The proposal to enact a maintenance code for commercial buildings in the city has become entwined in the debate over whether to fill the job of assistant fire chief. That makes the planned discussion of the maintenance code at tonight’s City Council meeting a potential double whammy on city-county relations.
Month: March 2005
Etheridge schedules farm forums
Congress Bob Etheridge has scheduled four forums in the next two weeks to meet with farmers in his district, which includes southern Vance County.
Juvenile court expanding in Vance
The unnamed umbrella working group on crime and related issues has gained one success without even trying. Starting in April, Vance County will have an extra day each month for juvenile court.
Wildflower to bloom in spring
Exactly three months after it closed with little warning but much fanfare, the Wildflower Cafe will blossom again. Patricia Newhouse, the owner of Gray’s Gourmet, is buying everything that was the Wildflower — the name, the recipes, the décor — from Bill Coffey and has set April 4 as the date for the reopening of the downtown favorite at the intersection of Garnett and Breckenridge streets.
Creedmoor man arrested after Dabney Drive robbery
A Creedmoor man was arrested Saturday night in connection with the armed robbery of a gas station convenience store on Dabney Drive in Henderson, according to a news release from the Henderson police Sunday afternoon. Two men robbed the Parade on Dabney Drive (the BP station) at 1551 Dabney Drive about 4:10 p.m. Police arrived too late to catch the bandits, and investigators distributed a description of the vehicle in which the robbers fled. A search of the West Henderson …
Opinion: It’s the thought that counts the loss
For all you would-be Ken Jenningses out there, consider the plight of the Quiz Bowlers on Saturday afternoon at the Vance County Administration Building on Young Street.
Council due to hear about Beacon Light overhaul
The Henderson City Council will hear several reports Monday night that could put the city on the path to improvement. The biggest might be a scheduled presentation from William Rogers, the chairman of the Beacon Light Masonic Lodge, on plans for an overhaul of the publicly subsidized Beacon Light Apartments, home to 108 families. The Masonic lodge owns the complex off Water Street, which has been plagued by sewage and plumbing problems and has long been one of the city’s …
Financial issues to face another forum
Henderson residents will get their second chance to ask questions stemming from the 2004 audit Monday night, although this time the public forum won’t be limited to budget issues.
Coalition attacks violence on many fronts
The Vance County Coalition Against Violence will take a week off from its meeting schedule out of respect for faith, but the move doesn’t show any lessening of faith in the coalition’s cause.
KVA falls in district Quiz Bowl
Kerr-Vance Academy’s Quiz Bowl season came to an end a couple of steps short of the state finals Saturday when the Spartan academic team lost in the district semifinals to Cary Academy 125-100.
Green day chases away winter blues
The crew from Jeri’s Kerr Lake Restaurant moves full speed ahead toward spring during Saturday’s St. Patrick’s Day parade on Garnett Street. It wasn’t a day that shouted out “spring,” with thick gray clouds casting a pall over Garnett Street, but downtown Henderson’s Saturday celebration of St. Patrick’s Day was a lot closer to a green day than the holiday itself.
Fund balance planning takes precedence
Henderson’s substandard savings account is playing a prominent role as the city examines spending for the balance of this fiscal year and prepares the budget for the next year. The City Council’s Finance and Intergovernmental Relations Committee repeatedly discussed the depleted general fund balance during a meeting Friday afternoon that covered a range of current and future spending issues.
It’s all about priorities
Meetings of the Finance and Intergovernmental Relations Committee are unique in their ability to draw lots of City Council members. It’s a simple forumla: The FAIR Committee handles all of the money matters, and money affects everything that interests the eight council members. FAIR meetings have taken on greater importance now that the city is confronting its fund-balance problem and the budget season has begun. So it was surprising that Friday’s meeting drew only one FAIR member, Chairman Bernard Alston, …
City has plan to keep Smith’s water flowing
The strange case of Samuel Smith continues to occupy the Henderson City Council’s time. The Shank Street resident’s past-due water bill was the issue before the Finance and Intergovernmental Relations Committee at its meeting Friday afternoon.
Quiz Bowl today after parade
Kerr-Vance Academy will have homeroom advantage as it competes for a spot in the state finals of the Public Library Quiz Bowl this afternoon. The H. Leslie Perry Memorial Library is playing host to the district competition of the Quiz Bowl at 3 p.m. in the county commissioners’ meeting room in the old courthouse on Young Street. That makes KVA the home team in the four-county contest.
Shrinking Custom Molders survives D-Day
April should mark the second anniversary of the Detroit-based Piston Group’s purchase of Henderson manufacturer Custom Molders, but there might not be anyone left at the plastic injection molding factory on Peter Gill Road to celebrate.
New reality: Vance no longer unemployment leader
The state of North Carolina has conducted a recount, and Vance County is the big winner by losing its grip on an unwanted top ranking. Vance County no longer is the unemployment capital of North Carolina. According to the January county-by-county figures released by the state’s Employment Security Commission on Thursday, it’s not even close.
Welcome to Micropolis, USA
The latest report from the Employment Security Commission embraces a concept that the U.S. Census Bureau developed after the 2000 count of the nation’s population: the micropolitan statistical area. Henderson is typical of the rural reality that the new micropolitan designation recognizes. A micropolitan area is the small-town equivalent of a metropolitan area. The federal Office of Management and Budget designates a “metro” in a geographic area where social and economic life revolves around one or more core cities with …
Opinion: More good news from Easley — for others
North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley managed to dredge up a bit of painful Henderson history this week with another one of his job-creation announcements.
Schools to open late Friday
Vance County Schools will open two hours late Friday to ensure any ice that forms overnight has time to thaw. About 2 inches of snow fell on Vance County on Thursday, giving students and staff the day off.