Tag Archive for: #oxfordnews

Delrayno Baptist to Present ‘The Living Last Supper’ – Thurs., April 18

-Information courtesy Delrayno Baptist Church

Delrayno Baptist Church, 1315 College St., Oxford, presents “The Living Last Supper” on Maundy Thursday, April 18, 2019, at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free.

“The Living Last Supper” is a short, but powerful, melodrama about the reflection and inner turmoil of each disciple when Jesus announced that he would be betrayed by one of them.

The public is invited to attend.

 

Granville Co. Animal Shelter Closed Wed. for Staff Development

-Information courtesy the Granville County Government’s Facebook page

The Granville County Animal Shelter, located at 5650 Cornwall Road in Oxford, will be closed to the public tomorrow, Wednesday, April 17, 2019, for a staff development day. Staff development days are now held on the third Wednesday of every month.

Granville County Animal Control will still be available all day for emergency calls for service. Normal operating hours are Monday through Friday from noon until 4:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.

Call 919-693-6749 for more information about services provided by Granville County Animal Management, or visit www.granvillecounty.org.

Pictured is “Cade,” who is available for adoption at the Granville County Animal Shelter. (Photo courtesy Granville Co. Government)

U.S. Department of Justice

Oxford Man Sentenced to 60 Months for Illegal Possession of Firearm

-Press Release, U.S. Department of Justice

Robert J. Higdon, Jr., the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, announces that Chief United States District Judge Terrence W. Boyle sentenced MAURICE SHAWAYNE HARRIS, a/k/a “Gator”, 38, of Oxford to 60 months’ imprisonment, followed by 3 years of supervised released.

On January 2, 2019, HARRIS pled guilty to possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon.

In January 2018, the Oxford Police Department attempted to make a traffic stop of a vehicle occupied by HARRIS, to investigate a report of shots fired in the area. HARRIS jumped and ran from the vehicle. Inside of that vehicle officers recovered a box of .38 caliber ammunition. Officers traced HARRIS’s flight path and recovered a Taurus model .38 caliber revolver. HARRIS was later arrested by the Oxford Police Department.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.

Since 2017 the United States Department of Justice has reinvigorated the PSN program and has targeted violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

This case is also part of the Take Back North Carolina Initiative of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

This initiative emphasizes the regional assignment of federal prosecutors to work with law enforcement and District Attorney’s Offices on a sustained basis in those communities to reduce the violent crime rate, drug trafficking, and crimes against law enforcement. The investigation of this case was conducted by the Oxford Police Department and the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.

Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. Dodson prosecuted the case for the government.

Oxford Prep Announces MaryAnn Crews as Lower School Director

-Press Release, Oxford Preparatory School

Oxford Preparatory School (OPS), a free public charter school, is pleased to announce that MaryAnn Crews will be joining the leadership team as Lower School Director beginning July 2019.

In the coming 2019-2020 school year, the OPS Lower School is expanding down to serve the 5th grade. Beginning in August 2020, the school will again expand to become a full K-12 school. Because of this expansion, the new role of Lower School Director has been created. Vici Bradsher will remain in the role of Upper School Director.

Oxford Preparatory School (OPS), a free public charter school, is pleased to announce that MaryAnn Crews will be joining the leadership team as Lower School Director beginning July 2019. (Photo courtesy OPS)

MaryAnn Crews has 14 years of experience in education including her roles as a 5th-grade teacher, an assistant principal, and principal. She has an undergraduate degree from Wellesley College and a Masters in School Administration from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.

She was a recipient of a North Carolina Principal Fellowship in 2011, as well as a recipient of Teacher and Principal of the Year for Granville County Schools. She is a resident of Oxford, along with her husband and two children.

“I am excited to join Oxford Prep to create an innovative and rigorous lower school program for students in Granville County. I believe schools should be places filled with joy where students are challenged daily to be the best they can be,” Crews remarked about the new opportunity.

“Among the many applicants for the position, MaryAnn’s passion, track record, and vision for the Lower School made her stand out from all of the applicants,” OPS Executive Director, Andrew Swanner commented. “The OPS Board and leadership team are thrilled to have MaryAnn join our organization.”

Granville County Logo

Agenda: Granville Co. Board of Commissioners Meeting – Mon., April 15

-Information courtesy Debra A. Weary, Clerk to the Board, Granville County

The Granville County Board of Commissioners will meet Monday, April 15, 2019, at 7 p.m. at the Granville Expo and Convention Center, 4185 US Highway 15 South, Oxford.

Agenda items include:

Consent Agenda

1. Contingency Summary

2. NC Education Lottery Fund Request

3. Minutes

Recognitions and Presentations

4. Recognition – Governor’s Volunteer Service Award – Tally Ho First Baptist Church

5. Update on the Granville County Museum and Historical Society Request

Public Comments

6. Public Comments

Recreation Matters

7. Inclusive Play Equipment: Instruments for the GAP Sound Garden

Solid Waste Matters

8. Solid Waste Ordinance Revision(s)

9. Solid Waste Collections and Convenience Site Management RFPs

Appointments

10. South Granville Memorial Gardens Board of Trustees

11. Granville Greenways Advisory Council

County Manager’s Report

12. Request to Submit a Text Amendment to the Planning Board

13. Acceptance of 12 Acre Transfer from the State

County Attorney’s Report

14. County Attorney’s Report

Presentations by County Board Members

15. Presentations by County Board Members

Any Other Matters

16. Any Other Matters

Closed Session

17. Closed Session as allowed by G.S. 143-318.11(a)(3) – Attorney-Client Matter

For current and previous Granville Co. Board of Commissioner meeting agendas and minutes, click here

Granville County Public Schools

Granville Board of Education to Hold Financial Work Session

-Press Release, Granville County Public Schools

NOTICE TO PUBLIC AND PRESS

The Granville County Board of Education will meet for a Financial Work Session on Monday, April 15, 2019, at 2:30 p.m. at the Granville County Public Schools Central Office, 101 Delacroix Street, Oxford, North Carolina.

The purpose of the meeting is to receive a financial presentation and financial updates from staff on School System finances.

The next regular scheduled Board meeting is set for Monday, May 6, 2019, at 6 p.m.

Granville County Library System

North Carolina Room Preserves Historical Flavor of ‘Old Granville County’

In honor of April 7-13 as National Library Week, Mark Pace, North Carolina Room Specialist at the Richard H. Thornton Library in Oxford, was the featured guest on Thursday’s edition of WIZS’ Town Talk program.

A part of the Granville County Library System since the early 1960s, the North Carolina Room’s primary mission is to preserve and maintain materials for historical and genealogical research in the present-day county of Granville and adjacent counties.

“We are a regional history center. Granville County formed in 1746 and is a ‘mother’ county. Warren, Vance, Franklin, parts of Orange and Person and present Granville were all once part of the original Granville County,” Pace explained. “We seek to preserve the materials that are relative to the cultural and historical flavor of old Granville County.”

According to Pace, genealogical records ranging in date from 1746 to present day include wills, deeds, marriage records, court records and cemetery records.

Such information can be found on the approximately 600 microfilm reels of newspapers, dozens of large size genealogy charts and 175 scrapbooks – some dating to the late 1800’s – that are a part of the Room’s collection.

“I always tell people that when you start researching your genealogy, you’re going to find something that you don’t like. On the other hand, you find out things about your ancestors that make you proud,” said Pace.

In addition to microfilm and charts, the 900-square-foot room inside the Thornton Library is also home to an extensive photography collection, personal papers and 4,500 books and volumes specific to local history.

“We have received some good collections recently, specifically a photography collection of 4,500 images given by the family of J.B. Clay, a local photographer in Oxford from the mid- 1950s to the mid-1990s. This new donation serves as the largest known photo collection relative to Granville County to date,” Pace said.

Donated materials from the public, including family bibles, photos and letters, are essential to the mission of the North Carolina Room, according to Pace.

“We rely heavily on what people donate to us or bring and let us copy. You can’t go out and buy these types of things. The public is always encouraged to bring by any items of local historical significance for us to copy and keep a record of, no matter how obscure those items may seem.”

Although its primary function is genealogical, Pace said the North Carolina Room meets patron needs for inquiries into historical environmental site surveys, high school reunions, local government requests, church histories and more.

While the majority of visitors are Granville County residents, Pace reported that up to 40% live outside of the area, including residents of other states and countries. “In just this year alone, we’ve had visitors from 35 different states and from far away as Great Britain and Jamaica.”

Pace, a Henderson native and college history major, said his passion for historical events and documents began with the Henderson High School fire of 1968.

“I was eight-years-old and my father taught school there. I remember it vividly. He got home late that night and I begged him to take me back to the school to let me see it. The next day, I saved the newspaper articles about the fire. After that, I would save other newspaper articles of historical events. In the late 1960s/early 1970s, there was a lot going on.”

In his Town Talk interview, Pace relayed many interesting historical facts about both Granville and present-day Vance County, including what he considers Granville’s most significant contribution to the world marketplace – flue-cured tobacco.

“The land in the southern part of Granville County was so good for growing flue-cured tobacco that a group came from Australia in the 1890s and loaded up dirt from Granville County and had it shipped back to Australia to see if they could grow it there. Of course, it didn’t work,” laughed Pace.

To hear the Town Talk interview with Mark Pace in its entirety, including more interesting historical facts on Granville and Vance County, please click here.

The North Carolina Room is located inside the Richard H. Thornton Library at 210 Main St. in Oxford. Hours of operation are Monday-Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. (closed Sundays from Memorial Day until Labor Day).

YMCA to Sponsor ‘Girls on the Run’ 5K in Downtown Oxford

The Henderson Family YMCA is sponsoring a “Girls on the Run Northern NC” Spring 5K on Saturday, May 4, 2019, in downtown Oxford. Activities will begin at 9 a.m.

Open registration is available now through May 3; race day registration will also be available on May 4.

Registration is $15 for children and $25 for adults. Be one of the first 100 to register to receive a 5K t-shirt.

Volunteers are also needed!

For more information, contact Becca Stanley, Girls on the Run Council Director, at (252) 438-2144 or email beccas@henfamymca.org.

Granville Tourism to Host Vendor Show/Limo-Style ‘Brides on Wheels” Tour

-Press Release, Granville County Government

 Brides planning a 2019-2020 wedding in Granville County will be taking a scenic tour on the “Bridal Bus” to learn more about wedding locations and resources available to help plan the “perfect” event.

The day includes a stop at four local wedding/reception venues, as well as early access to a Vendor Show at the Clarion Inn and Suites on Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue in Oxford. Florists, photographers, caterers, event planners, disc jockeys, rental companies, etc. will be set up to welcome the new brides – and members of the public – to display a variety of wedding service options. The Vendor Show will be open from noon until 4 p.m., with tickets now available to attend.

Photo courtesy Granville Co. Government

The “Brides on Wheels” (BOW) limo-style bus will depart from the Clarion at 1 p.m. for scheduled stops at the four locations, where prospective brides will find options and ideas to plan their event. Participants who registered for this tour will make stops according to the following schedule:

1:20 p.m.: Tour of Cedar Grove Acres in Creedmoor;

2:30 p.m.: Tour of Vino Oasi in Stem;

3:50 p.m.: Tour of Carlee Farms in Oxford;

5:05 p.m.: Tour of Thorndale Oaks in Oxford.

While the Brides on Wheels tour bus makes its way through Granville County, the vendor show will continue until 4 p.m., with the bus scheduled to arrive back at the Clarion Inn in Oxford by 6:15 p.m.

“From rustic to elegant and from indoor to outdoor, brides are sure to find something that fits their perfect event,” said Granville County Tourism Director Angela Allen. “This is an opportunity to showcase all the wonderful things we have right here in our county for brides or anyone else who wants to put together a special event.”

Created as a way to promote Granville County, Allen says that the bridal tour and vendor show will boost the local economy, as well as promote local vendors and make both residents and non-residents aware of what the county has to offer. The vendor show was added this year to provide information about other local resources that are available when planning a wedding or other special events.

This is the second year that the “Brides on Wheels” tour has been presented. Last year’s tour attracted eight brides, one groom and their family members.

“We had a diverse group of brides last year,” Allen said, “some from the local area, some from Raleigh and some from the Greensboro/High Point area.”

This year’s tour has grown to a larger number of participants who will see first-hand what Granville County has to offer. Each bride will receive a free “goodie bag” filled with products, certificates and coupons for helping plan their special event.

Tickets for the vendor show are available through Eventbrite at https://granvillebows19.eventbrite.com/.

For more information about the tour or the vendor show, visit https://www.visitgranvillenc.com or contact Granville County Tourism Director Angela Allen by phone at 919-693-6125 or by email at angela.allen@granvillecounty.org.

Oxford Logo

Oxford Board of Commissioners to Hold Monthly Meeting Tues., April 9

-Information courtesy Cynthia Bowen, City Clerk, City of Oxford

The City of Oxford Board of Commissioners will hold their regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, April 9, 2019, at 7 p.m. in the Commissioners’ Board Room, City Hall.

Agenda items include:

Public Hearing to receive citizen input on a Contiguous Annexation Ordinance for 3 +/– of land adjacent to the Hardees property located on Industry Drive.

Consider adopting a Contiguous Annexation Ordinance for 3 +/– acres of land adjacent to the Hardees property located on Industry Drive.

Consider adopting amendments to the 2019 Municipal Records Retention and Disposition Schedule.

Consider adopting a resolution to appoint Police Chief Alvin Coley as the designated official to make recommendations to the NC Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission on ABC permit applications.

Consider changing Medical Insurance to NCHIP in association with Gallagher.

Consider entering a contract with the NC Department of Public Safety Division of Adult Correction.

Consider approving the 750k Elevated Tank Paint Color Scheme & Logo.

Consider approving a Budget Amendment for $100,000.

Please click here for the full meeting agenda.