Fiscal Cliff Update Another week has passed, and we are one week closer to going over the fiscal cliff with little progress being made in Washington. Last week, the President offered a proposal that included a $1.6 trillion tax hike that would hit more than just the wealthiest 2% of Americans and called for even more federal “stimulus” spending. This is not a plan that will help fix our economy, it is more of the same tax-and-spend policies that …
Month: December 2012
Friday / Weekend Open Line
This weekend, many households across the country will set up their Christmas trees. About one-fifth of homes still put up and decorate a real tree each year. Almost half of U.S. households now use artificial trees to decorate for the holidays. Many of those trees do annual duty for many years, returning to attics and garages to wait for the next holiday season. The remaining homes do not use a tree for the holidays. China was the leading foreign source …
Vance-Granville Community Band presents free Holiday Concert Tonight
The Vance-Granville Community Band will perform its fifth annual Holiday Concert on Thursday, Dec. 6. The program will begin at 7 p.m. in the Civic Center on VGCC’s Main Campus in Vance County. Admission is free. The band, which is a joint effort between VGCC students and interested citizens, has prepared a program that includes traditional Christmas carols and holiday favorites such as Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride,” “Greensleeves” and Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus,” plus a contemporary selection by Mannheim Steamroller. In …
Vance County Schools – High School Academic All-Conference
Student athletes at Northern Vance and Southern Vance high schools proved during the fall that they are performing at a high level both in the classroom and on the playing field. A total of 50 athletes at Northern Vance and 57 athletes at Southern Vance made Academic All-Conference while participating in fall sports for the 3-A Carolina Conference. Students have to maintain a 3.0 grade point average to earn academic all-conference honors. The students participated in varsity football, men’s soccer, …
‘Restaurant Impossible’ films in Pineville
The Food Network’s “Restaurant Impossible” and host/chef Robert Irvine hit Sweet Tea’s in Pineville to film yesterday and today (Wednesday), with the restaurant having its “grand re-opening” tonight. The episode is expected to air late February/early March. The show’s premise: Irvine swoops in for two days with $10,000 to see if he can save “desperate restaurants from impending failure.” Owners David and Dana Cohen have had Sweet Tea’s for three years. According to an associate producer, thousands of restaurants apply …
President Signs Butterfield and Bono Mack Bill to Extend Online Consumer Protections through 2020
WASHINGTON, DC – Late yesterday, President Obama signed into law H.R. 6131, a bill to reauthorize the U.S. Safe Web Act of 2006. Introduced by Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee Chairman Mary Bono Mack (R-CA) and Ranking Member G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), H.R. 6131 extends the Safe Web Act, a key consumer protection law, until 2020. “I am a strong supporter of granting the FTC the powers it needs to effectively protect consumers against fraud, whether originating here or abroad; so …
Thursday Open Line
This is National Pawnbrokers Day, held to acknowledge the valuable lending and retail services provided by the nearly 6,400 pawn shops across the country. Another important player in selling used goods is the much larger used miscellaneous merchandise stores, which number close to 78,000 from coast to coast. These stores are where you go if, for instance, you are looking for a copy of a 1934 National Geographic. These stores are overwhelmingly small, with three-quarters of them run solely by …
Ruby Tuesday is Supporting the Henderson Collegiate Pride December 6 – 8th.
Support the Pride this weekend by eating at Ruby Tuesday! Between Thursday, Dec. 6th, and Saturday, Dec. 8th, Ruby Tuesday will operate its Give Back program for Henderson Collegiate. This means that anyone who eats at Ruby Tuesday this Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, can have 20% of their bill donated to Henderson Collegiate if they simply show their waiter the Henderson Collegiate Give Back flyer before they pay. This program applies to any meal at any time of day over …
Alan Pitts: Round Two for The Cloaked Dope, His Mysterious Sidekick, Closet Crusader, And Their Demented Baby Sitter, Heir Lettermen
Update Lawsuit: Pitts v. O’Geary, 5:12-cv-343-D Download the “PLAINTIFF’S COMBINED RESPONSE TO OCTOBER 25, 2012 NOTICE FROM THE CLERK OF THE COURT AND PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR DEFAULT JUDGMENT DIRECTED AGAINST DEFENDANT LONNIE DAVIS, JR.” here: 20121205_Response Clerk’s Notice.pdf By Alan Pitts, Community Organizer, Consultant To Vance County Youth Voters Collision, Visional Artist Just an update in our efforts to purge our fair city of those who believe the constitution of the United States is good for nothing more than toilet …
$3.9 Million in Road Resurfacing Work set for Granville County in 2013
RALEIGH — A contract worth close to $3.9 million has been awarded by the N.C. Department of Transportation to S.T. Wooten Corp. of Wilson to mill and resurface 35.7 miles over 15 secondary roads in Granville County. In addition to improving 7.2 miles of Enon Road between U.S. 158 and Culbreth Road, west of Oxford, sections of the following 14 roads will be resurfaced: In Oxford: Southeast Industry Drive; East Industry Drive; and Knotts Grove Road. In Butner: Old Oxford …
$782,512 Contract Awarded to Replace Franklin County Bridge
RALEIGH — A $782,512 contract has been awarded by the N.C. Department of Transportation to replace the bridge on Seven Paths Road over Cypress Creek, southeast of Louisburg. The 63-year-old structure is considered structurally deficient, which means it is still safe, but requires continual maintenance and eventually needed to be replaced. The contractor, Smith-Rowe LLC of Mount Airy, can begin work as early as March 1, 2013, with the new bridge expected to be open by Sept. 1, 2013. Additional …
VGCC holds College Fair for transferring students
Vance-Granville Community College hosted admissions officers from four-year colleges and universities on Nov. 27 in the student lounge on VGCC’s Main Campus. The event was VGCC’s annual College Fair, where students obtain important information about transfer requirements, financial aid and scholarships that can help them continue their education. The fair was organized by the VGCC Counseling Department. VGCC students browsed through displays and talked with representatives from 14 four-year schools, while picking up college applications and catalogs. Most of the …
VGCC celebrates local Native American heritage
Vance-Granville Community College held a “Native American Appreciation Day” in the Civic Center on the college’s Main Campus on Nov. 26, during the national celebration of Native American Heritage Month. Students from VGCC’s Cosmetology programs on Main Campus, South Campus and Franklin County Campus helped to organize the event. The head of VGCC’s Cosmetology program, Tomeka Moss, is herself a member of the Haliwa-Saponi tribe. Students served American Indian food samples and presented displays of traditional clothing and jewelry from …
N.C. provides White House Christmas tree for the 12th time
First Lady Michelle Obama kicked off the holiday season by welcoming the White House Christmas tree, a 19-foot Fraser fir from Ashe County that will be displayed in the Blue Room. With daughters Malia and Sasha, first dog Bo and several others, she welcomed the tree and its growers from Peak Farms in Jefferson. Farm owners Rusty and Beau Estes are this year’s grand champion winners of the National Christmas Tree Association, which has provided the White House tree each …
Guest speaker talks Bees at VGCC
An expert on bees spoke to Vance-Granville Community College faculty and staff members on Nov. 20 on the college’s Main Campus, as part of a series of “lunch and learn” sessions organized by the VGCC Sustainability Committee. Will Hicks, Apiary Inspector with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, discussed the importance of bees to agriculture and the environment. He also offered information on how to set up a hive. “Part of my job is to help people …
Wednesday Open Line
Today marks the birthday of one of the most familiar names in American entertainment — Walt Disney — born in Chicago in 1901. He created Mickey Mouse in 1928 in the first animated film with a sound track. Donald Duck came along in 1934, and three years later Disney created the first of a legendary series of animated feature films, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” The firm bearing his name continues to be a major player in today’s entertainment …
Michael Bobbitt: Notes From The Peanut Gallery (VC BOC December 3rd, 2012)
Reorganization of the Board and Appointment of OfficersJudge Finch did the honor of swearing in or affirming each of the unopposed and re-elected Commissioners and our new Commissioner Mr. Archie Taylor. Then the Commissioners did the Chairman shuffle with Mr. Hester winning the Chairmanship and Ms. Brown the Vice Chairmanship. The new Board voted to keep the current officers in their current job, approved the 2013 Holiday Schedule, and agreed to keep the same 8 – 5 Monday – Friday …
Oakhill Apartments Struck by Vehicle
On Monday, December 03, 2012, members of the Henderson Police Department responded to the Oakhill Apartments located at 820 Coble Blvd. Officers found that a 1997 Ford driven by William Vandyke of 5034 Dorsey Road, Oxford had struck a building in the complex. The complex leasing office sustained approximately $10,000.00 in damage. There was approximately $2,800.00 damages done to the Vandyke Ford. There were no injuries reported.
Lajohn Champion Arrested Monday for October Murder
On December 3, 2012 Lajohn Champion was apprehended in Henderson, NC on Paige Street. He has been charged with first degree murder and received no bond. His court date is December 10, 2012. Previous updates to this incident are: On November 26, 2012 members of the Henderson Police Department arrested and charged Darnell Macon, 23, of 3299 Epsom Rocky Ford Road Louisburg, NC with first degree murder in relation to the homicide of Gregory Welfare. Arrest was conducted during a …
Youth Employment Plummets in North Carolina
(Raleigh, NC)-An entire generation of young Tar Heels is aging with limited work experience and without the knowledge and job-readiness skills North Carolina employers need to compete in the 21st century, according to a new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Youth and Work: Restoring Teen and Young Adult Connections to Opportunity, explores the obstacles that have pushed many young people out of the labor force since the economic downturn. In 2011, nearly 6.5 million U.S. teens and …