Sorry for the delay in posting this. It’s obnoxious how the paying job can intrude on the more important tasks of maintaining this site! We’d still like to see some discussion about what people hope the new council will do. We know the new members of the council are active readers of this site, so your suggestions could make a difference.
Friday’s open line
We were remiss in failing to mark some significant holidays here in recent days. Thursday was Yom Kippur, completing the 10-day High Holiday period for Jews with a day of fasting. Speaking of fasting, the holy month of Ramadan, during which Muslims don’t eat during the day, began last week. And this week brought us Columbus Day, celebrated Monday although the actual day was Wednesday. So to all Jews, Muslims, Italians, postal workers and any others who celebrated any of …
Updates on David Street, Beacon Light
The Planning and Community Development Department submitted the following report to the City Council for its meeting Monday.
Happenings at Monday’s council meeting
On Monday night the Henderson City Council met for the last time before Tuesday’s municipal election. Some items on the agenda were:
Wednesday’s open line
It’s the day after, and the reality sets in. For the second consecutive election, Henderson has voted in several new faces to the City Council. Come December, the city will have three rookie council members (Lynn Harper, Bobby Gupton and Garry Daeke), two second-termers (Elissa Yount and Mary Emma Evans), three veterans (Bernard Alston, Lonnie Davis and Ranger Wilkerson) and a second-term mayor (Clem Seifert), assuming that Miles Gloriosus doesn’t launch the first bag-head coup d’etat. So what should we …
Robber hits Carvers on Raleigh Road
A man brandishing a handgun robbed the Carvers Restaurant at 208 Raleigh Road on Monday night.
Yount, Harper, Gupton, Daeke win
It wasn’t a huge turnout — fewer than 1,900 votes in any individual race — but the outcome is clear: Henderson has voted for change. According to final tallies posted at WRAL.com, Elissa Yount triumphed in the marquee matchup of incumbents, topping the longest-serving City Council member, John Wester, in the Ward 3 at-large race, 1,061 to 816. Two other incumbents lost, both in Ward 2: Bobby Gupton knocked off Harriette Butler for the ward seat, 568 to 396, and …
School system’s diesel bill triples
The Vance County Board of Education met at the Administrative Services Center on Graham Avenue on Monday.
Monday’s open line
We can’t think of anything more appropriate than a final chance for folks to make their arguments for particular candidates in Tuesday’s elections. All we ask is that you try to argue FOR someone, rather than AGAINST someone else. We’d like to think that everyone can find positive reasons to vote for their candidates of choice. But this is an open line, so feel free to mourn the Braves’ annual playoff loss or chat about anything else.
Pick of the day: One last council meeting
The Vance County Board of Education will meet at 7 tonight at the school system’s headquarters on Graham Avenue, and normally its planned adoption of the 2005-06 budget as part of its monthly agenda would be enough to grab our attention. But not when the City Council is meeting for the final time before Tuesday’s elections, especially when the Fire Department figures to be center stage with three separate items on a crowded agenda: a life safety award, a grant …
Milestones: Miles for mayor
OK, Henderson, I know it’s a little late, but I can no longer place my faith in the stewardship of Henderson with guys who go by names like “Biff,” “Clem,” “Chick,” “Bubba” and “Eric.” (Talk about a “weak” mayor system!) Therefore, I’d like to announce my write-in candidacy for mayor of Henderson. Just write me in there Tuesday. Your friendly elections officials will tell you how. Bring a purple crayon with you so they’ll know you’re serious.
The candidates (some of them) speak
On Sept. 21, HomeinHenderson e-mailed 17 questions to each of the candidates on the ballot for the Henderson City Council in the six contested races. We did not contact council members Lonnie Davis and Ranger Wilkerson, who are running unopposed in Ward 4, nor do we submit the questions to Deryl Von Williams, on the perhaps dubious principle that we only wanted to deal with candidates who took advantage of the five-week filing period to enter the municipal elections.
Legislative report: Gang legislation costly
This is the latest in an occasional series of articles contributed by state Sen. Doug Berger about legislative issues of concern to Vance County. The state budget includes $2 million to provide funds for local efforts to prevent the formation and growth of gangs. The budget also includes a specific grant of $25,000 to Gateway and the Vance County Coalition Against Violence to address gang violence in Henderson.
Weekend open line
It’s the last weekend for the City Council candidates to hunt for votes around Henderson. And through a coincidence of scheduling, the council will meet Monday night, election eve, with a last chance for the incumbents to impress us with their statesmanship and knowledge. So let’s set the proper tone here, if only for one weekend, by keeping the discourse out of the gutter.
More actions by the county commissioners
During the Vance County Board of Commissioners meeting Monday evening, the board took some other actions:
Friday’s open line
Congratulations to the Braves and to John Smoltz, who thoroughly dominated Tropical Storm Tammy, the Astros and Roger Clemens, who’s only the best pitcher of our time and arguably the best since World War II. Smoltz needed only nine pitches, nine pitches, 10 pitches and 10 pitches to get through his final four innings. In victory, though, the Braves put together one of the strangest innings we’ve ever seen: In the bottom of the seventh, Atlanta sent six batters to …
Emergency director reports on Katrina relief
Brian Short, the director of emergency operations for Vance County, reported to the Board of Commissioners on Monday about his participation in relief efforts in New Orleans.
Thursday’s open line
As you can see below, we have posted the responses to our candidate questionnaire. Six of the 12 candidates responded, including both in the most highly anticipated race, Elissa Yount vs. John Wester for the Ward 3 at-large seat. You can click on any of the page numbers listed with that post to jump to a particular one of the 17 questions and see all six responses. If other candidates respond, we’ll add them in the appropriate places. We’ll move …
Wednesday’s open line
Entering the homestretch of its bid to gain federal Weed and Seed status for Henderson and Vance County, the Vance Organization to Implement Community Excellence meets this morning at 10:30 at the Aycock Recreation Complex. VOICE has nine days to get a draft of its 50-page application to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Raleigh. Here’s the list of the nearly 50 people tapped to serve on the Weed and Seed steering committee. And with that public service announcement complete, the …
County toughens litter ordinance
A public hearing on amending the county litter control ordinance was held during Monday evening’s Vance County Board of Commissioners meeting.