Tag Archive for: #localskinny

American Flag

“The Local Skinny!” Mar 2; Optimist Club Flag Project Supports Community

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The Henderson Optimist Club invites area businesses to fly an American flag to help fund club projects as they display their patriotism in the community.

Thurman Murphy was on “The Local Skinny!” Tuesday and told John C. Rose that the flag project is one of the ways the club funds its various community projects. New subscribers pay an initial fee of $60, with a $30 annual renewal fee.

“We keep the flags and put them out ourselves,” Murphy said. About 35 businesses, most of them in the downtown area, currently participate. This project has been in existence since the late 1960’s, he said, the brainchild of founding club member Ed White. The club replaces the flag or the pole when the need arises, he said.

Club members put up the flag eight times a year – Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, and Veterans Day, Murphy said, adding that they sometimes get requests from the Chamber of Commerce or other business associations for the flags to be posted at other special occasions.

The mission of the Henderson Optimist Club is to help the youth in the community, and the club does this through various projects and contests, Murphy noted.

The projects help fund two scholarships awarded to two Vance County students each year. The $1,000 scholarships are renewable for four years. Although the student doesn’t have to attend a school in Vance County, the student must be a resident of Vance County, he explained.

“The Local Skinny!” March 2 Podcast with Thurman Murphy

Other annual contests for high school students are the oratorical contest and the essay contest. Local winners advance to the zone level, and from there, district and then national levels, he said. Winners at the district and national levels are awarded scholarship prizes as well.

Murphy said the “Attend and Win,” contest at the eight county elementary schools gives a pizza party to the classroom at each school with the highest quarterly attendance. That contest has been put on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but he said the project will pick back up as soon as it’s safe to be back in the school buildings.

The local Optimist Club also:

  • sponsors two baseball leagues at the YMCA and the Henderson-Vance Recreation and Parks Department;
  • hosts a Christmas party with gifts each year for children at the Masonic Home for Children in Oxford;
  • financially supports the Optimist Cottage at the Boys and Girls Home of Lake Waccamaw;
  • hosts the “Respect For Law” project each year and names an officer of the year from the Henderson police department, Vance County sheriff’s office, NC Highway Patrol, Henderson and Vance County fire departments and Kerr Lake park rangers.

To sign up your business to display the American flag, please call Thurman Murphy at 252.432.6847 or email thurmanmurphy@nc.rr.com.

Optimist Club members Dean Thornton and Tommy Farmer also serve on the Optimist Flag Committee.

“The Local Skinny!” Mar 1; Henderson Tree Protection Ordinance

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The Henderson City Council last week adopted an ordinance to protect trees which Development Services Director Corey Williams said will provide guidelines aimed at maintaining buffers for development and tree canopy overhead.

Williams spoke to John C. Rose on The Local Skinny Monday. The new ordinance, 21-06 was adopted unanimously by council members. It replaces a section of city code with prescribed actions and some restrictions, he said. “The intent is to try to preserve the tree canopy and try to leave buffers in place,” Williams said. The ordinance went into effect upon its approval by council on Thursday, he said.

This is a “comprehensive tree protection ordinance that we haven’t had before” he said.

The ordinance replaces Section 17-9 of the City Code “Tree Cutters to Clean up Resulting Debris,” which only applies within the city limits. Although the code protects or manages existing street trees, it does not create a buffer/canopy zone for adjacent property when trees are harvested,” according to the official request to approve the ordinance. The new ordinance serves the city as well as the 2.5-mile extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ), Williams said.

The 12-page ordinance spells out situations that require a zoning compliance permit such as listing of all existing and future buffers surrounding a tract, as well as “all work impacting trees on lots designated for non-residential, multi-family residential and mixed use” as well as any impact on trees for single- and two-family residential use where total land disturbance exceeds 5,000 feet.

Podcast of “The Local Skinny!” for March 1 include Corey Williams…Story continues below.

For example, Williams said, a developer who needs to remove a tree or trees may be required to plant trees in the landscape to replace what had to be taken down. There are minimum canopy percentages that apply for different types land use. Multi-family residential and commercial use, for example, have a minimum canopy coverage of 30 percent; industrial districts have a minimum coverage of 20 percent.

Some exceptions to the ordinance include removal of severely damaged or diseased trees and removal of non-native invasive species which are listed within the ordinance.

The ordinance even includes suggestions on choosing which type of tree to plant, Williams noted. Native species such as dogwood, persimmon and pawpaw trees are on the list in the ordinance, for example.

More spelled-out guidance, in conjunction with a comprehensive landscape plan, will help preserve the natural beauty of the area, he said, which makes the area more attractive to folks looking to relocate.

To read the full ordinance, visit ci.henderson.nc.us and find the ordinance under the link to the City Clerk, Williams said.

The Local Skinny! 02-17-21

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Each broadcast of “The Local Skinny!” invites you to call 492-5594.  You can call with an item you’d like to sell or something you are looking for.  Also, you can call about anything on your mind…a grip, a praise, a news item of interest, a question you’d like to know more about.

And, we’re always ready with local news and information, guests, business spotlights and the latest from Vance County Cooperative Extension.

Run down for Wednesday:

11:30 a.m. – Items to Buy or Sell and your calls

11:40 a.m. – Discussion of impending ice storm

Later this week on the program, guest Marcia Allen, Vance County Democratic Party Chair, on Thursday … plus your calls and items.

Stay tuned and tell a friend!