Vance County Schools holds 2nd “Honoring Academic Success” Banquet

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Vance County Schools

For Immediate Release

May 12, 2017

Vance County Schools held its second annual “Honoring Academic Success” banquet on Wednesday, May 10, at McGregor Hall in downtown Henderson to honor 48 high school seniors who are the top academic achievers in their respective graduating classes for the 2016-2017 school year.
An audience of approximately 225 people attended the banquet which featured entertainment by local students and a nice meal, catered by Cook Shack of Louisburg.
Kaitlyn Tant, a junior at Southern Vance High School, and Jadyn Jones, a junior at Northern Vance High School, each sang lovely musical selections to honor the high school seniors. They wowed the audience with their impressive musical talents.
Uriah Ford, a 2016 graduate of the Vance County Early College High School, was the featured speaker for the evening. Ford spoke about his experience last year as a member of the honored group at the 2016 “Honoring Academic Success” banquet. He also talked about his first year as a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and urged all of the soon-to-be graduates to enjoy their last few weeks in high school and to look forward to the challenges still facing them.
But, the true stars of the evening were the 48 high school honorees. Each are part of the top 10 percent of academic achievers in their senior classes. They have all proven to be leaders academically and have proven during their four-year high school careers that they value their studies and can be counted on to set high goals and work to achieve them. They were recognized individually and were presented with medallions by Superintendent Anthony Jackson, Vance County Board of Education Chairperson Gloria J. White and Vance County Public School Foundation President Archie Taylor Jr.
Those honored seniors included from the Vance County Early College High School: Christopher Brame, Sierra Hawkins, Kristen Oakes, Janet Rodriguez-Morales and Jacob Weaver. They are joined by, from left, counselor Tannis Jenkins and Principal Debbie Hite.

Seniors honored as top academic achievers at the AdVANCE Academy at Western Vance High School were Danny Lee Hicks Jr., Cindy San Juan, Dawn-Sha’ Smith, Antavious Williams and Robert Wunderlich. They are joined by Principal Stephanie Ayscue, left, and counselor Marsha Harris, right.

Top achievers in the senior class at Southern Vance High School include: Luis Amaya-Villa, Yasmene Clark, Dalton Elliott, Gavin Eutsler, Daniel Faulkner, Kenia Gomez, Kendall Harris, Anna Hernandez, Brandon Lawrence, Antonia Loyd, Carrington Matias, Angelica Montano, Vianey Nonato, Tyler Patrick, Jaslin Renteria, Heidy Reyes, Yarelic Tamayo, Logan Waite and Autumn Wortham. They are joined, from left, by Principal Rey Horner and counselor Carol Simmons.

From Northern Vance High School those seniors honored were Megan Andrews, Jared Bennett, Charlie Chiem, Tamiya Davis, Brooks Falkner, Holly Hilliard, Sarah Howarth, Hannah Mason, Shadi Nagi, Connor Pendergrass, Michelle Pham, Penny Phan, Turner Roberson, Jo’el Royster, Deriana Scott, Bailey Shelton, Imani Simmons, Nathaniel Stevenson and Jeffery Zheng. They are joined by, from left, counselor Jameka Floyd and Principal Andrew Markoch.

Henderson Resident Pleads Guilty to Murder of his Father

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Henderson, NC— A session of Vance County Criminal Superior Trial Court was held during the week of May 8, 2017. The Honorable Michael O’Foghludha, Superior Court Judge, presided over the session.

Willie McAffee, III pleaded guilty to Second Degree Murder and Second Degree Arson in the 2015 death of his father, Willie McAffee, Jr.

Mr. McAffee received an active sentence of 270 to 336 months in the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Division of Adult Correction (DAC). He was also ordered to continue mental health treatment while in custody.

This case was prepared for trial by Assistant District Attorney Onica F. Fuller, and investigated by the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) and Captain Bullock of the Vance County Sheriffs Office under the direction of Sheriff Peter White.

Michael Waters

News 05/12/17

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Thomas C. Church Jr. Boy Scouts Citizen of Year

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— by Susan Rose

Thomas C. (Tom) Church Jr. was awarded the 2017 Citizen of the Year Award through the Awahili District, Occoneechee Council, of the Boy Scouts of America Thursday night at the Henderson Country Club.  The award is named after George Rose Watkins Sr.  Dinner was served and three testimonials followed.

Rev. Donald Lowery, rector of The Church of the Holy Innocents, told about Mr. Church’s dedication and faithful leadership.

Mr. Church has been very active in The Church of the Holy Innocents and in the Henderson-Vance community.  He now serves as chair of the Henderson-Vance County Economic Development Board.

John Akerman, scout executive of the Occoneechee Council, said Mr. Church has created a legacy for saying “yes” to all aspects of scouting.

Cliff Rogers, local businessman and past scout council president, reiterated about Church’s service in the U.S. Air Force, to the church, to the local schools, to the hospital and to the Rotary Club.  Rogers presented the award.

Church thanked the council and all his scout friends.

Church moved to Henderson in 1970.  He has been involved with scouting for many years, beginning as an assistant leader for his son’s Webelos Den.  Other contributions to scouting include: district chair of Awahili District; member of the Occoneechee Council executive board for nearly 40 years; vice president of administration of the council; and chairman of the capital development committee that oversaw the reconstruction and remodeling of Camp Durant and Camp Campbell.

Church presently serves on the audit committee.  He received the District Award of Merit in 1981 and the Silver Beaver award in 2005.

The Occoneechee Council now has 13,000 youth and 6,000 volunteers.

Vance Relay for Life To Proceed Friday 3p-12a at SVHS

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The Relay for Life of Vance County is scheduled to proceed as planned Friday, according to Jon Charest, a community manager with the American Cancer Society.  He said this was a local decision made by the local committee.

Rain will not be an issue.  If there is lightning, that changes things for safety reasons.  WIZS will have the latest.

WIZS 1450 AM and wizs.com, along with updates on facebook.com/wizsradio and twitter.com/wizsradio, will broadcast live from the event.  This year’s RELAY will be from 3:00 p.m. Friday until 12:00 midnight at Southern Vance High School.

The following is straight from the Relay for Life of Vance County Facebook Page and is published with permission:

Just one day till Relay For Life of Vance County! We are still planning on having the event despite the rain.

The weather forecast has changed every time we’ve looked at it so this was a hard decision to make. We are hoping for no thunderstorms because if we have lightning then we need to cancel. So please keep an eye on the weather. Plan to be with us even in the rain. If you see lightning then please either don’t come out or head to your vehicle if you are at the event. We will announce any updates during the event as needed.

If we endure a little rain for Relay For Life that will be a minor concern compared to the struggle our cancer patients are going through and our survivors have been through during their fight against cancer. We encourage you to invite your friends and family to the event. Just ask people to dress accordingly and bring an umbrella.

Teams are welcome to begin to set up at the track today after 5 PM. Setup on Friday can begin anytime after 9 AM. Remember that no vehicles will be allowed on the track after 2:30 PM or depending on the weather.

Two Vance County Schools assistant principals complete FRL

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Vance County Schools

For Immediate Release

May 10, 2017

Nowell Brooks and Alice Hinson, both assistant principals with Vance County Schools, have successfully completed a year-long participation in the Future-Ready Leadership (FRL) development program for practicing assistant principals.

Brooks is an assistant principal at Northern Vance High School and Hinson is the assistant principal at the AdVANCE Academy at Western Vance High School.

Both have been administrators in Vance County Schools for several years. Brooks also has been an assistant principal at Henderson Middle School and E.M. Rollins Elementary School. Hinson was a long-time teacher at Eaton-Johnson Middle School. She also has been an assistant principal at Eaton-Johnson and Northern Vance High School.

The FRL is provided by the N.C. Principals and Assistant Principals’ Association and is aligned to the performance evaluation standards adopted by the State Board of Education for North Carolina’s school leaders. Through this cohort driven model, assistant principals participate in six face-to-face sessions held in Raleigh and engage in assignments, projects and readings designed to build the capacity of their schools and their own capacity as “Future-Ready” school leaders.

 

News 05/11/17

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Economic Development Show 05/10/17

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Eaton-Johnson Names New Principal

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Vance County Schools

For Immediate Release

May 10, 2017

Travis Taylor, who has extensive experience as a high school and middle school principal, has been named the new principal at Eaton-Johnson Middle School.

Taylor was approved as the school’s new principal by the Vance County Board of Education at its meeting on May 8.

He joins Vance County Schools after serving as the principal of Carver High School in Winston-Salem, since 2014.

“We are extremely pleased to have Mr. Taylor join our team,” said Dr. Anthony Jackson, superintendent of Vance County Schools. “We look forward to him providing excellent leadership to the Eaton-Johnson Middle School staff, students and community.”

Taylor’s previous positions as principal have been at Lexington Senior High School in Lexington, the Southern School of Engineering in Durham and East Lee Middle School in Lee County. Taylor also has experience as an assistant principal and science and math teacher with Durham Public Schools.

He was named the Lexington City Schools Principal of the Year in 2013. He also was named the 2012 Principal of the Year by the N.C. Association of Scholastic Activities for increasing student participation in scholastic activities and competitions.

Taylor earned his bachelor’s degree in middle school education from N.C. Central University and his master’s degree in school administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

He will assume his duties as principal at Eaton-Johnson on July 1.

 

News 05/10/17

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