The Local Skinny! Students Learn To Extinguish Fires

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They are everywhere – in office buildings and schools, under kitchen sinks and in so many other places where fires could break out. But just because we see fire extinguishers throughout the course of a day doesn’t mean we know how to use them.

Vance County Schools puts a strong emphasis on providing students with experiences and opportunities and high school students in the Public Safety 2 class recently got some hands-on, live training with extinguishing a fire. Students went through training ahead of the actual lab to learn proper techniques and the use of a fire extinguisher. Each student discharged the fire extinguisher to put out a live, controlled fire, with 100 percent success.

Public Safety is one of the many courses offered through the Career and Technical Education program.

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Two Arrested In Connection With Larceny At Kittrell Dollar General

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Two people have been arrested and charged with larceny in connection with the theft of merchandise from the Dollar General store in Kittrell.

Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame said that Takara Chanel Cozart, 22, of Henderson was arrested Jan. 20 on three counts of larceny by an employe and two counts of aiding and abetting felony larceny.

According to a press statement issued by Brame Thursday, Cozart’s boyfriend, James Darnell Branch, 35, also of Henderson, was charged with one county of misdemeanor larceny and two counts of aiding and abetting felony larceny.

Cozart was released after posting a $10,000 bond.

Branch was released after posting a $7,500 bond.

Brame said the case remains under investigation. Anyone with information regarding the theft of merchandise form the Dollar General, 1297 US-1 Hwy, Kittrell, is urged to contact the Vance County Sheriff’s Office at 252.737.2200.

TownTalk: Maria Parham Recognizes Employees During Leapfrog Event

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People working in hospitals hear the word “contagious” and their minds may go straight to thoughts of how to react to an adverse medical situation.

But during a celebration Wednesday at Maria Parham Hospital, the mood was nothing but positive as staff and other officials took time to honor employees for their hard work and dedication to their jobs and to celebrate receiving an “A” safety rating from Leapfrog, a hospital watchdog agency.

It was Cancer Center Director Kimberly Smith who used the word “contagious” to describe the attitude and positivity of Efia Kearney, who was honored as Employee of the Year.

Kearney works in the Emergency Department, and she is always picking up extra days to help out. “She provides a positive outlook for Maria Parham,” Smith said, reading from some of the comments on the nomination form. “She is our ace-in-the-hole to solve needs,” read another nomination.

Top left frame – Efia Kearney and Kim Smith; Top center – Josh Banks

Smith herself was presented a director award, along with Josh Banks, director of facilities management.

In remarks to the group, both Smith and Banks spoke about the high level of teamwork involved in getting their jobs done each and every day.

Stephanie Allen, director of quality and patient safety, attributes the Leapfrog “A” rating to the same teamwork across the hospital. “It’s something for us to be very proud of,” Allen said during the gathering.

The hospital previously had earned “B” ratings from Leapfrog, and CEO Bert Beard said this is the first “A” rating.

As a community hospital, Maria Parham doesn’t have the size or resources that other, larger facilities enjoy, but it “can still be excellent and give quality of care,” Beard said.

Eight out of 70 Lifepoint facilities earned an A rating from Leapfrog, Beard noted. Just over 1 in 4 of the 2200 hospitals rated by Leapfrog received an A rating.

“Once you set the bar this high, you want to keep it there,” said Allen.

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Vance Charter School Lottery 23-24

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Applications to enter the Vance Charter School lottery for 2023-24 are being accepted through Feb. 28, according to information from the school’s board of directors.

The application can be found at www.vancecharter.org, said board member John Sossamon. The website also has a link to a list of questions and answers regarding the lottery process, among those being that no paper applications will be available; applications will be completed online.

The lottery will be held at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Mar. 4.

Parent information sessions will be held at Vance Charter School on Jan. 31 and Feb. 16 at 6 p.m. The school is located on 2090 Ross Mill Rd.

TownTalk: Wayne Goodwin Talks About NC DMV

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Granville County has been without a license plate agency for a few months now, but DMV Commissioner Wayne Goodwin says the process is underway to have an office open again soon.

Goodwin spoke with John C. Rose Wednesday morning on TownTalk and provided an update on this and other topics, from the Real ID program and DMV kiosks to the increased use of electric vehicles in the state.

The DMV office where folks get their driver’s licenses are state agencies, staffed with state employees, Goodwin explained. But the license plate agencies – LPAs – are operated by private contractors with state oversight.

“Occasionally, we’ll have a license plate agency close,” he said, usually because the contract is up and isn’t renewed for one reason or another.

Goodwin said the state has received applications and in currently in the process of choosing a new contractor.

Conducting business online is a popular way to avoid the wait times and sometimes long lines for anyone who needs to transact their business in person. Visit www.myncdmv.gov to renew driver licenses, renew plates and more.

But Goodwin said North Carolina is exploring placing service kiosks that can be accessed any time of the day for those who don’t want to use the online services.

“We’ve decided to do what a few other states are doing,” Goodwin said, in exploring the use of kiosks – standup machines that can provide certain DMV services to the public.

“Be on the lookout for that,” he said, adding that about 20 will be rolled out in grocery stores and other public locations in the near future to test the public’s interest in using them.

Smartphones are figuring into the world of DMV, too.

Some states are implementing mobile driver licenses as a way to cut down on identity theft. North Carolina is exploring that idea, too, he said.

As for the Real ID, Goodwin said “folks on the federal level decided it’d be best that the deadline be pushed back two years…which gives folks more time to become compliant.”

It’s an idea that came about as a result of the 911 attacks, but it is not a requirement.

A gold star in the upper right corner of the driver license certifies that the person has provided the necessary documents that verify identification.

Summit ways to better prepare ourselves for the future.

As for the increased use of electric vehicles in the state, Goodwin said it really boils down to two things: customer demand and what the automobile industry decides to provide consumers.

More EVs means more charging stations as well, and Goodwin said he would anticipate more charging stations popping up.

 

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Perry Memorial Library

The Local Skinny! Youth Programs Happening Perry Memorial Library

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Chocolate fondue. Sewing on a button. Legos.

Not necessarily what you’d associate with a library.

But Melody Peters, youth services director at Perry Memorial Library says all these things – and more – are available for library patrons.

From Mother Goose Story Time on Thursday mornings to Life Hacks sessions, Peters said the library offers something for everyone.

“We use every square inch” of the library, she said. “It’s wonderful.”

The Legos club meets on Thursdays at 4:30 p.m. The Survival Skills class helps participants with things like sewing on a button.

Take the recent Survival Skills session that focused on sewing on a button. One participant took the new-found knowledge and said she was going to go home and sew the hole in her bunny. And not only that, she’d be able to sew the hole in her blanket and even the hole in her mom’s coat. Now that’s a survival skill, taken to the next level.

The library has its own spaces to hold classes like the Survival Skills class, but the adjacent Farm Bureau Room also is a space that community groups can reserve.

“It is certainly a gift to have a room accessible to the community for different programs,” Peters said.  “It’s amazing,” Peters said, of the community space.

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VGCC Logo

TownTalk: Upcoming Events At VGCC

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All campuses of Vance-Granville Community College will stay open late on Tuesday, Feb. 7 to accommodate students – current and prospective – who may need help or guidance from staff about planning their next steps with coursework.

Sherri Alston, director of admissions and enrollment services, told John C. Rose on Tuesday’s TownTalk that the day is designed to help students get help learning what their next steps are – whether it’s speaking with an advisor, beginning the registration process or participating in a new student orientation.

VGCC Public Information Officer Courtney Cissell said the new orientation classes will be offered that day on the Main Campus at 10 a.m. and again at 5:30 p.m.

Students would participate in orientation sessions after completing the registration process, Alston reminded, which means students should have a letter of acceptance in hand before attending the orientation.

Students these days have the chance to sign up for course offerings that are completed in just 8 weeks. The second 8-week course begins on Mar. 13, Alston said.

“Students are having a good time doing the classes in a quicker time span,” Alston noted, adding that students often have to juggle work, home, families and children’s activities on top of attending classes. The shorter 8-week time frame is a faster pace, but it also means a student may be able to complete a program more quickly.

No matter the type of program students are interested in pursuing, a good first step is consulting with VGCC staff.

“Call us, let’s talk about your goals…what’s driving you,” Alston said. “We want to steer you in the right direction.”

Visit www.vgcc.edu to learn more. Call the office of admissions and enrollment services at 252.738.3327.

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