Vance County Schools to host Opportunity Culture Fair

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Vance County Schools

For Immediate Release

May 26, 2017

Vance County Schools will host an Opportunity Culture Fair on Tuesday, May 30, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the Board Room of the Administrative Services Center to share information about the educational initiative with our school system and to seek multi-classroom leaders, extended impact teachers and reach associates (teacher assistants) from those who teach in grades K-8 now in our schools.

All elementary and middle school teachers and teacher assistants are urged to attend the Opportunity Culture Fair and learn more about this initiative. The event is open to all interested K-8 educators throughout our region.

Those who attend and visit each information table will be entered into a drawing for two teacher baskets.

To provide all students with excellent teaching and to help students close achievement gaps and leap ahead, our district is supporting schools’ efforts to build an Opportunity Culture for teachers and students. Opportunity Culture models enable schools to reach every student with excellent teachers and their teams consistently, while paying teachers more for their extra responsibilities and helping all educators to improve on the job and work collaboratively. All additional pay is funded with the reallocation of existing budgets.

Teams of administrators and teachers at each school choose and tailor their models. School teams that include teachers decide what reallocations to make to fund higher paid roles, how to design school schedules for collaboration at school, but also for helping peers achieve teaching excellence.

More information about this Public Impact program can be found online at OpportunityCulture.org.

News 05/26/17

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Dr. Anthony Jackson named recipient of 2017 Friday Medal

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Vance County Schools

For Immediate Release

May 26, 2017

Dr. Anthony D. Jackson, superintendent of Vance County Schools, is a recipient of the 2017 Friday Medal awarded by the Friday Institute at N.C. State University for Educational Innovation.

Dr. Jackson has been selected to receive the award along with six other superintendents of rural North Carolina public school systems.

The Friday Medal recognizes the commitment of Bill and Ida Friday for educational excellence. Bill Friday was the long-time president of the University of North Carolina system and he and Mrs. Friday continued to be huge supporters of the university system and public education after his retirement from his prestigious state position.

Dr. Jackson and the other superintendents who have been selected as Friday Medal recipients are being honored for their commitment and leadership for technological innovations used daily in public school classrooms. The Friday Medal recognizes individuals for their significant, distinguished and enduring contributions to education through advocating innovation, advancing education and imparting inspiration. The award is given annually to selected individuals who embody the mission and spirit of the Friday Institute.

Dr. Jackson will be officially presented with the 2017 Friday Medal in a ceremony that will take place on November 15, 2017, at the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation in Raleigh.

Henderson Vance DDC To Present Spring Fling

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The Henderson Vance Downtown Development Commission will present Spring Fling 2017 on Saturday, June 3rd. The event will take place on Breckenridge Street in front of the Perry Memorial Library from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.

There will be activities for adults and children. Live Music and Dance are expected to be popular attractions.

Food Vendors and Arts & Crafts Vendors will be on site.

Vendors include: Aviator Craft Brewery, All American Gutters, It’s All About Custom Catering, Keep Collective, Lularoe Products, Tisha’s Tattoos, and others

Admission is free but vendors have their own fee list.

Interested in becoming a vendor? Check out hendersonncdowntown.com.

Matt Nowell named Interim Manager of McGregor Hall

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The McGregor Hall Board of Directors has named Matt Nowell as the interim manager of the performing arts center.  Mr. Nowell, serving as Technical Director since 2015, will assume the position recently vacated by Tommy Deadwyler, who has decided to pursue new projects outside the local area.   Mr. Deadwyler served as executive director of the hall since its opening in October 2015.

“The board is pleased to have someone of Mr. Nowell’s experience step into this leadership role,” said John Wester, chairman of the board of directors. “He has been with us since the beginning, working with the artists Mr. Deadwyler brought to our stage and the organizations that have used the facility.  We wish the best for Mr. Deadwyler in his new endeavors,” Mr. Wester said.

The board of directors is preparing the 2017-2018 season.  “Opening and operating a facility such as McGregor Hall requires many different elements that work together. McGregor Hall has an engaged board of directors and a tremendously loyal group of volunteers and patrons,” Mr. Wester continued. “I have no doubt these committed groups will continue to be important elements that make us successful.”

John Wester
Chairman, McGregor Hall Board of Directors

Southern Vance’s Coach Ackles to hold basketball academy

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The event will be June 19-21 at Southern Vance from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon each day.

Registration will be held from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. on June 19th at Southern Vance.

The cost is $60.00 per child and payment can be in the form of cash or check.

Campers should bring appropriate basketball clothing, a drink, a snack, a winning attitude, and a willingness to learn the game of basketball.

The academy is open to all boys and girls ages 9-17. Campers may not be high school graduates.

 

Joe Sharrow

Southern Vance High School Athletic Director

Youngsville man charged with killing mother at Kerr Lake

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A Youngsville man was charged Wednesday with strangling his mother at the family’s house on Kerr Lake, authorities said.

Vance County deputies were called to 135 Friendly Lane at around 2:15 p.m. for a possible cardiac arrest, but Sheriff Peter White said deputies immediately suspected foul play once they got to the lake house.

Geraldine Oakes, 55, of Youngsville, was dead, and her injuries suggested that she had been strangled, White said.

Oakes and her son, Jarred Robert Oakes, 29, had been cleaning up the property at the time.

Jarred Oakes was charged with murder and was being held in the Vance County jail.

Sheriff White said Oakes has a history of mental illness, and investigators aren’t sure he knows what happened.

(The Vance County Sheriff’s Office and WRAL News contributed to this report)

United Way of Vance County holds unique fundraiser

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Prime parking spaces at some local businesses were graciously donated to the United Way to help with our fundraising efforts for our 3rd Grade Reading Initiative…United We Read, United We Succeed!

Sponsors are:

BB&T

Mast Family Drug Center

Walmart Supercenter (4 parking spaces)

Marketplace Cinema

Skipper Forsyth’s Bar-B-Que

Vance County Schools Admin Services

Chick-fil-A

Passes are $40 each or 2/$60 and are good until 12/31/17.

The passes are available at the United Way office on Dabney Drive.

New passes will be available beginning in January.  If you purchase one now, you can get a discount next year.

Franklin County Finance Team achieves another honor

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Franklin County, NC May 25, 2017: For eighteen years, Franklin County’s Finance Department has been recognized nationally for their excellence in financial reporting. Once again, the team has achieved the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting.

The Finance Department was recently notified by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) that its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report was awarded the Certificate of Achievement.

The Certificate of Achievement is awarded by the GFOA of the United States and Canada for its comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR).

Attainment of the certificate of the achievement represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management.

The CAFR has been judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program including demonstrating a constructive “spirit of full disclosure” to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential users and user groups to read the CAFR.

For additional information, contact Franklin County Finance at (919) 496-3182 or visit www.franklincountync.us. The Finance Office is staffed by Interim Director Chuck Murray, Mattie May, Lisa Medlin, Tracy Stevenson and Samantha Sanchez.

Franklin County Government is committed to effective and innovative public services for all Franklin County citizens and businesses.

Local Elementary Schools kick-off Summer E-Reader Program

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Vance County Schools

For Immediate Release

May 24, 2017

Vance County Schools held a kick-off event this afternoon for its new Summer E-Reader Program for five local elementary schools.

Superintendent Anthony Jackson led the celebratory kickoff which will place 80 new Nook electronic reading devices in the hands of identified students in grades 3-5 at Carver, New Hope, Pinkston Street, Clarke and E.O. Young Jr. elementary schools this summer.

The school system purchased the Nooks, which are capable of downloading a large number of books for students to read, from Barnes & Noble book stores after receiving a $2,000 literacy grant through the Vance County Public School Foundation. The grant funding originated from Duke Energy Progress. The school system provided matching funds for the grant to purchase the devices.

Tanya Evans of Duke Energy Progress, was on hand for the kick-off event, as were Archie Taylor, Jr., president of the Vance County Public School Foundation, and Bob Fleming, secretary of the Vance County Public School Foundation.

The students who are receiving the Nooks and their parents were on hand at the event. Each student was able to “walk the red carpet” to be presented with their device by Clifford the Big Red Dog.

Several educators from the school system joined school administrators in applauding the students as they walked the carpet and received their Nooks for their summer reading.

The Summer E-Reader Program event was coordinated by Jo Tyler, media specialist at Pinkston Street, Diane Averette, media specialist at Carver, and Teresa Baldwin, media specialist at New Hope. They will lead the summer reading efforts at their schools, as will Wendy Short at E.O. Young, and Tonia Davis at Clarke.