First Baptist of Roanoke Rapids to Present ‘The Joy of Easter’ Outdoor Play

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-Information courtesy Rev. Don West, First Baptist Church – Roanoke Rapids

“The Joy of Easter” outdoor Musical Passion Play will take place on Saturday and Sunday, April 20 and 21, 2019, at 8 p.m. at First Baptist Church on Becker Drive in Roanoke Rapids, NC. The musical Passion play takes place in the church’s amphitheater located on the back property of the church.

The story depicts the life, death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Christ. Come experience the action, drama and emotion of the Easter story in an outdoor Biblical setting.

Admission is free, and donations are welcome. All are invited to this exciting outdoor event.

The church is located at 515 Becker Drive in Roanoke Rapids, NC at the corner of Old Farm Road and Becker Drive across from B & J’s Cash and Carry, the New Republic Bank and the BP Station.

For more information, please call the church at (252) 537-6171 or access the church website at www.fbcrrweb.org.

Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Dept. to Hold Indoor Yard Sale

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-Information courtesy Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Department

There will be an indoor yard sale on Saturday, April 6, 2019, from 7 a.m. until noon at the Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Department located on US Highway 1 in Ridgeway, NC.

Money from this sale will go to help high school youth from St. Paul’s Lutheran Church.

DA Waters: 16 & 17-Year-Olds to be Tried as Juveniles Effective Dec. 1

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District Attorney Mike Waters was on Monday’s edition of WIZS’ Town Talk program to discuss the “Raise the Age” Initiative, an NC Legislature-passed law that will raise the age of juvenile jurisdiction for nonviolent crimes to age 18 effective December 1, 2019.

According to Waters, this change will significantly increase the juvenile court workload as the majority of 16 and 17-year-olds, currently tried automatically as adults in NC, will be tried as juveniles when the law goes into effect.

Under the new law, exceptions exist for 16 and 17-year-olds who commit felonies that are classified as A-D – including murder, robbery and burglary – in addition to DWI and other traffic offenses, firearm charges and gang-related offenses.

“North Carolina is one of the last two states in the nation to charge 16-year-olds as adults,” said Waters. “I want to reassure the public that, under the new law, the DA’s office will have the discretion to prosecute juveniles that commit serious crimes as adults.”

Waters also explained that, as of December 1, a 16 or 17-year-old convicted of a serious crime will fall under the “once an adult, always an adult” adage; once tried as an adult, any subsequent convictions will be tried as an adult as well.

As for the reason behind raising the age limit for juvenile prosecutions, Waters said research and statistics make a compelling case.

“Research shows that many 16 and 17-year-olds that get involved in the court system may not get involved with it again. Tracking someone forever and giving them a record at a young age creates a certain outcome. Also, 16 and 17-year-olds are not thinking the same way that 18, 19 and 21-year-olds are thinking.”

While juvenile court often results in some form of punishment, Waters said the primary purpose is “therapeutic” in nature. “In juvenile court, you’re trying to get the juvenile on the straight and narrow so they do not have to come back [into the court system].”

Waters and other district attorneys across NC will be asking state legislators for additional assistant district attorneys and support staff to help with the expected increase to the juvenile court workload.

“The NC Conference of District Attorneys will be asking the legislature for 54 additional assistant district attorneys across the state with the expectation that we will have one of those in our district,” Waters said.

Waters and his office serve Vance, Granville, Franklin, Warren and Person counties. This five-county area compromises the 9th Judicial and the 11th Prosecutorial districts in North Carolina.

To hear the Town Talk interview with DA Mike Waters in its entirety, click here.

Update: No Serious Injuries Reported in Warren Co. Activity Bus Rollover

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Warren County Schools’ Assistant Superintendent Dr. Frank Polakiewicz contacted WIZS News Monday afternoon to follow up with information about the Warren County activity bus that rolled over this past Friday afternoon. Injuries were minor to all the occupants of the bus. Dr. Polakiewicz said everyone aboard was transported to nearby hospitals but all were released.

He said, “We had a bus that was returning from a field trip in Durham. They had been to a Microsoft establishment for a STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math) activity I believe. We had 14 students, two chaperones and the driver on the bus.  About five miles outside of (Warrenton) on route 1001, the bus swerved and tipped over on its side. Our team responded, and the principal, transportation and emergency services responded.”

Polakiewicz said, “Fortunately none of the students, chaperones or driver were seriously injured.”

The highway patrol is still trying to determine the direct cause of the accident, according to Polakiewicz. He said an individual claimed to have seen the accident and thought it was wind-related. “We reviewed the camera. There was nothing unusual going on inside the bus, so we are waiting for the final report as to the cause of the accident.”

Complete Warrenton’s Bicycle-Pedestrian Plan Survey for a Chance to Win $50!

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-Information courtesy Town of Warrenton NC’s Facebook page

The Town of Warrenton is interested in your feedback on bicycle and pedestrian plans. A grant from NC DOT is helping the Town develop plans and citizen feedback is critical.

Survey forms are available online, at Town Hall and also at the County Health Department and Library. Surveys can be turned in at any of these locations.

Upon completing a survey, you will automatically be registered for a drawing that includes a $50 cash prize!

Help us plan for the future!  Download the survey:

Survey Questionnaire ENGLISH

Survey Questionnaire SPANISH

Or click here to complete an online survey.

NC Dept of Agriculture

NC Farmers, Supporters to Attend Agriculture Awareness Event

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-Press Release, NCDA&CS

The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is hosting Ag Awareness Day. Farmers, agribusiness leaders and Ag supporters will attend to show their support for North Carolina’s No. 1 industry and to thank legislators for passing the $240 million Hurricane Florence Ag Disaster Relief package. Participants will meet with legislators and attend a program in Bicentennial Plaza.

WHEN/WHERE:   

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Bicentennial Plaza, Raleigh (between the Agriculture Building and the N.C. Museum of History)

*8:30 a.m. – Buses will depart the fairgrounds bringing Ag Awareness Day participants downtown.

*9 – 11 a.m. – Participants will meet with their legislators.

*11:30 a.m. – Ag Awareness Day program begins in Bicentennial Plaza, including the following speakers:

Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler, Gov. Roy Cooper, Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, President Pro Tempore Phil Berger, Speaker Tim Moore, Senator Brent Jackson, Representative Jimmy Dixon, Senator Dan Blue, Representative John Bell, Senator Don Davis, Representative Brian Turner and NCSU Dean Richard Linton.

*All times are approximate.

VGCC Presents 7th Annual Dinner Theater: ‘Company’ by Stephen Sondheim

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-Press Release, Vance-Granville Community College

“Company” by Stephen Sondheim

Tickets for Seventh Annual Dinner Theater will go on sale March 25!

Check out the details below of what promises to be an evening of fun, food and fellowship in the great Vance-Granville Drama and Culinary Arts tradition and get your tickets at www.vgcc.edu/dinnertheater. The event, once again involving the collaboration of the VGCC Drama and Culinary Arts departments, is scheduled for the evenings of Thursday, April 25 and Friday, April 26, 2019, in the Civic Center on VGCC’s Main Campus in Vance County. Dinner begins at 6 p.m. each evening.

Sondheim’s musical is a sophisticated and honest look at modern adult relationships.

From musical theatre’s most renowned composer, “Company” is largely regarded as a trailblazer of the dark-comedy, modern-musical genre and the winner of seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Score, Best Lyrics and Best Book.

On the night of his 35th birthday, confirmed bachelor Robert contemplates his unmarried state. Over the course of a series of dinners, drinks and even a wedding, his friends – “those good and crazy people [his] married friends” – explain the pros and cons of taking on a spouse. The habitually single Robert is forced to question his adamant retention of bachelorhood during a hilarious array of interactions.

“Company” features a brilliantly brisk and energetic score containing many of Stephen Sondheim’s best-known songs. The strength of the piece lies in its vivid yet real characters, meaning impressive technical aspects aren’t necessary to convey the story. It can be told as effectively with a cavalcade of automated set pieces as it can with a chair or two. Every audience member will see reflections of themselves in at least one of the characters onstage.

Betsy Henderson, VGCC’s Department Chair/Instructor of Humanities and Fine Arts, is the director of the play.

Tickets are $30 and are scheduled to go on sale on March 25. Audience members will be able to choose the table and specific seats they want at the same time that they buy their tickets online. Patrons are encouraged to purchase their tickets early in order to have the best chance of getting the seats they want for this year’s show.

For more information, visit www.vgcc.edu/dinnertheater.

State Broadband Office Publishes Homework Gap Report

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-Information courtesy NC DIT

Eric Boyette, Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Information Technology (DIT) and State Chief Information Officer, announced today the release of the “The Homework Gap in North Carolina,” a report that provides communities with strategies to bridge the homework gap that occurs when students are assigned homework that requires internet access but lack an internet connection at home.

N.C. DIT’s Broadband Infrastructure Office developed the homework gap report in partnership with The William & Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation at North Carolina State University. This report contributes to a growing body of research and strategic policy recommendations designed to equip state and local policymakers, educators, and other key stakeholders with information to understand the homework gap and strategies to address it.

“We know we have many children in our state that are victims of this digital divide,” Secretary Boyette said. “Understanding the nature and scope of this problem is key to closing the homework gap.”

Governor Roy Cooper’s budget proposal makes closing the homework gap a significant priority. Governor Cooper proposes a $5 million fund to support schools that need internet hot spots for students and Wi-Fi technology for school buses.

“Too often I hear of students doing homework in the parking lots of fast food restaurants or driving long distances to use free Wi-Fi at churches and friends’ homes,” Governor Cooper said. “This is unacceptable in this day and age and it creates inequity in our educational system.”

Governor Cooper also signed Executive Order 91, which establishes a new Governor’s Task Force on Connecting North Carolina and directs state government leaders to identify and remove barriers to facilitate private-sector deployment of last-mile infrastructure, eliminate the homework gap, and support the adoption of affordable, high-speed internet access.

N.C. DIT has already begun implementing the report’s recommendations, including the BIO’s continued effort to gather more and better data through surveys such as the Speak Up survey. Speak Up is an annual research project and a free service to all schools and was the first online research tool designed to help parents share their ideas directly with schools and national policymakers. BIO partnered with the N.C. Department of Public Instruction to include homework gap specific questions in the 2018-2019 Speak Up survey.

One way the state is currently working to combat the homework gap is through the State Library of North Carolina and N.C. DIT’s pilot program with the Robeson County Public Library and Public Schools of Robeson County. The pilot program is funded by a $250,000 two-year grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and will provide Robeson County Public Library with 35 Wi-Fi hotspot devices for up to 35 K-12 households.

To access the report, please visit The Homework Gap in North Carolina on the Broadband Infrastructure Office website. To take the Speak Up survey, please visit https://speakup.tomorrow.org.

NC Drivers May Soon Face Stricter Restrictions on Cell Phone Use

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State lawmakers are working on getting a bill passed that would ban NC drivers from talking on their cell phones while operating a motor vehicle.

HB 144 proposes fines for first offenses of talking on the phone while driving. Subsequent convictions would result in fines and insurance points.

Exceptions would allow drivers to talk on cell phones while parked. Drivers 18 and older would also be able to use a mounted cell phone if the call could be placed and ended with a single button.

Drivers who experience emergency situations and emergency responders are exempt under the proposed bill.

The bill needs the approval of the House, Senate and NC governor to officially become law.

According to a car accident lawyer Daytona beach, North Carolina currently bans texting while driving for all drivers and talking while driving for those younger than 18 and all school bus drivers.

In last week’s Town Talk interview with North Carolina Insurance Commissioner and State Fire Marshal Mike Causey, the topic of HB 144 was briefly discussed.

“Distracted driving is the leading cause of deadly accidents today,” said Causey. “Texting and talking while driving have killed so many people needlessly.”

Causey believes the bill, which has been brought up several times in past years, will pass this go around thanks to “broad bipartisan support.”

“The time is now right with the number of deadly accidents and the pressure it’s putting on raising auto insurance rates. It’s a common sense safety move that would also help hold down insurance rates.”

Warren Co. Coop to Provide Transportation for Free Small Farms Luncheon

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-Information and graphic courtesy Warren Co. Cooperative Extension Center

In honor of Small Farms Week – March 24-30, 2019 – the Warren Co. Cooperative Extension Center will provide transportation to a Small Farms Appreciation Luncheon in Greensboro on Wednesday, March 27, 2019.

The luncheon and transportation are free for farmers. You must RSVP by Wednesday, March 13, 2019, to William Landis at (252) 257-3640 if interested in attending.

The Warren Co. Center is also currently accepting canned food donations as part of their 2nd Annual Canned Food Drive. Please drop off donations at Warren Co. Cooperative Extension Center – 158 Rafters Lane, Warrenton, NC – by March 24. Food donations will support Loaves and Fishes Ministries of Warren County.