Tag Archive for: #hendersonnews

TownTalk 03-29-21; Pastor Frank Sossamon Retiring from SHPHC

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The Rev. Frank Sossamon knows precisely where he was on the last Sunday of June, 1985. He was preaching his first sermon as pastor of South Henderson Pentecostal Holiness Church. This Sunday – Easter Sunday – he will preach his final sermon as senior pastor to a congregation he has served for almost 36 years.

He may be retiring from the pulpit, but Sossamon is not planning on slowing down any time soon. He reflected on his tenure at South Henderson on Town Talk Monday, and talked with John C. Rose about his plans for the future.

His son John F. Sossamon II runs Sossamon Funeral Home in Henderson and Sossamon said he looked forward to working more with the funeral home, providing services to help families grieving the loss of a loved one, “not just at the time, but throughout the duration of their difficulty,” he said.

Being able to work with his son will be very rewarding, Sossamon said. He said he would be available to offer grief counseling through the funeral home services. “We’re not just in the business of burying the dead,” he said, adding that he wants families to know that they will be supported before, during and after a loved one has died.  “We want to help you through your time of grief and sorrow…help you through a hard and tough situation.”

He and his wife, Vickie, also plan to do some traveling and it was important to him to be able to retire in good health to be able to travel. He’ll be 67 in October, which he admits is “not old, but it’s still retirement age.” He said he’s seen others keep pushing back retirement dates over and over and then not be healthy enough to enjoy their time once they are retired.

Sossamon said it’s also healthy for the church to have new leadership. “It’s a good time…to have a change of leadership after almost 36 years,” he said, “someone else to create vision and direction and move the church to even a higher level of ministry and productivity in the community.”

A new pastor certainly will have big shoes to fill. Sossamon said there already is a pastoral search committee in place to work with the church conference to receive and review resumes of prospective pastors. This committee will interview candidates, then select one to preach a trial sermon, after which the candidate will be introduced to the congregation.

Then comes a vote to determine whether to call the candidate as the new pastor.

Sossamon spent eight years as a pastor in Marion, NC before he came to Henderson. Since his arrival, he has been involved in local activities and the church has presented musical programs which proved to be very popular in the larger community. He said he would be happy to keep a relationship with the church and its new pastor to be engaged and involved however he’s asked.

He said he may always be seen first as a pastor, and that’s ok. “I want to be Frank Sossamon all the time,” he said. He may encounter someone in the grocery store who needs to discuss an issue with him, he said. “I really cannot fully get away from being a pastor and I don’t mind talking to individuals during those times.”

One very rewarding aspect of being a pastor at one church for so long is seeing youngsters grow and develop in their faith and ultimately assume leadership roles in the church, Sossamon said.

The congregation celebrated Sossamon on Sunday during the morning service and again in the evening in a show of appreciation. He said he was glad to be the preacher at Sunday’s service. Easter Sunday “is such a monumental Sunday at the church – at all Christian churches,” Sossaman explained. This year, however, the first Sunday in April will be remembered not only as Easter Sunday, but also the day Sossamon delivered his “farewell” sermon.

TownTalk with Frank Sossamon Broadcast Audio

 

Pearson a Bundle of Intelligence, Leadership, Passion and Success

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Dr. Stephen Pearson, co-owner and operator of Sadie’s Coffee Corner and champion of downtown revitalization in Henderson, has died. He was 57. Friends and colleagues remembered Pearson Friday as an entrepreneur dedicated to making Henderson a better place for the community to enjoy.

Funeral arrangements will be announced later.

Pearson chaired the Henderson-Vance Downtown Development Commission for almost a year. “He brought his business development expertise and background to our downtown development efforts, invested in our community and led our DDC with passion and determination,” said City Council member Gary Daeke.

Pearson and his wife, Amanda, opened Sadie’s Coffee Corner in fall 2019, and quickly got involved in the community. “Stephen and Amanda Pearson chose us for their business location out of every other town and that made him special to me and our Chamber of Commerce from the very beginning,” said Chamber President Michele Burgess.

“He had a vision for revitalizing downtown Henderson and he was willing to put in the work and the investment to make it happen. Stephen used to love to use the hashtag #whynothenderson. He saw potential here, where others see dilapidation. His enthusiasm and energy and his positive attitude will be greatly missed,” Burgess said Friday.

City Manager Terrell Blackmon remembered Pearson as a champion for downtown Henderson. He said Pearson “described himself as a disruptor, because he wanted to change the way that we do things in our community for the better… His passion for downtown Henderson was unmatched and he will truly be missed by the Henderson community.”

Pearson brought experience as well as enthusiasm to downtown development; he had a doctorate in Business Administration with a specialization in global business organization leadership and was an adjunct professor at UNC-CH and Utica College in New York, in addition to being chief operating officer to Sadie’s Coffee Corner.

Dennis Jarvis, former director of the Henderson Economic Development Commission, said Pearson “wanted to change the world, so he thought ‘I’ll change one block of Henderson first.’ He succeeded.” Jarvis added that Pearson was “an innovator, an educator, a veteran, an animal lover and larger than life. He was a bright light and inspiration to me personally and professionally.”

Henderson Mayor Eddie Ellington remembered Pearson as someone who truly wanted Henderson, and the downtown area especially, to succeed. “No one is ever ready to receive such sorrowful news,” Ellington told WIZS News Friday, “and with much sadness the City of Henderson mourns the loss of a man that will be remembered as big in stature, but most importantly big at heart.”

In an April 22, 2020 interview on Town Talk, Pearson said Sadie’s supportive customers and community partners, combined with his belief that downtown is the “epicenter of the growth in Henderson,” would help ensure the coffee shop’s continued success.

Joe Hedrick, a regular patron at Sadie’s said “Steve Pearson had a great vision for our community and a determination to make downtown Henderson a better place for all of us.”

Pearson revealed in that Town Talk interview from 2020 that he and his wife believed so strongly in the downtown’s potential that they would be developing another downtown location that would include a business incubator, a business accelerator and will include a classical pizza, cheese and wine tasting shop.

Mayor Ellington said the Pearsons were active, positive members of the community who “continue to impact downtown in ways we haven’t seen in years.” More development in the Garnett Street area is a way to carry on Pearson’s mission of a vibrant Main Street, Ellington said.

Brian Boyd, a friend of Pearson as well as a coffee shop patron and board member of the Chamber and Henderson-Oxford Airport Authority, had this to say:

“God blesses us with giants in life that have large presence, vision, compassion and care. Giants do not always get the most time to be here, but they make the most of their time and leave a legacy that can continue through everyone they touched. I will miss my friend Steve and I am sad by his passing but still motivated by his vision for the growth and continued betterment of our Henderson community, kindness and care for all people and determination to progress in all things.”

Boyd said he and Pearson had talked about Henderson and its potential for continued growth and development. “Henderson was a place where he wanted to leave a legacy of hope and change for the good,” Boyd said of his friend. “He loved his time here.”

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SportsTalk 03-26-21 Joe Sharrow, Vance Co. High School

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It’s Friday in the middle of football season so most schools will be taking the field this evening but not Vance County. The Viper’s scheduled game against the Northern Durham Knights was cancelled at the beginning of the week due to Covid 19 protocols meaning the Vipers won’t return to the field until April 5th when they will finally get to tangle with Northern Durham.  According to Vance County High School athletic director Joe Sharrow juggling the schedule was the only way to get the Northern Durham game back.  “We really didn’t want to lose the game with Northern Durham,” Sharrow said.  Even though Northern Durham and Vance County will be in different conferences next year, the Knights will be part of the Viper’s schedule for the next two years.

The Knights will remain under quarantine until April 1st when they resume practice and will play the Vipers on Monday, April 5th, 6:30pm at Vance Co. High School.  In order to accomodate the Northern Durham game the Vipers would originally have had to play three games in eight days as Northwood would have taken on the Vipers on April 2nd but “three games in eight days was too much,” according to Sharrow. “We’re pretty beat up right now,” Sharrow added. Sharrow said that one of the games on the schedule would have to go if they wanted to play Northern Durham.  Sharrow and Coach Hunter Jenks were not in favor of cancelling the Cedar Ridge game scheduled for April 9th. Cedar Ridge is coached by former Northern Vance coach Corey Lee and Vance County has a good relationship with the school so that meant the Northwood game would have to go.  However, Sharrow helped Northwood find another school to play, Panther Creek High School in Cary. Even though Vance County gets to keep the game with Northern Durham it does mean that the team will play one less game than intended.

At 0-3 with two games left on the schedule, Sharrow said that getting into the state playoff would require some help and that it is a long shot. The school would have to receive an at-large bid and that means the improving Vipers would certainly have to win out the rest of the season and then get the help Sharrow discussed. Sharrow says, “The primary focus is finishing up with Northern Durham and Cedar Ridge, to stay healthy and let our seniors play out the year.”

As far as athletics in general at Vance County High School, “I am ecstatic about the Vance County High School Athletics programs,” Sharrow said.  Sharrow pointed to the really good numbers with the girl’s softball team and recent wins with that program along with strong numbers for the girl’s soccer team. Where many teams have had trouble finding players to field teams it hasn’t been much of an issue for Vance County. This is likely due to the fact that Vance County High School is the only school in the state conducting Covid 19 tests every week.

Once again, Vance County High School’s next game will be on Monday, April 5th against the Northern Durham Knights, 6:30pm, at Vance County High School.  Tune into WIZS for full play by play coverage of that contest.

For complete details and audio click play.

 

85 Percent of H-V 911 Calls for VCSO and HPD; All Other Agencies Combined 15 Percent

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Information obtained Thursday from Henderson-Vance County Emergency Operations, concerning the number of dispatches made to area agencies in 2020, shows the Vance County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched the most in this area, receiving a total of 39,077 calls or 43.94 percent of the total.

Not far behind was the Henderson Police Department with 36,332 calls or 40.85 percent of total call volume.

Calls in Vance County with Henderson-Vance County Emergency Operations being involved in 2020 for the North Carolina State Highway Patrol totaled one percent or 892 calls.

Keep in mind some calls for all agencies would have been hang ups but still required some follow up.

Remembering covid was not recognized as being present in North Carolina until March of 2020, if a majority of calls represented points of exposure to those responding, then local law enforcement faced many times over the risk and points of exposure to covid than did their counterpart first responders in all the EMS, Rescue Squad and all fire departments in Henderson and Vance County including all volunteer companies as well as forestry and the fire marshal’s office combined.

And it’s not even close.

Essentially, the local law enforcement agencies of the HPD and the VCSO “answered the call” 84.79 percent of the time in 2020. The NC SHP did one percent in Vance County in 2020. That leaves just 14.21 percent for everybody else combined.  Also keep in mind the SHP can be otherwise dispatched.

Vance County EMS got the call 7,489 times or 8.42 percent.

The Henderson Fire Department was on the receiving end of the call 2,083 times in 2020 or 2.34 percent of the time.

The Vance County Fire Department had 880 calls or .99 percent.

Everybody else combined accounted for 2.46 percent of the calls.

EMS and Fire first responders were slated for covid vaccines before law enforcement by the State of North Carolina. But if there are no apples to oranges comparisons here, and there could be because these are just numbers/stats, then those getting the call 15 percent of the time were put in front of those getting the call 85 percent of the time for the covid vaccine.

These numbers are facts.  None of these numbers are reported to in any way undercut any agency or minimize even one of the calls.

A total of 88,937 call records exist for Vance County E911 for the year 2020.

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TownTalk 03-25-21 Covid Vaccinations For First Responders

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Thank you for listening to WIZS Radio, Your Community Voice!

Continued discussion about covid vaccine availability to first responders such as EMS, Fire, Police, Deputies and Highway Patrol.

TownTalk Broadcast for 3-25-21.

Vance GOP Convention – Plans Growth, Organization, Recruiting

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— Vance Co. GOP Press Release

The Vance County Republican Party held it’s annual state required convention Monday night, March 22, 2021. The meeting held in the South Henderson Pentecostal Holiness Church’s Family Life Center was the largest county convention held in the party’s history. Following registration, refreshment and social time, Vance County GOP Chairman, Dwight Frazier, welcomed attendees and officially opened the convention with a prayer by David Barnett and the pledge of allegiance. Pastor Frank Sossamon next took the podium and conducted the precinct organizational focus of the meeting. Delegates attending the convention sat at their respective voting precinct tables and were presented with a detailed organizational handbook the party recently developed. The handbook developed by Pastor Sossamon and the party contained data pertinent to each precinct, the list of officers required, and the duties of those officers within a precinct, and much more strategical information on how to organize and strengthen the Vance County Republican population. Regular precinct meetings are planned to help reach goals currently set by the Vance County GOP some of which are to raise the number of registered Republicans, convert voters who are currently registered as Democrat or Unaffiliated, and recruit qualified Republican candidates for ALL locally elected positions.

Dwight Frazier led the business session in which delegates adopted The State GOP Plan of Organization and elected their leadership for 2021-2023. The slate of officers elected are as follows: Vance Co. GOP Chairman – Jimmy Barrier, Vice Chairman- Kevin Osborne, Secretary – Pam Barrier and Treasurer – Jacque Esslinger.

Several guests from the district addressed the convention. Attendees heard from District 1 Chairman, Harvey West; Richard Scott, chairman of Halifax Co. GOP; Thomas Hill, Chairman of Gates Co. GOP and currently seeking an at large seat in District 1; Donna Stewart, currently seeking District 4 seat (part of the Kittrell precinct is in District 4). Also attending the convention was newly elected chair of the Warren Co. GOP, Evelyn Woodson and her vice chairman, David Woodson.

Submitted Photo – L-R Frazier, Whatley, Barrier

Two special guest speakers at Monday night’s convention were Sandy Smith, former and current candidate for the US House of Representatives and Michael Whatley, Chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party who recently spoke along with Donald Trump at the 2021 CPAC Convention. Sandy Smith spoke on Republican values and her plans for implementing those values once elected to the office. Mr. Whatley first thanked the Vance Co. GOP for the extraordinary job of getting the Republican vote out in the 2020 election and “protecting the ballot” (ensuring all voting in the county was done legitimately with no irregularities). He spoke of the many accomplishments made by the party in the 2020 election and pointed out vital races throughout the state and country the party needed to win in upcoming elections. Mr. Whatley offered to help Vance County however he could to fortify the party.

Outgoing vice chairman, Robert Herford, surprised Dwight Frazier who themed this year’s convention, “Proud to Be a Republican”, with a special presentation of appreciation from the party for his service as Vance County chairman and his dedication to the party over the past ten years.

Dwight Frazier themed this year’s convention, “Proud to Be a Republican”. To conclude the convention he relinquished the podium to the newly elected chairman, Jimmy Barrier, who made a few remarks and asked attendees for their help. “Alone I am just one single vote. I need you to help me make the votes grow by getting involved. If you or someone you know says they can’t stand to watch the news any more, if you are fed up with politics and politicians, help me fight for a change to make things better. Get involved. I want to hear from every one of you.”