Warren County Memorial Library Celebrates Black History Month

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— press release

Warren County Memorial Library (WCML) will host a variety of programs, feature informative displays, and connect patrons with illuminating information as they celebrate Black History Month. The national theme for Black History Month 2021 is The Black Family: Representation, Identity, Diversity.

WCML is excited to have the opportunity to virtually host historian Howard Burchette for “The Story of North Carolina’s Buffalo Soldiers” on Friday, February 26th, at 1:00pm. The Buffalo Soldiers were six regiments of African-American soldiers authorized in 1866 to help keep the peace in the Great Plains as the railroad was expanding across the US. This program will highlight the men from North Carolina who served in these regiments. Mr. Burchette is a retired IBM data processing professional and historian with local ties. He has over 23 years of broadcast experience on public radio, hosting many shows, including his work as the current host of The Funk Show on WNCU 90.7 FM. This live event will take place via Zoom. It can be easily accessed by going to www.tinyurl.com/WCMLBurchette2021 or calling 646-558-8656. The meeting ID is 865 4352 5393 and the password is 479626.

The library is also hosting the “Seeking Justice Artistic Display” provided by the Warren County NAACP and its SPARK committee during the entire month of February. This display chronicles the history of the lynching of two men that happened in Warrenton in January of 1921. Interested parties can view the display at any time during the library’s regular business hours – Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 3:00pm.

In addition to the programs listed above, the library’s February event calendar is full of links, such as NC Learn’s “African-American Music Trail” and TheHistoryMakers’ “African-Americans in Science”, as well as additional events. There’s something for everyone. Pick one up at the library or visit the library’s website (www.wcmlibrary.org) for more information. All library programs are free to the public. Call WCML for more information at 252-257-4990. The library is located at 119 S. Front Street, Warrenton NC 27589.

Sheri Jones VGCC

VGCC celebrates Entrepreneurship Week

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— courtesy of Vance Granville Community College

Vance-Granville Community College is celebrating National Entrepreneurship Week (Feb. 13-20, 2021) with a variety of virtual events for the community.

National Entrepreneurship Week (NEW), established by the United States Congress in 2006, is a celebration of small businesses, innovators, and creators who launch startups that bring ideas to life and drive economic vitality. “NEW is a time to celebrate, to be inspired and to get motivated to do what you love,” said VGCC Dean of Business & Industry Solutions Tanya Weary, who is coordinating the observance along with VGCC Small Business Center Director Sheri Jones.

VGCC’s online events kick off on Saturday, Feb. 13, at 9 a.m. with a video posted to the VGCC Facebook page (www.facebook.com/vancegranville), entitled “What is Entrepreneurship?” followed on Sunday, Feb. 14, at 9 a.m. with another video posted on the Facebook page, called “Do What You Love!”

On Monday, Feb. 15 at noon, VGCC will present a lively, one-hour seminar, entitled “Give It to the People: Your Brand, Your Voice, Your Business,” with instructor Chisa D. Pennix-Brown, the CEO of Lady Bizness. Attendees will learn how to empower their brand, enhance their voice and increase their business. There will be opportunities to ask questions of the presenter. Registration in advance is required through www.vgcc.edu/entre/.

The next day, Tuesday, Feb. 16, at noon, the community is invited to “Lunch with an Entrepreneur – Learn the Failures and Successes of Starting a Business,” with Jason Shearin, a seasoned entrepreneur and owner of Lake Gaston Coffee in Littleton. Shearin will lead a discussion on what it takes to own your own business and will take questions from participants. Registration in advance is required through www.vgcc.edu/entre/.

Dean Tanya Weary will lead a webinar, “Business Plan 101,” on Wednesday, Feb. 17, at noon. She will explain how one of the most important tasks in starting a new business or growing an existing business is the business plan. Registration in advance is required through www.vgcc.edu/entre/.

On Thursday, Feb. 18, at 9 a.m., the college will showcase one of its recent alumni, Greg Kelly, who graduated from the VGCC Truck Driver Training (CDL) program, on VGCC’s Facebook page.

On Friday, Feb. 19, at 9 a.m., the community can attend a virtual “StartUp Crawl” in order to learn about, and take a virtual tour of, a pair of local business incubators: Frontier Warren and the Creedmoor Business Center. This will be accessed on the VGCC Facebook page.

The series concludes on Saturday, Feb. 20, at 9 a.m., with a session called “Taking the Initiative.” This video, posted to the VGCC Facebook page, is designed for people who have ideas for small businesses and are ready to take the next steps. Sheri Jones, director of VGCC’s Small Business Center, will discuss what these aspiring entrepreneurs need to do.

The Small Business Center has a variety of resources to support entrepreneurs through education and training. For more information on the Small Business Center, contact Sheri Jones at joness@vgcc.edu or (252) 738-3240.

For more information about National Entrepreneurship Week, contact Tanya Weary at wearyt@vgcc.edu, visit www.vgcc.edu/entre/ and follow the VGCC Facebook page (www.facebook.com/vancegranville).

–VGCC–

Green Rural Redevelopment (GRRO)

Free Covid Tests; Free Groceries; Free PPE in Oxford, Henderson, Warrenton

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UPDATE 12 NOON, WEDNESDAY, FEB. 17, 2021

THESE EVENTS HAVE BEEN CANCELLED BECAUSE OF A SECOND ICE STORM FORECAST FOR THE AREA.  THE EVENTS WILL BE RESCHEDULED, AND WHEN THAT HAPPENS, THEY WILL BE ANNOUNED ON WIZS RADIO AND POSTED ONLINE.

UPDATE 7:45 P.M. FRIDAY — 

The COVID-19 testing event scheduled for Saturday, 02/13 at the Public Works Building in Oxford has been cancelled because of the weather forecast.  GRRO has chosen to follow the NCDOT recommendation to stay off the roads because of the anticipated ice/winter storm.  We will let the public know when we reschedule the event.

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Free covid testing, free food and free PPE distribution events are coming to Oxford, Henderson and Warrenton.

Green Rural Redevelopment Organization (GRRO) has partnered with City of Oxford Public Works, Shiloh Baptist Church in Henderson and the Warren County Health Department to present the events over a seven day period.

GRRO Deputy Director Lucette Mercer announced the events with a series of press releases:

On Saturday, February 13th, a COVID-19 community testing and resource distribution event will be
held from 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM at the City of Oxford Public Works Building parking lot located at 127 Penn Avenue in Oxford;

On Thursday, February 18th, a COVID-19 community testing and resource distribution event will
be held from 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM at the Shiloh Baptist Church parking lot located at 635 South College Street in Henderson;

On Friday, February 19th, a COVID-19 community testing and resource distribution event will be
held from 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM at the Warren County High School parking lot located at 149 Campus Drive in Warrenton.

At these drive-up events, people who get tested will also received free groceries and free personal protective equipment such as masks, gloves and sanitizer.  Information about coronavirus vaccine will be available.

Additional partners making the community events possible are Groundwater Solutions and Genesis Project 1.

For more information call 252.430.7999.  Free transportation is available by calling 803.207.6511.

“North Carolina continues to see high numbers of Coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths. The CDC and local health departments recommend that we all continue to get tested and observe all safety precautions. Even with the distribution of the vaccine, getting tested and knowing your COVID status are very important for your safety and the safety of those around you,” Mercer wrote.

Warrenton Presbyterian Church Endows VGCC Scholarship

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— VGCC press release

To the glory of God, Warrenton Presbyterian Church recently endowed a scholarship at Vance-Granville Community College, and the historic congregation is making history again with the size of its gift. By donating $60,000 to the VGCC Endowment Fund, the church has established this scholarship at the “Presidential Excellence Award” level, the highest at the college. That means that future student recipients will receive a scholarship of $3,000 per year to cover tuition, books and fees at the college. This will be just the second VGCC scholarship at that level.

Rev. Candice White, who pastors the church, said that the scholarship was envisioned after the session had explored how best to address social justice issues on the local level and looked to the community college for a possible partnership.

In awarding the new scholarship, preference will be given to students from Warren County, students of color, and students with significant financial need.

White added “the church membership understands the importance of an education – the difference it can make in a person’s life.” “However, for so many, the cost of pursuing education beyond high school is not possible. And in this case, that is where Warrenton Presbyterian Church comes in – we have been ‘blessed to be a blessing’ to young women and men of color and need for many years to come.”

The church is housed in a building that was built by Jacob Holt in the mid-1800’s on North Main Street in Warrenton’s historic district.

“We are grateful to Rev. White and the members of Warrenton Presbyterian Church for supporting education in this special way,” said Eddie Ferguson, VGCC’s endowment fund director. “After a year in which students and our community have been impacted by the pandemic, the church’s generous gift is a source of tremendous encouragement and joy to us all.”

“This new scholarship will help generations of students to achieve their dreams and will carry on Warrenton Presbyterian Church’s long history of service,” said Dr. Rachel Desmarais, the president of VGCC.

Through the Endowment Fund, VGCC has awarded more than 9,700 scholarships to students since 1982. Scholarships have been endowed by numerous individuals, industries, businesses, civic groups, churches and the college’s faculty and staff. Tax-deductible donations to the VGCC Endowment Fund have often been used to honor or remember a person, group, business or industry with a lasting gift to education. For more information, call (252) 738-3409.

TownTalk 2-4-21: Genealogy & History With Shannon Christmas and Mark Pace

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The way Shannon Christmas sees it, the reason genealogists should use new-fangled science in conjunction with old-fangled documentary research to complete their family tree is simple: DNA does not lie, he said. Sometimes, people do.

Christmas spoke with Bill Harris and Mark Pace on Thursday’s Town Talk about how genetic testing can confirm family histories that often are passed down through man-made documents. But DNA can also throw genealogists a curve ball, he said, when test results don’t match up to what family members have known, or been told, for years.

The noted genetic genealogist paid a return visit to Town Talk and encouraged all levels of genealogists to really understand the value of both science and old-fashioned research to have as complete a family tree as possible. “We have a real problem now,” Christmas said, that individuals think that “all they need to do to learn about their family history is just to take a DNA test and nothing else.” DNA test results can yield information about previously-unknown branches of a family tree, but documentary research – combing through court records or family papers, for example – “can provide the same sort of shocking info, the same sort of revelation,” Christmas said. It is important, he added, to do both of them together when working to fill in the family tree.

Click Play for this edition of TownTalk…

A DNA test is “a great resource for confirming one’s own ancestry and also for extending your family tree,” he said. Knowing the different types of tests and their particular strength is helpful, too, he added. Autosomal DNA testing and X-chromosome DNA testing are used to predict relationships and assign kinship, he said. Sometimes, a family tree’s branches are gnarly, such as when families have double-first cousins or half siblings. That’s when genealogical DNA tests can help. The Y DNA is passed from father to son, and mitochondrial DNA, which males and females both have, is only passed down from mothers.

Christmas decided to delve into his own ancestral lineage when his nephews were born.

“In 2009, I recognized that my position within my family had changed. I was no longer the oldest member of the youngest generation,” he explained. “I became an uncle and I wanted to document my family’s history for the next generation – For my nephews – and their children. “ Although that was his prime motivation, he confessed: “I also enjoy the intellectual stimulation that comes from doing genealogy and genetic genealogy in particular.”

Here’s just a snippet of what he’s learned about Erasmus Christmas, his paternal 2x great-grandfather: He was born enslaved in 1830 in Warren County. Through the family’s oral history, he had been told that his biological father was also the slave owner and his mother was an enslaved woman on the plantation. “DNA was able to provide evidence that supported the oral history,” Christmas said. Y-DNA test results showed that he, indeed, had traits that were of European origin. “That was a crucial piece of information that confirmed the oral history; in addition, the autosomal DNA matched me to other descendants of the slave owner’s parents.

He predicts the future of DNA testing will come to include complete genomic mapping, which, in addition to artificial intelligence and automation, can help speed up the whole process. More cataloging of more DNA segments is one thing, Christmas said, but “artificial intelligence is, well artificial.” No algorithm in the world can take the place of the human eye when it comes to noticing errors, he said. Genealogists must continue to do research manually and continue “to vet every source and every record” for accuracy.

For now, Christmas said, “it’s more important to get your DNA into each of the autosomal DNA databases. There might be a relative in one database and not in the others, and those relatives might have the answers you’re looking for.”

Take the case of King Richard III, for example. The British monarch’s remains were positively identified in 2013 using DNA from living descendants. The king died in 1485. That’s 528 years, folks.

Virtual Hiring Event Tuesday, Feb. 9th, Sunrock

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According to information obtained from the Kerr Tar Regional Council of Governments and NC Works, Carolina Sunrock will hold a virtual hiring event Tuesday, February 9th.

It will start at 11 a.m. To register, go online to events.kerrtarworks.com.

You are invited to join in for this virtual hiring event at Carolina Sunrock. Jobs opportunities are included for equipment operators, CDL A and CDL B drivers, pipe and grading foreman as well as others.

Call 919.693.2686 for more information or email joseph.jung@ncworks.gov or lonnda.brothers@ncworks.gov.

If You Have A Covid Vaccine Scheduled Tuesday, Call Now If You Haven’t Already

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The Warren County Health Department took to its Facebook page Sunday to issue what it tabbed an urgent Covid-19 vaccination update.

The bottom line is if you have a covid vaccine scheduled Tuesday at the Warren County Health Department, then you need to be calling immediately to reschedule.  This is especially true if you have not already been given a new appointment.

The organization’s Facebook post said:

Urgent COVID-19 Vaccination Update
If you or someone you know has an appointment to get a COVID-19 vaccination on Tuesday, February 2, 2021 at the Warren County Health Department, please call (252) 257-6039. We will not have vaccine available on that day and need to reschedule your appointment. If we have already given you a new appointment, you do not have to call. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Triangle North Healthcare Foundation Community Response Grants

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Triangle North Healthcare Foundation’s annual grant program opens today, Feb. 1, 2021. The Community Response Grants provide up to $20,000 to nonprofits, governmental and educational organizations for programming that responds to the effect COVID-19 has on families and communities, according to Val Short, the foundation’s executive director.

Organizations that serve counties in the Triangle North Region comprised of Vance, Granville, Franklin and Warren counties are eligible to submit applications, Short said in information provided to WIZS. Individuals are not eligible to submit an application.

Find the link to the grant application at www.tnhfoundation.org. New applicants must register for an account. Any organization interested in submitting a grant application should schedule a meeting with Triangle North Healthcare to discuss the project. Virtual meetings via Zoom will begin next week, Short said. Call TNH at 252.430.8532 to learn more about the grant process. Completed applications are due no later than July 31, 2021.

Triangle North Healthcare Foundation began funding projects in 2013. To date, more than $2 million has been awarded to fund more than 80 health projects serving the four-county region.  The grants support programs in the focus areas of child well-being, chronic disease, mental health and substance use disorders, nutrition and physical fitness, and reproductive health.

Triangle North Healthcare Foundation is a regional healthcare grantmaking organization, established in November 2011 after the merge of Maria Parham Medical Center with the for-profit Duke LifePoint.  The foundation has been funded by an endowment that was created from the assets of the former nonprofit hospital.

VGCC Logo

New Production Technician Class; Real Skills, Better Pay, Certifications

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— press release

Vance-Granville Community College is excited to announce a new Production Technician program. The program is designed to provide fast, hands-on training to learn job skills in safety, math, quality practices, teamwork, communications, problem solving, production processes and basic bio-processing. Our 96-hour program will prepare workers to help increase productivity, performance, competitiveness and enhance value/profit. The program will start February 15 and runs for only 16 days.

Learn skills needed to be effective contributors in production operations and achieve credentials that get employers’ attention. If you are already in the industry, improve your performance and obtain a higher-paying job within the industry. The Production Technician program is a competency-based training program designed to provide students with enhanced career opportunities in manufacturing. Students will be introduced to the concepts of process improvements and emphasizing the importance of quality and its role in company profitability and job sustainability.

This course prepares people to enter careers as a production technician, machine operator, packaging machine operator, assembly-line worker or assembly-machine operator. Often, entry-level production technician positions are the starting point for a new employee to advance within the company.  In this role, you need to understand and perform tasks based upon setup or job sheets, processes and the use of technology. According to Career Coach, new workers could start around $41,000. Entry-level compensation typically varies between $30,000-$40,000 per year.

Students completing the course:

  • are guaranteed a job interview.
  • receive the North Carolina Manufacturing Certificate.
  • are certified as a Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt.
  • are certified forklift operators.
  • are certified in OSHA 10 safety.

Tuition scholarships are available. Full scholarships will be provided to the first eight applicants.

Act now, because class capacity is limited. To register for this course, visit

https://www.vgcc.edu/coned/productiontech/.

Dale Folwell

Treasurer Folwell Recommends Improved COVID Vaccine Distribution Plan

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— from the office of North Carolina State Treasurer Dale Folwell

For weeks North Carolina lagged behind much of the nation in administering the doses of COVID-19 vaccinations it received, and state Treasurer Dale R. Folwell, CPA, will outline the consequences of the state not being prepared for the rollout during his monthly “Ask Me Anything” conference call for members of the media on Tuesday, Feb. 2.

Treasurer Folwell is advocating for a “PPP” approach to execute rapid, efficient supply chain delivery. Rather than concentrating immunizations in local health departments and more expensive hospitals, he believes it makes greater sense to expand availability of the shots to primary care physicians, pediatricians and pharmacies – the three Ps that have been reliably and professionally administering vaccines for more than 100 years.

The Department of State Treasurer has amassed about 26,000 health care providers in the State Health Plan’s Clear Pricing Project network. Many of them are willing and qualified to provide the shots but state health officials have kept them on the sidelines.

The treasurer contends the shaky rollout likely is contributing to more deaths, will increase poverty because business lockdowns will remain in effect until the vaccines can be more widely administered to contain spread of the virus, and students will continue to fall further behind in their education and suffer increased mental health problems because most schools remain closed.

Another topic the treasurer will discuss is the potential community harm from the pending sale of county-owned New Hanover Regional Medical Center to health care giant Novant Health.

Treasurer Folwell contends the acquisition is the latest in a series of hospital consolidations that have inflicted negative consequences on North Carolina taxpayers and health care consumers. An article in Fortune magazine supported his position that increased hospital concentration and monopolies lead to higher costs, lower quality and decreased access. The article noted 74% of North Carolina general hospitals belong to mega-health care systems. Only three other states have a higher percentage.