Vance-Granville Community College recently honored ten men and ten women who completed the college’s year-long Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic program in July. Graduates included Morrissa Lawrence, Idabelle Proffitt and Paul Tidwell, all of Bullock; Nathasia Lofton of Butner; Timothy Fulcher, Jeffrey Harris, Jamie Orr, Phyllis Stokes and Modjeska Thrower, all of Henderson; Susan Rice of Kittrell; Adreanna Flick, Hunter Rigsbee and Shane Rounds, all of Oxford; John Gardner, III, of Roxboro; Justin Chambers and Christopher Rigg, both of Timberlake; Crystal Talley …
Butterfield Introduces Bill to Encourage Property Owners to Implement Energy Efficiency Measures in Residential Housing Units
WASHINGTON, DC – This week, Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) introduced a bill to create a voluntary “Residence Star” program to encourage residential property owners to make energy-saving improvements to their residential housing units. Butterfield’s bill – H.R. 3322 – would direct the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a voluntary program where owners who make qualified energy efficiency improvements to their housing units would receive Residence Star certification. Property owners who receive the …
White House Weekly Address: Celebrating 50 Years of Medicare and Medicaid
In this week’s address, the President celebrated the 50th birthdays of Medicare and Medicaid, which together have allowed millions to live longer and better lives. These programs are a promise that if we work hard, and play by the rules, we’ll be rewarded with a basic measure of dignity, security, and the freedom to live our lives as we want. Every American deserves the sense of safety and security that comes with health insurance. That’s why the President signed the …
Monday Open Line
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” Poet Emma Lazarus composed those words in 1883 to help raise funds for a pedestal for the Statue of Liberty. But on this date just a year earlier, Congress enacted one of the first immigration limitations in our history. The law barred entry to people thought likely to become what is called a “public charge” or burden on society. Immigration laws have been much revised since 1882 …
First I-40 Fortify Lane Reductions Expected to Begin Friday Morning
Raleigh – For the first time, Raleigh commuters could see some lane reductions as early as Friday morning on parts of eastbound Interstate 40 in the Fortify I-40 Rebuild work zone. Crews on Thursday night will extend the lane shifts and begin reducing the roadway down to three lanes where four and five lanes currently exist from Lake Wheeler Road to South Saunders Street. Over the next several days, the traffic shift and lane reductions will continue to progress east …
Baskerville July Newsletter
You may download Representative Nathan Baskerville’s latest newsletter here July 30 2015 newsletter.pdf
Vance County Board of Commissioners Meeting August 3rd 2015
Download the full agenda packet here: 20150803_vcboc_agenda_packet 1. Public Comments (for those registered to speak by 5:45 p.m. – speakers are limited to five minutes) 2. Water District Boarda. Water Planning Committee Report 3. Committee Reports and Recommendationsa. Human Resources Committeeb. Planning/Environmental Committeec. Education Committeed. General Government Committeee. Properties Committee 4. Finance Director’s Reporta. Surplus Property 5. County Attorney’s Reporta. REO Properties 6. County Manager’s Reporta. Proclamation – National Health Center Weekb. Resolution – Stepping Up Initiativec. Fox Pond Park …
Friday / Weekend Open Line
Friday, July 31st. The first patent in the young United States was issued on this date in 1790 to Samuel Hopkins of Vermont for a new method of making potash — useful in producing soap, fertilizer, and glass. The Constitution recognized, for the first time in history, the intrinsic right of an inventor to profit from his invention. Hopkins’ application was initially reviewed by Thomas Jefferson and approved by President Washington. By 1802, the U.S. Patent Office was established to …
VGCC recognizes Pharmacy Technology students at Pinning
Vance-Granville Community College honored 16 students who have completed the Pharmacy Technology program with a pinning ceremony, held on July 23 in the Civic Center on the college’s Main Campus. The 2014-15 graduates included Bayle Hall and Nicole Salzman, both of Creedmoor; Alyssa M. Cole of Franklinton; Jacqueline P. Burton, Sherica Evans, Jordan Garrison, Julie Newton, Harley Owen, Cristal Puga Gomez and Tiarah Taylor, all of Henderson; Brandy Lynch of Hollister; Arnika L. Bullock and Lakeisha Hartsfield, both of Louisburg; …
North Carolina Weekend
For the week of July 30 on North Carolina Weekend, relax at the Inn at Brevard. Discover various works at Buffalo Creek Gallery in Shelby. Tempt your taste buds at Caprice Bistro in Wilmington. Lift a glass at the Thirsty Monk Pub & Brewery in Asheville. And the “House Special” samples the fare at Ed’s Southern Food & Spirits in Goldsboro. (Please note: listings are subject to change.) North Carolina Weekend is underwritten by Visit North Carolina. In addition, UNC-TV …
Thursday Open Line
The national government’s broad involvement in individual health insurance goes back to this date 50 years ago. That’s when President Lyndon Johnson signed the Social Security Amendments, which established Medicare and Medicaid. The legislation was introduced in Congress in March 1965, and went through more than 500 amendments before being passed by large majorities in both the House and Senate. In January 1966, President Johnson handed the first Medicare cards to former President Harry Truman — who had advocated such …
Vance County Regional Farmers Market Advisory Board
The Vance County Regional Farmers Market Advisory Board will meet on Thursday, August 6 2015, 2 pm at Farmers Market (210 Southpark Dr., Henderson, NC). This meeting is open to the public and the Board welcomes comments and input. For more information, call 252-598-0814 or e-mail farmersmarket@vancecounty.org.
Vance County Board of Commissioners Special Called Meeting – August 4, 2015
Vance County Board of Commissioners will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, August 4 at 8:45 a.m. in the commissioners conference room. The purpose is to enter into closed session for personnel matters.
Wednesday Open Line
Long before there were automobiles in the U.S., good roads were badly needed to get farm produce to market and to allow people to go visiting and shopping without battling mud. An American professor who had emigrated from Belgium — Edward de Smedt — invented an asphalt mix, which could be applied in sheets to make a smooth surface. His first trial occurred on this date in 1870 on William Street in Newark, New Jersey. Even though de Smedt’s technique …
Homegrown North Carolina Concert Series announced
RALEIGH — Since its beginning, the North Carolina State Fair has showcased the best the state has to offer. This year the State Fair takes it up a notch with its “Homegrown North Carolina” concert series in Dorton Arena, which features a mix of rock, country, R&B, contemporary Christian, indie, salsa, Indian, beach and gospel music by acts that call the Tar Heel state home. “We are excited to showcase even more of the musical talent that this state is …
VGCC launches “VOLT” initiative
A new type of virtual college experience is emerging at Vance-Granville Community College, with the “Vanguard Online Learning through Technology,” or VOLT, initiative. Marking a new chapter in the college’s history of offering distance education, VOLT is now accepting its first students, who will start their courses when VGCC’s fall semester begins on Aug. 17. According to VGCC Director of Distance Education Evelyn Harris, VOLT courses are for adult learners who need an online-only educational experience. “VOLT will significantly enhance …
Largest Watermelon Contest to be held at State Farmers Market July 30
RALEIGH – The State Farmers Market is looking for local watermelon growers to submit entries to its Largest Watermelon Contest. The exhibition will be part of the market’s annual Watermelon Day on July 30 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. “This year’s high temperatures and low precipitation have helped North Carolina’s watermelon crop,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “Many growers are expecting a better year than 2014, so there will be a lot to celebrate at Watermelon Day.” The grower …
Tuesday Open Line
The nation’s love affair with automobiles is generations old. Our devotion can be traced down through the decades by looking at advertising, as cars progressed from romantic if noisy new playthings to a near necessity in our vast country. The first known national ad promoting a car appeared at the end of July 1898 in the Scientific American magazine. It was for the now forgotten Winton Motor Carriage with the headline “dispense with a horse.” Americans did just that, and …
Congresswoman Renee Ellemers: Protecting Women and the Unborn
Video of the Week This Tuesday, I spoke on the House floor to voice great sadness and concern following the recent release of two videos exposing the illicit activities of Planned Parenthood. In one of the videos, a Planned Parenthood executive relates, casually and with gruesome detail, the mutilation of an unborn child for the harvest and sale of its organs. These videos send chills down my spine and make my stomach churn. As a nurse and a mom, I …
White House Weekly Address: Wall Street Reform Is Working
In this week’s address, the President spoke to the progress we have made in making our financial system stronger, safer, and more fair in the years since financial crisis. Five years ago this week, our country enacted the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act — rules that have substantially reduced recklessness and abuse in our financial system that predated the crisis. As a result of Wall Street reform, our banks are less reliant on unstable funding and less …