-Information courtesy Henry L. Gupton, Clerk of Superior Court, Vance County
All Vance County Government buildings will be closed tomorrow, Friday, September 14. The Clerk of Court’s Office will also be closed and will plan to reopen on Monday, September 17.
Vance County court sessions scheduled for Thursday, September 13 and Friday, September 14 have also been canceled.
-Information courtesy the Vance County Government Facebook page
Due to the weather, all Vance County Solid Waste Convenience Sites will close at 3 p.m. today, September 13, and will re-open on regular schedule Monday, September 17, 2018.
-Information courtesy Brian K. Short, Director of Emergency Operations, Henderson-Vance County Emergency Operations
In preparation for Hurricane Florence, Vance County will be opening an emergency shelter at the former Eaton Johnson Middle School building, located on Beckford Drive in Henderson at 5 p.m. today. Please do not arrive prior to that time and please eat before you arrive as food may not be available at typical meal times.
If you have a pet that you wish to shelter, you will need to take them to the Vance County Animal Shelter, located on Brodie Road in Henderson. Your pet will remain there and you will report to the emergency shelter at the school. You and your pet will be reunited after the storm.
Please remember to bring essential items with you, such as necessary medications, a change of clothes, toiletry items, a pillow and blanket, snacks and other comfort items. These items will not be provided to you, so pack smart. If you are a resident with special needs, you will need to bring essential, life-sustaining items with you to the shelter and your caregiver will need to remain in the shelter with you through the storm.
NO WEAPONS OF ANY KIND WILL BE ALLOWED IN THE SHELTER AND LAW ENFORCEMENT WILL BE PRESENT.
This is an emergency shelter only that is being established for the storm and it will promptly close as soon as the winds subside and conditions are safe to do so.
-Information courtesy Brian K. Short, Director of Emergency Operations, Henderson-Vance County Emergency Operations
PROCLAMATION OF A STATE OF EMERGENCY
The following Proclamation is issued by the Mayor of the City of Henderson and the Chairman of the Vance County Board of Commissioners:
WHEREAS, information from the National Weather Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other sources indicate that a significant tropical weather system is approaching North Carolina and is likely to produce considerable wind and rain; and
WHEREAS, this wind and rain may cause local and widespread flooding and flash flooding, and may also cause downed trees and power outages; and
WHEREAS, there is a high probability that this storm will create travel and other hazards for the citizens of Vance County and the City of Henderson within the next several hours; and
WHEREAS, the weather conditions associated with this tropical system are such as to constitute a potential and imminent threat to life and property;
NOW, THEREFORE, pursuant to the authority contained in Article 1 of N.C.G.S. Chapter 166A, Article 36A of N.C.G.S. Chapter 14, and Section 5 of the Local Emergency Management Ordinance, I, Eddie Ellington, Mayor of the City of Henderson, and I, Thomas S. Hester, Chairman of the Vance County Board of Commissioners do hereby proclaim that a State of Emergency exists within the City of Henderson and County of Vance.
I further proclaim that the ordinances set forth below, which are contained in Section 5 of the Local Emergency Management Ordinance of Vance County are necessary in order to maintain an acceptable level of public order, services, and protection of lives, safety and property during this emergency, and that the same shall be in effect within the City of Henderson and County of Vance until this Proclamation expires or is rescinded. I hereby order all City and County law enforcement officers, public safety personnel and all other emergency management personnel subject to my control to cooperate in the enforcement and implementation of the emergency ordinances set forth below.
A.
General Emergency Protective Measures are in place. No public restrictions are imposed at this time
I further proclaim that the Emergency Operations Plan adopted by the City of Henderson and County of Vance, and all applicable mutual assistance compacts and agreements are in effect and shall remain in effect until this proclamation expires or is rescinded. All emergency personnel are hereby ordered to cooperate in the implementation of the provisions of the Emergency Operations Plan and all applicable mutual assistance compacts and agreements and to furnish assistance thereunder.
I direct that copies of this Proclamation be disseminated to the mass communications media for publication and broadcast and that a copy of this Proclamation be posted in City Hall as well as the Vance County Courthouse and other public buildings as appropriate.
This Proclamation shall be effective immediately and shall remain in effect for a period of five days unless sooner rescinded pursuant to G.S. 14-288.16.
Proclaimed this the 12th day of September 2018 at 4 p.m.
Eddie Ellington, Mayor, City of Henderson
Thomas Hester, Jr., Chairman, Vance County Board of Commissioners
The public forum for Vance County Sheriff candidates Curtis Brame, Charles Pulley and Allen Simmons originally scheduled for Sunday, September 16, 2018, has been rescheduled for Sunday, October 14 from 3 – 5 p.m. in the Vance County Commissioners’ Room of the old courthouse, 122 Young St., Henderson.
Hosted by the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce, The Daily Dispatch and WIZS Radio, the forum will allow each candidate the opportunity to make an opening statement followed by a question and answer session from representatives of the Chamber, the Dispatch and WIZS. Each candidate will also be given the opportunity to make a two-minute closing statement.
The public will be given an opportunity to suggest the questions that will be asked at the forum. Those questions should be submitted to john@hendersonvance.org, by noon on Friday, October 12. Prior to the forum, a panel represented by the media and the Chamber’s governmental affairs committee will select the order of questions.
The public will also be given the chance to submit questions to the panel on the day of the forum. For more information, contact the Chamber of Commerce at (252) 438-8414 or sandra@hendersonvance.org.
The public is invited and encouraged to attend.
*WIZS Radio will be recording the forum from 3 – 5 p.m. and airing it in its entirety from 5 – 7 p.m. the same day, Sunday, October 14, following the broadcast of the Carolina Panthers game. It will also be live streamed on wizs.com and posted to wizs.com as a podcast for repeat listening.
-Press Release, Triangle North Healthcare Foundation
Triangle North Healthcare Foundation’s Board of Directors has approved $343,450 in grant awards to local organizations in the Foundation’s sixth annual grant cycle. With the 2018 grant award, the Foundation’s contributions to the community total $1.5 million since the Foundation began grantmaking in 2013.
“The primary purpose of our grantmaking is to invest in organizations that share our mission to improve health in our region,” said Val Short, executive director for the Foundation. The 2018 grant awards will fund 12 projects presented by nonprofits and agencies that serve local communities—and all of them will focus on community health and health improvement programs throughout the four-county region. “Our hope is that these grant awards will result in improved health and healthier outcomes for children and adults in Vance, Warren, Granville, and Franklin counties,” said Short.
The 12 grants approved by the board fall under one or more of the five funding priorities established by the Foundation in 2013, including chronic disease, mental health and substance abuse, nutrition and physical activity, reproductive health, and success in school as related to health and wellness.
Most of the 2018 grant projects focus on chronic disease management and prevention and mental health and substance abuse. The TNHF grantees will provide a broad range of approaches to improving health– from programs that provide healing and support to traumatized children, to programs that provide strategies for managing chronic disease, to programs that provide care, treatment, and support for those with substance abuse disorders. “In all of our grant programs, health and wellness are at the heart of the work they will do,” said Short.
A list of the grant recipients and their projects for 2018-19 include:
Located in Henderson, Triangle North Healthcare Foundation provides grants to nonprofit organizations, governmental agencies, and schools in Vance, Warren, Granville, and Franklin counties. The Foundation’s grant funding mission has been made possible by the endowment that was established after Maria Parham Health merged with the for-profit Duke-Lifepoint in 2011.
The Foundation will launch a new grant cycle in the spring of 2019, but in the meantime, the Foundation staff is available to discuss ideas for grant projects or to provide assistance with grant writing. Information about our grantees and future grant opportunities is available on the website at www.tnhfoundation.org or call 252-598-0763.
Updated Wednesday, Sept. 12 at 11 a.m.
WIZS will be bringing you updates on Hurricane Florence as new information is received. Please check the WIZS website, Facebook page and listen live to WIZS 1450 AM and 100.1 FM for updates throughout the week. The latest briefing from the National Weather Service can be found any time by clicking here.
Information is provided courtesy Brian K. Short, director of Henderson-Vance County Emergency Operations.
(Click here for WIZS audio of this Story)
Brian K. Short, director of Henderson-Vance County Emergency Operations, was on Wednesday’s edition of WIZS Town Talk program to provide updates on Hurricane Florence as of 11 a.m. Florence has taken a more southerly turn and, at the moment, presents less of a threat to the local area.
“It’s safe to say our situation looks significantly better than it did 24 hours ago,” said Short. “If the storm takes the south or southwest track that they think it will, our impact will be much, much less than expected this time yesterday.”
Short urges caution even with an improved forecast, “It will still make impact as a major storm. I don’t believe we need to let our guard down because things can change with little or no notice.”
The present forecast shows wind gusts of approximately 25-35 mph and rainfall of 3-5 inches for the local area. The likelihood of flooding and flash flooding has also decreased over recent hours.
Florence is currently expected to make landfall around mid-afternoon on Friday but so much still depends on the speed at which it moves. “The forward momentum of the storm has picked up, but it is expected to stall later today or tomorrow,” Short said.
Yesterday, officials discussed opening the former Eaton Johnson Middle School building, 500 N. Beckford Dr., Henderson, mid-day on Thursday. According to Short, the change in forecast may prompt the shelter to be opened as late as Thursday evening, Friday morning, or, depending on Florence’s path, not at all.
If opened, the shelter would provide physical refuge from the storm but would not provide food, clothing or supplies. “This would be a place to stay only. You would need to bring the things you could not live without but don’t pack like you’re going on vacation,” said Short.
A decision about the shelter’s opening is expected later today.
-Press Release, North Carolina Loggers Association
As Hurricane Florence’s wind speeds currently surpass 130 mph, North Carolina loggers are bracing for the hurricane expected to make landfall on the Carolina coast Thursday night as a Category 4 or 5 storm. Major lumber and paper mills powering the state’s $29.4 billion dollar forestry business, along with the loggers harvesting its abundant natural resource, currently lie directly in its path.
Recent massive rainstorms across the state the past month have already slowed logging operations. Hurricane Florence is expected to compound the issue.
North Carolina has about 18.8 million acres of timberland. According to North Carolina State University, the forest products community leads the manufacturing sector within the state. Forest products impact the state’s economy, with more than 1,000 companies directly contributing to North Carolina’s forest industry that employs more than 70,000 individuals.
Photo of Brett McHenry with Brett McHenry’s Logging (Photo Credit Ed Lallo)
“It’s essential, first and foremost, for our loggers and mill operators to be out of harms way by the time the storm hits land,” said Ewell Smith, Executive Director of the Carolina Loggers Association, a non-profit corporation organized to promote logging professionalism and business opportunities for the state’s forest products network. “Currently, the loggers are in the process of securing job sites and bringing in as many logs as possible to the mills to keep them going in the wake of the storm. As one of the state’s largest business sectors vital to our economy, any major disruption in production will definitely create a significant economic ripple for small and large businesses alike.”
According to Smith, the wood and paper mills are just the tip of usage for forestry products. There are numerous other products that are dependent on the same resource and will be impacted from the storm; glass on cell phones, toothpaste, gum for chewing and gluing, as well as America’s favorite McDonalds McFlurry with Oreo Cookies.
Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina, along with his counterparts in South Carolina and Virginia, has already declared a state of emergency. The governor has signed an executive order that waives truck weight limits for “crops ready to be harvested” which includes timber.
The office of North Carolina’s Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler is continuing to watch the path of Hurricane Florence that has the potential to be a powerful and devastating storm.
“Our state has witnessed the destructive effects of hurricane-force winds and heavy rains in the past, so we know we need to be prepared,” said the Agriculture Commissioner. “Farmers and timber owners need to review their emergency plans, stock up on supplies, compile emergency contact information and monitor weather updates to keep their families safe. We are prepared to work with our state and local partners to help our agriculture and forestry community if the need arises.”
Sitting 116 miles from the coast, Brett McHenry Logging in Wilson, NC has been hit by multiple storms in the past. “Wilson’s my community,” said owner Brett McHenry. “This will definitely be the worst storm we’ve ever had to prepare for. We just finished cutting and now we’re picking up any logs and squaring up our sites and equipment.”
According to Smith, “Hurricane Florence has the potential to bring a vast amount of rain and wind,” he said. “Flooded and saturated lands only compound the issues with the increased safety risks for our loggers while cleaning up fallen trees. Again the number one issue right now is for our logging and forestry communities, as well as people living in wooded areas, to get out of harm’s way of Hurricane Florence.”
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Contact: Ewell Smith
504-884-4585 esmith@ncloggers.com
The CLA is a nonprofit corporation organized to promote professionalism and business opportunities for members. The CLA is a 501(c)(6) non-profit business league. CLA focuses on regional, state and national business issues
Ewell Smith was the former Executive Director of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board who has weathered four disastrous hurricanes including Hurricane Katrina.
Information courtesy The First Baptist Church, Henderson
The second Thursday Food Distribution at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market originally scheduled for this Thursday, September 13, has been canceled due to anticipated weather conditions.
-Information courtesy Henry L. Gupton, Clerk of Superior Court, Vance County
Vance County court sessions scheduled for Thursday, September 13 and Friday, September 14 have been canceled at this time.
As of now, the office of Henry L. Gupton, Clerk of Superior Court, Vance County, will still be open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. This may change depending on the weather forecast.
