Tag Archive for: #hendersonnews
Henderson-Vance Spring Litter Sweep 2018
Vance County Appearance Commission Press Release
The Vance County Appearance Commission again is sponsoring the annual Henderson-Vance Spring Litter Sweep Week, April 23-28, and encouraging local citizens to get involved in cleaning up and improving the appearance of our community.
Throughout the week, the commission is asking residents of neighborhoods and subdivisions to clean up around their homes, business owners to clean up around their businesses and church and school groups to join in extra efforts to clean up around their facilities.
Local N.C. Adopt-A-Highway groups are urged to clean up along the roadway areas they have committed to keeping litter free during Spring Litter Sweep Week.
N.C. DOT crews and other work crews will be out helping to clean up trash and debris along Vance County roadways. Local volunteer groups are urged to join the efforts.
The week will end on Saturday, April 28, with the annual Vance County Recycling Day event in the parking lot of the City Operations Center at 900 South Beckford Drive in Henderson. Volunteers and recycling agency representatives will be on hand to collect recyclables items from citizens free of charge. Items which will be collected for free include all types of old medications, household recyclables, computer equipment, televisions, cardboard, newspapers, magazines, plastic bottles and containers and metal and aluminum cans.
Representatives of Shred Ace will be on hand to securely shred important personal documents for citizens. Shredding will be limited to one cart per local citizen who participates.
No old paints will be accepted this year at the Recycling Day event.
Volunteers with the Vance County Appearance Commission and students from the Kittrell Job Corps Center will be assisting citizens in unloading recyclables as they bring them to the Recycling Day event.
All Spring Litter Sweep Week and Recycling Day volunteers are invited to attend a free hot dog lunch beginning at 12 p.m. on Saturday, April 28, in the City Operations Center. The lunch again is sponsored by the Wisdom for Life Foundation of Jason Brown and the Fruit of the Spirit community group.
Spring Litter Sweep Week supplies of gloves, bags and orange safety vests will be available for free beginning on Thursday, April 19, at the City Operations Center and at the Vance County Schools Administrative Services Center at 1724 Graham Avenue in Henderson.
Anyone seeking additional information about the Spring Litter Sweep Week or Recycling Day event may contact Terri Hedrick at 252-915-9420 or at thedrick@vcs.k12.nc.us.
United Way of Vance County Yard Sale 4-14-18
— submitted by Terri Hedrick
Support our United Way of Vance County Yard Sale this Saturday, April 14, 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the United Way office location at 715 South Garnett Street in Henderson. Proceeds will support basic needs of local families. Adult and children’s clothing, children’s toys, bicycles, furniture, household goods and more will be for sale. Come out and get great items at low prices and support our community at the same time!
Please submit qualifying public service announcements for non-profit organizations, and WIZS will publish them online at wizs.com / Facebook / Twitter as well as on 1450 AM and on our live stream. You may use the online form at https://wizs.com/psas/.
Free Food Distribution Thurs, Apr 12, 2018
The First Baptist Church of Henderson, NC will coordinate a free food distribution on Thursday, April 12 from 10 a.m. until 12 noon. It will take place at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market, located at 210 Southpark Drive, off Beckford Drive.
First Baptist volunteer Betty Boyd said, “In partnership with St. James Missionary Baptist Church, we are able to offer this distribution once a month! We are responsible for April, June, August, October, December, and February. St. James coordinates the other months. In February, we distributed 10,207 pounds of food.”
In an earlier article on WIZS.com, Boyd said, “This is the same distribution that St. James Missionary Baptist Church has organized and coordinated. They have been offering this service every other month. They asked First Baptist to partner with them to bring this food distribution to the area all year. We are excited about the opportunity to supplement food resources for around 200 families each month.”
The food distribution is open to anyone and is on a first come/first served basis. Citizens coming to the distribution are asked to remain in their car. Police and Sheriff’s Department personnel will direct traffic into the Farmer’s Market parking lot.
Boyd said, “The distributions that I have volunteered for with St. James Baptist have usually ended around 11:15 a.m. when they have given out all boxes. If a car has two adults, they will receive two boxes of food. We are very excited to be able to bring this supplement of fresh vegetables and fruits to our community!”
Henderson Kiwanis Club 2018 Annual Azalea Sale
— submitted by Arthur Falkner
Please come out and support the Kiwanis Annual Azalea Sale on Fri., April 13th 1-6 p.m. and Sat., April 14th 7 a.m. -4 p.m. Located on Dabney Drive in front of Wendy’s. We will have 1 and 3 gallon Azalea’s, Helleri Holly, Knock-out roses and Various Shrubs.
Henderson Police Chief Barrow, District Attorney Waters Discuss Recent Homicides, Issues Facing Police Department
By: Kelly Bondurant, Freelance Writer/Editor for Hire
Henderson Police Chief Marcus W. Barrow and District Attorney Michael D. Waters, with the 9th Judicial District, recently spoke on-air with WIZS to provide updates on their respective offices and discuss the recent uptick in homicides in Vance County.
According to Barrow, the most recent homicide cases, which took place in two separate incidents on Harrell Street and Merriman Street in Henderson, are still part of an ongoing investigation.
The District Attorney’s Office has been involved in all of Henderson’s 2018 homicides, according to Waters, and often works in collaboration with the police department, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and highway patrol to solve such cases.
“My office tries to get involved early in order for the cases to go to trial sooner,” said Waters.
The recent rise in homicides and the level of investigation such cases require makes the department’s personnel shortage that much more concerning. According to Barrow, the Henderson Police Department is currently down by 13 law enforcement agents – roughly 20 percent of the department’s workforce.
“What hurts the most is that we are losing experienced officers,” Barrow said. “We predicted this issue last year when I went before council and requested pay raises in an effort to right the ship and fix the issues.”
Barrow stated that he does not feel that the problem was handled quickly enough, resulting in officers taking higher paying jobs with better benefits in other towns.
Waters further explained that the shortage of personnel is not unique to Henderson and Vance County, but is currently a state-wide issue. “Most law enforcement agencies in the 9th District and all over North Carolina are looking to hire right now. There are shortages in police departments, FBI and in the highway patrol,” Waters said.
According to Waters, this shortage is due, in part, to a smaller pool of available certified law enforcement officers. “Fewer candidates available for law enforcement positions makes jobs more competitive,” said Waters.
Such staff reductions have necessitated a review of police department policies and priorities to determine how and when a call is handled. “If you have a larceny, for example, that occurs and the person has already left, you might receive a phone call [instead of a visit],” said Barrow. “Non-emergency calls may have to be put on the back burner.”
In addition to staff turnover, the police department is also short on available personnel when an officer is involved in a lengthy investigation.
“Police officers often get tied up in the investigation of cases and that is an additional drain on available personnel,” Waters said. “We need to be conscious of using officers’ time wisely in court.”
According to both Barrow and Waters, one way in which the public can assist the police department and help with the issue of crime in the community is to serve jury duty.
“Over the last year in Vance County, we have attempted to try cases and have run out of available jurors several times,” said Waters. “One thing people can do to help is to serve and participate when they receive their notice of jury duty.”
Barrow believes the current relationship between law enforcement and the District Attorney’s Office benefits the community and helps solve cases faster. “What Mike Waters has created with the District Attorney’s Office and law enforcement in the 9th District is amazing and has greatly improved our relationship,” Barrows said.
Waters credits that collaboration with quick convictions, “This year we’ve tried two murder cases and gotten two convictions which we’re very proud of and demonstrates the hard work of the offices involved with those cases.”
In order to be successful, Barrow believes those interested in joining the police department should possess, “maturity, a love for the community, an interest in investigation, the ability to see cases through to their conclusion, a calm mind and a level head.”
A passion for the job and serving others also helps. “Law enforcement is a career where you have to love what you’re doing and stay the course,” said Barrow. “I’ve been doing this for 20 years and I can’t imagine doing anything else.”