Tag Archive for: #towntalk

Henderson Tobacco Warehouse

Town Talk 11/10/20: Henderson Tobacco Warehouse Revitalization Project

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100.1 FM ~ 1450 AM ~ WIZS, Your Community Voice ~ Click to LISTEN LOCAL

Alexandra Green, vice president and director of operations of the Baltimore-based Acquest Group, and Jason Spriggs, Henderson City Councilmember (4th Ward At-Large), appeared on WIZS Town Talk Tuesday at 11 a.m.

Green discussed Acquest’s revitalization plans for the 87,5000 square foot historic tobacco warehouse on Zene Street located within walking distance of downtown Henderson, NC.

Phase One of the project includes the completion of a healthy food market. Deemed a low income and low food access community by the USDA, Green said Henderson qualifies as a “food desert” with many residents relying on SNAP benefits to feed their families.

According to the project’s website (www.hendersontobaccowarehouse.org), in addition to providing the community with fresh, locally-sourced food products, the market will also require a full staff to run day-to-day operations, retail sales and building management.

The Acquest Group estimates that Phase One will employ 40 full-time employees and be open to serve customers at least 80 hours per week, averaging more than $64,000 in weekly SNAP sales and $169,400 in total sales every week.

Rendering of the revitalized Henderson Tobacco Warehouse by Ben Althoff, B.A. Art Services –https://www.baartservices.com

“This is an exciting opportunity for the east side of Henderson to have access to fresh foods and other opportunities that we’ve been requesting for years,” said Spriggs. “I always tell people that I’m all in, and we are going to see it through.”

Describing Acquest as a family-based development firm in operation for 40 years, Green said community projects such as these are the “lifeblood” of the group.

“We love doing land development; we love building subdivisions and commercial spaces, but what we are passionate about doing is building communities, especially communities of color and low-income areas,” said Green.

Green said the group’s partnerships with the Henderson-Vance County Chamber of Commerce, Henderson City Council, local USDA office and NC Cooperative Extension office, along with the excitement and support of the community, are making this project a reality.

While she admits the timeline is “ambitious,” Green believes construction on the warehouse can begin in early 2021.

To ensure success, Green said the project begins with food security, job availability and economic opportunities with plans to expand to include affordable housing and investment in youth.

“We know this project can’t be successful without a plan to bring up the entire neighborhood,” stated Green. “We don’t see a point in bringing in amenities and services without making an effort to drastically improve the living situation of our neighbors in this community.”

Green continued, “We are dedicated to improving lives, not only through food access but also with affordable and safe housing, improved neighborhood walkability, educational opportunities and with our business incubator and marketplace. We are eager to empower locals to start their own businesses and build generational and community wealth.”

To learn more about the warehouse revitalization project, please visit www.hendersontobaccowarehouse.org.

To hear the interview in its entirety, go to WIZS.com and click on Town Talk.

WIZS Election Coverage

Town Talk 11/9/20: Boyd Continues Discussion on Presidential Election

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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.

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…

WIZS Election Coverage

Town Talk 11/6/20: Developments in the Presidential Election

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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…

WIZS Election Coverage

Town Talk 11/5/20: Remaining Pathways to Presidential Victory

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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…

I Voted Sticker

Town Talk 11/4/20: Democrats Sweep Local Elections

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100.1 FM ~ 1450 AM ~ WIZS, Your Community Voice ~ Click to LISTEN LOCAL

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.

Election Day

Town Talk 11/3/20: Stay Tuned to WIZS for Election Coverage!

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100.1 FM ~ 1450 AM ~ WIZS, Your Community Voice ~ Click to LISTEN LOCAL

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 –

https://player.listenlive.co/53101

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!

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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…

American Flag

Town Talk 11/02/20: Cooper vs. Forest, Tillis vs. Cunningham

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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.

Vance County, NC

Town Talk 10/29/20: History of Williamsboro, NC

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100.1 FM ~ 1450 AM ~ WIZS, Your Community Voice ~ Click to LISTEN LOCAL

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.

S-Line Rail Corridor

Town Talk 10/28/20: $47.5 Million Grant to Help Reconnect S-Line Rail Corridor

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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)

American Flag

Town Talk 10/27/20: The Importance of the Electoral College & Your Vote

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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 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.