-Information courtesy Allan Daniel, Delrayno Baptist Church – Oxford
Delrayno Baptist Church, 1315 College St., Oxford, will have a drive-through nativity titled “A Journey Back to Bethlehem” this coming weekend – Saturday, December 8 – 10, 2018, from 6 until 8:30 p.m. each night. Live actors and animals, along with Chesny the Camel, will tell the story of the birth of Jesus.
Follow the Star to Bethlehem!
-Information courtesy Dr. Stan Winborne, Public Information Officer, Granville County Public Schools
The Granville County Board of Education will hold a public hearing on the possible closure of Joe Toler – Oak Hill Elementary School at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, December 4, 2018. The hearing will be held at the school, located at 8176 Hwy 96 in Oxford.
Public hearing guidelines and procedures include:
-Information courtesy Debra A. Weary, Clerk to the Board, Granville County
The Granville County Board of Commissioners will meet Monday, December 3, 2018, at 7 p.m. at the Granville Expo and Convention Center, 4185 US Highway 15 South, Oxford.
Agenda items include:
Consent Agenda
1. Contingency Summary as of 12/3/18
2. Budget Amendment #4
3. Law Enforcement Center Project Ordinance Amendment
4. Minutes
Recognitions and Presentations
5. Recognition – Falls Lake Academy Volleyball Team
Oaths of Office
6. Oath of Office – David T. Smith
7. Oath of Office – Timothy Karan
8. Oath of Office – Edgar Smoak
Break
9. Break*
Organizational Matters
10. Election of Chairman and Vice Chairman
11. Set Meeting Time, Place and Schedule for Calendar Year 2019
12. Appointment of Members to Board/Committee/Liaison Assignments
13. Approve Bonds for County Officials for 2018-2019
Public Comments
14. Public Comments
Planning Matters
15. Resolution Identifying Additional Review Officers
Finance Matters
16. Amendment to Audit Contract
Solid Waste Matters
17. CPI Adjustment for Waste Industries Contract
Surplus Property
18. Transfer of Surplus Property to VGCC
Appointments
19. Butner Board of Adjustment – ETJ
20. Butner Planning Board – ETJ Member
21. Granville Health System Board of Trustees
22. Orange Street Community Center
23. Opioid Advisory Committee
24. Kerr Tar Regional Council of Governments’ Advisory Council on Aging
County Manager’s Report
25. DHHS MOU Modification
26. DSS Corrective Action Plan Update
County Attorney’s Report
27. County Attorney’s Report
Presentations by County Board Members
28. Presentations by County Board Members
Any Other Matters
29. Any Other Matters
Closed Session
30. Closed Session – Personnel Matters
*Board will take a short break for a reception to honor the newly reelected Commissioners
-Press Release, Vance-Granville Community College
Vance-Granville Community College’s Franklin County Campus has launched a new initiative called Vanguard Flex to meet the needs of adult learners who need more options for class scheduling.
The evening and weekend college program begins with Spring Semester for which registration is now underway.
“Vanguard Flex offers flexible, hybrid schedules in the evenings and on weekends on our campus located at 8100 N.C. Highway 56 in Louisburg,” said Bobbie Jo May, dean of the campus. “We want to accommodate the busy schedules of our adult learners. We are offering flexible scheduling for placement testing, advising, the library resource center, and the open computer lab on our campus some evenings and one Saturday per month.”
Spring Semester classes start on all four VGCC campuses on Monday, Jan. 7, 2019, with a registration deadline of Jan. 3. In addition to the traditional 16-week semester session, VGCC is offering a 12-week term, two 8-week terms and two 4-week terms for the Spring. The first of two 8-week sessions will begin on Jan. 7 and run through March 5. The second 8-week session starts March 5 and concludes May 6, with a registration deadline of Feb. 28. A 12-week mini-term begins Feb. 5 and runs through May 6, the registration deadline coming Jan. 31.
The four-week “Spring Forward” online mini-term begins Dec. 17 with a registration deadline of Dec. 13. A second four-week online mini-term, labeled “March Forward,” is scheduled to begin March 5 with registration ending March 1.
Vanguard Flex is offering five complete curriculum programs of study initially: Early Childhood Education, Certificate; Early Childhood Education, Diploma; Medical Office Administrative Assistant I, Certificate; Business Management, Certificate; and Basic Welding, Certificate. All courses taken in the certificate programs can be applied to diplomas and degrees offered through Vance-Granville, Dean May said.
In addition, a variety of classes is being offered in the following areas through the Vanguard Flex initiative at Franklin Campus:
College Transfer: English, Math, Biology, Introduction to Computers and Psychology courses can be used toward many degree and diploma programs offered through the college. Dean May is recommending that students meet with an academic coach or advisor prior to enrolling in the classes.
Career and Technical: Courses in Welding Technology, Paralegal Technology, Medical Office Administration, Business Management, Bioprocessing Technology and Early Childhood Education lead to certificates and diplomas that can be completed entirely through the evening and weekend format.
Continuing Education: VGCC’s Franklin Campus has a robust selection of courses through the Continuing Education division during the day, evenings and weekends, among them, Nursing Assistant, Medication Technician, Phlebotomist, Notary Public, Bioworks, Human Resource Specialist and Healthcare Administration.
Adult Basic Skills: For those in need of a High School Equivalency or Adult High School Diploma, the Franklin Campus offers flexible hybrid schedules with evening classes in the Adult Basic Skills program. Basic Skills classes for Spring will begin Jan. 8 and will be held each Tuesday and Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m. Orientation is held each Friday at 10 a.m. Dean May encourages students to contact the instructor at 252-738-3618 with questions about the classes.
A complete list of the evening and weekend courses is available online at www.vgcc.edu/vanguard-flex.
Students who are interested in Vanguard Flex should contact the Franklin County Campus at (919) 496-1567 or write to Dean Bobbie Jo May at mayb@vgcc.edu.
-Press Release, City of Oxford
The Public Works, Water, & Infrastructure Committee for the Oxford Board of Commissioners will meet on Thursday, December 6, 2018, at 11 a.m. The meeting will be held in the First Floor Training Room, City Hall, 300 Williamsboro Street in Oxford.
The purpose of the meeting is to discuss financial planning and member rate analysis for the Kerr Lake Regional Water System.
All those interested are invited to attend.
-Press Release, Granville County Public Schools
Granville County Public Schools will hold their second District Spelling Bee in the spring of next year for intermediate elementary students. Students in the third, fourth, and fifth grades are presently trying out for their school spelling bees.
The local school spelling competitions are scheduled to take place in January. One winner from each of the eight elementary schools will then vie for the GCPS Trophy on stage at Tar River Elementary on March 14, 2019.
This year’s words for qualifying were selected by the Scripps National Spelling Bee from fiction and non-fiction literature, both contemporary and classic. The 450 words come from books carefully selected by the Bee’s editorial team for their age-appropriate and engaging content, as well as their rich vocabulary. All words on Scripps word lists are entries in Merriam-Webster Unabridged, the official dictionary of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Since there is no regional bee in this part of North Carolina, the school system hopes to send our winner to the National Spelling Bee in May, says Director of Student and Support Services, Dr. Tonya Thomas, if local sponsors can be found. She and Superintendent Dr. Alisa McLean would like to see a student from Granville County have the opportunity to participate in the exciting and life-changing experience and are seeking sponsors.
The winning speller and his/her family would meet families from around the country, sharing their stories as they practice spelling, and enjoying a week of activities planned just for them. Donations from local sponsors will help pay the registration fee, housing, and transportation for the student. In addition, sponsors may join the School System in planning and hosting the Granville County Bee.
Contact Dr. Tonya Thomas at the Granville County Public School office in Oxford at 919-693-4613 if you or your company would like to make attending this grand event possible for one of our terrific students!
-Press Release, Granville County Public Schools
The Board of Education will meet for its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, December 3. The agenda will include a presentation of a study regarding the possible consolidation of Mary Potter Middle School and Northern Granville Middle School.
The Board will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, December 4, at 5:30 p.m., at Joe Toler Oak Hill Elementary School located at 8176 Hwy 96 Oxford, NC 27565. The purpose of the meeting is for the Board to receive additional information compiled by staff regarding the study of the potential closure of Joe Toler Elementary School.
At 7 p.m. on December 4 at Joe Toler Oak Hill Elementary School, located at 8176 Hwy 96 Oxford, NC 27565, the Board will hold a public hearing on the possible closure of Joe Toler Elementary School. Members of the public wishing to speak on this topic may sign up beginning at 6:30 p.m. Each speaker who has signed up prior to 7 p.m. will be given the opportunity to address the Board on this topic for up to four minutes.
-Press Release, Vance-Granville Community College
The Vance-Granville Community Band will present its 11th annual winter concert on Monday, Dec. 3, at 7:30 p.m. in McGregor Hall at 201 Breckenridge Street in downtown Henderson. The concert is free and open to the public.
“The concert is a classic old-fashioned band concert,” said Brian D. Miller, director of the band. “Bands should always play music that is appealing and makes sense. We have had a great tradition of performing good, solid, traditional band music in the Vance-Granville Community Band. It was John Philip Sousa’s philosophy that music should always be attractive and have great audience appeal. There is no better model for band administration and performance than the one set forth by Sousa.”
The band’s repertoire for the December concert includes a march by Sousa, the seldom-heard “Keeping Step with the Union,” a march Sousa composed in 1921 and dedicated to Mrs. Warren G. Harding, wife of the 29th president of the United States. “Sousa wrote 136 great marches,” Miller said, “but we don’t get to hear the rare ones. It’s a lot of fun to present Sousa’s lesser-known marches.”
Above: Brian Miller conducts the Vance-Granville Community Band during its 2017 winter concert. (VGCC photo)
The band will also perform a rare 1914 march entitled “Radium King.” “This march came from a golden time period of the circus march and celebrated the wonder of radium as a newly-discovered element,” Miller said. Other pieces on the concert include a famous 1960s band composition entitled “Overture In Bb,” a transcription of music from the movie “The Greatest Showman.”
Christmas season music will also be featured on the concert as well, Miller added. Patrons will hear “All Is Well,” “Greensleeves,” and a Christmas march transcribed by band member Bob Salzmann.
“We are certainly fortunate to have Bob Salzmann with us in the band,” said Miller, “because not only is he an excellent musician, he is a fine arranger. It’s great having our own arranger create music for the band.”
The audience will hear two well-known medleys of Christmas favorites, including Leroy Anderson’s all-time classic “Christmas Festival,” referred to by Miller as “one of the greatest Christmas band pieces ever.”
The band has shown significant numerical and musical growth under the baton of veteran band director Miller, who established his identity in the area as the longtime director of the Louisburg High School Band, which grew into one of the state’s largest bands in one of the state’s smallest schools and whose Symphonic and Concert Bands became known in the regional area for performance of traditional band overtures and old-fashioned Sousa marches.
Miller said his philosophy is simple: “Play good, traditional music that is appealing to the audience.”
“We hope that everyone will come enjoy this great cultural experience in historic downtown Henderson,” Miller added. “We want everybody to hear the Vance-Granville Community Band.”
The Community Band, which is sponsored by the VGCC Division of Arts and Sciences, includes people of all ages, from all walks of life, and from throughout the region. No auditions are required. Rehearsals are held on Monday evenings from 7 – 9 p.m. at the Vance-Granville Community College Civic Center, on the Main Campus in Henderson, at Exit 209 on Interstate 85 (Poplar Creek Road).
For more information, contact Brian Miller at (919) 496-5877 or at bmiller9302@vgcc.edu or Betsy Henderson at hendersonb@vgcc.edu.
-Press Release, County of Granville
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Granville County Animal Control was called last week about a possibly rabid cat who had contact with a person in the area of Dorsey Road and Ed Harris Road. The animal was part of a larger cat colony that had not been rabies vaccinated or spayed/neutered. The cat tested positive for the rabies virus on Nov. 27. Residents of the area have been notified, as well as Granville Vance Public Health and the bite victim. Animal Control has also been working to remove the remaining cats on the property.
All pet owners are reminded to please be sure pets are rabies-vaccinated. North Carolina law requires that all dogs, cats and ferrets be vaccinated against rabies by four months of age and that vaccinations be kept current. The Granville County Animal Shelter offers one-year rabies vaccines for dogs and cats for only $6, Monday through Friday from noon until 4:30 p.m. and is located at 5650 Cornwall Road in Oxford.
For more information, call 919-693-6749. To find out when your pet needs its next booster shot, please contact your local veterinarian.
-Press Release, Vance-Granville Community College
Vance-Granville Community College’s annual Faculty & Staff Drive for the VGCC Endowment Fund raised $16,011 this fall from among employees on the college’s four campuses, according to an announcement by the co-chairs for the drive to the Trustees on Monday, Nov. 19, at the board’s regular bi-monthly meeting on the Main Campus.
The funds were raised to support the mission of the college and award scholarships to deserving students, said Eddie Ferguson, director of the Endowment Fund.
Heading up the drive this year were Michael Brodie, Campus Police sergeant; Antoinette Dickens, program head and instructor for the Paralegal Technology curriculum program; Willie Mae Foster-Hill, Main Campus receptionist; and Jeremy Lambert, assistant director of financial aid.
“Our campaign theme was ‘Rise Up!’” Ferguson told the Trustees. “It was based on the fact that every day our students rise up to come to school under a lot of hardships, whether it be academic pressure, family issues, transportation or such. We serve a very diverse community.”
VGCC’s Faculty & Staff Drive for the Endowment Fund was led by volunteers Michael Brodie, Campus Police sergeant; Antoinette Dickens, program head and instructor for Paralegal Technology; Willie Mae Foster-Hill, Main Campus receptionist; and Jeremy Lambert, assistant director of financial aid. Shown above celebrating the success of the drive at the Board of Trustees meeting are, from left, Brodie; Kay Currin, Endowment Fund specialist; Trustee Danny Wright, chair of the board; Dr. Gordon Burns, interim VGCC president; Foster-Hill; and Eddie Ferguson, director of the Endowment Fund. Dickens and Lambert were unavailable for the photo. (VGCC Photo)
The faculty and staff, he said, “rose up” with this drive to provide the funds for the students. “We are really proud to raise this money from our employees, most of which will go directly to students in the form of scholarships. Some of the money is directed to projects such as our student emergency fund to help meet other immediate needs,” Ferguson said.
Statewide Budget Priorities
In his report to the trustees, Interim VGCC President Dr. Gordon Burns outlined budget priorities identified by the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) for 2019 through 2021 and urged the trustees to share those priorities with the returning and newly elected members of the N.C. House of Representatives and the N.C. Senate who represent the four counties served by Vance-Granville Community College.
Under the Workforce Development Legislative Agenda, NCCCS is requesting funding to help 700,000 students annually achieve a better life through high-school equivalency, career and technical education, short-term workforce training, and high quality, affordable college transfer programs, Dr. Burns said. The state’s community colleges are essential in closing the skills gap for North Carolina employers, the NCCCS notes, and are a driving force in the economy of the state.
The system office reports that the state’s 58 community colleges continue to suffer from approximately $53 million in budget cuts made during the 2008 recession that have not been restored, which undercuts efforts to prepare the state’s workforce. Dr. Burns noted, too, that community colleges are having difficulty recruiting and retaining faculty and staff because the average annual faculty salary, at $47,362, is 41st in the nation.
Among legislative priorities for 2019-2021, NCCCS is seeking recurring funds of $11.5 million to fully fund short-term workforce training; $15 million to upgrade information technology systems across the state; $2.6 million to fund workforce-focused multi-campuses; and $2.8 million to expand a program that places career coaches in high schools to assist students with determining career goals and identifying community college programs that align with the students’ goals.
Dr. Burns said the legislative priorities also include increasing funding to bring faculty closer to the national annual salary average of $60,422, enacting statutory changes to eliminate barriers to enrollment caused by the state’s relatively new Residency Determination System, and stabilizing budgets for colleges faced with enrollment declines because of Hurricane Florence.
Capital Projects
In his report to the board on capital projects, Trustee Donald Seifert, chair of the Building Committee, said renovations have been completed to the seminar rooms in the Civic Center on Main Campus.
H.G. Reynolds Company began renovation of a 3,200-square-foot portion of Building 10 on Main Campus to create a Practical Simulation Lab for the Basic Law Enforcement Training, Fire/Rescue and Emergency Medical Services programs. The work, which started in October, is scheduled to be completed in January. In addition to the area being renovated, parking lot space is being expanded, Seifert said.
College officials are also working with the county managers in Vance and Granville counties to fund the replacement of a storage building on the Main Campus that was lost in a fire this past summer.
Other Action
In other action:
The next meeting of the Board of Trustees will be held on Monday, Jan. 28.
