VCS Literacy Specialist Part of Statewide ‘Rethink Education’ Team To Promote Blended Instruction

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Vance County Schools has announced that Amber Hines, district K-5 literacy specialist, is a member of the first cohort of Rethink Education, a statewide initiative created to help teachers tailor blended instruction targeted at rural and under-resourced communities.

Made possible by $17.6 million from the U.S. Department of Education, Rethink Education provides training by facilitators like Hines to help educators design their instruction to meet the diverse needs of learners during short-term or long-term disruptions.

Hines, representing VCS, joins other educators from 50 other school districts, 28 charter schools and one lab school from across the state that make up the initial cohort of facilitators.

Their job will be to strengthen remote and in-person instruction with a blended model of delivery, and “reinvent school and community preparedness for new models of blended learning for grades K-8,” according to a press release from NC DPI.

As facilitators, they will serve to prepare teacher from across the state “to deliver high-quality instruction in a variety of settings and situations.”

State Superintendent Catherine Truitt said the state must continue to build capacity and provide resources to meet the needs of students using blended instruction. “This dedicated group of educators will lead the way to ensure that no matter where learning takes place, our students are fully prepared for a globally competitive job market,” she stated.

Tar River Land Conservancy Needs Volunteers To Construct Trails In Southern Granville County

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Fall is a wonderful time to get out and enjoy the outdoors, whether it’s hiking or working in the yard.

And Derek Halberg, executive director of Tar River Land Conservancy, has a couple of opportunities for volunteers to combine both activities. The result will be the addition of 3.3 miles of hiking trails in southern Granville County.

TRLC is looking for volunteers to turn the properties into hiking trail destinations for everyone to enjoy as early as June 2022 – one will be named Horseshoe Road Nature Preserve and the second will be named Robertson Creek Nature Preserve. Both sites are located near Creedmoor.

Workers will use hand tools to clear brush and create trails and experienced staff will be on hand to supervise. No previous experience is necessary, and volunteers will have the opportunity to help construct footbridges and benches along the trails as well.

When the trails are completed, hikers can enjoy walking through the pine and hardwood forests, as well as crossing streams and viewing the scenic wetlands and wildlife. The trails will be open all year long, during daylight hours.

Work sessions for the Horseshoe Bend property are scheduled for Sept. 29 and Oct. 6, 13 and 16 and 17 from 9 a.m. to noon. The property is located at 3018 Horseshoe Rd., Creedmoor, NC 27522.

Workdays for the Robertson Creek property, located at 2173 E. Wilton Ave., Creedmoor, are scheduled for Nov. 3, 10, 17 and 20, also from 9 a.m. to noon.

To register for one or more workdays, contact TRLC at volunteer@tarriver.org or 919.496.5902.

Individuals or groups are welcome and TRLC staff can design special events for Scouts, faith-based groups, service clubs and others upon request.

There are two TRLC sites currently open for visitors that provide 6.5 miles of hiking trails near Stem and Butner.

Visit www.tarriver.org to learn more.

Granville Vance Public Health Logo

Local CV19 Update 9-24-21 from Granville Vance Public Health

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In the past 7 days, there have been 146 new cases in Vance County, a 17% decrease from the previous 7 days. The percent positivity rate in Vance County is 7.4%.

In the past 7 days, there have been 141 new cases in Granville County, a 17.5% decrease from the previous 7 days. The percent positivity rate in Granville County is 4.8%.

In Vance County, 62% of those over the age of 12 have received at least one dose of their CV19 vaccine and 57% are fully vaccinated.

In Granville County, 68% of those over the age of 12 have received at least one dose of their CV19 vaccine and 64% are fully vaccinated.

69% of the adult population in NC is at least partially vaccinated and 64% of the adult population is fully vaccinated.

Federal Judge Sends Oxford Man to Prison for 7 Years Following a Shooting

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— press release courtesy of U.S. Attorneys Office of the Eastern District of North Carolina

An Oxford man was sentenced to 84  months in prison for Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition by a Convicted Felon.  On June 8, 2021, S Daques Shorter pled guilty to the charges.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, on April 6, 2020, the Oxford Police Department responded to a report of gunshots at the Oxford Food Mart.  Upon arrival, witnesses stated that several men, including Shorter, were engaged in an argument, and that Shorter later retrieved a firearm and shot at two men.  Video surveillance captured the incident confirming the witnesses’ account.  Spent shell casings were recovered on the scene and the firearm used by Shorter was recovered nearby.  Shorter is a convicted felon, having prior convictions for Breaking and Entering, and Attempted Robbery With a Dangerous Weapon.  He is also a validated member of the United Blood Nation street gang.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle.  The Oxford Police Department investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Dodson prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:20-CR-224-BO.

Vance County High School

SportsTalk: Vipers Ready For Northern Durham

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“It feels like the universe is back set right,” said Vance County High School Head Football Coach Wilbur Pender about the return of the Vipers to the field this Friday night. The Vipers have missed the last two games due to a Covid exposure. Now they are ready for some football.  Northern Durham, 1-3 on the year, will travel to Henderson to take on the Vipers who put a 2-1 record on the line.

Coach Pender said the Vipers have had a good week of practice for a team coming off quarantine. He expected some drop off after missing two ball games but he and his coaching staff have worked hard to make sure any drop off has been kept to a minimum.

The last game the Vipers played was a victory against Durham-Riverside and Coach Pender said the secret of the win was that the team executed better. They will have to be consistent about execution to be the team that Coach Pender has in mind. While Northern Durham may be 1-3, the Vipers will have to be on top of executing their game plan. Northern Durham is big and their losses have been against very stiff competition: perennial state power Scotland County along with Knightdale and Wakefield.  Those two Wake County teams play in one of the toughest 4A conferences in the state.  Northern Durham is expected to run the ball about 80% of the time and Vipers have had some trouble with stopping the run so far this season.

Coach Pender says the Vipers will need to run the ball, help the quarterback, catch the ball and tackle better. “I’m still learning,” Pender says of his first year. “We are improving each and every day,” added the coach. “I want to be undefeated,” continued Pender. While that won’t be possible this year, the Vipers are looking to become a force to be reckoned with. “Vance County has a pretty good football team. The state is going to be knowing about that soon,” said Pender.  A bold statement from a first year coach. Perhaps Northern Durham will be one of the first schools to discover just how good the Vipers are.

The game will be broadcast live on WIZS with Trey Snide and Doc Ayscue. Airtime is 6:45 with kickoff at 7pm from Vance County High School.

 

TownTalk: History of Kerr Lake, Part 2

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(Photo courtesy R.F. Timberlake – Kerr Lake Park Watch on Facebook and Shutter Art Gallery)

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Kerr Lake covers about 50,000 acres when it’s at normal elevation, but if the lake level were to reach its maximum elevation of 320 feet above sea level, the lake would more than double in size. In short, Kerr Lake is a BIG topic. So big, in fact, that Kerr Lake, Part 2, was the subject of Thursday’s tri-weekly history program on Town Talk.

Bill Harris and Mark Pace talked about what’s around – and under – the lake, which has 850 miles of shoreline and touches six counties in North Carolina and Virginia.

A plane that crashed into the lake in Clarksville was eventually removed, but there’s still a train submerged in Nutbush Creek, Pace said.

The plane crashed in 1962 and it took almost a month to find the right equipment to extricate it. The lake is between 90 feet and 100 feet deep in the deepest channels, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers didn’t cut down all the trees in the area that soon would be submerged. The plane, as it turned out, had gotten tangled up in that submerged forest. A barge equipped with a crane had to be transported from the coast to retrieve the wreckage.

As for the train, Pace said a forest fire scorched a wooden bridge over Nutbush Creek in the early 1900’s. A group of Townsville residents went together to start up a short railroad line that ran from Manson to Townsville. “It was a barebones affair,” Pace said, with two engines, a coal car and a couple of passenger cars.

When the train pulled into Townsville, there was nowhere for it to turn around, he said, so it had to go backwards on the return trip to Manson. The bridge was about 70 or 75 feet above the water, and it held up for the passenger cars and the coal car to cross. But the engine was too heavy, and the train plunged into the water “and basically impaled itself into the mud of Nutbush Creek,” Pace said. The engineer and the fireman were killed.

There are stories of picnics and church gathering being held near the wreck site years later and whoever could swim down to the wreckage and ring the train’s bell would get a prize.

The lake has a long history of providing recreational activities like picnics and church gatherings, as well as boating and camping, but there remain residual bad feeling toward the Corps, Pace said. “Most of what they bought was farmland, and not particularly good farmland,” he said. But it was still family land and the average price was only about $75 per acre. That amount would only be between $400 and $500 an acre today.

“Now there’s a strip of land that you’re not allowed to develop around Kerr Lake,” Pace said, to adhere to Corps restrictions. Fifty years ago, however, the shoreline would not have looked at all like it does today because it had been farmland and would have taken some years to become wooded.

 

 

The Local Skinny! Vance County Grapples With Employee Discontent

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A recent survey of county employees conducted by the UNC School of Government has turned up several areas of discontent, which county officials are hopeful could be eased by providing targeted training opportunities and following recommendations from the surveyor.

Three focus groups totaling 23 county employees were convened during the week of May 24 of 2021, and the Human Resources Committee comprised of Commissioners Carolyn Faines, Archie B. Taylor, Jr.  and Gordon Wilder met in July with UNC School of Government representatives to receive the results.

The three focus groups were titled Department of Social Services, Cross-organizational and Department heads. The results were shared at the August commissioners’ meeting, during which time several distinct themes emerged. The full report can be found at www.vancecounty.org and as part of the August commissioners’ meeting minutes.

The survey results captured employee sentiment, which ranged from feelings of disrespect to intimidation from supervisors. But the survey also reported that employees find their jobs interesting, they enjoy serving their community and have caring co-workers.

The recommendations, designed for the entire organization and not a specific department, include investing in supervisor training that emphasizes on effective communication, the role of supervisors as stewards and as a player in conflict resolution. Another recommendation is development of a set of values that govern and guide workplace behavior – to be developed at the employee level and involving the whole organization in the process.

Among the survey results were comments that ranged from employees enduring disrespect and intimidation from supervisors to feeling expendable or having their ideas not valued or taken seriously.

During the August meeting, county staff explained that efforts already are underway to provide additional training opportunities for supervisors, but those efforts have been hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. The HR committee discussed the importance of group trainings and felt that on-site workshops would be especially valuable for supervisors.

As for the suggestions for the board of commissioners, the survey results showed that employees value greatly the opinion of the commissioners, and they would like to see more commissioners attend employee events to show their interest in the county’s employees; the employees work hard to bring ideas for discussion – don’t dismiss them outright.

One idea the commissioners considered, but decided against pursuing, is taking over the responsibilities of the local Social Services board. A handful of counties in the state have made this switch, but Vance County commissioners decided not to join that group.

Commissioner Faines said the DSS board had not addressed several concerns from DSS employees, but Commissioner Taylor – who also sits on the DSS board – disputed that notion. It was reflected in the minutes that Taylor said the DSS board is focused on employee morale, employee treatment and the best operation of the department.

“When issues come up, they are addressed,” the minutes read. Taylor also said that the current structure is working properly and there is not need to change it.

Chairman Dan Brummitt said he would like to hold a work session to further discuss the matter.

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