Tag Archive for: #franklincountynews

VGCC awards top academic honor to Ivy League-bound student

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Vance-Granville Community College has named student Paul Caroline of Louisburg as its recipient of the North Carolina Community College System’s Academic Excellence Award for 2017. One student from each of the 58 colleges in the state system is honored with the award each year.

Caroline will be officially recognized at Commencement in May, when he is scheduled to graduate from the college with both an Associate in Arts degree and an Associate in Science degree. That same month, Caroline will graduate from Franklin County Early College High School. This is the second year in a row that the VGCC Academic Excellence Award has gone to a student at FCECHS.

The college partners with four Early College high school programs, one in each county of the VGCC service area. As Caroline has done, students typically finish the program in five years, simultaneously earning high school diplomas and college degrees, or up to two years of college-transferable credits.

In an essay that he wrote for the award nomination, Caroline put his academic experience into its historical context. “For my family, education has always been a privilege,” he wrote. “In the early twentieth century, laws prohibited my great-grandmother and many other African American students from advancing to the twelfth grade and earning a high school diploma. Since then, each new generation has attested to a strong commitment to the pursuit of educational opportunity.”

Caroline added that “education opens doors to a better life, and one of the greatest thresholds I have crossed on my journey thus far is the iconic archway of Vance-Granville Community College.”

He described the support he has received from faculty members at both the high school and the college as “transformative.” Caroline said that he found that learning “not only yields the power to better oneself, but the world as a whole.” He took the “Vanguard spirit” and VGCC’s commitment to students to heart, he said, by helping others as a Peer Tutor through the college’s Academic Skills Center, starting at the age of 17.

After he graduates, Caroline is set to study Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of Pennsylvania, the prestigious Ivy League institution, with a full QuestBridge scholarship, which he described as “a first” for his community. “In my personal journey, Vance-Granville Community College has been a stepping-stone to making an Ivy League education possible,” Caroline said.

His twin brother, Peter, is also a Franklin County Early College High School student. Peter is likewise set to graduate with both an Associate in Arts degree and an Associate in Science degree from VGCC and will continue his education at Stanford University with a full QuestBridge scholarship.

“Paul’s hard work and dedication to excellence have earned him a place among the top community college students in North Carolina,” said Dr. Stelfanie Williams, the president of VGCC. “He is an outstanding representative of both Vance-Granville and Franklin County Early College High School, and we know he will continue to make us proud as a student at one of our country’s elite institutions of higher learning.”

–VGCC–

Franklin County Man Allegedly Shoots Two in Stolen Gun Argument

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Press Release

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Investigative Unit issued warrants on a Franklin County resident. On 02/10/2017, warrants were issued on Jon Edward Check with Assault with a Deadly Weapon Inflicting Serious Injury. On 02/10/2017, Jon Edward Check was arrested by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Investigative Unit. He is under a $40,000 bond.

This incident is alleged to have occurred on 02/09/2017.

Mr. Check is alleged to have shot two victims at his home.

This incident was alleged to been an ongoing dispute over a gun someone had stolen from Mr. Check.

Four individuals came to Mr. Check’s home, an apparent fight ensued and the end result was Mr. Check shooting two victims. One in the legs and the other in the arm.

Both victims were transported by private vehicle to WakeMed North.

Suspect:

Jon Edward Check

136 Elsie Marie Drive

Youngsville, NC 27596

This matter remains under investigation and no further information will be released at this time. If anyone should have any additional information pertaining to this investigation, please contact Detective JC Senter at 919-340-4344.

Franklinton Man Allegedly Pours Gas/Sets Fire to Victim

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Press Release:

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Investigation Unit arrested William Thomas Hester, a Franklin County resident on February 5, 2017 and charged him with: First Degree Arson and Felony Assault Inflicting Serious Bodily Injury.

The incident is alleged to have occurred on February 5, 2017 at 17 Highland Way, Franklinton. The suspect, William Hester, is alleged to have thrown gasoline on the victim (Adrian Mayo) and set him on fire. Mr. Mayo is currently in the Burn Center at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Mr. Hester is currently being held in the Franklin County Detention Center under a $503,000 secured bond.

William Thomas Hester

17 Highland Way, Franklinton

11-07-1971

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Terry M. Wright

Chief of Staff

VGCC presents free seminar to help small businesses “hit the ground running”

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The Vance-Granville Community College Small Business Center is offering a free seminar, entitled “Hit the Ground Running in 2017,” on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at CenturyLink in Wake Forest.

Mike McConchie of Creedmoor will serve as the instructor. The owner of M&M Consultants, Inc., McConchie is a Certified Business Coach and a Senior Business Consultant. He has over 36 years of retail management experience and is the past president of the Granville County Chamber of Commerce.

According to McConchie, the seminar will help small business owners “create their own destiny for 2017.” Among his topics will be “how to set up your business for success, establish and clarify your 2017 goals, and establish a plan of attack.” He added that attendees would “learn how to identify gaps in performance and results and develop a plan to close the gaps and achieve your goals.”

In addition to CenturyLink, the seminar is presented by VGCC in partnership with the Greater Franklin County Chamber of Commerce, the Franklin County Economic Development Commission, and North Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation.

Lunch will be provided at no charge to attendees who register in advance. To reserve a seat, contact Lori Duke at lduke@franklincountync.us or 919-554-1863. The deadline to RSVP is Jan. 6, 2017.

Reward Offered in Hopes of Solving Murders

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Press Release

Governor McCrory Offers Reward in Franklin County Murders

Raleigh, N.C. – Governor Pat McCrory announced (Sunday) that the State is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Darius Revel Robinson of 124 Southwood Drive, Louisburg, N.C. Mr. Robinson has been charged with three (3) counts of First Degree Murder.

On March 26, 2016 at 12:16 p.m., the Franklin County Sheriff Office responded to a call of gunshot victims at 119 Harris Road, Louisburg N.C. Keisha Livingston and Shamare Malik Harris were found dead at the scene and Diana Marie Edgerton died at Wake Medical Center.

Anyone having information concerning this case should contact the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office at (919) 496-7867.
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