— courtesy VGCC
The Vance-Granville Community College Board of Trustees celebrated news from President Dr. Stelfanie Williams that the college’s VanGuarantee scholarship continues to gain national attention. The announcement was made on Nov. 20 at the board’s bi-monthly meeting on the Main Campus.
The trustees also welcomed two new board members and heard the results of a campus-wide campaign to raise money for the VGCC Endowment Fund.
In her report to the Board of Trustees, Dr. Williams said the “Community College Daily,” a publication of the American Association of Community Colleges, shared in October an annual report on the College Promise Campaign, described by the association as a movement focusing on providing a free community college education to qualified students.
In the past 12 months, the AACC said, more than 50 new programs were announced similar to VGCC’s VanGuarantee. “New College Promise programs are evolving at a rapid pace because communities and states recognize that a high school education is insufficient to secure a good job and a decent quality of life in today’s economy,” the report said, adding that there are now more than 200 such programs across 41 states.
The VanGuarantee benefitted 47 Vance-Granville students during the 2016-2017 fiscal year, according to VGCC’s Financial Aid Office. A total of $50,514 was disbursed to help those students.
Designed to help eliminate any financial barriers standing between students and their academic goals, the VanGuarantee was announced in March 2016, with the first scholarships awarded in the Fall 2016 semester. The innovative scholarship program was made possible by a $1.6 million bequest to the college from the estate of Wilbert A. Edwards, a Vance County native, who was living in Oxford at the time of his death. Edwards’ gift, announced in 2015, is the second largest in the history of VGCC.
The AACC said the annual report highlighted the efforts to create College Promise programs in rural areas of the nation, “which on average have fewer students attaining college credentials than students in cities,” citing specifically the program at Vance-Granville.
“More than half of the nation’s 1,400 community colleges in the United States are located in rural areas, and they serve a third of the nation’s community college population,” the College Promise Campaign annual report for 2017 says. “Some … like Vance-Granville Community College in North Carolina have the responsibility to serve a broad geographic area for their local populations. The aim of these rural programs is to help more students enter and complete a community college education within their region through shared education, business and philanthropic partnerships that identify sustainable financial resources for the College Promise.”
New Trustees
Xavier Wortham of Oxford, left, is sworn in as a newly appointed member of the VGCC Board of Trustees by Ninth Judicial District Court Judge Carolyn J. Thompson at the board’s meeting on Nov. 20. Wortham has been appointed to a four-year term by N.C. Governor Roy Cooper. (VGCC photo)
The Board of Trustees welcomed Xavier Wortham of Oxford as a newly appointed trustee at the meeting. Wortham, who works as executive director of the Oxford Housing Authority in Granville County, was sworn in by District Court Judge Carolyn J. Thompson, who serves District 9.
Appointed for a four-year term on the board by N.C. Governor Roy Cooper, Wortham replaces Michele Burgess of Henderson, who had served since September 2013.
Also joining the board for a one-year term was Sophie Taylor, who was recently elected president of the VGCC Student Government Association. Taylor, who is a student at Franklin County Early College High School, will serve as a Student Trustee, representing the interests of her fellow VGCC students at all meetings of the trustees.
Faculty-Staff Drive for Scholarships
The co-chairs of the annual faculty and staff drive for the VGCC Endowment Fund announced to the Trustees that $21,036 was raised this fall from among employees on Vance-Granville’s four campuses to support the mission of the college and students through scholarships.
VGCC Board of Trustees Chair Danny W. Wright celebrates the announcement of $21,036 raised in the Faculty-Staff Drive for the VGCC Endowment Fund this fall. Co-chairs of the campaign were Andrew Beal, public information officer for the college; Willie Mae Foster-Hill, receptionist at Main Campus; and Jeremy Lambert, assistant director of financial aid. Kay Currin, VGCC Endowment specialist, made the presentation to the trustees at their Nov. 20 meeting. Shown from left are Wright, Beal, Foster-Hill and Currin. Lambert was unavailable. (VGCC photo)
The drive co-chairs were Andrew Beal, public information officer; Willie Mae Foster-Hill, Main Campus receptionist; and Jeremy Lambert, assistant director of financial aid.
VGCC awarded 306 scholarships, including several funded by faculty and staff contributions, at its annual awards dinner this October.
Capital Projects
Trustee Donald C. Seifert, Sr., chair of the board’s Building Committee, and Steve Graham, VGCC’s vice president of finance and operations, gave updates on several capital projects.
A final report on the assessment of needed exterior masonry repairs to buildings on the Main Campus is expected soon. Some county funds and additional monies from the Connect NC Bond will be used to restore, structurally repair and waterproof campus-wide building masonry rooflines, walls and bridges.
A report is expected in January on options to replace existing deteriorated heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems and to replace obsolete fire alarm systems on the Main Campus, using funds from the Bond.
A portion of the renovations to the Welding Lab at the VGCC Franklin County Campus is expected to be completed in December, with the remaining work being done during the Summer Term next year. State Bond funds are being used to add eight welding booths to the existing lab at the campus near Louisburg and to add a demonstration area in an adjacent classroom.
Other Action
In other action:
• Trustee Abdul Rasheed, chair of the Budget Committee, presented a motion, that was approved, to write off $1,021.84 in uncollectable student accounts under $50 from the college’s financial accounting records and no longer recognize them as collectible receivables for financial reporting purposes.
• Graham, reporting for the board’s Investment Committee, noted the college’s investments have grown by 9.3 percent since the beginning of the calendar year.
• An informational report on new employees, retirements, resignations and changes in positions was provided by Trustee Sara Wester, chair of the board’s Personnel Committee.
• In her report to the board, Dr. Williams highlighted recent accomplishments and opportunities at the college. She noted the Vance-Granville Community Band concert will be held on Monday, Nov. 27, at 7:30 p.m. at the McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center in downtown Henderson.
Presiding over the meeting was Board of Trustees Chair Danny Wright.
The Board of Trustees will hold its next regular meeting on Jan. 22 at the Main Campus. Normally held on the third Monday of the month, the meeting in January is being moved to the fourth Monday because of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Holiday.
–VGCC–
(VGCC is an advertising client of WIZS.)
Former Franklin Medical Center Gets New Name
/by WIZS Staff— courtesy Maria Parham Health
Former Franklin Medical Center Gets New Name: Maria Parham Franklin
Unveiling of new brand signals progress in restoring healthcare services to Franklin County
Louisburg, NC – Maria Parham Health, part of Duke LifePoint Healthcare, unveiled a new name for the former Franklin Medical Center: Maria Parham Franklin. The new name was presented to the Franklin County Board of Commissioners and Louisburg Town Council on November 20. This development marks an important milestone in efforts to bring essential healthcare back to Franklin County following the closure of the Louisburg hospital in 2015. Plans are in place to open a freestanding emergency department with 24/7 emergency care in mid-2018.
“Establishing the Maria Parham Franklin name symbolizes important progress in returning healthcare to our county,” said Sidney Dunston, Vice-Chair, Franklin County Board of Commissioners. “This is a clear sign of forward momentum for our community that will allow us to move beyond the closure of Franklin Medical Center and look toward a new, brighter future. We’re excited to be working with the Maria Parham and Duke LifePoint teams to get this facility back up and running, so that the people in our region will have access to the care they need and deserve.”
In 2016, the board of commissioners reviewed potential strategic partners interested in taking over services at the closed Franklin Medical Center. It unanimously voted to accept a proposal from Duke LifePoint to operate Franklin Medical Center as part of Duke LifePoint’s Henderson hospital, Maria Parham Health, and turn the Franklin County facility into a freestanding emergency department with 24/7 emergency care, diagnostic services and behavioral health services.
In 2017, a lease agreement was reached and Duke LifePoint began seeking state approvals to reopen the hospital’s emergency department as a freestanding emergency center. It also is working to secure state funds to further the development of additional behavioral health beds and services.
“We’re delighted to introduce the Maria Parham Franklin name to Louisburg and Franklin County,” said Bert Beard, CEO of Maria Parham Health. “Over the next few months, everyone will begin to see changes at the hospital site. By mid-2018, we expect needed renovations and hires to be complete so the first phase of the new emergency room can open to the public. We look forward to working with local officials to rebuild healthcare services in this region and ensure the health and wellbeing of people here.”
Maria Parham Franklin is expected to bring as many as 65 new jobs to Franklin County in the next three years, contributing to economic development and job growth in the region.
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(Maria Parham Health is an advertising client of WIZS.)
Vance Board of Ed is Level I Master Board
/by WIZS Staff— courtesy Vance County Schools
Vance County Board of Education members in the photo are, from left, Ruth Hartness, Ed Wilson, Gloria J. White, Darlynn Oxendine, Dorothy Gooche, Superintendent Anthony Jackson, Clementine Hunter and Margaret Ellis.
The Vance County Board of Education was recognized during the N.C. School Boards Association’s (NCSBA) 2017 Annual Conference in Greensboro on November 14, as a Level I Master Board.
It was the only board recognized at the conference for the Level I achievement.
Master Board is a knowledge and skills based training program that provides school boards with the opportunity to develop governance skills as a full board. All board members and the superintendent must commit to the training.
The Master Board Level I distinction requires 20 hours of training. Topics covered in the training include understanding school boards in a democracy, solving problems and making decisions and analyzing ethical challenges.
Dr. Greg Hicks, shown in the photo second from right, was their trainer.
VanGuarantee Continues to Shine in National Spotlight
/by WIZS Staff— courtesy VGCC
The Vance-Granville Community College Board of Trustees celebrated news from President Dr. Stelfanie Williams that the college’s VanGuarantee scholarship continues to gain national attention. The announcement was made on Nov. 20 at the board’s bi-monthly meeting on the Main Campus.
The trustees also welcomed two new board members and heard the results of a campus-wide campaign to raise money for the VGCC Endowment Fund.
In her report to the Board of Trustees, Dr. Williams said the “Community College Daily,” a publication of the American Association of Community Colleges, shared in October an annual report on the College Promise Campaign, described by the association as a movement focusing on providing a free community college education to qualified students.
In the past 12 months, the AACC said, more than 50 new programs were announced similar to VGCC’s VanGuarantee. “New College Promise programs are evolving at a rapid pace because communities and states recognize that a high school education is insufficient to secure a good job and a decent quality of life in today’s economy,” the report said, adding that there are now more than 200 such programs across 41 states.
The VanGuarantee benefitted 47 Vance-Granville students during the 2016-2017 fiscal year, according to VGCC’s Financial Aid Office. A total of $50,514 was disbursed to help those students.
Designed to help eliminate any financial barriers standing between students and their academic goals, the VanGuarantee was announced in March 2016, with the first scholarships awarded in the Fall 2016 semester. The innovative scholarship program was made possible by a $1.6 million bequest to the college from the estate of Wilbert A. Edwards, a Vance County native, who was living in Oxford at the time of his death. Edwards’ gift, announced in 2015, is the second largest in the history of VGCC.
The AACC said the annual report highlighted the efforts to create College Promise programs in rural areas of the nation, “which on average have fewer students attaining college credentials than students in cities,” citing specifically the program at Vance-Granville.
“More than half of the nation’s 1,400 community colleges in the United States are located in rural areas, and they serve a third of the nation’s community college population,” the College Promise Campaign annual report for 2017 says. “Some … like Vance-Granville Community College in North Carolina have the responsibility to serve a broad geographic area for their local populations. The aim of these rural programs is to help more students enter and complete a community college education within their region through shared education, business and philanthropic partnerships that identify sustainable financial resources for the College Promise.”
New Trustees
Xavier Wortham of Oxford, left, is sworn in as a newly appointed member of the VGCC Board of Trustees by Ninth Judicial District Court Judge Carolyn J. Thompson at the board’s meeting on Nov. 20. Wortham has been appointed to a four-year term by N.C. Governor Roy Cooper. (VGCC photo)
The Board of Trustees welcomed Xavier Wortham of Oxford as a newly appointed trustee at the meeting. Wortham, who works as executive director of the Oxford Housing Authority in Granville County, was sworn in by District Court Judge Carolyn J. Thompson, who serves District 9.
Appointed for a four-year term on the board by N.C. Governor Roy Cooper, Wortham replaces Michele Burgess of Henderson, who had served since September 2013.
Also joining the board for a one-year term was Sophie Taylor, who was recently elected president of the VGCC Student Government Association. Taylor, who is a student at Franklin County Early College High School, will serve as a Student Trustee, representing the interests of her fellow VGCC students at all meetings of the trustees.
Faculty-Staff Drive for Scholarships
The co-chairs of the annual faculty and staff drive for the VGCC Endowment Fund announced to the Trustees that $21,036 was raised this fall from among employees on Vance-Granville’s four campuses to support the mission of the college and students through scholarships.
VGCC Board of Trustees Chair Danny W. Wright celebrates the announcement of $21,036 raised in the Faculty-Staff Drive for the VGCC Endowment Fund this fall. Co-chairs of the campaign were Andrew Beal, public information officer for the college; Willie Mae Foster-Hill, receptionist at Main Campus; and Jeremy Lambert, assistant director of financial aid. Kay Currin, VGCC Endowment specialist, made the presentation to the trustees at their Nov. 20 meeting. Shown from left are Wright, Beal, Foster-Hill and Currin. Lambert was unavailable. (VGCC photo)
The drive co-chairs were Andrew Beal, public information officer; Willie Mae Foster-Hill, Main Campus receptionist; and Jeremy Lambert, assistant director of financial aid.
VGCC awarded 306 scholarships, including several funded by faculty and staff contributions, at its annual awards dinner this October.
Capital Projects
Trustee Donald C. Seifert, Sr., chair of the board’s Building Committee, and Steve Graham, VGCC’s vice president of finance and operations, gave updates on several capital projects.
A final report on the assessment of needed exterior masonry repairs to buildings on the Main Campus is expected soon. Some county funds and additional monies from the Connect NC Bond will be used to restore, structurally repair and waterproof campus-wide building masonry rooflines, walls and bridges.
A report is expected in January on options to replace existing deteriorated heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems and to replace obsolete fire alarm systems on the Main Campus, using funds from the Bond.
A portion of the renovations to the Welding Lab at the VGCC Franklin County Campus is expected to be completed in December, with the remaining work being done during the Summer Term next year. State Bond funds are being used to add eight welding booths to the existing lab at the campus near Louisburg and to add a demonstration area in an adjacent classroom.
Other Action
In other action:
• Trustee Abdul Rasheed, chair of the Budget Committee, presented a motion, that was approved, to write off $1,021.84 in uncollectable student accounts under $50 from the college’s financial accounting records and no longer recognize them as collectible receivables for financial reporting purposes.
• Graham, reporting for the board’s Investment Committee, noted the college’s investments have grown by 9.3 percent since the beginning of the calendar year.
• An informational report on new employees, retirements, resignations and changes in positions was provided by Trustee Sara Wester, chair of the board’s Personnel Committee.
• In her report to the board, Dr. Williams highlighted recent accomplishments and opportunities at the college. She noted the Vance-Granville Community Band concert will be held on Monday, Nov. 27, at 7:30 p.m. at the McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center in downtown Henderson.
Presiding over the meeting was Board of Trustees Chair Danny Wright.
The Board of Trustees will hold its next regular meeting on Jan. 22 at the Main Campus. Normally held on the third Monday of the month, the meeting in January is being moved to the fourth Monday because of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Holiday.
–VGCC–
(VGCC is an advertising client of WIZS.)
MEN SENTENCED FOR ROBBERY AND FIREARM OFFENSES IN HENDERSON AND VANCE COUNTY
/by WIZS Staff— courtesy U. S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney Eastern District of NC
RALEIGH – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina announced that today in federal court, United States District Judge Terrence W. Boyle, sentenced TYLER JONES, 21, of Henderson, NC to 84 months of imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release. Also sentenced today was co-defendant DIJON DEVAR WILLIAMS, 26, of Henderson, NC to 200 months of imprisonment followed by 5 years of supervised release. Additionally, JONES agreed to pay $1,439.47 in restitution and WILLIAMS agreed to pay $12,096.95 in restitution.
JONES and WILLIAMS were named in a fifteen-count Indictment filed on August 3, 2016. JONES subsequently pled guilty to one-count of Hobbs Act Robbery and Aiding and Abetting and one-count of Brandishing a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence. WILLIAMS pled guilty to two-counts of Brandishing a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence.
From around October 2015, to December 14, 2015, WILLIAMS executed a series of robberies at various business establishments in the Eastern District of North Carolina, in Henderson, Kittrell, and Middleburg, North Carolina. JONES also was charged with one of the robberies.
On December 5, 2015, WILLIAMS and JONES robbed Citi Trends in Henderson. WILLIAMS entered the store and pointed a revolver at the security officer’s chest. JONES remained at the entrance to the store and served as a lookout. They fled the scene with approximately $1,439.00. On December 5, 2015, Jones was apprehended in the vicinity of the robbery and was positively identified by a witness.
On December 14, 2015, WILLIAMS robbed Cruizers Store Number 240 (Cruizers) in Henderson. Shortly after entering the store, WILLIAMS walked behind the cash register counter, pointed a handgun at the cashier, and demanded money. While WILLIAMS grabbed $80 from the cash register, the cashier turned and fell to the floor. WILLIAMS fled the scene in a car shortly after the robbery.
This case was part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative which encourages federal, state, and local agencies to cooperate in a unified “team effort” against gun crime, targeting repeat offenders who continually plague their communities.
The Henderson Police Department, the Vance County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF) conducted the criminal investigation of this case. Assistant United States Attorneys S. Katherine Burnette and Dennis M. Duffy handled the prosecution of this case for the government.
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Alliance Against Crime 11/22/17
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/by CharleneKedecia Stewart of Pinkston Street, North Central Region Teacher of the Year
/by WIZS Staff— courtesy Vance County Schools
Kedecia Stewart, a teacher at Pinkston Street Elementary School, has been named the North Central Region Teacher of the Year.
The announcement was officially made today at a school-wide assembly at Pinkston Street, where Stewart teaches math to fourth and fifth graders.
Stewart also is the 2017-2018 Vance County Teacher of the Year.
Kedecia Stewart, left, reacts as Superintendent Anthony Jackson talks about her recognition as the 2018 North Central Region Teacher of the Year. (VCS Photo)
Lisa Godwin, the 2017 N.C. Teacher of the Year, attended the assembly to make the announcement.
All of the students and staff at Pinkston Street Elementary School were in attendance and they all stood and cheered when it was announced Stewart had earned the regional honor.
Superintendent Anthony Jackson presented Stewart with a plaque from the school system in recognition of the Regional Teacher of the Year award and a bouquet of pink roses.
Stewart won the regional honor in a field of Teachers of the Year from 14 public school systems in this region of the state including Wake, Durham, Johnston, Franklin, Granville and Warren counties.
She will now go on to represent the North Central Region in competition for the 2018 N.C. Teacher of the Year.