Tag Archive for: #hendersonnews

Chamber Banquet to Feature Tar Heel Traveler Scott Mason

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Chamber Banquet to Feature Tar Heel Traveler Scott Mason

(If you are unable to attend the banquet, it will be broadcast live on WIZS 1450 AM and live streamed on wizs.com.)

The January 2017 edition of “Focus” is out, a publication of the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce — click here.

The lead story gives details of the upcoming Chamber banquet and a visit from WRAL-TV’s Scott Mason, The Tar Heel Traveler.  The banquet story is re-published with permission below, or click the link above which includes the entire news letter.

The 79th Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce Annual Membership Meeting and Banquet will be held on Tuesday, January 31 at the VGCC Civic Center.

This year’s event will include a delicious dinner and music, keynote address and various recognitions including: Vance County Schools’ teacher, assistant principal, and principal of the year, Vance County Schools’ “Shining Moment in Education” award, 2016 Ambassador of the Year Award and the prestigious Vance County Citizen of the Year Award for 2016.

Keynote speaker for 2017 is WRAL’s Scott Mason, the Tar Heel Traveler. Mason is a broadcast journalist with 30 years of television experience. He has won dozens of awards for documentaries, writing, and feature reporting, including three National Edward R. Murrow awards and 20 regional Emmys. In both 2004 and 2005, the Electronic News Association of the Carolinas named Mason the North Carolina Television Reporter of the Year. Mason’s success caught the attention of WRAL-TV in Raleigh, and in April, 1997, he became the station’s Documentary Producer. He researched, wrote, and produced nine documentaries before adding his talents to the nightly news team as a reporter specializing in features. Today, Mason is known as the Tar Heel Traveler. His Monday-Thursday feature series on WRAL takes viewers along the back roads of North Carolina where he meets memorable characters, finds out-of-the-way places, and unearths fascinating historical footnotes. The series has become so popular it has led to Tar Heel Traveler half-hour specials, which Mason produces each quarter. In addition, he has also published two books about his television adventures: Tar Heel Traveler: Journeys Across North Carolina (Globe Pequot Press) and Tar Heel Traveler Eats: Food Journeys Across North Carolina (Globe Pequot Press). Mason graduated in 1984 from Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, where he majored in Journalism and Communications. He is currently pursuing his master’s degree in creative writing at Queens University of Charlotte and lives in Raleigh with his wife Nina, daughters Lane and Genie, and son Scout. This project is made possible by funding from the North Carolina Humanities Council, a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Presenting Sponsor for this special annual event is Duke Energy. Gold sponsors are Maria Parham Medical Center and CenturyLink, Silver Sponsors are BB&T, Envirolink, MARS Petcare, Wake Electric Membership Corporation and Walmart DC #6091. Bronze sponsors are Express Employment Professionals and J.M. White Funeral Service.

Seating for dinner will be promptly at 6:30 and live music will accompany the meal. Several sponsorship opportunities are available by contacting the Chamber. Tickets are available for $35 each or a table of 10 for $320. Contact the Chamber at 252-438-8414 for more information or for tickets.

News 01/31/17

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Henderson City Council annual Strategic Planning Retreat set for this week

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The Henderson City Council will meet for its annual Strategic Planning Retreat on Wednesday, February 1, 2017, at the Henderson Country Club from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. for a working dinner and on Thursday, February 2, 2017,  from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Farm Bureau Room at the Perry Memorial Library.  A quorum is expected at both meetings; however, no final action will be taken at either meeting.  The public is welcome to observe.

Esther J. McCrackin

City Clerk – City of Henderson, NC

134 Rose Avenue

P.O. Box 1434

Henderson, NC 27536

News 01/27/17

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Vance Co. Schools Pre-K and Kindergarten Registration

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Vance Co. Schools Pre-K and Kindergarten Registration

Vance County Schools are currently accepting pre-kindergarten applications and kindergarten registration at all elementary schools for the 2017-2018 school year.

To apply for pre-kindergarten children must be 4 years old on or before August 31, 2017. To register for kindergarten, children should be 5 years old on or before August 31, 2017.

Parents are urged to go to the elementary school in the area where they live now to register their children for the upcoming school year.

Elementary schools will be announcing soon special events and activities for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten registration.

News 01/26/17

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News 01/25/17

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Contractor Moves Start of I-85 Lane Shifts in Vance/Warren Counties to Friday

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RALEIGH – Motorists who travel through the work zone for the I-85 upgrade project now under way in Vance and Warren counties will be encountering a series of lane shifts and ramp closures over the next several weeks.

They will start about noon on Friday, Jan. 27, when I-85 South traffic will be shifting over to the northbound side between U.S. 158 Bypass West/Dabney Drive and U.S. 1. The southbound traffic will move to the inside of the northbound side, while I-85 North traffic will shift to the outside.

The move into the two-lane, two-way pattern will allow crews to safely work on the southbound side of the highway. That shift is expected to remain in place until November.

The eastbound U.S. 158 ramp to I-85 will remain closed through November as well, while the I-85 South on ramp from Parham Road will be closed, also until November.

By the end of the month, or in early February, traffic in Warren County will undergo the same shift, with I-85 South vehicles being moved to I-85 North to share those lanes between mile markers 224 and 229.

The timing of the shifts and closures is dependent on the progress of the prep work needed to get the roadways ready, as well as weather conditions.

It is all part of a five-year, $137.3-million project that is improving the interstate between Dabney Road in Vance County and the Virginia state line. In addition to repairing the deteriorating road surface, the work calls for replacing the bridges on I-85 and improving bridges over the interstate. That includes raising the clearance on several of those bridges to create safer conditions for tractor trailers traveling underneath them along the interstate.

The improvements are needed because of the expected increase in traffic volume on this key connector highway for travelers and commercial trucking that links cities of the Mid-Atlantic and northeast United States to Greensboro, Charlotte and Atlanta. Traffic is currently at about 37,800 vehicles a day, but is expected to rise to 60,000 per day over the next 20 years.

A project this big means considerable impacts for motorists with lane and ramp closures, traffic shifts and detours continuing through the end of the project in 2020. And it’s not just the interstate that will be affected, as roads such as N.C. 39 and Satterwhite Point Road, which provides key access to Kerr Lake State Recreation Area, will have lane restrictions and closings at times.

NCDOT staff works closely with local officials, towns, schools and emergency services to make sure everyone knows when their areas will be impacted. For more information about the project, you can contact NCDOT Resident Engineer Boyd Tharrington at btharrington@ncdot.gov or (919) 562-7000.

For real-time travel information, visit DriveNC.gov or follow NCDOT on Twitter.

***NCDOT***

 

Vance County Schools awarded Grant from Golden Leaf

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Dr. Anthony Jackson, superintendent of Vance County Schools, announced at the Vance County Board of Education meeting January 18, that the school system has been awarded a $200,000 grant from the Golden Leaf Foundation for its “We Inspire” technology project.

The three-year grant will be used to fund training for educators throughout the school system. It also will be used to support teachers working with students to ensure effective use of latop computers and other technology as an enhancement tool for educational instruction at school and at home.

The “We Inspire” project involves an approximately 50-member team of local educators who are already receiving training on effective strategies to use in the classroom to better utilize technology in their daily instruction. The team is made up of school administrators, department directors, school media specialists, school system technology technicians, curriculum specialists, teachers and counselors. Training for the team began last summer and has been ongoing during this school year. The “We Inspire” cohort members also are facilitating training sessions for other educators in their schools.

The “We Inspire” project includes a close partnership with the Friday Institute at N.C. State University. Representatives of the Friday Institute have already led several training sessions with the “We Inspire” team and more trainings are planned.

Educators throughout the school system received new laptop computers at the beginning of this school year. The new laptops are being used as a focal point of the technology project. For effective use of the technology, ongoing training for all teachers and other educators in local schools is essential. The Golden Leaf Foundation grant funding will cover costs of the training over the next three years. To train all 500 teachers in the district, the school system will need to offer support to cohorts ranging in size from 75 to 100 teachers, each year. Those educators who have completed the training will lead sessions to offer refreshers to others not in an active cohort.

Students in the Vance County Early College High School and the STEM Early High School received new laptop computers this school year. The student laptops were obtained through a lease program. Students in additional schools are set to receive new laptop computers at the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year.

The “We Inspire” project is the catalyst for use of technology in Vance County Schools for years to come. The Golden Leaf Foundation grant to cover costs of training educators over the next three years is crucial to the success of teachers and students using technology as an educational enhancement tool.

Henderson Land Planning Committee to meet Thursday

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The Henderson City Council’s Land Planning Committee will meet on Thursday, January 26, 2017 at 4:00 p.m. in the Large Conference Room at City Hall, 134 Rose Avenue.  The purpose of this meeting is to discuss policy, ordinances and penalties associated with property within  the City, along with issues associated with City owned properties. Other items may be discussed as a result of this discussion.  The public is welcome.

 

Esther J. McCrackin

City Clerk – City of Henderson, NC

134 Rose Avenue

P.O. Box 1434

Henderson, NC 27536

Tel: 252-430-5705

Fax: 252-492-7935

www.ci.henderson.nc.us