Lenoir commissioners hear deputies’ recovery update, approve $5 million grant application
Two Lenoir County deputies wounded in a shooting Friday were home recovering after surgery, Sheriff Jackie Rogers told county commissioners Monday as the board opened its Oct. 5 meeting.
Rogers said both deputies returned home Saturday. Capt. Jovanni Villagra was wounded in the stomach, and Sgt. Cole Davis was shot in the hand during the Oct. 2 response on Jonestown Road.
Rogers said Villagra was receiving care at home and Davis would need another surgery in about two weeks.
“So both of them are home,” Rogers said.
Chairwoman Linda Rouse Sutton thanked the sheriff for the update. Commissioner Preston Harris included the deputies and the families affected by the shooting in the meeting’s opening prayer.
Commissioners also authorized a $5 million Community Development Block Grant Neighborhood Revitalization application to the North Carolina Department of Commerce following two public hearings. No speakers signed up for either hearing.
The proposed budget includes $1.5 million for street improvements, $1 million for parks and recreation facilities, $2 million for other public facilities and $500,000 for administration.
According to the agenda packet, the county hopes to use the funding to offset local costs for an EMS and information technology project, courthouse renovations, roads in communities with unpaved and unmaintained streets, and projects at the Neuseway Nature Center and Richard Caswell Memorial Site.
Assistant County Manager Adam Short said staff expected to submit the application within about a week. The board’s action authorized the application and certified the hearing minutes; the funding has not been awarded.
School funding items on the consent agenda included $10,550,774 in needs-based lottery funding for the new E.B. Frink Middle School and $144,638.40 for water heater repairs and replacements at multiple schools, according to the agenda packet.
In other financial business, commissioners approved carrying approximately $6.39 million in outstanding purchase orders from fiscal 2026 into fiscal 2027.
Jennifer Clark explained that the rollover would allow previously approved projects and purchases to continue. Commissioner J. Mac Daughety questioned whether departments might be encouraged to spend remaining money before it returned to the county’s fund balance.
Clark said the money was committed to specific vendors and obligations and could not be redirected to unrelated spending. Unused balances would return to fund balance.
The board approved continuing the Sheriff’s Office’s participation in the Governor’s Highway Safety Program with a $113,649 local match. An equal federal contribution brings the grant total to $227,298.
Rogers also thanked the Lenoir County Alcoholic Beverage Control Board for a $22,000 contribution supporting the D.A.R.E. program and school programming.
Commissioners approved a $25,931.93 purchase order to Gregory Poole for repairs to a landfill bulldozer. Kim Hill said the work occurred in fiscal 2026 and the action would allow the county to finalize payment.
The board set two special use permit hearings for Oct. 19 at 4 p.m. One concerns Greg Sasser’s proposed car sales lot off Skeeter Pond Road. The other concerns Virgilio Ibarra’s proposed construction storage building off N.C. 258 North.
Commissioners also endorsed a request to remove all of Kennedy Dairy Road and about 0.09 miles of Cedar Dell Lane from state maintenance. Short said Kennedy Children’s Home would assume responsibility for the roads covered by the request.
The meeting included proclamations recognizing October as Fire Prevention Month and Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Jacob Turner said fire safety tips would be posted during Fire Prevention Week and described educational activities with local schools and fire departments.
Erin Passailaigue said SAFE in Lenoir County serves nearly 600 individual survivors each year. She emphasized the importance of listening and helping people connect with support. The organization’s 24-hour hotline is 252-523-5573.
County employees recognized for service included Kayla Sullivan, Ronnie Rasberry and James Mead for five years, and Michelle Langston for 10 years.
