One man’s devotion to classical music led to a major advance in the music recording industry. Dr. Peter Goldmark of CBS Labs was fed up with the frequent record disc flips and swaps required to play a symphony in the then-current 78-rpm format, which held only three to five minutes per side. So he developed the 33 1/3 rpm long-playing record — first shown to the public on this date in 1948, and the standard for decades to follow. A …
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VGCC students awarded Golden LEAF Scholarships
A group of 18 students from Vance-Granville Community College recently received scholarships through the Golden LEAF Scholarship program for the North Carolina Community College System. The scholarship program, designed to help North Carolinians attend the state’s community colleges, is funded through a $750,000 grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation. The scholarship can be used to assist with tuition, books, fees, supplies, transportation and childcare expenses related to attending classes during the 2015-16 academic year, and industry-recognized credential testing expenses that …
Congresswoman Renee Ellmers: Let’s Play Ball!
Photo of the Week In Wednesday night’s Congressional Women’s Softball Game, we came up a bit short in the score, but not in the effort for the Young Survival Coalition. Roll Call reported the game raised $215,000, crossing “$875,000 in total donations to the charity since the event began in 2008.” It was a great time for a great cause. Weekly Update Before heading back to D.C. this week, I headed to a batting cage near my house to get …
Monday Open Line
This week 50 years ago, the Beatles’ song “Paperback Writer” topped the pop music charts in America. This ode to middlebrow writing aspirations followed by 106 years the introduction of paperback books by some earlier Beadles — the brothers Erastus and Irwin Beadle. In early June 1860, the New York City publishers issued the first paperback, called Malaeska, the Indian Wife of the White Hunter. Termed a “dime novel” for its price, the title seems to foreshadow two common subjects …
Butterfield Statement on Wildin Acosta’s Release from Restricted Housing
Thursday, Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) released the following statement following confirmation from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that Wildin Acosta was released from restricted housing at Stewart Detention Center: “After nine days in restricted housing, Wildin Acosta has been returned to the general population at Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia. While I am relieved that he has been released from restricted housing, I remain deeply concerned over his continued detention. He has now been in detention for …
Community College System’s top honor presented to former VGCC president
Dr. Ben F. Currin, the former president of Vance-Granville Community College, formally received the highest honor bestowed by the North Carolina Community College System, the I.E. Ready Award, at a recent ceremony. Held on May 27 at the Brio restaurant in Raleigh, the luncheon marked a VGCC “family reunion” that brought together longtime college trustees, Endowment Fund Board members and senior administrators. Exactly half of VGCC’s six presidents were in attendance, including Dr. Currin; Robert A. Miller, who succeeded Currin; …
Next Step in Traffic Shifts for the I-40 Fortify Project Planned for Friday Night
The next shift onto newly built inside lanes of the Fortify I-40 rebuild project is expected late this week. The contractor plans to move about two miles of I-40 West traffic onto three new lanes from west of Lake Wheeler Road (Exit 297) to west of the Avent Ferry Road bridge overnight Friday, weather permitting. A similar shift for I-40 eastbound traffic in the same area took place last month. Crews have spent this week preparing for the move by …
NCCU staffer on VGCC campus to coordinate new Criminal Justice bachelor’s degree
An advisor is now in place on the main campus of Vance-Granville Community College to facilitate the new “Eagle Voyage” partnership that offers area residents an opportunity to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice through North Carolina Central University. Keana Williams, a Raleigh resident, recently became the first member of the NCCU staff to be permanently housed on the VGCC campus. As the university’s transfer academic advisor and Eagle Voyage academic & career coach, Williams will help …
Friday / Weekend Open Lines
Friday, June 17th. America’s first accident insurance company was chartered on this date in 1863 in Hartford, Connecticut. It was the Travelers Insurance Company — still with us today as the Travelers Companies — and its first policies insured against loss during periods of travel only. In 1864, the charter was amended to cover all manner of accidents. The first such rider, sealed with a handshake, was to insure James Bolter of Hartford for $5,000 against accidents on his walk …
Henderson Middle School Students to Wear Uniforms
Students who attend Henderson Middle School will be required to wear school uniforms for the 2016-2017 school year following action by the Vance County Board of Education on June 13. The board approved a recommendation by Superintendent Anthony Jackson that the school be allowed to require the uniforms based on information shared by Principal John Hargrove and school staff members. Hargrove and his staff presented a detailed report to the board members on how they sought staff and parent input …
VGCC Pharmacy program head graduates from leadership program
Dr. Erica Fleming, the Pharmacy Technology program head/instructor for Vance-Granville Community College, recently graduated from the North Carolina Community College Leadership Program (NCCCLP). She is one of 36 community college faculty and staff members from across the state who completed the program this year. The leadership program, which includes face-to-face instruction at various locations, provides preparation and training to develop future community college leaders. The program is highly experiential in nature, and participants work in teams to create an “ideal” …
TRAC in Downtown Henderson, NC sees near-record crowd
Visit NC held TRAC in Henderson/Vance County and the surrounding area on June 9th, 2016 and saw a large attendance from throughout the region. TRAC is an opportunity for all tourism-related businesses to meet one-on-one with program managers to discuss better ways to promote their property or event. TRAC brings Visit North Carolina’s program managers to local communities to discuss the nuts and bolts of working with the organization. The next TRAC will be held in Hertford on Aug. 11.
VGCC student leaders graduate, continuing their education
Vance-Granville Community College recently celebrated the graduation of a number of outgoing leaders in its Student Government Association (SGA), sending many of them off to four-year universities, including Duke, East Carolina, N.C. State, N.C. Wesleyan, NCCU and UNC-Charlotte. Among them is Lydia Hendrick of Oxford, SGA senator for the college’s South Campus, who graduated with both an Associate in Arts and an Associate in Science degree as a Granville Early College High School student. Hendrick accomplished that feat in four …
North Carolina Weekend
For the week of June 16 on North Carolina Weekend, take in the great outdoors at Hanging Rock State Park in Danbury. Grab a group and head to Simply Natural Creamery in Ayden. Take a tour of Nomad Farms in Tobaccoville. Get your toes a-tappin’ at Feed & Seed in Fletcher, one of the stops on the Blue Ridge Music Trail. And “After Dark” checks out The Durham Hotel in Durham. (Please note: listings are subject to change.) North Carolina …
Thursday Open Line
For centuries, the month of June has been the most popular choice for weddings. One of the purported reasons was that some hundreds of years ago, this time was just after May’s annual bath, so the happy couple and the guests were about as clean as could be hoped. With the ensuing advances in plumbing and overall hygiene, dressy weddings are readily staged year round, from simple civil ceremonies and backyard or back-to-nature vows, to elaborate church functions. Each year, …
NC Cooperative Extension Updates
MULCH AVAILABLE FROM VANCE COUNTY LANDFILL The Solid Waste Department has a limited supply of mulch and composted leaves to give away. The giveaway will take place June 15th, 16th, and 17th from 8 to 4 PM and June 18th from 8 to 12 noon. The yard waste facility is located at 3181 NC 39 Hwy North. Those interested would be able to load by hand for free. Loading is available by front-end loader at a cost of $5 per …
Butterfield Calls on ICE Director to Review Disciplinary Actions Placed on Wildin Acosta
Tuesday, Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) sent a letter to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Director Sarah Saldaña calling for the immediate review of disciplinary actions administered to Mr. Wildin Acosta while detained at Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia. Acosta, who has been detained at the facility since late-January, is awaiting a decision on his pending appeal currently before the U. S. Department of Justice’s Board of Immigration Appeals. ICE officials recently confirmed that Wildin Acosta was placed in …
Bridge Replacement Project to Start This Fall in Granville County
The N.C. Department of Transportation has awarded a contract to replace a 61-year-old bridge on Grassy Creek Virgilina Road over Aaron’s Creek, near Virgilina. The $870,000 project was awarded Fred Smith Company in Raleigh. This project is part of NCDOT’s program to rehabilitate and replace bridges across the state. The 2015 budget signed by Governor McCrory is funding the replacement of approximately 540 bridges across the state. Work can begin as early as Oct. 15 and be completed by March …
Wednesday Open Line
With summer and school vacation almost here, children will be urging their parents to take them to the nearest amusement park. Long among the most popular features of these parks are ever more thrilling roller coasters, which trace their roots back to 17th century ice slides in Russia. In the U.S., the first roller coaster opened this month in 1884 at Coney Island, New York. It was built by LaMarcus Thompson and was called the “Gravity Pleasure Switchback Railway.” The …
Butterfield Mourns the Victims of Tragic Mass Shooting in Orlando
Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) today released the following statement following the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida on June 12, 2016, that claimed the lives of 49 individuals and injured more than 50: “I am devastated by the horrific and senseless violence and loss of life that took place early Sunday morning in Orlando, Florida. As we learn more about this brutal shooting, it appears that this attack was driven by hate. This kind of violence and hatred has no …