Tag Archive for: #warrencountynews

Warren County Gets National Award For Budget Presentation

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Warren County has received the distinguished budget presentation award for its FY 2021 budget from the Government Finance Officers Association.

According to information from the Chicago-based organization, the achievement reflects the commitment of the governing body and staff to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting. Warren County officials met nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation. These guidelines are designed to assess how well an entity’s budget serves as:

  • a policy document
  • a financial plan
  • an operations guide
  • a communications device

Budget documents must be rated “proficient” in all four categories, and in the 14 mandatory criteria within those categories, to receive the award.

“This GFOA Budget Book award is a significant accomplishment for the county,” stat County Manager Vincent Jones. “It is a priority I identified when my tenure with the county began.”

“The Board of Commissioners has focused on making sure the county is well-run, accountable, and transparent,” continued Jones. “Developing a budget book to capture our annual spending plan could not have been accomplished without a dedicated Warren County staff and leadership team. I hope our residents will take note and are proud of this accomplishment as well.”

More than 1,700 participants in the Budget Awards Program. The most recent budget award recipients, along with their corresponding budget documents, are posted quarterly on GFOA’s website. Award recipients have pioneered efforts to improve the quality of budgeting and provide an excellent example for other governments throughout North America.

Warren County’s FY 22 budget is available online at https://www.warrencountync.com/161/Finance.

RISE Open House Set To Gather Input On Regional Resiliency

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A regional forum about resiliency is scheduled for later this month to hear from business and civic leaders and from the community at large to collect information to be used to develop a regional vulnerability assessment.

The open house will take place on Thursday, April 28, from 6 p.m to 7:30 p.m at the Kerr-Tar Council of Governments, located at 1724 Graham Ave., Henderson.

The in-person open house will begin with a short presentation but organizers encourage anyone interested in participating to drop in any time during the 90-minute session to leave suggestions and opinions; participants may choose to join via Zoom between 10:30 a.m. and noon.

The project is called RISE – Regions Innovating for Stronger Economies and Environment – and the open house is hosted by the N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency, the N.C. Rural Center, the Kerr-Tar Council of Governments and the Kleinfelder group.

RISE will collect information that it will share within the region related to climate impacts such as flooding and storms, as well as how participants define resilience in the workplace or in homes, as well as community strengths. All of the information will be used to develop a regional vulnerability assessment.

According to Michele Burgess, president of the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce, “As Vance County business leaders, community citizens, and members of the Henderson-Vance County Chamber of Commerce, we are encouraging you to step up and participate” in the regional forum.

The Kerr-Tar region includes Vance, Granville, Franklin, Person and Warren counties and organizers said they are looking to hear from a diverse cross-section of the community across ages, occupations and demographics.

The Zoom link is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84383461025.  The meeting ID is 843 8346.

The RISE project is associated with the Kerr-Tar Council of Governments. Phone Kerr-Tar at 252.436.2040 to learn more.

TownTalk: Pink With A Passion Hosting Walk For Cancer Awareness, Survivors

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Join Pink With A Passion on Saturday, April 9 at the Warren County Recreation Complex for a walk to celebrate cancer survivors and to honor the memories of loved ones whose lives cancer has claimed.

Amena Wilson, president of Pink With A Passion, and Elaine White, vice-president, invite the public to come out to show support for all those who are battling the disease.

“We’ve been trying since 2020 to have it,” Wilson told John C. Rose on Wednesday’s Town Talk. “We are so excited to be able to bring forth this walk,” Wilson said.

The event is from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and there will be food trucks, a deejay and the local high school band present to provide entertainment. “There are so many fun activities planned,” Wilson said. Bring a lawn chair and stay for a fun-filled day, she added.

In addition to the three-mile walk, there also will be a ceremony to honor cancer survivors, who also are invited to take part in a survivors’ lap and be recognized by the crowd.

The event is not a fundraiser; rather, an opportunity to give back to the community, Wilson said, and to bring awareness to cancer patients. There will be PWAP t-shirts on sale, however.

White said she and Wilson decided to continue the fundraising efforts to help those battling cancer after they had some leftover money from when Wilson went through treatment of breast cancer after a 2018 diagnosis.

They helped White’s sister when she underwent treatment and just decided to keep it going after that.

“It makes me feel awesome – great – for doing this,” White said. Sometimes, when people’s spirits are low, it’s important to get everyone together and just make them feel good, she said.

This walk and other planned activities is a way to do just that, she said. “It’s something to encourage everybody,” she said.

Future events that Pink With A Passion plans include a Rainbow Luncheon in June. This is another “give back,” Wilson said. There will be limited seating for the free luncheon, she said, which is designed to show a little love to cancer patients and a guest of their choice. “We’ll have sit-down luncheon, encourage them and lift their spirits,” White explained.

A wellness clinic scheduled for October in conjunction with another awareness dinner, will be another fundraiser event for Pink With A Passion.

Visit www.pinkwithapassion.org, call Wilson at 252.213.5735 or White at 243.983.7476 for more information.

 

CLICK PLAY!

 

Warren Plans Sessions For Residents To Comment, Learn More About Comprehensive Development Plan

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Warren County’s comprehensive development plan team is conducting two public engagement sessions that will be held over the course of the next month.

The first public engagement session will be held on Monday, Feb. 28 at the Warren County Armory, 501 US Highway 158 Business East in Warrenton. The session will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The second public session will be held Saturday, Mar. 12 from 10 a.m. to 12 noon at the Drewry Fire Department, 125 Firefighter Rd, Manson, according to information from the office of County Manager Vincent Jones.

These public sessions will be floating events that allow community members to ask questions, provide feedback and be involved in the future planning of Warren County. Participants will have the opportunity to visit tables with information, take the public engagement survey and look at maps of Warren County to gain more information.

Light refreshments will be provided for both sessions.

These sessions are part of the comprehensive development plan updates, a 10-month process that will result in updates to the existing 2002 plan, which was meant to run through this year.

A comprehensive development plan aims to address and guide growth and development for the County. Its focus is on the areas within the county’s jurisdiction and along the edges of town limits. Public participation will play a key role through these conversations and feedback. The comprehensive development plan will help to shape the vision and priorities for the future of Warren County.

The plan will update the 2002 Land Development Plan and address new issues and priorities that have come forward in the 20 years since then. This is a guiding document upon which land use decisions are based.

To follow along with the comprehensive plan process, visit planwarrencountync.com. For more information, contact the Warren County comp plan team at compplan@warrencountync.gov.

Got To Be NC Festival Set For May 20-22 At State Fairgrounds

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Planning is underway for the 2022 Got to Be NC Festival and registration is open now for commercial vendors and homegrown marketplace vendors to participate in the three-day event coming up in May.

The annual event will be held at the N.C. State Fairgrounds in Raleigh from May 20-22. It will feature food, wine and beer from across the state, according to information from the N.C. Department of Agriculture.

The festival also will feature one of the largest displays of antique tractors and farm equipment in the Southeast, and organizers are looking for tractor collectors and clubs to be part of the event. Plans include a daily tractor parade through the fairgrounds for tractors in working order. Participation is free and open to individuals and clubs, but pre-registration is required. Contact Pat Short at 336.706.9796 to register or for questions. National farm broadcaster Max Armstrong will be on hand to announce the Sunday, May 22, tractor parade lineup.

Food concessionaires, commercial vendors and organizations interested in exhibiting at the festival have until March 1 to complete their application at ncstatefair.org. For more information, contact Letrice Midgett, commercial space administrator, at 919-839-4502 or email at Letrice.Midgett@ncagr.gov or phone her at 919.839.4502.

April 1 is the deadline for North Carolina-based food and beverage companies to register for the festival. Prospective vendors must be members of the Got to Be NC marketing program. Got to Be NC program members should contact Sherry Barefoot at sherry.barefoot@ncagr.gov with questions.

Registration forms and vendor applications for the Homegrown Marketplace are available at https://gottobenc.com/event/gtbnc-festival/.

Warren Residents Asked To Weigh In On Comprehensive Development Plan Update

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-Information courtesy of Warren County Community & Economic Development Director Charla Duncan

Warren County is starting a new phase in its comprehensive development plan process. These comprehensive development plan updates are a ten-month process that will result in updates to the existing 2002 plan, which was meant to run through 2022.

Public participation will play a key role through these conversations and feedback. The comprehensive development plan will help to shape the vision and priorities for the future of Warren County.

Warren County’s comprehensive development plan team is conducting a survey that will be available to through the end of March 2022. Find a link to the survey via the county’s website warrencountync.com.

The survey can also be found online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WarrenCo_CLUP_Survey.  Hard copies of the survey can also be found at the Warren County Administration Building (602 W. Ridgeway St., Warrenton), Warren County Memorial Library (119 Front St., Warrenton), and the Warren County Senior Center (435 W. Franklin St., Warrenton).

Participants may fill out the survey and either scan, mail or return their responses in person to the Warren County Planning and Code Enforcement office located at 542 West Ridgeway Street in Warrenton, NC 27589. If you would like to scan the copy of a survey, please email your completed copy to compplan@warrencountync.gov.

​The comprehensive development plan will update the 2002 land development plan and address new issues and priorities that have come forward in the years since then. The plan may address several topics as determined by the community but generally a land use plan addresses land use, housing, infrastructure, transportation, economic development, agriculture, recreation, and natural resources. This is a guiding document upon which land use decisions are based.

To follow along with the comprehensive plan process, visit planwarrencountync.com. For more information, contact the Warren County comp plan team at compplan@warrencountync.gov.

 

NC Dept of Agriculture

Updated State Forest Action Plan Approved, Ready For Use

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– Story courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services

North Carolina’s updated forest action plan has been approved by the USDA Forest Service and is now ready to be implemented by forestry stakeholders across the state.
The plan is a thorough review of the state’s forestland, focusing on changes and trends that have occurred since 2010. The plan not only evaluates past and current forest conditions, but also addresses factors that may impact forest health and sustainability moving forward.

Ninety-six percent of the state’s 18.75 million acres of forests is timberland, according to the plan, which classifies it as capable of commercial production and not in reserved status or unproductive. Most of the forestland in Vance County is privately owned, according to the details in the plan.

“Input from our forestry partners, along with the efforts of stakeholder working groups and our forest service staff, has paved the way for this plan,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “With the continued work of our N.C. Forest Service and forestry partners across the state, this plan will serve as a roadmap for efforts on the ground to protect, conserve and enhance our forest resources and the many benefits we enjoy from them.”

Updating North Carolina’s Forest action plan was a collective effort, involving feedback from nearly 70 organizations on the conditions, needs and opportunities of North Carolina’s forests. 

Many of the recommended strategies identified in North Carolina’s initial forest action plan, which was released in 2010 as a result of the 2008 Farm Bill, have been successfully put into action. Among those accomplishments have been reforestation projects, prescribed burns and the mitigation of forest fuels to reduce wildfire risk. Longleaf restoration and the conservation of priority species and habitats have made significant gains as well.

“One trend worth noting has been the collaboration between new partners, often resulting in opportunities for private forest landowners and for land conservation that may have otherwise been unavailable,” said Assistant Agriculture Commissioner Scott Bissette. “The intent is for all forest stakeholders in North Carolina to use this plan as a guide for including applicable strategies into their organization’s efforts so we can collectively roll out this plan, keeping our woodlands healthy, resilient and productive.”

To learn more about North Carolina’s updated forest action plan, the national priorities and goals behind it and the plan’s associated Geospatial Viewer, visit https://www.ncforestactionplan.com/.

Warren Residents Have New Website To Help Track Land Use Plan Updates

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A newly launched website will allow residents to follow along as Warren County officials go through the process of updating the county’s comprehensive development plan.

The web address is planwarrencountync.com, and it serves as a resource that interested citizens can use to stay updated on the process, which is scheduled to take about 10 months, as well as participate in surveys and community meetings, according to information from Warren Community & Economic Development Director Charla Duncan.

“A Comprehensive Development Plan or Land Use Plan (LUP) is a tool used for guiding the growth, redevelopment and overall improvement of the county for next 10 to 20 years,” Duncan stated in a press release. The plan will serve as the official statement by Warren County of its vision, intentions, goals, objective and strategies for future land use development, the statement continued.

And the plan needs input from the community as well as other stakeholders such as Warren County staff and the county planning board. Selected to work with the county is an engineering, planning and design group called Stewart, which has offices in Raleigh, Durham and Charlotte.

The comprehensive development plan will update the 2002 Land Development Plan and address new issues and priorities that have come forward in the years since it was put into place. The plan may address several topics as determined by the community but generally a land use plan addresses land use, housing, infrastructure, transportation, economic development, agriculture, recreation and natural resources. This is a guiding document upon which land use decisions are based.

A land use establishes a vision, goals and priorities through many conversations and community engagement, which are then used to guide future growth and development.

“Extensive public participation is a key component of the project,” Duncan said. “The thoughts, ideas and participation of residents and business owners are vital for the success of this effort.” Over the course of the project, the county will host several public meetings where input and feedback will be collected on the plan as it is developed.

To follow along with the comprehensive plan process, visit https://www.planwarrencountync.com/

For more information, contact the Warren County planning and zoning administrator, Cynthia Jones, at cynthiajones@warrencountync.gov.

Ridgeway Opry House Plans To Re-Open In March

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The sounds of tinkling mandolins, plucking banjos, strummed guitars, thumping bass, sawing fiddles and beautiful bluegrass singing has been quiet at the Ridgeway Opry House for several months according to Frieda Harlowe. She also has plans to re-open in March. Harlowe spoke with WIZS News on Monday and said the pandemic has been the cause of disruptions to the Opry House schedule.

Bluegrass musicians from all over the area can usually be found at the Opry House located on US 158 in Ridgeway. Harlowe said that even though some of the older musicians have died there are still plenty of younger ones to get the toes tapping. Before Mandolin Orange got big a few years ago, you might would find the band’s Andrew Martin in tattered jeans on stage. So far, thanks to COVID-19 the instruments are quiet but if all goes well with the virus Harlowe expects to be up and running again in March.

Plans are to have Harlowe on an upcoming segment of the Local Skinny! to talk more about the Ridgeway Opry House. The Local Skinny! can be heard on WIZS at 11:30am Monday through Thursday.

The Local Skinny! Register Now To Attend Feb. 1 Expungement Clinics In Henderson, Oxford

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Learn how to get your criminal records expunged tomorrow (Tuesday, Feb. 1) at two free informational clinics – one in Henderson and one in Oxford.

The Kerr-Tar Reentry Roundtable is partnering with Legal Aid of North Carolina to host the events, during which Legal Aid staff will walk participants through the process of getting previous records expunged, or cleared, which could have a positive impact when applying for jobs or housing.

The clinics will be held from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Perry Memorial Library, 205 Breckenridge St., Henderson and at the Oxford Housing Authority, 101 Hillside Dr., Oxford, according to KTCOG strategic initiatives coordinator Kisha High.

High told John C. Rose on Monday’s The Local Skinny! that the clinics are informational only; those who attend and qualify for record expungement will be notified to attend an April 12 clinic at Hix Gym in Oxford to complete the expungement process.

“This is our very first expungement event,” High said. Monthly information sessions are planned and she said most likely the expungement clinics would be held quarterly.

The Second Chance Law that went into effect in June 2020 provides information about which offenses can be expunged from a criminal record, and changes that took effect on Dec. 1, 2021 give more hope to those who wish to have records cleared.

Legal Aid staff will be ready Tuesday to clarify which charges and what type of offenses can be removed, she said.

Maybe it was a DWI or some other activity that happened earlier in a person’s life that is affecting their adult life now, High said. Even if a person’s criminal record is not able to be expunged, High said a “certificate of release” can be issued by a judge that indicates the prior record should not be held against the person.

Interested in participating? Contact Kisha High at 252. 436.2040, ext. 2008 no later than noon on Tuesday, Feb. 1.