It’s officially on. Elissa Yount filed for re-election to her Ward 3 at-large City Council seat today, setting up the fall’s marquee contest in Vance County: Yount vs. fellow council member John Wester, who is giving up his ward seat to run at large. Because the competition is for an at-large seat, all of Henderson will get to choose between arguably the two most outspoken council members. The contrast in views between Yount, a freshman council member, and Wester, the …
Category: Quick hits
Brief agenda for Planning Board
The Henderson Planning Board, which had a one-item agenda that took no more than six minutes when it last gathered July 21, again figures to have a quick day when it meets at 3:30 this afternoon at the Municipal Building. Aside from the approval of minutes, the board has one matter: a request from Alan’s Surveying on behalf of the William H. Hughes estate for the board to approve a subdivision plat for 22.38 acres on State Road 1407 in …
Pick of the day: Talk to the commissioners
If you’ve been desperate to tell the Vance County Board of Commissioners how you feel about that trip to Hawaii, the board’s support for the Henderson-Vance Economic Partnership, or anything else that angers or thrills you about the county government, today’s your chance. To comply with a new state law, the commissioners are due to adopt a policy guaranteeing a public comment period during each monthly board meeting, and the board will hold such a comment period during its meeting …
Pick of the day: Down the stretch we come
It’s the final week of filing for the fall municipal elections, and we have a candidate for every office but two: mayor of Henderson and Middleburg town commissioner. But we don’t have many contests. Kittrell and Middleburg have none. Henderson has two candidates for the ward seats in Wards 1, 2 and 3, and if and when Elissa Yount files for re-election this week, Ward 3’s at-large seat will be contested. We’d like to see at least two candidates for …
Pick of the day: Big moment in Boston
Henderson’s bid for reaccreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies faces its final test. Police Chief Glen Allen, Capt. Charles Crumpler, Lt. Perry Twisdale and Mayor Clem Seifert are in Boston for the CALEA conference, and the police officers will go before a three-man panel of the CALEA board this morning to answer any questions about the on-site report of the CALEA team that visited in the spring. The full CALEA board will hear and discuss the …
Gupton to run against Butler
It took Harriette Butler 3 1/2 weeks to file for re-election to the City Council; it took two days for a challenger to emerge. Robert Gupton, a retired Americal production manager who has been active at Speak Up Henderson forums this year, went to the Vance County Board of Elections before 9 this morning and filed to run for Butler’s Ward 2 ward seat. Butler, who faced no opposition two years ago, filed Wednesday. We’ll have more from Gupton about …
Pick of the day: Cable talks
Time Warner Cable’s contracts with Henderson and Vance County expire this fall, and the negotiations kick off in earnest this morning with a meeting at the county Administration Building. City Council members Elissa Yount and Lonnie Davis are set to advise and support City Attorney John Zollicoffer, who is taking the lead in negotiations on behalf of the city and county. Before you get too excited, however, remember that it’s a nonexclusive contract. Any other cable company could try to …
Dance card nearly full in Middleburg
Middleburg is three-fourths of the way to a full ballot after two more candidates from that town filed today. Mayor Vivian Edwards is seeking re-election, and Frances May is hoping to succeed her husband, Alvin, who was a two-term town commissioner when he died in January. William C. Abbott Jr. filed to run for Middleburg commissioner Wednesday. The town needs at least one more candidate for commissioner; with one week left to enter the race, two incumbents, Ruby Atkins and …
Pick of the day: Amortization on the table
The latest version of the proposed junkyard amortization ordinance goes before the City Council’s Land Planning and Development Committee at 9 a.m. This proposal, revised after new Planning Director Erris Dunston held a work session with the Planning Board last week, appears to address the main concerns of auto shop owners while attacking unsightly junk, the original goal of the amortization process. For example, repair facilities could substitute gravel for paving. No auto repair businesses would be forced to shut …
Butler files for re-election
An extension for the candidate filing period became a little less likely today when two people, one in Henderson and one in Middleburg, completed their paperwork to run in the fall municipal elections. William C. Abbott Jr. became the first candidate of any kind in Middleburg, where he is hoping to join the three-person Board of Commissioners. But overshadowing his entry is Harriette Butler’s decision to seek re-election to the ward seat in Henderson’s Ward 2. We failed to catch …
Pick of the day: Royalty of summer reading
The H. Leslie Perry Memorial Library’s summer reading program reaches a majestic conclusion at 2 p.m. with a final party in the form of a medieval fair. There’ll be fun and food for up to 100 children, and all who met their reading goals will get prizes. The festivities and the educational summer will culminate in the crowning of the king and queen of reading around 3.
Too hot to file
Apparently, 100-degree heat is not conducive to candidate filing, or much of anything else. So another day has passed without any new candidates signing up with the Vance County Board of Elections. The regular filing period has eight business days to go, and we still need at least three candidates in Henderson and four in Middleburg. And the forecast calls for 103 degrees Wednesday, so don’t hold your breath waiting for more candidates.
Pick of the day: Weed and Seed goes to NAACP
The Vance County chapter of the NAACP gets its chance to endorse Henderson’s proposed Weed and Seed zone during its meeting at 7 p.m. at the Gateway Center on Garnett Street. Still to come, among other endorsements, are the Vance County Board of Education and the Clean Up Henderson Committee during August meetings. A letter of intent to apply for official Weed and Seed recognition is due to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Raleigh by Aug. 31.
Candidates still needed in Vance
We’re not at the point of being alarmed yet, but no one filed for office in Henderson, Middleburg or Kittrell today. That’s fine for Kittrell, which has a full ballot and an incumbent, Gene Pulley, who has yet to file. But Middleburg has no candidates for mayor or town commissioner, and Henderson has no candidates for mayor or the ward representatives from Wards 2 and 4. The deadline is noon Aug. 5. Vance Elections Director Faye Gill said that if …
Ruptured waterline closes Beckford Drive
A major waterline rupture forced the city to close Beckford Drive to through traffic between West Andrews Avenue and Roanoke Avenue this morning. Repairs are expected to take all day, if not longer, according to an e-mail notice issued by Police Chief Glen Allen. The cutoff area includes the Municipal Building, but the city offices remain open. Tonight’s Speak Up Henderson forum at 6 and City Council meeting at 7:30 are going ahead as planned.
Pick of the day: Hope for housing
Yolanda Porche and Dorothy Reiser, the two consultants supplied to Henderson by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, return to town this afternoon for three days of work sessions and meals with local leaders to help the mayor’s housing task force. The first meeting is at 2 p.m. at the police station. The task force is moving toward a broad redevelopment plan in cooperation with the state Division of Community Assistance, which will send staff for a meeting …
Depp’s the sweetest treat in this ‘Chocolate Factory’
The title of Tim Burton’s latest walk on the weird side of filmmaking, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” matches the great Roald Dahl novel in putting the focus on heroic, good-hearted child Charlie instead of candy maker Willie Wonka, who replaced Charlie in the title of the first movie version in 1971. But a better title would have been “Johnny Depp and the Chocolate Factory” because actor Depp and the marvels of the candy factory share the best moments on …
Pick of the day: Fanning out to help
Extraordinary Ladies on a Quest are holding a fan drive at the Wal-Mart Supercenter until noon today. The goal is to provide relief from the heat for those who need help. With the current heat wave, ELQ’s timing couldn’t be any better.
Kittrell’s ballot fills up
Kittrell wins the race among Vance County’s three municipalities to be the first with a full ballot. Town Commissioner Tex Finch filed for re-election Friday, giving the southern Vance town one candidate for mayor, incumbent James Howard Wynne, and three for the three seats on the Board of Commissioners, incumbents Finch and Millard Grissom and newcomer Jack Ball. Gene Pulley is the other incumbent. Middleburg has no candidates for the same four offices as Kittrell, and Henderson still lacks candidates …
Pick of the day: Get to know Jack
Anyone who has children should get a copy of today’s Daily Dispatch (something you ought to do every day) for the first installment of the fictional serial “Jack and the Fire Dragon.” It’s a great opportunity to encourage reading, to allow parents and children to share an adventure, and to keep young minds sharp during the summer. After you read the first chapter, “Paw Comes Home With a Surprise,” visit the North Carolina Press Association for more information, and pick …