$300,000 Gift Will Help Girl Scouts; Camp Graham
The gift is about a commitment made a long time ago to make the world a better place, and it’s that same commitment that Girl Scouts instilled in Margaret Pickard Sirvis, according to her daughter Barb Sirvis.
Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines (GS-NCCP) recently notified WIZS News that a $300,000 gift from the Margaret Pickard Sirvis Fund will go towards revitalizing Camp Graham, just north of Henderson. Be sure to click here for Camp Graham details.
A lifelong Girl Scout and advocate for women, Margaret Pickard Sirvis, or “Peggy” as she was known by her Girl Scout friends, passed away on April 8, 2017 at 93 years old. Peggy’s daughter Barb worked with GS–NCCP staff to create a legacy gift to support improvements to Peggy’s beloved Camp Graham.
Information provided by GS–NCCP indicates the $300,000 gift will go towards much needed facilities renovations that will enable Camp Graham to continue providing valuable outdoor leadership opportunities to girls across North Carolina, just as it had for Peggy 80+ years earlier. Renovations will include things like a new HVAC, a full-enclosed bathhouse, updates to cabin units, and much more.
Barb Sirvis told WIZS News in a phone interview that her mother Peggy was very clear she wanted to make sure the Girl Scouts received a generous gift at her death, so the $300,000 came from Peggy’s estate. Barb said Girl Scouts had always been very important to her mother Peggy, as she was in scouting some 75 years.
“She loved camp,” Bard said. “She wanted to make sure her gift would continue to provide camp opportunities for Girl Scouts today and into the future.”
When asked how Camp Graham was chosen, Barb said, “My mother was born and raised in Chapel Hill, and she went to camp as a girl at a camp that no longer exists, but she did go to Girl Scout camp as a girl, and she also watched the power of Girl Scouting to shape my life and the camp experience and the life-long friendships that I made at camp. Then, when she moved back to North Carolina in 2006, a local Girl Scout friend took us to an event with Girl Scouts of North Carolina Coastal Pines, and there (Peggy) had a chance to talk to some of the staff about her interests, and they were doing a new project at Camp Graham building tree houses. She said she wanted to see them, and she went to camp, and she fell in love with Camp Graham.”
Peggy told her daughter Barb she wanted to spend some money on this council, that she wanted to leave money to make sure the camp stays here for girls in the future.
It turns out that Peggy was very quiet about her ability to leave a gift like this for Girl Scouts, so by all accounts it had a wow effect, just by the amount alone of $300,000 if nothing else.
It’s the personal side that tells the rest of the story.
Barb Sirvis said, “She and my dad met in 1944 and were married in 1945. They each had a dream. His dream was to be an entrepreneur, and her dream was to make the world a better place. They brought those two dreams together. He eventually started his own business, and she was the home and corporate treasurer. They managed wisely and lived modestly their whole life.”
As far as how the money will be used, GS–NCCP went to Barb with a proposal with several options in it. Barb said the renovations and improvements mentioned “were the ones that spoke to me.” She said these priorities were on the top of their list, and “I thought they would be on the top of my mom’s list.”
Chick-fil-A Cops on Top Raises Over $3,500 for Special Olympics NC
On a cold, windy, December, Tuesday afternoon, Chick-fil-A of Henderson, the Henderson Police Department, the Oxford Police Department and the Vance County Sheriff’s office banded together and raised a grand total of $3,522.70 for Special Olympics of North Carolina.
Cops on Top was a 12-hour event held at Chic-fil-A on Dabney Drive from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. Tuesday. It was the 11th annual event.
Local Chick-fil-A Marketing Director Susan Rogers said the goal was $3,500 and that not only was the goal met but the event surpassed last year as well. One behalf of all of the organizers, Rogers gave thanks saying, “Thank you to the citizens of Vance County for supporting Special Olympics of North Carolina.”
T-shirts and hats were available for a monetary donation, and the event included K-9 demonstrations, free face painting, visits from Smokey the Bear, Sparky the Firehouse Dog, the Chick-fil-A Cows and a bounce house courtesy of Character Antics.
Oxford Prep Helps ACIM
— Information from Oxford Preparatory School, oxfordprep.org
Oxford Preparatory School received $500 from the United Health Care Sidelines Hunger Event, awarded at the State 2AA Football Championship on Saturday, December 9. Receiving the award were Oxford Prep Athletic Director Rick Kenner and Senior Student-Athletes Trey Reese and Christian Furr.
The OPS Athletics Department will share half of the proceeds with the Area Congregations In Ministry Oxford food bank. A check will be presented to the ACIM Oxford representative at the December 20th varsity basketball games against Granville Central High School. Additionally, that evening we will be collecting for the ACIM and encourage fans to bring in non-perishable food items. Admission will be half price with a food donation.
(Photo by Kelli Kenner)
Nowell Brooks Named Director of Alternative Programs for Franklin County Schools
— courtesy Franklin County Schools
Louisburg, North Carolina – December 12, 2017 — The Franklin County Board of Education approved Nowell Brooks as Franklin County’s Director of Alternative Programs at Vine Academy. The approval came during Monday night’s board meeting.
Nowell Brooks (Franklin County Schools Photo)
Mr. Brooks comes to Franklin County from the Vance County Public School system where he worked as an assistant principal for the last three years at the elementary, middle and high school levels.
Prior to that, he was employed with Vance Granville Community College as an Early College Liaison, Campus Coordinator and Instructor. Mr. Brooks has extensive experience in managing school operations, safety, student discipline and academic performance.
Nowell Brooks received his Master of Science in Educational Leadership from Arkansas State University. His bachelor’s degree in Public Administration was earned at North Carolina Central University.
Mr. Brooks’ first day will be determined at a later date.
Domestic Violence and Children Class Dec. 12
— courtesy Families Living Violence Free
*REMINDER*
Domestic Violence 101 CLASS TONIGHT, 6 p.m., AT THE OFFICES OF FAMILIES LIVING VIOLENCE FREE
125 OXFORD OUTER LOOP IN OXFORD
QUESTIONS: 919-693-3579
Call the office early to register for childcare if needed
WEEK THREE
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE and the EFFECTS ON CHILDREN
Objectives: To understand that children are the silent victims
To understand that children are affected emotionally, behaviorally, socially, & physically
To understand children are learning to be victims and batterers; the cycle will continue
To learn to help children develop coping skills
Alderman 2nd Ward At Large Burnette Sworn In
Monday night at the Henderson City Council Meeting, three incumbent City Councilpersons were sworn in plus newly-elected City Councilman William Burnette.
Sara Coffey (Ward 1 At Large), Garry Daeke (Ward 3 Ward) and Fearldine Simmons (Ward 4 Ward) were sworn in as was Burnette. Burnette won the Ward 2 At Large seat on October 10, 2017 vacated by Mike Inscoe. Burnette was challenged only by a write-in campaign and earned over 96 percent of the 341 votes cast.
In a phone interview Monday afternoon, Burnette said, “I’m excited about it, a little anxious, a little excited, looking forward to it.” He said, “You can do one of two things. You can sit at home and complain or you can get involved and try to make a difference, so I’m trying to get involved and trying to make a difference.”
When asked what his platform is or his projects or his thoughts about where he wanted to head, he said, “There’s three things I think the whole City Council is on agreement on. That’s jobs, drugs and violence.”
He said the City needs more tax base and something needs to be done about drugs and violence and that every city council member he’s talked to is in agreement with that.
Burnette said, “We’ve got to do something.” When asked what can be done, he said, “Part of the problem is people are scared. If they see something suspicious, they don’t want to call the police to come check it out. We’ve got to get — the community has got to get involved. We’ve got to take communities back. We’ve got to get involved. If we see something, we’ve got to call somebody. We just can’t let it keep going. It’s going to take the whole community. The City Council and the County Commissioners can’t do it by themselves. It’s going to take everybody getting involved to take care of drugs and violence in Vance County.”
He said, “In my opinion lack of jobs is why we have drugs and violence. People don’t have anything to do. They’re making money selling drugs on the street because they don’t have any jobs.” Burnette said, “We need to build the tax base so people will have a job.”
He said Mako Medical was a good start, but we need industries to come to Vance County. In terms of economic development incentives, he said if Vance County doesn’t do it, other counties will.