Tag Archive for: #hendersonnews

School Bus Driver Training Oct 10-12

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Vance County Schools will host school bus driver training sessions Monday, October 10, through Wednesday, October 12, at L.B. Yancey Elementary School.

Interested persons must attend the training on all three days to receive certification. The training will be for individuals to drive school buses for the school system.

The training sessions will begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at approximately 3 p.m. each day.

Those interested in participating in the training sessions must register five days prior to the sessions with the school system’s Transportation Department, located at 226 Welcome Avenue off Raleigh Road south of Henderson. For additional information, call the Transportation Department at 438-5012.

News 09/19/16

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H/V Chamber Holds Ribbon Cutting for MARS Petcare Expansion

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A ribbon cutting ceremony was held for Mars Petcare US as they celebrated a $21M investment at an event on September 8th at the Henderson facility. Mars Petcare, one of the world’s leading pet care providers, is expanding support for its existing facility in Henderson, which currently produces IAMS® and EUKANUBA® brand pet foods. Improvements planned for the facility will give the company increased flexibility to respond to consumer demand by producing more dog and cat food, as well as to ensure the site has the highest food safety standards for products made at the site.

The Mars Petcare investment in Henderson includes a significant renovation to the facility, which is underway and expected to be complete in mid-November. A number of upgrades are planned to increase productivity and quality, including an upgrade on the mill, new coating systems and two new baggers for the pet food manufactured here. The site, originally operated by Proctor & Gamble, was acquired by Mars Petcare as part of its acquisition of Proctor & Gamble’s pet food portfolio in August 2014.

“This investment from Mars Petcare sends a very strong message that the company values our community,” said Paco Tello, plant manager for the Henderson site. The Henderson investment is the latest in a series of significant economic investments Mars Petcare has made in local communities.

Mars Petcare continues be a global leader in food and quality safety by giving back to the communities where it operates. Locally, Mars Petcare has donated food and dog beds to area animal shelters and other organizations.

For more information on Mars Petcare, please visit www.mars.com.

H/V Chamber Celebrates Opening of new Flowers Baking Company Location

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On Thursday, September 1st, Flowers Baking Company held a ribbon cutting celebration at its new location on 875 S. Beckford Drive in Henderson.  With the help of representatives from the Flowers Baking Company, Vice President of Sales, Tony Ufland, officially cut the ribbon and welcomed attendees with a bag full of bread and sweet rolls.

Their company thrives on providing the freshest and best quality product in the marketplace. They pick up their product early in the marketplace, and replace it with fresh product. This product is still good, it just has a reduced shelf life. Their Bakery Outlet provides a place for their company to recover some of this cost and provides the community with discounted product. The facility also provides an office space and warehouse that their independent distributors use to distribute their product. The brands they represent are Nature’s Own, Wonder, Merita, Cobblestone Bread Company, Sunbeam, and Tastykake.

Hours of operation are 9AM – 6PM Monday-Friday, 9AM-4:30PM Saturday and Closed on Sunday.

This new location will be hosting a Customer Appreciation Day on Saturday, September 17 from 11AM – 1PM. For customers that stop in and enjoy a hot dog and chips on their visit will receive 10@ off everything in the store.

News 09/15/16

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Hendersonians Report Discolored Water

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Update 5:40 P.M. Tuesday:

The City Clerk, Esther McCrackin, has issued a press release on behalf of the City of Henderson.  It states:

“Customers who receive water via the Kerr Lake Regional Water System may be currently experiencing discolored water from their taps.  The City believes this is a result of the Kerr Lake Regional Water plant experiencing manganese from the surface water which was removed but was captured in the remaining sludge and is now showing up in the distribution system.

“With the interaction of chlorine, it is making its way through the distribution system, including Henderson customers and also customers of the City of Oxford and Warren County.  Based on action taken at the plant as well as additional flushing within the system to take place, the problem with discolored water should be resolved by the end of the week.  Should you continue to observe discolored water after this time, please call the Kerr Lake Regional Water Plant at 252-438-2141.

“It is important to note that the water is safe to drink.”

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Update 2:15 P.M. Tuesday:

According to Esther McCrackin with the City of Henderson:

“Minor changes in the weather and water chemistry have created a discolored water issue.  The water is safe to drink and the City anticipates the issue will be resolved by the end of the week.”

News 09/13/16

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News 09/12/16

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Vance County Schools Honors Leaders

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Vance County Schools hosted its “Leadership Celebration” in McGregor Hall last night and announced the selection of Linwood Swann of Eaton-Johnson Middle School as the school system’s 2016-2017 Teacher of the Year, Crystal Richardson of Clarke Elementary School as the 2016-2017 Principal of the Year and Joy Suther of Dabney Elementary School as the 2016-2017 Assistant Principal of the Year.

Approximately 120 school officials, educators, family members and other invited guests attended the event, which was held in the McGregor Gallery between the Perry Memorial Library and McGregor Hall performing arts center on Breckenridge Street in Henderson.vcs-photo-linwood-swann-090816

Nominees for each of the three district awards were honored individually and presented with gifts by Gloria J. White, chairwoman of the Vance County Board of Education, and Superintendent Anthony D. Jackson. Assisting them in the presentations were Robin Wilson of New Hope Elementary and 2015-2016 Teacher of the Year; Heddie Somerville of Pinkston Street Elementary and 2015-2016 Principal of the Year; and David Cooper of Aycock Elementary and 2015-2016 Assistant Principal of the Year.

Swann was selected from an outstanding field of 16 top teachers in the district who each serve as their school’s Teacher of the Year. Each received a commemorative gift from the school system for their recognition and Swann was presented with a 2017 Toyota Camry, which is generously provided by Dave Genetti and his dealership, Toyota of Henderson. Swann will drive the vehicle for the next year as the district’s Teacher of the Year.

Swann is an English/language arts teacher at Eaton-Johnson Middle School, where he has worked as a faculty member since August of 2010. He began his career in teaching in 2007 with Brunswick County Schools. He has been a leader among the faculty members at Eaton-Johnson since he began work at the school. Swann is very involved in extra-curricular activities for students, as well. He notes that his teaching philosophy is two-fold.

“As well as advancing children’s learning toward the achievement of academic excellence, I believe in promoting the development of their character,” Swann writes. “I work to achieve this by applying creative and dynamic teaching techniques that take into consideration curricular objectives, learners’ needs, diverse learning styles and teacher modeling. I aim to develop a rich resource of expertise, experience and materials that, when effectively put to use, motivate and engage my students.

“I feel it necessary to create a collaborative relationship between the home and the school, so we can work more effectively toward a common goal,” he added. “Personally, I want to approach educational challenges with optimism to ensure continual improvement and growth as a lifelong learner, continually acquiring and developing new knowledge and skills to benefit my students.”

Swann was joined as a nominee for the district Teacher of the Year honor by: Edward Ortega of Aycock Elementary; Lavonda Williams of Carver Elementary; Shannon Bullock of Clarke Elementary; Jacqueline Creech of Dabney Elementary; Robin Young of New Hope Elementary; Cheryl Jones of Pinkston Street Elementary; Susan Nutt of E.M. Rollins Elementary; Yvonne Woolfolk of L.B. Yancey Elementary; Christina Welch of E.O. Young Jr. Elementary; Ann Hanson of Zeb Vance Elementary; Adith Williams-White of Henderson Middle; Lynn Conlee of STEM Early High; Joannie Aldridge of Northern Vance High; Amy Simpson of Southern Vance High; and Brian Parrish of Vance County Early College High.

Richardson was among three nominees for the district’s Principal of the Year. Additional nominees honored were Kristen Boyd of Aycock Elementary School and Stephanie Ayscue of Southern Vance High School.

Richardson has been the principal of Clarke Elementary since 2012. She has been in education for 28 years and worked all of that time in Vance County Schools. Prior to becoming principal at Clarke, she was the principal at New Hope Elementary School for onevcs-photo-crystal-richardson-090816 year. She also served as an assistant principal at Clarke Elementary School, Clark Street Elementary School and Henderson Middle School. Richardson was an eighth-grade social studies teacher at Henderson Middle for 14 years before moving into administration.

Under Richardson’s leadership, Clarke Elementary has made significant academic gains over the last few years. She notes in her philosophy of instructional leadership, “As principal, it’s crucial to provide effective resources for my staff as well as their request in some instances to need additional resources to achieve effective teaching for a conducive learning environment. During our instructional meetings or workshops, it has been important to stress communication as the key element and/or belief that all students are capable of learning regardless of their weaknesses or disabilities. Also, with equipping students and teachers with the sufficient resources, it creates empowerment, motivation and inspiration for both parties. However, from a leadership perspective the ultimate goal is trust in a manner of complete investment in the learning process along with an effective and dedicated staff.”

In addition to Suther, Dr. Jacqueline Batchelor Crosson, now assistant principal at Pinkston Street and L.B. Yancey elementary schools, also was nominated for the district’s Assistant Principal of the Year award.  She was nominated for her work last year while serving as assistant principal at New Hope Elementary, in addition to Pinkston Street.

Suther has approximately 20 years of experience in education, with almost all of her time spent with Vance County Schools. She has served as the assistant principal at Dabney Elementary for the last two school years. Prior to joining the Dabney administrative staff, vcs-photo-joy-suther-090816she was an assistant principal at Pinkston Street and E.O. Young Jr. elementary schools. Suther has spent most of her career in education as an elementary school teacher. She has taught at both E.M. Rollins and Zeb Vance elementary schools in Vance County.

At Dabney, Suther stresses that her role is to support Dr. Michael Putney, the school’s principal, all faculty and staff members and the students as they work together to achieve academic excellence. Suther says she takes particular pride in working directly with teachers, especially in kindergarten through second grade, to use innovative strategies and technology to enhance classroom instruction. She says she is always looking for new approaches to assist teachers in all grade levels to effectively reach every child with daily instruction, to assess student achievement and use available data to determine how to help students be successful.

–Vance County Schools Press Release–

Friday Night Football Scouting Reports

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WIZS 1450 AM provides double coverage tonight of Northern Vance hosting Bunn and Southern Vance hosting Hertford County.  All the radio coverage begins at 6:45 and continues until the final play is done.  Everything is On Air and streamed live at wizs.com or via WIZS on Tunein.

— Scouting Reports by Jeff Jenkins

Northern Vance finishes up a 3-game home stand with its most difficult test so far this season against regular 2A powerhouse Bunn.  The Wildcats form a team that seems to have everything a championship team needs every year.  Their coach, David Howle, has been in charge for 25 of the past 29 years (the last 4 years in a row), and they have not had a losing season since 1988, Howle’s first year.  Over the past decade, the Wildcats have been to the state playoffs every year.  Last year was the Wildcats’ best ever: They lost 2 regular season games to larger schools, but swept their Northern Carolina Conference, including a 51-18 win over Southern Vance, and went to the state finals for the first time, losing the championship game to finish 13-3 overall.  For the entire 2015 season, including playoffs, they averaged an almost unbelievable 48 points per game scoring, breaking a school record for total points scored, while allowing 23 per game.  Along the way to these impressive numbers, Bunn defeated Northern Vance handily last year 49-18.

How does this year’s Wildcats team compare to last year’s?  This time last year they were 1-2, with losses to Wilson Fike and Southern Nash, but still averaging 42 points per game scoring, and allowing 32.  This year, they are 2-1, losing to Southern Nash last week, but winning a 24-20 squeaker over Fike in their season opener.  Last year will be a hard act to follow, especially considering that so many key performers were lost to graduation, including school single-season rushing leader Tevin Perry, who gained over 2,000 rushing yards behind a huge, talented offensive line, all 5 of whom also graduated.  Even Coach Howle has admitted that an entire unit is hard to replace in one year.  However, Sr quarterback Quenten Wright is entering his fourth year as a starter, and backup Christian Murray has a strong arm, and he may see action with Wright lining up as a wide receiver.  Bunn has plenty of depth in one area – fullbacks.  Chris Bumpers, who gained 900 yards on the ground last year as a short yardage RB, returns for his senior season, and he is sharing the running duties with sophomore Raequan Dunston, who scored 2 TD’s last week on runs of 2 and 6 yards.  Also, starting defensive lineman Omar Rosa is again available as Bunn’s “human bowling ball,” lining up at fullback in short-yardage and goal-line situations.   One lucky addition for the ‘Cats is the addition of speedy running back D. J. Jones, a senior transfer from conference rival Roanoke Rapids, where he accumulated more than 1,800 yards on the ground as a sophomore.  Bunn continues its tradition of effective kickers with Thomas O’Campo, who hit a 25 yard FG last week at the close of the first half.

Even with a 2-1 start, a consistently excellent defense and a respectable 25 point scoring average, it would be overly optimistic to say that Northern Vance is in the same league as Bunn; but starting in 2017, they will in fact be in the same 2A conference, so it’s time for the Vikings to start figuring out how to play toe-to-toe against the Wildcats.

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Last year, Southern Vance traveled to Ahoskie to play the Hertford County Bears for the first time in recent memory – or maybe ever – and got their helmets handed to them in a 47-0 shut-out.  The 2015 Bears went on to finish 9-4, and second in their conference, the very competitive Northeastern Coastal 2A.  Hertford scored 38 points per game last year and allowed 24, and went to the playoffs for the 10th year in a row.  Their starting quarterback passed for over 3000 yards and 33 TD’s and scored 8 more times on the ground.  Then he graduated without leaving an experienced back-up.

In the Bears’ first three games this season, however, quarterbacking has not seemed to be a problem.  Jr. Lance Hunter has passed for 199 yards per game and 6 touchdowns, scattering his passes among eight different receivers.  Apparently the Bears coaching staff does not plan for Hunter to run the ball – he has only gained 11 yards on 7 runs – but he is flanked by Jr. RB Kyeem Perry, who averaged 115 yards rushing per game last year for 19 touchdowns, and who ran for 145 yards and 1 score in one game this year.  We are not sure why Perry did not play in the other 2 games, but the other Jr. RB,  Zion Riddick,  gained just under 100 all-purpose yards per game for all 3 games this season.  Only Perry and Riddick have gained significant yardage on the ground so far this season, which may explain the 1-2 start for the Bears.  The passing offense is alive and well, however, with 4 senior receivers available for Hunter as targets:  Jaquarii Roberson led the team last year with 113 yards receiving per game for 19 touchdowns, and he has started this season with 81 yards per game and 2 scores.  Roberson is followed by Justin Sessums, who has averaged 41 yards for 2 games. Rawshaun Beamon caught two touchdown passes in one game, but has apparently not played again;  and Perry caught a pass for a score in his one game.

Sr. Da’andre Beverly has also caught passes this season, but he is primarily an asset at defensive back.  Last season he averaged 4 solo tackles per game, led the team with 4 interceptions, running one back for a TD, and he blocked a FG and a punt.   The rest of the Bears defense is small-to-medium sized – their leading tacklers so far this year are Sr. OLB Alex Maxbaur, at 5’11 and 208 lbs with 11 tackles per game, and  Sr. DE Demetress Freeman at 6’1” and 200 lbs. with 10 per game.  The defense appears to work as a unit, however, with 4 more players averaging 5 or more tackles per game, and another 10 players with at least one tackle per game.

Offensively, Hertford County may be in for one of its weaker seasons, which seems to happen about once every 3 seasons, with very little running game, unless Kyeem Perry returns to the line-up. So the Raiders should be able to defend the pass and keep the score lower than last year.  But with no established starting quarterback until Corey Twitty Jr. returns from injury, with Malik Boyd missing playing time due to injuries, and with their tendency to stop themselves from scoring with turnovers and penalties, Southern Vance may be hard-pressed to avoid another shutout from this down-east traditional powerhouse.

The Raiders’ best bet will be to have one of the their 4 “quarterback committee” members throw the ball in the general direction of Zamari Ellis and let him out jump however many defenders he has on him at the time – a play which has produced at least one TD in every game so far this year.  Those 4 quarterbacks are also capable of gaining yards and keeping drives going – they rolled up well over 200 yards on the ground against Northern Vance last week – but the holding penalties will have to be minimized by the blockers – only 142 rushing yards went into the books last week because of the 6 or 8 penalties accrued on running plays.