Tag Archive for: #vancecountynews

FSU Bronco Roundup Set For July 11 At Fox Pond Park

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Attention, Fayetteville State University alumni in the four-county area:

The annual Bronco Roundup & Sendoff is just a few weeks off and organizers hope alums will join in the fun!

The FSU Alumni Chapter representing Vance, Granville, Warren and Franklin counties is hosting the free event on Saturday, July 22 beginning at 2 p.m. at Fox Pond Park Shelter #1.

Please RSVP by texting 252.213.5977 by July 10, so organizers can plan appropriately.

This event is open to any FSU alumni in the area, according to contact person Tannis Jenkins.

Power Of Attorney, Wills And Trusts Topic Of July 11 Meeting

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The public is invited to come out and learn more about a couple of legal processes at an upcoming Community Info Series.

Join attorney Nathan Baskerville on July 11 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. as he explains details about the process of being a power of attorney and wills and trusts.

The informational meeting will be held in the Baskerville Funeral Home Chapel, located at 104. S. Chestnut St. in Henderson.

For more information call 252-430-6824 or 919-624-5752 or email cbaskervillefuneralhome@gmail.com.

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VGCC’s Edmonds Elected To Chair Triangle NC IDEA Foundation

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– information courtesy of VGCC Public Information Officer Courtney Cissel

Vance-Granville Community College has announced Dr. Jerry Edmonds III, Vice President of Workforce and Community Engagement, is the newly elected chair for Triangle 501(c)(3) NC IDEA.

NC IDEA is a Durham-based, independent private foundation committed to equitably empowering North Carolinians to achieve their entrepreneurial potential. Through a powerful combination of competitive grants and programs and a network of strategic partners, the organization supports the state’s most ambitious entrepreneurs as they transform their communities. Edmonds served on the organization’s board for two years prior to his election as chair; he has also been part of its North  Carolina Black Entrepreneurship Council (NC BEC) since its formation in 2020.

“NC IDEA is fortunate to have a visionary board comprised of accomplished business leaders with the  bold ambition to empower North Carolinians to achieve their entrepreneurial potential,” said Thom Ruhe, president and CEO of NC IDEA. “Our directors are distinguished members of the state’s entrepreneurial ecosystem,” Ruhe stated.

Before entering the higher education field, Edmonds held a variety of executive leadership positions for major corporations and has received numerous awards in areas including training, recruitment, marketing and leadership. He brought those perspectives to his roles as dean of Workforce and Economic Development and Small Business Center Director at Halifax Community College before joining VGCC’s executive team in 2019.

In  2018, Edmonds launched Willow Creek Tennis Retreat, LLC and the Edmonds Tennis and Education  Foundation, dedicated to utilizing the game of tennis to provide academic and athletic opportunities for  under-resourced youth throughout rural North Carolina.

Edmonds is joined on the NC IDEA Board by three newly elected members and six returning board  members, including past VGCC President Dr. Stelfanie Williams.

Learn more about NC IDEA and its vision to empower the state’s entrepreneurs at https://ncidea.org/

 

 

 

 

N.C. First Lady Kristin Cooper Stops In For A Visit On 100-County Tour

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North Carolina First Lady Kristin Cooper paid a visit to downtown Henderson today as part of her statewide tour to visit all 100 counties.

Cooper toured McGregor Hall with Director Mark Hopper and other local officials before heading to George’s for lunch and then stopping by Sadie’s Coffee Corner, Nella Roo’s Boutique and the Vance County Arts Council before departing by mid-afternoon.

“This place is absolutely amazing,” Cooper told members of the media following the tour of McGregor Hall. “I didn’t expect to see something like this…y’all should be real proud of it.”

Cooper made her way across the state not so much by geography, but in alphabetical order. “This is my 98th county,” she noted.

She said she’s had a wonderful reception everywhere she’s visited, and as a self-professed “city girl,” has learned a lot about what North Carolina has to offer.

“It’s amazing to see the pride of place that people have,” she continued. “Even cities that are struggling…have enormous pride in their community” and are willing to sacrifice to make it better.

Throughout her tour, she’s ridden ferries, climbed mountains, walked in forests and on sand dunes. And now, having completed her tour in this community, she can add McGregor Hall and downtown Henderson to the list.

Vance County’s issues surrounding public education, health care and attracting medical professionals and educators to rural areas are not unique, unfortunately, she said.

Cooper encourages individuals to get out and find destinations in the state that may be unfamiliar.
“There may be something great just around the corner from you,” she said.

Maria Parham Health Adds Midwife For Womens’ Health Care

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-information courtesy of Donna Young, Maria Parham Health marketing & communication coordinator

Maria Parham Health has announced that Sofronia Germany, MSN, CNM has joined its staff and will be offering midwife services to patients throughout Henderson, Vance County and the surrounding area.

“We are pleased to welcome Sofronia Germany to our Maria Parham team,” said Bert Beard, CEO of Maria Parham Health. “Women’s care is an important need in our community, and Germany‘s midwifery experience will go a long way toward giving our area’s parents more choices in their families’ care. She is an important addition as Maria Parham Health works to make our community healthier.”

Germany graduated Magna Cum Laude from The University of Cincinnati in Ohio and was a student Nurse Midwife at CareConnect OBGYN in Cordele, Georgia. Germany is an advanced practice midwife, and specializes in care during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period; sexual and reproductive health; gynecologic health; and family planning services, including preconception care. She is seeing patients at her offices at Maria Parham Women’s Care. For a referral or to schedule an appointment, please call 800.424.DOCS.

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The Local Skinny! City Council Adopts 2023-24 Budget

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The Henderson City Council adopted the 2023-24 budget at its regular monthly meeting Monday evening, but it was not a unanimous vote. The budget was approved on a 3-2 vote, with three council members absent. Council members Jason Spriggs, Ola Thorpe-Cooper and Lamont Noel voted to approve the budget, with Garry Daeke and Mike Rainey casting a ‘no’ vote.

Council members Melissa Elliott, Sara Coffey and Marion Brodie Williams were not present at the meeting. Daeke said Monday evening to WIZS after the meeting that although he was in favor of raising revenues, he thought the 3.8 cent tax increase was too much. Rainey said that the upcoming revaluation would bring extra revenue to the city’s coffers as well.

Mayor Eddie Ellington said if he had been called to break a tie vote, he would have voted against approval of the budget.

“The city’s budget is of the utmost importance and will have major consequences for the following fiscal year,” Ellington told WIZS News. “I have expressed my concerns during the budget work sessions and I am against raising our city tax rate and placing the burden on our taxpaying citizens, especially during this time of uncertainty with a county wide property value revaluation already underway.”

The budget includes a 3.8-cent tax increase and sanitation fee increases, but as of now, no increases in water and sewer rates.

The tax rate in the new budget is .75, up from .71 per $100 valuation, and the sanitation fee will rise to $32, up from $29.

The $23.4 million budget calls for a $1,500 bonus for all full-time employees of the city in lieu of a COLA (cost of living adjustment), except members of the police department, whose salary increases were approved in March.

The council received the budget on May 8,  and had several work sessions and offered at least one public hearing since then. The increases in the tax and sanitation fees is expected to add more than $500,000 to the city’s coffers.

These proposed increases would be the first since 2014, and Blackmon said there could be a slight increase in the water rate in the near future, now that financing for the Kerr Lake Regional Water System has been secured.

“Additional revenues will help sustain a stable fund balance to balance the budget and to help meet increased costs related to salaries, utilities, supplies such as chemicals, and other expenses impacted by inflation,” Blackmon told WIZS last week.

Some of the capital outlay expenditures budget highlights include IT upgrades police vehicles and equipment, fire truck upfitting and redevelopment.

Capital projects include McGregor Hall signage, Food Truck Court and redevelopment through land purchasing initiatives.

The Council also voted unanimously 5-0 to approve the request for purchase of bulletproof vests. Police Chief Marcus Barrow said the vests have a five-year life expectancy. The department has just hired four new officers, and the vests, which are custom made for each officer, will be provided. Barrow said the department is hoping to get additional funds from the N.C. League of Municipalities to help defray the cost of the vests.

The city is a step shy of designating a “social district,” which allows for public consumption of alcohol within a specifically defined area of downtown. The council approved giving the city manager authority to say “yay” or “nay” when event organizers request permission for the public to consume alcohol during particular events, upon his first receiving a recommendation on the request from a committee comprised largely of public safety officials.

Council also approved a request from Recreation and Parks to pursue a $150,000 grant from Triangle North Healthcare Foundation as it continues with construction of the new park at William and Montgomery streets, on property that once was the site of the Vance Hotel.

CLICK PLAY!

 

Repair Café Coming To Oxford June 24

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Let’s face it: we’ve probably all got some item in our homes that just doesn’t work like it used to – it’s broken, but it’s not SO broken that you’re ready to throw it away.

Mark June 24 on your calendar and bring that item to the Repair Café workshop in Oxford.

Repair Café is bringing its free workshop to Oxford United Methodist Church from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on June 24, according to Don Fick, a resident of Oxford who is organizing the event.

The idea is simple: Individuals bring common household items and receive repair assistance from volunteer coaches. Items commonly seen at Repair Café are lamps, tabletop appliances, furniture, toys and jewelry. A wide variety of tools and talented repair coaches are on-hand to demonstrate repair techniques in collaboration with item owners. With only basic repair parts and no assistance from manufacturers, Repair Cafés typically see 65 percent of items go home fully repaired.

“As we emerge from the challenges of the pandemic, people are recognizing that basic repair skills are essential to building resilience, saving money, and conserving natural resources,” Fick said.

The global repair movement has embraced the Repair Café concept of community members freely helping their neighbors learn to repair and maintain common household items, extending their useful life, and reducing the burden of unnecessary consumption and waste. Recent appearances on NBC’s Today, NPR’s Weekend Edition, and the New York Times’ Wirecutter are raising awareness of the work being done in communities large and small across the US and around the world.

Online registration is recommended at https://www.repaircafenc.org/events/oxford-june24. Walk-ins are always welcome. Interested guests and prospective volunteers are encouraged to contact the organizers with any questions by email (repaircafenc@gmail.com).

Oxford United Methodist Church is located at 105 W McClanahan St.

See the full list of upcoming events at https://www.repaircafenc.org/upcoming-events.

Vance County Appoints Interim Manager with Over 20 Years Experience

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Vance County appointed D. Scott Elliott as the interim county manager. He started working on June 1, according to information received today.

Elliott recently retired as Pitt County’s manager and had more than 20 years in that county. He also serves as a senior advisor to local government managers across the state through professional organizations of the ICMA and NCCCMA.

“We are delighted to welcome Scott Elliott as our interim county manager,” said Yolanda Feimster, chair of the board of commissioners. “His extensive experience and proven leadership will be instrumental in advancing our county’s strategic objectives and meeting the needs of our residents. We have full confidence in his ability to drive operational excellence and build strong partnerships within our community.”

In his role as interim manager, Elliott will oversee the day-to-day operations of Vance County and work closely with elected officials, department heads and staff to ensure the delivery of high-quality services to residents.

Public Safety Committee Releases Fire Dept. Restructuring Plan To Be Sent To Commissioners

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The county’s Public Safety Committee released a proposal Wednesday that it plans to submit to the board of commissioners that will begin the restructuring of the county’s fire departments, a move that includes a pay bump for part-time fire staff, a hiring freeze for open positions within the Vance County Fire Department and hiring a consultant to oversee the restructuring process.

The proposal will be presented to the board at a special called meeting on June 14; if it is approved, it would mean amendments to the county budget, which must be adopted by June 30.

More than 25 citizens attended the meeting, held in the commissioners’ conference room Wednesday afternoon, many of whom wore shirts bearing the names of the fire departments they represented: Cokesbury, Epsom, Bearpond, among others.

Commissioner Dan Brummitt said the proposal includes changing the Golden Belt fire district from its current independent, purely county, full-time, status to a split, paid, part-time, part-volunteer department.

Brummitt added that the committee’s proposal does not recommend moving staff from the Golden Belt district, but said the department will need to find additional volunteers.

Brummitt suggested that the department would have the next few months to find those volunteers; in October, the proposal calls for eliminating all paid part-time Vance County Fire Department (Golden Belt) positions. “Through attrition of full time employees, savings would be used to pay for part-time employees,” the proposal states.

Chris Wright, currently the county fire marshal and the county fire chief, expressed concern about the availability of volunteers to help staff the department.

“There are a lot of holes in this and a whole lot of legal liability,” Wright said of the proposal, which also includes separating the fire marshal job from the fire chief job.

As Brummitt explained the details of the plan, he said splitting these duties would mean the fire marshal could oversee all the county’s fire departments and be a liaison between them and the county. Both would be internal hires, he said.

The plan also calls for the Kerr Lake fire department to become a satellite of the Golden Belt department. Any department with a satellite department would get $10,000 added to the annual $100,000 county allotment. Plans will be in place to pay off the debt of the Kerr Lake substation from fire tax funds.

2 Vance Charter Lacrosse Players Make All-State Team

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-information courtesy of Vance Charter School Lacrosse Coach Dan Sandlin

Vance Charter School is excited to share that two student athletes have propelled to All State in lacrosse. Junior, attackman, Gavyn Sandlin, and Senior defenseman, Daniel Mangum, have both taken a spot on the All State lacrosse team for NCHSAA 1A/2A/3A. Both serving as Captains during this season, Sandlin and Mangum were also named to the All Region team and All Conference players. Mangum was the Vance Charter School Defensive Player of the Year, while Sandlin was the Offensive Player of the Year.

Sandlin reached the 200 career point mark, finishing out with 218 points over his last three seasons. This season, Sandlin finished with 52 goals and 29 assists, putting him among the top point getters in the 1A/2/3A East Division. Last year, Sandlin was also named to the All Conference, All Region and All State teams, finishing out being named a US Lacrosse All American. He finished this season strong.

Mangum had 65 ground balls and 35 takeaways after a strong season. His defensive skills allowed him to excel on the field as a constant leader. Mangum brought an amazing level of energy to the field each day at practice and games.  This energy was contagious, and the rest of the team would feed off of his energy.

The Vance Charter Knights had a strong season finishing at the top of the conference, making it to the second round of state playoffs for the second consecutive year, and having All Region and All State representation the last two years.