Who would have thought HomeinHenderson would develop into the blogosphere’s version of DrKoop.com (which, oddly enough, isn’t associated with Dr. C. Everett Koop)? But Wednesday’s open line was the place to turn for all the best tips on treating poison ivy. Now all we need is a cure for stinky, dirt-flavored water. We prefer the beer idea to the blender suggestion, but what do we know? On a more serious note, let’s hope Vance schools are ready for hurricane evacuees/refugees …
Category: Quick hits
Wednesday’s open line
The good news is that we were flooded with great submissions Tuesday, including more from the Board of Commissioners meeting than we’ve posted so far. The bad news is that our Internet connection turned balky, so much of the information, including a report from Chavasse Avenue, will have to wait until tonight. Meanwhile, the board is yours.
Tuesday’s open line
The open line took a couple of days off because, well, just because. Call it a holiday weekend. Or call it a careless oversight by an overworked editor. By the way, gasoline is less than $3 a gallon along Interstate 85 in both South Carolina and Georgia, thanks in part to the relatively low state gas tax in South Carolina and the one-month suspension of the gas tax in Georgia. So the good Samaritans trucking relief supplies to the Gulf …
Pick of the day: Developments in the local economy
Seeing as how Monday was the day we celebrated labor by taking a day off, it seems appropriate that the day after could bring some news to help people get back to laboring. An announcement is set for 11 a.m. at Vance-Granville Community College about a Team Vance grant for job retraining for some of the people who lost manufacturing jobs this year. And the Vance County Board of Commissioners could be asked to approve a package of incentives during …
Saturday’s open line
If nothing else in the past 24 hours, we’ve learned that HomeinHenderson has a diverse readership: We have short people AND tall people, plus a bunch of us somewhere in the middle. We can all get along; we just might not all fit in the VW Bug. On an extremely serious note, we’d like to thank all of you who expressed concern about family members in New Orleans, as well as anyone who is doing anything to help. The editor’s …
Ways to help
–contributed by Tech Support (Chris Jacobs) With apologies for pre-empting the Editor, here’s a temporary link to collect donations for victims of Hurricaine Katrina through the Salvation Army. Life is topsy-turvy right now, and I’m not sure when I will have time to make permanent alterations to get a button up on the site’s right sidebar, but that will get you where you’re most needed. The Salvation Army says it’s concerned about “donor fatigue,” and that the funds pledged so …
Friday’s open line
It’s a pathetic commentary on human nature that even while New Orleans is turning into a real-life, if temporary, version of “Water World,” complete with post-apocalyptic anarchy, people across the nation are responding by waiting in lines to buy every possible drop of gasoline at jacked-up panic prices. After all, what are tens of billions of dollars in damage, hundreds of thousands of lives shattered, entire neighborhoods and towns gone, and unknown hundreds or thousands of deaths compared with the …
Etheridge links Vance to relief efforts
Rep. Bob Etheridge, D-Lillington, whose congressional district includes southern Vance County, has created a page on his Web site to provide information on the latest developments concerning Hurricane Katrina and ways that North Carolinians can help with the recovery. “Like all Americans, I offer my deepest condolences to the victims of Hurricane Katrina and their families,” said Etheridge, who serves on the House Homeland Security Committee. “North Carolinians know firsthand the devastation that hurricanes can cause. When our own state …
Thursday’s open line
The lottery and state revenues in general dominated Wednesday’s discussion. And we hardly touched on what we’ll do if anf when the other shoe drops with the long-awaited (or long-feared) lottery: What happens if the numbers from the numbers game don’t add up to enough money to build a couple of schools in Vance County? But today, like tomorrow, is another day, so write away on the topic of your choice.
Midweek open line
We hate to start the day with an apology, but here are two of them: We’re sorry for failing to provide an open line Tuesday, and we’re sorry for failing to post a report about Monday’s City Council meeting with The Ferguson Group. We address the first problem with this open-line file; we’ll try to take care of the other problem sometime tonight but can make no promises. Meanwhile, the blog is yours; write away.
Pick of the day: Money for demolition
The Clean Up Henderson Committee meets at 8 a.m. on the final day of August, which happens to be when Code Compliance Director Corey Williams had predicted his $25,000 for contracted services for fiscsl 2005-06 would run out. Sure enough, Williams told the cleanup committee two weeks ago, an aggressive effort to take down abandoned houses has emptied that account. Back at budget time, the City Council promised to revisit the issue of money for the Code Compliance Department in …
Pick of the day: Progress on energy
Progress Energy will provide information from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Vance-Granville Community College about plans for additional power transmission throughout the area. You can get the basics of the project from the Progress Energy Web site.
Vance still third in unemployment
Vance County’s unemployment rate followed the North Carolina trend and increased in July to 9.9 percent, tied with Wilson County for the third-highest rate in the state, according to statistics released Friday by the state Employment Security Commission. Caldwell County was the worst at 13.1 percent, and Scotland County slipped from first to second at 11.6 percent. Vance’s rate was 9.3 percent in June and 10.6 percent in July 2004, when 116 more people were officially unemployed and 403 fewer …
Monday’s open line
The Boomtown Rats didn’t like Mondays, but they’re as good as any other days for some common-sense talk. Or flights of fancy. Or anything in between. Keep in mind a few of the things going on today. Henderson officials are meeting with The Ferguson Group, the city’s D.C. lobbying firm, at noon at the Municipal Building, and we hope the talk includes a water reality check. Mayor Clem Seifert has a 3 p.m. meeting with state Department of Transportation representatives; …
Pick of the day: Watching Katrina
Vance County is lucky enough to far from the path of Hurricane Katrina. But some of us have friends and relatives in New Orleans, the Mississippi coast, Mobile or Pensacola, not to mention the inland areas up through the Ohio Valley that could see flooding in the coming days. All those people need our prayers today, and we should prepare to offer more material aid as it’s needed.
Belated weekend open line
With any luck, the past couple of days will be the extent of the interruption in the editor’s connection to this site, and we can go on with the show. A few quick responses to the fascinating discussions y’all have carried on: * We intend to send e-mail questionnaires to each of the candidates in contested Henderson City Council races, as well as give the unopposed incumbents a chance to lay out their visions for Henderson. We have e-mail addresses …
Pick of the day: Youth Explosion
The Rev. John Miles will hold his annual Youth Explosion today and Saturday at Henderson Middle School. The Greensboro pastor returns to his hometown to help teens get into the back-to-school spirit. There will be singing, dancing, stepping and inspirational speeches from 6:30 to 10 tonight, then a cookout from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday. And it’s all free.
Friday’s open line
Wow, the first HomeinHenderson open line was a bigger hit than we expected. What did we learn? The consensus seems to be that a seven-year tax break is excessive, and a tax break for the retail industry might not be a good deal for any amount of time. Also, we’d love to have a water park here, and if that doesn’t work, we’ll listen to any Indian tribe looking to expand its casino business. And a couple of us are …
To our readers: An open line
One of the things we’ve learned the past six months is that not only don’t we know everything about Henderson and Vance County, but often we don’t even know there’s anything we ought to know. It’s hard for us to write about things we don’t know are happening, and it’s impossible for us to know everything that’s of interest to y’all out there on your computers. So, as part of the improvements we hope to make as the editor transitions …
Pick of the day II: Back on the block
If you’re reading this today, you probably didn’t go to Greenville for the Voting Rights Act commemoration. So here’s something right here in Henderson for you: Cotton Memorial Presbyterian Church, at the corner of Hamilton and Chestnut streets, is is holding its annual block party from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Drinks and hot dogs will be available, plus free school supplies, music and other activities. Two motivational speakers will appear, one for the girls and one for the boys.