VGCC registers potentially life-saving bone marrow donors
— courtesy VGCC
Vance-Granville Community College, in partnership with the Project Life Movement, held a three-day, three-campus bone marrow registration drive in October. The service project was led by students and faculty in the VGCC Radiography program. The result was that 40 people joined the national registry of potential bone marrow donors.
Students, faculty and staff signed up and swabbed their cheeks to provide DNA samples at the events, held on Oct. 3 at the college’s South Campus, Oct. 4 at the Main Campus and Oct. 5 at the Franklin County Campus. The painless registration process took only a few minutes, but could save a life if a participant turns out to be a match for someone in need of a bone marrow transplant. Such treatments are the only hope for many people diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma, sickle cell anemia and other blood cancers and diseases.
Second-year VGCC Radiography students, joined by Clinical Coordinator/instructor Stacey Soles (at far left) and Dorian Edwards, campus coordinator for Project Life (in back, at far right), welcomed fellow students, faculty and staff to join the bone marrow donor registry in the student lounge on VGCC’s Main Campus. (VGCC photo)
Project Life is a national movement that started with students at Davidson College and has spread to more than 25 other schools and has registered more than 13,000 donors. This was VGCC’s second college-wide bone marrow registration event held in conjunction with Project Life. The first was in the fall of 2015.
This year, VGCC students were joined at their events by Dorian Edwards, campus coordinator for Project Life. He helped train the student volunteers and process registrations. Edwards, who is also an assistant football coach at Kinston High School, likened being on the registry to “being a member of a football or basketball team, sitting on the bench, but being ready to be called into the game at any time.” Once a person registers, he or she is listed on the registry until they reach the age of 61, so many students may remain a potential lifesaver for 40 years. Project Life works with “Be The Match,” operated by the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP). Be The Match has managed the largest and most diverse marrow registry in the world for more than 25 years.
From left, first-year VGCC Radiography students Caitlin West, Megan Whitman and Michael Leslie were joined by Project Life Campus Coordinator Dorian Edwards at the college’s South Campus as they welcomed students, faculty to staff to register on the first day of the drive. (VGCC photo)
For more information, contact Radiography Clinical Coordinator/instructor Stacey Soles at (252) 738-3515 or soless@vgcc.edu, or Ann Henegar at Project Life at (704) 299-6310 or www.projectlifemovement.org.
DEA establishes six new heroin enforcement teams
— Courtesy DEA
RALEIGH, NC – The Drug Enforcement Administration today announced the establishment of six new enforcement teams focused on combatting the flow of heroin and illicit fentanyl.
“At a time when overdose deaths are at catastrophic levels, the DEA’s top priority is addressing the opioid epidemic and pursuing the criminal organizations that distribute their poison to our neighborhoods,” said DEA Acting Administrator Robert W. Patterson. “These teams will enhance DEA’s ability to combat trafficking in heroin, fentanyl, and fentanyl analogues and the violence associated with drug trafficking.”
The enforcement teams will be based in communities facing significant challenges with heroin and fentanyl, including New Bedford, Mass.; Charleston, W.Va.; Cincinnati, Ohio; Cleveland, Ohio; Raleigh, N.C.; and Long Island, N.Y.
In determining the locations for these teams, DEA considered multiple factors, including rates of opioid mortality, level of heroin and fentanyl seizures, and where additional resources would make the greatest impact in addressing the ongoing threat. While the teams are based in specific cities, their investigations will not be geographically limited. DEA will continue to pursue investigations wherever the evidence leads.
DEA received funding in its FY 2017 enacted appropriations to establish these teams, which will be comprised of DEA special agents and state and local task force officers.
The abuse of controlled prescription drugs is inextricably linked with the threat the United States faces from the trafficking of heroin, fentanyl and fentanyl analogues.
Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of injury-related death in the United States, eclipsing deaths from motor vehicle crashes or firearms. According to initial estimates provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were more than 64,000 overdose deaths in 2016, or approximately 175 per day. More than 34,500, or 54 percent, of these deaths were caused by opioids.
The DEA continues to aggressively pursue enforcement actions against international and domestic drug trafficking organizations manufacturing and distributing heroin, fentanyl and fentanyl analogues. Just last week, the Department of Justice announced indictments against two Chinese nationals and their North America-based traffickers and distributors for separate conspiracies to distribute large quantities of fentanyl and fentanyl analogues and other opiate substances in the United States.
DEA also encourages parents & their children to educate themselves about the dangers of drugs by visiting www.justhinktwice.com, www.GetSmartAboutDrugs.com and www.dea.gov. Follow DEA Atlanta via Twitter at @DEAATLANTADiv
######
Oxford Prep School Enrollment Expansion
— courtesy Oxford Prep
Oxford Preparatory School Readies for 2017/2018 Enrollment and 6th Grade Expansion
Applications for new 6th – 12th grade student enrollments for the 2018 – 2019 school year will be available at oxfordprep.org and available in the school office when Open Enrollment begins on Monday, November 6th. Oxford Preparatory School (OPS) is an independent and tuition-free public charter school that is designed to mold students into future leaders through completion of a rigorous curriculum while focusing on community service and developing an appreciation of the arts. OPS offers a college preparatory curriculum, a variety of competitive middle school and varsity athletic teams, and is located in a permanent facility at 6041 Landis Rd. in Oxford.
To be considered for a potential lottery, all applications must be turned in to the office or postmarked by Friday, February 2, 2018. If more applications are received than available seats in the 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade a blind public lottery will be held on Saturday, February 17, 2018. All students choosing to attend OPS will need to confirm enrollment by completing and sending in an enrollment packet by Friday, March 16, 2018. After February 2, applications will continue to be accepted, and processed in the order they are received.
Oxford Preparatory School invites families of prospective students to learn more about the unique offerings of the school. The first of three information sessions will be held on Tuesday 11/7 at 6:00. Afterwards, tours will be conducted that will allow the opportunity to meet faculty. In addition, prospective students are invited to spend time visiting the school on select Shadow Days so they can experience our unique school program firsthand. Visiting students accompany OPS student guides through their classes during a four-hour visit. It’s a chance to meet the staff and the students and to get a snapshot view of our engaging college preparatory classes. The first of three shadow days will take place on Tuesday 11/7 from 8:30 – 12:30. Please call the Oxford Preparatory School office at (919)690-0360, or email our Office Manager, Kate Reetz at Reetzk@oxfordprep.org to make an appointment.
Orange County Speedway Championship Race, Saturday, October 28
Orange County Speedway Championship Race, Saturday, October 28
— courtesy Orange County Speedway by Jim Cribbs
Making his first season start in the Orange County Speedway Championship Race, Josh Oakley over-powered the field green to checkered for the win in the Mike Bledsole Mechanical Heating and Air Late Model race. Points leader Terry Dease finished in second, with a slightly damaged car, to take home his second consecutive Late Model Track Championship.
Mike Chambers, making his first start of the season, qualified second, just in front of Dease and Daniel Moss. At the start, Chambers went fender to fender with Moss for second while Oakley motored away and Dease fell back several positions. Then it was Chuck Lawson and Chris Denny, who started on the third row, racing side by side for fourth. Twelve laps into the 75-lap race, Chambers spun his car in turn two and Denny spun avoiding Chambers. That allowed Lawson to grab second in front of Moss and Dease as the caution flag flew..
On the restart, Oakley led the way, followed by Lawson, Moss, Dease and Mason Hudson in his first start of the year. On lap 28, Hudson almost takes it three-wide with Dease and Lawson, followed by contact between the cars of those two, putting Lawson’s machine in the turn three wall. Dease continued but Lawson, none too pleased, used his car to block the car of Dease when Dease came back around under caution. Lawson then pulled his damaged car to the garage..
At the finish, Oakley and Dease had the top two spots, Moss was third, with Hudson, Denny and Chambers occupying fourth through sixth. Camden Gullie, after extensive repairs from a practice crash, took seventh, the last car on the lead lap.
The top two points leaders in the Limited Sportsman division, Daryl Carver and Brent Evans, Jr, started side by side in row two for their 35-lap race with pole-sitter Daniel Moss and Tracey Chambers taking the green in the front row. Chambers fell behind Moss at the start but stayed on Moss’s bumper, taking the lead ten laps later then defending that top spot for her first ever win in this division. Her last OCS win was sixteen years ago while racing in the Mod4s.
Points leader Carver held on to take the second spot to win this year’s track championship, his second overall. Evans, Jr finished in third, followed by Jerry Hinesley in fourth. Moss apparently wore his tires out in the fight with Chambers, settling for a fifth-place finish. Brothers Corey and Ausin Purnell completed the night in the next two spots respectively.
Hill’s Complete Carpet Care Super Mini-Trucks had plenty of twists and turns as points leader John Comstock, with four season wins under his belt, fell out of the 20-lap event at the halfway point with motor problems. Jeffrey Martin, who came into the race just behind Comstock in the points, snatched the lead from pole-sitter Kiser Martin at the green, then held the lead through numerous restarts, only to see Devin Parrot nip him for the win at the checkered flag. However Comstock’s misfortune appeared to hand this year’s track championship to five-time season winner Jeffrey Martin.
Smokey Dave’s BBQ Mod4s got off to a confusing start with the two points leaders parked after a handful of laps. Pole-sitter Corey Purnell picked up his third season win, and in a strange turn of events, took this year’s track championship for that division. After the green flag flew to start the 25-lap race, officials black-flagged points leader Dennis Capps, and Harold Sumney, third in points, went out with mechanical problems. Purnell, starting the race second in points between those two, had his own problems, spinning on a lap eleven restart after contact with the car of Timmy Wilder. Purnell, fifth on the restart, charged through the field for his third win of the season. Wilder held on to take second, followed by Randy Ayers and Michael Dudley in third and fourth.
The Allison Legacy Series 35-lap race appeared to be no contest with Justin Taylor, second in points, taking a commanding lead at the green and staying there until lap 20 when lapped traffic changed the complexion of the race. Brent Suggs used that traffic to slip by Taylor and hold on for the win. Taylor battled Suggs right up to the end but settled for second place. Kyle Campbell took third in the race which awarded him the 2017 track championship for the miniature NASCAR look-alike machines.
The Carolina Collectors Auto Fest Vintage Sportsman 12-lap race was won by James Brown. He was heard to say after the race “I feel good”. No, not really. Lorne Long started on pole but front brake problems sidelined that car. Jacob Clayton took the lead from there but his car left the race at the midway point. From there Brown held on for the win but was aggressively challenged in the last few laps by Kenneth Smith, the second-place finisher. Paul Blalock finished third.
The final results of the 25-lap Pure Stock race have not been finalized as a result of post-race inspections. It does appear that Greg Autry, who lead from start to finish, was the winner in his first season appearance at OCS. Danny Winstead and Bobby Clayton came into the race tied in the championship points. But then those two crashed into each other avoiding the spinning car of Troy Sandefur. Winstead continued but Clayton’s day was done. The final points rundown is yet to be released.
(Orange County Speedway is an advertising client of WIZS.)