WIZS Radio Local News Audio 03-12-24 Noon
Click Play to Listen. On Air at 8am, 12pm, 5pm M-F
WIZS Radio ~ 100.1FM/1450AM
Click Play to Listen. On Air at 8am, 12pm, 5pm M-F
WIZS Radio ~ 100.1FM/1450AM
Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.
Click Play!
Property owners in Vance County have been waiting – and waiting – for those tax revaluation notices to hit their mailboxes, but so far, it’s just bills, junk mail and candidates’ postcards.
At their board meeting on Mar. 4, commissioners were told that the notices would be sent out “in the next few weeks.”
In a followup conversation with Vance County Manager C. Renee Perry earlier Monday, Perry reported that Tax Administrator Porcha Brooks said the notices will go out by the end of this week.
County residents have been bracing for news of what most certainly will be an increase in the value of their property – it’s been eight years since the last revaluation, after all. Expected increases in Vance County range from 67 percent to 72 percent, with a base increase of 55 percent. And that doesn’t include the actual land values, said Ryan Vincent, who updated commissioners during last week’s meeting.
Most all of the county’s property owners will see an increase in their property revaluation – 93 percent, in fact. And it all will be revealed in those notices, which were originally supposed to be received in February.
In addition to indiviudals and businesses, however, county staff and elected officials also need that information to inform their budget process, which is usually approved before the new fiscal year begins July 1.
Once property owners get their new valuations, they have time to appeal if they don’t agree, said Ryan Vincent, whose company was in charge of this revaluation process, which began a couple of years ago.
“The plan is to mail notices in the next two to three weeks,” Vincent explained to commissioners on Mar. 4. The notices are NOT bills; tax bills would be sent in summer 2024.
Vincent said the deadline to appeal is May 6; after that, the county’s Equalization and Review Board would begin the process of deliberating the appeals.
Right now, the seven county commissioners serve as the E&R board; Commissioner Tommy Hester’s motion on Mar. 4 to form a separate board failed.
The 2016 revaluation saw 640 property owners appeal the tax value of their properties. Of those, all but 11 were settled during the informal appeals process and were settled within the tax department. Those 11 came before the board of commissioners, acting as the E&R board, for a decision.
This year’s revaluation most likely will bring a higher volume of appeals, simply because it’s been eight years since the last valuation, when some property owners even saw a decrease in their property’s assessed value.
Vincent said commissioners should plan to allow for “anywhere from 10 to 20 to maybe 30 working days to hear the appeals,” with those being full days – 6-8 hours each. “It’s a substantial time commitment,” he said, and something that likely couldn’t be done during regular evening meetings of the commissioners.
That’s on top of extra budget sessions that will undoubtedly be held over the next few months.
The E&R board must have a quorum – that’s four commissioners – to hold the hearings.
Perry stated “it’s definitely a tight timeline” but that “the plan is for the Board of E&R to open on May 6 and close on June 3. Appeals can be submitted as soon as notices are received. The last day to appeal will be June 3.” Vincent had noted to commissioners on Mar. 4 that the appeals window would be from April 1 to May 6, but Perry confirmed Monday that those dates had been adjusted since the commissioners’ meeting.
The City of Henderson also is dependent on the results of this revaluation process as it plans for the new budget, and City Manager Terrell Blackmon said he and his staff asked for – and received – the information from the county as soon as it was available.
In a written statement to WIZS News, Blackmon said, “Just for reference, the City is not just now looking at the schedule of values…and we have been using the data we have to begin working through the FY 24-25 budget process. The City’s Finance staff and I have already completed our preliminary budget meetings with all department heads and we are crunching numbers as we speak trying to balance expenses with projected revenues based on our current tax rate and other various scenarios tied to the new schedule of values resulting from the revaluation process. Staff and Council are aware of the potential burden taxpayers may experience when there is a revaluation and we will try to remain revenue neutral as a goal. However, we also have to keep in mind that the City’s tax base has remained fairly unchanged the past several years… but our expenses continue to increase due to employee retention and other inflationary factors that impact our service delivery and ability to improve the City’s infrastructure. We will work to find a balance that’s beneficial to both the City and our citizens.”
CLICK PLAY!
Free hotdogs, chips and drinks will be available to the first 300 people at next Friday’s Shamrocks on Breckenridge.
Deck yourselves out in green and head downtown on Friday, Mar. 15 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. to enjoy vendors, music and entertainment from the Ballet Arts cloggers.
Southern Charm, located at the corner of Garnett and Breckenridge streets will be open from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. selling green beer and other beverages.
The complimentary food and drink is made possible by event sponsors, organizers said.
For our sponsor, Advance Auto Parts, as part of a paid radio sponsorship on WIZS.
The next time you hear someone say that you need to “blow out the carbon” of your vehicle’s engine, you may want to call that bluff.
With today’s detergent fuels and oils, there ain’t a whole lot of carbon buildup in that engine, folks.
In fact, over-revving an engine can cause more damage – so think twice before pushing the gas pedal to the floor – it could hurt your vehicle’s engine and your pocketbook, if the law pulls you over.
The older rules simply can’t be applied to today’s engines, which are more likely to experience a chip problem or a bad sensor. If your car’s not running smoothly to begin with, forcing it to go faster – and work harder – isn’t going to help.
For instance, if your daily errands or trips through the carpool lines are smooth sailing, but a trip on the interstate raises a red flag when it comes to your vehicle’s performance, it could be that your fuel-to-air mixture is off.
Check in with the pros at Advance Auto Parts when you have questions about how your vehicle’s running. They can point you in the right direction and can let you know what type of additive may be called for.
Consult someone in the know before adding anything to the gas tank or crankcase. It may not be harmful, but it may not help, either.
The information contained in this post is not advice from Advance Auto Parts or WIZS. Safety First! Always seek proper help. This is presented for its informational value only and is part of a paid advertising sponsorship.
CLICK PLAY!
Click Play to Listen. On Air at 8am, 12pm, 5pm M-F
WIZS Radio ~ 100.1FM/1450AM
Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.
Click Play!
“Rain rain go away, come again some other day” might be what’s on the mind of Kerr Vance Academy Athletic Director Mike Joyner. “We’ve had no baseball, no soccer and only one golf match,” Joyner said on Thursday’s SportsTalk. Rain has caused seven baseball games to be cancelled this year. “We have nowhere for the water to drain,” Joyner added.
In addition to the rain, rescheduling has been difficult due to ongoing umpire shortages. “We need better recruiting,” Joyner said of the shortage. Joyner also said disrespect from fans and low wages has made it difficult to recruit umpires. Additionally, Joyner said that not enough young people are going into the ranks as umpires to replace those who are aging out.
There is a bright side to the cancellations. “We had a couple of player with nagging injuries and these cancelled games have allowed them time to heal,” Joyner stated. With better weather forecast next week, KVA hopes to get all of their spring sports back out playing.
CLICK PLAY!
Organizers of the second Community Resource Festival say a multitude of vendors will come together under one roof to share information and network with individuals on Wednesday, Mar. 13 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Vance-Granville Community College Civic Center.
More than 200 people came out last year to the first event, and VGCC’s Stephanie Tolbert and Huff Consulting’s Michele Walker hope more people will walk through the doors this year to visit with the 75 vendors who will be in attendance.
The vendors are a cross-section of civic organizations, all shapes and sizes of nonprofits, as well as local businesses, Walker said on Thursday’s TownTalk. She is the sales and accounts manager for Huff Consulting, and had the idea to put this festival on last year.
As VGCC dean of Business, Applied Tech and Public Service, Tolbert joined forces with Huff to plan the day’s events this year. She said everyone who stops in during the day will leave with a ball full of freebies, “but more importantly, knowledge about resources that they didn’t know existed in their backyards.”
Tolbert said the festival is a time for networking and forming new partnerships in the larger community.
The Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce is one of the event sponsors. In a written statement, Chamber President Sandra Wilkerson said “This is about
opportunities for all the people in our community to gather knowledge, opportunities and tools to make their lives and businesses more successful and engaging…Our joint efforts with Huff Consulting, Vance Granville Community College and Granville County Chamber of Commerce are designed to make us all
stronger, better, more informed and progressive.”
Granville County Chamber Executive Director Cynthia Ratliff encourages business and industry representatives to check out the event as well. In a statement, Ratliff called the community resource festival an “invaluable opportunity for business professionals to equip themselves and their teams with the tools they need for success.”
Be prepared to learn, network and share information, but make sure you bring an appetite – Smokin’ Souls and Bun on the Run food trucks will be set up on site as well. There will be a fun photo booth for some selfie fun and door prizes will be awarded every 30 minutes.
David Bullock with VGCC also will be on site with a drone demonstration.
Whether you only have a few minutes or can spend a few hours, the community resource festival will not disappoint.
CLICK PLAY!
The City of Henderson’s fire department took some time recently to gather for dinner and fellowship as they reflected on events of the past year, honored current firefighters and remembered the late fire chief Steve Cordell.
Chief Tim Twisdale, a guest on Wednesday’s TownTalk, said the Feb. 22 event was special in many ways, not the least of which was beginning the evening with a moment of silence to remember Cordell, who died in January 2023.
Oftentimes, the public sees firefighters in bulky turnout gear in the line of duty or in more casual clothing around the fire house making sure all the vehicles are in tip-top shape. But Twisdale said this occasion was reason to pull out the Class A uniforms and really show off – on this evening, firefighters learned who was named 2023 Firefighter of the Year and who would be the recipient of the Chief’s Award.
“This is the 47th year that our department has been having a gathering to honor our members and the accomplishments they’ve had throughout the year,” Twisdale noted.
Jeffrey Payne Watson was named Firefighter of the Year and Devin Hall received the Chief’s Award. Twisdale said both men are real assets to the department.
Watson came on board in 2021 – in fact, Twisdale was on the interview board when he was hired and then worked with him on the same shift. He saw Watson every day there in the beginning, and Twisdale said he quickly saw Watson as a natural leader. “He’s one of those go-to persons,” Twisdale said, someone who makes sure that everyone comes out of a situation with a better grasp and understanding than they’d had before.
Deputy State Fire Marshal Tony Bailey was the guest speaker for the event, and Twisdale said he appreciated Bailey’s continuing support over the years as the fire department has been able to attain – and maintain – a coveted ISO rating of 2.
Chief’s Award recipient Hall commutes three days a week to his job at the Henderson Fire Department from his home in South Hill, VA.
When considering nominees for the Chief’s Award, Twisdale said he’s looking “for someone who really comes into the doors every day as a positive example” for others, making contributions not only to the community but to the brotherhood of firefighters.
“He is a constant source of information,” Twisdale said of Hall. “He shares his knowledge an skills.”
Twisdale noted several recent promotions within the department, including Capt. Capt. Justin Crowder and Capt. Justin Simmons, who is in charge of Engine 1. Simmons’s primary duties are looking after a three-member crew of that truck, the chief said.
As new battalion chiefs, Rick Puryear and Kyle Holtzman supervise the shifts of firefighters who protect the city 24 hours a day.
Hall and fellow firefighter Chase Carter have risen to the rank of engineer. Both men are a big part of the department’s ladder company, Twisdale said. The fire department is looking at ways to replace the aging truck, which came into service in 2005. Back then, it cost $800,000.
Like everything else, he said, inflation has driven up prices on fire trucks, too.
“If we sign a contract today, it’d be $2.1 million,” he said.
Check out the year-in-review video that Engineer Carter created for the awards banquet. You can find it on the fire department’s Facebook page. Chief Cordell figures prominently in the video, and his memory will live on, Twisdale said.
“We try to honor his memory by trying to move forward each day,” he said.
CLICK PLAY!