Warren’s Mobile DMV Unit to Save Residents Trip Outside the County

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-Press Release, Warren County Government

The North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) will continue to bring its mobile unit to Warren County in 2020. Examiners will travel to the Warren County Armory Civic Center located at 501 US Hwy 158 Bus E, Warrenton every other month from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

The 2020 visitation schedule will begin on Wednesday, January 15. The remaining dates include March 11, May 13, July 15, September 16 and December 16.

Each mobile DMV office contains all the components of a brick and mortar DMV office.

For more information on DMV services, contact the DMV at 919-715-7000 or visit www.ncdot.gov.

Warrenton Police Dept. Asks Public to Celebrate the New Year Safely

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Message from the Warrenton Police Department:

As things come to an end for 2019 and for the decade, we are reminded of how fortunate we are to have such a safe community for our citizens to live and work in.

With the New Year festivities and celebrations happening tonight, we’re going to be out patrolling the streets with even more visibility to ensure everyone has a safe night.

It’s inevitable that alcohol will be involved in the celebrations in some way; however, IF you drink and drive, you’re risking not only your life but the lives of everyone else in the community or those who may be on the roadway, and our department WILL arrest you. A $10,000 average DWI, or death and injury, isn’t worth it; call someone to pick you up or stay where you are!

Every New Year’s Eve, we respond to several 911 calls throughout the night for reports of gunfire; this is dangerous and illegal! You may be celebrating by firing into the air, but we don’t know that and as a result, resources are tied up to investigate and make sure no one is injured or dead. Discharging a firearm within city limits is illegal and will result in you being arrested and your firearm being seized.

With these warnings in mind, we want everyone to ring in the New Year with a fun and safe night. 2019 has been a great year; let’s make 2020 even better!

Warren Co. Cooperative Extension to Hold No-Till Drill Demo Day

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-Information courtesy the Warren County Cooperative Extension Center

The Warren County Cooperative Extension is having a demo day for the county’s new Great Plains No-Till Drill on Tuesday, January 14, 2020, at 9:30 a.m. Basic operation and calibration methods for using the drill will be covered in the demonstration.

The demonstration will be held at the Warren County Cooperative Extension Center located at 158 Rafters Lane in Warrenton, NC.

The drill is available for Warren County residents to use. All that have an interest in the drill are encouraged to come see the ins and outs of how it works.

For more information, please call the Warren County Center at (252) 257-3640 or email Matthew Place at mbplace@ncsu.edu.

Accommodation requests related to a disability should be made by January 3, 2020, to Matthew Place, (252) 257-3640 or mbplace@ncsu.edu.

Deal Advances on Southeast Rail Corridor

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THIS STORY IS PRESENTED IN PART BY DRAKE DENTISTRY

-Press Release, N.C. Department of Transportation

North Carolina has received good transportation news as an important agreement reached this week will advance plans to improve the Southeast’s freight and passenger rail network.

The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation announced a major deal with CSX Thursday. Part of the deal will enable the N.C. Department of Transportation to acquire a 10-mile portion of an inactive freight line in North Carolina so the line can be converted for use on the Southeast Rail Corridor.

The Southeast Rail Corridor is a network of passenger and freight rail from Washington D.C. to Jacksonville, Fla. The rail runs through North Carolina roughly parallel to Interstate 85 and U.S. 1. The 10-mile section to be acquired runs from Ridgeway in Warren County to the North Carolina-Virginia border.

“This is a key step as we work to improve our rail system so we can move people and goods more efficiently between North Carolina and communities along the East Coast,” said Jason Orthner, director of the N.C. Department of Transportation’s Rail Division.

This week’s deal will also enable the construction of a new Virginia-owned Long Bridge across the Potomac River, and acquisition of more than 350 miles of railroad right-of-way.

The deal comes as officials with North Carolina and Virginia work together on a strategy to acquire both in-service and out-of-service rail lines for enhanced freight and passenger services. North Carolina Sen. Tom McInnis is chairman of the North Carolina delegation of the VA-NC Interstate High Speed Rail Compact and a chairman of state legislative transportation committees.

“This agreement takes us a big step forward in our efforts to better connect North Carolina communities,” McInnis said. “And it will offer new connections between our state and our neighbors, providing lasting economic development opportunities for our state.”

U.S. Department of Justice

Eastern District of NC Collects Over $13M in Civil, Criminal Actions

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-Press Release, U.S. Department of Justice

United States Attorney Robert J. Higdon, Jr. announced today that the Eastern District of North Carolina collected $8,527,783.50 in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2019. Of this amount, $6,362,993.33 was collected in criminal actions and $2,164,790.17 was collected in civil actions. 

One notable example of the office’s dogged pursuit of victim restitution is the case against Compassionate Home Care Services, Inc. and two other individual defendants. After a years-long investigation and civil prosecution of false claims submitted to Medicaid, the Court awarded the United States and the State of North Carolina a multimillion-dollar judgment.

Because of evidence developed during a thorough financial investigation, the Court restrained significant property early in the case to preserve it for collection. After the judgment was issued, the government used garnishments, executions, and other remedies to collect over $500,000 in short order.

Additionally, the Eastern District of North Carolina worked with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice to collect an additional $134,460.79 in cases pursued jointly by these offices. Of this amount, $15,378.18 was collected in criminal actions and $119,082.61 was collected in civil actions.

“We will use every tool in our arsenal to aggressively collect victim restitution and criminal fines, and recover taxpayer dollars lost to fraud and owed to government agencies,” said Mr. Higdon. “We are proud of the men and women in our office who have worked so hard to ensure justice through their collection efforts. They are to be congratulated for their tremendously successful efforts.”

The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, along with the department’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the U.S. and criminal debts owed to federal crime victims. The law requires defendants to pay restitution to victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered a physical injury or financial loss.

While restitution is paid to the victim, criminal fines and felony assessments are paid to the department’s Crime Victims Fund, which distributes the funds collected to federal and state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.

Additionally, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of North Carolina, working with partner agencies and divisions, collected $4,478,580 in asset forfeiture actions in FY 2019. Forfeited assets deposited into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund can be used for a variety of purposes, including to support law enforcement.

In certain circumstances, they can also be used to restore funds to crime victims. The Department of Justice, for instance, restored at least 1.8 million in assets forfeited by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina in Fiscal Year 2019, which assets have been used to compensate the victims of crimes prosecuted by this office.

Mr. Higdon stated: “Asset forfeiture is an important tool in the fight against crime. The forfeiture of assets that facilitate crimes or which are the fruits of the crime deprives the criminals of the means and reasons for their criminal activity.  We will continue to aggressively pursue wrongdoers and their illegal assets as well.”

State Highway Patrol

State Highway Patrol Focused On Collision Reduction This Christmas

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-Press Release, NC Department of Public Safety

In anticipation of the upcoming Christmas and New Year’s holidays, the State Highway Patrol is putting safe driving at the top of its Christmas wish list.

According to AAA, more than 112 million travelers are expected to leave home throughout the holiday period to spend time with family and friends. With this in mind, troopers across the state are focusing on driver behavior in an attempt to ensure everyone arrives safely to their intended destination.

Last year, troopers responded to 3,102 collisions between the dates of Dec. 24 through Jan. 2. Among those collisions, 716 were injury-related and 19 resulted in a fatality. This year, SHP hopes to decrease the number of collisions during the same time frame by focusing on violations such as excessive speeding, reckless driving, following too close and impaired driving.

“The Christmas season is a time to be shared with family and friends,” said Colonel Glenn McNeill Jr., commander of the State Highway Patrol. “Our priority is to reduce needless collisions before they occur in hopes of reporting zero lives lost throughout this holiday season.”

With the increase of distracted driving on the rise across the nation, the Patrol is also taking a proactive approach in reducing distracted driving collisions with the release of a Christmas PSA entitled Two Choices, Your Decision.

While there are several different types of distractions that affect safe driving, the PSA focuses on the dangers associated with texting while driving. The PSA can be obtained by visiting the SHP Facebook page or viewing this YouTube link https://youtu.be/-0S1yDxIOgA.

Warren Co. Coop. Extension to Hold FREE Track-Out Success Camp

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-Information courtesy the Warren County Cooperative Extension Center

The Warren County Cooperative Extension Center/EFNEP Program will hold a Track-Out Success Camp for children on January 6-7 and 9-10, 2020, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

The camp will be held at the Warren County Center located at 158 Rafters Lane, Warrenton, NC 27589.

Come and join us on your track-out week to learn about nutrition and how to prepare healthy food! The program is open to all school-age children and is offered at no cost!

Click here to register. Don’t wait – spaces are limited.

GrassStreet & The Larry Stephenson Band to Perform at McGregor Hall

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-Information courtesy McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center

A NIGHT OF BLUEGRASS: Featuring GrassStreet and The Larry Stephenson Band

Two great bands come together on the McGregor Hall stage for A NIGHT OF BLUEGRASS!

Local favorite GrassStreet has entertained fans since 2003 with their mix of original material and bluegrass standards. The Larry Stephenson Band has been entertaining audiences for thirty years including numerous performances on the Grand Ole Opry, RFD-TV, and as a headliner on festivals and concerts throughout the US and Canada.

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)

Town Talk 12/16/19: Hibernia’s First Extended Camping Season Deemed a Success

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THIS STORY IS PRESENTED IN PART BY DRAKE DENTISTRY

Frank Timberlake, Lead Public Affairs with the Kerr Lake Park Watch, appeared on WIZS Town Talk Monday at 11 a.m.

Following up on a press release sent to WIZS in October, Timberlake was “thrilled” to announce that the first-ever extension of Hibernia’s camping season into late fall/early winter was deemed a success.

While Timberlake said he’d “love to have some totally accurate numbers” to share with listeners, he could report that within days of the NC State Parks & Recreation’s initial announcement of the extension, over 100 reservations were made.

Prior to this year, winter camping for Kerr Lake’s seven state recreational areas was restricted to certain parts of Nutbush and Satterwhite Point. For the 2019 season, Hibernia’s Area 2 remained open through December 2.

Hibernia previously closed around October 25 each year and reopened between March 15-20.

For nine years, Timberlake said the Kerr Lake Park Watch has advocated extending the camping season as an increasing number of RVs are equipped for cold-weather camping.

“I would like to see that season extended even further, at least until December 20,” said Timberlake. “Think about the people who might come to Christmas festivals, the McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center and Christmas parades if they could bring their RV and stay at Kerr Lake.”

Timberlake believes longer seasons equals more than just happier campers, as he estimates that those camping on Kerr Lake contribute approximately $100 a day to the local economy.

“After you get past October, you don’t see a whole lot of week-long campers. A Thursday, Friday and Saturday night stay, or even a Friday and Saturday night stay, add to the coffers of the state. More than that, it adds to the economic impact of Vance, Warren and maybe even Granville counties,” explained Timberlake.

The Kerr Lake Park Watch has long maintained that the salaries for rangers, maintenance and support staff for the recreation areas go year-round, so more of the parks should be open for longer seasons.

“It wouldn’t cost more because the staff is already full-time. Another cost would be the electricity used, but that is covered in the campsite fees,” Timberlake stated.

The seven state recreational areas include Kimball Point, County Line, Bullocksville, Satterwhite Point, Nutbush, Hibernia and Henderson Point. For more information on each area, including a link to make online reservations, please click here.

For more information on the Kerr Lake Park Watch, visit www.kerrlakeparkwatch.org.

To hear the interview with Timberlake in its entirety, including more on the history and accomplishments of the Kerr Lake Park Watch, go to WIZS.com and click on Town Talk.

VGCC Honors 2019 Retirees at Holiday Event

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-Information courtesy Vance-Granville Community College

Vance-Granville Community College honored five employees that retired in 2019 at a holiday event held on Thursday, December 12 in the VGCC Civic Center.

Retirees and their years of service to VGCC included Phyllis Bynum, 14 years of service; Faith Harris, 14 years of service; June Kersey, 8 years of service; Tina Moll, 14 years of service and Vickie W. Watkins, 14 years of service.

Fellow VGCC employees spoke on behalf of the retirees and thanked each for their hard work, commitment, and invaluable contributions.

Vance-Granville Community College honored five employees that retired in 2019 at a holiday event held on Thursday, December 12 in the VGCC Civic Center. (Front row, left to right): Phyllis Bynum, VGCC President Rachel Desmarais, Ph.D., Faith Harris. (Back row, left to right): Tina Moll and Vickie West Watkins. Not pictured, June Kersey. (VGCC photo)