My fellow citizens, now that the municipal election is over, we need to again look toward the future and work for a better Vance County and Henderson.
I’m sure that there are some who are angry at the election outcome as well as some who are happy. There are probably a few who are surprised and then there are some who may have seen it coming. However, every one of us are residents of the county who have an interest in what happens. Boards, councils, and committees often change but that doesn’t stop the fact that we need to do some serious work in order to bring this county up to potential. I’m sure that the council members that will be moving on gave it their best and I’m sure that the incoming members will do the same. What this community needs is more citizen involvement.
Just the other day I had a person tell me that the Board of Commissioners hasn’t done anything since December of last year. Although I wasn’t offended, I did want to quickly correct this nice lady and tell her just what we are doing.
We are making large steps toward the future in a positive way. The problem is that if there isn’t friction or argumentative behavior involved in discussions and issues, little attention is paid to it. We are working toward county-wide water. Then I hope we can implement some sort of zoning or land use planning.
For years, it has been somewhat of a chore to gain access to things such as the county budget. Now, you can easily access it on the Vance County website. Also, there are updates on what the board is doing on the link called “Vance happenings.” We are in the process of looking into changing county ordinances so that they will be enforceable. One ordinance in particular that I feel very strongly about deals with littering and unlawful burning. Did you know that it is illegal to burn trash in Vance County? It is surprising how many people didn’t know that. How about the fact that it is illegal to have more than two cars in your yard that do not run? Yes, that too is against county ordinances. The list goes on and on.
One thing that I wanted to do when elected was to make sure that we begin to enforce ordinances that are on the books. Another big project is the fire and EMS study that is about to begin. I am hoping that this study will prove that Vance County needs to change its emergency services so that the needs of the citizens are met. I would like to see paid staffing in all fire departments throughout the county and I believe that this can be done without a great increase in cost. We have a parenting class and task force that deals with young parents who don’t know how to be parents. Hopefully, we will be expanding this program to include teaching children the basics that are needed in order to function in society. If we can teach our children the basic fundamentals at an early age, we will see graduation rates rise and poverty decrease. We are also working on efficiency, grant writing, and just basically moving toward the 21st century.
Yes, Vance County is making an effort to move forward. It would be helpful if every citizen who uses his or her energy to trash our home with gossip and crude comments would channel that energy to a more positive note and help by providing ideas, support, or service on committees. If not for us, for our children.
Thank you.
Scott Hughes
Vance County Commissioner
District 7