First SPARK NC Showcase Features Students’ Creativity, High-Tech Career Aspirations

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The first-ever SPARK NC student tech showcase at Vance County Schools’ Center for Innovation provided a glimpse into what’s been going on in the world of coding, AI training and high-tech learning over the past few years.

Community leaders, business owners and others gathered together last week to see students demonstrate their projects, which included low-tech materials like Play-Doh and screwdrivers paired with computer code, joysticks and AI to produce creative sights and sounds.

As VCS Superintendent Dr. Cindy Bennett noted in her welcome to the showcase event, it’s this type of hands-on creativity that will fuel the next generation of careers, and these students will have an advantage in the “real world” because of the work they’re doing now. Work that looks an awful lot like fun.

It’s been three years since the SPARK lab was established in Vance County, one of the first 17 school districts to give this type of learning a whirl. Vance County is the first district, however, to offer this opportunity during the regular school day. Students come by bus to the lab for an elective class, but they can earn honor cords for graduation through their work with SPARK.

The students demonstrated their projects during a half hour or so of the afternoon’s activities. Davonte Yancey wrote code that he used to move a robot around.

Kaylee Morgan made a piano that makes music “by conducting energy from you to the computer…the energy makes the device work,” Morgan explained.

Another student created four different monsters who generate beat boxing sounds, pure entertainment that could extend to other real-life applications for music production.

He also did extensive research on Instagram, looking at product reviews and observing peers interact with the wildly popular app.

Overuse of the app can create stress, anxiety and even could be a source of cyberbullying, he said. He created a prototype that would improve the app, which he calls Instagram Safe Mode.

“It automatically blocks bullying on the app,” he said, in addition to reminding users to take breaks and placing limits on the number of scrolls a user can make.

Talk about real-world applications.

And it’s all being done in a SPARK NC lab in the Vance County Schools’ Center for Innovation.

Local Guardian ad Litem Training Begins Jan. 13, 2026

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The local Guardian ad Litem program is a statewide program designed to place trained volunteers to serve as advocates for neglected or abused children going through the court system.

The next six-week training session begins on Jan. 13, 2026. Area Supervisor Samantha Branch, who serves the five-county region that includes Vance, Granville, Warren, Franklin and Person counties, is seeking additional volunteers who want to become advocates for this very important program.

Formed in 1983, the Guardian ad Litem program serves in all 100 counties in North Carolina and is a division of the N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts.

According to information on its website, when a petition alleging abuse or neglect of a juvenile is filed in district court, the judge appoints a volunteer GAL advocate and an attorney advocate to provide team representation to the child.

Program staff in each county work with the GAL child to provide support – legal and advocacy – to children as they go through the court process.

Advocates protect and promote the best interests of juveniles in abuse and neglect court proceedings, as well as report the child’s wishes to the court. They also could contribute to independent investigations to determine the facts, the needs of the child and identify resources appropriate to each case.

Learn more about the program at https://www.nccourts.gov/programs/guardian-ad-litem.

If you think you’d like to become a trained Guardian ad Litem advocate, call 252.430.5121 or visit volunteerforgal.org.

 

Henderson Man Charged In Connection With Hit And Run That Results In Death Of Victim

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– Press Release from Henderson Police Chief Marcus Barrow
On November 26, 2025, officers with the Henderson Police Department responded to a report of a pedestrian struck by a vehicle in the area of 1202 E. Andrews Avenue.
Upon arrival, officers determined that Phillip Warren, 56, of Henderson, had exited the vehicle he was operating and was subsequently struck by a white Mazda SUV driven by Benjamin Snelling Jr., 39, of Henderson, North Carolina. The initial investigation indicates a verbal confrontation between the two drivers may have occurred prior to the incident.
Following the collision, Mr. Snelling left the scene prior to law enforcement’s arrival. Mr. Warren was transported to a nearby medical facility for treatment of his injuries.
During the initial investigation, Mr. Snelling was located at his residence and charged with Hit and Run, Assault with a Deadly Weapon, and Expired Registration.
On December 11, 2025, the Henderson Police Department was notified by medical personnel that Mr. Warren had passed away. An autopsy was requested to determine the official cause of death, and the cause remains pending completion of the final report from the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Following consultation with the Vance County District Attorney’s Office, charges were upgraded to include Assault with a Deadly Weapon with Intent to Kill Inflicting Serious Injury. Additional charges may be considered pending the findings of the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
On December 15, 2025, Benjamin Snelling Jr. was located and arrested. He was remanded to the Vance County Detention Center, where he is currently being held without bond. Snelling is scheduled to appear in court on January 13, 2026.
The Henderson Police Department remains active and diligent in its investigation of this matter. Anyone with information related to this incident is requested to contact Henderson-Vance Crime Stoppers at 252-492-1925 or submit tips through the P3 Tips app. Information may also be provided directly to the Henderson Police Department at 252-438-4141 or through the department’s official Facebook page.
No further information is available at this time.
Perry Memorial Library

The Local Skinny! Wrapping Up 2025 at Perry Memorial Library

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As 2025 winds down, Perry Memorial Library Youth Services Director Melody Peters reflects on successes throughout the year as patrons, staff and the community celebrated the library’s centennial.

Libraries have transformed over the years to being so much more than just a place to check out books, and Henderson’s library is no exception. Families can come in to watch movies, like the recent showing of The Polar Express in the Farm Bureau room, bring homeschool groups in for special activities and participate in events that reach into the community.

Staff and others from the community will gather at 4:30 p.m. today Wedat the library and then set out for Garnett Street to serenade local downtown businesses with Christmas carols.

“This is a new program and I’m glad the weather’s going to be cooperating, Peters said on Tueday’s segment of The Local Skinny!

“We just want to spread the joy of the season around downtown,” she said, promoting literacy and the downtown district in the process.

It’s not unusual for the library to try new programs and events, all in the name of promoting reading, literacy and community togetherness.

Peters said she was particularly pleased with the summer program. “I was just so thrilled the way the summer reading program reached a new level of continued engagement,” she said. Community read-in events and book bins throughout county businesses filled with books for the taking were just a couple of examples of the library making new connections and reviving old connections with patrons.

“We were really busy, and that’s ok” Peters said, recalling the hustle and bustle of summer activities coming on the heels of a full calendar year filled with special events and regular monthly programming.

More than 7,000 individuals participated in the various programs the library offers, and Peters no doubt is looking for more in 2026.

Community support is critical to make sure individuals and families are aware of the programs and services the library offers.

“It really takes everybody working together promoting literacy,” she said.

we couldn’t’ do it without that comm support.

Visit www.perrylibrary.org to learn more.

 

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TownTalk: Dwaynna Ramsay Graduate Speaker at WGU

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Growing up in Jamaica, Dwaynna Ramsay wanted to be a pharmacist. She excelled in school, and set her sights on college to continue on the career path she dreamed of.

She was accepted into a couple of different schools, but money was tight, and Ramsay said she deferred her dream so she could work and earn money.

“I never stopped believing that learning was my key out,” Ramsay said on Tuesday’s TownTalk.

She certainly isn’t the only person to tell a similar story, and she won’t be the last. But, as a teacher today in Vance County Schools, she wants her students to hear her message: Your struggles do not define who you are.”

And that was the message she delivered in Atlanta last month in her commencement address during last month’s graduation exercises for Western Governor’s University, when she received her master’s degree in education technology and instructional technology.

Ramsay’s path is different than the one she had envisioned when she was a high school student in Jamaica, but it is a path that has her inspiring students to keep their sights on their goals and dreams and to believe in themselves.

In 2021, her husband, Kemar Morgan, took a job in Warren County Schools. He is a CTE teacher and has classes in brick masonry and construction math.

And that’s when her association with Vance County Schools began, with Ramsay becoming a permanent substitute at Vance County Middle School.

She acknowledged the “culture shock” and said the job taught her to be patient. It wasn’t easy, but she persevered. “Every day I kept going back,” she explained, and it wasn’t too long before she was invested in her students’ lives.

“Once you get to know that and understand their challenges, you realize they need a ‘constant,’” Ramsay said. “Yes, the grades do matter, but we have to be that ‘constant’ in their lives.”

So when kids fail tests or don’t do homework or get off track in some other way, they can count on Ramsay saying, “I’m going to believe you can do it until you can believe you can do it.”

The young people she connects with in school demonstrate a variety of aptitudes that they simply haven’t recognized or tapped into, she said.

During her speech to her fellow graduates, she offered a tip of the mortarboard to Dr. Stephanie Ayscue, who Ramsay said decided to give her a chance.

“She was not only a leader, but my mentor,” she said later. “She was always so encouraging. I want to be someone like that, not just for students but for anyone who encounters me,” she said during TownTalk.

Her path may not have been a straight one, and it certainly was strewn with challenges and obstacles to overcome. But scholarships came through to pay for tuition – more than once – and Ramsay said her faith buoyed her when she lacked the energy to keep up with family, work, and school.

One low point came when she failed a test – she never failed tests, she said. After a couple of weeks of feeling sorry for herself, some words of encouragement from her husband and a dream that she said she could recall word for word the next day, something changed.

“I got up and studied a little harder and actually passed with almost 100 percent,” Ramsay said. “The second and third exams, they were pretty hard, but I aced them, too.”

“If you fail something right now, it doesn’t mean it’s going to be forever,” Ramsay said. It’s what she told herself then and it’s what she shares with her students now.

“You own your failure. It’s ok to fall down,” she said. Remember, your struggles don’t define your value.

Find Ramsay’s speech here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj4Cy82ZC1M

 

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Cooperative Extension with Michael Ellington: Mistletoe and Holly

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Michael Ellington, on the Vance County Cooperative Extension Report:

Today’s segment explores the botanical side of mistletoe and holly. Also included are reminders of Small Farm Boot Camp and the upcoming Tobacco GAP meeting.

Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.

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The Local Skinny! Vance Co. Commissioners’ Special Called Meeting Tuesday, Dec. 16 At 4 P.M.

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The Vance County Board of Commissioners will hold a special called meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 4 p.m. to hold public hearings on several zoning requests and to receive and potentially approve a fiscal operations policy.

According to information from Clerk to the Board Dywanda Pettaway, Board Chair Carolyn Faines called the meeting, which will be held in the commissioners’ conference room of the county’s administration building, 122 Young St.

The two rezoning requests – (ZMA25-003 & ZMA25-004) – are pursuant to Section 11.2(D)(1) of the County Zoning  Ordinance and N.C. G.S. 160D. Article 6.

Public hearings regarding the two rezoning requests will be held beginning at 4 p.m., after which the commissioners will receive an updated fiscal operations policy. The board may choose to approve this policy, which contains information detailing county procedures and policies “designed to reflect best practice, not minimum practice,” according to information from Finance Director Stephanie Williams. “The intention is to create a consistent, disciplined framework that supports the long-term financial health of Vance County,” the statement continued.

 

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TownTalk: The Blast Newspaper!

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There are so many ways to get news and information these days – the more traditional methods like radio, television and print media often take a back seat to the ubiquitous screen.

When the COVID pandemic shut down Faicia Elliott’s radio advertising job, she hatched a plan to get a real newspaper in the hands of young people.

And that’s how The Blast got its start. Today, the newspaper is published monthly and is distributed free for the community to enjoy.

“Kids are on electronics for everything,” Elliott said on Monday’s TownTalk. “My vision was to have them to be able to have something tangible in their hands and to promote literacy.”

Fourth graders in Vance County Schools get copies each month, and Granville County Public Schools and Person have been added to the list, too.

It’s a one-person effort, with Elliott choosing the content, selling the ads and even distributing the 3,700 copies each month.

Printing is done at the Masonic Home for Children in Oxford print shop, a point of pride for Elliott because she likes to shop local.

The Blast began as a for-profit enterprise, and after a few years, Elliott said it became a nonprofit – which means she can apply for grants. She also has advertising clients, some of which have been clients since the paper’s inception.

“It’s working, or they would not keep paying for it,” Elliott said.

As for the newspaper’s content, Elliott said she likes to include word games and other activities that get the whole family involved.

“It is important to me to promote literacy and family togetherness,” she said. “It’s a really fun paper.”

King Features Syndicate provides all kinds of content for the “big” papers, but they also provide content for The Blast. “I called them and said this is what we do, could you give me some content,” Elliott recalled, “and they gave me some puzzles for minimal (amount) compared to what the big papers pay.”

The newspaper contains nothing political, Elliott said, and it’s not pushing any agendas.

Readers of the current issue will learn, however, that Today, Monday, Dec. 15 is National Cupcake Day. The monthly calendar noting those special, silly days is a staple of The Blast.

She also includes local activities on a town calendar. This month includes dates for Christmas parades, for example, but she also likes to include what’s going on at the libraries and with the different recreation departments.

Another staple – and a favorite of Elliott’s – is the fishing page. Everybody can fish, she said, and there are so many fishing tournaments that take place locally, she wanted to include a page devoted to the sport and to learn more about fish.

That’s where the fish facts come into play. “I like that page because it’s fun to find those facts,” she said. Add that to her list of responsibilities. Fish Fact Finder.

As a nonprofit, Elliott has a board to help manage and oversee the organization, but the day-to-day falls to her. “I am it,” she said, “and it is not easy, but it’s important to me.”

And it’s important to her that the young people have access to information that they enjoy and have fun with. That’s how the paper got its name, in fact. “We wanted the kids to have a blast.”

Find TheNCBlast on Facebook, use ncblastsales@gmail.com or pick up the phone and call 919.482.9335 to learn more.

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Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland: Consulting Foresters

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Wayne Rowland, on the Vance County Cooperative Extension Report:

Consulting Foresters can improve your forests and increase your income when you sell your timber.

Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.

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