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Brandon Boyd, Vance County resident, businessman and guest co-host, appeared on WIZS Town Talk Monday at 11 a.m.
Continuing his discussion from Friday’s special edition of Town Talk, Boyd updated listeners on weekend developments in the presidential election.
Click play to hear the discussion…
100.1 FM ~ 1450 AM ~ WIZS, Your Community Voice ~ Click to LISTEN LOCAL
Brandon Boyd, Vance County resident, businessman and guest co-host, appeared on a special edition of WIZS Town Talk Friday at 11 a.m.
Boyd and WIZS Radio’s John Charles Rose continued their coverage of the presidential election and discussed the most recent developments. Callers also expressed their opinions and shared their insights.
Click play to hear the discussion…
100.1 FM ~ 1450 AM ~ WIZS, Your Community Voice ~ Click to LISTEN LOCAL
Brandon Boyd, Vance County resident, businessman and guest co-host, appeared on WIZS Town Talk Thursday at 11 a.m.
Boyd and WIZS’ John Charles Rose discussed the latest election developments as well as Trump’s and Biden’s remaining pathways to a presidential victory. Callers also expressed their opinions and shared their insights.
Click play to hear the interview in its entirety…
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In a special post-election segment of WIZS Town Talk Wednesday at 11 a.m., local results dominated the discussion.
Even in the midst of a pandemic, enough Vance County voters cast ballots to top the 2016 election totals. According to the NC State Board of Elections, 71 percent (21,062 out of 29,702) of registered Vance County voters voted in the 2020 election versus 66 percent in 2016.
Locally, Democratic candidates emerged victorious. In the Vance County Board of Commissioners District 2 race, incumbent Archie B. Taylor, Jr. (DEM) defeated challenger Michael B. Fisher (UN). Taylor received 1,672 votes, or 60 percent, to Fisher’s 1,123 votes, or 40 percent.
With this win, Taylor maintains the position he has held with the Board since 2012.
In the District 3 NC Senate race, Vance County resident Thomas “Tommy” Hester, Jr. (REP) lost to Bertie County resident Ernestine Bazemore (DEM). Bazemore received 45,246, or 52 percent, of the votes to Hester’s 41,775, or 48 percent.
The District 3 seat represents Beaufort, Bertie, Martin, Northampton, Vance and Warren counties and consists of 85 precincts.
For the NC House of Representatives District 32 seat, Vance County resident and incumbent Terry E. Garrison (DEM) defeated David Woodson (REP) with 61 percent of the vote. Garrison received 23,967 votes to Woodson’s 15,221.
In the Vance Soil & Water Conservation District Supervisor contest, B.K. Stainback defeated Charles E. Powell by a vote of 10,303 to 6,983.
Uncontested Vance County Seats:
Carolyn Faines (DEM) – Vance County Board of Commissioners District 1
Dorothy Williams Gooche (DEM) – Vance County Board of Commissioners District 3
Leo Kelly, Jr. (DEM) – Vance County Board of Commissioners District 5
Yolanda J. Feimster (DEM) – Vance County Board of Commissioners District 6
Edward Wilson (DEM) – Vance County Board of Education District 4
Linda Faye Cobb (DEM) – Vance County Board of Education District 5
Note: Election data is unofficial until all votes are canvassed by the respective Boards of Election. Percentages reported above were rounded to the nearest whole number.
To hear the interview in its entirety, go to WIZS.com and click on Town Talk.
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Listen Local tonight after 7:30 when the polls close – 1450 AM / 100.1 FM
Listen Live online at anytime, anywhere with a computer, smartphone, tablet and connected devices and speakers –
WIZS is also on Tunein – https://tunein.com/radio/WIZS-1450-s29736/
Tell “Alexa” to “Listen to WIZS.com on Tunein.”We are right here with you, your local radio station, your community voice, your home on the radio!!
Turn the TV sound off. You’ll see all you need on the screen of the TV. Listen to local radio for the call of the Vance County Commissioners Race, Gubernatorial Race in NC, U.S. Senate, President.
We’ll also have our mix of Country, Beach, Oldies plus the added Big Bang/Jazz standards you’ve come to expect on Election Night on WIZS!
Brandon Boyd, Vance County resident, businessman and guest co-host, appeared on WIZS Town Talk Tuesday at 11 a.m. for a special Election Day 2020 presentation. Boyd will re-join for election night coverage this evening as well.
“America is going to speak to us tonight,” said Boyd. “She’s going to tell us the direction we are going to be heading for the next four years in terms of the President, the next six in terms of the Senate seats; lots of House seats also up for grabs tonight. It’s just going to be an exciting night for America.”
To hear the audio, click play…
100.1 FM ~ 1450 AM ~ WIZS, Your Community Voice ~ Click to LISTEN LOCAL
Brandon Boyd, Vance County resident, businessman and guest co-host, appeared on WIZS Town Talk Monday at 11 a.m.
Boyd discussed the backgrounds and platforms of North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper (Democrat) and challenger Dan Forest (Republican) as well as US Senator for NC Thom Tillis (Republican) and challenger Cal Cunningham (Democrat).
To hear the audio click play…
Locally, eligible Vance County residents will decide if Democrat Archie Taylor, Jr., the incumbent for the District 2 representative of the Vance County Board of Commissioners, will keep the position he has held since 2012 or if challenger Michael Fisher (running as unaffiliated) will take the seat.
Voters will also decide if Tommy Hester (Republican) of Vance County or Ernestine Bazemore (Democrat) of Bertie County will serve in the District 3 NC Senate seat.
With the conclusion of early voting on October 31, North Carolinians have Tuesday, November 3 (Election Day) to vote in the 2020 General Election. Those voting tomorrow must report to their designated polling place; voting hours are from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m.
Early morning and just before closing are typically the busiest times on Election Day. Those in line by 7:30 p.m. will be able to vote.
As a reminder, voters are not required to show ID for the 2020 election but will be asked to provide their name and address.
According to Vance County Board of Elections Director Faye Gill, 17,051 Vance County residents, or 58.6 percent, participated in early voting. Vance County currently has 29,075 registered voters.
In 2016, 66.3 percent of Vance County voters cast ballots in total (early voting and Election Day), according to the State Board of Elections.
To hear the interview with Boyd in its entirety, go to WIZS.com and click on Town Talk.
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Mark Pace, local historian and director of the NC Room at the Richard H. Thornton Library in Oxford, appeared on WIZS Town Talk Thursday at 11 a.m.
In the second installment of an ongoing Town Talk series focusing on the history of Henderson, Vance County and the immediate four-county vicinity, Pace and WIZS’ own Bill Harris discussed the origins and first families of Williamsboro, NC.
Established in the 1750s, the town was first known as “Lick,” then “Nutbush” and finally “Williamsboro.” One of its most well-known historical buildings is St. John’s Episcopal Church that remains today as the oldest standing wooden church building in North Carolina.
To give listeners an idea of the historical significance of Williamsboro, Pace explained that the State of NC conducted an architectural and historical survey of Vance County in 1977. Of the 97 structures identified as “significant” in Vance County, 25 were located in Williamsboro. Pace said, unfortunately, only 10-11 of those structures remain today.
“Many of these structures were significant plantation houses; they were structures that dated back to the 1700s,” said Pace. “They were also significant because of the important people that lived there and their association with state history.”
To hear the interview in its entirety, including discussion on Williamsboro’s consideration as the state capitol, additional historical properties and ghost stories, go to WIZS.com and click on Town Talk.
THIS STORY IS PRESENTED IN PART BY DRAKE DENTISTRY
Jason Orthner, Rail Division Director with the N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT), appeared on WIZS Town Talk Wednesday at 11 a.m.
Orthner discussed the $47.5 million federal grant awarded to the Rail Division for the purchase of the S-Line railroad corridor, part of the Southeast Corridor, between Raleigh and Ridgeway in Warren County, NC.
According to a recent NC DOT press release, the U.S. Department of Transportation named the Southeast Corridor as one of the first five federally designated higher-speed rail corridors in the country in 1992. The Southeast Corridor is a network of passenger and freight rail that runs from Washington, D.C. to Jacksonville, Fla., encompassing D.C., Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida.
“The [NC DOT Rail Division] grant is specifically related to the acquisition of the S-Line rail corridor that runs from Petersburg, VA, down through Henderson and Vance County, into Raleigh and continues south through Cary, Apex, Sanford and Hamlet,” said Orthner.
Providing a brief history of the railroad, Orthner said the route through Henderson dates back to the 1830s and is one of the original railroads built in the country.
“In the late 1980s, the service changed because they truncated the line at Norlina, so they removed the tracks between Petersburg and Norlina,” said Orthner. “It’s now underutilized because it’s a stub-ended route, and the freight can only come in and out one way. So the acquisition of the corridor includes looking at how we can enhance freight by reconnecting the line north while also expanding passenger opportunities. We think it’s a great opportunity to do both on this line through this acquisition.”
To continue the project north, Orthner said DOT partners in Virginia are involved in similar acquisitions to connect the remaining line from Ridgeway to Petersburg.
According to the NCDOT, the Southeast is projected to see one of the largest population growths in the country over the coming decades. With a corresponding increase in freight volume expected, Orthner said improving rail infrastructure will reduce highway congestion and expand connectivity for both passengers and goods between states.
To hear the interview in its entirety, go to WIZS.com and click on Town Talk.
The Southeast Corridor is a network of passenger and freight rail that runs from Washington, D.C. to Jacksonville, Fla., encompassing D.C., Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida. (Graphic courtesy the NCDOT)
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Brandon Boyd, Vance County resident, businessman and guest co-host, appeared on WIZS Town Talk Tuesday at 11 a.m.
Boyd discussed an often misunderstood topic – how the Electoral College works. As stated in the segment, the intention of the program was to be informative, factual and non-partisan.
Devised in 1787, the Electoral College is the formal body that elects the President and Vice President of the United States. It was established by Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution and modified by the 12th and 23rd Amendments. (Source: National Conference of State Legislatures)
Each state has as many ‘electors’ in the Electoral College as it has representatives and senators in the United States Congress. For North Carolina, that includes two senators and 13 representatives, for a total of 15 electors.
The Electoral College currently comprises 538 electors: one for each of the 435 members of the House of Representatives, 100 senators and three for Washington, D.C. A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the President and Vice President of the United States.
By this system, when an individual votes for a presidential candidate, a vote is also cast for the electors selected by the party of that candidate. If a majority of voters in a state vote for the Republican candidate, the Republican slate of electors is chosen. Likewise, if a majority vote for the Democratic candidate, the Democratic slate of electors is chosen.
Boyd said this indirect election system prohibits the largest metropolitan cities, with the majority of the country’s population, from deciding who will be president. “For example, in today’s time, if there was no Electoral College, then basically New York City, Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles and Houston would decide the leader for all of us,” explained Boyd. “The Electoral College really ensures that everyone’s vote does, in fact, count.”
It is possible – and has happened five times since the inception of the Electoral College – that a candidate can win the popular vote and still lose the election. In recent history, that includes Al Gore’s loss to George W. Bush in 2000 and Hillary Clinton’s loss to Donald J. Trump in 2016. (Source: History, Arts & Archives website of the U.S. House of Representatives)
“What you need to do is get out and vote,” Boyd said. “If you are a Donald Trump supporter, get to the polls. If you believe that America is better off with Joe Biden as its leader, get out to the polls and go vote. Your vote matters.”
To hear the interview in its entirety, including details on how individual states, counties and area codes matter in an election, go to WIZS.com and click on Town Talk.
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Lucette Mercer, deputy director of Green Rural Redevelopment, Inc. (GRRO), appeared on WIZS Town Talk Monday at 11 a.m.
Mercer announced that free COVID-19 community testing and resource distribution events will be held this week in Vance, Granville and Warren County.
On Wednesday, October 28, 2020, COVID-19 testing will be held from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. at the public parking lot on the corner of Chestnut St. and Breckenridge St. in downtown Henderson.
On Thursday, October 29, testing will be held from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. at the Greater New Hope Baptist Church drive-thru parking lot located at 515 Raleigh Street in Oxford.
Finally, on Friday, October 30, testing will be held from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. at the Warren County Armory Civic Center located at 501 US Highway 158 Business East in Warrenton.
Residents tested at the event will also receive free groceries, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and access to support services. Testing and distributions will be provided through drive-up service, with minimal or no-contact.
These scheduled events are possible through GRRO’s Healing Hearts @ Home Program’s community health initiative partnership with Cardinal Innovations Healthcare, Duke Health, Warren County Public Health, Groundwater Solutions, Inc. (Genesis Project), Warren County and the Warren County Branch of the NAACP.
In Vance County, Mercer said Henderson City Councilmember Marion Brodie Williams has been instrumental in bringing the testing event to fruition.
“Councilmember Brodie Williams has been really helpful with putting the partnership together between Cardinal Innovations Healthcare, GRRO and the Genesis Project 1/Groundwater Solutions, Inc., which is the Charlotte-based organization contracted for doing COVID testing across the state,” said Mercer. “She has been helpful in getting us access to facilities and the cooperation of the City of Henderson, fire and police departments in assisting with managing traffic and getting resources together.”
Remarking on the significance of testing events that also serve as resource distributions, Mercer stated, “The COVID numbers are going up in the state of NC and nationwide. There are serious limitations to the resources that are available to the more rural areas. We really want people to understand how important it is that they are aware of their COVID-19 status and to know that there are support services available to them should they become infected.”
For additional information on GRRO and its mission, please visit www.grronc.org.
To hear the interview in its entirety, go to WIZS.com and click on Town Talk.
