ACTS Needs Your Help
All of you came through in such a HUGE way when we needed items for the Food Pantry recently.
Now we need your help again….as volunteers!
ACTS desperately need folks who can help us out on a consistent, regular basis. Please consider it, pray about it, and then contact me if you have any questions or want to know more. You will be super blessed by participating–I assure you!
Contact me by email at lapeoples@actsofhenderson.org. We appreciate all the ways we are supported by our wonderful community!
Lee Anne Peoples–Executive Director
Arts Alive Talent Showcase a Success for Vance County Schools
The Arts Alive Talent Showcase for Vance County Schools on Saturday, March 25, featured about 70 students from the school system who shared their amazing talents in singing, dancing, reciting dramatic readings and playing instruments on the stage at the McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center.
The showcase also featured over 200 pieces of visual art work done by students from elementary to high school in Vance County Schools. Hundreds of local residents, family members, local educators and others came through McGregor Gallery throughout the afternoon to view the art work on Saturday. The showcase culminated with the two-hour show in the center’s auditorium that included an audience of over 600 people.
Student performers in the show were the Southern Vance High School Ensemble; Ciara Bundy of Henderson Middle School; Daniel Thorpe of Southern Vance High School; Elizabeth Black of Aycock Elementary School; the Dabney Royalty Show Choir of Dabney Elementary School; Miracle Chin and Sarah Burns of Southern Vance High School; Anna Watkins of Aycock Elementary School; the Clarke Elementary Praise Dance of Clarke Elementary School; Jadyn Jones of Northern Vance High School; My Brother’s Keeper, who are five brothers attending Southern Vance High, Henderson Middle and Aycock Elementary schools; the Shiloh Baptist Liturgical Dance with performers from Southern Vance High and Henderson Middle schools; Valentina Ortega- Mora of Aycock Elementary School; Jesse Peele of Carver Elementary School; Kaitlyn Tant of Southern Vance High School; the Southern Vance High School Step Team; Jose Gonzalez and Jordan Lewis of Southern Vance High School; Anterrahn Harris of Northern Vance High School; and the Southern Vance High School Drumline.
Arts Alive was presented by the Vance County Public School Foundation and Vance County Schools as a celebration of the arts in our public school system. It also served as a fundraiser for the foundation. Proceeds from Arts Alive will be used by the foundation to support educational initiatives in Vance County Schools.
Sponsors for the event included: Bob and Roxanne Fleming; Marion Perry for Tokens of Love; Rose Oil Company and Rose Propane; Archie B. Taylor Jr.; Tegarris Associates Realty Inc.; the Henderson-Vance Downtown Development; Dr. Anthony D. Jackson; Michael and Vanessa Jones; Maria Parham Health; Prim Residential Rentals Inc.; Margier White State Farm Insurance; Ronald and Dr. Cindy Bennett; Dr. Trixie J. Brooks; Talmadge and Michele Burgess; the San Souci Literary Club; the Twilight Gardeners; Edward B. Wilson; and Wayne and Susan Adcock.
Arts teachers in our schools played a major role in promoting Arts Alive and getting their students involved in submitting visual art work and in doing the performances. Art, drama, music and band teachers all played key roles in the success of the event.
The accompanying photos are from the Arts Alive art work displays and the showcase performances in McGregor Hall.
Numerous Guilty Pleas Surface from Vance County Criminal Superior Trial Court last week
HENDERSON, NC — A session of Vance County Criminal Superior Trial Court was held during the week of March 20, 2017, and Judge Michael O’Foghludha presided over the session. The Office of District Attorney Michael D. Waters was represented by Assistant District Attorneys Melissa Pelfrey and Onica Fuller.
Several pleas were taken during the morning of March 20, 2017. Kyshaun Norrell pleaded guilty to Voluntary Manslaughter and received a 62 to 87 month active sentence in the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Division of Adult Correction (DAC).
Jimmy Kelly pleaded guilty to Possession of Burglary Tools and Attempted Breaking and Entering and received an 8 to 17 month active sentence in the DAC.
Maurio Solomon pleaded guilty to Felony Fleeing to Elude and Assault with a Deadly Weapon and received a 15 to 27 month active sentence in the DAC.
Crystal Tuck pleaded guilty to Misdemeanor Larceny and received a 120 day active sentence in the DAC.
Percell Richardson pleaded guilty to Possession of Firearm by Felon and received a 12 to 24 month active sentence which was suspended for 18 months of supervised probation.
Larry Ayscue pleaded guilty to Manufacturing Marijuana and received a 10 to 21 month active sentence which was suspended for 24 months of supervised probation.
Demario Henderson pleaded guilty to Possession of Heroin, Felony Maintaining a Vehicle/Dwelling, Misdemeanor Fleeing to Elude, and Misdemeanor Possession of Marijuana and received a 5 to 15 month active sentence which was suspended for 18 months of supervised probation.
On Tuesday afternoon, March 21, 2017, the State began the trial of State vs. Alan Gibson for the 2009 murder of Montrell Alston in Henderson, NC. Mr. Gibson was found guilty of First Degree Murder and received a sentence of life in prison. Mr. Gibson was also found guilty of Assault with a Deadly Weapon Inflicting Serious Injury in which he received a 38 to 55 month active sentence. These two sentences were consolidated. He was also found guilty of First Degree Burglary. This case was prepared for trial by Assistant District Attorneys Melissa Pelfrey and Onica Fuller, and was investigated by Detective Allen Simmons and officers with the Henderson Police Department under the direction of Chief Marcus Barrow.
Michael Waters
VGCC Radiography students and educators attend conference
Several students and faculty members from the Vance-Granville Community College Radiography program attended the 20th West Coast Educators Council (WCEC) of Radiologic Technologists Student-Educator-Radiographer Seminar, held March 7-10 in Orlando, Florida.
The annual conference is attended by over 1,000 students and educators in the Radiography field from all over the country. This year, 26 of the 50 states were represented.
While at WCEC, the VGCC Radiography students were able to meet imaging professionals who have written or contributed to the textbooks which the students currently use. The students also attended classes relevant to their major and were able to take a mock registry examination, which simulates the exam that all Registered Radiographers are required to take in order to obtain their registry upon completion of a two-year associate degree program. “The average score for the mock registry is around 65 percent, and the VGCC students scored within this range, indicating that they are on target for Registry success following graduation,” explained VGCC Clinical Coordinator/instructor Stacey Soles.
Students Mary Beth Brewer and Trevor Houston, both of Durham, and Jonathan Liddane of Oxford participated, along with their peers from across the country, in the “Student Bee,” with Brewer advancing to the second round. Only three students per program could compete in the Student Bee, a fun competition that tests participants’ knowledge of radiologic technology.
Additional topics of study during the conference for students included “Inside the NFL,” “The Role of Forensic Radiography in Peru,” “Sectional Anatomy,” “Technique 101: Getting Back to the Basics” and “Mastering Digital Radiography.” “’Inside the NFL’ gave insight into the role of Radiographers in sports,” Soles said. “Not only can Radiographers work in hospital and health-care settings, but they can be part of an NFL team!”
The other faculty member from the college in attendance was VGCC Dean of Health Sciences (and radiographer) Angela Thomas, who gave a well-received presentation to educators from many other states, entitled “Crucial Conversations.”
Based at VGCC’s South Campus between Butner and Creedmoor, the two-year Radiography degree program prepares graduates to be radiographers, skilled health care professionals who use radiation to produce images of the human body. For more information on Radiography, contact Dean of Health Sciences Angela Thomas at (252) 738-3397.
–VGCC–
Henderson Man Sentenced for Two Counts of Possession of a Firearm by a Felon
NEW BERN – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina announced that in federal court, United States District Judge Louise W. Flanagan sentenced ISMIL GRAY JEFFERS, 23, of Henderson, NC to 140 months of imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release.
JEFFERS pled guilty on November 15, 2016 to being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm.
On September 22, 2015, the Vance County Sheriff’s Office responded to a disturbance complaint. Upon arriving at the scene, officers found JEFFERS in the bathroom of Auto Connection Used Auto Sales and subsequently conducted a search of his vehicle where a firearm and controlled substances were found. On October 19, 2015, members of the Henderson Police Department conducted a checkpoint traffic stop in which JEFFERS was a passenger in a vehicle. The vehicle pulled away from the checkpoint causing an officer to pursue. The vehicle stopped a short distance later and JEFFERS, a convicted felon, was observed throwing a handgun into a grassy area.
This case was part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative which encourages federal, state, and local agencies to cooperate in a unified “team effort” against gun crime, targeting repeat offenders who continually plague their communities.
The criminal investigation of this case was conducted by the Henderson Police Department Police Department, the Vance County Sheriff’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) and the North Carolina State Crime Lab. Assistant United States Attorney S. Katherine Burnette is handling the case on behalf of the government.
USAO – North Carolina, Eastern
Topic:
Firearms Offenses