— submitted by Esther J. McCrackin, City Clerk
The Henderson City Council’s Public Works Committee will meet on Tuesday, April 3, 2018, to discuss a possible stormwater ordinance and fee initiative, as well as budget discussions related to Public Works. This meeting will take place at 10:30 a.m. in the Large Conference Room at City Hall, 134 Rose Avenue.
The public is welcome.
— courtesy VGCC
VGCC Phi Theta Kappa chapter President Brenda Ellis of Durham (left) accepts an award for service on behalf of the chapter from Seth June, the outgoing Carolinas Region vice-president for South Carolina, during the convention in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
The Vance-Granville Community College Alpha Sigma Chi chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society recently brought home several awards from a regional gathering.
Attending the Phi Theta Kappa Carolinas Regional Convention in Myrtle Beach, S.C., March 9-11, were VGCC chapter President Brenda Ellis of Durham, chapter Vice President of Leadership Pamela Campbell of Littleton and chapter advisor Maureen Walters, who teaches English at the college. The Carolinas Region includes 84 Phi Theta Kappa chapters at two-year colleges in North Carolina and South Carolina. Students and advisors at the convention enjoyed a variety of educational seminars, guest speakers, social activities, elections of regional officers and award presentations.
Tiffiny Wolf (left), outgoing secretary for the Carolinas Region of Phi Theta Kappa, presents an award recognizing VGCC’s chapter with “three stars” to chapter Vice President Pamela Campbell of Littleton, during the convention in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
VGCC received three awards of excellence. The chapter was presented with the Carolinas Region service project award for outstanding participation in a “Carolinas Read to Succeed” project, which in VGCC’s case was an effort to collect school supplies and books for children in grades K-12 who are affected by domestic violence.
VGCC was further recognized as a “three-star” level chapter for its community service, the involvement of its members and its efforts at leadership development. Alpha Sigma Chi was one of only two three-star chapters recognized this year in the Carolinas.
Finally, chapter advisor Maureen Walters received the “Horizon Award” for her work in developing the chapter and demonstrating dedication to the mission of Phi Theta Kappa. “Not only did we have a great time at the convention, but we also put VGCC on the map for Phi Theta Kappa,” Walters said, regarding the three honors.
VGCC Phi Theta Kappa chapter advisor Maureen Walters (left) accepts the “Horizon Award” from Ricky Swing, outgoing president for the Carolinas Region, during the convention in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Phi Theta Kappa is the international honor society for students of two-year colleges. VGCC students honored with induction into PTK must have a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.5 in associate degree curriculum programs and have completed at least 12 credit hours toward their degrees. Since VGCC’s chapter of PTK was chartered in 1991, more than 1,900 students have joined. For more information, contact Maureen Walters at 252-738-3406 or waltersm@vgcc.edu.
–VGCC–
Be sure to listen to WIZS at 11 a.m. for Town Talk on Tuesday, April 3 as our guest Melanie Griggs will be live on the show with important information about Guardian Ad Litem in the four county area.
The following information was distributed by the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce.
What: Film Screening and Discussion
When: Friday, April 6, 2018, 1:45 p.m. until 4 p.m. – film starts at 2 p.m.
Where: Farm Bureau Room, Leslie Perry Library, Henderson, NC
RSVP: Melanie Griggs, (252) 430-5121 or melanie.h.griggs@nccourts.org by March 30, 2018
The child may not remember, but the body remembers. Researchers have recently discovered a dangerous biological syndrome caused by abuse and neglect during childhood. As the new documentary Resilience reveals, toxic stress can trigger hormones that wreak havoc on the brains and bodies of children, putting them at a greater risk for disease, homelessness, prison time, and early death. While the broader impacts of poverty worsen the risk, no segment of society is immune. Resilience, however, also chronicles the dawn of a movement that is determined to fight back. Trailblazers in pediatrics, education, and social welfare are using cutting-edge science and field-tested therapies to protect children from the insidious effects of toxic stress—and the dark legacy of a childhood that no child would choose.
— courtesy VGCC
VGCC Hosting CCP Information Sessions for High School Students and Parents
Vance-Granville Community College has scheduled a series of sessions offering information for high school students and their parents on the “Career & College Promise” (CCP) program. CCP allows eligible students to earn college credits towards a college degree, diploma or certificate while still in high school, without having to pay college tuition.
Attendees will learn about the requirements of the program and the steps to apply for admission in CCP. This information will help students prepare to enroll and register for classes in the upcoming Summer Term and Fall Semester at Vance-Granville.
These information sessions will be held from 6 to 7 p.m. on these dates: Tuesday, April 10, at the Main Campus near Henderson (Building 8, Conference Room); Thursday, April 12, at South Campus between Butner and Creedmoor (Room G1131); Tuesday, April 17 at Warren County Campus in Warrenton (Building 4, Room W4103); and Thursday, April 19, at Franklin Campus, just outside Louisburg (Multipurpose Room, F4101).
VGCC’s Career & College Promise pathways lead to students acquiring entry-level job skills and/or credits that transfer to four-year universities. Students who select the College Transfer (CT) option will take general education courses that transfer seamlessly to any of the 16 public universities in the University of North Carolina system or participating private colleges or universities. VGCC currently offers two CT Pathways with a prescribed set of courses: the Associate in Arts and the Associate in Science.
VGCC’s Career & Technical Education (CTE) Pathways allow students to potentially earn certificates in more than 20 areas, including: Administrative Assistant, Heating & Air, Bioprocess, Business Management, Carpentry, Cosmetology, Criminal Justice, Culinary Arts, Early Childhood, Electronics Engineering, Information Technology, Medical Office Administration, Paralegal, Robotics, and Simulation & Game Development; and diplomas in Carpentry, Electrical Systems, Information Technology, Paralegal and Welding.
Students and parents from anywhere in the four-county service area are invited to attend the Career & College Promise meeting of their choice and are not limited to attending the campus in their county.
For more information, contact Reba Bullock at (252) 738-3525 or bullockr@vgcc.edu. The CCP contacts for each county are:
· Vance County: Evangeline Mitchell, mitchell@vgcc.edu or 252-738-3289;
· Granville: Reba Bullock, bullockr@vgcc.edu or 252-738-3525;
· Franklin: Evelyn Hall, halle@vgcc.edu or 252-738-3611; and
· Warren: Faye Goode, goodef@vgcc.edu or 252-738-3594.
More information on the CCP program, including a Pathway Guide, is available at www.vgcc.edu/HighSchoolStudents/index.
– VGCC –
— submitted by Felicia C. Gregory, Interim CEO F-V-W
The Franklin-Vance-Warren Opportunity, Inc., Head Start is accepting children for the 2018-2019 Program Year for Franklin, Vance, Warren and Granville Counties. Children must be 3 years of age as of August 31, 2018. Parents of children with mental, physical or emotional impairments are encouraged to apply. The program will make special provisions to serve children with special needs. These provisions include, but are not limited to, adaptive equipment and transportation. For more information, please contact: Beth Darnell at (252) 492-4196.
By: Kelly Bondurant, Freelance Writer/Editor for Hire
The Vance County Board of Education’s recent approval of the school system’s proposed consolidation plan will result in the combining of Eaton-Johnson and Henderson middle schools and Northern Vance and Southern Vance high schools for the upcoming 2018-2019 school year.
The consolidated middle schools will be housed in the current Northern Vance High School building, while the consolidated high schools will be housed in the current Southern Vance High School facility.
In the planning stages of the consolidation proposal, school system administrators initially discussed a completion date of 2018-2019 for the middle school consolidation, with the high school consolidation to follow in 2019-2020.
According to Terri Hedrick, public information officer for Vance County Schools, feedback from the public at the multiple community meetings held over the last three months indicated the majority of participants favored consolidating the schools all at once and as soon as possible.
When the consolidated schools open their doors this August for the new school year, the middle school is expected to have approximately 840 students, while the high school’s population will be close to 1,350.
As for the names of the consolidated schools, Hedrick says the school system will seek student and community input. “With extensive input from students, parents and school staff members, consideration to the names, mascots and school colors of the new middle school and the new high school will be decided over the coming weeks,” said Hedrick. “We especially will seek the opinions of the current middle and high school students.”
The North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) has recently ruled that the consolidated high school will remain in the Northern Carolina 1A/2A Conference and compete at the 2A level for the 2018-2019 school year. The school will be considered for placement in a conference of the classification in which its enrollment applies for the 2019-2020 school year and beyond at the NCHSAA Board of Directors meeting in December. The most likely scenario for the 2019-2020 school year will see the new consolidated high school competing at the 3A level as a member of the Big East 3A.
Future use of the vacated middle school buildings will be discussed by Vance County Board of Education members, with information provided by school system administrative officials. According to Hedrick, by state law, the board of education must first decide if it has any use for the buildings. If the board decides it does not have a use for the property, then the buildings will be offered to Vance County officials. If Vance County officials have no use for the buildings, they will revert back to the board of education, which can then make the decision to sell the property.
One area that is expected to remain fairly unchanged after the consolidation is school bus transportation. “The bus routes should have minimal changes. We anticipate keeping the same number of buses. Our buses already cover each half of the county for the middle and high schools [students share buses]. This isn’t likely to change,” Hedrick said.
The school system also anticipates that very few currently occupied jobs will be eliminated due to the consolidations. “As we reported in our public meetings about the consolidation proposal, we expect that no more than 20 jobs will be eliminated,” said Hedrick. “Many of these are already vacant positions, especially for teaching positions. We have staff turnover each school year and we expect that again this year.”
Dr. Anthony Jackson, superintendent of Vance County Schools, will provide a detailed consolidation implementation plan to the board at its April meeting. The consolidation planning process is being led by Dr. Jackson and senior staff administrators for the school system. Current principals and other administrators of the affected middle and high schools are also directly involved in the planning process.
The next Vance County Board of Education meeting will be held on Monday, April 16, 2018, at 7 p.m. in the Board Room of the Administrative Services Center at 1724 Graham Avenue in Henderson.
A significant portion of Beckford Drive is being “milled and filled” according to one of the Department of Transportation workers on site. He told WIZS News the work would continue for about a week unless there were weather related issues.
If you use Beckford Drive as a cut through from Andrews Avenue to Dabney Drive, or to access Roanoke Avenue or Radio Lane from either direction, you should allow extra time or consider an alternate route through midweek next week on or about April 4th or April 5th.
Workers are not present all the time, but, when they are, there can be delays, flagmen and restrictions that allow cars to go only in one direction at the time. So far, work has been confined to normal working hours during the week.
The road construction extends from the F-V-W Opportunity driveway to just east of Parkview Drive where you enter the Vance County Regional Farmers Market.
This has nothing to do with the recent talks about widening Beckford Drive.
— courtesy United States Department of Justice
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WEDNESDAY – March 28, 2018
RALEIGH – The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Robert J. Higdon, Jr., announces the detention of a defendant after his arrest on a federal firearms charge.
An indictment was returned by a federal grand jury on March 15, 2018, against ODELL OVERBY, of Henderson. The indictment charges the defendant with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon on December 17, 2017.
OVERBY was arrested December 17, 2017, by the Granville County Sheriff’s Office.
The charge and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
The investigation of this case was conducted by the Granville County Sheriff’s Office and by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
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