Bryan Cohn joins The Local Skinny! to talk about how Vance County will be among 17 counties in the state of North Carolina to be a part of a Statewide Initiative to increase Broadband Internet to rural communities.
(Our WIZS written coverage will appear here soon.)
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More than 50 employers are expected to attend Vance-Granville Community College’s Spring Graduate Career Fair Thursday, and organizers are excited to see how the networking will take place between those who are looking to fill positions and those who may fit the bill.
With graduation just a few weeks away, VGCC Director of Career Services & Experiential Learning Dr. Krystal Foxx said representatives from nonprofits, government agencies, manufacturing, industry are just some of the employers that will be present at the career fair, which takes place in the VGCC Civic Center from 9 a.m. to 12 noon on Thursday, Apr. 24.
“As we consider the economic impact, we consider that now, more than ever, employers are looking to grow their work forces and expand, this is a great opportunity for any job seeker,” Foxx said. “Come out and see what’s available.”
VGCC Career Development Specialist Lorene Allen said planning for the career fair is a months-long process, including preparing students for what to expect on the actual day of the event.
Organizers had a Career Impact Day last week and had different people come to campus to help coach students on resume writing and share strategies about how to conduct themselves when speaking with a prospective employer.
The Dress for Success mobile boutique came, too, and students were able to get free outfits.
VGCC has a Career Clothing closet as well, and it will be open this week for students to come choose an appropriate interview outfit.
The career fair isn’t just for students, however. The public is welcome to attend. There is an online registration, but participants can register on site, too.
The first 100 to register in advance will get a swag bag filled with goodies and freebies.
Employers and vendors who participate in the career fair are invited to a luncheon at the conclusion of the event from 12 noon to 1 p.m. Contact Foxx at foxxk@vgcc.edu to sign up for that.
Employers should reach out to careerservices@vgcc.edu or phone 252.738.3466 to register. Visit the career services website to learn about all services at: Career Services Page. Visit VGCC Spring Career Fair 2025 | Handshake
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Rebuilding Hope, Inc. is having its spring chicken plate fundraiser Friday, Apr. 25. For the price of $10 a ticket, customers will get half a chicken, potatoes, green beans, bread and dessert, thanks to lots of volunteers who will be working behind the scenes to get food prepared and packaged for takeout.
Stop by the RHI headquarters between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. to pick up to-go plates. Or, said RHI Co-Director Tom Wille, businesses that call and place an order for five or more plates can have them delivered.
Rebuilding Hope, Inc. has kept its price at $10 – “that’s our price and we’re sticking to it,” Wille said. Everybody is trying to save a little bit these days, and he said he hopes keeping the price at $10 a plate will be helpful to families.
Wille estimated that between 150 and 200 volunteers will have had some role in the fundraiser after all is said and done. “This is an awesome operation,” he said, “and it really speaks to what Rebuilding Hope, Inc. is all about – a team effort.
From cake bakers and slicers to the folks on the assembly line who place the meal in containers, the volunteers show up and show out.
And then there’s the grillers – “they appear from nowhere with their cookers,” Wille said.
“These guys know what they’re doing. They come together and have a good time doing it,” he added.
The end result? Chicken that’s cooked to perfection.
Whether during the twice-a-year chicken plate fundraiser or at other times throughout the year when Rebuilding Hope is helping others, the mission of the ministry is “designed to be the feet of Jesus in the community,” he said.
In addition to the roofing repairs and wheelchair ramp construction that the construction ministry is known for, they also help churches support members in need. Rebuilding Hope, Inc. supplies the materials and the tools, and the churches supply the workers to help get that ramp built or some other project around the house.
“We’re loving on the people where they’re at,” Wille said. “We’re here to point people to Jesus.”
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On the Home and Garden Show with Vance Co. Cooperative Ext.
The Vance County Cooperative Extension is located at 305 Young St, Henderson, NC 27536
The Vance County Regional Farmers Market is located at 210 Southpark Dr., Henderson, NC 27536
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Perry Memorial Library is teaming up with Vance County Cooperative Extension and Safe Routes To School to promote Earth Day 2025.
Youth Services Librarian Melody Peters invites the public to come out on Tuesday, Apr. 22 at 4 p.m. No registration is necessary – just come on out and have some fun!
Peters said there will be plenty of hands-on activities for youngsters as they learn about how to care for the planet and contribute to a greener, more sustainable future.
“We just want to celebrate Mother Earth,” Peters said, adding that there will be opportunities projects to create bird feeders and plant seeds in a cup, both of which can be taken home when they’re completed.
Hopefully, the weather will cooperate and the activities can take place outside. Safe Routes to School will bring a Story Walk to share and kids can take part in a scavenger hunt, too.
Then on Tuesday, Apr. 29, the library will be the site of an evening of poetry to celebrate National Poetry Month.
Peters said she’s visited Vance County High School to do programs, but this time, the school’s chorus and library club are coming to the library to share a program highlighting poetry and the spoken word.
Members of the Library Club are always helpful when they come to the library, and Peters said if you have never heard the VCHS Chorus perform, you should definitely come hear them on the 29th.
“They have a beautiful sound,” Peters said, adding that their voices, lifted together, just seem to fill the entire gallery area.
Bringing groups into the library to present programs improves and strengthens community partnerships. Peters isn’t shy about approaching groups or individuals, and the answer is usually a resounding ‘yes’ to the request.
It’s just another way to inform the community and raise awareness about resources located right here in the area.
Visit https://www.perrylibrary.org/ to learn more.
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The campus of Wilkes Community College once again transforms into a sprawling concert venue later this month when MerleFest 2025 cranks up for four days of pure musical fun.
MerleFest 2025 begins Thursday, Apr. 24 and continues through Sunday, Apr. 27.
Tasker Fleming, host of the Front Porch Bluegrass Show that airs from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays on WIZS said that folks who attend MerleFest will surely get their money’s worth – different musical groups will take to stages large and small, indoors and out, during the course of each day.
One local group, The Barefoot Movement, is scheduled for four performances on Friday, Apr. 25. They’re just one of the dozens of performers – from Bonnie Raitt and the Avett Brothers to Asleep at the Wheel and Peter Rowan – included in this year’s lineup.
singers, players and pickers
And if the musical variety weren’t enough, there will be vendors galore selling all kinds of items from food to musical instruments for the thousands of attendees expected.
When Fleming attended the music festival a couple of years ago, he said one thing that struck him was the relaxed atmosphere that existed between the musicians and the audience.
“When they get off the stage, they hang around and talk to you,” he said. “You won’t get that at a normal concert.”
Visit https://merlefest.org/ to learn more.
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The Vance County Board of Commissioners have approved a pathway for county staff to proceed with a “design/build” process to make necessary repairs to the jail as it weighs further options for construction of a new detention center.
County Attorney Jonathan Care explained to commissioners at their Monday meeting why he recommends this “new” approach be used for the repairs and expressed the need to move quickly, based on a letter from the state citing, among other things, the poor physical condition of the jail.
Care spelled out options for the short-term repairs needed at the existing jail while pursuing design and construction options for a brand-new jail; the consensus at Monday’s meeting was to use the design/build process for the repairs. Care told commissioners staff could have everything in place by the next meeting, if not sooner, to put that plan in motion.
One of the main components of the design/build approach, he explained, has both the construction side and the design side collaborating on the project instead of hiring an architect to design and then a construction team to build.
“I think that is the absolute best way to move forward,” Care said, “and that is my recommendation to move forward with repairs to our current facility.”
The design/build approach begins with a request for qualification – an RFQ – instead of a request for proposals – an RFP, which often results in awarding projects to the company who submits the lowest bid.
He said the design/build process won’t be the cheapest way, but it should result in fewer change orders during construction and fewer issues that inevitably pop up.
With the repairs, however, “time is as much of a factor as cost is.”
A jail is not something that should be pieced out and parceled, Care said.
“We need to know, down the road, that we’re going to have a facility that isn’t such a unicorn that we’re reliant on one person” to come in and make needed repairs, he said, referencing the problem with broken doors at the jail.
“I can tell you, unfortunately, we’ve experienced some of that in our current facility with updating, remodeling and building…that isn’t working for us, and it’s costing us dearly now.”
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Each year the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting and Banquet serves the dual roles of bringing the membership base together as well as recognizing the outstanding contributions of a local citizen and a local business.
At Thursday evening’s event, attended by about 300 people in the Vance-Granville Community College Civic Center, Jim Johnson was honored as the 2024 Citizen of the Year.
As outgoing Chamber Board President Margier White shared details about the as-yet-unnamed recipient, several generations of Johnson’s family – children, grandchildren and great-grands – filed into the Civic Center and gathered along one side.
White called Johnson a “true pillar in our community,” adding that he came to Henderson in 1977 and began a 30-year career in the manufactured housing industry. In the 1990’s, Henderson was home to one of only three manufactured housing operations in the state.
Johnson was a member of the U.S. Air Force and is a decorated Vietnam veteran.
He is a graduate of East Carolina University.
Johnson has filled many roles in Hermon Methodist Church over the years and is a long-time member of the local Kiwanis club. He was Kiwanian of the Year in 2005 and has participated in all their fundraisers over the years – golf tournaments and azalea sales, among others.
He served on the board of Maria Parham Health from 1996 to 2004 and then from 2005 to 2022. He was chairman from 2011 to 2022.
His is a life “that embodies the very spirit of engagement,” White said.
His focus on family, faith and community are the key components that make Johnson such a standout.
In brief remarks following the presentation, Johnson apologized for being a little teary-eyed as he thanked the Chamber for honoring him.
“I’ve got every citizen in Vance County to thank for this award,” he said.
Duke Energy was the event’s presenting sponsor. Beth Townsend, Duke Energy’s Local Government and Community Relations Manager, announced the 2024 Small Business of the Year.
In her presentation, Townsend said this year’s Small Business of the Year – Vance Recovery – provides a crucial service to the community. Vance Recovery is a Morse Clinic in Henderson, which recently expanded and moved to West Andrews Avenue to offer opioid treatment programs in Vance County. Their methadone clinic offers Medication Assisted Therapy and counseling to help people overcome addiction to heroin and other opiates.
Henderson’s clinic is the largest of the nine Morse clinics across the state. The goal is to treat the whole person with a suite of medical and counseling services for patients with substance abuse disorders.
Program Director John Mattocks accepted the award on behalf of the clinic staff and the clinic founder, Dr. Eric Morse. Mattocks said the clinic helps roughly 400 people who are struggle with opioid use disorder.
“Our patients come to us every day and expect us to care for them,” he said, adding that the staff prides itself on providing not just medical care, but compassionate treatment as they reclaim their lives. “Anyone who walks through our door is a courageous individual,” he continued.
This year’s banquet theme,“All Aboard the Chamber Express,” embraces the idea of City and County ties to the railroad – past, present and future.
“We know that Vance County really started with the train coming through,” Chamber President Sandra Wilkerson told WIZS back in January “We’re looking forward to the train coming back,” she said, referring to the proposed S-Line passenger rail project that will ultimately connect rail service between Raleigh and Richmond. Henderson and Norlina are both proposed stops on the S-Line.
With recent federal cuts, the NCDOT this week told WIZS News, “…all USDOT discretionary grants are paused per the Feb. 26 Executive Order, and we do not know when those grants will be able to move forward. …we are moving ahead with our work as planned until we are told otherwise.”
(Original Article was post by WIZS on April 3rd, 2025)
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On the Home and Garden Show with Vance Co. Cooperative Ext.
The Vance County Cooperative Extension is located at 305 Young St, Henderson, NC 27536
The Vance County Regional Farmers Market is located at 210 Southpark Dr., Henderson, NC 27536
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Elvin and Madeline Eaton, owners of Fairport Farms in Granville County, have been selected as the 2025 Small Farmers of the Year by N.C. A&T State University during the annual Small Farms Week celebration.
The Eatons decided to grow microgreens as a retirement venture, but they wanted to change things up and steer away from some of the more traditional farming practices. Their philosophy – a no-till, no commercial fertilizer or pesticide and keeping growing beds in place for multiple seasons approach – is paying off.
Using five 100-foot-high tunnels — greenhouses without air conditioning — on just one quarter of an acre of their 12-acre Century Farm, the Eatons have grown their retirement venture into a profitable, civic-minded enterprise. A certified Naturally Grown farm, they grow microgreens, kale, collard and mustard greens, broccoli and a variety of lettuces in addition to tomatoes, potatoes, onions and carrots, supporting a farmers’ market business and a direct-sell business
More than 400 farmers, ranchers, Extension agents and partners from across the state came to A&T’s campus to attend N.C. Cooperative Extension’s 39th annual Small Farms Week, which this year centered around the theme “Next Gen Agriculture” and included educational workshops and panel discussions focused on the needs of the next generation of growers.
“We’re more than surprised,” Elvin Eaton said after the award was announced during the annual banquet at A&T State.
“We grow so different — we grow all year long, we grow covered, we grow without chemical fertilizer or pesticides. Soil health is the basis of our farm. This is far out of the norm for people in our area, but when they see the results, a lot of people have been super receptive.
“We really didn’t think we had a chance. We were just happy being nominated, honestly.”
The weeklong annual celebration was launched by Extension in 1985 to connect with small-scale farmers — including minority farmers and those in underserved communities — to ensure they receive the latest research-based information on farming techniques, new tools and technologies. It also gives the public a chance to meet their agricultural neighbors and learn about farm operations and food production.
Learn more about Small Farms Week by clicking here and watch a video produced by NCA&T that highlights Fairport Farms by clicking here.
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Elvin and Madeline Eaton, center, of Fairport Farm in Granville County, North Carolina, became N.C. Cooperative Extension’s 39th Small Farmers of the Year on Wednesday, March 26, at the annual Small Farms Week luncheon on the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University campus. From left are Interim College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (CAES) Dean Shirley Hymon-Parker, Chancellor James R. Martin II, Elvin Eaton, Madeline Eaton, Wendy Tatum of Granville County Cooperative Extension and Associate CAES Dean and N.C. A&T Extension Administrator M. Ray McKinnie.
