Tag Archive for: #wizsnews

Chamber, Rotary Join Forces To Present “State Of The Schools” 2023

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The Henderson-Vance County Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Henderson Rotary Club, invites you to attend “The State of Vance County Public Schools Address and Luncheon” on Tuesday, April 18, 2023 at 12 noon.  Dr. Cindy Bennett, VCS Superintendent, will be the keynote speaker bringing you updates, goals and accomplishments of the public school system.

“We would like to thank the Henderson Rotary Club for being the sponsor for all three of these events,” Wilkerson said. “We are happy they recognize the need to keep our businesses and citizens informed.”

This address is the 3rd local address planned by the Chamber’s Governmental and Public Affairs Committee.  Chamber President Sandra Wilkerson said it’s important to make reservations early – the two session held in 2022 sold out, she said. Call or email the Chamber to reserve your seat. Tickets are $30; or reserve a table of 8 for $240.

The event will be held at Henderson Country Club.

RSVP by calling the Chamber at 252.438.8414 or email Wilkerson at sandra@hendersonvance.org.

Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland: Clothes Moths

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Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.

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Vance County Man Arrested On Numerous Drug Charges

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A local man was arrested Thursday on numerous drug charges, according to information from the Vance County Sheriff’s Office.

In a press statement Friday from Sheriff Curtis Brame, sheriff’s officers, with assistance from the Wake Forest Police Department, executed a search warrant at the home of Maurice Thomas on Mar. 16.

The warrant was served at 531 Swain Drive, Henderson.  The home was occupied by three individuals at the time the warrant was served, Brame stated. Recovered in the search was approximately 116 grams of cocaine, along with marijuana and a firearm.

 

Thomas was taken into custody and charged with the following:

 

Traffic cocaine

Possession with intent to sell and deliver cocaine

Felony possession of cocaine

Possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana

Felony possession of marijuana

Felony maintaining a dwelling/vehicle

Possession of a firearm by a felon

 

Thomas appeared before a magistrate, at which time a secured bond of $179,000 was set.

Norlina Grocery Store With Local Ties To Open Mar. 25

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A new grocery store is set to open soon in Norlina, and its owners say shoppers will be able to fill their baskets with locally grown produce as well as other food staples.

Warren County residents Demetrius Hunter and LaTonya Andrews-Hunter invite the community to the soft opening of Peanut and Zelb’s, located at  137 Hyco St. in downtown Norlina on Saturday, Mar. 25 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Inspired by their community involvement and food aggregation experience, and with the success of their first store, the Black Farmers Hub in Raleigh, the Hunters were driven to open their second store a little closer to their roots.

It’s a unique name with a unique inventory providing a niche product for all to enjoy. Along with the local produce and food staples, the store will be stocked with coffee, teas and cold-pressed drinks, all in a friendly environment with free WiFi.

The name Peanut and Zelb’s is inspired by the parents of both Latonya and Demetrius. Hunter’s father, Zelb, delivered local Johnston County produce by mule and cart to the Wake County area, and LaTonya’s mother Carolyn “Peanut” Drew-Andrews of Warren County was an educator in Wake County and a community champion.

“We are committed to tackling the challenges of food justice in areas with limited access to healthy options,” said Demetrius Hunter. “We hope to increase equity in farming and food access and to be a diverse market for the community of Warren County.”

Peanut and Zelb’s stakeholders will include members of the community – producers and employees. Consumers have the option to shop at the store or enjoy the convenience of home deliveries. The cost for a subscription is $60 per quarter.

For more information about Peanut and Zelb’s, visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090870609835&mibextid=LQQJ4d.

Kittrell Man Gets 15-Year Prison Term For 2019 Bank Robberies

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A Kittrell man has been sentenced to more than 15 years in prison for his role in two bank robberies in 2019.

Cameron Evans, 27, was sentenced to 185 months in prison, having been convicted along with three other men for the robbery of a SunTrust bank in Raleigh and a BB&T in Greenville, , according to information from the office of U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

According to court records and other information presented in court, On Dec. 6, 2019, the SunTrust bank located at 7320 Creedmoor Road in Raleigh, was robbed at gunpoint by four men. The men left the bank with approximately $11,578.00 and witnesses saw them fleeing the scene in a white Hyundai Elantra. On Dec. 30, 2019, around 4:30 p.m., the Branch Bank & Trust (BB&T) located 2475 Stantonsburg Road in Greenville was robbed at gunpoint by three men. They left the bank with $72,853 and witnesses saw them flee the scene in a white Hyundai Elantra. Law enforcement was able to obtain the registration number from the vehicle which enabled them to find Evans and his codefendants.

In an interview with law enforcement, Evans would admit to committing the SunTrust and BB&T bank robberies. The codefendants in this case were Clifton Harris, Stanley Kearney Jr. and Joshua Bailey. All three have pled guilty. Harris was sentenced to 81 months and Kearney was sentenced to 190 months.  Bailey is awaiting sentencing.

Rosalyn Green: 2022 John Penn Citizen Of The Year

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She grew up in Granville County, and like so many other young people, Rosalyn Green flew the coop when she had the chance. But chickens, they say, always come home to roost. And that’s just what Green did. Granville County is better for her return.

Green was surprised last week when she was named the John Penn Citizen of the Year during the annual Granville Chamber of Commerce banquet at The Barn at Vino in Stem.

“I was so shocked,” Green said in an interview with WIZS News. “I had no idea (they) were giving me an award.”

In fact, she was almost a no-show for the awards ceremony. See, one of her sisters had been in hospital and there was just a lot to deal with.

But Chamber Director Lauren Roberson pulled out all the stops. It’s not every day that Rosalyn Green can be surprised. No subterfuge was involved, but suffice it to say that Roberson wanted to make sure the honoree was going to show up.

In hindsight, Green said, it was a little suspicious: Roberson had asked her to represent Leadership Granville at the annual Chamber meeting. Anybody could have done that, Green recounted during an interview with WIZS News. And then another friend had called her, inquiring about her plans. Dubious, as Green would later remark.

But she was still in the dark about being the center of attention until 2021 recipient Mark Pace stood at the podium to introduce the 2022 award winner and said something about “writing grants” for the Shaw Museum in Oxford.

“I don’t think she realizes how much she does and how much of an impact she has on people,” Roberson said in an interview following the event. “It’s very endearing. She is such a genuine and kind person. She truly loves her community and wants to be involved in making it a better place.”

 To be honest, Green prefers to work “under the radar,” whether it’s collecting food from local grocery stores to deliver to Area Congregations In Ministry -Granville County’s food bank – or writing grants for the G.C. Shaw Museum in Oxford.

When she returned to Granville County n 2008, following a successful career in Washington, DC as a computer programmer with the U.S. Census Bureau, Green jumped in – feet first – to give back to the community.

At the urging of a fellow Leadership Granville colleague, she began working with the bookstore associated with St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. When the Rev. Harrison Simons suggested that she be added to the payroll, she reminded him that she was retired. “I get to come in and leave when I want to,” she recalled saying to him, adding: “I had a good time.”

And the bookstore enjoyed increased sales from all of her friends coming in to buy books, she added.

To this day, Green enjoys doing that behind-the-scenes work that serves to propel her community forward. She’d have it no other way.

Granville School Board Terms Reduced From 6 Years To 4, Finally

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Granville County residents who may be pondering running for a seat on the Board of Education, take notice: The General Assembly passed a law that changes the terms of school board members from six years to four.

And it only took four years to undo what had been done more than 30 years before as a result of a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice.

As a result of House Bill 30, school board elections will be held in even-numbered years at the same time as primaries for county offices.

Districts 3 and 4 will kick off the new process, with elections in 2024; districts 1,2 and 6 follow in 2026 and districts 5 and 7 will come up for election in 2028.

In 1987, the Granville County Public School system was involved in a civil rights lawsuit brought by the U. S. DOJ. On Feb. 17, 1989, U.S.-District Court Judge Terrence W. Boyle signed a consent decree setting up the election of Board of Education members by seven geographical districts within the county, rather than all seats being at- large.  At the time, terms were set for six years.

“Almost every other school system in North Carolina already had four-year terms,” Dr. Stan Winborne, GCPS assistant superintendent and public information officer, said in a statement announcing the change earlier this week.

“The thinking of the board was that this change would encourage more citizens to run for office and for board members to complete their terms of service,” he explained.

But it wasn’t quite so simple to un-do what had been done. Back in 2019, the board began discussions about changing term limits back to four years, Winborne said.  But first, it needed approval from the Voting Section of the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division in Washington, D.C. and then ask for a modification of the 1989 consent decree from the United States Eastern District Court.

The process further slowed during the pandemic, but finally, on Mar. 29, 2022, Judge Boyle signed a consent decree to change the term limits to four years.

N.C. Rep. Terry Garrison first introduced the legislation in June 2022, but it failed to reach the House floor.

Then, after the November mid-term elections, a resolution for support of this change was unanimously adopted at the Jan. 23, 2023 school board’s work session and forwarded to N.C. Rep. Frank Sossaman, N.C. Rep. Matthew Winslow, and State Senator Mary Wills Bode. House Bill 30 was filed by Representatives Sossamon and Winslow on Jan. 30 and it became law on Mar. 9.

“The Granville County Board of Education is grateful for the diligence and support of Granville County’s legislative delegation in fast-tracking this much needed change in term limits. It was important to the board that this bill be passed before the next election cycle,” said Board Chair Glenda Williams.

 

 

SportsTalk: Local High School Programs Struggling With Bad Weather

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Talk to Ray Noel, Athletic Director at Vance County High School, or Mike Joyner, Athletic Director at Kerr Vance Academy, and both men will tell you the same thing.  Weather has slowed Spring sports to a crawl.  “We need games,” said Ray Noel on Thursday’s SportsTalk.  “The weather has been unforgiving,” Noel added.  Vance County’s softball team is currently 1-4 but failed to get in games with Louisburg High this week because of the wet conditions. The baseball team has only played one game this season, a win against Triangle Science and Math over a week ago.

Rain is not the only problem.  Wet conditions that persist long after the rain stops is also an issue for those on the baseball or softball diamond.  The cool cloudy conditions have not allowed for much drying of the fields this week.  Soccer at Vance County can deal with some wet conditions and the Vipers’ girls soccer team is 0-2 in the conference but are playing hard.  The squad has two seniors and are coming off of a split with Louisburg High School in non-conference play.

Noel also looks forward to the beginning of track season.  The Vipers’ track team has it’s first meet scheduled for March 29th.

Meanwhile, over at Kerr Vance Academy the boys’ baseball team is 1-2.  “We are young but we will be ok,” Joyner said.  The school’s first conference game is scheduled for Friday.  KVA has already had two baseball games rained out.  Soccer has had one game rained out, and the golf team has yet to tee it up this year due to inclement weather.

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