Vance County News - WIZS

VGCC Receives $125,000 Grant From Cannon Foundation

November 2, 2020/by WIZS Staff

THIS STORY IS PRESENTED IN PART BY DRAKE DENTISTRY

-Press Release, Vance-Granville Community College

The Cannon Foundation, based in Concord, North Carolina, recently awarded a $125,000 grant to the Vance-Granville Community College Endowment Fund. The funds will support VGCC’s Nursing Simulation Lab and Heavy Equipment Operator program simulators.

“With this grant, Vance-Granville Community College will continue to enhance our Nursing and Heavy Equipment Operator training programs, so that students can receive state-of-the-art preparation for their careers,” said VGCC President Dr. Rachel Desmarais. “We appreciate the Cannon Foundation’s commitment to workforce development and education.”

Part of the grant will provide needed equipment for the new, 4,000-square-foot Simulation Lab on VGCC’s Main Campus in Vance County. This lab has recently been relocated from its previous space on the campus of Maria Parham Health in Henderson.

Much like it did at the previous location, the lab will provide students in Associate Degree Nursing and Practical Nursing with opportunities to train for a variety of real-life situations, using high-tech manikins. The life-like “patients” can be programmed to replicate a variety of medical diagnoses and conditions.

The other, larger portion of the grant funds will provide simulators of a different sort. The Heavy Equipment Operator program, based on VGCC’s Warren County Campus in Warrenton, will benefit from new, improved training simulators, on which students can practice in a safe, controlled way. The trainers simulate equipment such as bulldozers and excavators.

The college’s HEO program is now a registered apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship program, and the updated simulation equipment will help align the training with current workforce needs.

“Our current Heavy Equipment Operator program has been in place since 2015 with the simulators we currently have through an agreement with the North Carolina Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration,” explained Kyle Burwell, VGCC’s director of Occupational Extension & Human Resources Development. “I am thrilled at the opportunity offered to us by the Cannon Foundation to purchase additional simulation equipment to enhance our HEO program so that students can practice and learn on updated equipment as they prepare to work in the field of Heavy Equipment Operation.”

The Cannon Foundation was formed in 1943 by Charles A. Cannon, chairman and president of the Cannon Mills Company. The Cannon Foundation continues his philanthropic legacy by funding primarily capital and infrastructure projects for organizations across the state of North Carolina. To date, the Cannon Foundation has awarded grants totaling more than $305 million.

“This new grant from the Cannon Foundation is good news for our community, for the students who will use this equipment to learn, and for their future employers,” said Eddie Ferguson, VGCC endowment fund director. “VGCC continues to partner with a variety of funders to provide high-quality training for good jobs in fields like health care and construction.”

The Cannon Foundation has supported VGCC in the past, including a grant of $150,000 to help complete the renovation of Building 10 on the college’s Main Campus.

South Henderson Pentecostal Holiness Church

SHPHC to Hold Revival With Evangelist Mick Snider

October 30, 2020/by WIZS Staff

100.1 FM ~ 1450 AM ~ WIZS, Your Community Voice ~ Click to LISTEN LOCAL

-Information courtesy Rhonda Pulley, SHPHC

South Henderson Pentecostal Holiness Church will hold a Revival with Evangelist Mick Snider November 1-4, 2020. The church is located at 905 Americal Road in Henderson.

Service Times:
Sunday, November 1 – 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Monday, November 2 – 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Tuesday, November 3 – 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Wednesday, November 4 – 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Vance Co. Commissioners to Hold Regular Board Meeting Nov. 2

October 30, 2020/by WIZS Staff

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-Information courtesy the County of Vance

The Vance County Board of Commissioners will meet on Monday, November 2, 2020, at 6 p.m. in the Commissioners’ Meeting Room, 122 Young Street, Henderson.

Agenda Items Include:

1. Public Comments (for those registered to speak by 5:45 p.m. – each speaker is limited to five minutes)

2. Appointment – 6 p.m. – Javier Plummer, EMS Director

– Introduction of New Medical Director, Dr. Richard Benson II

3. Appointment – 6:15 p.m. – Porcha Brooks, Tax Administrator

– Business Personal Property Appeal

– Untimely Exemption Applications

4. Appointment – 6:30 p.m. – Tim Carpenter, LKC Engineering

– Henderson-Vance Industrial Park Phase 3 Change Order

5. Water District Board

a. Monthly Operations Report

b. Envirolink

– Tap Install Update

6. Committee Reports and Recommendations

a. Public Safety Committee

– 911 Console Radio Replacement

– Ambulance Franchise Ordinance Amendments

b. Human Resources Committee

– Engagement Team Update

– Employee Survey

– Personnel Policy Update

c. Planning Committee

– White Goods Collection

7. Finance Director’s Report

a. Education Lottery Funds Application

b. Finance Software Replacement

8. County Manager’s Report

a. Land Lease

– Townsville Convenience Site

b. Farmer’s Market Cleaning Fee

c. DSS Building Appraisal Agenda

9. County Attorney’s Report

a. REO Properties

– Bid Acceptance

– 1324 Hargrove Street – Parcel 0006 06003

– St. Matthews Street Lot – Parcel 0066 05003

b. REO Properties – New Offers

– 715 Vaughan Street – Parcel 0075 02004

– 322 Pearl Street – Parcel 0098 01003

– 318 Pearl Street – Parcel 0098 01004

– 335 Pearl Street – Parcel 0098 02021

– 225 Pearl Street – Parcel 0098 03012

10. Consent Agenda Items

a. Budget Amendments

b. Tax Refunds and Releases

c. Monthly Reports

d. Minutes

11. Miscellaneous

a. Appointments

12. Closed Session

a. Personnel Matter

Click here to view current and prior Board agendas.

H-V Rec & Parks ‘Trail of Terror Drive-Thru’ Rescheduled for Nov. 2

October 30, 2020/by WIZS Staff

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-Information courtesy the Henderson-Vance Recreation & Parks Department

The Henderson-Vance Recreation & Parks Department’s Trail of Terror Drive-Thru at King Daughter I Park (600 West Montgomery Street, Henderson) has been rescheduled to Monday, November 2, 2020, from 6:30 – 9 p.m.

Participants must enter the Trail of Terror on Young Street. The cost of the event is $5 per vehicle.

For more information, please contact Crystal Allen at (252) 431-6091 (callen@ci.henderson.nc.us).

Approximately 43% of Eligible Vance Co. Voters Have Already Voted

October 29, 2020/by WIZS Staff

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-Information courtesy the Vance County Board of Elections

As of Wednesday, October 28, 2020, 42.8% of eligible voters in Vance County had already voted (12,654 out of 29,565).

According to the State Board of Elections, 66.3% of eligible voters cast ballots (early and election day votes) in 2016 (20,057 out of 30,254).

Early voting ends Saturday, October 31, 2020, at 3 p.m. On Tuesday, November 3, 2020, you MUST go to your assigned polling place to vote. The Henderson Operation Center will not be open for voting on November 3

In Vance County, early voting is being held at the Henderson Operation Center (900 S Beckford Dr., Henderson) and Aycock Recreation Complex (307 Carey Chapel Rd., Henderson). There is no early voting at the Board of Elections Office due to COVID restrictions.

REMAINING One-Stop Early Voting Schedule for the November 3, 2020 General Election

Locations: Aycock Recreation Complex and Henderson Operation Center

Thursday, October 29, 2020 – 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Friday, October 30, 2020 – 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 31, 2020 – 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

If you are not sure if you are registered to vote, please call the Vance County Board of Elections at (252) 492-3730 to verify your status.

Downtown Henderson Trunk-or-Treat Event Postponed to Nov. 2

October 29, 2020/by WIZS Staff

THIS STORY IS PRESENTED IN PART BY DRAKE DENTISTRY

-Information courtesy Downtown Henderson, NC

Due to weather conditions, the “Downtown Henderson Drive-Thru Trunk-or-Treat” event originally scheduled for today has been postponed to Monday, November 2, 2020, from 4:30 until 6:30 p.m.

This event is sponsored by the Henderson Vance Downtown Development Commission and the Henderson Police Department.

Directions:

From the Henderson Fire Station on Young Street, make a left turn on Court Street, continue across Montgomery Street (treats in the police parking lot), go through the Sally Port (more treats), make a right on Breckenridge Street (even more treats) and, finally, exit on Breckenridge.

Please wear your mask!

Spring St. Missionary Baptist’s Free Soup Kitchen, Clothing Closet Open

October 29, 2020/by WIZS Staff

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-Information courtesy Spring Street Missionary Baptist Church

The Spring Street Missionary Baptist Church Soup Kitchen and Clothing Closet is open every Tuesday and Wednesday from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Free food and clothes are available during these times at 511 Orange Street in Henderson.

Visitors are asked to wear face masks and practice social distancing.

For more information, to volunteer or to make donations, contact Rev. Adrian Davis at (252) 767-1686.

Henderson Man Who Injured Deputies Sentenced to 15+ Years in Federal Prison

October 29, 2020/by WIZS Staff

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-Press Release, U.S. Department of Justice

A Henderson man was sentenced today to 189 months in prison for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Included in this sentence is 24 months in prison for violating the terms of his federal supervised release.

Jasmele Robinson (Photo courtesy Vance Co. Sheriff’s Office)

According to court documents, on September 13, 2019, Jasmele Robinson, 37, fled from deputies of the Vance County Sheriff’s Office when they attempted to serve a search warrant at his residence. Deputies obtained a search warrant after they utilized a confidential informant to purchase heroin from Robinson at his Henderson residence.

When deputies arrived to serve the warrant, Robinson fled the residence in a car. Deputies attempted to block his car with their patrol vehicles and Robinson rammed their cars and drove away before striking a tree. Robinson continued to struggle with deputies after he wrecked his vehicle and threw a bag underneath the wrecked car. When deputies recovered the bag, they found a quantity of heroin.

Upon Robinson’s arrest, he was found with a loaded firearm, which had been stolen from Granville County. Four deputies sustained injuries in the incident, two of them suffering serious injuries, which required hospitalization and surgery. At the time of the incident, Robinson was on federal supervised release following a prior conviction in federal court for felon in possession of a firearm.

Jasmele Robinson (Photo courtesy Vance Co. Sheriff’s Office)

Robert J. Higdon, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), the Henderson Police Department, and the Vance County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Dodson prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the U.S. Department of Justice’s website. Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:19-CR-500-BO.

Early Voting Ends Saturday; Vance Co. Reports Approx. 11,000 Early Votes

October 28, 2020/by WIZS Staff

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-Information courtesy Vance County Board of Elections

According to Vance County Board of Elections Director Faye Gill, 10,986 Vance County residents have participated in early voting as of Monday, October 26. Early voting began October 15 and ends October 31, 2020.

In Vance County, early voting is being held at the Henderson Operation Center (900 S Beckford Dr., Henderson) and Aycock Recreation Complex (307 Carey Chapel Rd., Henderson). There is no early voting at the Board of Elections Office due to COVID restrictions.

You must have “proof of residence;” however, no photo ID is required for this election.

The last regular day to register to vote in the November General Election was Friday, October 9, 2020. If you missed that deadline, you can register and vote at the early voting sites.

REMAINING One-Stop Early Voting Schedule for the November 3, 2020 General Election

Locations: Aycock Recreation Complex and Henderson Operation Center