Golden LEAF Scholarship, Internship Opportunities

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-information courtesy of the Golden LEAF Foundation

The Golden LEAF Colleges and Universities Scholarship application window is now open for the 2023-2024 academic year. Applications are available at CFNC.org. A total of 215 awards will be offered to first-time recipients from qualifying rural and economically distressed counties. Applications are due March 1, 2023.

The awards are valued at $14,000 ($3,500 per year for up to four years) for North Carolina high school students attending a participating North Carolina college or university. North Carolina community college transfer students can receive $3,500 per year for up to three years.

“The Golden LEAF Scholarship Program is an important component of the Foundation’s workforce preparedness strategy,” said Golden LEAF President, Chief Executive Officer Scott T. Hamilton. “Our goal is for Golden LEAF Scholars to gain the talent, knowledge and skills necessary to help North Carolina’s rural communities thrive by returning home to live, work and raise families.”

To be eligible, students must be a graduating North Carolina high school senior or a currently enrolled North Carolina community college transfer student, enrolling full-time in the fall at a participating North Carolina public or private college or university. Recipients are selected based upon multiple factors including an intent to return to a rural North Carolina county after graduation. Applicants must also fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and demonstrate financial need as determined by the application process; have a cumulative GPA of no less than 2.5; and be a resident of a rural, economically distressed North Carolina county. Click here for the full list of eligible counties.

For more than 20 years, the Golden LEAF Scholarship Program has provided more than 6,000 scholarships to help rural students attend the state’s colleges and universities.

The Golden LEAF Scholarship Program is administered by the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority and funded by the Golden LEAF Foundation. A complete list of program requirements, participating campuses and qualifying counties can be viewed at CFNC.org. Call 1-800-700-1775 or send an email to information@ncseaa.edu, for more information.

Learn more about the scholarship at https://scholars.goldenleaf.org/.

 

Scholarship recipients may also apply for the Golden LEAF Rural Internship Initiative. The Rural Internship Initiative provides Golden LEAF Scholars with professional work experience related to their career field in a rural North Carolina community. The application window closes Jan. 31.

The Golden LEAF Foundation provides funding to pay interns $15/hour for up to 400 hours of work. Internships take place over 8-10 weeks, between June and August.

Leadership Vance 2023 Class Forming Now – Apply By Jan. 27

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The Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce is accepting applications for the 2023 Class of Leadership Vance, a program designed to give emerging leaders an in-depth look at the community where they live and work.

Deadline to submit applications is Jan. 27; an orientation and team building activity will kick off this year’s program on Feb. 22, according to information from Chamber President Sandra Wilkerson.

Participants in Leadership Vance will gather for monthly from February through September for educational and information sessions on a variety of topics in the community, from local government and schools to tours of local businesses and industry.

The cost to participate is $500 for Chamber members and $750 for non-Chamber members and includes all meals, transportation and materials.

Contact Wilkerson at sandra@hendersonvance.org or call 252.438.8414 to learn more or to request an application.

(Note: This story was originally broadcast on WIZS Radio and published on WIZS.com on January 5.)

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The Local Skinny! City Of Henderson Financial Health

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The city of Henderson is in pretty good financial shape, according to a recent report presented by the auditor who completed the annual comprehensive study.

Bryon Scott delivered the positive news to City Council members during its November meeting, and he said the only bit of information that concerned him was uncollected taxes.

In the fiscal year ending June 2022, the city’s uncollected taxes were just more than 3 percent, according to minutes from the city council meeting. When that 3 percent threshold is passed, it triggers the state to require a letter stating the reason for going over the 3 percent mark.

Mayor Eddie Ellington thanked Finance Director Joey Fuqua and the finance department staff for all their hard work in helping with the audit process.

Council Member Mike Rainey moved the approval of the report, seconded by Council Member Ola Thorpe-Cooper. The vote to approve was unanimous.

Highlights of the report:

  • The five-year trend for the total fund balance is about $12.3 million. Of that amount, in 2022, the unavailable fund balance was roughly $3.2 million in 2022, up from $2.4 million in 2018.
  • The city’s General Fund available fund balance is about 55 percent of General Fund expenditures.
  • Regional Water System fund has the largest cash balance followed by the General Fund.  Regional Water also had largest fund balance.
  • The city’s tax collection percentage rate is 97.57 percent.  The city’s largest debt type is business debt.  The remaining 16% of debt is governmental.  Ad Valorem taxes is the City’s largest revenue, with the second-largest revenue being intergovernmental (distributions from the state). Tax from sales and services is third.
  • Public Safety is the largest General Fund expenditure, followed by transportation.  The third-largest expenditure is Recreation and Parks.

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Fire Chief Steve Cordell Receives Order Of The Guardian For 30 Years’ Service To Fire Dept.

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What kind of a birthday gift do you give someone who’s spent more than half his life in service to his community?

City staff and fellow firefighters did things up right Thursday for Henderson Fire Chief Steve Cordell, who celebrated his 51st birthday in the company of city officials and N.C. Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey, who conferred to Cordell the Order of the Guardian award.

And the proverbial icing on the cake was Mayor Eddie Ellington’s official mayoral proclamation to make Jan. 19 “Steve Cordell Day.”

Causey was in town to award a couple of SAVE awards at Vance County Emergency Services Thursday morning, and then presented the award to Cordell during an afternoon ceremony at City Hall, Acting Chief Curtis Tyndall told WIZS News Friday.

Chief Chris Wright and Engineer Tyler Crews were presented with SAVE awards from Causey, who also serves as the state fire marshal, given to first responders and others who go above and beyond the call of duty in their work, according to information from Causey’s office.

The Order of the Guardian is the top award presented by the state insurance commissioner for outstanding service and leadership in the fire industry.

“We were honoring a man (in Cordell) on his birthday for his 30 years of service to the community,” Tyndall explained.

“Causey recognized the chief as being – regardless of the size of the department – one of the premier chiefs in the state of North Carolina,” Tyndall said. During his term as chief, Cordell has garnered the respect of peers across the state and beyond, Tyndall said.

Armed Robbery Mast Drug Dabney Drive

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UPDATE Noon Friday –

When asked if there was anything new to report, Henderson Police Chief Marcus Barrow said, “Nothing that has led to an arrest.”

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UPDATE 5:30 p.m. Thursday –

Press release information from Henderson Police Chief Marcus Barrow:

Jan. 19 at approximately 9:30 a.m., two subjects entered Mast Drug at 418 Dabney Drive brandishing a firearm and demanding prescription medication. The two assailants exited the business and entered the front and rear passenger area of a 2019-2023 Toyota Rav4 (Black). The suspects left the business and headed West on Dabney Drive.

Multiple items of evidence were collected at the scene and from other sources, but police still need the assistance of the community. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Henderson Police Department at 252-438-4141 or by contacting Crime Stoppers through the P3 App or by calling (252) 492-1925. Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward of up to $2,000. You can also contact Henderson Police through Facebook Messenger.  (HPD on Facebook)

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UPDATE 10:45 a.m. Thursday –

Henderson police are investigating an attempted armed robbery that occurred at a local drug store this morning and are looking for a late-model Toyota RAV 4 in connection with the incident.

Police Chief Marcus Barrow told WIZS News moments ago that two suspects entered Mast Drug on Dabney Drive about 9:30 a.m. Nobody was injured in the attempted robbery.

The suspects came inside, presented firearms and tried to rob the store of narcotics, dropping some items as they left, Barrow said, which he said could provide valuable information as the investigation continues.

Barrow said he has contacted federal officials, as well as local sheriff offices and the State Highway Patrol to be on the lookout for the vehicle in question. A description of the suspects was not available at this time. The investigation is active and ongoing.

Anyone with information is urged to call 911.

 

Sheriff’s Office Aids Raleigh Police In Arrests In Connection With Murder, Stolen Car

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Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame said officers with the Criminal Investigations Division have assisted the Raleigh Police Department in the arrest of two men who have eluded arrest for more than a year.

In a press statement issued Thursday afternoon, Brame announced the arrest of Dontavion Miller, 22, at 149 Foxfire Drive.

Brame said his officers assisted RPD’s Gang Suppression Unit and Fugitive Unit in the arrest of Miller, who had an active warrant for arrest for first-degree murder, and a second man, Demetri Lewis, 25. Both men attempted to leave the scene in a stolen Porsche SUV but were taken into custody without incident.

Further investigation into Miller and Lucas led to a search warrant being executed at the 149 Foxfire Dr. location. As a result of the search warrant, a large amount of marijuana was seized along with multiple firearms, ammunition, firearm accessories, cell phones, fictitious state issued identification cards, fictitious social security cards and U.S. Currency. One of the firearms seized had been modified to a fully automatic weapon. The vehicle had been reported stolen two weeks ago from Holly Springs, was recovered.

Miller was transported back to Wake County and served with the outstanding warrant for first-degree Murder. Lucas was charged with possession of a stolen motor vehicle by the Vance County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division and was transported to the Vance County Jail under a $20,000 secured bond.

The case remains under investigation. Anyone with information regarding these individuals in urged to contact the Vance County Sheriff’s Office.

SportsTalk: Wilkerson Joins UNC Baseball Coaching Staff

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You may have heard the saying of going around your thumb to get to your elbow and that might be the best way to describe former Kerr Vance Academy baseball standout Daniel Wilkerson’s journey to get to UNC as an Assistant to the Head Coach and Clubhouse/Equipment Manager.  He’s been to Massachusetts, East Carolina in Greenville and Appalachian State in Boone before finally making it to UNC.

Wilkerson was at App State for only two months when he got the offer of the job at UNC. “My heart has always been at UNC,” Wilkerson said on Thursday’s SportsTalk.  His first season in his new role kicks off on February 17th when the Tar Heels open the season.  Wilkerson says baseball can be challenging in cold weather. “You’ve gotta get used to it and be prepared to play no matter the circumstances,” Wilkerson said.

One of the extra perks of the job is that his brother, Colby, is UNC’s second baseman, who is a senior. UNC is loaded with older players and Wilkerson expects the Tar Heels will have a great season but also adds the ACC is loaded with excellent teams from NC State, Wake Forest, Duke, Miami, Notre Dame, Boston College and Virginia Tech. “We’ve got to be ready to go no matter who we are playing,” according to Wilkerson when sizing up the ACC.

As part of his job as Equipment Manager, Wilkerson has to make sure players have what they need in practice and during games.  That can mean hats, bats, balls, gloves or even the right uniform, and he is excited about the newly updated weight room. It’s all part of a journey that started here in Henderson with Kerr Vance Academy.

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