Tobacco Trust Fund Grant Cycle Open Now

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The North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission is accepting applications for the 2023 grant cycle. The key objectives for 2023 are supporting the agricultural industry, impacting rural communities and stimulating economic development. Funds will be awarded in the fall of 2023 for selected innovative projects, according to Jeff Camden NCTTFC program officer.

“North Carolinians are great at innovation and creating jobs. We produce outstanding agriculture products and market them to the world. Providing funds for projects in current or former tobacco-dependent regions that enhance these efforts is our 2023 priorities,” said William H. “Bill” Teague, NCTTFC chairman. Applications will be accepted online for innovative projects within North Carolina. Selected projects should expect to start in November of 2023.

 

The NCTTFC was established in 2000 by the N.C. General Assembly to help members of the tobacco community including farmers, tobacco workers and related businesses. Its original funding was established through tobacco industry annual payments as a result of the Master Settlement Agreement. Funding is now appropriated to the NCTTFC which then reviews, selects and disperses the funds to grant projects.

 

Past NCTTFC projects includes fair and farmers market improvements, cost-share grant programs for farmers, commodity marketing, researching alternative crops and support of agricultural education programs.

Qualifying organizations can access the online application here: www.tobaccotrustfund.org.

For more information, contact Jeff Camden at 919.733.2160 Ext 1. The deadline to submit application is Friday March 3, 2023.

VGCC To Host Panel Discussion As Part of MLK Observance

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Join the Vance-Granville Community College Men’s Achievement Academy for a panel discussion to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Tuesday, Jan.  24 at 6 p.m. at the Main Campus Civic Center in Henderson.

The event is presented in partnership with Vance-Granville’s Initiative on Equity for Women of Color (VIEW), according to information from VGCC public information officer Courtney Cissel.

The panelists for this celebration include:

  • Deanna Townsend-Smith, Ed.D., Senior Director of the Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity & Opportunity
  • Warren Allen, VGCC Student
  • Gwen Clayton, VGCC Student
  • Marque Debnam, VGCC Paralegal Program Head
  • Leslie Hurt, Moderator, VGCC Sociology Instructor

In addition to the panel discussion, there will also be opportunities for audience participation.

There is no cost to attend the event, and all are welcome! Register at www.eventbrite.com/e/vance-granville-mlk-celebration-2023-tickets 504827722307.

For more information about this event, contact the following planning committee members:

  • Marque Debnam (debnamm@vgcc.edu)
  • Jason Snelling (snellingj@vgcc.edu)
  • Delton Farmer (farmerd@vgcc.edu)
  • Derrick Cameron (camerond@vgcc.edu)
  • Leslie Hurt (hurtl@vgcc.edu)

For more information about the Men’s Achievement Academy and VIEW, visit the Clubs & Organizations page at www.vgcc.edu

TownTalk: Classes Help Seniors Navigate Technology And The Internet

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By all accounts, Edy Thompson says, the class designed for senior adults who want to learn more about how to use technology is a success.

From reading the evaluations from those who attended the first class, everyone thinks it’s an “excellent idea,” Thompson told John C. Rose. “And they’re coming back.”

Completing an evaluation is a small price to pay – the only price, actually. The class is free for senior adults and is the result of a partnership with AARP and Rebuild Communities. Thompson is the executive director of Rebuild Communities.

“I just think it’s an excellent, excellent program,” Thompson said. The facilitators had to get trained to teach the class, which will continue on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 12:30. Up to 10 participants come to learn more about how to use the technology that is all around us, from smartphones, laptops and iPads to Zoom calls and online troubleshooting chat sessions.

Thompson said older adults have to work at not becoming obsolete. “We know it but we don’t want to address it,” she said.

People are reluctant to show that they don’t know something, but this class provides information in a non-threatening way that folks enjoy.

“It’s wonderful to see seniors getting together and having fun and learning something useful,” she said.

Want to join in the fun? 252.915.1663 or send an email to info@rebuildcommunitiesnc.org.

 

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US Attorney’s Office Gets Guns Off the Streets In 2022

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-information courtesy of the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of North Carolina

The U.S. Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of North Carolina has announced that, as a result of litigation efforts during 2022, at least 280 illegally owned, possessed, used or obtained firearms were forfeited.

“Getting illegal guns out of the hands of the most dangerous felons helps make our communities safer,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “I am proud of the strong partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement to get these guns off the street, so they are not used to commit future crimes.”

Firearms that are criminally forfeited are removed from the possession of a convicted criminal defendant and relinquished to the government for disposal, including potentially the return of the firearm to a rightful owner, the press release stated.

Since the start of 2022, EDNC charged about 278 defendants with federal firearms offenses, including “possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, possession of a firearm as a convicted felon, and straw purchasing of a firearm.”

These prosecutions are a result of close cooperation between prosecutors and partners at federal and local law enforcement agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security Investigations. EDNC also partners with the State Bureau of Investigation, North Carolina State Highway Patrol, North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement, and local police and sheriffs across the district, which includes Vance, Granville, Warren and Franklin counties.

EDNC’s efforts to seize and forfeit illegal firearms in 2022 was the result of multiple investigative and prosecutorial efforts, including the Project Safe Neighborhood and the Violent Crime Action Plan initiative, which are collaborative efforts with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, working with the community, to identify and address the most significant drivers of violent crime, and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces whose purpose is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, which are primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.

“ATF’s top priority is preventing firearms from falling into the wrong hands,” stated Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Special Agent in Charge Bennie Mims. “That effort is strongly supported by our local and state law enforcement partners and our federal prosecutors. Through our collaborative efforts, we’re working hard to prevent illegal purchases, firearms trafficking and firearms thefts. Keeping firearms out of the hands of prohibited individuals is key to building and maintaining safer communities.”

“Every day, the FBI works tirelessly with law enforcement partners across North Carolina to combat violent crime. Seizing guns from convicted felons is one step closer to making our communities safer,” said Michael C. Scherck, the FBI’s acting special agent in charge in Charlotte.

“DEA and its law enforcement partners want to send a stern warning that the distribution of dangerous drugs in association with gun violence presents a clear and present danger to the community,” said Robert J. Murphy, DEA’s special agent in charge in the Atlanta field division. “This dangerous lifestyle has led many to face serious prison time as a consequence.”

“Finding and confiscating illegal weapons from dangerous criminals not only protects our communities, but it also protects the law enforcement community as we do our jobs,” said Ronnie Martinez, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Charlotte that covers North and South Carolina. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect our communities.”

TownTalk: Reflections On Dr. Martin Luther King

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Monday’s TownTalk segment includes reflections from area pastors in observance of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. Please listen back to hear these reflections in their entirety.

 

The Rev. Joseph Ratliff, pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church, said he views the MLK holiday “not simply about a single man, but…the struggle of Black people for generations. Today, Ratliff said, Black Americans can vote, get elected and sit anywhere they choose on public transportation – “things our grandparents and great-grandparents only dreamt of.”

Because of the continued support from so many, Ratliff said, “we now have a brighter day – there are all kinds of opportunities in front of us.”

He called King the dreamer of the dream that Blacks would no longer be considered second-class citizens, a vision that provided hope to an entire nation.

“Our action – or inaction – determines our future,” Ratliff said. “Dream with me – we can make a difference. Be the somebody that Christ has made you.”

The pastor of Clearview Church, Dr. Abidan Shah, arrived in the U.S. as a teenager and quickly realized that “every citizen had the opportunity to achieve, through hard work, determination and initiative.”

He called King one of the most influential Christians in history, and laid down the challenge to revisit King’s vision of equality for all – that vision that says people should not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the strength of their character.

 

Dr. Ron Cava, senior minister at First Baptist Church, said he is a little too young to have first-hand knowledge about King and his ministry, but said what he has learned about King confirms the idea that he was not only a prophet but a great preacher.

King’s ministry, like the Gospels in the Bible, charge believers to love our neighbors as ourselves, Cava explained, “regardless of race or gender or a multitude of factors that divide us.”

The time is now “to let freedom ring and… justice roll down like a mighty torrent,” Cava said.

 

Elder Gloria Ragland delivers the “Walking in the Word” program on WIZS on Sunday mornings said if King were alive today, she believes he’d look approvingly on accomplishments, “but we still haven’t gone far enough yet – my dream is bigger than this (because) we still have racism, hate and discrimination.”

“I believe he would also say ‘God is love,’” she added.

“We have come a mighty long way,” Ragland said. “It’s time for us to love one another, show respect for one another,” she said.

We are all part of God’s creation, Ragland said. “We should be able to get along, to work together…it shouldn’t be about differences, but we are one with God.”

She said she believes that God wants all of his children to get along and to prosper.
“You can’t make it to heaven with hate” in your heart, she said.

 

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Sossamon Sworn In As Dist. 32 Rep In N.C. House

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Frank Sossamon was sworn in last week as the new legislator representing Vance and Granville counties in the N.C. House before an audience of supporters in the lobby of McGregor Hall.

The Hon. John Dunlow administered the oath of office following remarks from county officials representing the local county commissions and chairmen of the Republican party.

Sossamon defeated incumbent Terry Garrison in the November mid-term elections. He had an official swearing-in on Wednesday in Raleigh.

In comments during the ceremony in Henderson earlier in the week, Sossamon recounted how he reached the decision to put throw his hat into the proverbial ring.

“The Lord used my own words against me,” Sossamon quipped, explaining that he told his church members to “be that somebody” to make change.

“I became that somebody,” Sossamon said. “I’m in it to serve the people.”

The retired pastor of South Henderson Pentecostal Church, Sossamon said he is going to have to “work hard and work fast and work smart” to get things done in Raleigh in his two-year term.

“Under my watch, I want us to be able to say that District 32 is one of the most prosperous districts” in the state; he said it currently ranks among the poorest districts.

He wants to focus on community development in both counties, which he said would have the side effects of decreasing crime, increasing educational opportunities and give young people hope.

“If we want company to come, we’ve got to clean up our house,” he said.

In an interview with WIZS News following the swearing-in, Sossamon said he looks forward to serving the people in District 32 to get some things done, and he said he will challenge the citizens he represents to join him in the effort.

$25,000 Reward Offered For Information About 2018 Homicide

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A $25,000 reward is being offered by the state of North Carolina for information about an almost five-year-old unsolved murder in Vance County.

Gov. Roy Cooper’s office made the announcement Thursday in connection with the death of 22-year-old De’Cedric Tyquon Alston.

In the late evening hours of Feb. 22, 2018, Alston was shot multiple times while driving his vehicle near the 1100 block of Warrenton Road in Henderson. He was transported to the hospital and later died from his injuries.

Anyone having information concerning this case should contact the Vance County Sheriff’s Office at 252.738.2200, Henderson-Vance Crime Stoppers at 252.492.1925 or the State Bureau of Investigation at 919.662.4500.

SportsTalk: Mike Joyner on KVA Athletics

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As an athletic director Mike Joyner of Kerr Vance Academy stays busy overseeing all of the sports his school provides to students. In addition to that there are tournaments that also are part of the school’s athletics.  Over the recent holiday period KVA hosted a basketball tournament with Oak Forest winning the men’s’ championship and Brunswick Academy in Virginia taking the girls’ title. “We hoped we could have done a little better,” Joyner says of KVA. “We are very young. We start a lot of 9th and 10th graders,” Joyner added.  The boys’ team did win this week over Wake Prep while the girls lost.

Joyner says it’s great to have a team like Wake Prep to play since they are close by in Youngsville.  The KVA conference schedule requires longer trips to Rocky Mount and to Greenville, and Kerr Vance is just about to start the bulk of its conference play. The travel means kids miss some classes which can be difficult on students and teachers.

In addition to basketball, Joyner says the school’s swim team has an upcoming meet next week and will soon be hosting travel volleyball tournaments bringing in some extra cash for the school and exciting games.

Additionally, KVA is gearing up to celebrate the 2003 State Baseball Championship team.  “We are looking to hold an alumni game between the 2003 team and the current team,” Joyner said. No details for that have been set but should be forthcoming soon.

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