On this date in 1956, President Dwight Eisenhower signed a bill establishing the Interstate Highway System, originally of 41,000 miles. Today, that system is America’s main street — linking all 48 continental states along its nearly 47,000 miles, and making it the second largest highway system in the world. The original estimated cost of the interstate system was around $26 billion, while to date about $370 billion has been spent on the vast project and ongoing maintenance. There are nearly …
Richard Brand: Court Ruling on Same Sex Marriages
NOT REQUIRED OF CHURCHES by Rick Brand Now may be a good time to remind ourselves about the two parts to every marriage ceremony. In this country (it is not true in other countries) the “traditional” church wedding was a mixture of state and religion. The minister acted on behalf of the state and united the couple in a legal contract. The minister also acted on behalf of the religious group and gave a blessing and invited a promise from the couple …
Veteran VGCC educator and program receive accolades
Vance-Granville Community College’s School-Age Education program and Jacquelin Heath, the instructor and program head, have recently earned recognition on the local and state levels. Heath, a resident of Henderson, was honored with the “Director’s Award of Achievement” from Del Ruff, director of the North Carolina Center for Afterschool Programs (NC CAP), at the organization’s annual SYNERGY Conference, held this year in Greenville. The conference brings together afterschool and expanded learning providers and supporters for training and sharing of best practices. …
Visit NC to Use Periscope to Promote #NCMusicDay to Visitors
RALEIGH, N.C. (June 25, 2015) ? Music lovers can pick up the beat at events taking place across North Carolina on Friday, thanks to the #NCMusicDay showcase on the Periscope live-streaming app. The broadcast results from a partnership between Visit North Carolina and the North Carolina Arts Council, the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area and the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau. The featured events ? a mountain music street dance, a showcase from the African American Music Trails of Eastern North …
Vance County Schools – Scholarship Recipients
The Vance County Partners for the Advancement of Gifted Education (PAGE) has announced three graduating seniors from Northern Vance and Southern Vance high schools have been awarded scholarships for the 2014-2015 school year. The scholarship recipients are shown in the accompanying photo holding the plaques that bear their names and will hang in their respective schools. The students include, from left, Chris Pendergrass, who won the Jerold P. Murdock Memorial Scholarship; Moriah Davis, who won the Top Graduate from Southern …
Vance County Schools – Gregory Honored at Reception
The Vance County Board of Education and Vance County Schools honored retiring Superintendent Ronald E. Gregory at a reception on June 18, in the cafeteria at Northern Vance High School. Gregory is retiring June 30 after 52 years in education, with the last 48 years in Vance County. He has served as superintendent since August of 2011. Approximately 200 co-workers, friends and family members came together to recognize his many achievements in serving Vance County students and employees. Gloria J. …
Henderson City Council’s Human Resources Committee Meeting June 30,2015
The Henderson City Council’s Human Resources Committee will meet on Tuesday, June 30 at 1:00 p.m. in the Large Conference Room at City Hall, 134 Rose Avenue. The purpose of the meeting is to review the Human Resources Policy Manual. This meeting is open to the public.
Five stores pay fines for price-scanning errors
RALEIGH – The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Standards Division has collected fines from stores in Franklin, Gaston, Henderson and Wake counties for excessive price-scanning errors. The Standards Division conducts periodic, unannounced inspections of a business’ price-scanner system to check for accuracy between the prices advertised and the prices that ring up at the register. If a store has more than a 2 percent error rate on overcharges, inspectors discuss the findings with the store manager and conduct …
Butterfield Statement on the Supreme Court Decision in King v. Burwell
WASHINGTON, DC — Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) issued the following statement in response to today’s Supreme Court decision in King v. Burwell: “Today’s Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act is a tremendous victory for our nation. Every modern day U.S. President has acknowledged the urgency of healthcare reform, but President Obama and Congressional Democrats successfully answered the call with the passage of this law. “This ruling by the Supreme Court ensures that millions of …
You’re Invited: Butterfield’s Prayer Vigil in Honor of Charleston 9 & Victims of Racial Injustice
Dear Friends: I invite you to join me along with faith leaders for Together in Prayer:One Community United in Faith, a vigil to unite people from across the First Congressional District around a common purpose of healing and understanding. The prayer vigil will be held on Tuesday, June 30th from 6:00 – 7:30 PM at the Church of God of Deliverance, 301 NE Main Street, Rocky Mount, N.C. My heart is saddened for the families who have lost loved ones in the …
Vance County Schools – HMS Students Meet Governor
A group of students and staff members from Henderson Middle School had a surprise visit by N.C. Gov. Pat McCrory during their tour of the Governor’s Mansion in Raleigh in May. McCrory is shown in the photo standing in the back at center behind the group of students. The students also toured the old N.C. Capitol building and the N.C. Legislature building.
White House: Today’s decision
On March 23, 2010, I sat down at a table in the East Room of the White House and signed my name on a law that said, once and for all, that health care would no longer be a privilege for a few. It would be a right for everyone. Five years later, after more than 50 votes in Congress to repeal or weaken this law and multiple challenges before the Supreme Court, here is what we know today: This …
Friday / Weekend Open Lines
Friday, June 26th. Whoever bought a pack of chewing gum at the Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio on this date 41 years ago was making history. It was the first purchase of an item to be scanned into a cash register by using the Universal Product Code — better known as the bar code. Realizing the significance of the event, the buyer returned the item. The 10-pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit is now on display at the Smithsonian in Washington, …
Attorney General Roy Cooper: Scammers Try to Exploit Travel Season
Many people hit the road in the summer, and crooks know it. Watch out for scammers posing as loved ones who run into trouble while traveling and need your money. Emails from overseas You get an email that appears to come from a friend or relative who says they were traveling overseas when disaster struck. Lost or stolen bags, a car accident, or some other calamity means they’re stuck and need you to send them money. In reality, your friend …
Longtime VGCC Instructor now a U.S. Citizen
Vance-Granville Community College Spanish instructor Margaret Chaves-Smith of Oxford is one of the newest citizens of the United States. A native of Costa Rica, Chaves-Smith has lived in the United States for 21 years and has been a full-time faculty member at VGCC since 2000. In May, Chaves-Smith took the Oath of Allegiance at a naturalization ceremony at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Durham. “It was one of the happiest days of my life,” Chaves-Smith said …
Vance County Board of Education Called Meeting June 30, 2015
VANCE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION Called Meeting Tuesday, June 30, 2015 5:30 p.m. Administrative Services Center Superintendent’s Conference Room 1724 Graham Avenue Henderson, N. C. 27536 AGENDA Call to Order * II. Approval of Meeting Agenda * III. Personnel Recommendations (Attachment III) Finance: * A. Final 2014-2015 Budget Amendments * B. Adoption of Interim 2015-2016 Budget Resolution (Attachment IV.B) * C. Bank Signature Authority Change (Attachment IV.C) * D. Child Nutrition’s 2015-2016 …
N.C., Triangle outpace nation in tourism and travel spending for April
According to figures released Tuesday (yesterday) by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, tourism and travel spending across the U.S. “decelerated” during the first quarter of 2015, growing at an annual rate of just 2 percent. That’s down from the 4.9 percent increase the nation saw in the final quarter of 2014. BEA attributed the decline to reduced spending on food services and drinking places and “all other transportation-related commodities.” Meanwhile, North Carolina has seen no such slowdown. While figures …
NCDOT to Close I-85 Ramp in Vance County
Raleigh-N.C. Department of Transportation contractors will close the I-85 northbound on-ramp at N.C.39 (Andrews Avenue) on Friday, June 26. The closure, part of a project to improve 20.6 miles of I-85 in Vance and Warren counties, will remain in place until early 2017. Motorists traveling to I-85 North from N.C. 39 can use a signed detour along Beckford Drive to Garnett Street, and then use the I-85 northbound on-ramp at Parham Road. Also, on the weekend of July 10 and …
VGCC launches online scholarship application
A new online system is now available for Vance-Granville Community College students to apply for scholarships established by local citizens and businesses through the college’s Endowment Fund. The online application can be accessed at scholarships.vgcc.edu. To use the system, a student must already be admitted to VGCC and have been assigned a username and password, which they also use for other online college services. Using software from AcademicWorks, Inc., VGCC Endowment Office staff have set up an application that asks …
Thursday Open Line
Today is the anniversary of the first color television broadcast. In 1951, CBS transmitted the appropriately named program “Premiere” from New York City, and through stations in Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia. The program was seen in color only at a few select facilities because color sets for the home weren’t available until 1954. Sales of color sets caught up with those of black and white sets around 1970. Shortly thereafter, American consumers began preferring foreign manufactured sets, and in 1995, …