Stories include:
– Vance Co. Animal Shelter closed due to a Covid 19 related issue
– Sewer bypass and storm water issues
– livestock emergency webinar
– City Council woman Rev. Ola Thorpe Cooper
For full details and audio click play.
Leaders in the City of Henderson are trying to address sewer bypasses caused by heavy rain. Storm water inflow and infiltration continues to present issues and a lot of times in the same areas.
WIZS News finds not fewer than 10 press releases in 2020 about sewage bypasses in Henderson.
At the nearby RDU airport, the National Weather Service indicates rainfall amounts about 10 inches above normal this year. The Greensboro area is about 18 inches above normal. In Fayetteville, the 2020 total is about 15 inches above normal.
Most recently, the City of Henderson’s sewer collection system bypassed approximately 115,180 gallons of untreated water on December 24, 2020, as was disclosed by a press release from the City.
The press release read, “The overflows occurred at Sandy Creek Pump Station, and several manholes including Neathery Street, intersection of Alexander Avenue/S. Elizabeth Street, intersection of Alexander Avenue/Willow Lane, intersection of Pinkston Street/Farrar Ave, S. Pinkston treet (Green Acres). Approximately 114,420 gallons of untreated water entered a tributary to Sandy Creek. Approximately 760 gallons of untreated water was contained on the ground.
North Carolina General Statutes require a press release for all bypasses of 1,000 gallons or more that enter surface waters.
In an email to WIZS News, Henderson City Manager Terrell Blackmon said these issues “will continue to be here until we are capable of adequately and systematically addressing both our aging and in some cases non-existent infrastructure. I choose not to dwell too much on the past although it has impacted our present and how we address issues in the future. But, also, keep in mind that some weather events do create challenges that we just can’t prepare for that are not just confined to Henderson, but shared by other communities around the region.”
Blackmon continued, “The City of Henderson recently adopted a storm water ordinance which is a requirement by the State of NC if we intend to keep issuing building permits and encouraging development in our community. There are basic requirements that we have up to five years to comply with as a part of our storm water management program. Further, the City Council did agree to apply for a $2.5 million loan to assist with addressing some of our storm water issues. We will know in early spring whether or not we were successful with this effort. This process will be a marathon and not a sprint, but we have started making strides to address these issues.”
WIZS Noon News 12-30-20:
Vance County Sheriff’s Office Charges Against Suspects
New Year’s Garbage Collection in Henderson
Granville County Public Schools Good Audit
GOLD!! Local Gold in Franklin County
Click Play For WIZS Local News Audio…
— courtesy of press release from Sheriff Curtis Brame
On December 23, 2020, the Vance County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit and the Vance County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team served a search warrant at 252 New Bethel Church Road Lot 16 and Lot 26, Henderson, North Carolina 27537.
Arrested at Lot 16 was Djhante Blash, B/M, Age 18. Blash was charged with Maintaining a Dwelling, Possession of Marijuana and 2 counts of Trafficking Heroin. Recovered from Lot 26 were 3 assault rifles. Blash received a $125,000.00 bond and a court date was set for January 11, 2021, in Vance County District Court. This investigation is continuing.
Stories Include:
– Latest Covid 19 figures for Vance County
– Court House repairs approved
– Senior Bingo even to be sponsored by Vance Co. Parks & Rec. Dept.
– 2021 Granville Co. Bridal Tour
For full details and audio click play.
On Monday, December 21 at 4 p.m., Vance County’s properties committee met, and part of that meeting was to address a couple of courthouse repairs.
The full committee consists of commissioners Dan Brummitt, Archie Taylor and Gordon Wilder. Commissioner Wilder told WIZS News, “We have had it repaired…(including) the caulking joints in the side of the building and around the windows.”
County Manager Jordan McMillen told WIZS, “We recently finished up a project to apply a coating to the courthouse roof that will extend its life. After 20 years the courthouse roof and other areas are showing maintenance needs and this was an attempt to extend the life of the roof.
“While we were completing this project we noticed a need for resealing the masonry control joints in the side of the building and around the windows, so we asked the existing contractor to provide a change order to our existing contract. The properties committee is recommending to the full board that we proceed with the change order, which adds the control joints work, price and time allowance, to our existing roof project scope of work.”
The county manager basically added that all involved want to keep up the maintenance to the facility.
Stories include:
– Food give away event
– Martin Luther King Jr. Committee accepting nominations
For full details and audio click play.
The first food giveaway, round one if you will, on December 26 being a success, Mt. Moriah A.M.E. Zion Church now moves on to round two. Round two will happen Wednesday, December 30th starting at 9 a.m. at the church located at 5448 Highway 158 Business, Henderson, NC 27537.
Mt. Moriah A.M.E. Zion Church is partnering with Livingstone College and the NC Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health to fight food insecurities in Henderson, Vance County, NC and surrounding areas.
In a scheduled event Dec 26, Rev. Linda T. Bristow, assistant to the pastor, told WIZS News the church and its partners were able give away more than 150 food boxes to try to make a dent in the fight against food insecurities in our area. She said, “People were in line at 8:30 a.m. and continued steadily throughout the morning. Unfortunately, people were still coming after we had given out all our supplies.
“Our next food giveaway will be Wednesday, December 30 beginning at 9 a.m. We’ll be giving away three hundred (300), forty (40) pound cases of fresh chicken, drumsticks, bone-in thighs and boneless breasts, she said.”
The event is free and open to anyone experiencing food insecurities. Additional giveaways are being planned.
WIZS Local News Audio at Noon 12-23-20
For the news audio, click play…
The total number of Covid cases in Vance County since the pandemic began equals 2,406 as of today, December 22, 2020, and that means 5.4 percent of the population of Vance County has been diagnosed with the virus. The 883 active cases of Covid-19 right now in Vance County represents 1.98 percent of the population of the County.
Vance County has seen a net increase of 115 cases in a week or just over 16 per day. In the past seven days, the County has experienced a total increase of 214 cases. During the same seven-day period, beginning December 16 and ending December 22, a total of 99 cases have come to an end with the person being released from isolation.
As of Tuesday, December 22, 2020, there are 883 active cases in Vance County, with 873 of them in the community at large. With the community spread increasing, the number of dead is increasing too, three more attributed to Covid in the past week.
The number of cases calling for inpatient care in Vance County is holding steady at 23, of which the lower twenties has been the figure most of December.
