Granville Chamber to host 3rd annual golf tournament

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The Granville County Chamber of Commerce is hosting its 3rd Annual Golf Tournament Thursday, June 9th, at Henderson Country Club, 300 Country Club Drive, Henderson.  Registration will begin at 12 noon, with a 1:00 pm shotgun start for the 4-man Captain’s Choice tournament.

Corporate sponsorships of $450 offer a hole sponsorship and a 4-man team.  Hole sponsors are $100, and individual players pay $100 to play.  All players receive 18 holes of golf w/cart, dinner and concessions.  Mulligans and tee busters will be $10 per player.

There will be contests for 50/50 raffle, closest to the pin challenge, longest drive and hole-in-one shootout.  Prizes and participant goodie bags are being provided by local Chamber members. Volunteers are needed throughout the afternoon of June 9th, beginning at 12 noon.  Time slots are 12 noon ‘til 2:30 pm and 2:30 ‘til 5 pm.  Come enjoy the afternoon with golfers, Henderson Country Club staff and other Chamber volunteers for this, the third annual event.

Please contact the Chamber to play in the tournament or to volunteer – Toni Anne at 919.528.4994, tawheeler@granville-chamber.com or Wanda at 919.693.6125, wanda@granville-chamber.com.

 

Carolyn Paylor, FGV Smart Start Executive Director, Passed Away

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The executive director of Franklin Granville Vance Smart Start, Inc., Carolyn Paylor, passed away on Saturday, April 16th.

Garry Daeke, development coordinator, told WIZS that his Facebook post on Franklin Granville Vance Smart Start Inc.’s page were feelings expressed directly from the staff.

He wrote, “It is with a heavy heart that we inform you that our Executive Director Carolyn Malone Paylor passed on Saturday, April 16, 2016. Carolyn was such a kindhearted and caring person. She was truly loved by her family, community, and staff and will be sorely missed. No words will ever be able to express how much we will all miss her. Having her here supporting the staff and the community meant a great deal to us and not having her around will be an arduous task to handle.

“As Carolyn would have wanted, Franklin Granville Vance Smart Start, Inc. will continue working for our families and community. Please know that we are still as dedicated as ever in meeting the needs of our community and doing what must be done to keep this agency as great as Carolyn has built it to be. In the days to come, please keep her family and staff in your thoughts and prayers. It was a privilege and honor to work with such a woman. We will all dearly miss her presence.”

Mrs. Paylor is survived by her husband, Ricky Paylor.  He indicated to WIZS News that the healing process had begun.

Heath Haithcock, a former co-worker of Carolyn’s at FGV, said on his personal Facebook page, “…I learned (Monday) that my former boss at FGV Smart Start died unexpectedly this past Saturday. Carolyn Malone Paylor was a good, Godly woman who worked hard on behalf of pre-k children everywhere. I am blessed to have known and worked with her. My thoughts and prayers go out to her family and the extended FGVSS family. I am proud to know you all.”

Daeke said he worked directly with Paylor for 18 years.  He said, “We were just so overcome with grief.  It was so sudden.  I truly lost a very good friend and an incredible supervisor and leader in the community.  She really loved Smart Start and what we were doing.  We will figure out how to continue, but it won’t be quite the same.”

Carolyn Malone Paylor’s Funeral Arrangements have been entrusted to the care of Davis-Royster Funeral Services, 926 S. Garnett Street, Henderson, NC 27536.  There is an online tribute wall.

The funeral service will be Friday, April 22, 2016 at 12:00 Noon at Concord Missionary Baptist Church, 810 Walter Grissom Road, Kittrell, NC 27544.

Flowers should be sent directly to the funeral home. Cards and other items in memoriam may be sent to the home of her parents or the office:

Mr. & Mrs. Aaron & Mary Malone, 7 Malone Way, Kittrell, NC 27544.

FGV Smart Start, 125 Charles Rollins Rd, PO Box 142, Henderson, NC 27536.

(Quotes used from Facebook were used with permission.)

Councilwoman Elliott to Speak At Vance Granville

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Henderson City Council member to speak at VGCC Basic Skills Commencement

Vance-Granville Community College will hold commencement exercises dedicated exclusively to new graduates of Adult Basic Skills programs on Thursday, May 5. The ceremony will begin at 6 p.m. in the Civic Center on the college’s Main Campus in Vance County.

Those being honored at the ceremony will include students who have completed either the Adult High School Diploma program or the High School Equivalency program in the past year.

Melissa Elliott, a member of the Henderson City Council and a graduate of VGCC, will serve as the guest speaker. While working for the N.C. Department of Correction, Elliott first enrolled at VGCC to complete her high school equivalency diploma. She continued her education by enrolling in the Criminal Justice program in order to take her public service career to the next level. She graduated in 2009 with her associate degree and went on to complete a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice at Saint Augustine’s University, as well as a bachelor’s degree in Biblical Studies from Hidden Manna Bible College. She recently graduated with a master’s in public administration from Strayer University. Elliott is a former member of the advisory committee for VGCC’s Basic Law Enforcement Training and Criminal Justice programs.

Elliott has served in many positions in the criminal justice field, including Correctional Officer, Correctional Case Manager, Gang Intel Unit, 911 Dispatcher and, most recently, the Gang Officer for the Vance County Sheriff’s Office. She was honored for “outstanding community service” by the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority for her work educating the community about gang culture in 2010. The Warren County Gang Assessment Steering Committee also honored Elliott with an Outstanding Community Service Award as a Gang Specialist for participating in the county’s Gang Assessment. Elliott is the founder of a non-profit organization, “Gang Free, Inc.” She was elected to a four-year term on the Henderson City Council in 2015.VGCC Melissa Pearce 042116

Speaking on behalf of the graduating students during the ceremony will be Melissa Pearce (pictured) of Franklinton. She completed the High School Equivalency program in March 2016, after taking classes at VGCC’s Franklin County Campus. Pearce has enrolled in the Early Childhood Education curriculum program at VGCC, starting in the upcoming summer term. Her goal is to complete that program and ultimately to be a day care center director. A Fayetteville native, Pearce is the married mother of three boys.

–VGCC–

(Andrew Beal, Public Information Officer at VGCC, wrote and supplied this press release.)

Monday Morning Pick-Me-Up with Java Dave’s

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Java Dave’s Coffee and Internet Cafe and WIZS have teamed up for another new contest. Every Monday morning, Java Dave’s and WIZS will be traveling to a local business to reward employees for working hard (and showing up on time). Java Dave’s Coffee and Internet Cafe will supply free coffee and some type of treat, and WIZS will bring t-shirts.

The first Java Dave’s Monday Morning Pick-Me-Up winner was Vance-Granville Community College. Students and staff were treated to free coffee and Java Dave’s signature cinnamon rolls.

Who knows where Java Dave and WIZS will be next week.

To nominate your business just submit and email to kevin@wizs.com, and who knows, Java Dave and WIZS might get your Monday off to a good start!

 

Police Chase Press Release

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On Tuesday, April 05, 2016, Henderson Police Officers were dispatched to 101 N. Cooper Drive in response to a robbery that had just occurred. David Lee Bean, 24, 550 Wakefield Avenue, Henderson reported he had been robbed and provided responding officers with a description of a suspect vehicle.

Officers were able to locate the suspect vehicle on Dabney Drive. Officers attempted to stop the vehicle at which time the driver sped away. Units with the Henderson Police Department and the North Carolina Highway Patrol then pursued the vehicle in an attempt to apprehend the suspects. The pursuit concluded in Granville County after the suspects wrecked their vehicle near the Revlon Plant on Highway 158.HPD Jarquise Thorpe 040616

After further investigation, Henderson Police have determined that a robbery in fact had not occurred but another felonious offense had. Henderson Police have charged the driver Jarquise Vontrell Thorpe, 25, 104 W. Westbury Drive, Oxford with Felonious Obtaining Property By False Pretense.

Thorpe was placed in the Vance County Jail after failing to post a 20,000.00 secured bond. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for May 10, 2016.

The investigation into this matter was conducted by the Henderson Police Department and the North Carolina Highway Patrol. All offenses in regard to the pursuit were handled by the North Carolina Highway Patrol. Additional charges in this matter may be forth coming.

Press Release – Authority: Chief Marcus Barrow

Car Chase

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Shortly before 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Henderson Police were involved in a car chase.

Police Chief Marcus Barrow said, “It started after a reported robbery at N. Cooper and Dabney Drive. The victim and suspects knew each other. A vehicle chase ensued and ended at 158 highway near I-85 in Granville County. The two suspects were apprehend quickly. North Carolina State Highway Patrol assisted at our request.”

Vance County Sheriff Deputies also assisted.

There are no known injuries, and more information, such as the names of those involved, will likely be released on Wednesday.

Butner-Stem Elementary Google EXPEDITIONS @GCPSchools

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Butner-Stem Elementary School Participates in Google EXPEDITIONS Pioneer Program

Students at Butner-Stem Elementary School are taking part in a pioneer program from Google, called Expeditions.  Butner-Stem Elementary teachers, Carolyn Vickers, a 4th grade teacher and Teacher Technology Leader and Shannon Norton, a 5th grade teacher, signed up for this program.  The program allows students to take virtual “Expeditions” around the world, using Google Cardboard and a mobile device.  On Monday, March 21st,  a Google expedition team member, Brendan Dermody, came to show the teachers and classes how Google Cardboard can take them to places they could not otherwise visit. The Google representative indicated that high interest is what brought the program to Butner-Stem Elementary.GCS Butner-Stem Google Expedition 2016

The fifth grade classes visited monuments around the United States just before they take a field trip to Washington, D.C.  Fourth grade classes visited the moon and some went to the Galapagos Islands and explored under the sea.  Third grade classes explored exciting places around the world like Thailand, Antarctica, and Egypt.

The teachers guided the tours with an iPad as helpful facts are presented on their screen, meanwhile the students see the location through the cardboard viewers in a 3D virtual world. Students learn about the world while seeing it virtually. It is the next best thing to being there. Students were engaged and excited to be going on these virtual tours from their classrooms. The excitement was contagious.  Besides the constant “Oohhs” and “Aahhs”, we overheard one student shout, “I can’t believe my eyes!”.

Expeditions, a virtual reality platform built for the classroom,  are guided tours of places school buses can’t go.  They are comprised of virtual reality panoramas, which are led by a guide or teacher.  Using a tablet, teachers can guide up to 50 students wearing virtual reality viewers. Teachers can guide their class and point out highlights while referring to editable notes.

Google worked with teachers and content partners from around the world to create more than 100 engaging journeys – making it easy to immerse students in entirely new experiences.

Expeditions teams visit selected schools around the world, including the United States, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Canada, Singapore, Denmark and Mexico. Each team brings a complete Expeditions kit with everything the teachers need to take their students on journeys anywhere. The team or representative shows teachers how Expeditions works and helps set it up before class.

(Information received in a press release from Stan Winborne, Ed.S., Director of High Schools, Director of Career & Technical Education Program, Public Information Officer with Granville County Schools.)

 

STEM Grant for Summer Programs

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Granville County Public Schools Receives STEM Grant for Summer Programs

Cognizant recently announced it is awarding 40 grants to expand afterschool, in-school, and summer programs across more than 60 sites in 25 states through its Making the Future education initiative. Designed to promote creativity and inspire interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) among young learners, the initiative supports fun, hands-on “making” programs for students from grade school through high school. The 2016 grants will provide approximately 175,000 hours of making activities, including projects on electronics, robotics, computer programming, digital fabrication, 3D printing and wearable technology.

Granville County Public Schools will be using the $25,000 to hold a summer STEM camp for elementary, middle and high school students.  Details and registration information about the camp will be released soon.  “We are super excited to once again offer creative and cutting-edge technology projects to our students this summer.  Last year’s camp was a huge success, and we look forward to serving even more students this summer,” said Brynn Pendrak, District Math Specialist.  “Giving our students the opportunity to collaborate with hands-on projects develops math and science concepts, critical thinking skills, problem-solving techniques, and is just plain fun!”

Cognizant’s Making the Future initiative, part of the company’s overall efforts to promote skills that help ensure a competitive American workforce, was launched in 2011. Through the annual grants and other programs, Making the Future has introduced more than 260,000 children nationwide to over 1.9 million hours of making activities focused on STEM disciplines.

“Numerous studies show that in addition to developing their creativity, confidence and motivation, making is an excellent way for children to gain exposure to the STEM disciplines and gain experience with the types of workforce skills required to succeed in our evolving digital economy,” said Steven Schwartz, Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Cognizant. “The talent shortage in the STEM fields is real. Through Making the Future, Cognizant is giving young learners an avenue for developing interest and passion for STEM subjects across socio-economic barriers and stereotypical gender divides. As a U.S.-based company and technology leader, Cognizant is committed to developing and supporting education initiatives that promote skills for the 21st century knowledge economy, helping American workers thrive today and in the future, and preparing our youth to capitalize on STEM career opportunities going forward.”

Making programs continue to be facilitated predominately by museums, libraries, Makerspaces and youth-focused non-profits. However, the 2016 Making the Future grant applications indicated increasing interest from a broader set of stakeholders, including: schools seeking to incorporate making as an integral part of classroom instruction; non-profit real estate development corporations investing in making incubators to grow creative economies; and colleges committed to collaborative projects with youth organizations in underserved neighborhoods.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp is an American multinational corporation that provides custom information technology, consulting, and business process outsourcing services. It is headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, United States.  www.cognizant.com

(Information received in a press release from Stan Winborne, Ed.S., Director of High Schools, Director of Career & Technical Education Program, Public Information Officer with Granville County Schools.)

 

VGCC Student recognized for Academic Excellence

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Vance-Granville Community College has named student Elizabeth M. Caulfield of Louisburg as its recipient of the North Carolina Community College System’s Academic Excellence Award for 2016. One student from each of the 58 colleges in the state system is honored with the award each year.

Caulfield will be officially recognized at Commencement in May, when she is scheduled to graduate from the college with an Associate in Arts degree. That same month, Caulfield will graduate from Franklin County Early College High School. She is the first student from an Early College high school to receive the Academic Excellence Award in VGCC history. The college partners with four Early College high school programs, one in each county of the VGCC service area.

Caulfield said that her high school experience has been “unorthodox” but “thrilling.”

“I would never change my decision to attend the early college,” she said. “With the help of counseling and advice from VGCC staff and teachers, as well as some tutoring here and there, I was recently accepted into the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Looking back, I know my solid foundation at VGCC has set me up for success when I transition into university-level classes. I have learned to manage stress, stay organized, communicate with instructors, take notes, and above all, make the most of my college experience.”

Caulfield was inducted into the college’s chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society last year, and has made the Dean’s List and the President’s List. She has excelled in both her high school and college classes while also working part-time at a local restaurant and taking part in student organizations. At the high school level, Caulfield is a member of the National Honor Society and the Early College student newspaper staff. As a VGCC student, she has participated in the campus Earth Day cleanup for several years and is helping to establish the Equality Club. Outside of school, Caulfield has volunteered with the Franklin County Animal Shelter and Clearview Baptist Church.

She plans to major in Sociology at UNC-Chapel Hill.

“We are proud to recognize Elizabeth among the top students in North Carolina,” said Dr. Stelfanie Williams, the president of VGCC. “She is an excellent representative of both Vance-Granville and Franklin County Early College High School, and we know she will continue to excel as she completes her baccalaureate degree.”

VGCC to hold 32nd Benefit Golf Tournament on May 3rd

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Vance-Granville Community College’s 32nd Annual Endowment Fund Golf Tournament, presented by Union Bank, will be held at the Henderson Country Club on Tuesday, May 3, 2016. All event proceeds support the mission of the college, the Endowment Fund and student scholarships.

With the support of numerous golfers and sponsors, the annual event has raised more than $650,000 since its inception in 1985. The 2015 tournament alone generated a record-breaking $100,318.

This year’s morning and afternoon rounds will begin with shotgun starts at 8 a.m. and at 1 p.m. The afternoon round is sold out, but there are openings in the morning round.

The format is four-person “Captain’s Choice Super Ball.” Golfers can form their own teams of four, or sign up and be put on a team. Teams will be handicapped based on handicaps supplied by each player. Trophies will be awarded for first through third place teams in both rounds. Other awards will be given for “closest to the pin” and “longest drive.”

A hole-in-one on Hole 9 will be rewarded with a 2016 Toyota Avalon, courtesy of Toyota of Henderson, while a player who hits a hole-in-one on Hole 16 will win a 2016 Mahindra 1533 Tractor with Loader, courtesy of Vanco Outdoor Equipment.

Other special bonus prizes for both holes-in-one include PING golf clubs and bag (Hole 4), an iPod Touch and gift card (Hole 9) and an HDTV (Hole 11). Even if there is no hole-in-one, there will be special prizes for the golfer who comes closest to the pin on these holes.

The cost for one golfer to enter the tournament is $150. In either round, that fee includes greens fees, cart, meals, gift bag, and practice balls.

A light breakfast, lunch, and dinner (immediately following the afternoon round) will be served in the HCC clubhouse. A silent auction and door prize drawings will be held in conjunction with dinner.

Businesses and individuals can take advantage of sponsorship opportunities at various levels. Businesses may also donate products or premium items featuring the company’s logo to be placed in golfers’ gift bags, or to be given as door prizes.

For more information, contact Kay Currin at currink@vgcc.edu or (252) 738-3409.