Tag Archive for: #towntalk

TownTalk: Around Old Granville – Downtown Henderson

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Towns like Henderson began popping up in the mid 1800’s as landowners gave land to railroad companies for their business ventures, conjuring up, no doubt, visions of economic prosperity – for themselves and for the local communities.

And Mark Pace attributes the general layout of downtown Henderson to the railroad. Pace and WIZS’s Bill Harris talked about the history of downtown Henderson on Thursday’s Around Old Granville segment of TownTalk, beginning with the physical layout of the major streets included in downtown Henderson. Garnett, Chestnut and William streets all run parallel to each other – and to the railroad tracks, which once carried freight and passenger trains through town.

Pace said Henderson was “built in a hurry,” between 1870 and 1890, with 1885 being a “game changing year” for the relatively new city, which was established in 1841.

Back then, all the buildings downtown were wooden structures, Pace said. And in 1885, a fire “basically destroyed” the downtown.

Those wooden buildings “were replaced with something nicer, something finer,” Pace said, and many of the lovely old brick and masonry building facades along Garnett Street have stood the test of time.

In fact, the Henderson Central Business District is on the National Register of Historic Places and includes not only Garnett Street but Chestnut Street and William Street as well, Pace said.

In addition to the iconic clock tower and fire department, Zollicoffer Law Office and former H. Leslie Perry Library buildings at one end of Garnett, there’s the Henry A. Dennis Building, the art nouveau style O’Neal Building and the building touted as the tallest in downtown – the five-story Vance Furniture Company.

As with many downtowns in cities small and large, Henderson’s downtown was a center of commerce from the 1870’s clear into the early 1970’s, Pace said. That’s when malls began to be popular.

In addition to the several movie theaters, downtown Henderson had several clothing stores – E.G. Davis, Roth-Stewart and Leggett – as well as hardware stores like Falkner Building Supply, Watkins Hardware and Rose Gin & Supply. There were shoe stores and jewelry stores, drug stores, barber shops and more – all downtown.

When P.H. Rose came to Henderson from Northampton County, he had already opened up a store in Littleton, Pace said, and in 1915, he opened the first store in Henderson.

He was an innovator, Pace said, and it was Rose who capitalized on the concept of customer self-service.

Business was booming for Rose’s stores. “They expanded so fast that at one point, he was opening a store a month,” Pace explained. In its heyday, Rose’s had 250 stores across the Southeast.

Listen to the complete interview at https://wizs.com/

 

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TownTalk: Dr. Alice Sallins Receives Order Of The Long Leaf Pine

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Longtime educator, community advocate and current Vance County Arts Council Director Dr. Alice Clark Sallins has joined the ranks of The Order of the Long Leaf Pine, becoming the latest local recipient during Sunday services at Holy Temple Church.

Sallins said she was “overjoyed” to learn that she was to receive the award, the highest civilian honor given in the state. Rep. Frank Sossamon presented the award to Sallins and in his written recommendation, called Sallins “a pillar of leadership and service for decades, demonstrating a selfless dedication to the people of Vance County and beyond.”

She said it was fitting to receive the honor at her church. “It was very special,” she said, “because church is the core of my existence.”

Sallins, herself a minister since 1995, said Sossamon – also a retired pastor – told the congregation that Sunday wouldn’t be long enough for him to list all her good works and accomplishments.

One of those good works was a group for young men called Royalty: Students Striving For Excellence. It began in 1988, when Sallins was a middle school teacher. The idea of Royalty was to support students and “get them to do better on tests, on Reading and Math EOGs,” Sallins recalled on Wednesday’s TownTalk.

But another goal was to keep the young men off the streets, out of trouble and headed for success.

She has a soft spot in her heart for youth and senior adults, and with the arts council she spends a good bit of time bringing arts activities for the young and the young-at-heart to enjoy.

“That was my life’s work – what I really like to focus on,” she said of her special connection with children and with senior citizens.

By week’s end, she will have visited several different schools and worked with more than 150 students, plus a free program at the Senior Center Thursday at 1 p.m.

She’s been involved with the Arts Council since the 1990’s, but added a leadership role to her crowded plate of activities back in 2004.

“As the first African American leader of the Vance County Arts Council, her leadership has been nothing short of transformative,” stated Sossamon in his letter of recommendation. “From producing Broadway-quality plays in the early 1990’s to ensuring that the Christmas Parade became a celebration of the entire community, Dr. Sallins has been a driving force for inclusivity and creativity.”

Thanks to the way her parents raised their children, Sallins has always been a giver and a doer.

There’s a lot of work to do in the community, she said. “Someone has to do it. My focus has always been to make the community better.”

Not one to seek the spotlight, she prefers to work behind the scenes to make changes for the better, whether it’s giving young people access to the arts or making sure the Henderson Christmas Parade goes off without a hitch each holiday season.

For Sallins, it’s simple: “Just let me do what I need to do to glorify God – that’s what I want to do.”

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TownTalk: Apollo Style Talent Show From Connie Ragland Productions

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When the lights go down inside McGregor Hall Saturday afternoon, all the hard work of the musicians and other performers will be put to the test – it’s showtime.

Connie Ragland Productions and Reclaiming Our Youth presents “Showtime at McGregor Hall,” a talent show modeled after Showtime at the Apollo in New York’s Harlem Theater. The curtain rises at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 14 on what Connie Ragland bills as a showcase of creativity, communication and celebration.

Tickets are on sale at etix.com and at the McGregor Hall box office – get them early, because the price goes up on the day of the show. Youth tickets are $15 and adult tickets are $20.

As Jayden Watkins puts it in a video he produced to promote the show, the audience will experience an “unforgettable night of talent and inspiration.”

Ragland said 10 acts will take the stage during the show. Auditions were held a month or so ago, at which time the performers were selected to compete. Four youth and six adults are included in the competition. Each act will have five minutes to perform and the audience will vote on each category with applause. A cash prize will be awarded to the winning youth and adult performer.

“There are many, many talents that are being displayed,” Ragland said on Wednesday’s TownTalk.

A DJ will keep the audience engaged between acts during the 2-hour show, making them “feel good and get them in the right spirit for Christmas,” Ragland said.

The show is for the whole community, she said, adding that she strives to represent all ages, cultures and backgrounds. “It’s for everyone,” she said. She would like to dispel the misconception that the show is just for one race or one generation.

“Entertainment is entertainment,” she said. “It doesn’t matter who’s providing the entertainment. We’re talking about building a better community, we’re trying to make Henderson better…we need to just start coming together and not being so separate with everything.”

To learn more, contact Ragland at 252.590.0303. or email her at connierag@gmail.com.

Purchase tickets at the McGregor Hall website, www.mcgregorhall.org, and click on Buy Tickets on the right side of the page.

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TownTalk: MPH Cancer Center’s Angel Fund Gets $19K Infusion From Fire Dept.

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City of Henderson firefighters know that the next call they get could involve saving someone’s life. It’s what they train for.

For the past seven or eight years, however, the firefighters at Central Station One on Dabney Drive have taken to the street – literally – to help fight a different battle, one that can be just as deadly as a house fire or car crash.

Firefighters take to the busy street in front of the station to conduct their “fill the boot” campaign and donated all the proceeds to the Angel Fund at Maria Parham Health’s Cancer Center. This year’s three-day effort netted a whopping $19,611, which Chief Tim Twisdale presented to cancer center staff on Monday afternoon. In remarks to the group following the check presentation, Cancer Center Director Kimberly Smith remembered former Chief Steve Cordell, who lost his battle with cancer in January 2023. “This was always something special to him,” Smith said of the Angel Fund project. “So we decided we were going to name it the Steve Cordell Angel Fund moving forward.”

City Manager Terrell Blackmon said this is the second year that Cordell has not been a part of the check presentation. “He was a big, strong proponent of this effort,” Blackmon said.

Chief Twisdale presented the check to hospital staff, and said he hopes the tradition will continue. “It warms our hearts to be able to do this every year,” Twisdale said. “We count you guys as a big part of that blessing…taking care of us and the community.”

Thanks also go to all those who donated over the course of the three days of the campaign, Battalion Chief Lee Edmonds said later. None of it would be possible without community support, he said.

Those tall boots got filled while firefighters held up traffic with their singing, dancing, just having a good time to support a good cause, Twisdale said.

The coins and bills that added up to the more than $19,000 donation helps cancer patients with transportation, medicine, food and more, said MPH Social Worker Hope Breedlove.

“Transportation is a huge barrier to care,” Breedlove said, adding that the Angel Fund has provided 1,072 rides since mid-January 2024. That averages out to about 5 rides per treatment day.

One gentleman had to come to the clinic twice a week for treatment, and it wasn’t that he didn’t have a car – he simply was too sick to drive himself.

“A lot of good people come into the clinic – this is great to help them bridge the gap,” she said.

Heather Endecott is an RN who works in the clinic side of the cancer center. She said the Angel Fund, in addition to the transportation support, has helped provide oral chemotherapy to some patients for years, indicating that the much-needed medications are helping people get effective treatment and live longer lives.

The Angel Fund has helped 78 families with gas, 66 families with food and countless others get medicine.

“Medication is a big area that we spend a lot of time helping (with), life sustaining medicines, medicines to control their symptoms, medicines to keep them out of the hospital, medicines to keep them from having to call 911 in the middle of the night,” Smith said.

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TownTalk: Commissioners Tap Fund Balance To Pay Overdue Bills, Health Care Overruns At Jail

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Vance County Commissioners are tapping the county’s fund balance to take care of a couple of bills – to the tune of more than $822,000 – that involve health care at the local detention center.

Of that amount, $352,000 will be used to pay past due invoices, some dating back to 2019, that were not paid by the county’s former finance director.

County Manager C. Renee Perry told commissioners during the Dec. 2 meeting that the former finance director had failed to process invoices from Prime Health. Perry said Prime Health, during the same period, experienced staffing shortages which further exacerbated the delays in processing invoices.

“We are committed to resolving this matter efficiently,” Perry told commissioners, “while maintaining our partnership with Prime Health, ensuring continued high-quality health care services for the Vance County Detention Center.”

Perry said, going forward, the county will put in place an enhanced tracking system and hold regular reconciliation meetings to make sure payments are made in a timely manner.

Commissioners also approved using another $470,000 to pay for the health care of inmates, some of whom aren’t even housed in the local jail.

The payment is based on the jail’s average daily population, which lately has been over-capacity, “so costs are increasing significantly,” Perry noted.

The $470,000 will pay for overages between July and December, as well as the six-month contract extension. At Perry’s recommendation, the commissioners approved renewing the contract for six months, through June 2025, instead of an annual contract. The plan is to try to get the next contract based on the fiscal year (July-June) and move away from the calendar year-based contract. The commissioners also asked for information about how many inmates are housed in other detention centers and how much that costs the county.

Assistant County Manager Jeremy Jones told commissioners that he recently arranged for two inmates to be taken to the jail in Edgecombe County, but they were sent back to Vance County because of bad behavior.

In another incident at the Vance County facility, an inmate sprayed four detention officers in the eyes with a combination of bleach, feces and urine.

Board Chair Sean Alston asked the manager to do some research to determine how much money the county has spent for capital improvements and maintenance on the jail over the past two years.

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TownTalk: Farm City Luncheon Held At Farmers Market

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The folks who gathered at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market for the Farm-City luncheon were treated to some good ol’ Southern style food – fried chicken, barbecue, with all the fixin’s, but surely the sweet treat came when local historian Mark Pace shared a brief – but comprehensive – history of agriculture in the area we call home.

There is little doubt that agriculture has been a major player in this area since before the county was established – tobacco was king, but over the years, other products have provided livelihoods.

The Continental Plant Co. in Kittrell touted “the largest stock of choice strawberry plants in the world,” or so a headline on the cover of the spring 1898 catalogue reported.  The company shipped plants all over the continent – $1.25 per 1,000 plants.

The Blacknalls ran 3,000 acres for the Continental Plant Co., Pace said. “They shipped all over the world because of the railroad,” he said.

J.P. Taylor started his tobacco operation in Vance County, which later morphed into Universal Leaf.

E.G. Davis had a side-hustle with his chicken farming business, Pace said. Locals will know where it was located: That’s right – Chicken Farm Road.

The cotton crop helped create the mills that, for years, churned out products for the textile industry. Back in the 1840’s, cotton was selling for between 7 cents and 8 cents a pound, Pace said.

“Just about every farm had a little grove of mulberry trees,” he said. What likes mulberry trees? Silkworms. And, though brief, there was a large silk industry in the area. No wonder – at that time, a pound of silk was worth $4 a pound.

A lot of good farmland now rests below Kerr Lake, that manmade resource that has been the source of water and recreation for many since the late 1950’s.

And nobody is surprised to hear statistics of decreasing farm ownership, given the rise of residential housing and other development that has no association with agriculture.

The Vance County Farm Bureau provided a snapshot of information about agricultural production in the county, all conveniently located on paper placemats on the luncheon tables.

The average farm size is about 225 acres, down by almost 20 percent from 2017.

The county has just more than 38,000 acres of farmland, but that figure is down a whopping 42 percent from just seven years ago.

There are 108 female farmers and 172 male farmers, and 88 new and beginning farmers in the county.

Farmers are increasingly aging out of their chosen livelihood – it’s a hard job that often takes a toll on health and finances. Today’s farms may look different than those of decades past, but agriculture continues to be strong in Vance County.

Extension Horticulture Agent Michael Ellington said it’s important to know the history of agriculture in our county, and it’s equally important that farmers provide mentorship to the next generation to make sure that agriculture’s future remains bright.

Listen to Pace’s talk in its entirety at www.wizs.com.

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TownTalk: Oxford’s “The Sacred Witness” Military Art Mural

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About half a block off one of the main downtown streets in Oxford is something quite unique – in fact, it’s the first of its kind for the city. It’s a mural with a military theme and it tells a story that artist Aletha Williams wants to share with the community.

An unveiling was held at 4 p.m. Thursday to officially introduce to the public the 1200-square foot creation, during which Williams planned to talk about the significance of the mural and why it’s important to her and to other military veterans who may struggle to re-enter civilian life.

As a disabled military veteran, she said she has struggled with mental health issues associated with her service and with several traumatic events in her life. She said she understands only too well the difficulties veterans face as they leave family, friends and community and enter military service, and then when they come back home. The challenges are many and they can take their toll, she said. This mural captures some of the feelings and emotions of a veteran’s journey.

The mural is located at 117 Wall St., on one of the exterior brick walls of Tobacco Wood Brewing Co. Williams said it took her and a small team of volunteers and another artist 35 workdays to complete.

The team helped until the project was close to halfway finished, and then Williams took over from there to complete.

When you visit the mural – and Williams invites ex-military and civilians alike to stop by, take a look and reflect on its message – you’ll see painted near the middle an open book. That’s where the title of the artwork will be written: The Sacred Witness.

No matter how the art speaks to those who come to view it, Williams said “it will mean something to everyone,” soldier or not. She wants the mural to stand for the community coming together to support veterans and their service.

All branches of the military are represented in the mural, she said, as the “story” unfolds across the brick wall in a collage effect.

Williams moved to the area a couple of years ago from the state of Washington, and since then, she’s been working on a way to show support for military veterans.

Once the mural was down on paper, it went before city leaders for approval. With a grant from the N.C. Arts Council and “a collaboration of partners,” the labor of love was transformed into a work of art.

“For me, art allows me to be in that sweet spot…I can just be my natural, authentic self,” Williams said.

Whatever emotions the mural may evoke, Williams encourages viewers to just pause for a moment and reflect on how to support veterans in a positive manner as they find their way as a member of the community and transition from military service.

When she’s not creating murals, Williams concentrates on being an integrative wellness life coach and completing a doctorate in body wellness. Her business is called Inner Starr Compass Healing. Learn more at https://www.innerstarrcompasshealing.com/.

Post a photo and leave a comment about your experience with the mural on her Facebook and Instagram accounts:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/innerstarrcompasshealing

https://www.instagram.com/innerstarrcompasshealing/

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TownTalk: Joint Public Safety And Fire Commission Meeting

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Plans should be in place by summer 2025 to send an additional fire department to structure fires in the county, a move that has the potential to save lives and property, not to mention having a possible positive effect on the county’s insurance rating and property owners’ insurance premiums.

Brandon Link, president of the Vance County Firefighters Association and chief of the Watkins Volunteer Fire Department, said the idea of sending a fourth department on calls was solidified at a recent joint meeting of the county’s public safety committee and the fire commission.

Although a work conflict prevented him from attending the Nov. 20 meeting, Link said he was briefed by others in attendance.

The county commissioners had earlier given the green light, but the plan “had been in a holding pattern for a while,” Link said, partly because the county was conducting a fire study to consider restructuring the county’s fire departments, all but one of which are volunteer departments.

Link said he believes the Vance County Fire Department will remain the lone fully staffed station to provide support to departments when they get dispatched to fire calls.

When that additional department is dispatched, it means there will be more trucks, more water and more personnel on scene to more quickly extinguish fires and get control of the situation.

Those are the three main criteria that are factored in to determine a county’s insurance – ISO – rating. A better ISO rating translates into lower premium bills for property owners.

“It’s something we’ve all been asking for, close to five years now,” Link said.

Unfortunately, those premiums won’t be going down for this five-year cycle, he said, adding that the decision was “bittersweet – we knew it was going to make a difference… we missed the boat (this time) but hope to get it next time.”

Making the necessary changes to get that fourth department included on calls takes a little doing. The 911 dispatchers use a response matrix to determine the order that departments are called to fires, Link said.

“It is exciting, (but) it’s a long process,” he noted, adding that a good bit of the groundwork has been laid – now it’s just a matter of getting that information put into the system.

Link said there’s a good mix of seasoned and new, or newish, chiefs of the various departments who are “walking in lockstep together, which to me is a good sign.” Everyone wants what is best for the county, and his colleagues are willing to do whatever they can to provide the best service possible.

County Manager C. Renee Perry and the commissioners have heard their needs, requests and options for providing fire service, he said. “They understand our love and passion and desire to do our job.”

As for the fate of the Vance County Fire Department, Link said local fire officials have expressed their desire for it to stay in place and that the county would be “taking a step backwards” if changes are made to the way it operates. “They are vital to us in what we do,” he said of the paid firefighters at that station.

And while appreciative of all the part-timers and volunteers that are the backbone of the other departments across the county, Link said that’s not enough coverage. Part-timers and volunteers have jobs or other commitments. “They’re not obligated to respond,” he said, but “they’re committed to respond – when they’re available.”

The state requires a minimum of four firefighters to respond from the primary fire department dispatched to a call, but Link said there could be as many as eight or nine who show up.

Add four that come from VCFD – plus the chief if it’s a daytime call – and another three or four from the secondary department and now from that fourth department, and there could be upwards of a couple of dozen people on the ground to combat the fire.

But that number could just as easily be halved, he added, depending on the number of volunteers and part-timer firefighters who are available.

Having more people and equipment responding to a fire call could help when it comes to ISO ratings, Link noted.

Drewry maintained its ISO rating of 5. Epsom improved to a class 4. The Watkins department improved its rating to 5 this year. Several other departments have been evaluated but haven’t gotten their score yet, and the last three departments should be completed in the next few months. The results are a report card of sorts to reflect performance.

 

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TownTalk: Youth Mental Health First Aid

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An upcoming workshop at Henderson City Hall is designed to help participants recognize signs that a young person may be experiencing a mental health crisis, as well as offer ways to step in to connect them to agencies and resources that can help.

The all-day mental health first aid workshop will be held Saturday, Dec. 7 and is a partnership between the city of Henderson and Vaya Health, according to information from Enriqueta Arroyo, Vaya’s youth mental health first aid instructor and community training specialist,

There are still some open slots, Arroyo said. Please contact her via email at Enriqueta.arroyo@vayahealth.com or by phone at 919.633.8769 to get registered no later than Friday, Dec. 6.

Early intervention is key, and Arroyo said the workshop will share strategies about how to reach out to someone who may be in crisis, how to listen in a non-judgmental way and how to refer to an agency for assistance.

The class is an 8-hour session, running from 8 a.m.  to 5 p.m. and participants must attend the entire class to receive their certification. The training is free of charge. Registration will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

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TownTalk: Vance County Board Of Commissioners Reorganization Meeting

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The Vance County Board of Commissioners elected Sean Alston to chair the 7-member board and Carolyn Faines was elected as vice-chair at the regular monthly meeting Monday night.

In other action, the commissioners added June 19 – Juneteenth – to the list of county-observed holidays and approved dates for its regular monthly meetings, which will remain the first Monday of each month, the exception being Mar. 10, 2025.

The chair and vice-chair elections took place just after the newly elected and re-elected commissioners were sworn in for their four-year terms.

Faines bested challenger William Heitman in the only contested race in the Nov. 5 election to retain her District 1 seat. Commissioners Yolanda Feimster and Leo Kelly ran unopposed for their seats in Districts 6 and 5, respectively.

And newcomer Valencia Perry, who beat Archie Taylor in the March 2024 primary, was sworn in to the District 2 seat.

In an interview back in February as part of WIZS’s election coverage, Perry said her focus is on education, school funding, mental health services and the county jail. A Vance County native, Perry has a background in accounting and is an ordained minister.

As a commissioner, she said she will be “a fresh set of eyes” to help make “long-needed change in Vance County.”

Her work on the Vance County Housing Authority Board helped her realize just how critical financial responsibility is, she said at the time. “I had a chance to help people move forward and not stay stuck,” she said. “We’ve done a lot of great things and I feel good about it,” she said of her work with the housing authority.

Another need she sees in the county is a diversion center for those in crisis because of mental health or substance abuse issues. “It is so important,” Perry said, that people have “somewhere they can be safely cared for by professionals who know what to do.”

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