Reminder: Oxford City-Wide Neighborhood Watch to Meet Tues., Feb. 18

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-Information courtesy Cynthia Bowen, City Clerk, City of Oxford

All Oxford residents are invited to attend a City-wide neighborhood watch informational meeting on Tuesday, February 18, 2020, in the third-floor Commissioners Board Room of Oxford’s City Hall. The meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m.

Get the information and support needed to start a Community Watch program in your neighborhood, receive the latest on crime in the area and learn about crime prevention from the Oxford Police Department.

Oxford City Hall is located at 300 Williamsboro Street.

‘One Noble Journey’ to Pay Tribute to Black History Month at McGregor Hall

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-Information courtesy McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center

In celebration of Black History Month, McGregor Hall will feature “One Noble Journey: A Black History Month Tribute” on Tuesday, February 18, 2020. The performance begins at 7:30 p.m.

ONE NOBLE JOURNEY is a moving play telling the story of Henry “Box” Brown, an African American born into slavery in Louisa, Virginia. Henry devised an ingenious escape plan — sealing himself in a wooden box for shipment to friends and freedom in Philadelphia.

Tickets for this event may be purchased by:

DROP-IN: 201 Breckenridge Street, Henderson, N.C. Monday – Friday 1:30 – 5:30 p.m

CALL: (252) 598-0662 (M-F 1:30 – 5:30 p.m.)

CLICK HERE: www.McGregorHall.org  (Use the eTix official site, online fees apply)

(This is not a paid advertisement)

Wilton Elementary to Hold Annual Quarter Auction; Business Donations Requested

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-Information courtesy Crystal Beard, Wilton Elementary PTO

Wilton Elementary School’s Annual Quarter Auction will be held on Friday, March 6, 2020, at 6 p.m. Wilton Elementary is part of the Granville County Public Schools system and is located at 2555 NC-96 in Franklinton, NC.

Tickets to enter and bid in the auction are available for $10 in the school office. You will also need quarters to play. Most auctioned items are valued between $10-$100.

Proceeds will be used to purchase equipment such as educational electronics to enhance learning for students.

Wilton Elementary is asking local, state and national businesses to support this event with donations for the auction. Items, services or monetary donations, including gift cards, are welcomed. The school’s PTO is designated as a public charity 501 (c)(3), so donations are tax-deductible.

If you are able to assist or need more information, please email WiltonWildcatsPTO@gmail.com.

Reminder: Focus 20/20 Regional Economic Development Summit – Feb. 20

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-Press Release, Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Governments

The Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Governments announces Focus 20/20, a Regional Economic Development Summit to be held at the McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center in Henderson on February 20, 2020. The summit kicks off at
9:30 a.m.

Keynote speaker for the event is Doug Griffiths, author of the bestselling book, 13 Ways to Kill Your Community. Doug works with communities across the US and Canada to identify and overcome challenges that prohibit their ability to become thriving, sustainable, and desirable.

UPDATE: We are pleased to announce that NC Department of Commerce Secretary Anthony Copeland will also be making remarks at the Summit.

Other featured speakers for the Summit include:

● Dr. Michael Walden, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor and Extension Economist at North Carolina State University
● Hillary Sherman, NC Economic Development Representative, US Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration
● Thom Ruhe, President & CEO, NC IDEA
● Jennifer Lantz, Executive Director, Wilson Economic Development Council
● Dr. Jenni Harris, Executive Director of Business Services, North Carolina Department of Commerce, Division of Workforce Solutions
● Dawn Michelle Tucker, Dean of Continuing Education and College & Career Readiness, Vance Granville Community College
● Dr. Pamela G. Senegal, President, Piedmont Community College
● Judy Bradsher, M.Ed., Director, CTE Programs/GEAR UP Liaison, Person County Schools
● Rhonda L. High, Customized Training Director, Halifax Community College

“This Summit is a timely and relevant event for citizens who seek to learn more about the advantages and challenges of preparing their communities for economic development success. It will provide best practices and examples that can be applied locally.” -Diane Cox, Executive Director, Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Governments.

Summit presentations will focus on the following:
● Setting the Stage for Economic Development in Your Community
● Advancing Entrepreneurship
● Talent Development-Best Practice Workforce Initiatives
● 13 Ways to Kill Your Community – Lessons on what really makes the difference between a prospering community and a failing one.

Triangle North Healthcare Foundation 2020 Grant Cycle is Now Open

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-Information courtesy Triangle North Healthcare Foundation

Triangle North Healthcare Foundation has announced the launch of its 2020 grant cycle, accepting applications now through May 1, 2020.

A regional healthcare grantmaking organization based in Henderson, NC, Triangle North Healthcare Foundation was established in 2011, following the merge of Maria Parham Medical Center and Duke Lifepoint.

The Foundation seeks programs and projects that will provide positive results in one or more of the five focus areas: Child Well-Being, Chronic Disease, Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders, Nutrition and Physical Activity, and Reproductive Health. Nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and schools are eligible to apply.

The link to the Foundation’s online grant portal is available at the website: https://www.tnhfoundation.org

The Foundation’s mission– to encourage, support, and invest in quality efforts that measurably improve health in the Triangle North area— is achieved through funding programming that focuses on improving health. The Foundation also supports programs that build capacity and develop leaders for nonprofits in the region.

Since beginning its grantmaking in 2013, the Foundation has invested over $1.8 million in over 70 programs that serve the four counties in the region: Franklin, Granville, Vance, and Warren.

According to the Foundation’s Executive Director Val Short, the Foundation Board’s hope is that through grantee organizations and the people they serve, the Board’s vision for the future of our region will be realized… “to live in a healthy community.”

“Our hope is that the Foundation’s investment of grant funds in our communities will result in long-lasting improvements in the health and wellbeing of our children and adults,” Short said.

Short and the Foundation’s Grants Coordinator Carolyn Powell are currently available to discuss ideas for grant projects or to assist with grant writing. Call 252-430-8532 to schedule an appointment.  Information about current and past funded programs and projects is also available on the Foundation’s website.

Granville Board of Commissioners to Meet Mon., Feb. 17

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-Information courtesy Debra A. Weary, Clerk to the Board, Granville County

The Granville County Board of Commissioners will meet Monday, February 17, 2020, at 7 p.m. at the Granville Expo and Convention Center, 4185 US Highway 15 South, Oxford.

Agenda items include:

Consent Agenda

1. Contingency Summary

2. Budget Amendment #6

3. Minutes

4. Tax Refunds and Releases

5. Register of Deeds Release as Recommended by the Register of Deeds

6. Appoint Inspectors Assigned to School Fire Inspections

Introductions, Recognitions and Presentations

7. Airport Update

Public Comments

8. Public Comments

Finance Matters

9. Audit Fiscal Year 2019 Response

Grant Matters

10. U.S. Tennis Association Grant

11. U.S. Tennis Association Southern Grant

Purchasing

12. Granville Vance Health Department Design Services

13. Granville County Law Enforcement & Detention Center/Animal Shelter Shelving, Filing and Rack Storage

14. Cellsense Plus Unit Purchase

15. Guardian RFID System Upgrade

Appointments

16. Senior Services Advisory Committee

17. Adult Home Care Community Advisory Committee

18. Nursing Home Community Advisory Committee

19. Granville County Citizens Advisory Committee for Environmental Affairs

20. Granville County Library System Board of Trustees

21. Animal Control Advisory Committee

22. Human Relations Commission

23. Digital Infrastructure Committee

24. Veterans Affairs Committee

County Manager’s Report

25. Employee Survey Results Charts

26. Board of Elections Emergency Purchase

27. Second Amendment Resolution Consideration

28. Cannady Mill Property

County Attorney’s Report

29. County Attorney’s Report

Presentations by County Board Members

30. Presentations by County Board Members

Any Other Matters

31. Any Other Matters

Closed Session

32. Closed Session as allowed by G.S. 143-318.11(a)(6) – Personnel

To view Granville Co. Board of Commissioner meeting agendas and minutes, click here. 

Granville County Public Schools

Granville School Board to Interview District 5 Candidates at Special Meeting

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-Information courtesy Granville County Public Schools

NOTICE TO PUBLIC AND PRESS

The Granville County Board of Education will hold a Special Meeting on Monday, February 17, 2020, at 5 p.m. at The Mary Potter Center of Education, 200 Taylor Street, Oxford, North Carolina.

The purpose of this meeting is to interview candidates for the District 5 vacancy and to consider the additional agenda items.

To view the agenda for this meeting, please click here.

Granville County Logo

Mark Your Calendars: Granville Co. Activities Feb. 17 – March 2

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-Information courtesy Granville County Government

Mark your calendars for the following Granville County activities:

YOU’RE NEVER TOO OLD FOR YOUNG ADULT NOVELS. The Young Adult (YA) Book Club for ages 18 and up will meet at the Richard H. Thornton Library in Oxford at 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 17. The featured book for discussion is “Everlife” by Gena Showalter. Limited copies of the book are available at the library and can be reserved. Contact Stefani Perry, Adult Services Librarian, at 919-693-1121 for details.

LEARN TO COMPOST with a special program offered on Feb. 19 at the Granville County Senior Center in Oxford. Teresa Baker, Granville County’s Recycling Coordinator, will be on hand to share information about the benefits of composting to your soil and to the environment. This is a free program and is offered at 1 p.m.

REGISTRATION CONTINUES for a Wildlife Damage and Management Strategies Workshop, to be held Feb. 21 at the Granville County Expo and Convention Center. This event is presented by the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service, Granville County Center, in conjunction with Franklin County, Vance County and Warren County, with presentations by the US Department of Agriculture and the NC Wildlife Resources Commission. Reserve your seat by calling 919-603-1350.

AFRICAN-AMERICAN VOTING RIGHTS HISTORY will be discussed during a program at the Richard H. Thornton Library on Feb. 24. From 6:30 until 8 p.m., Sallyann Marable Hobson will address the voting history in Granville County and Post Civil War North Carolina. Call 919-693-1121 for details.

UNDERSTANDING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE programs are being offered at the Granville County Senior Center, 107 Lanier Street in Oxford. Instructed by the Families Living Violence Free organization, the last of these informative sessions will be held on Feb. 18 from 1 until 2 p.m., with a topic of “Personal Boundaries.” This program is open to the public at no charge. Call Marilyn Howard at 919-693-1930 for details.

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE 2020 CENSUS can be answered in a Feb. 19 program provided by Census Representative Kathy Dunton. Dunton will be available at the Granville County Senior Center in Oxford at 11 a.m. for a discussion of why the Census is important, how data results are used and other pertinent information about this once-every-decade event. On March 25, Dunton will return to assist anyone needing help completing the questionnaire. Call the Senior Center at 919-693-1930 for details.

AMERICAN MAH-JONGG is a card game that derives from the ancient Chinese and is increasing in popularity. The game of skill (and luck) is being taught by Joyce Martin on Mondays through Feb. 24 at 3:15 p.m. at the Granville County Senior Center in Oxford. There is no fee to attend this class. Contact CLL Coordinator Marilyn Howard at 919-693-1930 for details. (Limit 8 players).

CRICUT WORKSHOPS  are scheduled through the Granville County Library System as participants (age 18+) learn to make their own leather earrings. Sessions are being held at the Stovall Library (Feb. 19 at 2 p.m.), at the Thornton Library (Feb. 26 at 2 p.m.) and the Berea Branch (Feb. 27 at 2 p.m.) Supplies will be provided and registration is not required. Contact your nearest local library for details.

BARN QUILT PAINTING CLASSES continue through the Creative Lifelong Learning Program. A class taught by Reba McInnis is scheduled for Feb. 20 from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the Granville County Senior Center, 107 Lanier Street, in Oxford. Registration is required. Contact Marilyn Howard at 919-693-1930 for more details and for a fee schedule.

LOCAL QUILTERS, OR THOSE WHO WANT TO LEARN HOW, can join the Berea Library’s Quilting Club, which meets on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at the Berea Branch, 1211 Hwy 158. For details, call 919-693-1231.

THE ROAD TO WORLD WAR I is a course offered through the Creative Lifelong Learning Program and is offered Mondays through March 2 at the Granville County Senior Center in Oxford. The instructor is George Robinson, who provides historical information that spans from the Civil War to the firing of the first shots of “The War to End All Wars.” Call 919-693-1930 for more information.

Free Rabies Vaccines to be Offered in Granville County

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-Press Release, Granville County Government

Granville County Animal Control will be offering free rabies vaccines for dogs and cats on Saturday, February 29, 2020. From 9 until 10:30 a.m., residents can bring their pets to Gazebo Park in Butner for one and three-year vaccinations.

North Carolina rabies law (NCGS 130A-185) requires that all owned dogs, cats and ferrets be vaccinated against rabies by four months of age and that rabies vaccinations be kept current.

On Feb. 29, one-year vaccinations will be available for all dogs and cats over this age requirement. Pet owners must bring proof of prior rabies vaccination to receive the three-year option. Accepted proof of vaccination is the paper certificate provided by the pet’s veterinarian when the shot was administered. A rabies tag will not be accepted as proof.

Granville County Animal Control offers a reminder that all cats must be in a carrier and all dogs must be leashed to receive this free service. Vaccinations will be administered on a first-come, first-served basis.

Gazebo Park is located at 416 Central Avenue in Butner. With questions, please contact the Granville County Animal Shelter at 919-693-6749.

Author Discussion Features New Biography of Langston Hughes

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-Press Release, Granville County Government

Dr. W. Jason Miller will be a special guest of the Richard H. Thornton Library in Oxford on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020, as local author discussions continue. The 2 p.m. presentation will provide insight into Miller’s latest novel, a biography of Langston Hughes.

In his most recent work, Miller will discuss how Hughes – the first black author in America to make a living exclusively by writing – inspired an entire generation of writers and activists. Complete with photographs, Miller’s book is one of a series of works that put a renewed focus on the life of this internationally-acclaimed poet. Using unpublished letters and manuscripts, the author will shed more light on how Hughes’ work contributed to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.

Dr. W. Jason Miller will be a special guest of the Richard H. Thornton Library in Oxford on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020, as local author discussions continue. The 2 p.m. presentation will provide insight into Miller’s latest novel, a biography of Langston Hughes. (Photo courtesy Granville Co. Govt)

Miller’s previous book, “Origins of the Dream: Hughes’ Poetry and the King’s Rhetoric,” describes how Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. used portions of Hughes’ poetry in his sermons and speeches from 1956 through 1968. The “King’s First Dream” project, a documentary made in partnership with the Southern Documentary Fund, includes the first-ever recording of Dr. King’s “I Have A Dream” speech, which had its roots in Rocky Mount, NC – a full eight months before the famous speech at the March on Washington in 1963.

Other works by Dr. Miller include the book “Langston Hughes and the Lynching Culture,” as well as online projects and magazine articles. A published poet himself, Miller has been featured in several poetry anthologies and collections.

Dr. Miller is a professor of literature at North Carolina State University. His many accomplishments and distinctions include service on the board of N.C. State’s African-American Cultural Center, where he now serves as the inaugural Scholar-In-Residence (2019-2020). A graduate of the University of Nebraska at Kearney and of Washington State University, his extensive work on the “King’s First Dream” project, which received coverage worldwide, led to an honorary citizenship bestowed by the City of Rocky Mount in 2017.

This program on Langston Hughes is part of a series of local author discussions scheduled for the Granville County Library System and is part of the library’s ongoing celebration of Black History Month. The program is free and open to the public.

For more information on this and other programs offered by the Granville County Library System, visit https://granville.lib.nc.us/ or call 919-693-1121.