Americans have unfortunately become all too familiar with the constant threat to their personal information from hackers. As the recent attacks on Target, Anthem Blue Cross and Sony illustrate, cybersecurity threats come from both here and abroad, and Americans’ most sensitive data is the target. Last week, I introduced a bipartisan bill aimed at addressing this threat: the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (S.754). The bill, which is coauthored with Senator Dianne Feinstein, would create additional incentives to increase sharing of threat information while …
Month: March 2015
Middle and High School News March 23-27, 2015
VANCE COUNTY SCHOOLS WEEKLY SCHOOL NEWS Volume 3, Issue 30 A Publication for Middle and High Schools March 23-27, 2015 The MISSION of Vance County Schools is to be committed to educating all students to prepare them for lifelong learning and productive citizenship. IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS ? There will be an information session for parents of current eighth graders on the application process to apply as ninth graders …
Butterfield Seeks to Make Expediting Treatments for Rare Pediatric Diseases Permanent through Introduction of Bipartisan Advancing Hope Act
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) today introduced the Advancing Hope Act of 2015, a bipartisan bill that will make permanent the Rare Disease Priority Review Voucher Program, which was created through the inclusion of the Creating Hope Act in the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) reauthorization. The Creating Hope Act, which was signed into law by President Obama in 2012 as part of the PDUFA reauthorization, expanded the cost-neutral Food and Drug Administration (FDA) priority review …
New NCDA&CS restaurant contest to highlight best of North Carolina on local menus
RALEIGH – The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is launching a new contest for restaurants that use locally sourced ingredients on their menus. The “Dig into Local” Best Menu NC contest is part of an expanding array of foodservice programs offered by the department through its Got to Be NC and Savor NC marketing programs. “This promotion works well with the trends we see in restaurants today,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “Locally sourced meats, seafood and produce …
Elementary School News March 23-27, 2015
VANCE COUNTY SCHOOLS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL NEWS Volume 2 Issue 30 March 23-27, 2015 The MISSION of Vance County Schools is to be committed to educating all students to prepare them for lifelong learning and productive citizenship. IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS All fourth graders and their teachers attend the annual Storytelling Festival at Perry Memorial Library in downtown Henderson on Tuesday. SCHOOL EVENTS FOR THIS WEEK …
Tuesday Open Line
A number of various causes are recognized in March. Two of these seem to go hand in hand, or hand to mouth — National Nutrition Month and National Frozen Food Month. The goal of the first is make consumers aware of just how easy it is to eat healthy meals. And one of the ways this is possible is because of frozen food. Developed by Clarence Birdseye, the first commercially available items were quick-frozen fish fillets in 1925. Frozen food …
Parent Session for Early College High School Admissions March 30th, 2015
An information session for parents of current eighth graders in Vance County Schools about the application process to enroll as a ninth grader for the 2015-2016 school year in the Vance County Early College High School will be held at 6 p.m. on Monday, March 30, in the Board Room of the school system’s Administrative Services Center at 1724 Graham Avenue in Henderson. Principal Michael Bullard of the Early College High School, and his staff members will share information about …
Congresswoman Renee Ellmers: Two Bills Introduced This Week!
Photo of the Week I brought a little bit of the south to the halls of the Capitol this week! I picked these beautiful boots up as a belated birthday present to myself in Johnston County, North Carolina. Weekly Update This was a busy week legislatively as I reintroduced two important bills — one to protect Medicare cancer patients from sequester cuts and the other to shield our farmers from the effects of Obamacare. H.R. 1387, The Fairness for …
Butterfield to Join Dept. of Health & Human Services for Panel on Impact of Affordable Care Act on North Carolina Women for ACA 5th Anniversary
WASHINGTON, DC — On Monday, March 23rd, Rep. G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) will join Dr. Pamela Roshell, Department of Health and Human Services Director for Region IV, for a roundtable discussion and celebration of the 5th Anniversary of the Patients’ Protections and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Joining in the celebration, which also marks Women’s History Month, will be key government and healthcare leaders who will discuss the Affordable Care Act’s success in North Carolina, and underscore what its passage means …
VGCC Radiography student nominated for Herring Award
Vance-Granville Community College recently nominated John T. Kelly III of Durham, a student in the college’s Radiography program, for the North Carolina Community College System’s Dallas Herring Achievement Award. The award was established by the system in 2010 to honor the late Dr. Dallas Herring, the longtime State Board of Education chairman and one of the state’s earliest advocates of community colleges. Each year, the award recognizes a current or former community college student who best embodies Herring’s philosophy of …
VGCC awards 319 Scholarships to students
Vance-Granville Community College awarded 319 scholarships to students at an annual awards ceremony, held Feb. 25 in the college’s Civic Center. In her welcoming remarks, Dr. Stelfanie Williams, the president of VGCC, congratulated the scholarship recipients and thanked the donors who support the college’s Endowment Fund, many of whom were on hand to present their scholarships in person. “The mission of our college is to educate, inspire and support a diverse community of learners, and these scholarships are …
White House Weekly Address: It’s Time to Confirm Loretta Lynch
In this week’s address, the President called on Republicans in Congress to stop playing politics with law enforcement and national security and confirm Loretta Lynch as Attorney General of the United States. Loretta is an independent, career prosecutor who deserves to be confirmed as soon as possible. She has proven herself time and again throughout her 30-year career, yet come Monday, the amount of time her nomination will have languished on the floor of the Senate will total more than …
Monday Open Line
The ingenuity of one man helped to change the very shape of America’s cities — and indeed those around the world. On this date in 1857 in New York City, Elisha Otis installed the first enclosed, commercial passenger elevator. His earlier development of automatic brakes meant that riders were safe, even if the hoisting cable of an elevator broke. Subsequent installations have lifted city skylines, as architects began to design increasingly taller buildings. And reversing centuries of practice, the elevator …
City of Henderson City Council Meeting Monday March 23rd, 2015
Henderson City Council Short Regular Meeting Monday, 23 March 2015 6:00 PM NO Work Session Items City Hall Council Chambers, 134 Rose Ave., Henderson, NC 27536 Download the full agenda here: 20150323_coh_agendapacket.pdf
NCDMV Continues Issuance of Voter ID Cards in Preparation for 2016 Elections
RALEIGH — With the 2016 elections fast approaching, the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles continues its collaborative effort with the North Carolina State Board of Elections to issue no-fee voter ID cards and register qualified voters at all driver license offices statewide. As directed by the General Assembly in accordance with the Voter Information Verification Act (VIVA – House Bill 589), effective January 1, 2016, North Carolina will require all voters to present valid photo identification to cast a …
Vance County Board of Education Called School Board Meeting
VANCE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION Called Meeting Wednesday, March 25, 2015 5:30 p.m. Administrative Services Center Superintendent’s Conference Room, 1724 Graham Avenue, Henderson, N. C. 27536 AGENDA Call to Order * II. Approval of Meeting Agenda * III. Revised 2014-2015 Early College Academic Calendar Budget Work Session Local Current Expense Fund Teacher Supplements Capital Outlay Fund Technology Summary * V. Executive Session * VI. Adjournment * Requires Board Action
North Carolina Weekend
For the week of March 19 on North Carolina Weekend, “Collecting Carolina” looks at Native American art in Raleigh. Lift a glass during a tour of several breweries in Wilmington. The “Fitness Files” tries stand-up paddleboarding in Wrightsville Beach. Step back in time at the Sandhills Antique Farm Equipment Show in Lillington. And enjoy a visit to the Snowbird Mountain Lodge in Robbinsville. (Please note: listings are subject to change.) North Carolina Weekend is underwritten by Visit North Carolina. In …
Vance County Planning/Environmental Committee Notice March 25th, 2015
Vance County’s Planning/Environmental Committee (Commissioners Garrison, Taylor and Wilder) is scheduled to meet Wednesday, March 25 at 3:00 p.m. in the Administrative Conference Room. The purpose is to discuss solar farms. Note: All commissioners are invited to attend.
VGCC job fair focuses on construction, logistics
Vance-Granville Community College is hosting a Construction & Logistics Job Expo on Wednesday, April 8, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. in the Civic Center on the college’s Main Campus in Vance County. The event is intended for area residents who are looking for jobs working with heavy equipment (bulldozers and excavators, for example); as well was those requiring a Commercial Driver License (CDL); those in the construction trades, including carpentry, welding, and masonry; or those in transportation, warehousing and …
Friday / Weekend Open Line
One of the most distinctive and near universal American colloquialisms — the affirmation “OK” — appeared in public for the first time this month in 1839. There have been claims that “OK” derives from languages as diverse as Greek and Choctaw, and that it appeared in earlier American documents. But it was first published in a Boston Morning Post story with a brief definition. While “OK” took off around the country and eventually the world, time KO’d the Boston Post, …