Thursday, Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01), Congressman David Price (NC-04), and Congresswoman Alma Adams (NC-12) sent a letter to Governor Pat McCrory and Republican leaders of the North Carolina General Assembly calling for the immediate repeal of H.B. 2. This legislation, which Governor McCrory signed into law last month, strips LGBT individuals of nondiscrimination protections, bars North Carolinians from filing discrimination suits in state court, and prohibits municipal and county governments from passing local nondiscrimination and minimum wage ordinances. North …
Henderson City Council member to speak at VGCC Basic Skills Commencement
Vance-Granville Community College will hold commencement exercises dedicated exclusively to new graduates of Adult Basic Skills programs on Thursday, May 5. The ceremony will begin at 6 p.m. in the Civic Center on the college’s Main Campus in Vance County. Those being honored at the ceremony will include students who have completed either the Adult High School Diploma program or the High School Equivalency program in the past year. Melissa Elliott, a member of the Henderson City Council and a …
Friday / Weekend Open Lines
Friday, April 22nd. On this date 31 years ago, executives at one of America’s and the world’s most famous consumer brands were confidently looking forward to the morrow. After much research, experimentation and extensive taste testing, a reformulated Coca-Cola was launched on April 23, 1985. The historic company was surprised by the negative, noisy consumer reaction, and New Coke became something of a synonym for product failure. The original Coca-Cola, designated as “Classic,” was rushed back to retailers by July …
Chamber Ribbon Cutting – Staples
The Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce celebrated the 15-year anniversary of Staples with a ribbon cutting on Wednesday, April 20 at 10:00 a.m. at their 160 Dabney Road location. “We greatly appreciate everything the chamber of commerce does for the Henderson community, and we’re pleased to help the members with the products and services they need to make more happen with their businesses,” said Stanley Wolfenbarger, general manager, Staples. Staples retail stores and Staples.com help small business customers make more happen …
Thursday Open Line
For over a century, going to the movies has been one of the most popular ways people all across the country enjoy themselves. The first time a paying American audience assembled to watch a motion picture was this week in 1896, at the Koster and Bial’s Music Hall on West 34th Street in New York City. It was certainly no feature film. The movie was plotless novelty at the end of a live vaudeville show, showcasing a new projector of …
Vance County Human Resources Committee Meeting April 25th, 2016
Please note that the County’s Human Resources Committee (Brown, Taylor, Wilder) is scheduled to meet Monday, April 25th at 9:00 a.m. in the Administrative Conference Room. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss a pay study and a GIS position. All commissioners are invited to attend.
Vance County Properties Committee Meeting April 25th, 2016
Please note that the County’s Properties Committee (Brummitt, Kelly, Wilder) is scheduled to meet Monday, April 25th at 4:00 p.m. in the Administrative Conference Room. The purpose is to review an offer to purchase a piece of foreclosed property. All commissioners are invited to attend.
Vance County Schools Youth Empowerment Academy
A total of eight middle school students, who are currently on long-term suspension, are receiving academic support through the new Vance County Schools Youth Empowerment Academy. The academy has been operating for the last few weeks in a portion of the old two-story building across from the campus of Eaton-Johnson Middle School. The academy, under the direction of Dr. Ralphel Holloman and with support from several local educational professionals, is located in the rear, ground-floor wing of the building. Students …
Wednesday Open Line
The American automobile industry began to take off this month in 1913 — as Henry Ford set up the first moving assembly line in Highland Park, Michigan. Before the assembly line, workers spent over 12 hours building a single Model T. Afterward, it took only 93 minutes. Ultimately, a new car came off the assembly line every 24 seconds, and 15 million were built over the years of production. Prices dropped too. In 1909, a basic Model T cost $825 …
Rusty McMahon: Domestic Economic Terrorism
For decades, so-called leaders in Vance County have tripped over themselves trying to give away taxpayer money to every con man, huckster, charlatan, or self-professed genius that came along and uttered the words “job creation, sustainable, or green”. They could not wait to waste our money on harebrained schemes. And they’ve wasted millions. Some years ago, an even more sophisticated and insidious version of this confidence game emerged and local companies are now cashing in. In this latest con, companies …
Vance County Schools Upcoming Committee Meetings
Vance County Board of Education Committee Meeting Dates: * Community Relations, Thursday, April 21st, 4:30 pm * Building & Grounds, Wednesday, April 27th, 2:00 pm * Curriculum Committee, Wednesday, April 27th, 3:00 pm * Personnel Committee, Tuesday, May 3rd, 8:30 am Note: All meetings are held in the Superintendent’s Conference Room.
Tuesday Open Line
The first all-news radio format in the U.S. debuted on this date in 1965, as WINS-AM in New York City switched from rock and roll to rip and read. Almost 20 years earlier, the station had notched another first by broadcasting every New York Yankees game live, both home and away. The station shut off the music — its last record was the Shangri-Las’ “Out in the Streets” — and became “all news, all the time.” The format has been …
Rusty McMahon: Do Taxpayers Matter?
A brief history of citizen input and public hearings… We told County Commissioners that we neither needed nor wanted county zoning. 7000 citizens sent them post cards asking them not to zone the county. They publicly threw the cards in the trash and enacted zoning anyway. We told them that we neither needed nor wanted county water. We got county water good and hard. We asked them not to spend tax dollars on Paint Reclamation International. They did it anyway. …
Congresswoman Renee Ellmers: See the Outstanding Students I Met this Week!
Photo of the Week I loved talking with these students from Triton and Harnett Central high schools this week and answering their questions about the governmental process and legislative policy. Weekly Update I began my week in Raleigh speaking to high school students who attend the all-girls Saint Mary’s School. I had an opportunity to talk about the importance of young girls serving in a public capacity, whether on a local, state or federal level. Also this week, I visited …
Vance County Schools Technology Committee at Work
Members of the Vance County Schools Technology Committee are continuing to gather information from companies for computer hardware and software for teachers and students to use in the upcoming school year. Committee members met in the late afternoon on April 12, in the Board Room of the school system’s Administrative Services Center as they listened to representatives from three different vendors with proposals on available laptop computers and software that can be used by teachers and students in local schools. …
Monday Open Line
At 5:12 in the morning on this date in 1906, San Francisco was rocked by one of the two most powerful earthquakes ever to hit North America. Estimates of the death toll run up to 3,000. The quake and the fire that followed it destroyed 28,000 buildings and nearly 500 city blocks. The devastation left more than 200,000 — half the city’s population — homeless. The quake caused damage along a corridor of almost 300 miles, from Oregon to Los …
Rusty McMahon: Less Whining, Better Results
In a February budget meeting, Deputy County Manager Jordan McMillen announced that raising county pay and benefits is a funding priority. According to McMillen, surrounding counties pay more and that’s very troublesome. Newsflash, most of you earn much more than the average citizen that pays your way and your benefits are the envy of all. Instead of complaining, maybe you should find out why some other governments pay more. I’m guessing some of your counterparts are better paid because their …
Vance County Regional Farmers Market Opens Saturday April 16, 2016
April’s farmers market is going to be the best yet! Come by with the family and stock up. We are open Saturdays only in April from 7:30am – 1pm Starting in May, open Wednesday and Saturdays! This week’s bounty VEGGIES: Our farmers will be there with a mixed selection of cole crop (cool weather) vegetables. FRUIT: Now’s the time to get your fresh Strawberries. BEDDING PLANTS: A variety of seasonal bedding plants and herbs. MEAT: Stop by the meat bay for a …
Chick-fil-A employees work toward success as VGCC students
A regular at the Chick-fil-A in her hometown, Vance-Granville Community College Director of Student Success/QEP Coordinator Amy O’Geary recently observed a significant number of students from the college behind the counter at her restaurant of choice. O’Geary counts at least 12 current VGCC students working at Chick-fil-A of Henderson, and she serves as the Academic & Career Coach, or advisor, for a number of them. One of her advisees is Lane Phipps of Oxford, one of the assistant managers for …
Friday / Weekend Open Lines
Friday, April 15th. Today marks the 61st anniversary of the opening of a small hamburger restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois. It was the first of what would become one of the world’s best-recognized brand names — McDonald’s. The franchise shop belonged to Ray Kroc, whose main interest at the time was selling the machines that mixed milkshakes. The name came from two McDonald brothers who ran a hamburger shop in California. The first day’s revenue at the Illinois outlet was …