Northern Carolina 1A / 2A Conference 2018 All-Conference Football Team
Northern Carolina 1A / 2A Conference
2018 All-Conference Football Team
Offensive Player of the Year: Rashad Logan, South Granville
Defensive Player of the Year: Noah Terry, Vance County
Lineman of the Year: Noah Roberson, Vance County
Coach of the Year: Larry Dale, Granville Central
Austin Ferguson, South Granville Deandre Moore, Granville Central
Justin Bullock, South Granville Jed Evans, Granville Central
Robert Torrance, South Granville Tristen Boney, Granville Central
Rashad Logan, South Granville Noah Judkins, Granville Central
Tyhagee Allen, South Granville Brandin Glenn, Granville Central
Malichi Flowers, South Granville Brandon Peace, Granville Central
Brennan Henry, South Granville Noah Roberson, Vance County
Henry Daniel, South Granville Noah Terry, Vance County
Quentin Perry, Bunn Joshua Joyner, Vance County
Durand “DJ” Miles, Bunn Micahiah Wilson, Vance County
Caleb Morton, Bunn Samein Burwell, Vance County
Ahmad Hicks, Bunn Demarius Harris, Vance County
Dillon Jenkins, Roanoke Rapids DeKarri Green, Warren County
Ajalon Brown, Roanoke Rapids Deavan Hawkins, Warren County
Michael Squire, Roanoke Rapids Drequan Dickerson, Louisburg
Isiah Robinson, Roanoke Rapids Xavier Jones, Louisburg
Dwayne Reed, J.F. Webb
Mazatlan Mexican Restaurant Destroyed by Fire, Cause of Blaze Under Investigation
Henderson’s Mazatlan Mexican Restaurant on Ruin Creek Road caught on fire overnight. No one was injured.
The popular eating place, beloved by many, is a total loss, according to Henderson Fire Chief Steve Cordell.
The cause is under investigation.
Please scroll below for pictures taken by WIZS staff.
Local Protection Society’s Work Reduces Number of Euthanized Shelter Animals
Alan Hedgepeth and Michelle Wood, volunteers with the Ruin Creek Animal Protection Society (RCAPS), were the guests of honor on Tuesday’s edition of WIZS’ Town Talk program. RCAPS is a group of volunteers dedicated to finding homes for animals at the Vance County Animal Shelter located on Brodie Rd. in Henderson.
“We started with seven or eight volunteers and, over time, have developed procedures to work with rescue groups in the Northeast,” said Hedgepeth.
According to Hedgepeth, the volunteers spend the majority of their time searching for no-kill rescue groups who will commit to providing a temporary or “foster” home for the animals at the shelter. “We find rescue groups during the week, and each Friday night a transport is arranged so the animals can go to the approved rescue groups up north.”
From there, rescue groups place the animals in “pre-approved and pre-screened” foster homes where they will stay until they are adopted.
When asked why so many of the rescue groups were located up north, Hedgepeth replied, “In the Northeast, they have spay and neuter laws, and those laws are enforced. They don’t have the overpopulation of dogs like we do here in the South.”
One way RCAPS reaches out to the rescue groups is via social media. Photos of each animal in the shelter are posted, along with personal bios and videos, to Facebook for viewing.
“It is a very cumbersome and expensive process,” said Hedgepeth. “Michelle does a lot of the work and has her hands full.”
According to Hedgepeth, weekly transport can cost over $1,000 a week. “That’s why fundraising is so important for us; it costs a lot of money to do what we do.”
Wood reported that 195 animals were transported from the Vance County Animal Shelter to rescue groups in the month of October alone. Hedgepeth said the overall totals are even more astounding with an estimated 16,000 to 20,000 animals placed in foster homes since the group started in 2011.
The group’s hard work, coupled with policies put in place by Chief Frankie Nobles and the Vance County Animal Shelter, has paid off, said Hedgepeth. “When we first started at Ruin Creek, the intake at the shelter was around 4,500 animals a year. Last year, I believe it was around 2,200.”
Hedgepeth was also happy to report that the number of animals euthanized by the shelter has significantly decreased from previous years. “The majority of euthanized animals, at this point, are feral cats; the dog rate is extremely low.”
Wood clarified that the majority of the dogs that are euthanized are not picked up by a rescue group or are injured beyond vet care.
In addition to costs related to transport, RCAPS also has the expense of providing medical care to animals in need. “RCAPS tries to provide medical care for any animal that we reasonably believe can be saved,” said Hedgepeth. “The shelter, often times, doesn’t have the capacity or funds to offer this care and that’s when we step in.”
When asked what his ultimate wish would be for the group, Hedgepeth responded, “Additional funds. I can’t say it enough! The work we do is expensive, and fundraising is essential to keep the group going.”
To listen to the interview in its entirety, please click here.
Cat Tests Positive for Rabies in Granville Co., Residents and Bite Victim Notified
-Press Release, County of Granville
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Granville County Animal Control was called last week about a possibly rabid cat who had contact with a person in the area of Dorsey Road and Ed Harris Road. The animal was part of a larger cat colony that had not been rabies vaccinated or spayed/neutered. The cat tested positive for the rabies virus on Nov. 27. Residents of the area have been notified, as well as Granville Vance Public Health and the bite victim. Animal Control has also been working to remove the remaining cats on the property.
All pet owners are reminded to please be sure pets are rabies-vaccinated. North Carolina law requires that all dogs, cats and ferrets be vaccinated against rabies by four months of age and that vaccinations be kept current. The Granville County Animal Shelter offers one-year rabies vaccines for dogs and cats for only $6, Monday through Friday from noon until 4:30 p.m. and is located at 5650 Cornwall Road in Oxford.
For more information, call 919-693-6749. To find out when your pet needs its next booster shot, please contact your local veterinarian.
VGCC Faculty, Staff Raise $16,000 To Support Students
-Press Release, Vance-Granville Community College
Vance-Granville Community College’s annual Faculty & Staff Drive for the VGCC Endowment Fund raised $16,011 this fall from among employees on the college’s four campuses, according to an announcement by the co-chairs for the drive to the Trustees on Monday, Nov. 19, at the board’s regular bi-monthly meeting on the Main Campus.
The funds were raised to support the mission of the college and award scholarships to deserving students, said Eddie Ferguson, director of the Endowment Fund.
Heading up the drive this year were Michael Brodie, Campus Police sergeant; Antoinette Dickens, program head and instructor for the Paralegal Technology curriculum program; Willie Mae Foster-Hill, Main Campus receptionist; and Jeremy Lambert, assistant director of financial aid.
“Our campaign theme was ‘Rise Up!’” Ferguson told the Trustees. “It was based on the fact that every day our students rise up to come to school under a lot of hardships, whether it be academic pressure, family issues, transportation or such. We serve a very diverse community.”
VGCC’s Faculty & Staff Drive for the Endowment Fund was led by volunteers Michael Brodie, Campus Police sergeant; Antoinette Dickens, program head and instructor for Paralegal Technology; Willie Mae Foster-Hill, Main Campus receptionist; and Jeremy Lambert, assistant director of financial aid. Shown above celebrating the success of the drive at the Board of Trustees meeting are, from left, Brodie; Kay Currin, Endowment Fund specialist; Trustee Danny Wright, chair of the board; Dr. Gordon Burns, interim VGCC president; Foster-Hill; and Eddie Ferguson, director of the Endowment Fund. Dickens and Lambert were unavailable for the photo. (VGCC Photo)
The faculty and staff, he said, “rose up” with this drive to provide the funds for the students. “We are really proud to raise this money from our employees, most of which will go directly to students in the form of scholarships. Some of the money is directed to projects such as our student emergency fund to help meet other immediate needs,” Ferguson said.
Statewide Budget Priorities
In his report to the trustees, Interim VGCC President Dr. Gordon Burns outlined budget priorities identified by the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) for 2019 through 2021 and urged the trustees to share those priorities with the returning and newly elected members of the N.C. House of Representatives and the N.C. Senate who represent the four counties served by Vance-Granville Community College.
Under the Workforce Development Legislative Agenda, NCCCS is requesting funding to help 700,000 students annually achieve a better life through high-school equivalency, career and technical education, short-term workforce training, and high quality, affordable college transfer programs, Dr. Burns said. The state’s community colleges are essential in closing the skills gap for North Carolina employers, the NCCCS notes, and are a driving force in the economy of the state.
The system office reports that the state’s 58 community colleges continue to suffer from approximately $53 million in budget cuts made during the 2008 recession that have not been restored, which undercuts efforts to prepare the state’s workforce. Dr. Burns noted, too, that community colleges are having difficulty recruiting and retaining faculty and staff because the average annual faculty salary, at $47,362, is 41st in the nation.
Among legislative priorities for 2019-2021, NCCCS is seeking recurring funds of $11.5 million to fully fund short-term workforce training; $15 million to upgrade information technology systems across the state; $2.6 million to fund workforce-focused multi-campuses; and $2.8 million to expand a program that places career coaches in high schools to assist students with determining career goals and identifying community college programs that align with the students’ goals.
Dr. Burns said the legislative priorities also include increasing funding to bring faculty closer to the national annual salary average of $60,422, enacting statutory changes to eliminate barriers to enrollment caused by the state’s relatively new Residency Determination System, and stabilizing budgets for colleges faced with enrollment declines because of Hurricane Florence.
Capital Projects
In his report to the board on capital projects, Trustee Donald Seifert, chair of the Building Committee, said renovations have been completed to the seminar rooms in the Civic Center on Main Campus.
H.G. Reynolds Company began renovation of a 3,200-square-foot portion of Building 10 on Main Campus to create a Practical Simulation Lab for the Basic Law Enforcement Training, Fire/Rescue and Emergency Medical Services programs. The work, which started in October, is scheduled to be completed in January. In addition to the area being renovated, parking lot space is being expanded, Seifert said.
College officials are also working with the county managers in Vance and Granville counties to fund the replacement of a storage building on the Main Campus that was lost in a fire this past summer.
Other Action
In other action:
- The trustees voted to approve the closure of two curriculum certificate programs and a diploma program no longer in demand from students. The closure of the Nurse Aide Certificate, Nurse Aide Diploma and the School Age Care Certificate programs, effective this fall, will go to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and the North Carolina Community College System for final approvals. The closures came at the request of the Curriculum Committee, chaired by Trustee Barbara Cates Harris.
- Trustee Xavier Wortham, chair of the Investment Committee, reported the VGCC Endowment Fund Corporation received a favorable report from May & Place PA, certified public accountants, for the 2017-2018 fiscal year. He also gave the bimonthly update on the college’s investments.
- Trustee Sara Wester, chair of the Personnel Committee, reported on new employees, retirements and resignations, and she presented an amended employee calendar for 2018-2019.
- Student Government Association President Angel De Leon, the student Trustee, reported to the trustees on a leadership workshop recently attended by students, participation in recent Fall Festivals on the college’s campuses, and a relief drive that is being held to help victims of Hurricane Florence.
The next meeting of the Board of Trustees will be held on Monday, Jan. 28.
Santa and Mrs. Claus to Visit McGregor Hall This Saturday!
-Information courtesy the McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center’s Facebook page
Santa and Mrs. Claus will visit the McGregor Hall Gallery in Henderson on Saturday, December 1, 2018, from 4 to 6 p.m.
Bring your family, camera, and a donation of non-perishable food items benefiting ACTS of Henderson, NC. For the cost of only your ACTS donation, you can enjoy Santa’s Hot Cocoa Bar.
After visiting Santa, stay for “The Waffle House Christmas Musical” starring Joyce DeWitt at 8 p.m.
(This is not a paid advertisement)
Henderson Vance Rec. & Parks Collecting Items for ‘Shoebox Give-a-Way’
-Information courtesy Tara Goolsby, Henderson-Vance Recreation and Parks Facilities Supervisor, Aycock Recreation Center
The Henderson-Vance Recreation and Parks Department is partnering with local community groups to provide a post-Christmas “Shoebox Give-a-Way.”
We are soliciting items for ages 6-17 such as small toys, cards, unopened candy, pencils, shampoo, conditioner, pens, lotion, deodorant, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, socks, gloves, scarfs, books, combs and anything you are able to donate that will benefit these age groups.
We will also need shoe boxes as well. Deadline to receive these items will be on Friday, December 14, 2018, at 5 p.m. at Aycock Recreation Center. This program will run in conjunction with the “Peace Toys for War Toys” Program held by the Outreach Unit.
For more information, please contact Shantel Hargrove at 252.430.0382 or shhargrove@ci.henderson.nc.us or Gregory Kelly 252.431.6099 or gkelly@ci.henderson.nc.us.
Oxford’s Public Safety Committee to Discuss Proposed Panhandling Ordinance
-Information courtesy Cynthia Bowen, City Clerk, City of Oxford
The Public Safety Committee for the Oxford Board of Commissioners will meet on Wednesday, November 28, 2018, at 3:30 p.m. The meeting will be held in the First Floor Training Room, City Hall, 300 Williamsboro Street in Oxford.
The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the proposed panhandling ordinance for the City of Oxford.
All those interested are invited to attend.