Vance County Board of Commissioners has scheduled a special meeting for Monday, March 21 at 2:00 p.m. in the commissioners’ conference room. The purpose of the meeting is to enter into closed session to discuss economic development matters. A work session will be held immediately after the special meeting. The purpose of the work session is to discuss the draft capital improvements plan and funding options.
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North Carolina Weekend
For the week of March 10 on North Carolina Weekend, “Collecting Carolina” visits Replacements, Ltd. in McLeansville. Step back in time at Fort Dobbs State Historic Site in Statesville. Get down on the farm during the Annual Southern Farm Days in Lake Waccamaw. See what all’s going on at West End Mill Works in Winston-Salem. Tempt your taste buds at SoCo in Wilson. (Please note: listings are subject to change.) North Carolina Weekend is underwritten by Visit North Carolina. In addition, UNC-TV …
Thursday Open Line
For many Americans, trying to envision life without our various telephones would be like trying to live without indoor plumbing. The crucial utility is 140 years old today. In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell made the first, local, telephone call in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Over a wire to his assistant in the next room, Bell said, “Mister Watson, come here; I want to see you.” Only when Bell improved his invention to carry a voice for several miles did the public discover …
Vance County Schools Dropout Rate Declines for 6th Straight Year
The dropout rate in Vance County Schools for 2014-2015 declined for the sixth consecutive year with data from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction indicating that 68 students or 2.28 percent left school early. The 2014-2015 rate was a decrease from 83 students or 2.71 percent dropping out in 2013-2014. In 2012, Vance County Schools implemented “Destination Graduation” one of the National Dropout Prevention Network Center’s model program that addresses prevention, intervention and recovery. The program highly emphasizes parent participation, …
Attorney General Roy Cooper: Don’t bite on fraudulent emails
Reports of data breaches involving fraudulent emails, commonly called phishing, are spiking. A total of 30 phishing breaches have been reported to the Attorney General’s Office by businesses and other organizations so far this year. Twenty of those reports have come within the past two weeks. That’s compared to eight phishing breaches reported in all of 2015. Scammers can use technology to pretend to be anyone in an email, and phishing emails can lead directly to data breaches. Emails used …
Tobacco Trust Fund awards grant to VGCC
The North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission has awarded a $25,000 grant to Vance-Granville Community College to support students in a pair of training programs. The grant, for a project entitled “Cultivating and Growing Agricultural Communities,” will help cover the cost of tuition and other fees for eligible students in the “NC REAL Agricultural Entrepreneurship” and “Heavy Equipment Operator” courses offered by VGCC. Grant funding will also support instructional staff, marketing and supplies related to the programs. VGCC has offered …
Public Comment Sessions Scheduled on North Carolina’s K-12 Education Plan for Every Student Succeeds Act
Educators, parents, students and other stakeholders of North Carolina’s public schools are invited to attend six public comment sessions scheduled for April and May across the state. Public input is being sought by NC Department of Public Instruction staff to help guide development of the state’s plan for complying with the new federal education law, a re-authorization of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is the new federal education law approved in December …
VGCC installs first officers for SkillsUSA chapter
The Vance-Granville Community College chapter of the national SkillsUSA organization, established only a few months ago, now has its first official student leaders. On Feb. 29, four students signed their contracts and took their oaths as chapter officers. They included President Benjamin Layton of Kittrell (a Criminal Justice Technology student), Secretary/Treasurer Ashley Allen of Henderson (Office Administration), Reporter Harold Todd of Oxford (Criminal Justice Technology) and Parliamentarian Daniel Johnson of Louisburg (Paralegal Technology). Performing the installation was Steve Hargrove, who …
Local Volunteers Go Bald in Downtown Henderson, NC to Support Childhood Cancer Research April 9th, 2016
The 3rd Annual FOP/HPD St. Baldrick’s Day Event and The St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a volunteer-powered organization dedicated to raising money for children’s cancer research, will host one of its signature head-shaving events at 200 Breckenridge Street Henderson, NC on April 9, 2016, where more than 50 “shavees” will shave their heads in solidarity with kids with cancer and raise money for lifesaving research. Every 3 minutes a child is diagnosed with cancer; one in five won’t survive, and those who …
Wednesday Open Line
“Don’t accept your dog’s admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful.” Whatever is the merit in the remark by the late advice columnist Ann Landers, there are few bonds of esteem stronger than that between owners and their dogs. But that relationship comes with responsibilities. One was set this week in 1894, when the first statewide dog license law was enacted by New York. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was designated to carry out …
Tickets for VGCC Dinner Theater go on sale March 15
Suspense, thrills and laughter are on the menu as Vance-Granville Community College presents the successful Broadway show, “Deathtrap,” for its fourth annual Dinner Theater. The event is scheduled for the evenings of Thursday, April 28, and Friday, April 29, starting at 6 p.m., in the Civic Center on VGCC’s Main Campus in Vance County. VGCC’s Culinary Arts and Drama departments are teaming up once again to present a delicious meal followed by an entertaining play. In a new twist, there …
Special events, mobile apps to be discussed at free VGCC small business seminars
The Warren County Campus of Vance-Granville Community College will soon host a pair of free Small Business Center seminars focused on innovative marketing techniques. “Generating Revenue with Special Events for Business Owners” will be held on Tuesday, April 5, from 1 until 4 p.m. “Mobile Apps for Small Business” will follow on that same day, from 6 until 9 p.m. Both are scheduled to meet in Building 4 (Room W4103) of the Warrenton campus. Leading both seminars will be Renae …
Tuesday Open Line
The inventor of the first practical automatic dishwasher was born on this date in 1839 and was perhaps an unlikely candidate for the distinction. Josephine Cochrane was a socialite, and devised the dishwasher out of some annoyance at how her domestic staff damaged her china. Awarded a patent in 1886, Cochrane sold her machines in the 1890s mainly to restaurants and hotels. Her company eventually became KitchenAid, now part of the Whirlpool Corporation. In 2013, the Census Bureau’s American Housing …
VGCC to offer Biotech Workshop to high school students
Vance-Granville Community College has scheduled its fourth annual Biotech Workshop for local high school students, as one of a series of VGCC Arts & Sciences camps and workshops being held this year. All tenth, eleventh and twelfth graders who have taken or are currently taking biology and chemistry are invited to attend the workshop, which is set to take place over the course of two Saturdays: April 2 and April 9, each day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Students …
Congresswoman Renee Ellmers: Shedding Light on Regulations
Video of the Week This week I spoke on the House floor about my energy bill, ?#?HR4444? the External Power Supply Improvement Act. This legislation updates current policy to match advancements made within the lighting industry. This pro-consumer, pro-manufacturing legislation will exempt certain lighting technologies from a misguided regulation issued by the Department of Energy. Click here to watch the full video. Weekly Update This week was off to a great start! My pro-consumer, pro-manufacturing energy bill was discussed, …
Monday Open Line
Las Vegas is renowned for spectacular stage shows and as a destination for conventions and expositions. One opens there today that likely would draw an enormous crush of visitors. But sadly, the 2016 International Pizza Expo at the city’s convention center is not open to the general public. Running through March 10, the attendees are in the serious business of the preparation, improvement and distribution of one of America’s favorite foods. The first pizzeria in the U.S. opened in New …
Clockworks, Downtown Henderson’s Newsletter for Winter 2016
The Downtown Development Commission (DDC) works to preserve, develop and promote Downtown Henderson. As a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, the DDC is funded by annual contributions from our local City and County governments as well as raised funds. Clockworks is a quarterly newsletter highlighting the activities of the DDC and events in downtown Henderson. The DDC is led by a dedicated group of individuals representing not only the downtown area, but a cross section of the community as well. Download the latest …
Topsoil and soil fertility tips for spring
Don’t play the guessing game with your garden vegetables or yard for the upcoming growing season. Soil testing for your spring plantings and yard maintenance gives you the information needed to maximize your efforts and boost garden yields. The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Agronomic Services Division encourages home and community gardeners and landscapers to submit soil samples during the non-busy season for faster turnaround times and with no peak-season fees. Soil samples will be analyzed free from …
Applications for Vance Medical Academy
Applications are now available for the Vance Medical Academy located on the campus of Southern Vance High School for the 2016-2017 school year for rising ninth-grade students. The applications are available from middle and high school guidance counselors and on the Vance County Schools’ website at www.vcs.k12.nc.us. The deadline for completed applications is March 31, 2016. Applications should be turned in to Willa Clark, Vance County Schools, P.O. Box 7001, 1724 Graham Avenue, Henderson, N.C. 27536. The Vance Medical Academy …
Henderson Vance Crime Stoppers Crimes of the Month – Rewards Offered for Info
Assault with a Deadly Weapon inflicting serious injury Case On January 06, 2016 at approximately 1:15 AM., Henderson Police Officers responded to 600 block of Winder Street, in reference to someone Shot. Upon arrival Officers talked to Mr. Kyron Coleman who stated that two black males with dreads and a hand gun jumped out at him and shot Coleman in the right leg. The Henderson Police Department encourages any person with information related to these cases to contact Henderson –Vance …