This is a day when people of all ethnicities are cheerfully encouraged to wear something green. It is St. Patrick’s Day, a rare national holiday observed outside its native land. The day honors Bishop Patrick, born in England, who brought Christianity to Ireland in the fifth century, using a shamrock to illustrate divinity. The celebration here goes back to Colonial times. New York City’s parade has taken place every year since 1762, and today is the largest such event in …
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N.C. Main Street Conference Kicks Off Wednesday in Goldsboro
North Carolina’s largest downtown revitalization conference gets underway this Wednesday, March 16th in Goldsboro. Commerce’s NC Main Street Center will host the three-day conference offering learning sessions, tours, downtown exploration and networking opportunities with downtown professionals, elected officials, consultants and volunteers. More than 500 participants are expected to attend. The conference theme – Soaring with Main Street – references both the conference location, adjacent to the state’s largest Air Force Base and the tremendous economic successes achieved through the Main …
Wednesday Open Line
The first salvo in what we’ve come to know as the War on Poverty was fired on this date 52 years ago. Following President Lyndon Johnson’s State of the Union call for tackling poverty in America, the Economic Opportunity Act was introduced and passed by Congress with 11 program components. The landmark legislation was signed into law in August. The poverty rate in 1965, at the implementation of the programs, was around 16 percent, down from some 22 percent in …
North Carolina Requesting Waiver from Assessing Speaking and Listening in Reading/English Language Arts Assessments
The U.S. Department of Education (USED) is allowing states to request a waiver from assessing speaking and listening as part of its Reading/English language arts assessments. In June 2010, the North Carolina State Board of Education adopted Reading/English language arts content standards, which include standards for speaking and listening. Federal law requires assessments include all adopted content standards; however, measuring speaking and listening skills in a large-scale summative assessment is not practical at this time. As a result, North Carolina …
Butterfield Invites Constituents to Attend His “Jobs and Justice” Tour
Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) announced four additional stops on his district-wide “Jobs and Justice” Tour. He will travel across the First Congressional District where he will host constituents for open dialogues about issues they face in the community. Butterfield is also conducting a survey on his website to capture the views of his constituents. “I will listen to the concerns of constituents and take their recommendations back to Washington, D.C. where I’ll work with my congressional colleagues and the Obama …
Butterfield Statement on the Passing of Former State Senator Earline Parmon
Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) Tuesday released the following statement on the passing of former North Carolina State Senator, Earline Parmon: “North Carolina lost a legend today with the passing of Earline Parmon, Forsyth County’s first black state senator. Earline was elected to the North Carolina Senate in 2012 after serving as a representative in the North Carolina House of Representatives for ten years. She was well respected by her colleagues and was a charismatic leader who always put the needs of …
NVHS Soccer Earns Academic Award
The Northern Vance High School men’s soccer team for the seventh consecutive year received a High School Team Academic Award from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) with the fourth highest grade point average among the 152 teams receiving national recognition for the award for the 2014-2015 school year. The team’s overall grade point average was 4.11. The NSCAA annually recognizes high school soccer programs that have excelled in the classroom in addition to their work on the …
VGCC students partner to register bone marrow donors
The SkillsUSA chapter at Vance-Granville Community College recently teamed up with national organizations and a local cancer survivor to find some potential heroes. The survivor, Whitney Johnson Espinosa of Henderson, who calls her campaign against childhood cancer “Whitney’s Hope,” organized a bone marrow registration drive in the Civic Center on VGCC’s Main Campus. She connected with the SkillsUSA student organization through her mother, VGCC Dean of Business & Applied Technologies Angela Gardner-Ragland. Espinosa was working in concert with three national …
Chamber Ribbon Cutting – Kerr Lake Cornhole & Vinyl Graphics
A ribbon cutting was held on February 23rd for Kerr Lake Cornhole & Vinyl Graphics to celebrate the company’s membership with the Chamber and business growth at their location on 430 S. Garnett Street in Downtown Henderson. Family, chamber staff and local dignitary and businesses joined them in their celebration. Anthony and Gail Hatchel are the owners of Kerr Lake Cornhole & Vinyl Graphics (430 S. Garnett Street, Henderson), a business that builds custom sets of the bean bag game. …
Vance County Committee Meeting Notices – Water Committee and Public Safety
Please note the following schedule of upcoming committee meetings: Public Safety Committee – Monday, March 28 at 2:00 p.m. (fire department reorganization) Water Committee – Monday, March 28 at 3:00 p.m. (water matters) These meetings will be held in the administrative conference room. All commissioners are invited to attend.
Tuesday Open Line
Ask many Americans where their food comes from, and they’ll answer the supermarket, while clothing comes from the mall. That’s why today is National Agriculture Day, and March 13 to 19 is National Agriculture Week. These annual programs focus on students across the nation, the consumers of tomorrow. They’ll learn that from pizzas to cosmetics, from clothing to orange juice, agriculture gives us what we eat each day and much of what we wear and use. In 1920, there were …
Congresswoman Renee Ellmers: Growing Economic Opportunities in Sanford
Photo of the Week Turnout for the ribbon cutting ceremony at the Sanford Buggy Factory was huge! It was an honor to speak at such a one-of-a-kind ceremony in downtown Sanford. This ceremony is a perfect example of how revitalization and historic preservation can enhance our community. This newly-renovated facility will provide a “one-stop-shop” for economic growth and development in Sanford, as it will house several agencies focused on developing, growing and enhancing Sanford. Weekly Update Monday began with …
City of Henderson City Council Meeting Monday March 14th, 2016
Henderson City Council Regular Meeting on Monday, 14 March 2016 at 6:00 PM in the City Hall Council Chambers, 134 Rose Ave., Henderson, NC 27536 Download the full agenda packet here: 20160314_coh_agenda_packet.pdf I. CALL TO ORDER II. ROLL CALL III. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE IV. OPENING REMARKSIn order to provide for the highest standards of ethical behavior and Transparency in Governanceas well as provide for good and open government, the City Council has approved Core Valuesregarding Ethical Behavior1 and Transparency in Governance2. …
Butterfield Names New Press Team
today announced that he has named Meaghan Lynch as his new press secretary and Jordun Lawrence as his press assistant. Both Lynch and Lawrence will be based in the Washington, DC office and will handle all communications and media relations for the Congressman. Lynch most recently worked as senior associate at a strategic communications firm in Washington, DC, where she focused primarily on military health issues. Originally from Rocky Mount, NC, Lynch previously interned in Congressman Butterfield’s Washington, D.C. office. …
Monday Open Line
This month in 1879 marked a milestone in women’s history and the opportunities available to them. Earlier, President Rutherford Hayes signed a congressional act “to relieve certain legal disabilities of women.” So in March, the act’s leading champion, 49-year-old Belva A. Lockwood, became the first woman to be admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, which she did in 1880. Lockwood was one of about 75 female attorneys in 1880. By 1890, there were only 208 in a national …
VGCC and Justice Fire Department partner to offer Ag Rescue training
Vance-Granville Community College recently partnered with the Justice Rural Volunteer Fire Department in Franklin County to offer an unusual training program designed to prepare local firefighters for specific emergency situations that may occur on farms. A course called “Agricultural Machinery Rescue” was conducted from Jan. 19 through March 3, with instructor Joe Burris of Greenville teaching at the fire station in Justice and, at times, on the farm of Kelly Harris, the former chief and current assistant chief of the …
Vance County Board of Education Meeting Monday March 14th, 2016
The Vance County Board of Education will meet on Monday, March 14, 2016, at 7:00 pm in the Administrative Services Center Board Room, 1724 Graham Avenue, Henderson. You may download the full agenda packet here: 20160314_vcboc_agenda_packet.pdf You may also download the 2000 series board policies mentioned under VIII.D Here: 2000 Series, Board Operations.pdf
VGCC to host Afternoon Tea class
Vance-Granville Community College will offer a course on the “afternoon tea” party, the tradition that is enjoying a renaissance as fine hotels, inns and tea rooms across the country give guests an opportunity to retreat from the hurried pace of their lives. The course, called “Let’s Have a Tea Party,” will meet on VGCC’s Main Campus in Vance County, on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1 until 4 p.m., starting March 29. The final class and “graduation” ceremony is an actual …
NC Cooperative Extension Updates
AGRICULTURAL TAXES WORKSHOP IN WARRENTON March 28, 5:00 – 8 pm, dinner meeting. Registration is free. Presented by NCSU Extension Specialist Dr. Guido van der Hoeven. He will discuss tax issues related to agricultural businesses, including sales and income taxes. Register by March 23rd at http://www.ncsbc.net/center.aspx?center=75530 WORKSHOP: NAVIGATING THE USDA GAP AUDIT April 11, 9 am to 4 pm, Summerfield, NC (near Greensboro). $20 registration includes lunch. Register on-line at http://bit.ly/GAP-4-11 WEBINAR: ADDING VALUE TO LOCAL FOOD Mar 20, 12:30-1:30 pm. …
Friday / Weekend Open Lines
Friday, March 11th. One of the most devastating public health crises in history hit the U.S. on this date 98 years ago — and experts are still studying it, hoping to head off a similar global pandemic. The first cases of what was called “Spanish flu” were reported among soldiers at Fort Riley, Kansas. By 1920, nearly one-in-four Americans had suffered from this strain of the flu, killing about 600,000. Worldwide, estimates put the death toll up at 50 million …