News 02/06/20
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Sheriff’s Office Investigating Kittrell Shell Station Armed Robbery
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-Press Release and photos, Vance County Sheriff’s Office
On Saturday, February 1, 2020, at 10:32 p.m., the Vance County Sheriff’s Office responded to 1243 U.S. Highway 1 South in reference to an armed robbery. The victim in this matter described the suspect as wearing dark-colored clothing with his face covered.
The Vance County Sheriff’s Office is seeking information regarding this incident. Anyone with information please contact the Vance County Sheriff’s Office at 252-738-2200. This investigation is continuing.
WIZS Note: A search of the address indicates this is the Shell gas station in Kittrell, NC.
McGregor Hall Funding, County Budget Topics of Commissioners’ Meeting
THIS STORY IS PRESENTED IN PART BY DRAKE DENTISTRY
Vance County Manager Jordan McMillen provided WIZS with the following summary of the Vance County Board of Commissioners’ meeting held Monday, February 3, 2020:
McGregor Hall Funding Request: The committee discussed a funding request McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center recently made to both the City and County. The county manager provided a review of a recent economic impact study indicating McGregor Hall has an estimated annual economic impact of 2.34 million in additional restaurant, hotel and other spending within the City and County.
Mark Hopper, from McGregor Hall, was present and provided an overview of the performing arts center operations as well as their outstanding debt which is a $124,000 annual debt payment ($2.9 million over 40 years). This is preventing them from growing and providing a higher level of programming.
He noted that a higher level of programming has a cost between $25,000 and $30,000 per show and is unsustainable with McGregor’s desire to keep ticket prices below $35 for the local citizens. He also noted that ticket sales alone are not the primary revenue generator of any theatre and that the most successful performing arts center in the United States (Durham Performing Arts Center – DPAC) also receives local government funding.
In addition to this, he mentioned a recent review of similar facilities in North Carolina which indicated that McGregor Hall was the only one without local government support. The committee members discussed whether other grants, organizations, or endowments could be helpful in supporting McGregor Hall in the future.
The city and county members discussed the need to review McGregor Hall’s audit, and was agreeable to considering a specific request from McGregor during budget deliberations, but made no commitments (City or County) on any funding for McGregor Hall at this time.
Downtown Wi-Fi: The City members seemed receptive to the idea of contributing to this effort. This was the shortest item discussed during the committee meeting and we anticipate the city folks will get back to us on what, if anything, they can contribute. Our board believes free downtown Wi-Fi is needed, and they would like both city and county working together on this.
Audit: The audit went well – no material weakness findings and the financials are in order. We did dip into our general fund balance to the tune of $2.2 million last year, but $1.7 of that was the purchase of land for economic development which was anticipated.
Even with this, our unassigned fund balance was just over 28% at the end of June 2019 and our target is to stay above 25%. We need to be careful from a budgeting standpoint going forward because revenue growth has been very minimal compared to the funding requests and needs that we see each year.
Although we go into each budget looking to keep the tax rate the same, there were some items added last year that could have necessitated a tax increase. That will make this upcoming year’s budget more challenging without a tax increase – but we will get into those numbers soon. We will discuss the upcoming budget in more depth at our Planning Retreat on Monday.
Litter Cleanup: We heard a great presentation on what NCDOT is doing to combat litter. Over time, fewer prisons are participating in litter cleanup, but NCDOT is still spending $20.9 million a year to combat the problem. The bulk of this is paid to contract companies who cleanup along our roadways.
It was interesting to see that in Vance County alone, 64.97 tons of roadside litter was cleaned up by NCDOT. Also, we have had a lot of success recently reporting roadside litter problems to NCDOT through their online portal www.ncdot.gov/contact. In some instances we reported it and they cleaned the road up the very next day.
To see more information on the Vance County Board of Commissioners, including meeting agendas, proposed budgets and reports, visit www.vancecounty.org/departments/board-of-commissioners/.
Friday Marks Deadline to Register to Vote in Primary Election
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-Press Release, North Carolina State Board of Elections
The State Board of Elections is reminding residents that the deadline to register to vote in North Carolina in the 2020 primary election is Friday, February 7.
For more information about registering, visit ncsbe.gov/Voters/Registering-to-Vote.
Individuals who miss the regular voter registration deadline may still register and vote at any one-stop early voting site in their county during the early voting period, February 13-29. To see the early voting sites in your county, go here: https://vt.ncsbe.gov/ossite/
At an early voting site, registered voters may update their address, but not their party affiliation. Registered voters who wish to change their party affiliation must do so by February 7.
For more information about same-day registration, visit ncsbe.gov/Voting-Options/One-Stop-Early-Voting.
“The State Board encourages every eligible North Carolina resident to make sure they’re registered before the primary election,” said Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the State Board of Elections. “This includes making any changes, such as address and party affiliation.”
To confirm your registration status, use the State Board’s voter lookup tool.
To register, individuals must meet certain qualifications and complete a North Carolina Voter Registration Application in English or Spanish. Applications are available at the state and county boards of elections, public libraries, public high schools, college admissions offices and many state agencies.
Once completed, the applicant must sign the form, and mail it or return it in-person to their county board of elections. Voters who are already registered may update their information by submitting a voter registration form by email, fax, mail, or in-person to their county board of elections.
To find the address of your local board of elections, use the county board lookup tool: vt.ncsbe.gov/BOEInfo/.
Prospective voters must meet the following qualifications to register to vote:
- Be a U.S. citizen;
- Have been a resident of North Carolina, the county, and precinct for 30 days before the election;
- Be at least 18 years old; 17-year-olds may register and vote in a primary election if they will be 18 at the time of the general election; and
- Not be serving a sentence for a felony conviction (including probation or parole). (Citizenship and voting rights are automatically restored upon completion of the sentence. No special document is needed.)
Note: Voters are not required to show photo ID for the March 2020 primary election. In a December 31 order, a federal district court blocked North Carolina’s voter photo ID requirement from taking effect. The injunction will remain in place until further order of the court.
Town Talk 02/05/20
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Reminder: Registration Deadline for Focus 20/20 is Feb. 13
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-Press Release, Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Governments
The Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Governments announces Focus 20/20, a Regional Economic Development Summit to be held at the McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center in Henderson on February 20, 2020. The summit kicks off at 9:30 a.m.
Keynote speaker for the event is Doug Griffiths, author of the bestselling book, 13 Ways to Kill Your Community. Doug works with communities across the US and Canada to identify and overcome challenges that prohibit their ability to become thriving, sustainable, and desirable.
Other featured speakers for the Summit include ● Dr. Michael Walden, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor and Extension Economist at North Carolina State University ● Hillary Sherman, NC Economic Development Representative, US Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration ● Thom Ruhe, President & CEO, NC IDEA ● Jennifer Lantz, Executive Director, Wilson Economic Development Council ● Dr. Jenni Harris, Executive Director of Business Services, North Carolina Department of Commerce, Division of Workforce Solutions ● Dawn Michelle Tucker, Dean of Continuing Education and College & Career Readiness, Vance-Granville Community College ● Dr. Pamela G. Senegal, President, Piedmont Community College ● Judy Bradsher, M.Ed., Director, CTE Programs/GEAR UP Liaison, Person County Schools ● Rhonda L. High, Customized Training Director, Halifax Community College.
“This Summit is a timely and relevant event for citizens who seek to learn more about the advantages and challenges of preparing their communities for economic development success. It will provide best practices and examples that can be applied locally.” -Diane Cox, Executive Director, Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Governments.
Summit presentations will focus on the following: ● Setting the Stage for Economic Development in Your Community ● Advancing Entrepreneurship ● Talent Development-Best Practice Workforce Initiatives ● 13 Ways to Kill Your Community – lessons on what really makes the difference between a prospering community and a failing one.
The event is complimentary, but registration is required and limited to the first 400 registrants. If you are interested in attending, please register at www.kerrtarcog.org. The deadline for registration is February 13, 2020.
News 02/05/20
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Town Talk 02/04/20: Jobs, Removing Barriers Focus of Desmarais’ First Year
THIS STORY IS PRESENTED IN PART BY DRAKE DENTISTRY
Dr. Rachel Desmarais, president of Vance-Granville Community College, appeared on WIZS Town Talk Tuesday at 11 a.m.
Desmarais, who celebrated her one-year anniversary with the college in January, said she is pleased with the recent strides the college has made in workforce development, marketing and removing “barriers” to education.
Making it her mission from day one to “find the programs that could get people into jobs more quickly,” Desmarais and VGCC staff have worked with EMSI, Inc., a national firm that reviews job data, to provide information on the most needed types of employment in the local area.
“The number one and number two jobs of availability in this area were truck drivers and heavy equipment operators,” Desmarais explained of EMSI’s findings.
In response to the community’s need for truck drivers, VGCC, in partnership with Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute, now offers a truck driving program that gives students the training required to operate tractor-trailer rigs, obtain a Class A commercial driver’s license (CDL) and become professional truck drivers.
Orientation for the first nine-week program was completed last week with classes to begin Wednesday, February 12, 2020. Students will participate in a combination of classroom instruction, range driving and road driving.
According to Desmarais, 17 students are currently participating in the program and a waitlist has been started for others who are interested. “Local companies that need truck drivers are very excited about the opportunity to have local folks who can take those jobs.”
For more information on the truck driving program, please click here.
By changing the way the college approaches marketing, including getting back to basics with “going out, talking and listening to the people in the community,” Desmarais said the college is learning what local organizations and residents need while strengthening existing partnerships and creating new alliances.
“We are going back to some of the things we use to do such as offering classes out in the community,” said Desmarais. “We have started a new partnership and are offering classes at the Mary Potter School in Oxford, for example.”
Desmarais said VGCC staff are also focused on removing what is frequently considered “barriers” to education, with the recent announcement of the college’s partnership with public and rural transportation service KARTS being a prime example of this commitment.
“This program removes one of the larger barriers of education – students getting to and from college,” Desmarais said.
Thanks to a combination of grant funds and VGCC Endowment Fund donations, the KARTS service is provided free-of-charge to students attending all four VGCC campus locations – Henderson (Main), Louisburg (Franklin), Creedmoor (South) and Warrenton (Warren).
Students can make appointments for KARTS by calling (252) 438-2573 and then dialing “0.” Appointments can be made up to two weeks in advance. For more information on the KARTS program, please click here.
VGCC is currently piloting and tracking the success of another program aimed at reducing perhaps the largest barrier in education – the financial barrier.
“We know that students who get Pell Grants have a lot going on in their lives,” Desmarais stated. “They have a lot of challenges in terms of working and going to school, transportation, living arrangements, and sometimes they aren’t as successful at the school part as they’d like because life gets in the way.”
Explaining that students have to maintain a certain grade point average (GPA) to keep their financial aid, Desmarais said the college is offering a “Second Chance Scholarship” to those that may have fallen below the required GPA.
“We [VGCC] help connect them with other agencies to help them solve non-school problems that are getting in the way of them being successful here. Once we do that, we provide what we call a second chance scholarship for them to improve their GPA so that they can get back on financial aid.”
With all of this, Desmarais said the college is writing its narrative as a student-ready college. “We are going to be here for the students that we have. We are not a selective institution, but we are a quality-proud institution.”
To learn more about VGCC, please visit the college’s official website at www.vgcc.edu or visit its YouTube channel by clicking here.
To hear the interview with Desmarais in its entirety, go to WIZS.com and click on Town Talk.
Clark Grocery Armed Robbery Suspect Arrested
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-Press Release, Vance County Sheriff’s Office
On Saturday, February 1, 2020, at 6 p.m. the Vance County Sheriff’s Office responded to Clark Grocery, located at 2064 Vicksboro Road in Henderson, NC in reference to an armed robbery with a dangerous weapon.
On Monday, February 3, 2020, Vance County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Division spotted a vehicle matching the description of a robbery that occurred in the city limits of Henderson on February 2, 2020, and matched the description of the robbery that occurred on February 1, 2020.
Deputies approached the vehicle and identified the driver as Marcus Andrew Wright, age 37. Wright was detained.
Upon Vance County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division arriving at the known location, Wright was taken into custody and charged with Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon. Wright’s bond was set at $75,000. This investigation is continuing.
Marcus Andrew Wright (VCSO photo)
‘ABBAMANIA’ Taking Over McGregor Hall This Valentine’s Day
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-Information courtesy McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center
Celebrate Valentine’s Day at McGregor Hall with a night of “ABBAMANIA: An ABBA Tribute” on Friday, February 14, 2020. The performance begins at 7:30 p.m.
Come enjoy a rock musical which takes you back to the disco era with one of the best pop bands in history, ABBA. “ABBAMANIA” features nine incredible musicians and singers performing 21 of ABBA’s hits, with all the costume changes, choreography, live band, backup singers and the big studio sound.
Tickets for this event may be purchased by:
DROP-IN: 201 Breckenridge Street, Henderson, N.C. Monday – Friday 1:30 – 5:30 p.m
CALL: (252) 598-0662 (M-F 1:30 – 5:30 p.m.)
CLICK HERE: www.McGregorHall.org (Use the eTix official site, online fees apply)
(This is not a paid advertisement)