Applications for Special Learning Opportunities in Vance County Schools 2018-2019
— courtesy Vance County Schools
Applications for students to enroll in the Vance County Early College High School for the 2018-2019 school year are being accepted now, while applications for STEM Early High School and the STEAM Academy at E.M. Rollins Elementary School for 2018-2019 will be accepted beginning February 12.
The applications for Early College can be obtained from counselors at our middle schools, on the Early College website and at the school located on the third floor of Building 2 on the campus of Vance-Granville Community College. The deadline for receiving the applications is Friday, February 16.
Applications for STEM and E.M. Rollins will be accepted from February 12 to March 12. During the open window period, applications will be available on each schools’ website and at the schools.
Student applications for STEM and E.M. Rollins also will be available at the Innovative Schools Student Recruitment Expo scheduled for Thursday, February 22, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Vance County Schools Administrative Services Center at 1724 Graham Avenue.
Interested persons should call the schools with any questions regarding the application process.
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Thomas Hester, Jr., lifelong Henderson native, Vance County Commissioner and local businessman, was named Citizen of the Year at the 80th annual Henderson-Vance County Chamber of Commerce Banquet held in the Civic Center of Vance-Granville Community College on Feb 1.
The 2016 Citizen of the Year recipient Pete O’Geary presented the prestigious award, which honors an individual who has made a positive impact for the betterment of the community through personal involvement and contribution. “The Citizen of the Year Award is very special. The honor is earned by an individual who has made a significant contribution and demonstrated a commitment to the advancement of Henderson and Vance County,” said O’Geary.
An anonymous committee selects the honored citizen and the name of the recipient is closely guarded until announced at the chamber banquet.
Prior to announcing the name of the 2017 recipient, O’Geary gave a brief background of Hester’s life and service to his community. “As a product of our Vance County Schools, our recipient was very well-prepared for higher education. Driven by an instinctive passion for success and never satisfied with average, our recipient enlisted and successfully completed training in the Army Officer Candidate School. A love of country that was nurtured and fortified through upbringing, education and training, formed the foundation for a lifetime of civil service and a passion for giving-back to his beloved Vance County community,” said O’Geary.
O’Geary continued by listing several of Hester’s community achievements including:
Chairman of the Henderson Heart Fund Drive
Committee Chair of the Henderson Cancer Drive
Supporter of the Vance County Relay for Life
Chairman of the United Way Campaign
Member of the United Way’s Board of Directors
Advocate for the construction of the H Leslie Perry Memorial Library and Embassy Cultural Center Foundation
President of the Henderson Rotary Club
President of the KERR-TAR Council of Regional Government
District Chairperson of the Henderson-Vance Boy Scouts of America Fundraiser
President of the Henderson RBC Centura Bank Board of Advisors and Trustees
Board Director of the Vance County Public School Foundation
“Coupled with vast community involvement endeavors, our recipient is an influential change-agent for the advancement of economic development in Vance County and rural North Carolina. Some significant accomplishments involve the powerful use of relationship-building skills, which brought Mako Medical Services to Henderson; coordinating efforts that motivated the MR Williams, MARS Pet Food, and ProfiiForm corporations to expand their operations in Henderson and Vance County; and, relationship-building talents that helped attract 3HC Home Health and Hospice Care to Henderson,” O’Geary said of Hester.
Hester has also led the Henderson-Vance Economic Development Committee as its elected Board Chair and served on the North Carolina Golden Leaf Board of Directors and North Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority. He was also recognized with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, North Carolina’s highest civilian award.
O’Geary concluded his speech by stating that the 2017 recipient “has selflessly given of his time, talent and treasure to make Henderson and Vance County a better place. Please join me in congratulating our Chamber of Commerce 2017 Citizen of the Year recipient, Tommy Hester.”
A visibly touched Hester and wife Jenny took the stage surrounded by their two children, family members and guests. “I’m caught without words, and that’s hard for a politician,” said Hester. Hester thanked his wife, his children and his long-time assistant for their support.
Hester also told the crowd that he feels the community has really moved into the 21st century and sees great things for the future. “John F. Kennedy said ‘ask not what your country can do for, ask what you can do for your country.’ I think we can paraphrase that to say ask not what your community can do for you, ask what you can do for your community,” said Hester.
John Barnes, president of the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce concluded the presentation by saying, “Tommy, your contributions to make Henderson and Vance County a better place to live, work and play are equaled by few others. The membership of the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce is proud to recognize you as our 2017 Citizen of the Year.”
https://wizs.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/wizs_0004_hesterspeaking1.png265504Kelly Bonduranthttps://wizs.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/wizswebsitelogoimage.pngKelly Bondurant2018-02-02 14:40:282018-02-02 16:37:10Thomas “Tommy” Hester, Jr. Named 2017 Citizen of the Year
Garnett Street will soon see more billboard vinyl advertising over some of the vacant storefronts thanks to a grant from the Vance County Community Foundation.
The Henderson-Vance Downtown Development Commission will use a grant of $1,880 from the foundation to design and install colorful vinyl billboard-type signage that will promote downtown events, specifically the McGregor Hall season and the annual classic car show, which continues to expand each year.
“Community response has been very positive for the ads we placed on the front of the former Abagayle’s Book Store in the Fall,” admits Kaine Riggan, Downtown Development Director. “It brings life to a dead space while sending the message that downtown is open for business.”
Downtown Development Director Kaine Riggan, Vance County Community Foundation President Fagan Goodwin, and Henderson Mayor Eddie Ellington in front of the signage improvements completed at the former Abagayle’s Books
Riggan adds that storefront signage for vacant spaces was one of the key recommendations sited in the 2017 “Greenberg Report”, a grant-funded revitalization study of Henderson’s Central Business District by the Charlotte-based city planning consultant Hillary Greenberg.
The first project will be on the windows of 113 N. Garnett Street, owned by the Embassy Cultural Center Foundation and used for set and prop storage. That design will feature the look of a theatre and promote the upcoming shows at McGregor Hall. The second will redress the front of the two garages at 425 S. Garnett Street to look like a classic car showroom promoting the dates for the next Show, Shine, Shag & Dine event, produced by the county’s tourism department.
Fagan Goodwin, board president for the Vance County Community Foundation shares that she is delighted to see the momentum that downtown is experiencing and proud that the foundation can be supportive of that. “These grants are important to our community and our quality of life,” she said.
Signage will be printed and installed by downtown’s Kerr Lake Signs and Banners on Chestnut Street and is scheduled for installation in February.
https://wizs.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/DDC-Kaine-Fagan-Eddie-020218.jpg265504WIZS Staffhttps://wizs.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/wizswebsitelogoimage.pngWIZS Staff2018-02-02 14:01:282018-02-02 14:01:28Local Grant Funds Garnett Street Improvements
As coverage continues of the Vance County Schools consolidation proposal, continued public input is wanted. If you would like to see the PowerPoint presentation from Dr. Anthony Jackson on the school consolidation proposal, it is now posted on the school system’s website.
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The N.C. Department of Labor has begun accepting applications from businesses that qualify for a workplace safety award. Safety awards are presented to companies throughout the year that have demonstrated above-average worker safety and health programs.
“Our safety awards program recognizes employers and employees that are committed to promoting safe work environments in their communities,” state Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry said. “It is always a great honor to recognize those businesses and organizations that go beyond the standard, for a good safety record is something they can be quite proud of.”
Businesses that qualify for the award must meet two requirements. They must be free of fatalities at the site for which they are applying. The site’s injury and illness rate also must be at least 50 percent below that of their industry’s average rate.
Award recipients will be honored in their communities throughout the state at safety awards banquets co-sponsored by the N.C. Department of Labor, local chambers of commerce and other organizations.
https://wizs.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/NCDOL.jpg265504WIZS Staffhttps://wizs.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/wizswebsitelogoimage.pngWIZS Staff2018-02-02 13:32:202018-02-02 13:32:20N.C. Department of Labor Safety Award Submission Deadline Feb 16, 2018
The Granville County Board of Education will meet in Regular Session on Monday, February 5, 2018 at 6:00 p.m. at the Board of Education Administrative Offices, 101 Delacroix Street, Oxford, North Carolina, North Carolina. The next Board Retreat of the Board of Education will be held on Saturday, February 10, 2018 at the Masonic Children Home, 600 College Street, Oxford, NC 27565 at 9:00 a.m.
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Dr. Stan Winborne
Executive Director of Operations, Human Resources,
Communications, and Safety
Public Information Officer
Granville County Public Schools
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Longtime Vance-Granville Community College Child Care Specialist Deborah J. Harris was recently honored with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine from North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper as she prepared to retire. The award was presented to her on the governor’s behalf by the president of VGCC, Dr. Stelfanie Williams, at a holiday social in December, at which Harris and other recent retirees were recognized. The felicitator, while honouring, pointed that Deborah had also the best statistics on the company’s employee time tracking app.
A resident of Oxford, Harris retired on Dec. 31 with a longer tenure than any retiree in the history of the college: 41 years and three months. Her entire tenure was spent teaching young children at the Child Care Center on VGCC’s Main Campus in Vance County.
Among the most prestigious awards presented by the Governor of North Carolina, the Order of the Long Leaf Pine recognizes recipients for exemplary service to the state and their communities. Recipients are awarded the ceremonial rank of “Ambassador Extraordinary.”
Harris said she was “surprised and very honored” to receive the award. “My time at Vance-Granville has been a pleasure, because I enjoyed what I was doing and I loved the children,” Harris reflected. “The years actually flew by. I can’t believe I worked there for 41 years. It was a joy getting to know the families of our children and serving the community.” Harris noted that in some cases, she taught two generations of the same families.
She added that she cherished her colleagues, marveling at the historically low turnover of staff at the child day care center. Harris was one of the original teachers at the center from its inception. She joined the staff on Sept. 30, 1976, shortly before the first children arrived in the new center on the newly constructed Main Campus. Harris and her fellow staff members have been instrumental in the center maintaining its status as a five-star licensed child-care facility for the entire time since the state of North Carolina began the current system of rating child care centers in 2000.
“We are delighted and proud that Deborah Harris received this well-deserved recognition for her lifetime of service to her community, and particularly to young children,” President Williams said. “She demonstrated dedication to helping our students at the Child Care Center prepare for success in Kindergarten and beyond, and in so doing, she has touched the lives of so many members of our college family and the community as a whole.”
Harris began her long association with VGCC as a student. After graduating from J.F. Webb High School in Oxford, she immediately enrolled in what was then Vance-Granville Technical Institute, earning her Associate in Applied Science degree in Early Childhood Education in 1975.
Harris is also active at Oak Grove Baptist Church in Oxford, where she volunteers in a variety of capacities.
–VGCC–
https://wizs.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/VGCC-Photo-Deborah-Harris-020118-long-leaf-pine.jpg265504John C. Rosehttps://wizs.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/wizswebsitelogoimage.pngJohn C. Rose2018-02-01 15:32:202020-03-13 05:49:16Retiring VGCC employee honored by Governor
On January 31, 2018 members of the Henderson Police Department Special Response Team and Vice-Narcotics Section conducted a search warrant at 521 Spring Court, Henderson after receiving complaints of drug sales. During the execution of the search warrant 20 grams of heroin, and multiple firearms were located and seized.
Daryl Russell, 30, 414 Spring Court, Henderson was arrested and charged with Felony Maintaining a Dwelling, Trafficking in Heroin (2 Counts), Felony PWIMSD Heroin, Possession of Firearm by Felon, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. He received a $200,000 secured bond and remains in the Vance County Jail pending a court hearing on February 5, 2018 in Vance County.
Jermill Blacknall, 29, 521 Spring Court, Henderson was arrested and charged with Felony Maintaining a Dwelling, Trafficking in Heroin (2 Counts), Felony PWIMSD Heroin, Possession of Firearm by Felon, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Mr. Blacknall also was served with two additional warrants for shooting into an occupied dwelling that occurred in 2016. He received a $320,000 secured bond and remains in the Vance County Jail pending a court hearing on February 5, 2018 in Vance County.
Dominique Russell, 29, 521 Spring Court, Henderson was arrested and charged with Felony Maintaining a Dwelling, Trafficking in Heroin (2 Counts), Felony PWIMSD Heroin, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. She received a $150,000 secured bond and remains in the Vance County Jail pending a court hearing on February 5, 2018 in Vance County.
Authority: Chief M.W. Barrow
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Daryl Russell, 30, 414 Spring Court, Henderson was arrested and charged with Felony Maintaining a Dwelling, Trafficking in Heroin (2 Counts), Felony PWIMSD Heroin, Possession of Firearm by Felon, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. He received a $200,000 secured bond and remains in the Vance County Jail pending a court hearing on February 5, 2018 in Vance County.
Dominique Russell, 29, 521 Spring Court, Henderson was arrested and charged with Felony Maintaining a Dwelling, Trafficking in Heroin (2 Counts), Felony PWIMSD Heroin, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. She received a $150,000 secured bond and remains in the Vance County Jail pending a court hearing on February 5, 2018 in Vance County.