The Water District Board’s Planning Committee is scheduled to meet Wednesday, August 21 at 4:00 p.m. in the County Manager’s Office. The purpose is to discuss water project matters.
White House Weekly Address: Working to Implement the Affordable Care Act
President Obama says we are on the way to fully implementing the Affordable Care Act and helping millions of Americans. Welcome to the West Wing Week. This week, we broke from tradition a bit and took to our social media networks to ask our followers about what they would like to know about everything that’s happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Monday Open Line
An invention that improved the early automobile so anyone could start one up was this month in 1915, awarded to Charles F. Kettering for the self-starter. Before that, it took muscle, some mechanical knowledge, and a bit of a risk to hand crank the engine of a car for ignition. In his lifetime, Kettering was awarded 140 patents for various automobile features, but also such things as an incubator for premature babies. Furthermore, he co-founded the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer …
Rabies Clinic, Vance County Animal Control and Other Animal Advocacy Groups at Tractor Supply Saturday, August 17th
The Rabies Clinic will be offered by Vance County Animal Control from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon at Tractor Supply on Dabney in Henderson. Ruin Creek Animal Protection Society, Vance County Humane Society and Friends of Vance County Animal Shelter will be present. Friends will be accepting donations of kitten and puppy food, blankets, beds, . . . for use by Shelter Animals. Donations, including office supplies, will help VCAC staff do more for the Animals due to inadequate county …
Henderson Fire Department “Fire Prevention Open House” Seeking Participants
The Henderson Fire Department will be having their Fire Prevention Open House on Thursday, October 10th, 2013 from 5PM until 8PM at Station #1 located at 211 Dabney Drive and would like to invite you to attend this year. They are offering tables and chairs for you to set up and provide your information to the community and will be serving FREE pizza and drinks, so bring your family and friends and join them for a night of fun! …
Sample fescue lawns now for lime and fertilizer needs
RALEIGH — Fescue is a cool-season grass, so it grows best in fall, winter and early spring. In the heat of summer, it goes somewhat dormant and persists in survival mode. But, as fall approaches, the time is right to prepare for reseeding and fertilization. “Now is a good time to collect soil samples from fescue lawns,” said Jagathi Kamalakanthan, agronomist with the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. “The most common fertility problem found in lawns across North …
Butterfield Lauds Announcement of USDA Grants and Loans across NC-01
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) praised U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack’s announcement for the funding 45 projects across North Carolina, including 15 in the First Congressional District under the USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). “Today’s announcement from Secretary Vilsack is yet another example of the Obama Administration’s commitment to boosting economic development in rural communities and helping small businesses thrive in the First Congressional District,” said Butterfield. “These grants will …
Two new Vice Presidents named at VGCC
HENDERSON, N.C. — Vance-Granville Community College recently welcomed two new senior administrators. Steven Graham of Oxford, N.C. was named Vice President of Finance and Operations, while Stacey Carter-Coley of Apex, N.C. joined the college in March as Vice President of Employee and Public Relations. Both Graham and Carter-Coley are new faces at VGCC but have years of experience in education and public service. Graham comes to VGCC from the Vance County Schools, where he served most recently as Finance Officer …
N.C. Forest Service crews fighting fires in Western states
RALEIGH — North Carolina’s wet spring and summer have meant a below-normal wildfire season, allowing N.C. Forest Service staff to assist states in the West. A 20-person crew left earlier this week to help fight one of the many wildfires burning in Alaska. Another 20-person crew is working on a wildfire near Portage, Utah. A third, multi-agency crew will be traveling to Boise, Idaho, on Saturday, where it will be assigned to one of the many fires in that region. …
Friday / Weekend Open Lines
Since major league baseball began in 1876, there have been only two game-related deaths in the more than 200,000 games played. The first was in 1909, when Philadelphia catcher Doc Powers crashed into a wall chasing a foul pop-up, suffering internal injuries. He died two weeks later. The last occurred in 1920, when on this date at the New York Polo Grounds, popular Cleveland Indians shortstop Ray Chapman was hit on the head by a pitch from the Yankees’ Carl …
Attorney General Roy Cooper: Scammers target utility customers, threaten loss of power
Consumers are receiving calls that claim to come from their utility company, telling them that there is a problem with their account and they need to pay money immediately or risk having their power shut off. The callers use technology to fake their phone number, so when the call comes through the real utility’s name appears on your caller ID. Often the scammer uses a prepaid phone, making the calls next to impossible to trace. The latest version of this …
North Carolina Weekend
For the week of Aug. 15 on UNC-TV’s North Carolina Weekend, enjoy part 1 of the “Collecting Carolina” series featuring MESDA. Explore Castle McCullough in Jamestown. Hit the seas via the Schooner Jeanie B in Washington. And the “House Special” samples the fare at The Ruddy Duck Tavern in Morehead City. (Please note: listings are subject to change.) North Carolina Weekend is underwritten by the N.C. Division of Tourism. In addition, UNC-TV has made recent editions of North Carolina Weekend …
Thursday Open Line
Chairs have a history going back to the ancient Egyptian Pharaohs, or even earlier in antiquity. But a couple of variants that no one was anxious to try out debuted this month in the 19th century. In 1890, the electric chair was used for the first time in Auburn, New York, to carry out a death sentence. Scarcely more alluring, a special dental chair was patented on this date in 1848 by Waldo Hanchett. His innovation was a wooden recliner …
Upcoming VGCC Small Business Seminars accessible at four campuses
Vance-Granville Community College’s Small Business Center will soon offer a pair of free seminars of interest to entrepreneurs, and through the use of technology, the classes will be available at four locations at once. The “Business Plan Basics” seminar is scheduled to be held on Thursday, August 29, from 2 until 4 p.m. on VGCC’s South Campus in Granville County, and “Ten Steps to Starting a Business” will follow on Tuesday, Sept. 10 from 6 until 9 p.m. on the …
Sturm, Ruger & Company to Create More Than 450 Jobs in Rockingham County
Governor Pat McCrory and North Carolina Commerce Secretary Sharon Decker announced Tuesday that Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. will establish a new manufacturing facility in Rockingham County. The company plans to create more than 450 new jobs in North Carolina by the end of 2017 and invest more than $26 million in the new Mayodan location. Melissa Smith served as the developer for the project for the N.C. Department of Commerce. “Advanced manufacturing companies like Ruger know that North Carolina …
Mountain State Fair music lineup features more than 50 local, regional acts
FLETCHER — The N.C. Mountain State Fair will feature more than 50 local and regional performers during its run Sept. 6-15 at the WNC Agricultural Center. “We want to highlight the variety of local talent found right here in North Carolina,” said fair manager Matt Buchanan. “From bluegrass and country to rock and funk, there’s something for everyone, and it’s all included with your admission ticket.” Concerts will take place on the Bojangles Music Stage outside the Davis Event Center. …
Wednesday Open Line
Keeping Social Security strong and solvent is a continuing concern in an increasingly aging America. The demographic profile was different on this date in 1935, when the program was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The program aimed to provide security to retired workers over 65, most of whom had no pension, and life expectancy at birth was just 60 years for males, and 64 for females. The first monthly check under the system was for $22.54, issued …
Michael Bobbitt: Notes From The Peanut Gallery (COH August 12, 2013)
From beginning to ending including a closed session Monday’s city council meeting last less than 45 minutes. New Business highlights The police department traded in five surplus shotguns plus some cash ‘donated’ by local criminals to buy eight new shotguns and accessories. Sad to think the police need eights shotguns to protect the citizens from the very criminals with more cash than they can good sense. I like the catchy name for the shotgun sling, Uncle Mike’s tactical 3 point …
Visitor Spending Rises in All NC Counties in 2012, Vance County up 2.36% from Previous Year
RALEIGH, N.C. – Governor Pat McCrory and North Carolina Commerce Secretary Sharon Decker announced today that all of the state’s 100 counties saw increases in visitor spending in 2012. Data from the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development showed that three counties (Mecklenburg, Wake and Guilford) had more than $1 billion in visitor spending in 2012 while Dare, Buncombe, Forsyth and Durham all had more than half a billion in spending. Domestic visitors to …
Hagan Proposes Pragmatic Roadmap to Fix the Broken Housing Finance System
Nearly five years have passed since taxpayers bailed out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the entities at the heart of our nation’s broken housing finance system. Despite broad bipartisan agreement that the system needs to be fixed, Congress has yet to act. As I’ve traveled across our state in the wake of the financial crisis, I’ve talked to too many middle-class families who have struggled to stay in their homes and keep their heads above water. I’ve talked to too …