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, …
Category: News
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.
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.
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.
Cleanup committee to lobby legislature Tuesday
The Clean Up Henderson Committee will take its funding requests directly to the state legislature Tuesday when Chairwoman Lynn Harper leads a delegation to visit state Rep. Michael Wray.
Weather alert: No school today
Vance County Schools are closed for all students and staff today, the school system announced about 5:45 a.m. Kerr-Vance Academy is opening two hours late. The Vance County decision came about 15 minutes after Granville County closed its schools and about the same time as Warren County canceled school for the day. It wasn’t a sudden swelling of Irish pride on St. Patrick’s Day that shut the schools down, but a surprisingly strong bulge of cold air that turned a …
Partnership takes time out for $4,000 of reading
Mayor Clem Seifert visits pre-kindergartners at the New Beginning day care center Tuesday. Eric Williams was doing hard time. Trapped in a room that would make a jail cell look roomy, the Henderson city manager called on his friends to get him out of trouble. “I’m going to warn you upfront, I’m going to hit you up for a little money,” he told one phone-a-friend. “I’m trying to get myself out of jail at the moment.”
Schools, county to discuss bonds
A meeting Monday could go a long way toward determining if and when Vance voters will decide on the future of school facilities in this county.
Patience key to buyout sign-up
Vance County residents are trickling into the Henderson office of the Farm Service Agency to apply for their shares of the 10-year, $10.1 billion tobacco quota buyout.
Something green is cooking downtown
Families will have their annual chance to wear green and breathe fire for good causes Saturday afternoon in downtown Henderson.
Vance schools go tobacco-free
The Vance County Board of Education approved a pair of policies Monday night to turn all school property and all school-related activities into tobacco-free zones.
County moves ahead on hub
Vance County commissioners took the next step toward establishing the Kerr-Tar hub Monday night when they approved a nonbinding letter of intent and appointed Commissioner Danny Wright to represent the county in the nonprofit organization overseeing the project.
City wins top honor for budget book
The city of Henderson doesn’t always have a lot to work with in its budget, but what it has it presents well. In what has become an annual event, Henderson is receiving the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association for the current fiscal year, which began July 1.
Farm breakfast still loads up on buyout
RALEIGH — For years, any gathering of North Carolina farmers was likely to focus on one word: buyout. But Congress passed, and President Bush signed, a quota buyout bill last year. So when Democratic Congressmen Bob Etheridge, Brad Miller and David Price held their annual Congressional Farmers Breakfast in the Jim Graham Building at the State Fairgrounds on Tuesday morning, it was another story. This time the farmers focused on change — and the buyout.
Passion produces crowd of potential businesspeople
As Andrea Harris introduced a guest panel of five businesspeople Saturday morning, most of the more than 50 people packed into a room at the Vance County Senior Center listened closely to what she had to say. The five people she was introducing were exceptions.
Five people who know how to run a business
Five businesspeople offered advice from personal entrepreneurial experience at Saturday×?Ts Small Business Opportunities Forum. A brief roundup of their stories: * George Daye is the owner of Raemac Transportation, which has 13 vans to take people just about anywhere they need to go, whether it×?Ts down the street to see the doctor or up to Philadelphia to visit a dying brother. He retired from Harriet & Henderson Yarns in 1999 and wanted to drive a school bus because ×??I love …
Monday packed with active options
Monday night will bring a tough choice of meetings and events for concerned Vance County residents.
Coalition rallies behind school construction
Members of the Vance County Coalition Against Violence on Thursday night decried school overcrowding and demanded the construction of a third middle school.
Road bill passes House
Congressional legislation containing almost $2 million for projects in Vance County passed the House on a 417-9 vote Thursday. The Transportation Equity Act would authorize $284 billion in federal spending over six years. It includes more than 4,100 projects specifically earmarked for money by members of Congress. Included in that list are $1 million to reduce the cost of resurfacing Interstate 85 in Vance County and $960,000 to help widen and upgrade Beckford Drive in Henderson. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-Wilson, …