The designated Weed and Seed zone in Henderson. The board of directors of the Henderson-Vance County Chamber of Commerce has joined the growing list of Weed and Seed endorsements. During a meeting Thursday, the Chamber board unanimously supported the local application to win the prized federal designation for a large chunk of eastern Henderson, including some areas outside the city limits, City Manager Eric Williams said. Other endorsements have come from the Vance County Board of Commissioners, the Henderson City …
Category: Quick hits
Different day, same story
No one filed for the fall elections at the Vance County Board of Elections today. That makes eight consecutive business days without anyone stepping up in Henderson, and we still haven’t heard anything from Middleburg. On the other hand, candidates have more than two weeks left to sign up, so don’t panic about blank-ballot contingencies just yet.
Pick of the day: An evening with a senator
Freshman state Sen. Doug Berger, D-Youngsville, will make a second attempt at connecting with his Vance County constituents with a town-hall meeting at 7 p.m. in the county commissioners’ boardroom at the old courthouse. Berger plans to focus on the three-weeks-late state budget but will take questions on other topics. When Berger first tried to hold such a meeting in Henderson this spring, five people greeted him: County Manager Jerry Ayscue, county Commissioner Deborah Brown, two reporters and one private …
Dabney Exchange continues to develop
Last week developer Grey Poole of MarkPiercePoole Properties told the Planning Board that Dabney Exchange won’t be quite as extensive as originally planned, thanks to a depth of 10 to 20 feet of fill material on more of the former pickle plant property than was expected. Poole said the fill material likely is the old pickle plant. The Planning Board approved a change in the site plan to accommodate the new information. Today, the developer appears before the board at …
A challenger emerges in Kittrell
No one did anything elections-wise from Henderson or Middleburg today, but Kittrell picked up its third candidate of the week when Jack Ball filed to run for town commissioner this fall. He joins Millard Grissom on the ballot for the commission; the top three vote-getters will be elected, assuming at least three people run. Grissom, Tex Finch and Gene Pulley are the incumbents. At the moment, Mayor James Howard Wynne is unopposed for re-election. In case you’ve missed it, the …
Pick of the day: Weed and Seed in business
Henderson’s planned Weed and Seed application is the dominant issue on the table at this morning’s meeting of the Vance Organization to Implement Community Excellence, but that’s no surprise: VOICE, which gathers at 10:30 at the Aycock Recreation Complex, has made the federal designation its No. 1 priority. But Weed and Seed also comes before the executive committee of the Henderson-Vance County Chamber of Commerce today. With the executive committee’s expected approval, the full Chamber board will be asked Thursday …
‘Harry Potter’: Full-blooded excitement
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” by J.K. Rowling: Book 6 in the magical Harry Potter series is in a way a book of broken trust. People start dating and working harder, and an important character is killed by someone we suspected of evil since Day 1.
Pick of the day: Ellington goes pro
Today’s Daily Dispatch brings the news we had hoped for as Vance County residents but had feared as UNC fans: Northern Vance alumnus Matt Ellington has signed with the Florida Marlins, ending his time as a Tar Heel after one year of back-injury rehab and two seasons in which he hit a combined .319 with 11 home runs, 25 doubles, a triple and 82 RBI. He spent almost all of 2005 as a designated hitter; now he’s playing first base …
DA ready to address your concerns
District Attorney Sam Currin III has taken a lot of criticism from commentators on this site recently, and to his credit, he has responded to specific complaints (see his comments under this post). He included this statement: “I welcome any responses and still reiterate my offer to meet with those persons dissatisfied with the outcome of our cases. Please contact me at (919) 693-5773 to schedule an appointment to see me.” Some of you critics can’t afford to expose yourselves …
Maybe Friday will bring out the candidates
Another day has passed with no new candidates for municipal office anywhere in Vance County, which leads us to this bit of trivia: Every one of the eight official candidates for the City Council in the first two weeks of the filing period submitted his or her paperwork on a Monday or a Friday. So maybe there will be a flood of candidates Friday. Anyone for mayor or the ward seats in Ward 2 and Ward 4? Or any of …
Feeling envy for Ward 3
People like to disparage Flint Hill, but the neighborhood has something those of us who live along Dabney Drive can’t help but be jealous of: candidates for City Council. As part of Ward 3, Flint Hill has a contest for the ward seat between Garry Daeke and Marty Gister and the likelihood of the powerhouse matchup of the Oct. 11 elections, John Wester (who has filed) against Elissa Yount (who hasn’t yet). Ward 2 has at-large incumbent Mike Rainey and …
Pick of the day: Some fresh clicks
Maybe this whole World Wide Web thing is starting to catch on. The H. Leslie Perry Memorial Library is using a state Library Services and Technology Act grant to revitalize an online face that was eight years out of date. Along with its under-construction but ever-useful new site at www.perrylibrary.org, the Perry Library has a clean, simple new logo: The city of Henderson, which launched its own new site a few months ago, now has a slogan to promote it, …
No news from Board of Elections
No new candidates filed for the fall municipal elections in Henderson, Kittrell or Middleburg today, the Vance County Board of Elections reported. That means we still have no candidates for mayor or the ward seats from Wards 2 and 4 in Henderson and no candidates of any kind in the other two towns. Only 18 more filing days until the deadline of noon Aug. 5. If you’re looking for a little divine guidance on whether to run, you could stop …
Pick of the day: Life in the ETJ
Henderson’s Extra-Territorial Jurisdiction is one of those great mysteries in life. Extending 1.5 miles beyond the city limits, the ETJ covers an area larger than the city itself, and there’s perpetual public confusion about what city laws do and don’t apply in that zone. Henderson has the power to enforce more types of ordinances in the ETJ than it does; the city basically limits itself to planning and zoning authority. That authority will be on display today at 3:30 p.m. …
Pick of the day: Poker’s main event
We at HomeinHenderson have a confession: The national addiction to poker has hooked us. We like to play poker, watch poker, read about poker — we probably need an intervention. Until then, ours eyes and Web browsers are trained on Las Vegas for the main event of the World Series of Poker, the biggest live tournament in history. The astounding official numbers: 5,619 players entered, at $10,000 apiece, for a total prize pool of $52,818,610. That’s more than double the …
Pick of the day: Championship splash
The Vance Aquatics Club Barracudas didn’t win a Durham Summer Swim League dual meet this year (or last year, for that matter), but coaches Wendi and Chris Leas bring a group of improving swimmers into the league championship meet today and Saturday at the Koury Natatorium, in the shadow of the Smith Center at UNC-Chapel Hill. The Barracudas will get to measure themselves individually against every swimmer in the league. The children 8 and under start at 6 p.m. today. …
Still no candidates this week
For those anxiously awaiting the field of candidates for Henderson’s fall elections, this week has brought no additions. No one has filed for mayor, although Clem Seifert has indicated his intention to run for re-election. And the only City Council candidates are the four who filed Friday: incumbents Mary Emma Evans, Bernard Alston and Mike Rainey and Evans challenger Glean Henderson Jr. Vance Elections Director Faye Gill says no one has filed in Middleburg or Kittrell, each of which has …
Pick of the day: Coalition Against Violence
For good or bad, we’ve focused more attention of late on the work of the Vance Organization to Implement Community Excellence than on the group that spawned VOICE, the Vance County Coalition Against Violence. But the coalition continues to work on a range of projects that could have long-term benefits. The group holds its weekly meeting at 6 p.m. at the Gateway Center, when final arrangements for Saturday’s motorcade will be among the topics.
Municipal filing off to a slow start
Day 2 of the filing period for Henderson’s Oct. 11 municipal elections couldn’t have been any quieter for the Vance County Board of Elections. No one filed for the City Council or mayor Tuesday, Vance Elections Director Faye Gill reported. Council incumbents Mary Emma Evans, Bernard Alston and Mike Rainey filed for re-election Friday, and Glean Henderson Jr. signed up to challenge Evans. The deadline to file for any of the eight council seats or mayor is Friday, Aug. 5, …