Author of “Blood Done Sign My Name” To Speak at VGCC Adult Basic Skills Commencement

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Vance-Granville Community College will hold commencement exercises dedicated exclusively to new graduates of Adult Basic Skills programs on Thursday, May 4. The ceremony will begin at 6 p.m. in the Civic Center on the college’s Main Campus in Vance County.

Those being honored at the ceremony will include students who have completed either the Adult High School Diploma program or the High School Equivalency program in the past year.

Dr. Timothy B. Tyson, an author and professor who spent part of his childhood in Oxford, will serve as the guest speaker. Tyson is currently Senior Research Scholar at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University and Visiting Professor of American Christianity and Southern Culture at Duke Divinity School. He also holds a faculty position in American Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His most recent book is The Blood of Emmett Till, published early this year.

Tyson is the author of Blood Done Sign My Name, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and winner of the Southern Book Award for Nonfiction and the Grawemeyer Award in Religion. His Radio Free Dixie: Robert F. Williams and the Roots of Black Power was the winner of the James Rawley Prize for the best book on race and the Frederick Jackson Turner Prize for the best first book in U.S. history from the Organization of American Historians. His Democracy Betrayed: The Wilmington Race Riot of 1898 and Its Legacy, published with David S. Cecelski with a foreword by Dr. John Hope Franklin, won the 1999 Outstanding Book Award from the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Human Rights. He serves on the executive board of the North Carolina NAACP and the board of advisors for the UNC Center for Civil Rights.

Speaking on behalf of the graduating students during the ceremony will be Spencer Bojan Boyd of Oxford. Boyd completed the Adult High School Diploma program online and is already enrolled in the College Transfer program at VGCC. Boyd is a native of Serbia and was adopted at the age of six by a family in Johnston County, who later moved to Granville County. He was born without a right leg and with a distorted left leg, which was later amputated. Boyd’s future plan is to continue his education at the four-year level and become a certified prosthetist in order to help other amputees.

–VGCC–

News 04/25/17

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VGCC Summer Bridge program accepting applicants

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Vance-Granville Community College is now accepting applications from incoming first-year students for the “Summer Bridge” program.

Summer Bridge is a three-week program designed to enhance a student’s transition from high school to college and prepare them to be successful during their freshman year at VGCC. The program is scheduled for Monday through Friday, July 10-July 28, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. each day.

The program is completely free of charge, including lunch each day, and is conducted at VGCC’s Main Campus in Vance County. All incoming first-year students who will be attending the college in the fall 2017 semester (which starts in August) and who are North Carolina residents are eligible to participate.

During the program, students will be enrolled in the Success & Study Skills (ACA 115) course, participate in an academic enrichment class and learn about campus support resources in a fun and engaging environment.

The ACA 115 course provides an orientation to campus resources and the academic skills necessary to achieve educational objectives. Emphasis is placed on an exploration of facilities and services, study skills, library skills, self-assessment, wellness, goal-setting and critical thinking.

“Summer Bridge is an excellent opportunity for students to get a head start by gaining the tools and the preparation that will help them succeed during that critical first year of college,” said Jeffrey Allen, VGCC’s dean of enrollment and outreach.

Participants must first apply to VGCC and take the North Carolina Diagnostic and Placement (NC DAP) test prior to enrolling in the Summer Bridge program.

Students are encouraged to register for the program online at www.vgcc.edu/summer-bridge-form.

For more information, contact Allen at allenjl@vgcc.edu or 252-738-3405.

–VGCC–

Vance County Community Resource Fair Coming This Thursday

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— Written By

We are counting on agencies/vendors throughout Vance County and surrounding areas to join forces to provide an opportunity to expose youth and citizens to possible career paths in Agriculture and Natural Resources, Family and Consumer Sciences/ Human Services, Youth Development, and Community and Rural Development to make our citizens more competitive in a global society. This year we will also be collaborating with Vance County’s Week of the Young Child Events that will take place April 24 – 30, 2017 throughout the community.

On Thursday, April 27, 2017 at Western Vance High School, located at 2785 Poplar Creek Rd, Henderson, NC 27537, several community agencies and Vance County Schools will host the 4th Annual Community Resource Fair.  The Fair will be open to the public during the school day starting at 9am – 3pm.

Advance registration for vendors is requested by April 20, 2017. Click here to register, Vendor Registration.

Financial Card Fraud Arrest

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Update 8:30 p.m.

Statement on the matter from Vance Charter School: “Mr. Connolly informed the Chairman of the Vance Charter School Board of Directors of the criminal charges against him Thursday afternoon, and we will continue to closely follow this matter. Any further comment is prohibited as this is a personnel matter and would not be appropriate until the courts have rendered a decision.”  The same statement can be seen on the school’s Facebook page.

Update 3:30 p.m.

There is an update to the following press release issued this morning by Henderson Police Chief Marcus Barrow. WIZS News contacted Chief Barrow directly, and he confirmed that the accused is the principal of Vance Charter School.

WIZS has contacted Vance Charter School as well as the attorney for the accused seeking comment, and additional relevant information will be provided if and when it becomes available.

Press Release – April 21, 2017

Courtesy: Henderson Police Department

On Saturday, April 15, 2017, an officer with the Henderson Police Department responded to Food Lion, 377 Raleigh Road. Amanda Bullock reported to officers that her financial card had been used to make an unauthorized purchase from the store. After an investigation was conducted, officers obtained a warrant for Sean Connolly. Connolly was charged with one misdemeanor count of financial card fraud and one count of felonious unlawful obtaining credit card.

Connolly, 45, of 2167 Bobbitt Road, Henderson surrendered himself to the Vance County Sheriff’s Department, not the charging agency, on April 21, 2017. Connolly was released from custody after signing a 10,000.00 unsecured bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Vance County District Court on May 18, 2017.

Further information about the arrest and bonding of Sean Connolly should be made to the Vance County Sheriff’s Office.

Authority: Chief Marcus Barrow

Vance County School Update 04/24/17

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Town Talk 04/24/17

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Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland 04/24/17

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News 04/24/17

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West Creek, West Hills, 158 Bypass Community Watch

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Thursday night in the Maria Parham Health auditorium, Henderson Fire Chief Steve Cordell spoke at the West Creek, West Hills, 158 By Pass Community Watch meeting. Community watch president Susan Adcock told WIZS News how much the organization appreciated Cordell presenting the program.

Adcock said, “Chief Cordell said proper smoke/fire alarms in our homes could save our lives. He talked about fire safety measures in the home: smoke alarms and fire extinguishers. He talked about the Reading a Book with a Fireman Program for Kindergarten Students conducted at Rollins, Vance Charter School and Henderson Collegiate. He spoke of the work of a fireman and the programs they conduct for the city residents, such as going door to door to inspect smoke alarms, and other assistance to city residents.”

Amazingly, the fire alarm sounded in the auditorium during the presentation.  Adcock said, “Community Watch members filed out of the auditorium and onto the back parking lot. Shortly thereafter, all were able to return to the auditorium.”

She said, “The Chief presented a very informative program!”

If your community watch organization would like to publish information about guest speakers and other community news, please email johncharles@wizs.com or fill out the form on the PSAs page of wizs.com.