One of the perennial pests of summer is mosquitoes. While most people think of them as inconvenient, there is a deadly side to these flying insects, in the form of West Nile Virus and malaria. That’s why this is National Mosquito Control Awareness Week, to honor those working to eradicate the menace. Worldwide, malaria has been historically one of the deadliest killers. Recent figures show 219 million cases and 655,000 deaths globally in a year. In the U.S., there are …
Month: June 2013
Approved Vance County 2013-2014 Fiscal Year Budget
A reader smuggled this document to us after approval from the board meeting last night that approved this budget. Download the budget here: 2013 – 2014 FY Budget Vance County NC
Sanford Competes for Downtown Makeover in National Contest
The City of Sanford, a N.C. Main Street community since 1984, is one of 100 towns throughout the United States and Canada selected to participate in “Main Street Matters,” a promotional campaign and competition sponsored by Benjamin Moore during the month of June. The company will provide free paint and painting services to the 20 communities that win the hightest vote totals from a Web-based poll. Each winning community will be able to beautify three downtown city blocks. Sanford is …
Butterfield Denounces Supreme Court’s Decision and State Voter ID Bill
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) issued the following statement regarding the Supreme Court of the United States’ decision declaring Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 unconstitutional: “I am outraged with the Supreme Court’s decision to declare as unconstitutional Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act. The decision will lead to less protection for minority voters in covered jurisdictions. “When the Voting Rights Act was reauthorized in 2006 by an overwhelming bi-partisan majority, Congress …
Secretary Decker: Let’s Kick Start North Carolina’s Economy
N.C. Commerce Secretary Sharon Decker released an editorial that was published in several state newspapers during the weekend. The text of this editorial follows. Over the years, North Carolina has won awards from prestigious publications such as Forbes and Site Selection magazine as an attractive state in which to conduct one type of business or another. But these awards have overshadowed a troubling fact that plagues North Carolina workers and has directly impacted job prospects. Despite spending nearly $600 million …
New VGCC Scholarship created by MPMC Volunteers
A new scholarship has been established at Vance-Granville Community College by volunteers from Maria Parham Medical Center. Kathy Caudle, director of volunteer/guest services at the hospital, recently visited VGCC to present contributions totaling $10,000, which will endow the new scholarship, called the Maria Parham Medical Center Volunteer Services Academic Achievement Award. Pictured, from left, are Jo Anna Jones, VGCC’s Executive Director of the Endowment Fund and Interim Chief Financial Officer; Dr. Stelfanie Williams, the president of VGCC; Kathy Caudle; and …
Wednesday Open Line
The person’s name is not known, but whoever bought a pack of chewing gum at the Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio on this day 39 years ago was making history. It was the first purchase of an item to be scanned into a cash register by using the Universal Product Code — much better known as the bar code. Realizing the significance of the event, the buyer returned the item — a 10-pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit — which is …
Michael Bobbitt: Notes From The Peanut Gallery (Henderson City Council June 24th, 2013)
Annual Operating Budget The city council’s consensus agreement to raise the Ad Valorem Property Tax Rate has been suspended until Tuesday June 25, starting at 6 pm. Councilperson Coffey lobbed a large rock into the tranquility pond of tax rate concession. Ms. Coffey, to the obvious displeasure of the Mayor, announced the need to discuss the ad valorem property tax rate. “As far as the rate I believe the citizens are not happy with the rate increase”. Councilperson Deake entered …
Perry Memorial Library Upcoming Programs and Events
The Summer Reading Program is in full swing at the Perry Memorial Library and there are a number of programs and classes scheduled for July. The Knitting Club is a great place to learn to knit and make some new friends. It meets on July 1, 15, and 29 at 1 p.m. Learn how to use a computer at the library’s Basic Computer Skills class, every Monday at 6:30 p.m. The library will be showing several superhero movies in the …
VGCC and Chambers schedule second Business Summit, seek sponsors
The success of last year’s inaugural Business Summit, organized by the Vance-Granville Community College Small Business Center in partnership with the Granville County Chamber of Commerce, the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber of Commerce of Warren County and the Greater Franklin County Chamber of Commerce, has prompted organizers to plan a second annual event. The 2013 Business Summit is scheduled for Tuesday, October 22, from 5:30 until 8:30 p.m. at the VGCC Civic Center. With the theme, “Knowing What’s …
Vance County NC Cooperative Extension Updates
DO YOU STORE MORE THAN 1,320 GALLONS OF FUEL? Then you may need to develop a “Spill Prevention, Control & Countermeasure” plan. Basic information is available at the following link: http://www.epa.gov/emergencies/docs/oil/spcc/spcceasy123.pdf . I’m happy to provide more information upon request. SEEKING CORAGEN-TREATED TOBACCO FIELDS FOR RESEARCH Dr. Hannah Burrack, NCSU Entomology Specialist, is seeking tobacco fields that were treated with Coragen at transplant. She would like to collect leaf samples from the field for research purposed. If you can help, please …
Tuesday Open Line
Today is the anniversary of the first color television broadcast. In 1951, CBS transmitted the appropriately named program “Premiere” from New York City, and through stations in Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia. The program was seen in color only at a few select facilities, because color sets for the home weren’t available until 1954. By the end of 1957, while nearly 39 million U.S. households had TV sets, only 150,000 were color units. Sales of color sets caught up with those …
VGCC Chapter of Honor Society recognized
The Vance-Granville Community College chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for students of two-year colleges, recently received a special commendation from the organization. In a letter to VGCC President Stelfanie Williams, Dr. Rod Risley, executive director/CEO of Phi Theta Kappa, congratulated the “Alpha Sigma Chi” chapter on fulfilling all the requirements to be named a “One-Star Chapter,” as part of the “Five Star Chapter Development Plan.” The chapter was recognized at the society’s recent Annual Convention and …
VGCC offers Manicuring certificate at Warren Campus
Vance-Granville Community College will offer the opportunity to earn the entire curriculum certificate in Manicuring/Nail Technology in just one semester this fall. This certificate program will be available exclusively at VGCC’s Warren County Campus in Warrenton. Under this new scheduling arrangement, students will take the first of two required courses, Manicure/Nail Technology I (COS-121), weekday mornings from Aug. 19 through Oct. 17 in Building 3 on Warren Campus. Then, they will immediately begin the second course, Manicure/Nail Technology II (COS-222), …
Vance County Schools – Media Centers Open During Summer
Vance County Schools again this summer is opening its school media centers two days during the week to offer reading resources to local students. The media centers at all 15 local public schools are open each Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. through August 1. Students and their parents are urged to visit the media centers and take advantage of their available resources for summer reading and book checkouts.
Reader Submisssion: Henderson’s Leadership Void
With the filing period for 4 City Council seats fast approaching, I have been surprised that there hasn’t been a lot of discussion on taking our city back. The following are some recent statistics on Henderson’s crime level as it relates to North Carolina as a whole. Looking it it, why should anyone re-elect Garry Daeke, Sara Coffey, Vernon Brown or Mike Inscoe? http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/nc/henderson/crime/
Senator Richard Burr Newsletter
June 21st Governor Holshouser’s friends, colleagues, and loved ones gathered at his memorial service to pay their respects. His lifelong dedication and service to our state was defined by many outstanding accomplishments that made North Carolina a better place to live. Governor Holshouser was a trusted counselor, great friend, an exemplary leader, and will be sorely missed. Please keep Governor Holshouser and his family in your thoughts and prayers. This week the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources passed …
Congresswoman Renee Ellmers: An Important Week in Washington
On May 23rd, the House passed H.R. 1911, “The Smarter Solutions for Students Act,” with the goal of getting politicians out of the business of setting interest rates on student loans. If Senate Democrats fail to act by July 1st on this important piece of legislation, student loan rates could double, causing unnecessary harm to borrowers across the country. More information about the student loan fix is provided in this newsletter. This week we celebrate the 50th Annual National Small …
White House: Some good news and some answers to your questions
Tara McGuinness; The White House Senior Communications Advisor: We wanted to share some really good news for consumers about health care costs so that you can also help to get out the word. First, health insurance premium rebates, which average nearly $100 per family, are on their way to 8.5 million Americans. That is because the Affordable Care Act now holds health insurance companies accountable to consumers and ensures that American families receive value for their premium dollars. If an …
White House Weekly Address: Time for Congress to Pass Commonsense Immigration Reform
President Obama discusses the bipartisan legislation in the United States Senate that would take important steps towards fixing our broken immigration system, while growing our economy and reducing the deficit. This week, the President honored Father’s Day and the WNBA Champion Indiana Fever at the White House before embarking on a four-day trip to the G8 Summit in Northern Ireland and to Berlin.