June 8, 2017 Thursday
Henderson Lions – The Henderson Lions Club will meet at 6:30 p.m. at the Henderson Country Club. The speaker will be Lion Pat Leonard with the Vision/Hearing Mobile Unit. To learn more or join the Lions and be a part of an active community service organization, contact any Lions Club member or President Randy Oxendine at 252-438-8034.
Thanks,
Randy
The Vance-Granville Community College Small Business Center is offering a free seminar that offers helpful tips on how to obtain a better credit score.
“How to Increase Your Credit Score to Over 740 Points; Prepare for a Bank Business Loan!” is scheduled for Thursday, June 22, from 6 until 9 p.m., in room 7109 (Building 7) on the college’s Main Campus in Vance County.
According to instructor Bob Moore, “a very good credit score is now considered to be 740 points, with an excellent credit score being over 800 points. Now more than ever, having good credit is important in being able to obtain a loan for your business or to obtain a personal loan.” He added that a person’s credit score is also important in determining the interest rate of their loans, their insurance premiums and deposits required for phone and utility services.
In this three-hour seminar, attendees will learn how to raise their scores simply by the way they use their credit cards, treat inquiries, make payments and carry balances. This seminar will include information about the importance of maintaining good credit and the positive financial consequences it produces. Moore will also discuss the history of credit scoring, how to read a credit report and what factors are used in calculating a FICO or Beacon score.
A graduate of Fayetteville State University, Moore is a longtime small business owner and serves as director of the Small Business Center at Robeson Community College in Lumberton. He was honored as the Small Business Center Director of the Year for the entire North Carolina Community College System in 2013.
For more information and to reserve a seat in this free seminar, contact Small Business Center director Tanya Weary at smallbusiness@vgcc.edu or (252) 738-3240. The deadline to register is June 19.
Registration can be completed online at www.vgcc.edu/schedules/small-business-center.
–VGCC–
The Male Mentoring Success Initiative (MMSI) at Vance-Granville Community College recently took a group of 18 students on a tour of sites in Greensboro and Charlotte that allowed them to explore careers, four-year universities and cultural activities.
Anthony Pope and Michael Farmer, co-coordinators of the initiative, accompanied the “mentees” on a trip that included touring five institutions of higher learning, visiting the International Civil Rights Center & Museum, taking a behind-the-scenes tour of the Charlotte Hornets organization and attending a game between the Hornets and the reigning NBA Champions, the Cleveland Cavaliers. Some of the students would soon be graduating, and the tour helped them to consider several options to continue their education at the four-year level.
The group first toured the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, before learning about the history of the civil rights movement at the museum in downtown Greensboro. The exhibits and artifacts allowed the mentees an opportunity see the original Woolworth lunch counters where the sit-in movement was initiated by four North Carolina A&T State University students in 1960. Mentee Kendrick Pettiford said that “the lessons I learned taught me how people had to struggle to survive as they held onto their beliefs and that there was a future where everyone could get along regardless of race.” Mentee Joseph Vodjogbe added, “I found the museum to be intriguing, historically educational and emotional. I got to see how bad segregation and racism was in the past.” Next, the students toured N.C. A&T, the largest historically black university in the country, and enjoyed a step show by members of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
The trip continued for the next two days in Charlotte, where the group toured the campuses of Johnson C. Smith University, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Johnson & Wales University. Finally, students enjoyed the Charlotte Hornets game at the Spectrum Center. Prior to the start of the game, the mentees received behind-the-scenes tour from an account executive for the Hornets organization, who explained to them various business management career opportunities in professional sports. “Although the Cavaliers won by a score of 112 to 105, it was still a good game, and seeing NBA All-Stars Kemba Walker, LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, along with the legendary Patrick Ewing, was exciting,” Pope said. Mentee Christopher Pernell, a member of the VGCC Vanguards basketball team, stated that “this was my first NBA game, and it was a great experience.”
Supported by a grant from the North Carolina Community College System, the MMSI at VGCC works to help male students stay in school and on track to graduate or transfer to a four-year university. For more information on the mentoring initiative, contact Anthony Pope at popea@vgcc.edu or (252) 738-3395.
–VGCC–
Henderson, NC – District Attorney Michael Waters, together with Assistant District Attorneys Melissa Pelfrey and Onica Fuller worked through a criminal calendar consisting of cases brought by both the Henderson Police Department and the Vance County Sheriffs Office during a week-long session of Vance County Superior Court which began May 8, 2017, where Superior Court Judge Michael O’Foghludha presided.
Travis Kingsberry received an active prison sentence of Life without Parole in the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Division of Adult Correction (DAC) at the end of a week-long trial where jurors found Kingsberry guilty of First Degree Murder, First Degree Burglary and Assault with a Deadly Weapon Inflicting Serious Injury. The case against Kingsberry stemmed from the 2009 murder of Montrell Alston on Adams Street in Henderson, NC, and was investigated by detectives and patrol officers of the Henderson Police Department under the direction of Chief Marcus Barrow.
Jemel Bullock, a co-defendant of Mr. Kingsberry, received an active prison sentence of 96 to 125 months in the DAC as a result of his plea of guilty to Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon.
Darius Benson, also a co-defendant of Bullock and Kingsberry, was sentenced, pursuant to his plea of guilty, to Voluntary Manslaughter and received an active prison sentence of 71 to 95 months in the DAC. Benson received a mitigated sentence as a result of agreement to testify on behalf of the State against others involved in the 2009 murder of Montrell Alston.
The fourth and final co-defendant of Bullock, Benson and Kingsberry, Alan Gibson, was found guilty of First Degree Murder, First Degree Burglary and Assault with a Deadly Weapon Inflicting Serious Injury by a jury at the end of a trial that began on March 21, 2017. Gibson also received an active prison sentence of Life without Parole in the DAC.
Michael Waters
Vance County Schools
For Immediate Release
May 19, 2017
The graduation ceremonies for all of the Class of 2017 members in our four high schools begin next Friday, May 26, with the commencement for graduates at the Vance County Early College High School.
All four of the high school graduation ceremonies can be viewed live on the school system’s website at www.vcs.k12.nc.us.
The Early College commencement will begin at 6 p.m. and will be held in the Civic Center on the campus of Vance-Granville Community College near Henderson.
Our other graduation ceremonies include:
Friday, June 9, at 7 p.m. at McGregor Hall in Henderson for graduates of the AdVANCE Academy at Western Vance High School
Saturday, June 10, at 8 a.m. at McGregor Hall in Henderson for graduates of Northern Vance High School
Saturday, June 10, at 12 p.m. at McGregor Hall in Henderson for graduates of Southern Vance High School
The seating capacity of the McGregor Hall auditorium is approximately 960 people. The number of people admitted for each ceremony will not exceed the number of seats. For the ceremonies for Northern Vance and Southern Vance high schools, tickets will be given to graduates for their family members to attend. Only those people with tickets will be admitted for the ceremony. Only young children will be allowed to sit in the laps of adults. There will be overflow seating for people in the McGregor Hall Gallery. However, these people also must have a ticket for admission.
The doors to McGregor Hall will be opened one hour prior to the beginning of each graduation ceremony.
No types of noise makers, signs, posters, banners, balloons, confetti or any other similar materials will be permitted at any of the graduation ceremonies.
Parking for the graduation ceremonies at McGregor Hall will be available along any of the surrounding streets, as well as the Perry Memorial Library parking lot, the city parking lot in front of the Henderson Police Department along Chestnut Street and the PNC Bank parking lot on Chestnut Street.
The Vance-Granville Community College Board of Trustees recently approved the addition of a new curriculum program, Supply Chain Management, to replace Global Logistics & Distribution Management Technology. The action came at the Trustees’ bimonthly meeting on the college’s Main Campus on Monday, May 15.
The Supply Chain Management curriculum prepares students for a variety of careers in distribution, transportation, warehousing, trucking operations, supply chain and manufacturing organizations. Graduates will earn an Associate in Applied Science degree.
Trustees approved adding tracks in Global Logistics Technology and Trucking Operations Management, starting with Fall Semester, which begins Aug. 14. The changes will not affect students who are currently enrolled in the Global Logistics curriculum at VGCC, said Dr. Angela Ballentine, vice president of academic affairs. Courses under the existing program will be available through Spring 2018.
Students pursuing the tracks will be able to progress smoothly from the certificates to the related Supply Chain Management degree, Dr. Ballentine said.
Courses will include Transportation Logistics, Import/Export Management, Purchasing Logistics, Introduction to Trucking, and Fleet Maintenance. The Global Logistics & Distribution Management Technology program is being archived, according to Trustee Barbara Cates Harris, chair of the board’s Curriculum Committee.
The board also acted to terminate the Logistics Management and the Secure Logistics certificates, effective this fall.
Capital Projects
A variety of capital projects are on tap for VGCC, according to a Building Committee report given by Donald C. Seifert, Sr., chair.
Bids have been opened for the renovation of a lab for the Histotechnology program on the Main Campus.
The bid for replacement of the roof of Building 6 on the Main Campus has been awarded to Baker Roofing of Raleigh at a cost of $333,180. The project is scheduled to be completed during the summer.
An agreement has been signed to begin assessment of exterior masonry repairs needed on the Main Campus. The college is seeking to restore, structurally repair and waterproof building masonry rooflines, walls and bridges. The assessment is expected to be completed in November.
A preliminary design site visit was done in April by BW Architecture of Greenville as the college seeks to renovate a 3,200-square-foot space in Building 10 for the Law Enforcement Training, Fire/Rescue and Emergency Medical Services programs.
The patching and sealing of the parking lots at South Campus was awarded to Carolina Pavement of Cary at a cost of $14,903, with completion scheduled for July 31.
A design agreement was executed with Stanford White Inc. of Raleigh in early April to renovate the existing Welding lab area at Franklin County Campus to add eight welding booths and a demonstration area. Bids are expected to be advertised in July and opened in August.
Other Action
In other action:
Following the regular session, the board entered a Closed Session for the annual evaluation of the president.
The next meeting of the VGCC Board of Trustees will be held on Monday, July 17, at the Main Campus.
–VGCC–
DURHAM, N.C. (May 17, 2017) – Before busy summer schedules set in, the American Red Cross urges eligible donors to roll up a sleeve to help ensure a sufficient supply for patients in need.
Donors of all blood types are needed now to help accident and burn victims, heart surgery and organ transplant patients, and those receiving cancer treatment.
Kenneth Reed gives blood in his son’s honor. When Trace was 8 days old, he underwent heart surgery and received blood transfusions. “It’s the least I can do. If it wasn’t for donors, he wouldn’t be here with us today,” said Reed. “I don’t call it donating blood; I call it donating life.”
Giving blood is an easy and thoughtful way to honor a loved one who has relied on blood products, to follow in the example of a family member who gives regularly or to simply help others.
As a thank you, those who come out to donate May 26-30 will receive a Red Cross-branded visor, while supplies last. Make an appointment to donate blood by downloading the free Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting redcrossblood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). Donors can then also visit redcrossblood.org/cedarfair to enter to win one of three grand prize packages for four to Knott’s Berry Farm in California or Cedar Point in Ohio.
Upcoming blood donation opportunities:
Creedmoor
5/26/2017: 2:30 p.m. – 7 p.m., Creedmoor United Methodist Church, 214 Park Avenue
Oxford
6/15/2017: 12 p.m. – 4:30 p.m., Union Bank & Trust Company, 108 College Street
Roxboro
5/29/2017: 1:30 p.m. – 6 p.m., National Guard Armory, 605 Burlington Rd
Henderson
6/16/2017: 9:30 a.m. – 2 p.m., Maria Parham Health, John T. Church Building, 566 Ruin Creek Rd
