This is Christmas Eve, a time of gathering families close together and to wind down from the hectic weeks of shopping and mailing. But it also is a night of wrapping presents, especially. Some parents will discover to their dismay that some treasure has been overlooked, and head out into the cold, hoping to find an open store with the right solutions. Santa’s elves get plenty of help from U.S. toy makers. There are 545 enterprises across the country producing …
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Top Five Job Creation Announcements for 2015
Local and state leaders work side by side to recruit companies to North Carolina and assist those already here to grow and expand. In today’s competitive environment, NC Commerce has several economic development programs, including our Job Development Investment Grant reimbursement program. 2015 represented a vigorous year once we hit July 1st when the NC Competes legislation cleared the way for more projects and offered businesses more certainty through 2020. Here is a snapshot of the top five job announcements …
Wednesday Open Line
An institution that has been in the news a lot these past few years, and which has come in for its share of criticism during the nation’s stubborn economic problems, observes the anniversary of its founding today. The Federal Reserve System, known simply as “the Fed,” came into being on this date in 1913, with the job of keeping the nation’s complex financial system in tune. Acting as the nation’s central bank, “the Fed” influences the lending and investing activities …
Light The Night 2015
On December 6th, 2015 the City of Henderson hosted its annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony. The public is invited to gather outside First United Methodist Church on Garnett Street in front of Veterans Park. The mayor counts down and everyone yells Light That Tree! The tree is lit, and everyone is invited inside the church for a ceremony of song and prayer. Mayor Pete O’Geary presides the ceremony while numerous guests perform. This year there were performances by the Men’s Quartet, Henderson …
VGCC graduates 13 cadets in school’s 101st BLET Class
Thirteen cadets graduated on Dec. 15, 2015, from the Basic Law Enforcement Training (BLET) program at Vance-Granville Community College, in a ceremony held in the Civic Center on Main Campus. After passing the state certification exam, all are authorized to work in any law enforcement agency in North Carolina. Graduates of VGCC’s 101st BLET class included Thomas Henry Turner III and Jason Tyler Wright, both of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office; Elliott DeVar Carver of the Granville County Sheriff’s Office; …
NCDA&CS offers risk-management classes for farmers
The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services will offer a series of risk-management workshops across the state in January through March. The workshops will focus on managing price volatility and identifying macro indicators in marketing agricultural commodities. The following topics will be covered: Introduction to grain hedging, basis trading, cost of carry, cotton futures, option trading on futures and equities, and macro forces. The principles of options, spreading strategies, using options to manage financial risk, and energy derivatives and …
Local artists on display at VGCC Personal Enrichment Open House
The Continuing Education division at Vance-Granville Community College held an Open House to showcase the work of students in Personal Enrichment classes on Nov. 30, on the college’s Main Campus in Vance County. The open house offered visitors a chance to see the artistry of talented students and instructors from VGCC’s painting, ceramics, dollmaking and quilting classes. VGCC currently offers these types of classes at both the Main Campus and the Franklin County Campus near Louisburg. “The community members who …
Downtown Henderson Merchants Win Holiday Decorating Contest
The Henderson Vance Downtown Development Commission in partnership with the Vance County Arts Council held its annual downtown business holiday decorating contest again this year. The winners of the contest were: 1st place: The Screen Master 2nd place: Betty B’s 3rd place: Dataforge 4th place: Emrose Gallery 5th place: The Rosemyr Corporation Each business was given a prize, donated by other local merchants. Prizes were donated by WalMart, Cracker Barrell, and Golden Corral.
Tuesday Open Line
One of the most important inventions of modern times dates to this week in 1947. Three Bell Laboratory scientists successfully tested what would become the junction transistor, vital to our information age. The three shared the Nobel Prize in physics in 1956. The transistor replaced bulky, fragile vacuum tubes, which generated a lot of heat as they amplified a signal. As a Bell colleague who coined the term “transistor” said, “nature abhors the vacuum tube.” The first application that caught …
Chamber Ribbon Cutting – Propel GPS, LLC
Propel GPS, LLC held a ribbon cutting on December 8th to celebrate the expansion of their offices at 946X Crossroads Shopping Center on Highway 39. A Chamber member for over 2 years, the company opened in Henderson over 3 years ago. Company owner and CEO Rick Burtner welcomed attendees to the event which was part of a Christmas Open House featuring catered refreshments and introductions of team members from various parts of the US. The company offers a one-stop …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …