VGCC Hosting CCP Information Sessions for High School Students and Parents

/by

— courtesy VGCC

VGCC Hosting CCP Information Sessions for High School Students and Parents

Vance-Granville Community College has scheduled a series of sessions offering information for high school students and their parents on the “Career & College Promise” (CCP) program. CCP allows eligible students to earn college credits towards a college degree, diploma or certificate while still in high school, without having to pay college tuition.

Attendees will learn about the requirements of the program and the steps to apply for admission in CCP. This information will help students prepare to enroll and register for classes in the upcoming Summer Term and Fall Semester at Vance-Granville.

These information sessions will be held from 6 to 7 p.m. on these dates: Tuesday, April 10, at the Main Campus near Henderson (Building 8, Conference Room); Thursday, April 12, at South Campus between Butner and Creedmoor (Room G1131); Tuesday, April 17 at Warren County Campus in Warrenton (Building 4, Room W4103); and Thursday, April 19, at Franklin Campus, just outside Louisburg (Multipurpose Room, F4101).

VGCC’s Career & College Promise pathways lead to students acquiring entry-level job skills and/or credits that transfer to four-year universities. Students who select the College Transfer (CT) option will take general education courses that transfer seamlessly to any of the 16 public universities in the University of North Carolina system or participating private colleges or universities. VGCC currently offers two CT Pathways with a prescribed set of courses: the Associate in Arts and the Associate in Science.

VGCC’s Career & Technical Education (CTE) Pathways allow students to potentially earn certificates in more than 20 areas, including: Administrative Assistant, Heating & Air, Bioprocess, Business Management, Carpentry, Cosmetology, Criminal Justice, Culinary Arts, Early Childhood, Electronics Engineering, Information Technology, Medical Office Administration, Paralegal, Robotics, and Simulation & Game Development; and diplomas in Carpentry, Electrical Systems, Information Technology, Paralegal and Welding.

Students and parents from anywhere in the four-county service area are invited to attend the Career & College Promise meeting of their choice and are not limited to attending the campus in their county.

For more information, contact Reba Bullock at (252) 738-3525 or bullockr@vgcc.edu. The CCP contacts for each county are:

· Vance County: Evangeline Mitchell, mitchell@vgcc.edu or 252-738-3289;

· Granville: Reba Bullock, bullockr@vgcc.edu or 252-738-3525;

· Franklin: Evelyn Hall, halle@vgcc.edu or 252-738-3611; and

· Warren: Faye Goode, goodef@vgcc.edu or 252-738-3594.

More information on the CCP program, including a Pathway Guide, is available at www.vgcc.edu/HighSchoolStudents/index.

– VGCC –

F-V-W Accepting Children for 2018-2019 Program Year

/by

— submitted by Felicia C. Gregory, Interim CEO F-V-W

The Franklin-Vance-Warren Opportunity, Inc., Head Start is accepting children for the 2018-2019 Program Year for Franklin, Vance, Warren and Granville Counties. Children must be 3 years of age as of August 31, 2018. Parents of children with mental, physical or emotional impairments are encouraged to apply. The program will make special provisions to serve children with special needs. These provisions include, but are not limited to, adaptive equipment and transportation. For more information, please contact: Beth Darnell at (252) 492-4196.

News 03/29/18

/by

Vance County Middle and High School Consolidation Update 3-28-18

/by

By: Kelly Bondurant, Freelance Writer/Editor for Hire

The Vance County Board of Education’s recent approval of the school system’s proposed consolidation plan will result in the combining of Eaton-Johnson and Henderson middle schools and Northern Vance and Southern Vance high schools for the upcoming 2018-2019 school year.

The consolidated middle schools will be housed in the current Northern Vance High School building, while the consolidated high schools will be housed in the current Southern Vance High School facility.

In the planning stages of the consolidation proposal, school system administrators initially discussed a completion date of 2018-2019 for the middle school consolidation, with the high school consolidation to follow in 2019-2020.

According to Terri Hedrick, public information officer for Vance County Schools, feedback from the public at the multiple community meetings held over the last three months indicated the majority of participants favored consolidating the schools all at once and as soon as possible.

When the consolidated schools open their doors this August for the new school year, the middle school is expected to have approximately 840 students, while the high school’s population will be close to 1,350.

As for the names of the consolidated schools, Hedrick says the school system will seek student and community input. “With extensive input from students, parents and school staff members, consideration to the names, mascots and school colors of the new middle school and the new high school will be decided over the coming weeks,” said Hedrick. “We especially will seek the opinions of the current middle and high school students.”

The North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) has recently ruled that the consolidated high school will remain in the Northern Carolina 1A/2A Conference and compete at the 2A level for the 2018-2019 school year. The school will be considered for placement in a conference of the classification in which its enrollment applies for the 2019-2020 school year and beyond at the NCHSAA Board of Directors meeting in December. The most likely scenario for the 2019-2020 school year will see the new consolidated high school competing at the 3A level as a member of the Big East 3A.

Future use of the vacated middle school buildings will be discussed by Vance County Board of Education members, with information provided by school system administrative officials. According to Hedrick, by state law, the board of education must first decide if it has any use for the buildings. If the board decides it does not have a use for the property, then the buildings will be offered to Vance County officials. If Vance County officials have no use for the buildings, they will revert back to the board of education, which can then make the decision to sell the property.

One area that is expected to remain fairly unchanged after the consolidation is school bus transportation. “The bus routes should have minimal changes. We anticipate keeping the same number of buses. Our buses already cover each half of the county for the middle and high schools [students share buses]. This isn’t likely to change,” Hedrick said.

The school system also anticipates that very few currently occupied jobs will be eliminated due to the consolidations. “As we reported in our public meetings about the consolidation proposal, we expect that no more than 20 jobs will be eliminated,” said Hedrick. “Many of these are already vacant positions, especially for teaching positions. We have staff turnover each school year and we expect that again this year.”

Dr. Anthony Jackson, superintendent of Vance County Schools, will provide a detailed consolidation implementation plan to the board at its April meeting. The consolidation planning process is being led by Dr. Jackson and senior staff administrators for the school system. Current principals and other administrators of the affected middle and high schools are also directly involved in the planning process.

The next Vance County Board of Education meeting will be held on Monday, April 16, 2018, at 7 p.m. in the Board Room of the Administrative Services Center at 1724 Graham Avenue in Henderson.

Beckford Drive Improvements Around Easter

/by

A significant portion of Beckford Drive is being “milled and filled” according to one of the Department of Transportation workers on site.  He told WIZS News the work would continue for about a week unless there were weather related issues.

If you use Beckford Drive as a cut through from Andrews Avenue to Dabney Drive, or to access Roanoke Avenue or Radio Lane from either direction, you should allow extra time or consider an alternate route through midweek next week on or about April 4th or April 5th.

Workers are not present all the time, but, when they are, there can be delays, flagmen and restrictions that allow cars to go only in one direction at the time.  So far, work has been confined to normal working hours during the week.

The road construction extends from the F-V-W Opportunity driveway to just east of Parkview Drive where you enter the Vance County Regional Farmers Market.

This has nothing to do with the recent talks about widening Beckford Drive.

“Match Madness!” – Donate, Like, Share, Tweet for Camp Oak Hill

/by

— submitted by Camp Oak Hill

Camp Oak Hill has an amazing opportunity that YOU can be part of!! Help us get kids to camp with a DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR MATCHING GIFT! An anonymous donor is offering a super gracious match. Be part of this amazing gift. Every dollar is doubled up to $27,000! Visit www.campoakhill.org today to be part of “Match” Madness and donate!!”

This past month we released our staff recruiting video (click here) that we are so excited to share!

We are in full camp prep and are getting pumped for what’s sure to be a great summer! We can’t wait to see everyone soon!

(Not a paid advertisement.)

City of Oxford Revised Monthly Stormwater Charge Public Hearing

/by

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
REVISED MONTHLY STORMWATER CHARGE

The public will take notice that the Board of Commissioners of the City of Oxford has called a public hearing at 7:00 P.M. on Tuesday, April 10, 2018 in the Commissioners’ Board Room, 3rd Floor, City Hall, 300 Williamsboro Street, Oxford, NC, to receive input on revising the current stormwater rates. If adopted, this would increase the current monthly stormwater rate from $2 to $3 per month per single family residential unit or Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU) of 2,368 square feet for non-single family residential properties.

Written comments will be accepted until Thursday, April 5, 2018, via email to cbowen@oxfordnc.org or by mail/hand delivery to Oxford City Hall at P.O. Box 1307, 300 Williamsboro St., Oxford NC 27565. To be considered, written comments should include the name, address, and signature of the person submitting the comments.

Additional information is available at www.oxfordnc.org or by calling 919-603-1100.

U.S. Department of Justice

Henderson Man Detained on Federal Firearm Charge After State Arrest in Granville County

/by

— courtesy United States Department of Justice

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WEDNESDAY – March 28, 2018

RALEIGH – The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Robert J. Higdon, Jr., announces the detention of a defendant after his arrest on a federal firearms charge.

An indictment was returned by a federal grand jury on March 15, 2018, against ODELL OVERBY, of Henderson. The indictment charges the defendant with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon on December 17, 2017.

OVERBY was arrested December 17, 2017, by the Granville County Sheriff’s Office.

The charge and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

The investigation of this case was conducted by the Granville County Sheriff’s Office and by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

# # #

PUBLIC MEETINGS N.C. 98 CORRIDOR STUDY IN WAKE AND DURHAM COUNTIES

/by

— press release

Raleigh, N.C.—The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) in collaboration with the Durham Chapel Hill Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (DCHC MPO) and the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) will host public meetings on April 12, 2018 in Wake County and April 16, 2018 in Durham County.

The N.C. 98 Corridor Study is 27-miles long, extending from U.S. 70 in Durham County through Wake County to U.S. 401 in Franklin County, North Carolina. This project is evaluating safety, congestion, planned and existing roads, bicycle/pedestrian facilities, and transit use along N.C. 98.

The April 2018 public meetings will be held in an “open house” format; there will not be a formal presentation. Attendees may come any time between the hours listed below to view the conceptual designs and ask questions.

Wake County Location:

Thursday, April 12, 2018

5:00—7:00 p.m.

Wake Forest College Birthplace

450 N Main Street

Wake Forest, NC 27587

—

Durham County Location:

Monday, April 16, 2018

5:00—7:00 p.m.

Durham East Regional Library

211 Lick Creek Lane

Durham, NC 27703

For more information about the project visit, www.nc98corridor.com. In addition to the meetings, citizens may provide feedback via the “Contact Us” page. Interested citizens may follow CAMPO and DCHC on Facebook and Twitter. Social media links are available on the project website.

Persons who speak Spanish and do not speak English, or have a limited ability to read, speak or understand English, may receive interpretive services upon request prior to the meeting by calling 704-342-5419.

Aquellas personas que hablan español y no hablan inglés, o tienen limitaciones para leer, hablar o entender inglés, podrían recibir servicios de interpretación si los solicitan antes de la reunión llamando al 704-342-5419.

###

NC Dept of Agriculture

Be careful when burning debris in spring

/by

— courtesy NC Dept. of Agriculture & Consumer Services

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28, 2018

Be careful when burning debris in spring
Wildfire risk typically higher through May; burning debris is the No. 1 cause of wildfires

RALEIGH – The N.C. Forest Service is urging residents across the state to think safety and exercise caution during the spring fire season, which typically lasts from March to May.

“Burning debris is the No. 1 cause of wildfires,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “If you’re thinking about burning debris, contact your county forest ranger first. The ranger can offer technical advice and explain the best options to help maximize safety for people, property and the forest.”

During the spring fire season, people do a lot of yard work that often includes burning leaves and yard debris. There are many factors to consider before doing any burning. Following are tips to protect property and prevent wildfires:

  • Consider alternatives to burning. Some yard debris, such as leaves and grass, may be more valuable if composted.
  • Check with your county fire marshal’s office for local laws on burning debris. Some communities allow burning only during specified hours; others forbid it entirely.
  • Make sure you have an approved burning permit, which can be obtained at any NCFS office, county-approved burning permit agent, or online at https://ncforestservice.gov.
  • Check the weather. Don’t burn if conditions are dry or windy.
  • Only burn natural vegetation from your property. Burning household trash or any other man-made materials is illegal. Trash should be hauled away to a convenience center.
  • Plan burning for the late afternoon when conditions are typically less windy and more humid.
  • If you must burn, be prepared. Clear a perimeter around the burn area of flammable materials.
  • Keep fire tools ready. To control the fire, you will need a hose, bucket, a steel rake and a shovel for tossing dirt on the fire.
  • Never use flammable liquids such as kerosene, gasoline or diesel fuel to speed burning.
  • Stay with your fire until it is completely out. In North Carolina, human carelessness leads to more wildfires than any other cause.
  • These same tips hold true for campfires and barbeques, too. Douse burning charcoal briquettes or campfire thoroughly with water. When the coals are soaked, stir them and soak them again. Be sure they are out cold and carefully feel to be sure they are extinguished. Never dump hot ashes or coals into a wooded area.
  • Burning agricultural residue and forestland litter: In addition to the guidelines above, a fire line should be plowed around the area to be burned. Large fields should be separated into small plots for burning one at a time. Before doing any burning in a wooded area, contact your county ranger, who will weigh all factors, explain them and offer technical advice.

For more information on ways you can prevent wildfires and loss of property, visit https://ncforestservice.gov.