RALEIGH — Today, Governor Pat McCrory and N.C. Commerce Secretary Sharon Decker announced that Nash Building Systems Inc., a manufacturer of metal roofing, metal building components and pre-engineered steel buildings, will expand its facility in Edgecombe County. The company plans to create 29 jobs and invest $2.2 million over the next three years in Tarboro. The project was made possible in part by a performance-based grant from the One North Carolina Fund of up to $100,000. The grant is contingent …
Thursday Open Line
It’s better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. Nearly 200 years ago, it was even better to light a gas lamp. On this date in 1817, America’s first gas streetlamp was lit in Baltimore, Maryland. The coal gas was supplied by the nation’s first incorporated gas company. Just like today, startups have their struggles, but by 1850, about 50 urban areas had gasworks for mostly municipal and business illumination, along with some private residences. While gas lamps …
Vance County Board of Commissioners March Meeting Date Change
The Vance County Board of Commissioners has announced it will change it’s scheduled Monday, March 4th, 2013 6pm meeting to the following week. The March 2013 Board of Commissioners meeting will be held Monday, March 11th, 2013 at 6:00pm at the usual place in the Vance County Administration Building.
Butterfield Observes Black History Month and Cosponsors Resolution
WASHINGTON, DC – In observance of Black History Month, Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) today became an original cosponsor of H.Res. 49, a resolution highlighting the invaluable contributions of African Americans to our nation’s history and identity. “Throughout our history, African Americans have persevered through much hardship and discrimination to enrich our nation in innumerable ways,” said Butterfield. “From political pioneers like George Henry White and Shirley Chisholm, to new leaders such as President Barack Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder …
Businesses find success reshoring to North Carolina
Reshoring, or moving manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. from overseas, has become an increasingly viable option for business of all sizes. According to N.C. Commissioner for Small Business Scott Daugherty, “With labor costs increasing in emerging countries and transportation costs increasing everywhere, the scales are tipping back in favor of manufacturing in the U.S. When you have an existing company with a proven financial track record, it benefits the state to help that company move back home. North Carolina …
N.C. Department of Commerce Releases Annual Sales Report
Last week, the N.C. Department of Commerce’s Business & Industry Division released its annual Sales Report for calendar year 2012. The report summarizes announced jobs, investment statistics and several other metrics followed closely by the Division, such as project activity by industry sector and follow-up meetings with existing industries. In total, 16,487 jobs were announced in 2012, up 2 percent from the previous year. In addition, $3.5 billion of investment was announced, a 14 percent rise from 2011. Top 10 …
Security company to expand in Mecklenburg County
On Feb. 1, Governor Pat McCrory and North Carolina Commerce Secretary Sharon Decker announced that InVue Security Products Inc., a security firm focusing on retail theft, will expand its global headquarters in Charlotte. The N.C. Department of Commerce’s Uconda Dunn was the developer on this project. The company plans to create 70 jobs in North Carolina by the end of 2017 and invest $750,000 into its Mecklenburg County location. The project was made possible in part by an award from …
10 NC Checkpoints for African American History and Heritage
RALEIGH, N.C. — While the spotlight is trained on Black History Month, plan a visit to one of these intriguing North Carolina sites that reflect African American history and heritage. Harriet Jacobs Trail Edenton Harriet Jacobs, born in Edenton, escaped slavery and wrote one of the first narratives about the struggle for freedom by female slaves in the plantation South. To commemorate the bicentennial of her birth, her memoir, “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl,” will be used …
Wednesday Open Line
On this date in 1899, the Senate ratified the Treaty of Paris, concluding the Spanish-American War of 1898. The treaty, negotiated in Paris the previous December, was opposed by 27 senators; not opposed to peace, but to the overseas territorial acquisitions. Spain ceded Puerto Rico, Guam, and — for a few years before independence — Cuba to the United States, along with selling the Philippines for $20 million. The Philippines became independent after World War II, but Puerto Rico and …
Michael Bobbitt: Notes From The Peanut Gallery (VC BOC February 4th, 2013)
The bench in the Peanut Gallery is hard especially during a near marathon Commissioners’ meeting. Last night’s meeting started normally at 6 o’clock ending some three hours later, too late to find a downtown restaurant open serving dinner with an adult type beverage. A long productive meeting filled with some surprises, some fore gone conclusions, and the new use of a common word. Veteran Affairs Recognition The meeting opened with the NC Division of Veteran Affairs recognizing Ms. Sandra Grissom’s …
Voting Now Open for Northern Vance High School Engineering Team’s Project
Vance County Schools Career And Technical Education Department To Host Business RoundtableVoting has begun for the Northern Vance High School Sirocco Innovative Computer Cleaner project on the N.C. State Institute for Emerging Issues website. To assist you in navigating through the website to cast your vote for the Northern Vance Engineering Team and its Sirocco project, please do the following: Please go to www.ncsu.edu/iei to vote. Once on the website homepage, please click on “Engage” (at top of page) and …
Vance County Schools Career And Technical Education Department To Host Business Roundtable (POSTPONED)
Attention: Update February 5th, 2013: The Business Roundtable that was scheduled for this Thursday, February 7, has been postponed to a later time. We will let you know when that is re-scheduled. The Vance County Schools Career and Technical Education Department is hosting the February Chamber of Commerce Business Roundtable. The informative session, which will focus on the Students@Work Initiative, will be facilitated by Willa Clark, Career and Technical Education Director. The session will be held beginning at noon on …
VGCC invites Earth Day participants
Vance-Granville Community College’s eighth annual Earth Day festival is scheduled to be held on Monday, April 22, and organizers are inviting members of the community to participate. The 2013 Earth Day celebration is set to take place outside on the college’s Main Campus in Vance County on April 22, from 10 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. In case of rain, the event will be moved into the VGCC Civic Center. Each year, the event seeks to educate the college and community …
NCDA&CS to hold listening session on FDA’s proposed produce safety rule Feb. 20 in Raleigh
RALEIGH — Produce farmers and packers can learn more about the federal government’s proposed produce safety rule at a listening session Feb. 20 at the State Fairgrounds. Individuals also will have the opportunity to ask questions during the session, which will take place from 1 to 5 p.m. in the Scott Building. “The produce safety rule could mean big changes for produce farmers and packers, so it’s critical that they learn everything they can about it,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve …
Tuesday Open Line
February is American Heart Month, dedicated to the serious matter of monitoring and taking care of our beating hearts. This is important because while heart disease has claimed fewer lives in recent years, it is still the nation’s number one killer — responsible for 616,000 deaths annually. However, almost as if to prove that no good intention goes unpunished, February is also National Snack Food Month. And America truly “hearts” its snack foods. In spite of the recent disappearance of …
Richard Brand: Walking Contradictions
Kris Kristofferson had a line in one of his songs about being a “walking contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction.” Jimmy Buffet has a line in one of his songs about “semi-true story, believe it or not. I made up a few things and some I’ve forgot.” So I am sure I am not alone in the notion that most of us are not very consistent in what we want and what we believe. We say we want one thing …
Butterfield Opposes General Assembly’s Plan to Cripple Health Reform in North Carolina
WASHINGTON, DC — Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) today released the following statement regarding plans by state Republican lawmakers in the North Carolina General Assembly to block implementing critical provisions of the Affordable Care Act: “It is deeply disappointing that Republican state lawmakers have taken steps to block the expansion of Medicaid coverage to 650,000 uninsured low-income residents. These are poor children, older adults, and the disabled that they seek to deny. The provisions of the Affordable Care Act …
NC Cooperative Extension Updates from Paul McKenzie
KERR/TAR BEEKEEPERS Come and join this great group every 2nd Monday, 7 pm at the Vance County Extension Center. All are welcome! SMALL FARM ENTERPRISE SCHOOL IN OXFORD Monday is the last day to register for this multi-class series which begins on 2/5. You will learn about various small-scale enterprises, and also create a business plan step-by-step. To register, call 919-603-1350. FRUIT TREE PRUNING WORKSHOP Learn how to properly prune your backyard fruit crops. Tues Feb 5, 10:30 am. From …
Senator Richard Burr Message
Since the beginning of the 113th Congress, several topics have dominated the conversation both nationally and in Washington. After passage of the fiscal cliff deal on January 1, we now must focus on a longer-term fix to our nation’s economic issues. It has been more than three years since the Majority Leader even put a budget on the Senate floor, let alone allowed the Senate to act on and pass one. This is inexcusable. Last week, I signed on …
Automotive Sector Manufacturer KSM Castings Chooses N.C. for First U.S. Facility
RALEIGH – Governor Pat McCrory and North Carolina Commerce Secretary Sharon Decker announced that KSM Castings NC Inc., a producer of light metal casting products for use in the automotive industry, will establish its first U.S. manufacturing facility in Shelby. The project was made possible in part by performance-based awards from the state’s Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) program and One North Carolina Fund. The company plans to create 189 jobs in North Carolina by the end of 2018 and …