Tag Archive for: #hendersonnews

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County Agrees To City Purchase Of Properties

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Vance County Commissioners approved last week the sale of its share of more than 100 properties jointly owned by city and the county. County Manager Jordan McMillen said the Properties Committee reviewed an offer of $181,529 from the City of Henderson.

“Our board did approve the sale of the properties,” McMillen told WIZS News last week. “We are working with our attorney to begin the title work and necessary legal work prior to conveying the properties.”

He estimated this process could take several weeks, considering the number of properties – 114 in all.

The deal has been in the works for a while, and city leaders plan to bundle properties and seek private developers as a part of an overall residental development plan.

The properties total approximately 26.7 acres within the city limits that came into possession of the city and county as a result of tax foreclosures dating back to 2007.

The properties committee also recommended holding off on selling three county-owned parcels totaling 8.16 acres along County Home Road to the city for future residential development.

 

Leadership Vance 2023 Class Forming Now – Apply By Jan. 27

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The Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce is accepting applications for the 2023 Class of Leadership Vance, a program designed to give emerging leaders an in-depth look at the community where they live and work.

Deadline to submit applications is Jan. 27; an orientation and team building activity will kick off this year’s program on Feb. 22, according to information from Chamber President Sandra Wilkerson.

Participants in Leadership Vance will gather for monthly from February through September for educational and information sessions on a variety of topics in the community, from local government and schools to tours of local businesses and industry.

The cost to participate is $500 for Chamber members and $750 for non-Chamber members and includes all meals, transportation and materials.

Contact Wilkerson at sandra@hendersonvance.org or call 252.438.8414 to learn more or to request an application.

(Note: This story was originally broadcast on WIZS Radio and published on WIZS.com on January 5.)

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The Local Skinny! City Of Henderson Financial Health

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The city of Henderson is in pretty good financial shape, according to a recent report presented by the auditor who completed the annual comprehensive study.

Bryon Scott delivered the positive news to City Council members during its November meeting, and he said the only bit of information that concerned him was uncollected taxes.

In the fiscal year ending June 2022, the city’s uncollected taxes were just more than 3 percent, according to minutes from the city council meeting. When that 3 percent threshold is passed, it triggers the state to require a letter stating the reason for going over the 3 percent mark.

Mayor Eddie Ellington thanked Finance Director Joey Fuqua and the finance department staff for all their hard work in helping with the audit process.

Council Member Mike Rainey moved the approval of the report, seconded by Council Member Ola Thorpe-Cooper. The vote to approve was unanimous.

Highlights of the report:

  • The five-year trend for the total fund balance is about $12.3 million. Of that amount, in 2022, the unavailable fund balance was roughly $3.2 million in 2022, up from $2.4 million in 2018.
  • The city’s General Fund available fund balance is about 55 percent of General Fund expenditures.
  • Regional Water System fund has the largest cash balance followed by the General Fund.  Regional Water also had largest fund balance.
  • The city’s tax collection percentage rate is 97.57 percent.  The city’s largest debt type is business debt.  The remaining 16% of debt is governmental.  Ad Valorem taxes is the City’s largest revenue, with the second-largest revenue being intergovernmental (distributions from the state). Tax from sales and services is third.
  • Public Safety is the largest General Fund expenditure, followed by transportation.  The third-largest expenditure is Recreation and Parks.

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Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland: Community Gardens

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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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Fire Chief Steve Cordell Receives Order Of The Guardian For 30 Years’ Service To Fire Dept.

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What kind of a birthday gift do you give someone who’s spent more than half his life in service to his community?

City staff and fellow firefighters did things up right Thursday for Henderson Fire Chief Steve Cordell, who celebrated his 51st birthday in the company of city officials and N.C. Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey, who conferred to Cordell the Order of the Guardian award.

And the proverbial icing on the cake was Mayor Eddie Ellington’s official mayoral proclamation to make Jan. 19 “Steve Cordell Day.”

Causey was in town to award a couple of SAVE awards at Vance County Emergency Services Thursday morning, and then presented the award to Cordell during an afternoon ceremony at City Hall, Acting Chief Curtis Tyndall told WIZS News Friday.

Chief Chris Wright and Engineer Tyler Crews were presented with SAVE awards from Causey, who also serves as the state fire marshal, given to first responders and others who go above and beyond the call of duty in their work, according to information from Causey’s office.

The Order of the Guardian is the top award presented by the state insurance commissioner for outstanding service and leadership in the fire industry.

“We were honoring a man (in Cordell) on his birthday for his 30 years of service to the community,” Tyndall explained.

“Causey recognized the chief as being – regardless of the size of the department – one of the premier chiefs in the state of North Carolina,” Tyndall said. During his term as chief, Cordell has garnered the respect of peers across the state and beyond, Tyndall said.

SportsTalk: Wilkerson Joins UNC Baseball Coaching Staff

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You may have heard the saying of going around your thumb to get to your elbow and that might be the best way to describe former Kerr Vance Academy baseball standout Daniel Wilkerson’s journey to get to UNC as an Assistant to the Head Coach and Clubhouse/Equipment Manager.  He’s been to Massachusetts, East Carolina in Greenville and Appalachian State in Boone before finally making it to UNC.

Wilkerson was at App State for only two months when he got the offer of the job at UNC. “My heart has always been at UNC,” Wilkerson said on Thursday’s SportsTalk.  His first season in his new role kicks off on February 17th when the Tar Heels open the season.  Wilkerson says baseball can be challenging in cold weather. “You’ve gotta get used to it and be prepared to play no matter the circumstances,” Wilkerson said.

One of the extra perks of the job is that his brother, Colby, is UNC’s second baseman, who is a senior. UNC is loaded with older players and Wilkerson expects the Tar Heels will have a great season but also adds the ACC is loaded with excellent teams from NC State, Wake Forest, Duke, Miami, Notre Dame, Boston College and Virginia Tech. “We’ve got to be ready to go no matter who we are playing,” according to Wilkerson when sizing up the ACC.

As part of his job as Equipment Manager, Wilkerson has to make sure players have what they need in practice and during games.  That can mean hats, bats, balls, gloves or even the right uniform, and he is excited about the newly updated weight room. It’s all part of a journey that started here in Henderson with Kerr Vance Academy.

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