N.C. Main Street & Rural Planning Center Selects Three Communities for Downtown Revitalization
Raleigh, N.C. – The N.C. Main Street & Rural Planning Center selected Asheboro, Dunn and Henderson for the Center’s Downtown Associate Community program, Secretary Anthony M. Copeland announced today.
The towns will receive up to three years of downtown technical assistance services from the Center, beginning in September. These communities may have the opportunity to receive official Main Street designation if they successfully complete the program and demonstrate that they have met the requirements of the N.C. Main Street program within the three-year time frame.
“All North Carolina communities depend on a healthy and vibrant downtown to attract businesses small and large,” said Secretary Copeland. “This program will help Asheboro, Dunn and Henderson become even stronger candidates for new jobs and expansion.”
The Downtown Associate Community program launched in May 2015 and provides communities interested in downtown revitalization with the tools to build a sustainable organizational foundation. North Carolina communities must start with this program to become a designated N.C. Main Street community. The competitive selection process takes place every other year.
“We are excited to work with these communities and look forward to helping them strengthen their downtown revitalization efforts moving forward,” said N.C. Main Street & Rural Planning Center director Liz Parham. “The Downtown Associate Community program offers strategic economic development planning and organizational development that will provide long term sustainability for the community’s revitalization initiative.”
As with all programming offered by the N.C. Main Street & Rural Planning Center, the Downtown Associate Community program is based on the Four-Point Approach® methodology, a comprehensive process developed by the National Main Street Center® that focuses on organization, design, promotion and economic vitality.
For more information about N.C. Main Street & Rural Planning programs, visit www.nccommerce.com/MainStreet or contact Liz Parham, director of the N.C. Main Street & Rural Planning Center, at (919) 814-4658 or lparham@nccommerce.com.
VGCC Culinary program moves to new scheduling format
The Vance-Granville Community College Culinary Arts program is changing the way it schedules core courses when the fall semester begins on Aug. 14. Culinary courses will now be taught in eight-week sessions rather than in the traditional 16-week semester format.
“One benefit of the eight-week format is that our students will have more concentrated time in each specific lab,” explained VGCC Culinary Arts Program Head/instructor Chef Teresa Davis. Even though each individual course will be completed in fewer weeks than under the former schedule, the amount of instructional time spent in each course will be the same. A baking class might meet for three hours each week instead of one hour, for example, allowing students to continue their training rather than waiting several days between classes.
“We think that this schedule should make it easier for many students to schedule their classes around their jobs and other responsibilities, along with any Work-Based Learning opportunities that they may have,” Davis added.
Four courses will be offered during the fall semester’s first eight-week mini-term, from Aug. 14 through Oct. 11: Sanitation & Safety (CUL-110), Baking I (CUL-160), Culinary Skills II (CUL-240) and Pastry & Confections (CUL-280).
Then, two other courses will be offered from Oct. 12 through Dec. 11: Culinary Skills I (CUL-140) and Global Cuisines (CUL-230).
The Culinary Arts degree program, based at the Masonic Home for Children at Oxford, prepares students to assume positions as trained culinary professionals in a variety of settings, including full-service restaurants, hotels, resorts, clubs, catering operations, contract foodservice, and health care facilities. In addition to the associate degree, VGCC offers certificates in “Basic Baking” and “Restaurant Hospitality.” Eligible high school students can enroll in Basic Baking through the Career & College Promise program.
For more information about the Culinary Arts program, contact Chef Teresa Davis at davist@vgcc.edu or (919) 690-0312.
Recent VGCC Culinary Arts graduate Hayya Wright of Louisburg prepares a dish in the kitchen at the Masonic Home for Children at Oxford, where the program is based. (VGCC photo)
*In Custody* Franklin County Sheriff’s Office looking for Armed and Dangerous Suspect
Kevin Lea James, 44, of 375 Fishing Rock Road, Castalia NC, is wanted by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office for the following charges:
Felony Assault on a Handicapped Person
Misdemeanor Assault – Inflict serious Injury
Communicating Threats
Assault by Pointing a Gun
These incidents allegedly occurred on July 25th, 2017 at 375 Fishing Rock Road, Castalia NC.
The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office advises you to use extreme caution as he is considered armed and dangerous.
Contact the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office at 919-496-2186. 
Kevin Lea James
DOB: 08-21-1972
Age: 44
Height: 5’8
Weight: 190
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown
Little Free Libraries Pop Up Around Henderson
by Garry Daeke
FGV Smart Start has started the Little Free Library program as a way to promotion reading for children, literacy for adults and libraries around the community. 
It’s a “take a book, return a book” gathering place where people share their favorite literature and stories. In its most basic form, a Little Free Library is a box full of books where anyone may stop by and pick up a book (or two) and bring back another book to share.
Vance County United Way, through its United We Read, United We Succeed program, granted funds to Smart Start to start this effort. Smart Start will set up four of these libraries in the community. Smart Start has ample supplies of children’s books for the libraries, and local citizens, along with the Friends of the Perry Library, will be assisting with book drives and collections to assist with additional books.
The mission is to promote literacy and the love of reading by building free book exchanges, and to build a sense of community as we share skills, creativity and wisdom across generations.
VGCC Pharmacy Technology students train foster parents
Students in the Pharmacy Technology program at Vance-Granville Community College recently helped provide important training to Granville County foster parents.
Under the supervision of Pharmacy Technology Program Head Dr. Erica Fleming, students conducted medication management training, which is a state requirement for family foster home licensing, at the Granville County Department of Social Services (DSS). In such training, foster parents learn about understanding prescription labels, administering drugs, record-keeping, medication disposal, medication storage, psychotropic medications and medication errors. 
“VGCC offered an excellent training opportunity,” said LaVerne Smith, licensing and adoptions social worker for Granville County DSS. “The presentation was very informative and the handouts and visuals were excellent. It addressed all areas that our families need to know. This resource will be a great addition to our training repertoire. We are hoping to work in partnership with the Vance-Granville Community College Pharmacy Program to continue Medication Management training on a yearly basis.”
Fleming said that the partnership with Granville County DSS not only helped local foster parents, and in turn, foster children, but also formed part of the VGCC students’ study of community pharmacy practice.
For more information on the VGCC Pharmacy Technology program, call Dr. Fleming at (252) 738-3482.
From left, VGCC Pharmacy Technology student Tamika Everett of Creedmoor, Kristen Honaker of Henderson, Lesli Miranda of Henderson, Licensing and Adoptions Social Worker LaVerne Smith of Granville County DSS, program head Dr. Erica Fleming, Emily Adcock of Oxford and Ashley Hobgood of Henderson.
Troxler to host Food Safety Forum
RALEIGH – Helping small farms prepare for new federal food safety rules will be among topics covered at the 13th annual Commissioner’s Food Safety Forum on Aug. 15 at the State Fairgrounds.
Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler will host the event from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Expo Center. It is open to farmers, food businesses, regulators, health professionals and other interested people. Admission is free and includes lunch, but pre-registration is requested.
To register, go to www.ncagr.gov/ncfoodsafetyforum by Aug. 11. Individuals with questions should contact Derek Wagner at derek.wagner@ncagr.gov or 919-707-3011.
As the federal Food Safety Modernization Act is implemented across the country, farms of all sizes will be subject to on-farm inspections and other food safety rules. Roland McReynolds, executive director of the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, will talk about the importance of training collaborations for small farms to comply with the rules. And Chuck Ross, extension director with the University of Vermont’s College of Agriculture and Life Science, will give an update on FSMA implementation.
In addition, Dr. Steven Taylor, professor at the University of Nebraska, will talk about incorporating allergen controls within food-processing facilities. Taylor is founder and co-director of the university’s Food Allergy Research & Resource Program. His research has focused on developing methods to detect residues of allergenic foods, and he has worked with numerous companies on a wide range of allergen-related topics.
Other speakers include Dr. Clint Stevenson, assistant professor of food science education at N.C. State University. “Dr. Stevenson and his team have developed virtual reality training sessions that allow students and professionals to interact with virtual representations of real-world food manufacturing facilities and look for food safety problems,” Troxler said. “Stevenson will demonstrate how he brings the factory into the classroom.”
The forum is organized by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and sponsored by Harris Teeter.
VGCC Franklin Campus salutes Child Care Center graduates
Six new graduates of the Child Care Center on Vance-Granville Community College’s Franklin County Campus were honored in a ceremony on July 12 as they prepared to enter kindergarten. The students were Cody Collier of Henderson; Arianna Abbott, Colton Leonard, Joshua Stallings and Aiden Zalewski, all of Louisburg; and Chase Snelling of Youngsville.
Welcoming remarks were provided by Bobbie Jo May, the dean of the Franklin County Campus. She thanked and applauded the staff of the five-star center, and said that the VGCC mission of educating, inspiring and supporting a diverse community of learne
rs to achieve success starts at the pre-school level. “Your children have developed a love of learning here,” May told the assembled family members. “Our staff’s patient instruction and love for these children have helped to turn them into strong, confident kindergarten students.”
Child Care Center manager Michelle Patterson Jones and child care center teacher Teresa Gallatin presented the children with diplomas. Jones also handed out unique “personality certificates” to the students.
Abbott was honored with certificates for “Creativity” and for being a “Math Monster.” Leonard received the “Reading” and “Lawyer” awards. Zalewski was presented with certificates labeled “Enthusiastic Learner” and “Wild Kratts” (after the educational television series about animals and the environment). Stallings was named a “Peace Maker” and a “Creative Thinker” and received a certificate for “Giant Improvement.” Collier received the “Active Athlete” and “Most Dramatic” awards. Snelling was recognized for being “Quiet as a Mouse” and the “Academic Whisperer.”
Lila Johnson of Louisburg, a younger student at the center, served as marshal for the graduation, carrying the American flag as the students processed and recessed.
With the departure of the graduates, spaces for several children are currently available. Parents from among the general public can enroll their children there, as can parents who are VGCC students or employees. For more information, call Michelle Patterson Jones at (919) 496-1567.
–VGCC–