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VGCC Student Receives Top Academic Honor

May 1, 2019/by WIZS Staff

-Press Release, Vance-Granville Community College

Vance-Granville Community College has named student Hope Crute of Youngsville as its recipient of the North Carolina Community College System’s Academic Excellence Award for 2019. One student from each of the 58 colleges in the state system is honored with the award each year.

Crute will be officially recognized at Commencement in May when she is scheduled to graduate from the college with both an Associate in Arts and an Associate in Science. Not long afterward, she is set to graduate from Franklin County Early College High School. That challenging five-year program, along with the guidance and support of teachers and peers, has helped her develop into the person she is today.

Hope Crute of Youngsville is the VGCC recipient of the North Carolina Community College System Academic Excellence Award for 2019. (VGCC Photo)

“Vance-Granville Community College is a school that successfully brings together ambitious, hard-working students who encourage one another and challenge each other to do better academically and professionally,” Crute said. “The magical thing I have found as a student at VGCC is that the school does not just teach academic lessons, but also life lessons.”

Crute has excelled in the classroom while also taking on numerous responsibilities at home to help her family as they dealt with her father’s serious health issues. She has served as a peer tutor in the VGCC Academic Skills Center and has been inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society for community college students, as well as the National Honor Society at the high school level.

Crute plans to transfer to UNC-Chapel Hill in the fall to complete a bachelor’s degree in a scientific field.

“Hope’s determination and dedication to academic success have earned her recognition as one of North Carolina’s outstanding community college students,” said Dr. Rachel Desmarais, the president of VGCC.

“Thanks to her experience at Vance-Granville and at Franklin County Early College, Hope now enters the next stage of her education equipped with confidence, clarity, enhanced skills, and a thirst for further knowledge.”

Emmanuel Community Church to Hold ‘Family & Friends Day’ This Sun.

May 1, 2019/by WIZS Staff

-Information courtesy Emmanuel Community Church

The community is invited to attend Emmanuel Community Church’s “Community Church, Family and Friends Day” on Sunday, May 5, 2019, at 11 a.m.

Presiding over the program will be Bishop William C. Harrison and Bishop Rhonda Hanks.

Speakers include Evangelist Vernice H. Wilson, Williamsboro; Evangelist Bernice Hargrove, Henderson; Evangelist Deborah Harrison, Manson; Evangelist Lucille Harris, Gillburg; Evangelist Carolyn Hargrove, Gillburg; and Reverend Emmanuel Marrow, Henderson.

The Emmanuel Community Church Choir and William C. & the Anointed of Henderson, NC, will also be in attendance.

For more information, please contact Bishop William C. Harrison, Jr. (252) 456-2923 or (252) 213-0011.

The church is located at 216 Chestnut Alley St. (turn on Oakhill St.) in Henderson.

Granville Chamber Hosting 6th Annual Golf Tournament – June 6

May 1, 2019/by WIZS Staff

— Information courtesy Granville County Chamber of Commerce | Ginnie Currin, Executive Director ~ 919-693-6125 ~ ginnie@granville-chamber.com

The Granville County Chamber of Commerce is hosting its 6^th Annual Golf Tournament Thursday, June 6, 2019, at Henderson Country Club, 300 Country Club Drive, Henderson, as announced by tournament co-chairs Kyle Puryear/BB&T and Jason Jones/Granville County Farm Bureau.

Registration will begin at 11 a.m. with a boxed lunch provided and a 12 p.m. 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 with cart, boxed lunch and concessions. Mulligans and tee busters will be $10 per player.

There will be contests for a 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 6, beginning at 12. Time slots are 12 until 2:30 p.m. and 2:30 until 5 p.m. Come enjoy the afternoon with golfers, Henderson Country Club staff and other volunteers for this, the Chamber’ sixth 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.

Tickets on Sale Now for Granville Education Foundation’s ‘Pig ‘n a Raffle’

May 1, 2019/by WIZS Staff

-Information courtesy the Granville Education Foundation

Join us for the 5th Annual Pig ‘n a Raffle on Friday, May 3, 2019, at Vino Oasi! Tickets are $50 and include a BBQ Dinner (catered by City BBQ), two beverage tickets, and a raffle ticket with the chance to win a variety of items all valued over $100!

You do not have to be present to win! However, for those who are present, tickets are re-entered into the raffle if drawn, giving you the chance to continue winning items!

We will be updating this years’ list of items soon!

Don’t miss out on this fun event that will support education grants, literacy initiatives and cultural arts opportunities for Granville County children!

Tickets are on sale! Please email GranvilleEdFoundation@outlook.com to purchase yours today.

(This is not a paid advertisement)

Home and Garden 04/30/19

May 1, 2019/by Charlene

130 Vance Co. Educators Expected to Attend State Rally; Schools Closed May 1

April 30, 2019/by Kelly Bondurant

Educators and school staff from across North Carolina will gather at a planned protest in downtown Raleigh on Wednesday, May 1, 2019.

The N.C. Association of Educators’ Rally for Public Education participants will ask legislators for increased funding for the hiring of additional support staff, the reinstatement of retirement health benefits and advanced degree compensation and an increase in the minimum wage for hourly employees.

A high number of leave requests for the day led some local school systems, including Vance and Franklin County, to declare May 1 a holiday for students and an optional workday for teachers.

Terri Hedrick, public information officer for Vance County Schools, told WIZS that of the school system’s 900 employees, 130 requested leave to attend the rally. While rally participants account for only 14% of overall staff, Hedrick said, “Those asking off are in classrooms and are vital to student instruction.”

In a recent press release, Vance County Schools stated that Superintendent Anthony Jackson recommended the school day change and the Vance County Board of Education approved the holiday in an effort to support public school educators.

The missed instruction day for students will not be made up.

The VCS press release explained, “While it is always important for students to be in school and learning, school system officials believe that our extended school day times at all grade levels this school year will be sufficient for student instruction even with the missed day on May 1. The school day was extended for the 2018-2019 school year by about 15 minutes at the elementary, middle and high school levels.”

Hedrick stated that the majority of employees at the system office will be at work tomorrow – including Dr. Jackson – and do not currently have plans to attend the “Day of Action” rally.

In a message sent to NC public schools earlier this month, State Superintendent Mark Johnson encouraged educators to find alternative ways of voicing their concerns.

His message read, in part:

“I encourage discussions about different ideas and opinions. Your voice is crucial. I want you to know why I cannot agree with one group’s proposal to encourage schools to close on May 1.

Weather hit us hard this year, and I do not want to encourage any more students missing any more school days. It’s not good for students’ academic and nutritional needs, or for our bus drivers and some other non-certified staff, who may miss scheduled work hours and, as a result, pay.”

As an alternative, Johnson suggested that educators take action on a day when schools were not in session, such as the week of spring break. Spring break for many NC schools concluded last week.

Vance County Board of Education member Ruth Hartness expressed her support for local educators participating in the rally.

“They have an issue and they have to voice it in some way,” said Hartness. “I agree with them. I see no harm in it and it may do some good. Hopefully, the legislature will listen to these folks and something will come through that will be to their liking.”

In the meantime, Hartness said she believes the school system does a good job of educating the community with its current resources.

“The answer to many of the issues is more money from the legislature for schools. We are doing the best we can with the money that we have been given.”

HPD: Forced Entry at Deer Crossing Court; Resident Injured

April 30, 2019/by WIZS Staff

-Press Release, Henderson Police Department

On Saturday the 27^th of April 2019, around 10:45 p.m., four individuals forced entry to the residence of Adrian Burwell (40) and Rageane Watson (24) at 1422 Deer Crossing Court. Once inside, the suspects searched the residence. It was reported that nothing was taken from the residence.

During the apparent robbery, Rageane Watson was struck by a discharged firearm. Ms. Watson was treated and transported to an area medical facility for further treatment where her condition is listed as stable.

Our investigation into this matter is still ongoing and it should be noted this incident does not appear to be random. This is all of the information we can disclose at this time.

As we follow up on leads, we strongly encourage anyone with information to contact the Henderson Police Department at 252-438-4141, or through Crime Stoppers at 252-492-1925. You can also contact us through Facebook Messenger, or the Henderson-Vance Crime Stoppers P3 app.

Authority: Chief M.W. Barrow

National Day of Prayer Activities Planned for Vance Co.

April 30, 2019/by WIZS Staff

The National Day of Prayer is this Thursday, May 2, 2019. Four local prayer services are scheduled for noon – at City Hall on Rose Avenue, the Vance County Courthouse in downtown Henderson, the ACTS house across from The Daily Dispatch and at the flagpole at Maria Parham Health on Ruin Creek Road.

WIZS will broadcast the City Hall service live at noon. Then, we’ll broadcast at 7 p.m. from the gym at Vance County High School.

Join churches and pastors from across the community at National Day of Prayer services on Thursday. Brought to you by Friendly Barber Shop and Clearview Church.

Duke Energy Releases 13th Annual Sustainability Report

April 30, 2019/by WIZS Staff

-Press release and additional information courtesy Tanya Evans, District Manager, Duke Energy

We are pleased to share Duke Energy’s latest Sustainability Report, which highlights how the company is charting a path to a cleaner, smarter energy future for customers. Released this morning, the report shows a company continuing to shift from coal to natural gas with a greater reliance on renewable energy, a company transforming the customer experience by investing in new technologies that help customers make smart energy decisions and save money, and a company that offers electric rates below the national average in all customer classes and all service areas for the fifth consecutive year.

A few highlights include:

As of year-end 2018, we owned or contracted over 7,100 megawatts of wind, solar and biomass energy. This includes 500 megawatts of solar added in North Carolina during the year, which helped the state remain second in the nation for solar capacity.
Our energy efficiency initiatives helped customers reduce energy consumption and peak demand by more than 16,700 gigawatt-hours and 5,900 megawatts, respectively, since 2008. This reduction in consumption is more than the annual usage of 1.25 million homes, and the peak demand reduction is equivalent to 10 power plants each producing 600 megawatts.
We installed 1.6 million smart meters last year, giving 62% of our total customers access to real-time information to help make smarter energy decisions.

Also reflected is how the company is contributing to North Carolina’s positive growth. During 2018, for example, we helped attract more than 4,000 new jobs and $2.4 billion in business investment here.

We continue to be proud of this important work for our customers and appreciate your interest and support. For more information on the 2018 Sustainability Report, I encourage you to view our news release included, in part, below:

Duke Energy News Release:

Duke Energy continues to generate cleaner energy at prices below the national average for its 7.7 million residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Those facts were spelled out today in the company’s 13th annual Sustainability Report – a report card on the company’s progress at meeting its sustainability goals. The report can be found here – and a PDF copy for download can be found here.

“Duke Energy is successfully reducing our environmental impact while keeping electric prices low for customers,” said Cari Boyce, senior vice president, stakeholder strategy and sustainability. “It’s not a question of clean or affordable. We’re safely and reliably achieving both.”

Among the highlights in this year’s report:

In the six states where Duke Energy has retail electric customers, the company’s electric rates were below the national averages, according to data from the Edison Electric Institute.
Duke Energy relies on a balanced energy mix that includes carbon-free nuclear, lower-cost natural gas, hydroelectric and coal. In 2018, nearly 38 percent of the energy produced by the company was carbon-free.
Duke Energy-owned and purchased renewable energy (wind, solar, biomass and hydroelectric power) was equivalent to roughly 9.3 percent of its generation mix in 2018 – reflecting an 11 percent increase compared to 2017.
The company’s use of coal has dropped more than 50 percent from 2008 to 2018 – from 63 million tons annually to 29 million tons. The use of cleaner-burning and lower-cost natural gas has spurred much of that reduction.
Duke Energy’s carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions remained roughly flat in 2018 – despite producing 2 percent more energy versus the previous year. The company’s carbon intensity, the amount of CO₂ produced per kilowatt-hour generated, fell 2 percent from the previous year. Overall, the company’s carbon emissions have dropped 31 percent since 2005.
Duke Energy established new goals in the report. One is to reduce water withdrawals by its generation fleet by 1 trillion gallons by 2030 – compared to its 2016 mark of 5.34 trillion gallons.
Duke Energy is also investing more in energy storage. The company is looking to install more than 400 megawatts (MW) of battery storage over the next 15 years. Today, work is underway at the Bad Creek Hydroelectric Station in South Carolina to increase its pumped storage output by more than 300 MW.