Chamber Businesses Can Nominate Students For ‘Spotlight’ Recognition Through Oct. 31

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The Granville County Chamber of Commerce’s Education Committee continues its initiative to recognize local students who are involved with Chamber businesses – whether through volunteerism or as a paid employee.Nominations are due by Oct. 31 to the Chamber office.

To be eligible, students must be Granville County residents or attend one of the following schools: Granville Central High School, J.F. Webb High School, South Granville High School, Oxford Preparatory School, Falls Lake Academy, Granville Early College, Granville Academy, or Phoenix Academy.
Nominating a Granville County student who works for your organization will not only spotlight them, but your business as well. Once a spotlight student is chosen, the Chamber will notify your business.
The selected student will be asked to submit a short bio to be included in information that will be included in the public announcement. In addition, these students will be recognized at our Annual Chamber of Commerce banquet.
Every student who is nominated will have the opportunity to apply for a scholarship that will be awarded in June 2024 from the Chamber.
Submit nominations to cynthia@granville-chamber.com.
Find the nomination form at the following link here.

Granville DSS Director Named; Swearing-In Ceremony Oct. 16 at 4 P.M.

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The Granville County Board of Social Services has announced that LaToya Davenport Toussaint has been selected to be the director of the Granville County Department of Social Services. Toussaint will be formally appointed and sworn in at a special meeting of the Board of Social Services at the Granville County Convention and Expo Center on Monday, Oct. 16 at 4 p.m., and then introduced to the county commissioners on the same day at 7 p.m.

Toussaint brings more than 17 years of experience in human services in North Carolina and Florida, where she has worked in both the public and private sectors. Most recently, Toussaint was the senior deputy director of Health and Human Services in Wake County,  where she oversaw administration and operations. Before that, she worked for several years in Florida as human services administrator with Broward County, near Miami.

“I am excited and truly honored to be selected as the next Granville County director of Social Services,” Toussaint said. “I can’t wait to work alongside our dedicated and talented Social Services staff, board of Social

Services, county manager, and the board of county commissioners to support Granville County and the Department of Social Services. I’m excited to be a part of a caring and engaged Granville community.”

Toussaint is a native of Jacksonville, Florida and holds a bachelor’s degree in Health Science and a dual master’s degree in Public Administration and Nonprofit Management from the University of North Florida in Jacksonville.  She recently relocated to North Carolina in 2022 with her husband, Kertus, along with their eight-month-old son Austin. In her spare time, she loves to travel internationally and create new and exciting memories as a first-time mom.

“We could not be more thrilled to have LaToya come to Granville County as our new director of Social Services,” said Board of Social Services Chair and County Commissioner Sue Hinman. “She brings so much experience to this position from her time in Florida and Wake County and we know that she is the perfect person to lead this department into the future.”

Toussaint began her career in child welfare as a case manager for the Florida Department of Children and Families, working directly with children who were victims of abuse and neglect and managing various programs for community-based care agencies in foster care and adoption. Toussaint’s time in Florida allowed her to collaborate with agencies across the state along with a diverse group of community providers. She also served on local and statewide committees and work groups that continue to influence decision making across Florida.

She has been a National Peer Reviewer with Council on Accreditation since 2018, was recognized by Nonprofits First of Palm Beach County as a Rising Leader in 2016 and honored on Legacy Magazines’ 40 Under 40 list of recognized professionals from across Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties in 2017.

Warren County Has Additional Drop-Off Locations For Discarded Meds

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There are two additional locations in Warren County where residents can drop off unused or outdated prescription medications, thanks to some federal grant funds for rural communities.

One location is at the Warren County Senior Center, located at 435 W. Franklin St. in Warrenton and the second drop-ff site is at Lake Gaston DrugCo in Littleton, according to information from Crystal Smith, senior assistant to Warren County Manager Vincent Jones.

The Warren County Sheriff’s Office was awarded annually $25,000 for a three-year period from the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program, a federal program under the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. The grant comes from Nash UNC Health Care; the primary goal is to partner with stakeholders and provide awareness of substance and opioid use disorder throughout the county through presentations and various community events, Smith said in a press statement.

The sheriff’s office is working with the Warren County Health Department and Warren County EMS to implement the program, which includes a drug take-back program twice a year and education components aimed at prevention. Further outreach plans are being developed for the school setting, to be completed in spring 2024.

Big Ruin Creek Missionary Baptist Church Celebrates 143 Years Sunday

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Big Ruin Creek Missionary Baptist Church is observing its 143rd anniversary Sunday and invites the community to join in the celebration.

The worship service begins at 11 a.m. Pastor Charles W. Burwell will deliver the sermon; Sunday School begins at 9:30 a.m.

The C.W. Walton Voices of Praise will provide special music for the occasion and a meal will follow the service.

The church is located at 16 Big Ruin Creek Lane.

Anyone unable to attend in person can view the service online, which will be livestreamed on the church’s Facebook page.

 

Henderson Man Dies In Early-Morning Shooting; Manson Man Charged

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A Manson man faces a first-degree murder charge in the early-morning shooting death of a Henderson man.

Daniel Blake Grissom died from his injuries and the condition of a second male victim is unknown at this time.

In a press release issued this afternoon, Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame said Eric Ryan Hill was taken into custody without incident. Sheriff’s deputies responded to the 200 block of Gillburg Lane and found the two men who had been shot. They were taken to area hospitals. The name of the second victim has not been released.

Few details are available, but a social media post by the sheriff’s office before 8 a.m. today included a photo of the suspect and said he had been seen driving a white Ford Explorer in the vicinity of the Sheetz on Ruin Creek Road at 7:47 a.m.

It is unclear where or when the suspect was apprehended.

Detectives from the Vance County Sheriff’s Office are handling the investigation.

Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact the Vance County Sheriff’s Office.

Vance County High School

SportsTalk: Vipers Take A Week Off Before Facing Carrboro

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The Vance County Vipers are guaranteed to remain 8-0 until, at least, October 20.  Why? Because the team has a late season bye week.

According to Head Coach Aaron Elliott, it’s time for one.  “I didn’t realize how beat up we are,” Elliott said on Thursday’s SportsTalk.  Several players are banged up including quarterback Javion Vines-Holder who has a bruised hip.  That injury occurred in the second half of the Vipers’ 14-0 win over South Granville.  The week off will help not only Vines-Holder but several other Vipers.

Elliott said the win over South Granville was hard fought.  “They were physical and disciplined,” said Elliott of the Vikings. “Their defense really stood out,” Elliott continued.  Things will likely be less contested on the 20th when the Vipers travel to Carrboro which has struggled through much of the season.  “They can throw the ball.  They have a good, solid quarterback,” Elliott said.

Meanwhile, Elliott was happy that the Vipers’ JV team has won the conference championship and is 6-0 with two games remaining on the schedule.  Once the JV team finishes up around 15 of those players will be moving up to the varsity team just in time for the state playoffs.

 

The Local Skinny! Duke Remote Area Medical Clinic Update

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The Remote Area Medical pop-up clinic that set up shop back in May provided $186,000 in free medical, dental and vision care to people who attended the weekend event.

Saajan Patel and Anvi Charvu, both upperclassmen at Duke University, helped to organize the two-day clinic and provided a follow-up report on Thursday’s The Local Skinny!

“The clinic went really well,” Patel said.

Health professionals were able to attend to 230 different patients who came to the parking lot of Vance Charter School where the pop-up clinic was held.

In addition to many children seeing a doctor for the first time, Patel said there were 30 dental cleanings performed, 92 tooth extractions and 140 pairs of glasses made on the spot to give to those in need.

This is the second year that RAM has had a clinic in Henderson, and Charvu attributed this year’s success to having more volunteers to help things run more efficiently and smoother.

“Our first year, we had a limited number of volunteers, so we had a limited capacity,” Charvu said. This year, clients could pretty much walk in and be served, she added.

Duke sophomore Grace Wang is helping to plan next year’s clinic, which will most likely take place in February 2024. Wang said she was impressed with the “amazing energy” of the volunteers and the health professionals who provided the care during the May clinic.

Don’t want to wait until February? There’s a RAM clinic at Nash Central High School in Rocky Mount this weekend, Patel said.

The pop-up clinics are “band aid” solutions to the overarching challenge of health care inequities, Patel said. RAM clinics are free and open to anyone – with or without insurance.

The May clinic demographics broke down like this: 48 percent of clients were African American, 20 percent were Hispanic; 79 percent had not completed a college degree and 64 percent had neither dental nor vision insurance.

“We want to continue expanding and educating everyone” on how to solve the challenge of health care inequity, Patel said. Wang said the RAM organizers are partnering with local agencies like the health department, Triangle North Healthcare Foundation and others to help make a difference.

“We want to support the health of this county in more ways than one,” Wang said.

Visit www.ramusa.org to learn more or to view the clinic schedule.

CLICK PLAY!

 

Cooperative Extension with Jamon Glover: Supporting Your Partner

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Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.

Click Play!

 

Crossroads Christian School

SportsTalk: Crossroads Finding Success At Multiple Sports

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Last year Crossroads Christian lost in the final four of the state soccer championship but, according to Scottie Richardson, the school’s athletic director, Crossroads is will have a good shot of returning to the final four this season.  “We are ranked #1 in the state.  We lost our first game to Franklinton and haven’t lost since,” Richardson said on Wednesday’s SportsTalk.  This week they take on defending state champions Cape Fear Christian as they prepare to move into the state playoffs.

Soccer is not the only area where Crossroads is finding success.  “Cross Country has their conference tournament next week and they are looking for a three-peat,” Richardson said as the cross country team has one back to back state championships.

Volleyball is also moving towards playoff time. “It’s a tough conference and anything can happen,” Richardson said about his volleyball team.  The varsity team will travel to Lee Christian this week while the JV team plays at Cape Fear.

Basketball is also just around the corner with the first game on November 7th at Oakwood in Greenville.  “We lost a lot of players from last year’s team so we may be able to fly under the radar,” Richardson said.