blackmon went on to say that there is plenty of parking at the Eaton Johnson gymnasium to accommodate voters who come early to cast their ballots in the Mar. 5 primary.

The notices from the Board of Elections remind voters that they will be asked to show a photo ID when they come in to cast their ballot. If for some reason they don’t have one with them, they can still have their vote counted if they sign a form explaining why they are unable to show ID, or by casting a provisional ballot and returning to the Board of Elections office with their ID no later than 5 p.m. on Mar. 14, 2024.

Voters also can request a free photo ID from their local Board of Elections office. Find out more at https://www.ncsbe.gov/voting/voter-id

Below are the dates and times for early voting at both locations:

 

Thursday, Feb. 15 – 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 16 – 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Monday, Feb. 19 – Friday, Feb. 23 – 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Monday, Feb. 26-Friday, Mar. 1 – 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, 02-March 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

 

Absentee ballots will be mailed to voters who have requested them beginning Jan. 19, 2024. Absentee ballots must be received by the county board of elections no later than 7:30 p.m. on March 5, 2024. A voter can fill out an absentee ballot request at https://votebymail.ncsbe.gov/app/home, or by filling out a request form provided by the county Board of Elections office. The request must be received through the website or by the Vance County Board of Elections by 5 p.m. Feb. 27, 2024.

The voter registration deadline for this election is 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9, 2024. Eligible individuals who are not registered by that deadline may register and vote at any early voting site during the early voting period. New registrants will be required to provide current documentation of their residence (for example, a government ID, other government document, or a paycheck, bank statement, or utility bill). Voters who wish to change party affiliation must do so by the Feb. 9 deadline.

In the primary election, voters will select nominees for a political party to move on to the general election on Nov. 5. Contests on the ballot include U.S. President, U.S. House, N.C. Governor and other Council of State Offices, N.C. Supreme Court Associate Justice, N.C. Court of Appeals, N.C. House and Senate and county offices. In the primary, voters affiliated with a political party will be given a ballot of candidates for their party, if their party has a primary. Unaffiliated voters may choose to vote in any party’s primary, but they may select only one party’s ballot.

To learn more, call the Vance County Board of Elections Office at 252.492.3730 or send an email to vance.boe@vancecounty.org.

 

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Home And Garden Show

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On the Home and Garden Show with Vance Co. Cooperative Ext.

  • Start planning your spring garden on paper
  • Consider options to add beauty to your winter landscape.
  • Order new varieties of seed ASAP
  • Don’t wait until spring for landscape projects that include trees and shrubs.
  • Review your garden notebook. Start a new notebook for 2024
  • Start planning now for turf weed management.
  • Check pruning equipment now!
  • Consider switching to battery powered equipment.

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TownTalk: Scammers Active In Vance County

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Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame urges the public to be savvy when it comes to answering phone calls from someone claiming to be a representative of his office.

These calls are scams and the best advice he can give anyone who answers such calls is simple: Hang up.

Brame told WIZS News Tuesday that his office has gotten reports about two different scams involving a person’s failure to appear in court or failure to appear for jury duty.

Be assured that anyone who fails to appear in court for any reason, Brame said, would not get a phone call, which usually ends up with the call recipient being told to make some kind of  payment to a third party. Don’t fall for it! Brame said he was informed on New Year’s Day that someone had gotten one of these phone calls. These scammers call random numbers, and often the number that pops up on Caller ID appears to be a local number.

This particular call recipient, however, is a friend of Brame and “the person knew my name and voice” and was not fooled by the call.

The simplest thing to do is ignore the call. If it’s a legitimate call from a legitimate number, the caller will leave a voicemail and you can retrieve the information.

Once again, nobody from the clerk of court’s office is going to make a phone call to an individual who, for whatever reason, has failed to appear in court for jury duty.

That’s not how the process works.

Whether you’re a defendant facing charges or someone who may be asked to serve on a jury, the process is simple: show up in court at the right time or a sheriff’s deputy will show up on your doorstep – with a summons to appear.

 

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Community Partners of Hope

TownTalk: Community Partners Of Hope Mourns Death Of Beloved Men’s Shelter Worker

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William James Avery, a dedicated worker at the local men’s shelter, died last week. He was 80.

Avery completed his shift that began at 9:30 p.m. on Dec. 28 and ended the next morning at 6:30 a.m.

From there, he went to a medical appointment and suffered a medical emergency, according to his co-worker and friend, Shelter Manager Darryl Jones.

In a written statement, Jones said Avery “loved the shelter and the men who came there for help.  He gave selflessly of his time to this ministry and was anxiously awaiting the day when we could move into our new location at City Road Center for Hope.”

A service will be held at 11am, Saturday, Jan. 6, at Shiloh Baptist Church, 635 S. College Street in Henderson. Interment will follow at Elmwood Cemetery. A viewing will be held from 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 5 at Davis-Royster Funeral Home.
Avery was a Vietnam veteran and worked at General Motors for 30 years. He was a church deacon and sang in the men’s choir there. He began his work with the men’s shelter as a volunteer for nine years; he was a paid employee for six years.

Jones said Avery was someone he could count on – “reliable, faithful, dedicated, committed, trustworthy…he was all these things, but most of all, he was my friend.”

 

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