Tag Archive for: #hendersonnews

TownTalk: Remembering Dr. Marion Lark

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Colleagues and community members are remembering their beloved friend and pastor, Dr. Marion D. Lark, who died late Saturday, Aug. 19. Lark came to The First Baptist Church in Henderson in 1973 and was minister there for 29 years.

“It’s a sad day for First Baptist Church and for our community,” remarked Senior Minister Ron Cava as Sunday’s worship service began. “Our beloved senior minister emeritus …entered his rest last evening.”

A memorial service will be held at First Baptist Church Henderson, Wednesday, August 23, 2023 at 3 P.M. by Dr. Ron Cava, Dr. Glenn Phillips and Dr. Phil Young.  A private interment will be held for the family.  

“He will be sorely missed,” Cava told the congregation Sunday morning. “His impact in this congregation, in this community…cannot be quantified.”

Dr. Phil Young, First Baptist’s longtime minister of music, remembered his friend fondly. “We remained close friends after our retirement,” Young said Monday on TownTalk. “I will miss him terribly…how often I have thanked God that we were able to work together and what a blessing he has been on my life. He was a great preacher and a great pastor and we will miss him.”

Mark Hopper, FBC’s minister of music until 2022, expressed sadness and disbelief. “He has been such a constant North Star in my life for 22 years,” Hopper wrote in a statement to WIZS News.

“Marion Lark was integrity personified,” he said. “He was first and foremost a pastor in the way of Jesus: feeding the hungry, caring for the sick. He was completely devoted to his wife Jean in good times and bad.  He loved his congregation like his own family, and he saw First Baptist’s role in making Henderson a place where Christ was shown and not just talked about.  He commanded respect through humility and through modeled action and servant leadership. He was a fine musician, was unbelievably well-read, and was the definition of wisdom.  The loss to First Baptist, to Henderson, and to the Christian community is immense.”

The Rev. Dr. Paul Baxley remembers his time learning from and alongside Lark. Baxley, now executive coordinator for Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, was 23 years old when he was selected to be associate minister at First Baptist. “He offered trust, encouragement, patience, grace and support to me in really definitive years of my ministerial life,” Baxley said of his fellow pastor and friend.

“Dr. Lark created an environment at The First Baptist Church in which the colleagues who were called to serve with him could use their gifts, grow in ministry and thrive. I was by no means the only person who benefitted richly from the freedom he provided and the trust he extended,” Baxley said in a statement Monday to WIZS News.

One of those individuals was Amy Russell. When she came on staff at First Baptist, Lark was retired and simply a member of the congregation. But Russell, now associate pastor of children and families at First Baptist Greensboro, said he supported her growth and development as a minister.

“After each sermon he would give feedback,” she said in a statement to WIZS News, “from ‘that one really made me think’ to ‘I struggled with that text, too’” Russell said.

“He was unafraid to share the truth of the gospel and it was always a privilege to get to hear him preach. He built a legacy at First Baptist Church of Henderson that shaped the congregation and the community. But he didn’t build a legacy for himself. He built a legacy as an outgrowth of his deep love for the church and for Henderson and Vance County.”

Henderson City Council member Garry Daeke shared a memory that he said resounds with him to this day. There was some discussion about downtown development – not a heated debate, but the topic had everybody involved and working hard to find a compromise and move forward.

It was Lark’s advice that Daeke tries to keep in mind with every decision he makes: “‘If we are to err, let’s err on the side of grace.’”

Daeke called Lark a “consummate gentleman who loved his community.” Lark always had time to discuss issues in the community, he added. “He would always thank me for my service.”

“Dr. Lark simultaneously embodied what it meant to be a deeply committed pastor to a congregation while also working actively for the well-being of a much larger community. He gave his life and his gifts for almost 50 years to Henderson/Vance County and to The First Baptist Church. In these ways, he was an embodiment of what it means for a pastor to be a community leader,” Baxley said.

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Cooperative Extension With Wayne Rowland: Timber Sale Agreements

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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 at Former J.P. Taylor Company Location on J.P. Taylor Road

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Revised and posted at 2:15 p.m. Friday

About 10:30 this morning, a fire broke out on J.P. Taylor Rd. at the location that was once J.P. Taylor Company.

The vicinity of 800 J.P. Taylor Road is now a scrap or salvage yard.

The Rev. Ricky Easter of Victory Baptist Church was across the street, and he told WIZS, “It didn’t appear to be all that much to it,” in reference to the amount of smoke. He said no flames were visible that he saw from his vantage point.

After clearing the scene, Vance County Fire Chief Chris Wright told WIZS, “It was several scrap cars burning, and with assistance from Bearpond and Ladder 18, Cokesbury and Watkins and Vance County Rescue, we were able to mitigate the fire quickly.”

Also, Easter said firefighters arrived quickly, and the overall timeline suggests that the fire did not burn all that long.

It’s been nearly 14 years since the building at that same location, that still read J.P. Taylor across the top but was then being used as a storage facility for a different company, was totally destroyed by fire.

Vance County High School

SportsTalk: Vance County High School Kicks Off Season Friday Night

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LISTEN TO THE RADIO ON YOUR COMPUTER, PHONE OR CONNECTED DEVICE/SPEAKER – https://player.listenlive.co/53101 OR BY CLICKING ON LISTEN LIVE AT WIZS.COM OR TELL ALEXA TO “LISTEN TO WIZS.COM ON TUNE IN.”

Coach Aaron Elliott is excited.  And why shouldn’t he be?  The Vance County Vipers kick off their season Friday night against a solid Warren County Eagles team, and it should be an exciting start to the season for both schools.  “Practice has been great,” Elliott said on Thursday’s SportsTalk.

Tuesday’s weather kept them for practicing, but Elliott kept his team focused with plenty of board work, and as the rain moved out, the Vipers moved back on the field to prepare for Warren County’s triple option.  “Our guys will do a good job against it.  We have practiced against it,”  Elliott added.  He expects Warren County to be more run focused Friday night than in years past, with about a 50/50 split between run and pass.

This season the Vipers have put a big emphasis on winning the mental aspect of the game which he thought was a bit of a problem last year.  He knows it will be tough to keep the kids focused Friday night. “It’s a rivalry game and the first game of the season,” Elliott said.

Join Bill Harris and Doc Ayscue for live play by play of the game beginning around 6:50 p.m. immediately following the Joy Christian Center broadcast here on WIZS.

 

Cooperative Extension with Paul McKenzie: What Works in the Garden

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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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Henderson Police Make Drug Arrest At Local Motel

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–press release from Henderson Police Chief Marcus Barrow

On August 15, 2023, officers of the Henderson Police Department served a narcotics search warrant for a room at the Budget Host Inn, located at 1727 N. Garnett St.

During the service of the warrant, officers seized approximately 100 dosage units of heroin, 6.8 grams of marijuana, “crack” cocaine, drug manufacturing equipment, and $1,754.25 in U.S. currency. Tecory Hester, 43, who police said is a resident of the Budget Host Inn, was the focus of the investigation. Hester was arrested on the scene.

Hester was charged with one count of possession with intent to manufacture, sell, deliver heroin, felony possession of cocaine, simple possession of Schedule VI, possession of drug paraphernalia, and one count of maintaining a dwelling place for a controlled substance.

Hester received a $50,000 secured bond, which he posted prior to being transported to the Vance County Detention Center.

 

 

 

City of Henderson Logo

Mayoral Candidates Down To Four – For Now

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Four candidates are currently in the race for Henderson mayor following a decision from the local elections board to remove one name from the ballot and a second mayoral candidate faces a similar challenge to his residency.

Wallace Cheek was removed from the list of candidates, according to Vance County Elections Board Director Melody Vaughan. Vaughan told WIZS News Tuesday that mayoral candidate Greg Etheridge also faces a hearing on Aug. 22 at 4 p.m. to determine his residency and eligibility to run for mayor.

“Mr. Etheridge will have to prove his residency to the board,” Vaughan explained. “They will make their decision the day of the hearing.”

Cheek’s eligibility to run for mayor had been challenged, and a hearing was set to review the matter before the Aug. 1 elections board meeting. Vaughan said neither the challenger nor Cheek was present for that hearing, which was scheduled to take place at 4 p.m.  before the board meeting.

As part of the process, Vaughan said three certified letters were sent to Cheek, and two that were delivered to the address within the city limits were returned as undeliverable.

Cheek was notified by certified mail of the board decision, along with information regarding the appeals process to the state board of elections. In addition, she said a letter also was hand delivered by the sheriff.

As part of the hearing process, Vaughan said she must hire a court reporter to be present, along with the county attorney, chairs of both parties. The hearing is open to the public.