The SkillsUSA chapter at Vance-Granville Community College recently teamed up with national organizations and a local cancer survivor to find some potential heroes. The survivor, Whitney Johnson Espinosa of Henderson, who calls her campaign against childhood cancer “Whitney’s Hope,” organized a bone marrow registration drive in the Civic Center on VGCC’s Main Campus. She connected with the SkillsUSA student organization through her mother, VGCC Dean of Business & Applied Technologies Angela Gardner-Ragland. Espinosa was working in concert with three national …
Chamber Ribbon Cutting – Kerr Lake Cornhole & Vinyl Graphics
A ribbon cutting was held on February 23rd for Kerr Lake Cornhole & Vinyl Graphics to celebrate the company’s membership with the Chamber and business growth at their location on 430 S. Garnett Street in Downtown Henderson. Family, chamber staff and local dignitary and businesses joined them in their celebration. Anthony and Gail Hatchel are the owners of Kerr Lake Cornhole & Vinyl Graphics (430 S. Garnett Street, Henderson), a business that builds custom sets of the bean bag game. …
Vance County Committee Meeting Notices – Water Committee and Public Safety
Please note the following schedule of upcoming committee meetings: Public Safety Committee – Monday, March 28 at 2:00 p.m. (fire department reorganization) Water Committee – Monday, March 28 at 3:00 p.m. (water matters) These meetings will be held in the administrative conference room. All commissioners are invited to attend.
Tuesday Open Line
Ask many Americans where their food comes from, and they’ll answer the supermarket, while clothing comes from the mall. That’s why today is National Agriculture Day, and March 13 to 19 is National Agriculture Week. These annual programs focus on students across the nation, the consumers of tomorrow. They’ll learn that from pizzas to cosmetics, from clothing to orange juice, agriculture gives us what we eat each day and much of what we wear and use. In 1920, there were …
Congresswoman Renee Ellmers: Growing Economic Opportunities in Sanford
Photo of the Week Turnout for the ribbon cutting ceremony at the Sanford Buggy Factory was huge! It was an honor to speak at such a one-of-a-kind ceremony in downtown Sanford. This ceremony is a perfect example of how revitalization and historic preservation can enhance our community. This newly-renovated facility will provide a “one-stop-shop” for economic growth and development in Sanford, as it will house several agencies focused on developing, growing and enhancing Sanford. Weekly Update Monday began with …
City of Henderson City Council Meeting Monday March 14th, 2016
Henderson City Council Regular Meeting on Monday, 14 March 2016 at 6:00 PM in the City Hall Council Chambers, 134 Rose Ave., Henderson, NC 27536 Download the full agenda packet here: 20160314_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. …
Butterfield Names New Press Team
today announced that he has named Meaghan Lynch as his new press secretary and Jordun Lawrence as his press assistant. Both Lynch and Lawrence will be based in the Washington, DC office and will handle all communications and media relations for the Congressman. Lynch most recently worked as senior associate at a strategic communications firm in Washington, DC, where she focused primarily on military health issues. Originally from Rocky Mount, NC, Lynch previously interned in Congressman Butterfield’s Washington, D.C. office. …
Monday Open Line
This month in 1879 marked a milestone in women’s history and the opportunities available to them. Earlier, President Rutherford Hayes signed a congressional act “to relieve certain legal disabilities of women.” So in March, the act’s leading champion, 49-year-old Belva A. Lockwood, became the first woman to be admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, which she did in 1880. Lockwood was one of about 75 female attorneys in 1880. By 1890, there were only 208 in a national …
VGCC and Justice Fire Department partner to offer Ag Rescue training
Vance-Granville Community College recently partnered with the Justice Rural Volunteer Fire Department in Franklin County to offer an unusual training program designed to prepare local firefighters for specific emergency situations that may occur on farms. A course called “Agricultural Machinery Rescue” was conducted from Jan. 19 through March 3, with instructor Joe Burris of Greenville teaching at the fire station in Justice and, at times, on the farm of Kelly Harris, the former chief and current assistant chief of the …
Vance County Board of Education Meeting Monday March 14th, 2016
The Vance County Board of Education will meet on Monday, March 14, 2016, at 7:00 pm in the Administrative Services Center Board Room, 1724 Graham Avenue, Henderson. You may download the full agenda packet here: 20160314_vcboc_agenda_packet.pdf You may also download the 2000 series board policies mentioned under VIII.D Here: 2000 Series, Board Operations.pdf
VGCC to host Afternoon Tea class
Vance-Granville Community College will offer a course on the “afternoon tea” party, the tradition that is enjoying a renaissance as fine hotels, inns and tea rooms across the country give guests an opportunity to retreat from the hurried pace of their lives. The course, called “Let’s Have a Tea Party,” will meet on VGCC’s Main Campus in Vance County, on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1 until 4 p.m., starting March 29. The final class and “graduation” ceremony is an actual …
NC Cooperative Extension Updates
AGRICULTURAL TAXES WORKSHOP IN WARRENTON March 28, 5:00 – 8 pm, dinner meeting. Registration is free. Presented by NCSU Extension Specialist Dr. Guido van der Hoeven. He will discuss tax issues related to agricultural businesses, including sales and income taxes. Register by March 23rd at http://www.ncsbc.net/center.aspx?center=75530 WORKSHOP: NAVIGATING THE USDA GAP AUDIT April 11, 9 am to 4 pm, Summerfield, NC (near Greensboro). $20 registration includes lunch. Register on-line at http://bit.ly/GAP-4-11 WEBINAR: ADDING VALUE TO LOCAL FOOD Mar 20, 12:30-1:30 pm. …
Friday / Weekend Open Lines
Friday, March 11th. One of the most devastating public health crises in history hit the U.S. on this date 98 years ago — and experts are still studying it, hoping to head off a similar global pandemic. The first cases of what was called “Spanish flu” were reported among soldiers at Fort Riley, Kansas. By 1920, nearly one-in-four Americans had suffered from this strain of the flu, killing about 600,000. Worldwide, estimates put the death toll up at 50 million …
Vance County Board of Commissioners Special Meeting and Work Session March 21, 2016
Vance County Board of Commissioners has scheduled a special meeting for Monday, March 21 at 2:00 p.m. in the commissioners’ conference room. The purpose of the meeting is to enter into closed session to discuss economic development matters. A work session will be held immediately after the special meeting. The purpose of the work session is to discuss the draft capital improvements plan and funding options.
North Carolina Weekend
For the week of March 10 on North Carolina Weekend, “Collecting Carolina” visits Replacements, Ltd. in McLeansville. Step back in time at Fort Dobbs State Historic Site in Statesville. Get down on the farm during the Annual Southern Farm Days in Lake Waccamaw. See what all’s going on at West End Mill Works in Winston-Salem. Tempt your taste buds at SoCo in Wilson. (Please note: listings are subject to change.) North Carolina Weekend is underwritten by Visit North Carolina. In addition, UNC-TV …
Thursday Open Line
For many Americans, trying to envision life without our various telephones would be like trying to live without indoor plumbing. The crucial utility is 140 years old today. In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell made the first, local, telephone call in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Over a wire to his assistant in the next room, Bell said, “Mister Watson, come here; I want to see you.” Only when Bell improved his invention to carry a voice for several miles did the public discover …
Vance County Schools Dropout Rate Declines for 6th Straight Year
The dropout rate in Vance County Schools for 2014-2015 declined for the sixth consecutive year with data from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction indicating that 68 students or 2.28 percent left school early. The 2014-2015 rate was a decrease from 83 students or 2.71 percent dropping out in 2013-2014. In 2012, Vance County Schools implemented “Destination Graduation” one of the National Dropout Prevention Network Center’s model program that addresses prevention, intervention and recovery. The program highly emphasizes parent participation, …
Attorney General Roy Cooper: Don’t bite on fraudulent emails
Reports of data breaches involving fraudulent emails, commonly called phishing, are spiking. A total of 30 phishing breaches have been reported to the Attorney General’s Office by businesses and other organizations so far this year. Twenty of those reports have come within the past two weeks. That’s compared to eight phishing breaches reported in all of 2015. Scammers can use technology to pretend to be anyone in an email, and phishing emails can lead directly to data breaches. Emails used …
Tobacco Trust Fund awards grant to VGCC
The North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission has awarded a $25,000 grant to Vance-Granville Community College to support students in a pair of training programs. The grant, for a project entitled “Cultivating and Growing Agricultural Communities,” will help cover the cost of tuition and other fees for eligible students in the “NC REAL Agricultural Entrepreneurship” and “Heavy Equipment Operator” courses offered by VGCC. Grant funding will also support instructional staff, marketing and supplies related to the programs. VGCC has offered …
Public Comment Sessions Scheduled on North Carolina’s K-12 Education Plan for Every Student Succeeds Act
Educators, parents, students and other stakeholders of North Carolina’s public schools are invited to attend six public comment sessions scheduled for April and May across the state. Public input is being sought by NC Department of Public Instruction staff to help guide development of the state’s plan for complying with the new federal education law, a re-authorization of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is the new federal education law approved in December …