Last week, I joined 10 other members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in voting to declassify the Detention and Interrogation Report. Since 2012, I have been deeply concerned about the factual inaccuracies contained within this report, including inaccurate information relating to the details of the interrogation program and other information provided by detainees. I had hoped that the authors of the report would ensure that the American public was provided facts, not fiction. I am extremely disappointed in …
VGCC to hold 30th Benefit Golf Tournament on May 6
The 30th annual Vance-Granville Community College Endowment Fund Golf Tournament will be held at the Henderson Country Club on Tuesday, May 6, 2014. All event proceeds support the mission of the college, the Endowment Fund and student scholarships. The milestone for the fundraiser comes as the college prepares to celebrate its 45th anniversary. “In almost three decades, thanks to the support of numerous golfers and sponsors, our tournament has grown to include both morning and afternoon rounds as well as …
VGCC holds Career Day for students
Students at Vance-Granville Community College recently had a chance to explore job opportunities, distribute their resumes and network with potential employers without leaving the college’s Main Campus. On April 2, VGCC’s 36th annual Career Day was held in the college’s Civic Center. Career Day is organized each spring by the VGCC Career Services department to give area businesses, non-profit organizations and government agencies an opportunity to tell Vance-Granville students and alumni about what they do and about the type of …
Congresswoman Renee Ellmers: Congressional Update
While the president celebrated Obamacare enrollment numbers that don’t tell the full story this week, he disregarded the 75 percent of Americans that are living paycheck to paycheck and the 30-hour rule in Obamacare that threatens to slash employees’ wages. House Republicans are working to ease the financial squeeze that all-too many Americans are experiencing. To help in this effort, I voted this week to restore the 40-hour work week by defining a “full-time” employee as one who works 40-hours …
White House Weekly Address: The President’s Budget Ensures Opportunity for All Hardworking Americans
In this week’s address, the President highlighted the important differences between the budget he’s put forward — built on opportunity for all — and the budget House Republicans are advocating for, which stacks the deck against the middle class. While the President is focused on building lasting economic security and ensuring that hardworking Americans have the opportunity to get ahead, Republicans are advancing the same old top-down approach of cutting taxes for the wealthiest Americans and slashing important investments in …
Monday Open Line
The years of Prohibition, from 1920 to 1933, were considered a noble experiment that failed as the subsequent crime associated with bootlegging caused problems worse than the lone problem of drunkenness. The crumbling of the unpopular Volstead Act accelerated on this date in 1933 when Congress amended the act to permit beer of 3.2 percent alcohol to be brewed and sold. The beer permitted earlier under Prohibition contained only .05 percent. Called “near beer,” and much disdained, one humorist declared …
Vance County Properties Committee Meeting Notice
The County’s Property Committee is scheduled to meet Monday, April 7 at 12:00 noon in the County Manager’s office. The purpose is to discuss auction firms for the Armory.
Vance County Board of Commissioners meeting Monday, April 7th, 2014
Vance County Board of Commissioners meeting Monday, April 7th, 2014 Agenda is listed below, or download the full agenda packet here: 20140407_vcboc_agenda_packet Invocation Rev. Joseph Ratliff, Shiloh Baptist ChurchRecognition of Leadership-Vance ParticipantsSpecial Recognition – Boards and Committees 1. Appointment 6:05 p.m. Karen Foster, Council of GovernmentsCDBG Compliance Documents 2. Public Comments (for those registered to speak by 5:45 p.m. – each speaker is limited to five minutes) 3. Water District Boarda. Project Updateb. Phase 1A – Change Ordersc. Envirolink Activity …
Audio: Vance County Water Planning Committe April 3rd, 2014
Listen to the audio from the April 3rd 2014 Water Planning Committee [jwplayer mediaid=”57922″]
H. Leslie Perry Memorials ‘Friends of the Library’ Wine Tasting Party Fundraiser
The Friends of the Library are throwing a party. The Friends of the Library support a number of programs in the Library and they generate money for these programs primarily with the book sale. But on May 4, 2014 The Friends of the Library Board is holding a WINE TASTING PARTY as another fund raiser. The Party will be at the Lynchcreek Farm on Rocky Ford road, from 3 to 5 p.m. There will be wines from Wine 101 in …
Tour De Vance Bike Ride April 26th, 2014
Seasoned Riders: 30-mile and 60-mile rides traverse rolling farmland. 30-mile “Forest and Farmland” is mainly a circle route. 60-mile “Kerr Lake Look” adds an out-and-back spur past Nutbush Creek State Recreation Area to turn around at Kerr Lake ‘s Bullocksville State Recreation Area. Lunch provided for 30- and 60-mile riders – BARBEQUE from Nunnery-Freeman! Download the flyer here: Tour de Vance 2014 Vance-Granville Community College200 Community College Road (off Poplar Creek at I-85)Henderson, NC 27536Check-in begins 7:30am Start Time:8:30am – …
Volunteers Sought for Spring Litter Sweep Week; Recycling Day Planned
The Vance County Appearance Commission, in partnership with the Henderson Community Appearance Commission, is again sponsoring the Henderson-Vance Spring Litter Sweep Week, April 21-26, and seeking volunteers to participate in clean-up efforts to improve the appearance of our county around homes, businesses, churches, schools, in neighborhoods and subdivisions and along city streets and county roadways. Please consider becoming involved in this effort. The Appearance Commission groups are hoping to increase participation from the approximately 300 volunteers who were involved last …
Henderson Vance Crime Stoppers Crimes of the Month – Rewards Offered f
Armed Robbery Case: On Saturday, March 01, 2014 at 6:55pm, members of the Henderson Police Department responded to To Boost Mobile 893 South Beckford Drive to a reported armed robbery. Upon arrival Officers talked to Stacy Rodriguez. Rodriguez stated that a black male wearing a dark colored sweet shirt entered the store with a hand gun and demanded money from the register. Suspect then took the money and ran out of the store. The Henderson Police Department encourages anyone with …
VGCC Upcoming Small Business Seminars
SEMINAR TITLE DESCRIPTION OF SEMINAR LOCATION DAY TIME DATE Register How Women Can Work Together More Effectively in Small Businesses Tired of misunderstandings, other women’s complaints and people taking credit for your hard work? Find out why different rules can exist in an all-female work environment. As a small business owner, learn the skills to communicate more clearly and confidently to resolve conflicts before they escalate. Leave with new ideas to help you reduce stress, have more fun and …
Friday / Weekend Open Line
Perhaps most people are now familiar with the data processing expression “garbage in — garbage out.” In these days of intensive search for alternative ways to generate power, the words have become “garbage in — energy out,” as a number of power plants burn garbage instead of fossil fuels. The first power plant in the U.S. to burn garbage was the Union Electric Company in St. Louis, Missouri, on this date in 1972. The U.S. now burns about 12 percent …
Butterfield Says SCOTUS Ruling on McCutcheon v. FEC is a ‘Cruel April Fool’s Joke’
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) Wednesday expressed grave concern over the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, which strikes down contribution limits for individual campaign donors by claiming that it restricts First Amendment rights. Butterfield said, “The Supreme Court has ruled to drown out the voice of the common man in elections by, again, empowering those with vast monetary resources. Since the Citizens United decision, the massive infusion of corporate financing has dramatically …
North Carolina Weekend
For the week of April 3 on UNC-TV’s North Carolina Weekend, compare the Easter bonnets with all the frills upon them at the Easter Hat Parade in Dillsboro. Test your endurance via the cyclists at the Belmont Criterium in Belmont. Step back in time at Historic Gold Hill in Gold Hill. Take a walk on the wild side at the WNC Nature Center in Asheville. And the “House Special” samples the fare at Lucky 32 in Greensboro. (Please note: listings …
DBAP showing off new look at Thursday’s opener
With a renewed emphasis on the gameday experience and entertainment, the 18-year-old Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham broke ground on more than $20 million worth of renovations as soon as the last pitch was hurled in September. Fans will get to see the result when the Bulls begin the 2014 season tomorrow (Thursday) against the Gwinett Braves. Changes start at the front entrance, which has lost the gates but gained a grand facade. On the concourse, nearly a dozen …
Thursday Open Line
America’s coffee-loving public has no grounds for complaint about today’s anniversary. On this date in 1829, a patent was issued to James Carrington of Connecticut for a coffee mill. Milling is an ancient process for grinding grains and beans, and the basis of the 1829 patent was largely for its more robust, all-cast iron construction. But Carrington’s coffee mill came out to benefit from the country’s increasing taste for coffee, which supplanted tea as a favorite beverage around the time …
White House: 7.1 million Americans
Monday night, the first open enrollment period under the Affordable Care Act came to an end. And Tuesday afternoon, we announced that 7.1 million Americans have now signed up for private insurance plans through the new Health Insurance Marketplaces. 7.1 million. That doesn’t count the more than 3 million young adults who have gained insurance under this law by staying on their families’ plans. It doesn’t count the millions more who have gotten covered through the expansion of Medicaid and …