Students who attend Henderson Middle School will be required to wear school uniforms for the 2016-2017 school year following action by the Vance County Board of Education on June 13. The board approved a recommendation by Superintendent Anthony Jackson that the school be allowed to require the uniforms based on information shared by Principal John Hargrove and school staff members. Hargrove and his staff presented a detailed report to the board members on how they sought staff and parent input …
VGCC Pharmacy program head graduates from leadership program
Dr. Erica Fleming, the Pharmacy Technology program head/instructor for Vance-Granville Community College, recently graduated from the North Carolina Community College Leadership Program (NCCCLP). She is one of 36 community college faculty and staff members from across the state who completed the program this year. The leadership program, which includes face-to-face instruction at various locations, provides preparation and training to develop future community college leaders. The program is highly experiential in nature, and participants work in teams to create an “ideal” …
TRAC in Downtown Henderson, NC sees near-record crowd
Visit NC held TRAC in Henderson/Vance County and the surrounding area on June 9th, 2016 and saw a large attendance from throughout the region. TRAC is an opportunity for all tourism-related businesses to meet one-on-one with program managers to discuss better ways to promote their property or event. TRAC brings Visit North Carolina’s program managers to local communities to discuss the nuts and bolts of working with the organization. The next TRAC will be held in Hertford on Aug. 11.
VGCC student leaders graduate, continuing their education
Vance-Granville Community College recently celebrated the graduation of a number of outgoing leaders in its Student Government Association (SGA), sending many of them off to four-year universities, including Duke, East Carolina, N.C. State, N.C. Wesleyan, NCCU and UNC-Charlotte. Among them is Lydia Hendrick of Oxford, SGA senator for the college’s South Campus, who graduated with both an Associate in Arts and an Associate in Science degree as a Granville Early College High School student. Hendrick accomplished that feat in four …
North Carolina Weekend
For the week of June 16 on North Carolina Weekend, take in the great outdoors at Hanging Rock State Park in Danbury. Grab a group and head to Simply Natural Creamery in Ayden. Take a tour of Nomad Farms in Tobaccoville. Get your toes a-tappin’ at Feed & Seed in Fletcher, one of the stops on the Blue Ridge Music Trail. And “After Dark” checks out The Durham Hotel in Durham. (Please note: listings are subject to change.) North Carolina …
Thursday Open Line
For centuries, the month of June has been the most popular choice for weddings. One of the purported reasons was that some hundreds of years ago, this time was just after May’s annual bath, so the happy couple and the guests were about as clean as could be hoped. With the ensuing advances in plumbing and overall hygiene, dressy weddings are readily staged year round, from simple civil ceremonies and backyard or back-to-nature vows, to elaborate church functions. Each year, …
NC Cooperative Extension Updates
MULCH AVAILABLE FROM VANCE COUNTY LANDFILL The Solid Waste Department has a limited supply of mulch and composted leaves to give away. The giveaway will take place June 15th, 16th, and 17th from 8 to 4 PM and June 18th from 8 to 12 noon. The yard waste facility is located at 3181 NC 39 Hwy North. Those interested would be able to load by hand for free. Loading is available by front-end loader at a cost of $5 per …
Butterfield Calls on ICE Director to Review Disciplinary Actions Placed on Wildin Acosta
Tuesday, Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) sent a letter to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Director Sarah Saldaña calling for the immediate review of disciplinary actions administered to Mr. Wildin Acosta while detained at Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia. Acosta, who has been detained at the facility since late-January, is awaiting a decision on his pending appeal currently before the U. S. Department of Justice’s Board of Immigration Appeals. ICE officials recently confirmed that Wildin Acosta was placed in …
Bridge Replacement Project to Start This Fall in Granville County
The N.C. Department of Transportation has awarded a contract to replace a 61-year-old bridge on Grassy Creek Virgilina Road over Aaron’s Creek, near Virgilina. The $870,000 project was awarded Fred Smith Company in Raleigh. This project is part of NCDOT’s program to rehabilitate and replace bridges across the state. The 2015 budget signed by Governor McCrory is funding the replacement of approximately 540 bridges across the state. Work can begin as early as Oct. 15 and be completed by March …
Wednesday Open Line
With summer and school vacation almost here, children will be urging their parents to take them to the nearest amusement park. Long among the most popular features of these parks are ever more thrilling roller coasters, which trace their roots back to 17th century ice slides in Russia. In the U.S., the first roller coaster opened this month in 1884 at Coney Island, New York. It was built by LaMarcus Thompson and was called the “Gravity Pleasure Switchback Railway.” The …
Butterfield Mourns the Victims of Tragic Mass Shooting in Orlando
Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) today released the following statement following the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida on June 12, 2016, that claimed the lives of 49 individuals and injured more than 50: “I am devastated by the horrific and senseless violence and loss of life that took place early Sunday morning in Orlando, Florida. As we learn more about this brutal shooting, it appears that this attack was driven by hate. This kind of violence and hatred has no …
NC Department of Public Instruction Pursues Grant to Expand Access for Educationally Disadvantaged Students to High Quality Charter Schools
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s (NCDPI) Office of Charter Schools has applied for a grant from the U.S. Department of Education to help increase access for educationally disadvantaged students to high quality public charter schools. The proposal is a product of strong collaboration between NCDPI, the NC Charter Schools Advisory Board, and public charter school advocates, including the NC Public Charter Schools Association and NC Parents for Educational Freedom. The proposed $30 million, three-year federal grant would enable …
Tuesday Open Line
On this date 65 years ago, it can be assumed that computer technicians and engineers at the Census Bureau were a bit nervous at the start of the workday. The first commercial computer, the 13-ton UNIVAC I, was about to begin its 12 year — or 73,000-hour — career of number crunching for the bureau. The successful start-up was used to process data from the 1950 Census of Population and was among the most important milestones leading to the modern …
Congresswoman Renee Ellmers: Honoring Those Who Serve
Photo of the Week The young men and women from ?the Second District who earned military academy appointments worked countless hours over the past four years for this distinction. It was my pleasure to honor them with a reception in my Dunn office last weekend. Weekly Update It was a pleasure to spend some time last weekend with the impressive young men and women from ?the Second District who received military academy appointments. My Dunn District Office hosted …
VGCC schedules Orientation Sessions for Fall Semester
Registration for classes and orientation sessions for new students have begun for the Fall 2016 semester at Vance-Granville Community College, which starts Monday, Aug. 15. Attending an orientation session is required for all new students who wish to enroll in any of the college’s curriculum programs, and for students who are returning to VGCC after being away for three or more years. Students will also meet with an advisor or academic/career coach before registering for classes. To attend an orientation …
Connor Pendergrass to Attend N.C. Governor’s School
Connor Pendergrass, a rising senior at Northern Vance High School, has been selected to attend the prestigious North Carolina Governor’s School program this summer. Pendergrass is the only student from Vance County Schools selected to attend the summer residential program this year. He was chosen to participate in the program based on his high academic achievements. He will attend the Governor’s School west campus at Salem College in Winston-Salem. Pendergrass will participate in the enrichment program June 19 through July …
City of Henderson City Council Meeting Monday June 13th, 2016
Henderson City Council Regular Meeting Monday, 13 June 2016 6:00 PM City Hall Council Chambers, 134 Rose Ave., Henderson, NC 27536 Download the full agenda packet here: 20160613_coh_agenda_packet.pdf I. CALL TO ORDER II. ROLL CALL III. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE IV. OPENING REMARKSIn order to provide for the highest standards of ethical behavior and Transparency in Governanceas well as provide for good and open government, the City Council has approved Core Valuesregarding Ethical Behavior1 and Transparency in Governance2. The Mayor now inquires …
Senator Richard Burr: A taste of home for military families
Last week in the Senate, I joined with a bipartisan group of Senators to maintain military commissaries, which will continue to allow our military families to save money and preserve a lower cost of living. The amendment I offered with Senator Inhofe to protect this benefit our servicemen and women have already earned passed by a vote of 70-28. A commissary is a grocery store on a military base that sells American products; the military has more than 200 commissaries around …
Monday Open Line
The American dream of owning — and keeping — a home got a lifeline on this date in 1933 with passage of the Homeowners Loan Act. The act provided emergency relief in the depths of the Great Depression, helping homeowners ward off foreclosure. The act also created a system of federal savings associations to facilitate home construction, consumer savings, and affordable mortgage lending. At the time, less than half of the country’s homes were owner-occupied. Today, owners live in nearly …
Vance County Board of Commissioners July Meeting Changed from July 4th to July 11th, 2016
Please see the attached resolution which approves changing the July meeting date from Monday, July 4 to Monday, July 11, 2016. Vance County BoC July Meeting.pdf