Franklin Co. Resident Charged With First Degree Statutory Rape/Sexual Battery

-Press Release, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Terry M. Wright – Chief of Staff

On August 21, 2018, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division issued warrants for the arrest of Charlie Rebollar, a Franklin County resident. Charlie Rebollar was charged with (1) count of First Degree Statutory Rape and (1) count of Sexual Battery.

With the assistance of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Division, Rebollar was taken into custody at his residence without incident.

Rebollar is currently being held in the Franklin County Detention Center under a $300,000 secured bond.

Charlie Rebollar – 280 Rustic Ridge Road Franklinton, NC 27525 DOB: 01/09/2001

On August 21, 2018, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division issued warrants for the arrest of Charlie Rebollar, a Franklin County resident. Charlie Rebollar was charged with (1) count of First Degree Statutory Rape and (1) count of Sexual Battery.

Upchurch Charged With Two Counts of Assault With a Deadly Weapon

-Press Release, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Terry M. Wright – Chief of Staff

On August 17, 2018, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Investigative Unit arrested Danny Clark Upchurch, a Franklin County resident. Danny Clark Upchurch was charged with two (2) counts of Assault with a Deadly Weapon Inflicting Serious Injury.

This incident is alleged to have occurred on August 5, 2018, at a residence on Ronald Tharrington Road, Louisburg, N.C. 27549.

Danny Clark Upchurch was given an $80,000 bond.

Danny Clark Upchurch – 40 River Forest Lane ~ Kittrell, N.C. 27544

On August 17, 2018, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Investigative Unit arrested Danny Clark Upchurch, a Franklin County resident. Upchurch was charged with two (2) counts of Assault with a Deadly Weapon Inflicting Serious Injury.

Louws Charged With First & Second Degree Exploitation of a Minor

-Press Release, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Terry M. Wright – Chief of Staff

On August 15, 2018, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations, Narcotics, and Patrol Units along with the Sheriff’s Office Internet Crimes against Children Task Force, and agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigations arrested Mitchell Franklin Louws, a Franklin County resident. Mitchell Franklin Louws was charged with the following: five (5) counts of First Degree Exploitation of a Minor, and five (5) counts of Second Degree Exploitation of a Minor.

Mr. Louws was charged after an extensive investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office. Mitchell Franklin Louws is currently being held in the Franklin County Detention Center under a $1,000,000 secured bond.

Mitchell Franklin Louws – 789 Timberlake Road Franklinton, NC, 27525 – DOB: 03/08/1995

This investigation is on-going and additional charges are anticipated.

Mitchell Franklin Louws, a Franklin County resident, was arrested on August 15, 2018, and charged with five (5) counts of First Degree Exploitation of a Minor, and five (5) counts of Second Degree Exploitation of a Minor.

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Funding for Owens Park, Sewer Improvements Topics of Franklin Co. Board Meeting

-Information courtesy Kristen King, Clerk to the Board, Franklin County

The Franklin County Board of Commissioners will meet Monday, August 20, 2018, in the County Administration Building, 113 Market Street, Louisburg, NC. The official meeting begins at 7 p.m. following a prayer lead by Commissioner Michael Shriver at 6:55 p.m.

ITEM 1. CONSENT AGENDA

A. August 6, 2018 Minutes

B. Budget Amendment #2 (Pursuant to North Carolina General Statute 159-15, the County Finance Officer is requesting a budget ordinance amendment in the amount of $1,029,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019 to amend the General Fund to recognize August 6, 2018 Board action to appropriate monies for Owens Park at Bull Creek and Airport project match.)

C. Releases, Adjustments, Refunds, and Tax Collection Report

D. Petition for Acceptance of Late Application – David S. Griffin

E. Resolution Appointing Review Officers

ITEM 2. COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC

This is the time set aside by the Board of Commissioners to allow individuals five minutes to address the Board on issues concerning the county.

ITEM 3. SEWER SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS

The Board is asked to consider acceptance of a zero interest loan for two projects including Waste Water Treatment Plant Repairs ($8,316,000) and Lift Station Replacement in Franklinton ($1,365,000) at a total cost of $9,681,000. The Waste Water Treatment Plant project is at zero interest with $217,083 loan forgiveness. The Lift Station project is at zero percent interest. Both projects will have a loan fee of 2% that will be invoiced after project bids are received.

ITEM 4. VEHICLE PURCHASE – SHERIFF’S OFFICE

The County has bid vehicles for the year and recommends the purchase of 41 vehicles at a cost of $1,351,475.

ITEM 5. OTHER BUSINESS

ITEM 6. BOARD, MANAGER AND CLERK’S COMMENTS

This is the time set aside for the Board of County Commissioners, the County Manager, and the Clerk to the Board to report on various activities. The Board may also discuss other items of interest.

Vance Co. Animal Shelter to Participate in ‘Clear the Shelters’ Free Adoption Event

-Information courtesy a press release from Capitol Broadcasting Company/WRAL-TV

WRAL-TV and MIX 101.5 WRAL-FM, in partnership with the Humane Society of the U.S., have teamed up with twelve local animal shelters to host Clear the Shelters, the fourth annual nationwide pet adoption drive.

This year, for the first time, the Vance County Animal Shelter will participate in this free adoption event on Saturday, August 18, 2018, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Dogs, cats and even one rabbit will be available for adoption.

Each participating shelter will waive adoption fees as part of the nationwide NBCUniversal Clear the Shelters initiative for the day. A short application process will be required.

According to Vance County Animal Shelter Chief Frankie Nobles, all cats and dogs available for adoption will already be spayed or neutered, microchipped, dewormed and vaccinated.

Staff will be on-hand all day to help potential adopters select the right pet for their family and answer any questions.

“We are very excited to be able to participate this year,” said Nobles. “There are going to be a lot of animals adopted this weekend.”

In 2017, over 80,000 pets were adopted from 900 shelters across the country during the Clear the Shelters campaign. Locally, WRAL helped find homes for 1,195 pets.

In addition to the Vance County Animal Shelter, eleven other local animal shelters will participate in the Clear the Shelters event including: Animal Protection Society of Durham, Franklin County Animal Shelter, Harnett County Animal Shelter, Johnston County Animal Services, Orange County Animal Services, Paws4ever, Wake County Animal Center, SPCA of Wake County, Safe Haven for Cats, Wayne County Education and Animal Adoption Center and Cumberland County Animal Control.

Visit www.wral.com/lifestyles/pets/ to access more information about Clear the Shelters. A real-time pet “Adoption Tracker” will record the total number of pets that are adopted across all participating markets.

Also, tune in to WRAL-TV on Friday, August 24, 2018, at 7 p.m. for a 30-minute Clear the Shelters special featuring highlights from the national event, plus local pet adoption stories.

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Franklin Co. Finance Dept. Nationally Recognized for the Nineteenth Year

Press Release, Franklin County

For nineteen years, Franklin County’s Finance Department has been recognized nationally for their excellence in financial reporting. Once again, the team has achieved the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting. The Finance Department was recently notified by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) that its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report was awarded the Certificate of Achievement. The Certificate of Achievement is awarded by the GFOA of the United States and Canada for its comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR). Attainment of the certificate of the achievement represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management.

The CAFR has been judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program including demonstrating a constructive “spirit of full disclosure” to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential users and user groups to read the CAFR.

For additional information, contact Franklin County Finance at (919) 496-3182 or visit www.franklincountync.us. The Finance Office is staffed by Interim Director Chuck Murray, Lisa Medlin, Tracy Stevenson, Samantha Sanchez, Regina House and Heidi Braswell.

Franklin County Government is committed to effective and innovative public services for all Franklin County citizens and businesses.

VGCC Joins Achieving the Dream to Improve Student Success

-Press Release, ATD Network and Vance-Granville Community College

Vance-Granville Community College today announced it has joined Achieving the Dream (ATD), a network of more than 220 colleges in 41 states dedicated to improving student success.

As an ATD Network institution, VGCC will innovate to implement, align, and scale cutting-edge reforms, work with ATD coaches to build institutional capacity and connect with peers to foster learning and share information, according to college and ATD officials.

“We are already making a difference in the lives of students,” said Dr. Levy Brown, Vance-Granville’s vice president of academic affairs. “Now as a college, it is time to take the next step in our work to improve student learning and success.” Dr. Brown is the leader of the college’s ATD Core Team.

Dr. Joanne Bashford, left, and Dr. Linda Hagedorn of Achieving the Dream make a presentation to Vance-Granville Community College’s administration, faculty and staff at the college’s fall convocation in the Civic Center on Main Campus. VGCC today announced it has joined the network of more than 220 colleges in 41 states dedicated to improving student success. (VGCC Photo)

“The strength of local and regional economies, our ability to rebuild the middle class, and the possibility that a new generation will achieve their goals depends on community colleges,” said Dr. Karen A. Stout, president and CEO of Achieving the Dream. “Colleges that join the ATD Network show an exceptional commitment to becoming the kind of institution that will lead the nation into the future.”

“Achieving the Dream will serve to accelerate and advance Vance-Granville’s ongoing efforts to assist students in achieving their goals,” said Dr. Gordon Burns, VGCC’s interim president. “Participating in Achieving the Dream with its holistic approach to student success will result in Vance-Granville identifying college strengths, prioritizing areas needing improvement and systematically determining and implementing actions that will lead to greater numbers of students and graduates achieving their personal and career goals.”

ATD offers a capacity-building framework and companion self-assessment that allow colleges to pinpoint strengths and areas for improvement across seven institutional capacities in areas such as leadership and vision, teaching and learning, and data and technology.

With the capacity framework as a guide, ATD’s approach integrates and aligns existing college success efforts and offers valuable support in preparing for accreditation, fostering conversation about goals, and making bold, holistic institution-wide changes because initiatives that don’t reach most of a college’s student body have not shown strong results.

A team from Vance-Granville and teams from the other colleges joining ATD this year met in June to plan for the launch of their ATD work, which will initially focus on student learning and success.

Dr. Joanne Bashford and Dr. Linda Hagedorn were on VGCC’s Main Campus on Thursday and Friday to meet with the Core Team, administration, staff and faculty for Vance-Granville’s launch of the initiative. Dr. Bashford serves as a Higher Education Services Consultant and Leadership Coach for ATD. Her career in community colleges spans 25 years and includes serving as the President of Miami Dade College’s InterAmerican Campus, a diverse campus of 19,000 students located in historic Little Havana, until retiring in 2017. Dr. Hagedorn is Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs, International Programs, Student Services, Diversity and Equity, and Community Program at Iowa State University and a data coach for ATD. As an Achieving the Dream Data Coach, Dr. Hagedorn has been consulting with community colleges since the initiative’s inception and is currently working with six community colleges.

ATD Network colleges report data using metrics that answer critical questions about who attends college, who succeeds in and after college and how college is financed. To advance goals of social mobility and equity, the metrics provide information on how low-income and other underserved students fare. These metrics are categorized into performance metrics, efficiency metrics and equity metrics at points during the student experience from access through post-college outcomes.

As colleges in the new cohort progress, they may apply to participate in initiatives supported by philanthropic funding and managed by ATD. These initiatives help incubate new ideas that help colleges refine practices based on evidence of what works and allow ATD to disseminate knowledge to the broader network and the field.  New initiatives address the challenge of engaging adjunct faculty more deeply as key members of colleges’ workforces and implementing degree programs using only open educational resources (OER).

Achieving the Dream, along with more than 100 experienced coaches and advisors, works closely with ATD Network colleges to reach more than 4 million community college students.

Davis-Royster Funeral Service Endows VGCC Scholarship

-Press Release, Vance-Granville Community College

Davis-Royster Funeral Service, Inc., of Henderson has endowed a new Vance-Granville Community College Endowment Fund scholarship to help area students pursue an education.

The Davis-Royster Funeral Service Academic Achievement Scholarship is named for the family-owned and operated funeral service that has been operating in Vance County since 1991. The company, founded by James H. Royster and owned by Mary Davis-Royster, provides a variety of funeral and memorial services and resources customized to meet the needs of families.

“We have demonstrated through our funeral business a commitment to service based on sensitivity and integrity,” said Mary Davis-Royster. “The people of our service area have been so supportive of us for nearly three decades. We want to give something back to these communities through this educational opportunity to show our appreciation.”

Members of the staff of Davis-Royster Funeral Service, Inc., celebrate their new scholarship with representatives from Vance-Granville Community College. From left are James H. Royster, founder of Davis-Royster Funeral Service; Mary Davis-Royster, owner; Paul Crews Jr., director’s assistant; Robert L. Wright II, funeral director; Dr. Stelfanie Williams, Vance-Granville’s president; the Rev. Richard Henderson, member of the VGCC Endowment Fund Board of Directors; and Eddie Ferguson, director of VGCC’s Endowment Fund. (Photo VGCC)

Through the new scholarship, preference will be given to students enrolled for nine credit hours or more in the Business Administration curriculum program at Vance-Granville. A minimum grade point average of 2.5 will be required.

“The leaders of tomorrow for our community are turning to Vance-Granville today and will be doing so for years to come to secure the education and skills training they need to run area businesses. Our scholarship will serve as an encouragement and a valuable means of support,” Mrs. Davis-Royster added.

Mrs. Davis-Royster also serves as the licensed mortician for the company, and Mr. Royster is the funeral service assistant. Also leading the staff are Paul Crews, Jr., who is the director’s assistant, and Robert L. Wright II, licensed funeral director and embalmer.

“We are appreciative of the extended Davis-Royster Funeral Service family for their support of Vance-Granville’s students,” said Dr. Stelfanie Williams, VGCC’s president. “Their gift today will be meeting the needs of future business leaders for generations to come.”

Eddie Ferguson, the director of the VGCC Endowment Fund, added, “The funeral service has chosen a meaningful way to honor their legacy of decades of service to the community. We are proud they have chosen to partner with us to help our students succeed.”

The new scholarship will add to the more than 9,000 scholarships that have been awarded to students since 1982, funded by interest earned on the Endowment Fund and Scholarship Program. Scholarships have been established by individuals, industries, businesses, civic groups, churches and the college’s faculty and staff to assist deserving students. Tax-deductible donations to the VGCC Endowment Fund have often been used to honor or remember a person, group, business, industry or organization with a lasting gift to education. In the Fall of 2017, Vance-Granville awarded scholarships to 306 students.

For more information, the Office of the Endowment can be reached by calling Endowment Specialist Kay Currin at (252) 738-3409.

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Untreated Wastewater Enters Richland Creek in Franklin Co.

-Press Release, Franklin County Public Utilities

Notification of Discharge of Untreated Wastewater

General Statute 143-215.1C requires that the owner or operator of any wastewater collection or treatment works to issue a press release when an untreated wastewater discharge of 1,000 gallons or more reaches surface waters.

In accordance with that regulation, the following news release has been prepared and issued to media in the affected county: Franklin

Franklin County Public Utilities experienced a discharge of untreated wastewater from the pump station on Holden Road in Youngsville. The spill was a result of an electrical control malfunction. The spill occurred at 7:35 p.m. on August 7, 2018, and discharged until 11:50 p.m. The discharge of wastewater was estimated to be 5,025 gallons and it entered into Richland Creek which is a tributary of the Neuse River Basin. Franklin County Public Utilities staff was dispatched to the site and contact sewer hauling companies to pump out the pump station to begin the repair of the pump station.

The division of Water Quality was notified of this event on August 8, 2018, and is reviewing the matter. For additional information concerning this event, please contact Chris Doherty, Franklin County Public Utilities Director at (919) 556-6711. Additional information can be obtained by visiting Franklin County’s website at www.franklincountync.us and our Facebook Page, search Franklin County Public Utilities.

Franklin County Government is committed to effective and innovative public services for all Franklin County citizens and businesses.

Dunlow Honored by Guardian ad Litem Program for 9th Judicial District

-Information courtesy Melanie Griggs, program supervisor for Guardian ad Litem 

Attorney John Dunlow was honored by the Guardian ad Litem program for the 9th Judicial District which includes Granville, Franklin, Person, Vance and Warren Counties on August 7, 2018.

At the lunch event attended by his peers, District 9 Guardians and GAL staff, Mr. Dunlow was recognized for faithfully serving as the GAL Attorney Advocate in Granville County for over twenty years.

Mary Jo Van Horne, GAL District Supervisor, shared a message from North Carolina Governor, Roy Cooper commending Mr. Dunlow:

Attorney John Dunlow was honored by the Guardian ad Litem program for the 9th Judicial District at a lunch event on August 7, 2018.

“On behalf of the State of North Carolina, it is a pleasure to congratulate you on your 20th anniversary of service as attorney advocate to the Guardian ad Litem Program of Judicial District 9.   This is certainly a special occasion, and I know that the entire community appreciates your many contributions over the years.

I join your family, friends and colleagues in wishing you an outstanding anniversary celebration.  You have my best wishes for continued success and happiness in all your future endeavors.”

A commendation for Attorney Advocate Longevity from Cindy Bizzell, North Carolina Guardian ad Litem Administrator, was also presented to Mr. Dunlow.

The Guardian ad Litem program’s mission is to provide trained independent advocates to represent and promote the best interests of abused, neglected and dependent children in the state court system and to work expediently toward a plan that ensures these children are in a safe, permanent home. For more information about joining this crucial organization, visit  www.volunteerforgal.org.