VGCC Receives Largest Grant in School History

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CREEDMOOR, N.C. — Vance-Granville Community College today announced it received an in-kind software grant from Siemens PLM Software, with a commercial value of $31 million.

The in-kind grant gives students access to the same technology that companies around the world depend on every day to develop innovative products in a wide variety of industries including automotive, aerospace, machinery, shipbuilding, high-tech electronics and many more.

Graduates with this type of software training are highly-recruited candidates for advanced technology jobs.

The in-kind grant was provided by the Siemens PLM Software’s academic program that delivers PLM software for schools at every academic level. Siemens PLM Software is a leading global provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software and services.

The in-kind grant for VGCC includes Siemens PLM Software’sTecnomatix® portfolio, the industry-leading digital manufacturing software.

This is in addition to a previous in-kind grant that included the company’s Solid Edge® software, an intuitive product development platform for accelerating all aspects of product creation, including 3D design, simulation, visualization, manufacturing, and design management.

Both software packages will be used by students in VGCC’s Mechatronics Engineering Technology degree program.

“Vance-Granville Community College would like to thank Siemens PLM Software for this generous grant of advanced engineering software that enables our students to better prepare for successful advanced technology careers,” said Dr. Stelfanie Williams, the president of VGCC. “By using the same technology in the classroom that is used by companies all over the world to develop a wide variety of products, our students gain important real-world experience during their studies that will serve them well after graduation.”

“Despite an immediate, critical need for qualified technology-trained professionals in manufacturing, our customers have difficulty finding qualified candidates,” said Dora Smith, global director, Academic Partner Program, Siemens PLM Software. “Working with Vance-Granville Community College, Siemens PLM Software is helping prepare students with the knowledge and experience to fill this skills gap and become highly qualified employees.”

About Vance-Granville Community College
Vance-Granville Community College, one of the 58 institutions of the North Carolina Community College System, is the local source for higher education and training in Vance, Granville, Franklin and Warren counties, north of the Research Triangle. Established in 1969, VGCC today serves students at four campuses (one in each county of the service area) and online. The college offers more than 40 curriculum programs, as well as occupational certifications, continuing education, adult education, customized training for employers and the first two years of a four-year degree. VGCC’s Mechatronics Engineering Technology degree program is based at the college’s South Campus, located near Creedmoor in southern Granville County. For more information, visit www.vgcc.edu.

–VGCC–

Legal note

Note: Solid Edge and Tecnomatix are trademarks or registered trademarks of Siemens Product Lifecycle Management Software Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and in other countries.

Granville County Mailbox the victim of Vandalism

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TO: News Media

FROM: Granville County Crime Stoppers  

DATE: June 20th, 2017

SUBJECT: VANDALISM

Sometime between Friday, June 8th, late evening and Saturday, June 9th, 2017 mid-afternoon hours an unknown person or persons unlawfully went upon private property off Range Road, Stem, NC and criminally vandalized a mailbox.

If you have information concerning this incident, please contact the Granville County Sheriff’s Office at 919-693-3213 or call Crime Stoppers 919-693-3100.

THE GRANVILLE COUNTY CRIME STOPPERS BOARD OF DIRECTORS HAS AUTHORIZED THE PAYMENT OF A REWARD OF UP TO $1,000 FOR INFORMATION LEADING TO THE ARREST/INDICTMENT(S) OF PERSON(S) RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS CRIME.  IF YOU HAVE INFORMATION CONCERNING THIS CRIME OR ANY OTHER SERIOUS CRIME(S) IN GRANVILLE COUNTY.  YOU ARE ASKED TO CALL THE GRANVILLE COUNTY CRIME STOPPERS IN OXFORD AT 919-693-3100.

Local Teachers Attend Summer Professional Development Training

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Vance County Schools

For Immediate Release

June 20, 2017 

Career and Technical Education teachers in Vance County Schools are joining their counterparts from Granville, Franklin and Warren counties in a three-day “AMSTA Summer Cruisers” professional development training this week.

The educators are shown in the accompanying photo as they worked on an activity during their “Lean Manufacturing” training today in the Vance County Schools’ Administrative Services Center.

They began the training on June 19 and toured the Dill Air Controls and Revlon manufacturing plants in Granville County. They also heard presentations on youth services and how to best prepare students to be career and college ready. In addition to the manufacturing training session today, they also are touring the bioMerieux plant in Durham County. They will conclude their participation in the AMSTA event tomorrow at Franklinton High School in Franklin County, where they will meet with state commerce officials and listen to educational presentations including a session entitled, “School Choice and the Impact on Public Schools.”

Missing Teenager Reported in Henderson

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The Henderson Police Department request your assistance in locating the following missing person.

BRANDON WILLIAMS
Age 16
DOB 04/20/2001
Black Male
4’ 5
100 lbs
Black hair/ Brown eyes
Last scene 06/09/2017 around 8:00AM

Harry Mills Graduates from REDI

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Harry Mills, Granville County Economic Development Director, graduated in May from the Rural Economic Development Institute (REDI), an intensive, three-month training program designed for rural community leaders. Rural Center President Patrick Woodie presented certificates to the program’s 31 graduates during a ceremony at the NC Rural Center.

For 27 years, REDI has helped rural leaders improve their leadership skills and increase their knowledge of economic and community development strategies, equipping them with the tools they need to tackle the issues facing their rural communities.

This year’s class participants included elected officials, economic development professionals, business owners, and civic leaders. More than 1,100 rural leaders have graduated from REDI since the program began in 1989.

Cover Photo By: York Wilson

3 easy steps to becoming a Red Cross summer blood donor

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June 13, 2017– The American Red Cross urges eligible donors to give blood this summer for hospital patients in need and offers three easy steps people can take to help save lives.

  1. Schedule – Use the free Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to make an appointment.
  2. Prepare – Get a good night’s sleep, eat a nutritious meal and drink extra fluids.
  3. Give – The donation process start to finish takes about an hour. The actual donation only takes about 10 minutes.

Only about 3 percent of the U.S. population gives blood, which means a heavy reliance on repeat donors to maintain a sufficient blood supply. New blood donors are especially needed during the summer months because many schools where blood drives are held – and where new donors give – are not in session, and current donors often delay giving due to summer vacations.

Patients like Anna Schuster might not be here without generous volunteer blood donors. Doctors gave Schuster a 1 percent chance of survival after a collision with a semitrailer. During the first 12 hours after her accident, she received 65 units of blood. Schuster’s road to recovery has been long – 58 surgeries in the 12 years since her accident, including four in the past 14 months, with many of them requiring more blood transfusions.

Every day there are thousands of patients like Schuster who rely on lifesaving blood donations. That’s why donors are urged to give now and give often.

In June, the Red Cross joins blood collection agencies around the world marking World Blood Donor Day by raising awareness about the need for a readily available blood supply. Make an appointment to donate blood by downloading the free Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting redcrossblood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). Donors can make an even greater impact by inviting others to join them in giving.

Upcoming blood donation opportunities:

Granville

Oxford

6/21/2017: 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., Oxford Baptist Church, 147 Main Street

6/27/2017: 10 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., Granville Health System, 1010 College St

 

 

Person

Roxboro

6/23/2017: 3 p.m. – 7:30 p.m., Moose Lodge 2005, 480 Burlington Rd

 

Vance

Henderson

6/16/2017: 9:30 a.m. – 2 p.m., John T Church Building, 566 Ruin Creek Rd

_______________

How to help

Simply download the American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to make an appointment or for more information. All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients. A blood donor card or driver’s license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Individuals who are 17 years of age in most states (16 with parental consent where allowed by state law), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements.

Blood donors can now save time at their next donation by using RapidPass to complete their pre-donation reading and health history questionnaire online, on the day of their donation, prior to arriving at the blood drive. To get started and learn more, visit redcrossblood.org/RapidPass and follow the instructions on the site.

Volunteers needed

Another way to support the lifesaving mission of the American Red Cross is to become a volunteer transportation specialist and deliver lifesaving blood products to local area hospitals. Volunteer transportation specialists play a very important role in ensuring an ample blood supply for patients in need by transporting blood and blood products. For more information and to apply for a volunteer transportation specialist position visit rdcrss.org/driver.

About the American Red Cross

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or cruzrojaamericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.

540 Graduate from Granville County Public Schools earning 9.6 Million in Scholarships

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The 2017 graduates of Granville County Public schools participated in the final ceremonies this past Saturday under beautiful blue skies and a warm spring breeze. More than 540 students graduated from our five high schools, with thousands of supportive parents, relatives, friends and community members on hand to help celebrate the special milestone in a young person’s life.

This year’s graduating class was a particularly talented group, as evidenced by both the statistics and individual stories of success. This class of students earned more than $9.6 million dollars worth of scholarships – an all time record since the district has been tracking this information. More than 450, or 85% of the graduates were accepted into and plan to attend a 2 or 4 year college or university or proudly pledged to enroll in the armed services, and 10% had already secured employment. Several students were accepted to prestigious universities, as well as every single UNC institution of higher education.

Many student athletes were awarded substantial scholarships in various sports, including track, volleyball, softball, and even bowling! Other students received large academic scholarships, including ‘full-rides’ to NCSU, UNCG, Wingate, Peace and Winston-Salem. Future plans of the graduates span the entire spectrum, including students entering the fields of engineering, pre-med, Biochemistry, and Business. Others made plans for careers nursing, radiology, veterinary science, and agriculture. Several students will begin pursuing degrees in welding, with job offers already on the table. Other outliers include pilot’s school, cosmetology, and flight attendant’s school.

Regardless of the immediate next steps in these graduates’ plans, it is clear that Granville County Public Schools has helped prepare this talented group of young citizens for whatever lies ahead. Our community should be extremely proud of them, and feel confident that the next generation of citizens and community members will be well represented.

—

Dr. Stan Winborne
Director of High Schools
Director of Career & Technical Education Program
Public Information Officer
Granville County Schools

Oxford Prep Honors First Ever Graduating Seniors

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On a very hot day in August of 2013 parents and students spent the morning opening crates, putting together desks and chairs, cleaning floors and moving white boards. Later that SAME afternoon, Oxford Preparatory School opened its doors for the first time to welcome students. For the first three years of the school’s existence, students attended classes in mobile units. Each year the story of OPS has unfolded as new students and their families have joined together to grow the school. On Saturday, June 10 OPS realized a dream as they conducted their inaugural commencement ceremony.

In the presence of over 500 guests, 43 Oxford Prep students received their high school diplomas. Students in this class have successfully completed over 640 college credit hours through AP coursework/testing and the partnership with Vance Granville’s CCP program and many are entering college as sophomores. Over 86% of the class have been accepted into four year colleges. Students have committed to attending UNC-CH, NCSU, UNC-W, UNC-C, ECU, Appalachian, University of Denver, University of South Carolina, Campbell, Barton, A&T, Belmont-Abbey, UNC-Greensboro and others. Students have given more than a thousand hours of service back to the communities around us in addition to being part of conference championship teams in golf, baseball and men’s cross country.

After musical selection by the orchestra under the leadership of Director Jason Pulley and the performance of Omnia Sol (Let Your Heart be Staid) by the concert choir led by director Sarah Stallsmith, Jaylen Edwards, daughter of Billie Culbreath of Oxford, was chosen to speak by the teaching staff as the representative of the Spirit of the Griffin – someone who is dedicated to reaching farther than they thought they could, giving tirelessly back to the community, taking on leadership roles in a variety of ways and supporting the school at all times. She spoke about the beginning of the school and then reflected on all she had gained, including earning enough hours to enter UNC-G in the fall as a second semester sophomore in the fall, by being a part of the beginning of OPS.

Five students graduated Summa cum Laude including Morgan Daniels, Jackson Grissom, Rachel Sanya, Molly Stock and Hunter Strickland. To receive Summa cum Laude status students were required to maintain a GPA greater than 4.5. Students from this group chose Jackson Grissom, son of David and Alex Grissom,  to represent them as someone who has demonstrated excellence in all that he does and who has attained high levels of academic achievement, service and leadership. Jackson, who will be a part of the honors college at Appalachian in the fall, brought his sense of humor to the audience as he reminisced about rising from the trailers, having to work through really hard classes including those at VGCC, making new friends, listening to lectures both inside AND outside of the classroom, beginning traditions and leaving a legacy for others to enjoy.

Acknowledging that all students had taken at least one college level course, completed more than 27 credits including at least 4 science and 3 foreign language courses, and had given a minimum of 15 service hours per year, Executive Director and school founder Andrew Swanner presented 43 candidates for degrees to Chairman of the Board, Kim Hicks. Assisted by Chief Marshal Catherine Stallsmith and Marshal Whitt Daniel, students were presented with diplomas.

The new Griffin alma mater, “Griffins Rise,” composed as a senior fine arts project by Katherine Redman, Class of 2018, was then performed by the OPS Concert Chorus and accompanied by the composer. In the lyrics Ms. Redman urges students to  “Rise, Griffins, Rise. Even if it’s hard to try.  A lion’s heart and eagle’s wings cloaked in knowledge and in dreams soar on high and Arise and you’ll see that you can fly.”

On Saturday afternoon 43 Griffins proved that they indeed could rise and fly. Assistant Director Victoria Bradsher closed the ceremony by presenting the first group of OPS alumni to the audience and noted that they are now ready to fly off to new beginnings.

—

Victoria Bradsher

Assistant Director

Oxford Preparatory School

6041 Landis Rd.

Oxford NC 27565

VGCC to offer Enrollment Day on June 29

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Vance-Granville Community College will hold “Enrollment Day” on Thursday, June 29, from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m., at all four of its campuses.

During those extended hours, VGCC admissions, financial aid and advising staff members will be ready to assist anyone who is interested in enrolling at the college for the Fall 2017 semester, which starts on Aug. 14.

Students are encouraged to pre-register at www.vgcc.edu/enrollmentday.

Refreshments and free VGCC t-shirts will be available for incoming students on Enrollment Day while supplies last.

VGCC’s Main Campus is located on Poplar Creek Road in Vance County (about midway between Henderson and Oxford) at the intersection with Interstate 85 (Exit 209).

The Franklin County Campus is located just west of Louisburg on N.C. 56.

South Campus is on N.C. 56 between Creedmoor and Butner.

The Warren County Campus is located at 210 West Ridgeway Street (U.S. 158 Business) in Warrenton.

Registration for classes at VGCC is ongoing, through Aug. 10. For more information on enrolling for the fall, call (252) 738-3234 or visit any campus.

–VGCC–

Former Judge Quon Bridges speaks at VGCC South Campus

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Attorney and former N.C. District Court Judge S. Quon Bridges spoke to students, faculty and staff at Vance-Granville Community College’s South Campus as part of a speakers’ series sponsored by the college’s Male Mentoring Success Initiative (MMSI), as the spring semester drew to a close. Among those in the audience were Granville Early College High School students.

Bridges recalled his mother, who had recently passed away at the time he spoke to students. She had encouraged her 11 children to read and to stay out of gangs, he told the audience. Bridges then recalled a harrowing incident from his childhood when he found his mother, injured and bleeding, at home one night.

“She told me that some young men had beaten and robbed her,” Bridges said. “I picked up my baseball bat. I wanted to go look for these guys. But my mother grabbed my arm and said, ‘Son, I can get back what was robbed, but if you go out to get revenge, and you get hurt or get in trouble, I can’t replace you. Don’t be like those young men who did this to me. Make something of your life.’” He added, “I try to encourage all young people to do the same.”

Bridges said that young people need to “feel good about themselves” and avoid illegal drug activity. “You all have potential to do great things in life,” he told his audience. “You’re responsible for yourself. No more excuses! Get out there and do the very best you can do.”

Success, Bridges advised them, will not happen overnight. He talked about how, when he was a child, he and each of his siblings were given a wall in their house, on which they could post what they wanted. He would cut out pictures of courtrooms, lawyers and judges to post on his wall as a way of visualizing his future.

Bridges received his bachelor’s degree from the College of Wooster and his Juris Doctorate from the North Carolina Central University School of Law. He was appointed by former Governor Mike Easley as a district court judge for the 9th Judicial District in 2007. Prior to this appointment, he served as an Assistant District Attorney for 17 years. He began his career working for the North Central Legal Assistance Program before becoming a private practice lawyer. Bridges also is currently a member of the Oxford board of commissioners.

He encouraged students to continue their education, keep working hard and believe in themselves.

Supported by a grant from the North Carolina Community College System, the MMSI at VGCC works to help male students stay in school and on track to graduate or transfer to a four-year university. For more information on the mentoring initiative, contact Anthony Pope at popea@vgcc.edu or (252) 738-3395.

–VGCC–