Tag Archive for: #wizsnews

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TownTalk: Tax Revaluation Currently Underway

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Vance County is in the middle of a tax revaluation process – something that state law requires happen at least once every eight years.

Vincent Valuations is the company contracted to complete the work of assessing the 26,000 parcels of property and the buildings that are on them.

According to County Manager Jordan McMillen, about 20,000 parcels have been completed, leaving about 6,000 to go. The company is finishing up their work in the city limits now, and then will come the task of estimating the values of the parcels.

Tax values went down after the last revaluation in 2016, but McMillen said he anticipates values will increase in the current revaluation, based on an improved economy.

The bottom line is this: will the tax bill you get in the summer of 2024 be more than you currently pay?

Just because values of parcels go up, it doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll pay more in taxes, especially if the tax rate goes down. The idea is to evenly distribute the tax burden across all property owners.

About a year from now, those tax bills will be generated and property owners will have the chance to appeal the valuation next April or May.

County leaders are already working on the 2023-24 budget, and the revaluation plays a role in creating that budget.

To make a long story short, the impact to your wallet is about 15 months away.

 

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Home And Garden Show

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On the Home and Garden Show with Vance Co. Cooperative Ext.

  • If growing plants in a greenhouse or cold frame when day temps are 70F higher you may need ventilation in your greenhouse or open the cold frame.
  • Fertilize tall fescue, slow release, low P, crabgrass preventer.
  • Repot your house plants if needed
  • Get ready to prune fruit trees – 2/25, 10 am, timberlake
  • Add compost to the garden or raised beds
  • Sharpen your hand pruners and loppers with a metal file.
  • Use landscape cloth for weed control in raised beds.
  • Plant more pansies.
  • Cooperative Extension has excellent vegetable publications.
  • Apply preemergent herbicide to flowerbeds.

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TownTalk: Two Found Dead On Gholson Avenue

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UPDATE 5:30 p.m. Tuesday:

Henderson Police Chief Marcus Barrow identified the two victims who were found Tuesday morning in a car parked on a city neighborhood street.

Kentrell Venable, 18, was the driver of the car, Barrow said in a live interview during the 5 p.m. WIZS Local News broadcast Tuesday.

Quavon Champion, 20, was found in the rear passenger seat.

Police are still trying to establish a timeline to determine when the two were killed, but he said he believes they were shot in the car, which had been stopped on the side of Gholson Avenue.

The police are working with the State Bureau of Investigations, and Barrow said, “None of the victims live on that street. They came to that location, stopped in the road, on the side of the road.”

When asked about surveillance video, Barrow said, “We are currently looking through some of that information and some of that data.”

The suspect or suspects are believed to have been with the victims in the car, the shots were fired and then the suspect(s) left on foot.

If anyone has more information about this incident, please contact Henderson-Vance Crime Stoppers at 252.492.1925 or P3 app, call the police department at 252.438.4141, or on Facebook or Instagram.

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UPDATE 10:30 a.m. Tuesday:

Henderson police are investigating the deaths of two men whose bodies were found earlier today inside a car on Gholson Avenue.

In a brief press statement issued about 10 a.m. today, Police Chief Marcus Barrow said officers were dispatched to the 200 block of Gholson Avenue at 8 a.m. to check on a suspicious vehicle.

When officers arrived, they found two male individuals seated in the vehicle deceased from apparent gunshot wounds. Barrow said he believes the individuals were shot from inside the vehicle. The identities of the individuals have not been released, pending positive identification and notification of families.

If anyone has more information about this incident, please contact Henderson-Vance Crime Stoppers at 252.492.1925 or P3 app), call the police department at 252.438.4141, or on Facebook or Instagram.

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Perry Memorial Library

The Local Skinny! What’s Happening At Perry Library

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Perry Memorial Library has several opportunities for patrons to observe Black History Month as they take part in interactive workshops, take book walks and go on scavenger hunts.

Youth Services Director Melody Peters ran down a list of activities that are already underway or will be presented during February.

The “pop up” story walk located right outside the library features the classic children’s book “The Snowy Day” by Ezra Jack Keats, Peters told WIZS’s Bill Harris on Tuesday’s segment of The Local Skinny! This literary classic is the first children’s book that features an African American child as the main character, she said.

The story walk idea blends activity with learning, “to encourage little ones to read – and walk. When you’re walking and reading and learning,” Peters said, it builds excitement for what’s going to be on the next panel. This story walk will be up all month for families to enjoy.

Speaking of families, Peters said the next family program will be held at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 28 and will feature Mama Azia’s African Dance, Drum & Storytelling. This culturally immersive interactive workshop, Peters said.

Participants will have a chance to learn new things, but they’ll also have a chance to dance, Peters said. There are currently about 30 people in the ongoing family program, but Peters said there’ plenty of room for more.

Youngsters can take part in a scavenger hunt to learn more about inventions during Black History Month.

“Kids love a hunt,” Peters said. “They love to find things.” Pick up a card at the Youth Services desk, find all the items and return the card to get a prize.

Adult patrons can opt for a “Blind Date with a Book” in the Adult Services area of the library. Read the first line of novel to get a hint of what the novel may be about while also becoming interested in reading something new.

Next Saturday, Feb. 18, families are encouraged to bring the little ones for a children’s dental health workshop. The workshop will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and is presented by CDA Ny’Kirah Street, a student in N.C. A&T State’s health services management program.

Kids can learn how to brush and floss and promote dental health from someone who’s not a dentist…or their parents.

“The key is learning good habits early,” Peters said.

Visit https://www.perrylibrary.org/ for a complete list of events and programs at the library.

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Cooperative Extension With Paul McKenzie: What Works in the Garden

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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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The Local Skinny! Around Old Granville with Mark Pace

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Watch out, Oxford. Your tiny neighbor to the south is gaining on you. It will only take a couple of hundred more people to stake the claim of being the largest town in Granville County.

That, according to local historian Mark Pace, who talked with WIZS’s Bill Harris for the “Around Old Granville” segment of The Local Skinny! Monday.

Butner’s growth today, however, pales in comparison to the early to mid-1940’s when the U.S. government built Camp Butner as it was gearing up for World War II.

Pace said William B. Umstead and his brother John were instrumental in getting the federal government to locate Camp Butner in the southwest corner of the county, close to a big city (Durham), but not “too” close, Pace said.

Construction began in February 1942, on more than 4,000 acres of mostly farmland, much of which had been owned and worked by families for 200 years or more.

“It was amazing how quickly it was built,” Pace said. Within five months, there were numerous structures, including an armory, sports building and a water tower, all of which are standing today.

“They had 15,000 people working 24-7 to build that camp,” Pace said. And because it was a federal project, the state’s segregation laws were superseded by federal jurisdiction, which meant that for the first time, African Americans were hired the same as their White counterparts, he added.

Camp Butner was home for thousands of workers, civilian and military, but also for more than 4,000 German and Italian prisoners of war.

“So many farm people had been called up to serve, POWs would go and work farms,” Pace said. “And they’d get paid a little bit, too.”

After the war ended, much of the property reverted back to the landowners, but the footprint of Camp Butner became what is now considered the town of Butner. But until it was incorporated in 2007, the town was run by the state of North Carolina.

“Go to the town hall,” Pace said. “There’s a marvelous museum in the lobby” chronicling the creation of the town that once was known as Camp Butner.

 

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