Domestic Violence 101 Classes Tonight
— courtesy Families Living Violence Free
*REMINDER*
Domestic Violence 101 CLASSES BEGIN TONIGHT — 6pm AT THE OFFICES OF FAMILIES LIVING VIOLENCE FREE
125 OXFORD OUTER LOOP IN OXFORD
QUESTIONS: 919-693-3579
Call the office before 4pm to register for childcare if needed
Week One
UNDERSTANDING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: POWER & CONTROL
Objectives:
- To understand what domestic violence really means
- To learn the different types of domestic violence
- Why some people are abusive
- How abusers gain control
Governor appoints VGCC President to commission
— courtesy of VGCC News Release on 11-27-17
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has appointed Dr. Stelfanie Williams, the president of Vance-Granville Community College, to the Governor’s Commission on Access to Sound, Basic Education. The Commission, which the governor created through an Executive Order, will focus on the critical importance of North Carolina meeting its duties under the state constitution as underscored by the landmark court rulings in Leandro v. North Carolina and Hoke County Board of Education v. North Carolina.
The new commission includes experts from a wide range of fields that are relevant to education and student and school success. Dr. Williams was appointed as the representative of North Carolina community colleges. The commission will focus on key areas highlighted in the original Leandro ruling, including:
• staffing each classroom with a competent, well-trained teacher,
Dr. Stelfanie Williams (VGCC Photo)
• staffing each school with a competent, well-trained principal, and
• identifying the resources necessary to ensure that all children, including those at risk, have an equal opportunity to obtain a sound basic education.
The commission is scheduled to hold its first meeting on Nov. 30 in Raleigh. Its goal is to develop recommendations for specific actions necessary to achieve sustained compliance with the constitutional mandates established in Leandro.
“I look forward to the opportunity to work with the other leaders on this commission to identify concrete steps that our state can take to improve public education for all our young people in all corners of North Carolina,” President Williams said. “The success of our great state depends on strong K-12 schools, working in partnership with strong community colleges and universities.”
Williams became the sixth president of VGCC in 2012. Since then, she has focused the college strategically on educational excellence, continuous improvement, employee and student engagement in college life, and institutional stewardship. During her tenure, the college has added seven curriculum degree programs, secured the largest grants in the college’s history, the second-largest private donor gift, and held six consecutive highest-yielding annual golf tournaments for scholarships. With a focus on student success, the institution has improved completion rates, graduating the largest classes ever in 2015 and 2016, and initiating a private donor-sponsored college promise program called the “VanGuarantee” in an effort to make college more accessible for students with the greatest financial need.
Prior to leading VGCC, Williams served as faculty and in several administrative capacities at other North Carolina community colleges. She also currently serves as adjunct faculty for the North Carolina State University College of Education. Williams holds dual baccalaureate degrees from Duke University, a graduate degree from Western Carolina University, and a doctorate from North Carolina State University. In 2014, she was awarded the I.E. Ready Distinguished Leadership Award by North Carolina State University.
The Governor’s Commission on Access to Sound, Basic Education is the second education-related panel for which the VGCC leader has been selected in recent months. Dr. Williams was appointed to the “My Future NC” Commission by the president of the University of North Carolina, Margaret Spellings; the acting president of the North Carolina Community College System, Jennifer Haygood; and the state superintendent of public instruction, Mark Johnson.
–VGCC–
2017 Polar Express 5K
On December 9th, the Henderson Family YMCA will hold its annual Polar Express 5k event, benefiting Girls on the Run and the YMCA STRIDE programs.
Race start time is 10 a.m. Registration begins at 9 a.m. The course will be at Satterwhite Point on Kerr Lake. The entrance will be closed at 9:50 a.m. The address is 6254 Satterwhite Point Road.
Entry Fee for adults is $20 pre-race and $30 on race day. Children 13 years and under may register pre-race for $10 and on race day for $20.
The race will start and finish in the last parking lot on Satterwhite Point, down from the community building “Glass House.”
For more information, contact the Henderson Family YMCA on Ruin Creek Road, online at hendersonymca.org or call 252-438-2144.
Girls on the Run
Over a period of 10-12 weeks, girls in the 3rd through 5th grade participate in an after-school program like no other. Designed to allow every girl to recognize her inner strength, the Girls on the Run curriculum inspires girls to define their lives on their own terms. Throughout the season, the girls make new friends, build their confidence and celebrate all that makes them unique. The Girls on the Run lessons encourage positive emotional, social, mental and physical development. Participants explore and discuss their own beliefs around experiences and challenges girls face at this age. They also develop important strategies and skills to help them navigate life experiences. Physical activity is woven into our program to inspire an appreciation of fitness and to build habits that lead to a lifetime of health. At the end of each season, the girls participate in a Girls on the Run 5k event. Completing the 5k gives the girls a tangible understanding of the confidence that comes through accomplishment as well as a framework for setting and achieving life goals. Crossing the finish line is a defining moment when the girls realize that even the seemingly impossible IS possible. For more information go to www.GOTR.org
STRIDE
STRIDE is a fun afterschool character development program for boys. The boys look forward to time with their friends and making new friends. Throughout the program, the focus is on doing one’s personal best, not competing with each other. Each STRIDE team meets twice a week for 10-12 weeks. Trained volunteer coaches start each session with an introduction of the day’s character-building lesson, followed by a warm-up, group discussion, running workout and interactive games. In each session, the boys build the stamina, techniques and confidence to run a 5K. Boys who demonstrate excellent character are rewarded with a STRIDE dog tag at the end of the lesson. At the conclusion of the ten-week session, the boys celebrate by participating in a 5K with their coaches, parents and running partners. STRIDE gives boys the opportunity to share and explore issues that they face in school, at sports, in the community and at home. They learn the importance of being a good friend, working as a team, saying no to drugs and making good decisions. We want to help boys become young men who KNOW what is right, CARE what is right and DO what is right. For more information go to www.ymcastride.org
(The YMCA is an advertising client of WIZS.)
Former VGCC president Ben Currin retires from endowment board
— courtesy VGCC
Dr. Ben F. Currin recently retired from the Vance-Granville Community College Endowment Fund Board of Directors. That marked the culmination of Currin’s formal association with VGCC, which lasted for a total of 36 years — 18 as president of the college and 18 more on the endowment board after his retirement as president.
Currin, who now lives in Raleigh, became the third president of VGCC in 1981. Under Currin’s leadership, VGCC grew from one campus to four, with a total of almost $18 million worth of new construction at all campuses. During his tenure, VGCC reactivated the college’s Endowment Fund, which grew from $12,000 in 1982 to $5 million at the time of his retirement and provided scholarships for numerous students. In 1985, he started the annual VGCC Endowment Fund Golf Tournament, which has raised more than $862,000 to date. A VGCC scholarship, the Dr. Ben Currin Presidential Merit Award, was endowed in his honor upon his retirement through contributions from the college faculty and staff.
From left, VGCC President Dr. Stelfanie Williams and Dr. Ben Currin, the college’s former president, holding a plaque honoring him for his service to the Vance-Granville Community College Endowment Fund. (VGCC photo)
A native of Granville County and a graduate of Oxford High School, Currin received his bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1959. He earned his master’s degree in education in 1962 and his advanced graduate certificate in professional education in 1963, both from UNC. He received his doctorate in education from UNC in 1970 in education administration with a minor in political science.
Currin assumed the VGCC presidency after having served as a teacher, coach and public school administrator, including 11 years as superintendent of Rocky Mount City Schools. While in Rocky Mount, he also taught graduate courses at East Carolina University as an adjunct professor.
Currin earned high esteem from his peers in higher education. A University of Texas study in 1988-89 named him one of the “best of the best” among community college presidents across the nation, and he was given a National Leadership Award at the Leadership 2000 conference in San Francisco. He was also one of 75 participants chosen nationwide to participate in the Management of Lifelong Education Institute at Harvard University. Currin received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine from Gov. Beverly Perdue. In 2016, Currin received the highest honor that can be bestowed by the State Board of Community Colleges, the I.E. Ready Award.
The board of directors oversees the Endowment Fund Corporation, a nonprofit organization established in 1976 to seek and receive scholarship funds and other contributions for the college. Current board members include Robert L. Hubbard (the vice-chair), Rev. Dr. Richard M. Henderson (secretary), Julius Banzet, III, Sarah Baskerville, Rep. James W. Crawford, Jr., Tanya Evans, Clay Frazier, L. Opie Frazier, Jr., Ronnie Goswick, Katharine Macon Horner, Darryl Moss, Donald C. Seifert, Sr., Marshall Tanner, Josh Towne and Todd Wemyss. As president of VGCC, Dr. Stelfanie Williams chairs the board, and Danny Wright, chair of the VGCC Board of Trustees, serves on the board ex-officio.
Through the Endowment Fund, VGCC has awarded more than 9,100 scholarships to students since 1982. Scholarships have been endowed by numerous individuals, industries, businesses, civic groups, churches and the college’s faculty and staff. Tax-deductible donations to the VGCC Endowment Fund have often been used to honor or remember a person, group, business or industry with a lasting gift to education. For more information about the Endowment Fund, call (252) 738-3409.
–VGCC–
(VGCC is an advertising client of WIZS.)
OXFORD PUBLIC WORKS, WATER, & INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE MEETING
— courtesy City of Oxford, NC
CITY OF OXFORD
NOVEMBER 27, 2017
PUBLIC WORKS, WATER, & INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE MEETING
The Public Works, Water, & Infrastructure Committee for the Oxford Board of Commissioners will meet on Thursday, November 30, 2017 at 10:00 AM. The meeting will be held in the First Floor Training Room, City Hall, 300 Williamsboro Street. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the solid waste removal proposal.
All those interested are invited to attend.
Public Hearing for Economic Development Incentive Expenditure
— from City Clerk, Esther J. McCrackin, City of Henderson
Mayor Ellington has requested a Special Called Meeting of the Henderson City Council for Tuesday, November 28, 2017, at 11:30 a.m. in Council Chambers, 135 Rose Avenue, Henderson. The purpose of this meeting is to hold a public hearing on a proposed economic development incentive expenditure to be considered for the location of a new company within the City/County.
All persons interested in this matter are invited to attend.