We were outside the racquetball courts and a newly arrived retiree from up north commented to me that Henderson would never advance economically until it fixed its schools. Such a verdict is not new. In fact it is one of the most consistent mantras of our community. Talk to just about any citizen about Henderson and they will quickly rattle off a string of negatives about our community, always including the matter of poor schools. Not long ago the Dispatch …
Month: December 2015
Vance County Dabney School Royalty Choir Students Sing in Washington DC for National Christmas Tree Music Program
Vance County’s Dabney School Royalty Choir Students were invited to perform at the 2015 National Christmas Tree Music Program on December 10th, 2015. The National Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony is the beginning of three weeks of celebration in holiday music in the nation’s capital. Musical groups from Washington D.C. and across the country provide holiday entertainment to the countless visitors for a one of a kind holiday experience set against the backdrop of the National Christmas Tree. Watch the performance …
Congresswoman Renee Ellemers: A Year of Accomplishments
Photo of the Week Last weekend I spoke at the ?#?WreathsAcrossAmerica? Wreath Laying Ceremony at Sandhills State Veterans Cemetery. It was an honor to be in the presence of the military families, veterans and members of Rolling Thunder Chapter 1 NC there to make sure each veteran’s grave was respectfully honored. Weekly Update This past week marked our final legislative week of the 2015 calendar year. On Friday, we passed a budget that will fund the government for 1-year, …
VGCC to offer Agricultural Entrepreneurship program in Vance & Granville counties
With partners at the local and state levels, the Vance-Granville Community College Small Business Center will soon offer the “NC REAL Agricultural Entrepreneurship” program in Henderson and in Oxford. The seven-week course is designed specifically to help local farmers and budding entrepreneurs succeed in developing profitable, environmentally-sound small farms or agricultural businesses. The class will be offered at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market (210 Southpark Drive, Henderson) on Saturdays, Jan. 23 through March 5, from 8 until 11 a.m. …
2016 Brings Fresh Reasons to Visit North Carolina
Landmark anniversaries, headline-making hotels and other developments will make North Carolina an essential destination for 2016. Here are some of the high points. State and National Parks Celebrate Centennial With the National Park Service and the North Carolina State Park System celebrating their 100th anniversaries, travelers will find a warm invitation to explore the state’s natural beauty and diversity. Stars among the national park properties include: Blue Ridge Parkway, a two-lane link to awesome overlooks and heritage attractions. Great Smoky …
Louisburg College Hurricane Headlines for December 2015
Campus Celebrates Men’s Soccer National Championship The campus and local community came together Tuesday, Dec. 1 to honor the 2015 Hurricanes men’s soccer team, which won the NJCAA national championship last month. Head coach Martin Dell and team members greeted well-wishers and conducted interviews for the media, following opening remarks by Louisburg College President Mark La Branche and Athletics Director Mike Holloman. Coach Dell and the team’s leading scorer, Max Blackmore, also addressed the crowd in the lobby …
Music Therapy at Clarke Elementary
Clarke Elementary School students are benefitting from a music outreach program provided by First Presbyterian Church of Henderson. The grant program allows for a music therapist, Cheryl Benze, to visit with special needs students in three classrooms each Wednesday and lead them in music activities. The activities provide lots of opportunities for the students to be actively involved as Benze plays songs on her guitar they can sing along to and dance to, as well as providing instruments for the …
VGCC holds College Day for transferring students
Vance-Granville Community College hosted admissions officers from four-year colleges and universities on Dec. 3 on VGCC’s Main Campus. The event was VGCC’s annual “College Day,” where students obtain important information about transfer requirements, financial aid and scholarships that can help them take the next steps in their educational journeys. The VGCC Student Learning and Success Center organized the fair in partnership with the Carolinas Association of Collegiate Registrars & Admissions Officers (CACRAO). VGCC students browsed through displays, picked up informational …
White House Weekly Address: Top 10 Things that Happened in 2015
In this week’s address, the President celebrated the end of the year tradition of list-making with a year-in-review list of his own. The President offered his roundup of the top 10 things that happened in 2015, all of which should make us optimistic about the prospects for 2016. This past year has been one where we’ve seen unprecedented progress in areas ranging from the Iran deal to marriage equality to concluding a historic trade agreement. The year 2015 brought economic …
Monday Open Line
This month in 1823, Georgia became the first state to enact a birth registration law. It required county clerks to record in a book the dates of birth of all new Georgians upon obtaining satisfactory proof by way of affidavit or sworn oaths. Enumerations of people go back to antiquity, but births were little noted outside of family and church records, and the memory of neighbors. This informal method held true until Georgia’s action in 1823, which by 1919 were …
Vance County Democratic Party Voter ID Forum January 16th, 2016
Vance County Democrats will host a voter education forum on Saturday, January 16, 2016 at 10:00 AM in the Vance County Commissioners Meeting Room 122 Young Street Henderson, NC. The public is invited to attend this informational forum addressing changes to voter identification requirements. Special guest speaker Dr. Lee Cooley will make the presentation. Reverend Dr. Lee Cooley, a Raleigh native, works for the North Carolina State Board of Elections where she serves as the Voter Outreach Specialist to Minorities for the State of …
VGCC holds New Student Orientation sessions before Spring Semester
Registration continues for spring semester classes at Vance-Granville Community College, and the college will offer a final set of opportunities for prospective students to attend an orientation session on campus. Students also now have the option of attending orientation in an online format. The spring semester begins Monday, Jan. 11, with 12-week classes beginning on Feb. 9. At VGCC’s Main Campus in Vance County, an orientation session is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 7, at 2 p.m. Other orientation sessions are …
VGCC students provide Christmas gifts for family in need
Students in the SkillsUSA chapter at Vance-Granville Community College recently made the holidays brighter by providing a variety of Christmas presents for a local family with four children who recently lost a parent. The initiative was among the first service and outreach projects conducted under the auspices of the college’s SkillsUSA organization. VGCC recently joined the national partnership of students, teachers and industry, working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce. Students in a variety of VGCC programs are …
City of Henderson Increases Brush Pickup and Recycling to 5 days a week
Based upon the information gathered during the customer satisfaction surveys concerning our Sanitation Services and a pilot program we have been undertaking for several weeks, the City will be going to a five (5) day work week instead of four (4) days for both Brush Pick-up and the Recycling. We feel that this new schedule we will provide better service for our citizens. This change will take effect January 4, 2016. The Monday and Tuesday schedule will remain the same. …
NCDOT Wants to Help Drivers Save Time, Money During Holiday Travel
As families prepare to travel for their annual holiday celebrations, the N.C. Department of Transportation will suspend most road construction activities on major routes across the state to help make their trips a little smoother. By avoiding traffic delays, drivers can reach their destinations safely and efficiently, while cutting down on fuel consumption and costs. NCDOT will put on hold most construction projects along interstate, N.C. and U.S. routes from 8 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 21 until 12 a.m. on …
Vance County Schools Upcoming Committee Meetings
Vance County Board of Education Committee Meeting Dates: * Community Relations, Monday, January 4th 2016 5:30 pm * Personnel Committee, Tuesday, January 5th 2016 8:30 am Note: All meetings are held in the Superintendent’s Conference Room.
Vance-Granville Community Band kicks off holiday season with free concert
The Vance-Granville Community Band presented its eighth annual free Christmas concert on Dec. 3, in the Civic Center on the college’s Main Campus in Vance County. Entitled “Making Spirits Bright,” the program featured a variety of traditional holiday favorites. Carl Cantaluppi of Butner, who has played clarinet in the band for many years, spoke on behalf of the ensemble and introduced most pieces. Among the selections were arrangements of the Mariah Carey hit, “All I Want for Christmas is You,” …
VGCC students work to make hunger ‘history’ with Food Drive
Vance-Granville Community College’s History Club recently completed its annual food drive, the organization’s major service project of the fall semester. Students collected non-perishable food items, as well as paper products and hygiene products, all of which were donated to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. The Food Bank works with food pantries in all four of the counties in the college’s service area: Vance, Granville, Franklin and Warren. The donations weighed in at 333 pounds, which translates …
Friday / Weekend Open Lines
Friday, December 18th. The holiday season is mostly a time of cheer. But it’s also a time for winter’s most frequent misery — the common cold and the cough that often goes along with it. While science works to find a cure for colds, the rest of us can only try to reduce their symptoms. Before the middle of the 19th century, a restaurant owner in Poughkeepsie, New York, did something to make life a little easier for cold sufferers. …
ACTS Seeking donations for childrens toys in need ASAP
ACTS is in desperate need of new or gently used toys for children birth to 14 years! The arrangements they made have fallen through and they have a Christmas luncheon scheduled for Friday to distribute toys to children in attendance with their families. Please contact ACTS at 252-572-3203