Senator Angela Bryant Newsletter


 

Volume 9, Issue VIII

August 25, 2014

 

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NEWS FROM RALEIGH…

I always welcome your comments, project updates, suggestions, and visits. My office door and electronic door are always open to you!  As always, thank you for your support!

 

 

NEWSLETTER INDEX

 

  • Around the District
  • … and More- Corrections and Photos
  • Scholarships/Grant Awards/Loan Information and Nominations
  • For your information-Vance County Childcare Statistics
  • Ethics Tip
  • Legislative News
  • Because You Care – We Thank you

 

 

 

AROUND THE DISTRICT AND MORE

  • The Young Lions Summer Enrichment Experience, Now thru August 30th. Located at 317 S Garnett Street, Henderson, NC 27536. Cost is $25 registration fee and $125 per week. Fee includes all materials, field trip costs, food, uniform shirt and transportation. For more information contact Deryl von Williams, Program Manager at 252-432-4117.
  • WRAP Training (Wellness Recovery Action Plan)Sept. 9th and 10th. A workshop for mental health consumers, health care professionals and providers. Staff training can be customized. A structured system to monitor uncomfortable and distressing symptoms so that one can reduce or eliminate those symptoms.  It is internationally regarded as a best practice and has demonstrated that it helps individuals to gain increased mental well-ness. It is designed to improve quality of life. For More Information on WRAP or upcoming workshops, please contact: Ron Scott, Program Director and WRAP Facilitator at (252)9378820 or ronscott@tarrivermha.org.
  • Free Prostate Screening for men ages 45 – 65. Offered in collaboration with Vidant Edgecombe Hospital, Saturday, September 6th. Screening appointments 8:00 am – noon. Vidant Multispecialty Clinic-Tarboro | 101 Clinic Drive Vidant Health and our physician partners are empowering men across eastern North Carolina in the fight against prostate cancer. Even if you have no symptoms, you may still be at risk. All it takes is 15 minutes with Dr. Caroline Ryan, urologist, and Dr. Mark Petruzziello, general surgeon, with Vidant Multispecialty Clinic-Tarboro. You’ll get a blood test, prostate exam and helpful information about prostate health. Enjoy light refreshments and gain peace of mind knowing you’re gaining the advantage over prostate cancer. Registration is required. Call 800-472-8500 or visit VidantHealth.com/ProstateScreen.
  • Reaching the Summit of Success: Transition to Work and Employment First 2 Day Conference Sept.  16-17, 2014 at the Greensboro Marriott Downtown, Greensboro, NC. To provide participants with up to date information on promising practices in NC and beyond. To engage in regional planning that will support participants in taking action locally to improve opportunities that lead to employment. To inform the development of policy and practice recommendations in the area of transition to employment and Employment First. For more informationcontact Cindy Thomas at 617-287-4312?cindy.thomas@umb.edu.
  • 6th annual Making Energy Work Conference Wednesday, October 1st and Thursday, October 2nd at the Charlotte Convention Center. Hosted by the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association. NCSEA has reserved a block of rooms for $145+ per night at the Hyatt Place Charlotte Downtown – 222 S. Caldwell Street, 2 blocks from the convention center. Reservation methods can be found on the Venue page of our Making Energy Work website. Click the following link to Register for Making Energy Work 2014: Securing the Future and get involved.

 

… and MORE

 

On behalf of Senator Angela Bryant’s Office we do apologize for the mislabeling of these important agencies and individuals in our 7/24/2014 District Collage. We appreciate all that you do to

make our District a great one.

 

 

At the NCGA, Nurse-Family Partnership serving Halifax, Northampton, Hertford,

and Edgecombe Counties from the Northampton Health

Department and Sen. Bryant

 

 

 

Forestry Day, May 20th at the NCGA with D. Turner, D. Batts,

B. Little, B. Lamn, Bucky Robbins, W. Earl, V. Sparon

from Wilson and Sen. Bryant

 

 

 

 

Volunteers Needed!!!!!!

 

The community needs you!

The Free Breast Exam Clinic is scheduled for Saturday October 4thWe need lots of volunteers, snacks and goodies to give away!

 

Terry Mason needs to know if you are able to participate or help in any way.  If you helped last year and helped with the signs and flyers, please contact Terry at the information listed below.

 

THANK YOU for making a difference in someone’s life!

 

Contact Terry Mason at (252)535-3417or by email at  tmason@halifaxrmc.org

 

 

 

Saying Goodbye to Fred Hines

Legislative Assistant Karon Hardy, Former House

Sgt. –at-arms Fred Hines and Sen. Bryant

 

Solar Farm Tour

Sen. Bryant and Joel Olson, O2 Solar Energy Farm Tour in Elm City, NC

 

Graduation Celebration

Rocky Mount High Graduation Dinner with Quishon Jenkins and friends

 

At the Heritage Awards Ceremony

Sen Bryant with Diana Myers (L), Wilson Heritage Award Winner-

Bill Myers of Wilson and family friend

 

At the Heritage Awards Ceremony

Sen. Bryant and Hollister Heritage Award Winner- Arnold Richardson

 

 

SCHOLARSHIP/GRANT AWARDS/ LOAN INFORMATION AND NOMINATIONS

 

 

NC Community Foundation- Coastal Plains North Region Grants

Coastal Plains North Region (Rocky Mount, Edgecombe, Warren, Wilson and Women Givers of Nash-Rocky Mount) is accepting grant applications.

 

The online process will close at NOON on Tuesday, August 26th.

Please see the information about the online process here: http://www.nccommunityfoundation.org/grants-scholarships/grants/grantmaking-guidelines

 

The application can be accessed through the link.

All agencies will need to create an agency profile, as Foundant is a new service provider for the grant application process. Should you have any questions, please contact Kelly J. Lee at klee@nccommunityfoundation.org.

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It’s time to submit proposals for The Beehive Collective’s 2014 Large Grant Giving Cycle and we need your help! 

Please share the 2014 Large Grant RFP with your friends and colleagues throughout Raleigh. This year’s theme is Innovation in Education: Supporting our Educators 

All area nonprofits, qualifying schools and educators that meet this year’s theme are encouraged to apply. The deadline to submit applications is Sunday, August 31 at 5 p.m.

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HEFNER AWARD

Call for nominations for

OUTSTANDING ADVOCATES FOR

PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

 

Applications due September 26

 

The North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities (NCCDD) is calling for nominations for its prestigious Hefner Award, an honor presented to an outstanding North Carolina advocate whose actions have improved the quality of life for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  Nominations for the NCCDD Hefner Award, open to individuals with disabilities or their family members, will be accepted through Friday, September 26. 

 

Nomination forms and more information may be obtained by going to the Council website at www.nccdd.org or by contacting Melissa Swartz at the Council office at 919-850-2901, ext. 226.  Forms must be mailed to the NCCDD office at 3125 Poplarwood Court, Suite 200, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27604 to arrive by September 26, or faxed to (919) 850-2915 by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, September 26.     

 

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Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project, Inc.

 

Individual Household Well Loan Program

Loans available for purchase of new water well or repairs to existing well

 

  • Up to $11,000
  • 1% interest
  • Anywhere from 5 to 10 year terms
  • Upfront cost (send with application): Credit Report—$25.00
  • An eligible individual means an Individual who is a member of a household in which all members have a combined income ( for the most recent 12 month period for which the information is available) that is not more than 100% of the median Non-metropolitan household income for the state or territory in which the individual lives.  
  • Loan recipient must own and occupy the home or be occupying the home as the purchaser under a legally enforced land purchase contract which is not under default by the seller or the purchaser.
  • The home must be located in a rural area.
  • The water well system may not be used to substitute water service available from collective water systems.
  • The water well system may not be associated with the construction of a new dwelling.
  • Loan recipient must not be suspended or debarred from participation in Federal programs.
  • Household Income- NC — $57,800 and VA — $76,900

 

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Golden LEAF awards 14 grants totaling more than $9.6 million in first round of regional initiative
10 counties receive funding in Northeastern NC

At the June 2014 Golden LEAF Board of Directors meeting, the Foundation awarded 14 Community-Based Grantsmaking Initiative (CBGI) grants totaling more than $9.6 million to organizations in 10 northeastern NC counties.

The CBGI is a new, competitive initiative that focuses on grantsmaking by region. Last September, 21 counties in the northeastern part of NC were invited to submit proposals for this initiative.

The organizations that ultimately were awarded grants for their projects were located in Edgecombe, Halifax, Hyde, Martin, Nash, Perquimans, Pitt, Tyrrell, Warren and Wilson counties. These projects will provide workforce training, education, economic development, infrastructure, and healthcare in northeastern NC. Click here for a list of grants awarded in the first round of the CBGI.

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Golden LEAF awards $12,000 scholarships to
215 rural NC students to attend four-year colleges

Scholars also eligible for an additional $10,000 through
four-year leadership program

On May 14, 2014, Dan Gerlach (center) met with six students from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics that will attend college with a Golden LEAF Scholarship: (from left) Ugochi Nwamara from Pasquotank County, Elarnta Darden from Northampton County, Ga Gao from Sampson County, Addie Jackson from Warren County, Ashleigh Cleveland from Currituck County, and Jumangie Smith from Halifax County.

The application for the 2015-2016 school year is expected to be posted in early December 2014 at CFNC.org/goldenleaf with the deadline for applications on March 1, 2015.

The Golden LEAF Scholarship program for four-year colleges and universities is administered through the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority. You can read more about the Golden LEAF Scholarship program by clicking here or visiting CFNC.org/goldenleaf.

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Golden LEAF Grant to Wilson County Schools

The Golden LEAF Foundation Board of Directors voted to provide a $200,000 grant – the maximum amount possible) to the Wilson County Schools to provide for school technology to be deployed in Beddingfield and Fike high schools.

The Foundation made a grant for school technology to Wilson years ago to provide 1:1 technology and we have learned much since that time. When done well, this can be a powerful tool for finance and other comparisons.

Best regards, and thank you for your service,

Dan Gerlach

 

FOR YOUR INFORMATION…

 

Childcare in Vance County

 

  • Approximately 2,380 children under the age of 6 reside with at least one working parent.
  • In March 2014, the county served 452 different children with child care subsidy and had 88 eligible children on the waiting list for subsidy.

 

  • Vance County has 62 licensed child care programs. 36 of which are centers and 26 are family child care homes. 61% of the centers and 42% of homes have a 4 or 5 star rating.

 

  • There are 1,125 children up to the age of 5, and 226 school-age children currently enrolled in these child care programs.

 

  • 80% of children in centers are in a 4-5 star licensed centers. 46% of children in daycare homes are in 4-5 star licensed homes.
  • Most families in Vance County cannot afford the full cost of child care and need a child care subsidy.

 

  • Low income families and families with more than 1 child have to pay a high percentage of their income for childcare.

 

 

 

 

ETHICS TIP

 

If a legislator accepts a scholarship valued over $200 related to the legislator’s public service or position, the scholarship must be reported.  A scholarship is defined as a grant-in-aid to attend a conference, meeting or similar event related to public service or position.  If the person granting the scholarship is outside North Carolina, the legislator accepting the scholarship is responsible for filing the required report.   G.S. 120C-800. If a legislator has accepted a scholarship, the legislator may report that scholarship by doing either of the following:

  • Maintain an annual record of all scholarships and complete Question 17 of the Statement of Economic Interest.
  • File Form OR-ER with the Secretary of State within 15 days of the close of the calendar quarter in which the scholarship was accepted.  This form can be found on the website of the Secretary of State: http://www.sosnc.com/

 

LEGISLATIVE NEWS

 

The fine print: lesser known details from the state’s budget

By Sarah Ovaska

Every budget is chock-full of details that don’t get much scrutiny from the residents and taxpayers that feel the effects, and this year’s $21.3 billion budget by Republican lawmakers is no exception.

Some of the biggest news coming out of the 260-page document (click here to read) were teacher pay raises and corresponding drops in other areas of the public education budget, as well as the backing off of previous threats to cull thousands of low-income aged, blind and elderly off of Medicaid rolls.

Though the budget isn’t yet law, (and there’s confusion about whether or not the legislature is even adjourned), it’s on the way to final approval.

Republican Gov. Pat McCrory announced last week that, though he wasn’t happy with some of the big policy changes tucked into the budget bill, he planned on signing it.

“I’m proud of it, and I’m going to sign it,” McCrory said, according to Raleigh television station WRAL.

Democrats in the legislature spoke out Wednesday morning against some of these budget items and the fallout from last year’s tax cuts, saying Republican colleagues chose to give raises to teachers for political points for November’s elections at the expense of other state functions.

“Now we have this budget that is really a 90-day Band-Aid to keep the public confused and misinformed until after the election,” said state Rep. Larry Hall, a Durham Democrat and House Minority Leader.

Buried in the budget language are some fairly significant policy and funding changes that haven’t gotten a lot of attention during the mid-summer rush to pass the budget.

Far from an exhaustive list, here are some of the changes that went through that you may not have heard about:

  • Child care subsidies: Thousands of low-income working families will be ineligible for child care subsidies, after lawmakers restricted the income levels of those that are eligible for the program. Changes to the statewide program are supposed to cut off help for 12,000 of the 110,000 children served, but those spots will likely be filled in from long waiting lists at counties.
  • Child protective services: The legislature bolstered the troubled child protective services system, in a response to several high profile cases where children were killed or faced extensive abuse while under supervision. Counties will receive $7.4 million to reduce caseloads, while $4.5 million more will strengthen in-home services, according to this comprehensive breakdown of the budget by N.C. Health News.
  • N.C. Infant-Toddler program: The legislature reiterated that it wants to cut $10 million from a N.C. Department of Health and Human Services program that screens and provides services to babies and toddlers at risk of developmental delays. (Click here for background) This year’s budget backs off a Senate proposal to demand the closure of four offices of the children’s developmental service agencies (CDSAs) spread across the state and instead calls for DHHS to “explore all options” to make the cuts and eliminate 160 positions by next July.
  • Increases the cost of testing water in private wells from $55 to $74.

At-risk student services: Even as Republican lawmakers delivered on promises to boost teacher pay, significant cuts came to other pieces of the education budget. One of those is a $9 million cut to a fund that provides additional services to at-risk students. School districts use that money in different ways, with some opting to fund teachers to keep class-size down, or others pay for summer school or after school programs. [Read more…]               

  

 

BECAUSE YOU CARE – WE THANK YOU

 

 

?Senator Bryant, what can I say?

 

After I first met you during your visit to my class, I was impressed with you, as I’ve already stated.  Now that I’ve seen you on your turf, words fail to fully convey the admiration that I have for you and your staff. I waited a day before sending this because I wanted you to know that this is not just the obligatory “thank you” note. I cannot imagine anything else that you or your staff could have done for us Tuesday.  Fully knowing that you had much more important issues on your plate than a group of kids from Wilson, we all felt that we mattered while we were there.  By name my students have shared their pleasure with what you and your staff did for us.  That means a lot coming from the mouth of a young adult because they all are, if nothing else, brutally honest. Posing for the selfies cemented for me that you are genuine in what you do. As I’ve already said, I could not be more impressed.

  

Sincerely, 

Scott Jones

 

 

Dear Senator Bryant,

 

The City of Roanoke Rapids Parks and Recreation Department would like to thank you as a representative of Halifax County for your support of the arts in our community during this year’s session of the General Assembly.

 

With legislator support, our county was awarded funds for arts programs. The portion of these funds awarded the Roanoke Rapids Parks and Recreation Department were used to provide musical entertainment and marketing materials for our Summer Concert Series “Fridays in the Park”. These summer Concerts are held monthly from June through September and were free to the public. The Grassroots Arts Program Grant funds along with several local corporate sponsors help us to provide clean, family- oriented arts programs for our community.

 

Thank you again for your support of the arts in North Carolina and especially Halifax County.

 

Sincerely,

Kelly Manning

Project Coordinator

                                 

 

Senator  Bryant:

 

Again THANK YOU to you and your staff for the tremendous warmth and accommodation our leadership class received. We’re very fortunate to have you represent us! Thank you,

 

Ryan Simmons

President

Wilson Chamber of Commerce

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Senator Bryant,

 

The Rocky Mounty/Kelly Bryant Chapter of Shaw University wanted to say thank you again for showing your support at our Annual Heritage Day Banquet. Thank you and we look forward to working with you in the future.

 

Kalvin Wall

Co-Chair

______________________________________________________________________________

 

 

Dear Senator Bryant,

 

Thank you very much for the Child Care WAGE$/RttT-ELC Supplement. These funds have really helped me to pay tuition and fees toward my future B.S. Degree.  They have also enabled me to pay some personal bills too. I have also purchased additional resources for the classroom. Again, I thank you for investing in quality educators who will encourage children to become lifelong learners.

 

Your Partner in Education,

Linda Smith

Head Start Teacher

 

Dear Senator Bryant,

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to see our 4-Hers from Halifax and hear about what they are doing. Your advice and encouragement to them was and is much appreciated and they really enjoyed meeting you. Thank you for all of your efforts on behalf of Halifax, especially with our youth. You are making a wonderful difference here. I look forward to continue working with you in the future.

 

Kind Regards,

Ashley L. Brooks

4-H Agent, Halifax County

 

 

Contact:  Senator Angela R. Bryant, North Carolina Senate • District 4•

North Carolina General Assembly • State Legislative Office Building • 300 N. Salisbury Street, Room 520, Raleigh, NC  27603 • 919-733-5878-P • 919-754-3289-F •Angela.Bryant@ncleg.net or

Karon Hardy, Legislative Assistant at  bryantla@ncleg.net.