Vance-Granville Community College was recently chosen to join the Plus 50 Encore Completion Program, a national effort to train 10,000 baby boomers for new jobs in health care, education and social services. The program is sponsored by the American Association of Community Colleges. VGCC is one of only four community colleges in North Carolina currently participating in the program, which seeks to assist adults age 50 and over in completing degrees or certificates in high-demand occupations that give back to …
Wild animals, wrestling and wood turning part of new attractions at Mountain State Fair
FLETCHER — The playful bark of sea lions and thunderous smack of human pile drivers will be joining the familiar sounds of the midway and livestock arenas at the 2013 N.C. Mountain State Fair. The 20th annual fair runs Sept. 6-15 at the WNC Agricultural Center. Sea Lion Splash, an interactive and educational water show, will offer visitors a chance to view sea lions up close as they balance balls, shoot hoops, dance and perform handstands. The show features rescued …
Friday / Weekend Open Line
One of the engines of business and personal life in the 21st century is just 22 years old this month — the World Wide Web. The concept was developed and released by two scientists at the Cern Laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland. At 22, the Web is quite a bit younger than the U.S. median age of 37, but in its brief life has come to shape our days with searches, shopping and communication. It took some time to get going, …
Vance County Water Board Planning Committee Meeting Cancelled
Please be informed that the Water Board Planning Committee meeting scheduled for Friday at 12:00 has been cancelled.
Vance County Board of Education Committe Meeting August 6th
Vance County Board of Education Committee Meeting Date: * Personnel Committee, Tuesday, August 6th, 8:30 am Note: All meetings are held in the Superintendent’s Conference Room.
Hurricanes owner to be inducted into US Hockey Hall of Fame
Peter Karmanos, owner and CEO of the Carolina Hurricanes, will be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame’s Class of 2013, according to USA Hockey. Four others will join Karmanos in the Hall including former Doug Weight, who played on the Hurricanes Stanley Cup-winning team, and Bill Guerin, women’s hockey pioneer Cindy Curley and former collegiate coach Ron Mason. Karmanos purchased the Hartford Whalers in 1994 and moved the franchise to Raleigh in 1997. Since then, the Hurricanes have …
Vance County Water District Board’s Planning Committe to meet August 2nd
The Vance County Water District Board’s Planning Committee is scheduled to meet Friday, August 2 at 12:00 noon in the County Manager’s Office. The purpose is to discuss the purchase of water meters.
No Substitute for Good Teachers: Price, Butterfield to Introduce Bills to Keep Educators in the Classroom
WASHINGTON, DC – North Carolina Democratic Representatives David Price (NC-04) and G.K. Butterfield (NC-01) today urged their colleagues to support complementary bills they will introduce this afternoon to address two critical aspects of our national teacher shortage: improving teacher retention and attracting teachers to schools with the greatest needs. The representatives, whose districts both include portions of North Carolina’s Research Triangle, believe that recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers is a critical component of improving public education and maintaining our economic …
N.C. Welcome Centers mark 45 years of service to visitors, businesses
Today, North Carolina’s Welcome Centers mark 45 years of service, both to the state’s thousands of small tourism-related businesses and to millions of visitors each year. On Aug. 1, 1968, the I-85 North Welcome Center in Warren County opened, followed on Aug. 30 by the I-95 North Welcome Center in Northampton County. At the time, Gov. Dan Moore said the opening of these two Welcome Centers “is one of the most progressive steps taken by this administration to encourage and …
As Dome prepares to wrap, road to Sleepy Hollow opens
Dean Norris, Rachelle Lefevre and other cast members of one of network TV’s hottest summer shows, Under the Dome, have immersed themselves in the local scene during shoots in New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties for the CBS drama, which is slated to wrap filming this week. During their final days in town, Norris explored Bald Head Island, Lefevre took in a Rockabilly show at Brooklyn Arts Center and Mackenzie Lintz shopped at downtown boutique Edge of Urge for Dome‘s …
Hagan Supports Bipartisan Solution to Keep Student Loan Interest Rates Low
North Carolina’s colleges and universities are among the finest in the nation, and our students are among the best and brightest. They are working their way through school or taking out loans to pay for college because they know it is an investment that will pay off in the long run — that will help them reach their goals, land a good-paying job and support their families. However, as a result of congressional inaction, interest rates on undergraduate subsidized federal …
N.C. Zoo launches gorilla magazine application for iPad
The birth of two baby boy gorillas in August of 2012 at the N.C. Zoo in Asheboro marked an historic event. To celebrate, a digital magazine for the iPad has been created that features the zoo’s very special troop of Western Lowland gorillas. The interactive digital magazine (also called an app) highlights the gorilla troop and is available as a free download on the App Store website here. “Not only will this application promote the zoo’s extraordinary Western lowland gorilla …
Canadian visitation to N.C. in 2012 hits record levels
Overnight Canadian visitor volume hit record levels in 2012, topping the previous high from 2008, according to recent data received by the Division. More than 454,000 overnight Canadian visitors traveled in the state in 2012, up 5 percent from 2011, spending more than $134 million. Nearly half of all Canadian overnight visitors hail from Ontario, while more than 36 percent visit from Quebec. More than 70 percent of trips were reported to be vacation related visits and 16 percent to …
House Unanimously Passes Butterfield’s Bill to Stop Counterfeiting of Collectible Coins
WASHINGTON, DC – Late yesterday evening, the House unanimously passed Congressman G. K. Butterfield’s (NC-01) bill, H.R. 2754, the Collectible Coin Protection Act. Under existing law, the Hobby Protection Act, it is unlawful to manufacture in the U.S. or to import into the U.S. for distribution in commerce any imitation coin or currency unless it is “plainly and permanently” marked with the word “copy.” The Collectible Coin Protection Act would extend the law to cover the commercial sale of an …
Keylan Johnson arrested in Florida, Wanted in Henderson for July 2013 Shooting
Keylan Johnson was apprehended, July 30, 2013 in Jacksonville, Florida by the United States Marshals Service. Johnson was arrested on a fugitive warrant in Florida and is awaiting extradition to North Carolina for the charges related to the July 20, 2013 shooting of Chanequa Kelly. Assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service was provided by the Eastern District of North Carolina Violent Fugitive Task Force and the Florida/Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force, Jacksonville and Orlando Divisions. The previous report from July …
North Carolina Weekend
For the week of Aug. 1 on UNC-TV’s North Carolina Weekend, step back in time at Thompson’s Store in Saluda. Enjoy the fresh outdoors at Leatherwood Mountains in Ferguson. Find something unique at the Wild Food + Herb Market in Carrboro. Get back to nature at Hammocks Beach State Park in Swansboro. And the “House Special” samples the fare at The Friendly Market in Morehead City. (Please note: listings are subject to change.) North Carolina Weekend is underwritten by the …
Attorney General Roy Cooper: Stay Vigilant Against Home Repair Scammers
The recent roundup of home repair scammers who targeted seniors is good news for everyone except the scammers. These crooks will appear before a court to answer for their crimes, but not all scammers have been brought to justice yet. Family, friends, and neighbors can all play important roles in helping to protect the elderly. Take notice if work crews are knocking on doors in your area, making unsolicited pitches for home repair jobs. They often try to trick or …
Under the Dome renewed for Summer 2014
Under The Dome, television’s #1 summer series in viewers and key demographics, will return in Summer 2014 with 13 new episodes, CBS Entertainment announced this week. Stephen King, whose bestselling novel is the basis for the series, will write the premiere episode of the second season. Under The Dome is a serialized drama from Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television based on Stephen King’s bestselling novel of the same name. The series is averaging 13.84 million viewers, 3.5/10 in adults 18-49 and …
White House: The First Cornerstone for the Middle Class
President Obama traveled to Chattanooga, Tennessee yesterday to talk about the first cornerstone of middle class security: a good job in a durable, growing industry. He outlined his vision for an economy where everyone who works hard can get ahead, and his plan to make that vision a reality. Click here to see what the President had to say.
Thursday Open Line
This week in 1858, Boston and New York started an experiment, putting official mail collection boxes along the streets so passersby could drop off their outgoing letters. Before that, they had to go to the post office or catch the mail carrier on his route. The new collection boxes were a welcome innovation, and in the ensuing 155 years became a familiar, if lately dwindling, feature at street corners across the country. Today, in spite of ever-growing volumes of e-mail …