The state of the community has taken its lumps over the past year with the economy, but there are still positive signs, speakers said at the Roanoke Valley Chamber of Commerce’s annual State of Our Community luncheon at Kirkwood Adams Community Center today.
Audience members listened as Hobgood Mayor Tim Purvis, Roanoke Rapids Graded Schools District Board Chairman Vernon Bryant and Halifax County Board of Commissioners Chairman Gene Minton shared their views on the state of the county.
Purvis described Hobgood as a community of volunteers who work together on projects, whether it is the annual Cotton Festival or its fireworks show.
The mayor said, however, “When I talk about my vision, my picture is not a rosy one.”
He said costs have increased, electricity is going up. A proposed coal tax could raise the price of electricity 40 to 70 percent should it pass, he said. “People in small towns can’t afford it,” he said.
He said the system is broken, Washington is broken. “We need to get practical people making common sense decisions,” he said.
Education, which would be a topic throughout the event, has to start at home, the mayor said. “Parents have to be held more accountable to what their children are doing in school. Take kids that don’t want to be in school out and put them in some trade school. You would see the SAT scores go up.”
The success of small towns like Hobgood depends on the success of Roanoke Rapids, Purvis said, adding decisions made in Washington now to 10 to 15 years ago have also affected small towns. He also said the entire county must market the Roanoke River because it is one of its biggest assets.
Bryant said the city school system has long been a leader in the state, the first to have 12 grades and the first to offer kindergarten. Three of its four schools this year made ABCs of Education and Adequate Yearly Progress marks with Roanoke Rapids High School just missing the mark.
Bryant said it is important to encourage students to go to college. “We’ve got to change the focus on how we do business,” he said. “We have to encourage kids to enter college.”
Minton said Halifax County was able to weather the financial crisis without having to raise taxes, furlough or lay off employees.
In the tight times the county opened a new airport which outgrew its 18 hangars before opening. Now more have to be built, he said.
Minton said he expects the economy to rebound. “I expect better times,” he said.
The county is poised for that rebound with a 700-acre industrial park near the airport the county is working to get certified. The economic development commission, tourism and other agencies have done a good job selling the county, he said.
On education, Minton said, “The county is committed to education. Our goal is to give equal funding to every single school district in Halifax County.”
Minton believes the days of strife over a chairperson stalemate are over. “We’ve broken down barriers and have common goals,” a statement to which members of the county chapter of the NAACP looked at each other mockingly after Minton said it.
He said the county installed a new courthouse security system and has finally found a company for the Littleton industrial building. The company is FASTA and it represents a $2.5 million investment in the town and 105 jobs.
Meanwhile, chamber Chairman Preston McElheney, speaking at the beginning of the event, wanted to kick off the Roanoke Valley Promise, finding ways of assuring students in Halifax County have a chance to earn a two-year community college degree.
