4 Confirmed Tornado Touchdowns in Vance County

Director of Emergency Management for Henderson and Vance County told WIZS News, “We have at least four confirmed tornado touchdowns in Vance County.”

He said he thought it was all from the same tornado. “The weather service will have to confirm that from doppler imaging. They are also technically going to have to confirm that it’s tornadic damage, but I’ve seen enough to know that it is.”

Short said the weather service would be coming in tomorrow or the next day to make that determination.

There are no known deaths or injuries to report in Vance County.

Short said the four touchdowns caused significant damage. He said there were a few isolated power outages “in the Hicksboro, Williamsboro area, which is where most of the damage is.”

There are no roads closed at this time. Emergency crews cleared several downed trees really quickly, according to Short.

Based on our own observations at WIZS, these tornado touchdowns north of Henderson would have occurred right around 5:00 P.M. Wednesday. Additionally, there is an amateur video clip that has been shown several times on WTVD-TV that is supposedly of a tornado just north of Henderson, and if so, this would be in line with what Short is reporting. This stems from the first of three tornado warnings issued for Vance County on Wednesday.

The second and third tornado warnings for Vance County involved mostly areas south and east of the City of Henderson, down towards Bearpond, Kittrell and east towards Cokesbury. When asked if anything materialized from the warnings for the southern part of Vance County, Short said, “Not that I know of, but we had multiple people going in multiple directions, and I have not talked to all of them yet.”

In neighboring Granville County, near Huntsboro, which is not far from the Henderson-Oxford Airport, multiple structures were damaged.  One house was completely destroyed, while adjacent houses received heavy damage.  A local dairy farmer sustained heavy property damage, including two silos as well as equipment and other structure damage.  WIZS News spoke directly with a person on the scene in Huntsboro.  He reported the dairy farmer had not lost any of his cows and that he was observing the aftermath of the storm firsthand while speaking with us.

Town Talk 02/24/16

Home and Garden Show 02/23/16

News 02/24/16

Severe Weather Threat

Tornado Watch in effect until 7 P.M. link

Area Schools Dismissing Early.  Most in the Henderson-Vance and Granville area dismissing at 11:30 A.M.  (See WIZS Facebook Page)

National Weather Service link

NWSRaleighLatestBriefing (022416 morning) — as supplied by Brian Short, Director of Emergency Operations for Henderson and Vance County

News 02/23/16

Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland 02/23/16

Town Talk 02/23/16

VGCC Child Care Center awarded Five Stars

 

The state of North Carolina has once again awarded a five-star license — the highest possible rating — to the Child Care Center at Vance-Granville Community College’s Main Campus.

State evaluations of child care programs are conducted once every three years, explained Bridget Perry, the manager of the VGCC center. “On a scale of one to 15 points, our program received 13 total points, earning the renewal of our five-star status,” Perry said. “The five-star rating shows our parents and children how dedicated we are to providing quality care, facilitating positive learning, and maintaining a healthy and safe environment on a daily basis.”

Since the North Carolina Division of Child Development and Early Education began the current system of rating child care centers in 2000, the center on VGCC’s Main Campus has earned the five-star rating in six consecutive evaluations (2001, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2016). VGCC also maintains a five-star-rated child care center on its Franklin County Campus.

As part of the evaluation process, the Main Campus Child Care Center was visited by fire and sanitarian inspectors, a state licensing consultant and two state-appointed evaluators. They rated the center in two categories – staff education and program standards. The center received a perfect score of seven points in the area of staff education, five points for program standards, and a bonus point because all of its teachers have associate’s degrees in early childhood education.

“The strengths of our child care center are the level of commitment the teachers demonstrate every day, the support from Vance-Granville Community College faculty and staff, and the support from the community, students and the families we serve,” Perry said. She also had high praise for the center’s staff. “The dedication of Hilda Cordell, Pam Harris, Kathy Hughes, Deborah Harris, Rhonda Pegram and Lizzie Nelms made our success possible,” Perry said. “They all are eager to come here every day and be the best! They are awesome, and I am blessed to have such an amazing group of teachers. I am grateful I was chosen one year ago to become a part of this family.”

Perry pointed out that not only does the center provide outstanding child care, but it also affords an excellent environment for students in Vance-Granville’s Early Childhood Education program to gain practical training. The VGCC Child Care Center is licensed to accommodate 38 children, toddler to four years old. For more information, parents can call Bridget Perry at (252) 738-3220.

–VGCC–

Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland 02/22/16