Tag Archive for: #towntalk

TownTalk: Granville Gold Mock Tobacco Auction & Event Coming Sept. 27

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If you’ve ever been to a live auction, you likely can recall the auctioneer’s singsong selling as he or she announces the current bid and asks for other bidders to bid more.

But did you know that tobacco auctioneers do the reverse? Yep, they start out with a high price and then that number goes down until the lot is sold.

The days of seasonal tobacco auctions in big warehouses filled with bundles of golden, aromatic leaf have given way to direct contracts with the big tobacco companies, but folks will get the chance to see a “real” tobacco auction later this month at the Oxford Tobacco Research Station.

Last year’s event brought hundreds out to see – and hear – a veteran auctioneer practice his craft.

The “Granville Gold: Mock Tobacco Auction & Farm Heritage Celebration” will be held on Sunday, Sept. 27 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., according to Frank Timberlake, who is helping to promote the event, which is sponsored by the Granville County Historial Society and Museum.

“If you go back and look at what founded many of the rural counties, it was tobacco,” Timberlake said on Thursday’s segment of TownTalk.

The upcoming mock auction will showcase the spectacle that was the tobacco auction, when groups of men – buyers alongside the farmers who’d tended the crop – would follow the auctioneer up and down the rows of tobacco, piled in bundles on those familiar shallow woven wood baskets.

“That’s when everything happened, good bad or indifferent,” Timberlake said, recalling the auctioneer as he worked. “He’s walking – not even hardly taking a breath,” he added, “selling 500 piles of tobacco in an hour.”

Auctions are scheduled to take place at the top of each hour – 2 p.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.

In addition, there will be plenty of exhibits on the grounds of the tobacco research station, located at 300 Providence Rd., near the intersection with Providence Road and the Oxford Loop near the N.C. Cooperative Extension offices.

There will be all kinds of vendors, too, and food for purchase.

Admission is free, and folks will have an opportunity to participate in a real auction of two antique tractors – a fundraiser for the historical society. That auction begins at 3:30 p.m.

Remember, though, that unlike tobacco, bids for the tractors will go up, not down.

 

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TownTalk: Business Spotlight – Deal By Me Podcast

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Dr. James W. Smith retired from his 32-year role as a pastor a few years ago, but what he decided to do in his post-retirement “next chapter” was formed by a desire to help others the way others had helped him so many years ago – before he was even a pastor.

These days, the former pastor of Mt. Calvary Missionary Baptist Church in Bahama is busy with a different type of ministry – one that involves being a church consultant, author and podcaster.

It was more than just finding something to do with his free time – he wanted to be encouraging, inspiring and transforming, he said during Wednesday’s Business Spotlight on WIZS.

He investigated the world of podcasting and has interviewed people from all over the world to share their stories that, you guessed it, encourage, inspire and transform.

With more than 330 Deal By Me podcasts under his belt now, he’s pivoted to shine a light on individuals in local communities who provide encouragement and inspiration in a transformational way.

The first local recognition took place in Franklin County, where he was born and raised. Five honorees were recognized at that event.

The second one takes place on Oct. 3, right here in Henderson, where Smith practiced law in the office with now-Judge Henry Banks.

The following individuals were nominated and then selected to be recognized at the event, which will be held at Crossroads Event Center:

  • Dorothy ‘Joy’ Bowser
  • Jessica Rice Hawkins
  • Karen Rice Christmas
  • Fran Cawthorne
  • Shelton Anderson
  • Dr. Thelma McClean
  • June Lewis
  • Annette Myers

 

Smith said he makes the selections from among the nominations he receives, and he simply wants to show appreciation to this “very deserving” group of people, who were nominated by others in the community because of the way they show encouragement to others.

Tickets are $40 each and can be purchased at https://www.dealbymepodcast.com/event-list.

There was a time in Smith’s life when he needed encouragement, he said.

“I remember what people did for me,” Smith said, recalling the kindnesses he received.

“You don’t know what your encouragement can do for somebody,” he said. “That’s what happened to me.”

Visit https://www.dealbymepodcast.com/ to learn more.

 

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TownTalk: VGCC Trustees To Consider The Possibility Of Hosting An Educational Forum About Data Centers

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The Vance-Granville Community College Board of Trustees will convene Thursday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. at a special called meeting to consider the possibility of hosting an educational forum about data centers.

With lots of uncertainty across the community surrounding this polarizing issue, VGCC leaders have been approached about having an information session that could present relevant information in an objective format.

With uncertainty comes speculation, and although the county has not gotten any applications for any data center project, there is plenty of speculation floating around about a particular tract of properties along U.S. Hwy. 158 Business that recently was rezoned to Light Industrial.

County commissioners approved the rezoning in April, which made a final tract and the roughly 500 or so adjoining acres, and tracts, to conform with one another.

Names on the rezoning request included Natelli Investments, a Maryland-based developer associated with data centers.

In early July, Thomas Natelli responded to an email from a Vance County resident regarding the rezoning approval.

In the email, Natelli included an update on the project.

“Since the rezoning was completed in April, we have been conducting extensive due diligence on a range of matters and developing a program for a data center campus on the site. We expect to begin community engagement later this summer in conjunction with the site plan process. That will include community meetings where we will share project information, answer questions, and listen to community feedback,” the email stated.

He referred to pending legislation in the General Assembly that could have implications for the project. Senate Bill 730 is one of the pieces of legislation that focuses on water and electricity use that data centers require, among other issues.

“We recognize that the limited information available during the rezoning process has created the perception of a lack of transparency. I want to assure you and the community that we are committed to engaging openly with the community as our program for the site comes together. In the meantime, we are happy to continue the dialogue,” the email continued.

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TownTalk: Rebuilding Hope Celebrates 20 Years

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In the Bible, Jacob labored for 20 years for Laban. And that’s how long the Israelites were oppressed before Samson came on the scene to be their deliverer. And it’s how long it took Solomon to build his temple.

Tom Wille, co-director of Rebuilding Hope, shared those biblical references with those gathered Thursday to celebrate 20 years of the local non-profit.

“Twenty years is a significant number in scripture in terms of what God wrote down for us in his book,” Wille said.

And so the question is, he said, What now?

“What’s the continued call of this ministry? We’re going to keep on…is there more there? I don’t know,” he continued.

The first 20 years of the ministry began in a little office in Warrenton, where Randolph and Gail Wilson and a few other volunteers started out.

They worked the first 10 years operating out of donated space in Henderson before purchasing their current home – the former Coca-Cola Bottling Co.

And now, looking back at the first 20 years, Wille looks ahead to the future, and said the volunteers – brothers and sisters in Christ – will continue the mission of faith through acts.T

“Twenty years have flown by in the Rebuilding Hope land,” Wille said. In the 13 or so years he’s been involved, the building has changed and the circumstances have changed and the equipment has changed, he said. People have come and gone, but the mission has remained the same and the organization’s name says it all: Rebuilding Hope.

The audience gave a round of applause when Wille thanked the Wilsons for the work they’ve done and continue to do. “They took a huge leap (of faith) when they were called to do so,” he said.

Before the ribbon-cutting ceremony began, Wilson told WIZS that he is thankful for everyone who has been a part of this ministry. Starting Rebuilding Hope was simply something “I couldn’t not do,” he said. “I had to.”

Henderson-Vance Chamber President Sandra Wilkerson said Rebuilding Hope defines perfectly the term non-profit.

“We are so grateful to help you celebrate 20 years,” Wilkerson said in remarks before the ribbon-cutting – you really show what a non-profit is all about and we thank you. Rebuilding Hope does exactly what its name says, said Chamber Board member Kevin Wade. “You give encouragement to people, you give love – that’s what we need more of today.”

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TownTalk: Around Old Granville – Major Events Since 1960 Part 1

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Local historians Mark Pace and WIZS’s Bill Harris are “of an age” now that things they remember when they were youngsters are now being considered as parts of local history that, with the benefit of hindsight, are proving to be noteworthy and important to the area.

The two history buffs usually discuss people, places and events from the very beginnings of the formation of what they refer to as Old Granville County, but this week they talked about several events that have found their way into the headlines since 1960.

Depending on your perspective, some of these events functioned much like the proverbial double-edged sword.

Henderson was where Paul H. Rose founded Rose’s, which at its peak, had something like 175 stores across the region. But Henderson had the first one, and it was located on Garnett Street, right in the heart of downtown.

That was back in 1915, when downtowns were where shopping happened. Needed shoes? Downtown. Wanted a piece of jewelry for a special gift? Downtown. Groceries? A&P on one end of Garnett, Colonial on the other. Clothing, sporting goods and more all were found downtown.

Rose’s stood its ground when Kmart and Mammoth Mart came to town, Pace said. But it had difficulty competing with Walmart, and Rose’s emerged from two years of bankruptcy in 1995 and then sold to Variety Wholesalers in 1997.

But Rose’s took a chance back in the late 1960’s when developers constructed the Henderson Mall.

The mall, all 185,000 square feet of it, opened in July 1969. Pace remembers that he and his brother pestered their mother until she took them there for the first time.

Harris said the mall drew patrons from nearby counties, too. People could park their cars, go inside the mall and get all their shopping done.

“It was a big deal,” Harris said, adding that the mall had “a huge impact on the entire region.”

With those benefits, however, came consequences – especially for the downtown area. The mall “changed the focus of the entire community,” Pace said.

Of course, what happened in Henderson was happening all over the place with malls and suburban retail spaces luring business away from downtowns

People still went downtown for staples like the post office, the library and the courthouse, but the mall was where folks went to shop, eat and where young people could hang out with friends.

Just as malls shaped people’s shopping habits, so did the nation’s growing interstate system shape how people got from one place to another way back in the 20th century.

It was in 1960 that the first stretch of I-85 in the area was completed – 18 miles from Henderson to about Wise in Warren County.

And finally, in 1972, the final bit – dubbed “the Missing Link” connected Oxford and Butner. Pace said John K. Nelms was instrumental in completion of the Granville County section.

The original plans had the interstate going around Henderson to the east, hitting Gillburg and Kittrell before heading to Wilson and ultimately linking with Durham.

“The powers that be lobbied long and hard (and it was) with quite a great deal of effort that Oxford got included in the 85 path,” Pace said.

In close proximity to I-85 in Warren County was where Floyd McKissick planted the seed for Soul City, a planned city that, had it taken hold, was supposed to have 55,000 inhabitants by the year 2000.

The idea never really took off, but McKissick is someone locals point to as the person who helped bring a regional water system to the area.

McKissick, a Republican, was very influential in the political arena and he knew Richard Nixon.

After Nixon was elected president, Pace said McKissick “called in a marker” with his pal and said he wanted a regional water system.

Those efforts resulted in the creation of the Kerr Lake Regional Water System in 1976.

Listen back to the complete story at wizs.com to learn about other events that helped shape local history around Old Granville.

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TownTalk: JCPC Hosts Sept. 25 Symposium On Ways To Promote Youth Safety

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The Vance County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council is hosting a one-day community driven symposium on Friday, Sept. 26 to talk about the safety of youth and to create a community action plan to support efforts to curb gun violence.

The Youth Violence & Emerging Gangs Symposium will be held in the fellowship hall of the First United Methodist Church, 114 Church St. in downtown Henderson.

Debbie Scott with the Vance County Sheriff’s Office said more than a half dozen youth-oriented organizations and agencies are partnering to put on the event in light of a shooting incident in June that took the life of a local 15-year-old and injured a second young child.

“It was a call to action…because we care,” Scott said of the tragic loss of the teenager’s life. “We needed to come together as a united front…to focus on a summit that will engage us in looking at real challenges impacting our young people in Vance County and surrounding counties,” she said.

The symposium is free to attend, but registration is required. Scott said she and the other partners invite members from all parts of the community to attend the symposium and brainstorm strategies to put into action.

“We agreed that youth safety is a community-wide responsibility. Real solutions require all of us working together,” she said. Parents, educators and law enforcement representatives are encouraged to take part in the symposium, as well as faith leaders and members of youth-related agencies.

Whether you work directly with youth or just care about the safety of your own neighborhood, it’s important to share your observations and perspectives about youth violence and crime, she said.

Planning for the event continues, but Scott said the afternoon session will center around gun violence, developing goals and solutions that will feed into creation of a community action plan.

“The key is partnership, the key is collaboration,” said Scott, who works with juvenile outreach for the sheriff’s office. She said she spends a lot of time talking with young people about healthy ways to stay away from guns, violence and crime.

Scott’s job includes outreach to schools to talk with students about the dangers of guns and gangs, but she also spends time fielding calls from family members who say they’re worried about children and grandchildren headed down the wrong path and getting involved with the wrong people.

She spends time sharing resources that are available in the area, from youth-centered programs to family counseling.

“We have so many smart, brilliant children in Vance County,” Scott said. “They have a bright future, and they deserve the best we can give them.”

Register by emailing Scott at Dscott@vancecounty.org or phone 252.738.2235.

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TownTalk: The Manhattans Taking the Stage at McGregor Hall Sept. 13th

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The Manhattans are coming to McGregor Hall on Sept. 13, and it’ll be another homecoming for Henderson’s Gerald Alston. It’s not the first time he’s performed in Henderson – not even the first time he’s performed at McGregor Hall.

This concert, however, is coming at the end of a Henderson Institute reunion weekend.

And Henderson Institute is where Alston got his start, after all, at a talent show when he was a teenager.

Alston reminisced with WIZS’s Steve Lewis on Tuesday’s TownTalk, and he said he remembers vividly that day when he was called to the principal’s office.

“Mr. Sanford Williams was the principal,” Alston said. “He was no-nonsense.”

But that trip to the office wasn’t for anything bad. In fact, it turned out to be something good. Very good.

He got permission to leave school an hour early to he could practice for the upcoming talent show that was going to be held at Henderson Institute.

Alston said he sang Sam Cooke’s “Tennessee Waltz” in that talent show, which got him a standing ovation and the audience calling out, “We want more!”

And that’s just what Alston’s been doing with the Manhattans since 1970 – giving audiences more.

“My career started right there in Henderson,” Alston said, referring to that talent show, which led to the formation of Gerald Alston and the New Imperials. The band toured across the Carolinas while Alston was still in high school.

When he was a student at Kittrell College, the Manhattans came to play and Alston agreed to let the group use some of his band’s equipment.

Long story short, Alston said they asked him to open the show for them. The Manhattans liked what they heard and after the show, they took Alston’s name and address and said they’d be in touch.

“That was a Thursday, and Monday I was flying to Dallas, Texas.”

He joined the group in 1970 and since then, there have been hit songs and albums, Grammys and fame. Well-loved songs like “Shining Star” and “Kiss and Say Goodbye,” just to name a couple.

Alston and the Manhattans first came to Henderson’s McGregor Hall shortly after his 2015 induction into the N.C. Music Hall of Fame. Then-Mayor Eddie Ellington proclaimed “Gerald Alston Day” and presented Alston with a key to the city on stage in June 2016.

With roughly six decades in the music business, Alston said one of the most noticeable changes he’s observed is the use of live musicians in album production.

“Nobody is recording much with live musicians,” he said, adding that records are being produced with the use of auto tunes, and now, AI.

“Some of the songs I’ve heard on AI are great songs, they sound nice,” he said. “But they’re not real ‘cause you don’t hear the feeling. They can mimic your voice … but the feeling is missing,” Alston said.

It’s the same with instruments. Sure, a keyboard can produce the sound of drums, bass guitars and rhythm sections, but it’s the individual musician who provides the feeling to the music.

The Manhattans featuring Gerald Alston are bringing their signature sound – including live musicians and a trio of talented vocalists – to McGregor Hall. Alston is hoping for a sold-out show.

Get tickets for the 3 p.m. show at https://www.mcgregorhall.org/ and learn more about the legendary musical group at

https://letsjustkissandsaygoodbye.com/

Listen to the whole interview at www.wizs.com.

 

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(This post and the audio are not a paid ad. However, McGregor Hall is an advertising partner of WIZS and presently there is a paid ad airing on WIZS about purchasing tickets to this same event.)

TownTalk: ‘An Evening Beneath the Stars’ Sept. 11

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“An Evening Beneath the Stars,” the upcoming outdoor celebration in downtown Henderson, started out as an event to mark the nation’s 250th birthday and it’s truly living up to its theme: “Honor the past. Celebrate the present. Build the future.”

The event includes dinner, patriotic music played by DJ Jay Rogers and a special video presentation that will incorporate the nation’s history along with a tribute to veterans and first responders, said Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce President Sandra Wilkerson.

Tickets for the Sept. 11 event are $100 each and are on sale now, but don’t delay – the deadline to purchase tickets is Tuesday, Sept. 1. Call the Chamber office at 252.438.8414 to purchase tickets or email Tanya Wilson at tanya@hendersonvance.org.

A joint collaboration of the local Chamber of Commerce, Vance County Tourism, Vance County Economic Development Commission and the City of Henderson Downtown Development Commission, “An Evening Beneath the Stars” is being planned for the Breckenridge Street area between McGregor Hall and the Henderson Police Department.

Proceeds from the event will go toward the American Legion Post 60 mission to further enhance the newly installed veterans’ memorial located in the traffic circle just outside the police department entrance.

In information from the Chamber publicizing the event, organizers described it as “a breathtaking evening of patriotism, remembrance, and community as we celebrate 250 years of the American spirit. We will gather to honor our nation’s history, reflect on its resilience, and invest in its future. This unforgettable evening will feature live entertainment, inspiring tributes, fine dining, and moments of remembrance that unite us all.”

Wilkerson and Vance County Tourism’s Pam Hester were guests on Monday’s TownTalk to discuss how the event took shape and the plan for making it an annual event.

Collaboration is a key ingredient for the success of any event, Hester said. It’s important to show the community that different agencies and groups are working together for a common goal.

“The only way to make things successful is to come together as a group,” Hester said. “Everybody does a part. Some people like to be up front and some people like to be in the back. I’m one of those “in the back” people,” she said. “I like to be behind the scenes.”

For Wilkerson, it was a no-brainer to seek partnerships with the city and county agencies.

When the four groups came together to start the planning, the Sept. 11 date bubbled up. And that’s when they realized that this year marks the 25th anniversary of 9/11. The veterans’ memorial, newly installed on Breckenridge Street, became the perfect backdrop for the dinner, she added.

“It’s going to be a very memorable event,” Wilkerson said.

The goal is to make this an annual event that folks want to come back for.

And that’s where the third prong of the theme comes in: Build the Future.

Hester said she expects the monument to draw visitors – veterans and others – to the area. It’s another attraction for downtown Henderson, which gives folks another chance to experience how caring the people are and how wonderful the city is.

“We all have to have that that positive outlook and go from there,” Hester said.

 

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TownTalk: KTCOG Summit Coming October 8

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Early-bird registration continues through Aug. 31 for the Kerr-Tar Council of Governments annual economic summit that will be held in Vance County on Thursday, Oct. 8.

KTCOG’s Desiree Brooks is among the planners for this event, which will take place at McGregor Hall – and outside on Breckenridge Street – from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The conference will be held indoors, and a vendor market will pop up for the community to enjoy from 12 noon to 5 p.m., Brooks said on Thursday’s segment of TownTalk.

This year’s theme, “Rooted: Grounded Locally, Growing Regionally,” reflects how tourism – and especially agri-tourism – is attracting visitors to the five-county area and affecting farmers’ bottom lines.

This is the 6th annual summit, which rotates among the Kerr-Tar region that includes Vance, Granville, Warren, Franklin and Person, Brooks explained.

It’s a way for the counties, with their unique qualities, can work together to promote the entire region, she said.

The planning committee is still working on details, but Dr. Mary Hemphill will kick off the morning session, and N.C. State University’s Dr. Carla Barbieri will speak in the afternoon about sustainable tourism. Farmers from each county will participate in a panel discussion to share their insights and ideas about how agritourism is working for them.

Participants will have the chance to visit with numerous farmers and other vendors at the conclusion of the official part of the summit. They’ll be set up outside McGregor Hall on Breckenridge Street for a pop-up market of sorts, complete with live music from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., Brooks said.

It’s a way to celebrate and promote agritourism in the area, as well as inviting the community to learn more about what’s available right in their own backyard.

“Everybody has their own niche,” Brooks said, from the Warren County vineyard to the to the buffalo farm/wedding venue in Person County, farmers are learning how to innovate and create destinations that attract visitors from near and far.

Brooks said North Carolina values our farmers and agritourism is a way to highlight the region.

Register for the summit at

https://www.kerrtarcog.org/event/2026-rooted-summit-grounded-locally-growing-regionally

 

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TownTalk: Commissioners Consider Creating VAD Program For Owners Of Farmland

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Vance is one of only seven counties in the state that doesn’t have a voluntary agricultural district, or VAD, a program that provides landowners a way to support rural communities and protect working farmland from nuisance complaints and encroaching development.

At their Aug. 17 work session, the Vance County Board of Commissioners heard from Evan Davis, division director of the N.C. Dept. of Agriculture’s Farmland Preservation Division, who, along with county Soil and Water Conservation District Resource Conservation Manager Larry West and Cooperative Extension Director Dr. Wykia Macon, asked commissioners to consider creating a VAD for the county.

As the name implies, this designation is a voluntary program that landowners enroll in.

It’s something West and Macon have been investigating and working on for a year or more.

A VAD is a first step in farmland preservation, Davis said, who said North Carolina ranks as the second-most threatened state in the country in terms of farmland over the past 20 years and projected farmland loss over the next 20 years.

A VAD is “a very important tool in the toolbox to help mitigate farmland loss,” Davis said.

Creating a VAD requires a county ordinance and the program is usually administered by the soil and water district or by the local cooperative extension. A citizen advisory board is the group responsible for approving or denying applications based on the criteria for enrollment.

If Vance County proceeds with creating a VAD, enrolled farms would be included on county GIS maps so buyers of neighboring properties would know that a working farm is nearby and they can expect the “sights, sounds and smells” that go along with farming and agriculture.

A landowner may withdraw from the VAD without penalty or fees by making the request in writing. It usually becomes effective in 30 days.

About one-third of counties have what is known as an enhanced VAD, which does have a 10-year irrevocable agreement, Davis said.

To learn more, visit

https://www.ncagr.gov/divisions/farmland-preservation/vad/county-info

 

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