Tag Archive for: #hendersonnews

Vance County Sheriff's Office

Vance Co. Sheriff’s Office Locates, Arrests Six Local Absconders

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-Press Release, Vance County Sheriff’s Office 

On the morning of December 6, 2018, Vance County deputies assisted probation officers with attempting to locate and arrest several local absconders.

Six people were apprehended as a part of this operation. Below is a list of names, along with the original charge for which they were placed on probation:

Derrick Small – Felony Narcotics Possession

Timotheus Peters – DWI – Level 2

Michael Roberts – Trafficking Cocaine

James Williams – Felony Larceny

Rafael Davis – Larceny & DWI – Level 5

Jamon Hargrove – Breaking & Entering

The Vance County Sherrif’s Office is committed to working cooperatively with other law enforcement agencies to enhance the safety of our citizens.

Vance Co. Board of Education Meeting Rescheduled for Mon., Dec. 17

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-Information courtesy Terri Hedrick, Public Information Officer, Vance County Schools

The Vance County Board of Education meeting, originally scheduled for December 10, has been rescheduled to Monday, December 17, 2018, at 7 p.m. in the school system’s Administrative Services Center. The public is invited to attend.

To view the meeting’s agenda, please click here.

U.S. Department of Justice

Jamil Lewis, of Henderson, Sentenced for Possession of Firearm by Felon

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-Press Release, U.S. Department of Justice

The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Robert J. Higdon, Jr., announced that United States District Judge Louise W. Flanagan sentenced JAMIL HASSAN LEWIS, 37, of Henderson to 63 months’ imprisonment, followed by 3 years of supervised release.

LEWIS was charged in a one-count indictment filed on May 2, 2018. On July 25, 2018, LEWIS pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

On September 12, 2017, officers with the Selective Enforcement Unit of the Raleigh Police Department were attempting to locate LEWIS due to outstanding warrants for multiple sex offenses. During their search, officers went to an address in which they believed LEWIS was located. Officers knocked on the door and LEWIS answered and was placed under arrest. A protective sweep of the home recovered a loaded .25 caliber handgun in plain view. During subsequent questioning, LEWIS confessed to having the firearm.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

That effort has been implemented through the Take Back North Carolina Initiative of The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina. This initiative emphasizes the regional assignment of federal prosecutors to work with law enforcement and District Attorney’s Offices on a sustained basis in those communities to reduce the violent crime rate, drug trafficking, and crimes against law enforcement.

The investigation of this case was conducted by the Raleigh Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF). Assistant United States Attorney Daniel William Smith prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

News releases are available on the U.S. Attorney’s webpage located at www.usdoj.gov/usao/nce. Follow us on Twitter @USAO_EDNC

Rebuilding Hope Looks Back on Year of Upgrades, Looks Forward to Future Projects

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-Information courtesy the Rebuilding Hope, Inc. Dec. 2018 Newsletter

Improvements to our buildings this year enable us to serve our communities more efficiently.

“Since we moved into our new location in early 2017, we’ve known that improvements and changes to the facilities would be needed,” says Rebuilding Hope coordinator Randolph Wilson.

“The new location, the old Coca-Cola building, served one type of business activity, and Rebuilding Hope is a different type of activity, and that made some changes necessary,” he says.

The ministry moved from its location on Oliver Drive to the 1.9-acre site on Raleigh Road and into two buildings which previously served Coca-Cola as bottling, distribution, repair and storage operations.

Projects on the approximately 20,000-square-foot main building have included:

  • Installing a bathroom with two showers on the second floor to accommodate volunteers staying in the bunkroom.
  • Adding restrooms for men and women nearer the meeting room.
  • Installing a cooler to store food needed for fundraisers.
  • Installing three-phase power to the saw shop and new cooler.
  • Power washing loose paint from the exterior.
  • Replacing cracked and painted-over window panels in the front of the building.
  • Hanging curtains on the front windows.
  • Painting the roof on an outbuilding to prevent further rusting.

“Looking at the coming year, we have two large projects,” Randolph says. “We’ve ordered a truss to over-roof a flat roof on one of the buildings, and we want to replace the roof on the drive-through building. Once we get those done, our roofs will be in good shape,” he says.

A future project is building a shelter for volunteers and their cookers during fundraisers, he says. At other times the shelter would be a parking spot for the ministry’s trucks and equipment.

“The additions to our facilities also enable us to support other ministries in their outreach programs,” he says. “Just last month, Grace Ministries used the cooler and our kitchen for its turkey dinner outreach to about 4,000 people in Henderson. Our large dining area allowed the ministry to serve meals there, too.”

News 12/12/18

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Community Leaders Visit Vance Co. Public Schools During ‘Community to Schools’ Event

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-Press Release, Vance County Schools

Vance County Schools hosted another “Community to Schools” event on Friday, December 7, with community leaders visiting four of our local public schools to learn more about what educators and students are working on during a typical school day.

Superintendent Anthony Jackson and other key school system leaders escorted the business, church, civic and public service agency representatives on visits to L.B. Yancey Elementary School, Vance County High School, STEM Early High School and Vance County Middle School. The visits were held during a four-hour period in the morning.

At each of the schools, school administrators greeted the touring group. They showed the participants key advances and programs for our students at the elementary, middle and high school levels. Those who participated in the school visits were able to go into classrooms and see teachers and students at work and they visited computer labs, educational workrooms and the new Vance Virtual laboratories at the middle and high schools.

Dr. Carnetta Thomas discusses student incentive programs at L.B. Yancey Elementary School while hosting community leaders in her school. (Photo Credit: VCS)

Dr. Carnetta Thomas, principal of L.B. Yancey Elementary School, introduced the tour group to several of her teachers and students who were actively engaged in classroom work. She also had them visit with students, parents and staff during the school’s special “Books & Breakfast” event held throughout the school and featuring parents eating breakfast with the students and then going into various parts of the school to read with, and to, student groups.

During their visit to Vance County High School, Principal Rey Horner welcomed the tour participants and talked about the many programs and services provided to students in his school including the Vance Medical Academy, Fire & Public Safety Academy, varied Career and Technical Education programs, expanded extra-curricular activities for students and the newly expanded athletics programs for male and female students.

The group also visited the school’s newly renovated cafeteria and music room. They received hands-on experiences in the Vance Virtual lab, located in the school’s media center, as student ambassadors showed them how the zSpace digital student learning centers provide three-dimensional studies for students through special software applications in a variety of subject areas.

Teresa Robinson of Walmart Distribution Center, watches a Vance County Middle School student demonstrate the three-dimensional dissection tool on a zSpace digital student learning center in the school’s Vance Virtual lab. (Photo Credit: VCS)

Horner noted that the newly consolidated high school, now with more than 1,100 students, has had a smooth beginning to the new school year and he and his staff are continuing to provide additional educational opportunities to their students.

The tour group then visited the STEM Early High School and saw firsthand how teachers and students focus on project-based learning, particularly in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math. Assistant Principal Melonee Hunter led the visit and was assisted by an outstanding group of student leaders. The tour participants were able to visit several classrooms to see how students work in groups to collaborate on projects teachers challenge them to complete as teams.

The final stop for the “Community to Schools” tours was Vance County Middle School where Principal Heddie Somerville welcomed the group to the newly consolidated school that serves over 900 students in grades 6-8. The facility, formerly known as Northern Vance High School, has been renovated to accommodate the middle school population and Somerville stressed that more work will be done to the facility throughout the school year and the upcoming summer to provide additional educational enhancements for students. Her school’s student ambassadors led a visit for the tour participants in the Vance Virtual lab and demonstrated how students use the digital student learning centers to enhance classroom instruction through the use of state-of-the-art technology.

Duke Energy

Duke Energy Down to Fewer Than 30 Outages in Aftermath of Winter Storm Diego

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-Information courtesy Tanya Evans, District Manager, Duke Energy

The sun is shining (finally!) in NC, and that means this should be a great day for MELTING SNOW and ICE! We are wrapping up the few remaining outages in our region. At this time, we are down to fewer than 30 outages affecting 250 customers across my 10-county district.

Estimated restoration times for the remaining customers have been posted to our website.

We deeply appreciate the patience our customers have shown, and we’re doing all we can to restore every customer as fast as possible. Unless conditions change dramatically, this will be my final update regarding Winter Storm Diego.

Reverse Raffle Raises $6,000 for ‘Shop With A Cop’ Event

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-Information courtesy the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce

Thanks to the support of the local community and area businesses, it’s time to “Shop With A Cop!”

A total of $6,000 was raised during a Reverse Raffle held at Henderson Country Club in November. Over the next two weeks, area law enforcement officers will take several underprivileged children shopping for Christmas with the money raised.

The event is brought to the community by the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce, Henderson Police Department and the Vance County Sheriff’s Department. Maria Parham Health is the presenting sponsor for this event.

Front Row (left to right): Mel Manning (Board Chairman, H-V Chamber of Commerce), Lt. Jessica West (Henderson Police Dept.), Vance Co. Sheriff Curtis Brame and Bert Beard (CEO, Maria Parham Health). Back Row (left to right): John Barnes (President, H-V Chamber of Commerce), First Sgt. Jeff Rowan (NC Highway Patrol), Chief Frankie Nobles (Vance Co. Animal Control), Chief Marcus Barrow (Henderson Police Dept.), Capt. LQ Watkins (Vance Co. Sheriff’s Office) and Chief Sean Newton (Vance-Granville Comm. College Public Safety).

 

Watkins Volunteer Fire Depart.’s Pancake Dinner to Benefit Raegan Owen

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-Information and flyer courtesy the Watkins Volunteer Fire Department’s Facebook Page

The Watkins Volunteer Fire Department will be holding an All-You-Can-Eat Pancake Dinner on Friday, December 14, 2018,  from 6 to 8 p.m. Cost for the meal is $7.

All proceeds benefit Raegan (Rae Rae) Owen. Raegan is the 10-year-old daughter of Randy and Debbie Owen. Randy is the Fire/Rescue Coordinator at Vance-Granville Community College. Raegan was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) and has a long battle ahead. Please help us support this wonderful family!

Location: Watkins Fire Department – 1590 Horseshoe Bend Rd., Henderson.

(This is not a paid advertisement)

Gospel Singing & Free Giveaways at Victory Road Baptist’s Pre-Christmas Celebration

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-Information courtesy Victory Road Baptist Church

Victory Road Baptist Church will be having its annual pre-Christmas celebration on Saturday, December 15, 2018, at 4 p.m. The Christland Singers and Mr. Willie B. & The Gospel Messengers will be rendering the music. Gift bags and toys will be given away. The food pantry and coat closet will also be open.

All items are FREE!

The church is located at 235 Booth Avenue, Henderson, NC.