Curbside garbage pickup is unlikely to get rolling in the coming fiscal year, based on City Council members’ response to City Manger Eric Williams proposed 2005-06 budget Tuesday night.
Corps, city extend water contract
Henderson Mayor Clem Seifert is expected to sign a contract today that will give the Kerr Lake Regional Water System seven more months of the status quo with the Army Corps of Engineers. (Update: The contract arrived by FedEx and was signed about 4 p.m.)
Pick of the day: Batten down the hatches
OK, it’s far too early to panic, but today marks the start of the six-month Atlantic hurricane season, and the experts have increased their forecast for trouble: 15 named storms (from Arlene to Ophelia), including eight or nine hurricanes. At least one major storm is expected to hit the United States, with a 59 percent chance the East Coast will be hit. So today’s a good time to stock up on some emergency supplies, just in case.
Torch races through town to help Special Olympics
Sheriff R. Thomas Breedlove and Police Chief Glen Allen hold the Flame of Hope aloft before law officers’ run to the city border to benefit Special Olympics this morning. The Special Olympics Flame of Hope passed through Henderson this morning near the end of its annual journey to the state Special Olympics Summer Games in Raleigh, but the journey for the law enforcement officers involved in carrying the torch is just beginning.
Opinion: Legislature should do budget, leave us alone
The North Carolina General Assembly has some huge issues facing it in the final month of this fiscal year, from reconciling the conflicting budget priorities of Mike Easley, Jim Black and Marc Basnight to raising the cigarette tax, relieving counties of the Medicaid burden and deciding whether we’ll have a lottery. So what are legislators spending their precious time on? Deciding how far to insert the government into our lives.
Tap into federal tree funds
Today is the deadline to sign up for the federal Tree Assistance Program, reports Denise Hight, the Vance County executive director for the Farm Service Agency. TAP provides financial relief to owners of eligible trees, bushes, vines and forestland damaged by natural disasters.
Pick of the day: Running with the law
Ever dream of chasing the police? Today’s your chance at the Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run. The fundraiser starts with a few brief speeches and the torch lighting outside the police station at 10 a.m. Officers from the Henderson Police Department, Vance County Sheriff’s Office and state Highway Patrol then will carry the torch 2.5 miles to the city limits at Sunset Gardens. The goal is to raise money for the North Carolina Special Olympics, so bring $13 for …
Butterfield: Looking ahead for our veterans
The following column was submitted to media outlets for Memorial Day by Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-Wilson. America sets the final Monday of May aside to pay tribute to the many fallen heroes and heroines who served and sacrificed in the name of freedom. These sacrifices and those of our military families form the foundation upon which our freedom is built. Indeed, without the brave efforts of all the fighting men and women and their families, our country would be unable …
Etheridge: Another vote for the New GI Bill
The following column was submitted to media outlets for Memorial Day by Rep. Bob Etheridge, D-Lillington. This Memorial Day, the thoughts and prayers of North Carolinians turn to the men and women who have served in uniform throughout the history of our nation. They have served with honor and bravery to secure the blessings of liberty for us all, and many have given their lives for the cause of freedom. They are our grandfathers, our neighbors, our friends, our mothers …
What we’re remembering today
Crosses honor Vance County’s fallen troops from all of America’s foreign wars beside American Legion Post 60 on Garnett Street. On this Memorial Day, we take a few moments to honor those from Vance County who died fighting for our country.
Graduation 2005: 400-plus stride into the future
Southern Vance students celebrate their official status as high school graduates, joining other local Class of 2005 members who graduated earlier Friday and Saturday. More than 400 students graduated from high school in Vance County between 7 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday. They followed different paths to earn the right to don caps and gowns at four different schools, but they share a future responsibility to put that education to work to better themselves and in the process make …
Pick of the day: Remember those who fought for us
We should never forget what this holiday weekend is all about. Memorial Day doesn’t exist just to provide a three-day start to summer, or to make it easy to remember when the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 are being run. It’s a time to remember and honor the men and women who have died in defense of this nation. That’s particularly important when we are at war. A memorial service will be held at Sunset Gardens today at 2 p.m.
Pick of the day: A safe graduation
By 1 p.m., the local Class of 2005 will have put high school in the past. A reminder of the graduation schedule: Northern Vance, 9 a.m.; Kerr-Vance Academy, 10 a.m.; and Southern Vance, noon. Western Vance’s 34 graduates hit party time about 7:30 p.m. Friday. For those of us who aren’t graduating this weekend, the ceremonies themselves (and maybe some peak-of-the-season strawberry picking in the afternoon if the thunderstorms stay away) are the day’s highlights. But more important, for the …
Vance jobless rate keeps improving
Things got better and worse for Vance County workers in April, according to figures released by the Employment Security Commission on Friday.
Murder suspect caught in Connecticut
Terry Tracey Taylor Jr. is accused of his aunt’s murder. A slain Henderson woman’s nephew has been charged with her murder after he was found driving her stolen car in Milford, Conn., this week.
Man is thrown to his death in U.S. 1 wreck
A Raleigh man was killed Thursday night when he was thrown from his SUV in a single-vehicle wreck on U.S. 1 Bypass near South Henderson Pentecostal Holiness Church.
Auditor answers
Henderson’s auditor didn’t have to explain any budget overruns or $400,000 mistakes when he appeared before City Council members Thursday night because, according to the state’s Local Government Commission, no such problems exist.
Higher taxes, utility fees proposed for Henderson
Hendersonians face increases in property taxes, water rates and sewer rates under the budget proposal City Manager Eric Williams delivered Thursday to the City Council.
Vance budget proposes 3-cent tax increase
Vance County residents would see a 3-cent increase in their property tax rate under the 2005-06 budget proposal County Manager Jerry Ayscue presented to the Board of Commissioners this evening.
Pick of the day: Graduation at Western
It won’t be the biggest graduation ceremony of the weekend, but tonight’s commencement at Western Vance High School stands out because of how far Western’s students have to come to make it to this day. You have to fall at least a year behind in your schoolwork to wind up a Wizard; then you have to make the magic happen to earn your way to graduation day.