RALEIGH – Gov. Bev Perdue today announced that Exela Pharma Sciences, a pharmaceutical manufacturer, will expand its facility in Caldwell County. The company plans to create 38 jobs and invest $8.5 million over the next three years in Lenoir. The project was made possible in part by an $189,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund. “North Carolina has a proud and celebrated history in manufacturing,” said Gov. Perdue. “North Carolina’s biotech industry is thriving because of our highly-skilled workforce …
International WoodFuels will invest more than $60M to construct a 300,000 metric ton-per-year wood pellet plant in Wilson County, N.C.
RALEIGH – Gov. Bev Perdue announced that International WoodFuels LLC will construct a 300,000 metric ton-per-year wood pellet plant in Wilson County. The company will create 32 full-time jobs and invest more than $60 million in Sims over the next three years. The project was made possible in part by a $100,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund. “North Carolina has a proud and celebrated history in manufacturing,” said Gov. Perdue. “Manufacturers are locating here because our state’s investments …
Butterfield Sworn In for 6th Term in U.S. Congress
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) today took the oath of office to officially begin his sixth term as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, serving North Carolina’s First Congressional District. Butterfield said, “I am so pleased to have another opportunity to serve my fellow North Carolinians. I have never lost sight of what it means to be a Congressional representative. For eight years, the people of eastern North Carolina have trusted me to be their …
VGCC Medical Assisting students provide Christmas gifts to homeless
The Student Association of Medical Assistants (SAMA) at Vance-Granville Community College recently helped brighten the holidays for those in need by participating in the Raleigh Rescue Mission’s annual “gift tag” program. The club received 10 gift tags from Raleigh Rescue Mission requesting specific items for a homeless man, woman or child. The students and their instructors delivered the gifts to the Mission in person on Dec. 7. Pictured above, from left to right are Medical Assisting instructor Patrice Allen, SAMA …
VGCC offers Zumba classes at YMCA
Vance-Granville Community College is offering Zumba fitness classes through a partnership with Henderson Family YMCA. The classes will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 until 7 p.m. at the YMCA, located at 380 Ruin Creek Road in Henderson. Sessions consisting of eight classes will begin on Feb. 5, March 5, and April 2. The cost for each session is $40. Zumba is the Latin-inspired dance-fitness program that has quickly become popular throughout the region and around the world. Leah …
Haywood County wood products under NCDA&CS quarantine for thousand cankers disease
RALEIGH–The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has placed Haywood County wood products under quarantine due to a recent detection of thousand cankers disease in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. “This marks the first time the disease has been detected in the state, and by placing restrictions on a variety of plant material and wood products, we hope to keep the disease from spreading into other counties,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “Something as simple as moving firewood …
VGCC Graduates 25 Law Enforcement Cadets in School’s 95th BLET Class
Twenty-five cadets graduated on Dec. 18, 2012 from the Basic Law Enforcement Training (BLET) course 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 95th BLET class included Christopher Brandon Strickland of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office; Aston Donomic Mitchell and Jonathan Glen Thomas, both of the Henderson Police Department; Brittany Renee …
VGCC encourages adults to finish GED before tests expire
Vance-Granville Community College’s Adult Basic Skills department is sending a message to students who have started but not completed the five-part GED test: “Make a New Year’s Resolution to complete your GED in 2013.” There is a sense of urgency because the current version of the GED, known as the 2002 Series GED Test, will expire at the end of the year. The national GED Testing Service will replace that series with a new version on Jan. 2, 2014. That …
Friday / Weekend Open Line
This week in 1790, President George Washington addressed a joint session of Congress to deliver the first State of the Union report, as called for the in the still young Constitution. The requirement didn’t demand a speech, and after delivering just one, President Thomas Jefferson began reporting in writing, feeling a speech was too magisterial. The spoken presentation was revived by Woodrow Wilson. Washington’s address has echoes to this day, as he stated “the terms on which foreigners may be …
Nature Research Center celebrates 1 million visitors
New Year’s celebrations kicked off early Monday at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh, which celebrated the millionth visitor at its Nature Research Center since it opened in April. The millionth visitor was showered in confetti and received a bag of gifts. The 80,000-square-foot wing features labs where visitors perform the experiments; nearly 80 interactive exhibits, including WRAL Storm Central; a Naturalist Center with touch tables and a submersible that allows visitors to experience what it feels like …
Vance County NC Cooperative Extension Updates
Did you realize you can plant peas in January? For a complete planting guide, visit this link:http://cals.ncsu.edu/hort_sci/extension/documents/AG-756.pdf Also, don’t forget about our Master Gardener Open House this Saturday (10 am at the Vance office, 2 pm at the Warren office). Our Master Gardener volunteer training class will be held on Tuesday mornings beginning in late January. If you are interested but can’t make it to the Open House, just let me know and I’ll send an application packet. Here is …
American Airlines launching LAX-RDU flight
American Airlines has announced a new flight between Raleigh-Durham International Airport and LAX, to start April 2. With a year-round, seven-days-a-week schedule, it’s a step up from the thrice-weekly nonstop Delta offers to Los Angeles during warm months. RDU says about 400 people make the trip each day between the Triangle and Los Angeles on flights that can arrive several hours sooner if there are no stops along the way.
North Carolina Weekend
For the week of Jan. 3 on UNC-TV’s “North Carolina Weekend,” take in the “Collecting Matisse and Modern Masters: the Cone Sisters of Baltimore” exhibit at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University in Durham. Experience the Southern Folklife Collection at the Wilson Library at UNC in Chapel Hill. Stay at one of the rental cabins and enjoy White Sulphur Springs in Mount Airy. Step back in time at the Wrightsville Beach Museum of History. And the “House Special” …
Mount Olive’s Pickle Drop among USA Today’s ’10 Great’
Mount Olive’s New Year’s Eve celebration was among last week’s USA Today’s “10 great places for a family-friendly New Year’s Eve.” The event culminates at 7 p.m. – midnight Greenwich Mean Time – with a 3-foot glowing pickle that’s lowered 50 feet into a tank at the corner of Cucumber and Vine streets, the site of the Mt. Olive Pickle Co.
White House: Seven things you need to know about this tax deal
This week, Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives joined the Senate in passing the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. That means middle-class families won’t see an increase in their income tax rates. We’ve avoided the fiscal cliff. President Obama will sign the legislation soon. Last night, he described the agreement as, “one step in the broader effort to strengthen our economy and broaden opportunity for everybody.” “Under this law, more than 98 percent of Americans and 97 …
Thursday Open Line
In order to tackle the 19th century’s version of “shovel ready jobs,” the nation’s first engineering college opened on this date in 1825 in Troy, New York, now known as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. At the time, engineering primarily concerned great structures, applying math and physical sciences to bridges, canals, ship-building, fortifications and large buildings. In the years since, engineering has come to be applied to many other fields, such as chemical, electrical, petroleum, and, of course, computers. As a force …
N.C. has another record-breaking year for film, TV
As in 2011, North Carolina witnessed another year of record-breaking film numbers as 2012 comes to an end. Year-end projections show productions had a direct in-state spend in excess of $376 million and created more than 4,100 well-paying crew positions for the state’s highly skilled workforce. Productions created nearly 20,000 job opportunities – including talent and background extra positions – for North Carolinians These numbers eclipsed last year’s record-breaking $220 million in spending and 3,300 crew positions. All told, nearly …
Help Stop Puppy Mills – Sign the Petition
North Carolina is a puppy mill state. North Carolina had more puppy mill busts in both 2011 and 2012 than any other state. Why is this happening? It’s easy for puppy mills to do business in North Carolina because the state’s lack of regulations. In order to shut down puppy mills, we must wait for conditions to be so bad that dogs are suffering and near death. North Carolina needs a law to regulate commercial dog breeders by imposing simple …
Wednesday Open Line
On this day in 1900, President William McKinley’s Secretary of State, John Hay, announced the so-called “open door” policy to stimulate trade with China, free of exclusion by imperial European powers scrambling for control of Chinese markets in the era before the income tax. This was significant because a very large portion of federal revenue came from tariffs or customs on imports. in 1900, federal receipts were around $567 million of which 41 percent were from customs duties. As of …
City of Henderson Public Notice Regarding Electronic Gaming Operations January 14th
Notice is hereby given that a public hearing will be held by the Henderson City Council on Monday, January 14, 2013 at 6:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers in City Hall located at 134 Rose Avenue in Henderson, North Carolina. The purpose of the hearing is to receive public comment on: Public Hearing: Recommendation for an ordinance providing that electronic gaming operations can be located near professional training schools for adults. Persons interested are invited to attend and present …