Tag Archive for: #hendersonnews

Voluntary Water Conservation

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UPDATE: NOON

Water conservation order has now been lifted per Brian Short, Director of Emergency Operations for Vance County.

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Henderson is the managing partner of The Kerr Lake Regional Water System, which prepares and distributes clean, fresh water to Henderson and areas in Vance County, areas in and around Oxford and Warrenton plus other outside sales to areas like Franklin County.

The water plant lost power at some point as a result of the weather.  Vance County Director of Emergency Management Brian Short said power had been restored but reserve tanks need to refill.

Voluntary water conservation efforts are in effect until further notice.

You may have received an automated call or text.

News 10/07/16

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VCS State of Schools Luncheon

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End of Grade Tests Better; Vance Has Exited Low Performance Status; Closing Gap to State Averages; Vance Improving Quicker Than Several State Averages

On Wednesday, September 28, 2016, Superintendent Anthony Jackson addressed a crowd of about 70 business and community leaders.  In his opening remarks he said, “I want you to leave with a renewed commitment to the schools and the community.  Put your name on every child you encounter.”vcs-state-of-schools-lunch-2016-jackson

Discussed was student achievement, safe and orderly schools, quality of education, effective and efficient operations and how to be good educators in the 21st century environment.

The luncheon event was co-hosted by the Henderson Rotary Club and the Vance County Public School Foundation.

Jackson also discussed aspirations for the 17 local public schools for the current school year and provided those in attendance with a “Strategic Roadmap” for the next five years.

He told those in attendance he wanted young adults “ready for society the Monday after graduation.”  Jackson wants feedback from business and community leaders about how to better prepare students for entry into the local workforce.

And Jackson said a supportive community is key, that the mindset here needs to be one of looking at the improvements and tying them to excellence.

Some of the information shared by Jackson included:

  • an 82 percent graduation rate for Vance County Schools for 2015-2016
  • members of the Class of 2016 graduating with over $7.5 million in scholarships to attend colleges in the fall
  • the Vance County Early College High School completed the 2015-2016 school year as an “A” school based on the N.C. School Performance Grade recognition system
  • Aycock Elementary School and the STEM Early High School were both “B” schools for 2015-2016 for N.C. Performance Grades
  • no local schools were judged as “F” schools for the 2015-2016 school year
  • students in grades 5 and 8 increased their scores overall on the N.C. science end-of-grade test by more than 13 percent last year
  • students in grades 3-5 improved their state end-of-grade scores in reading and math by: an increase of 15 percent in proficiency at New Hope Elementary; an increase of more than 10 percent in proficiency at Clarke Elementary; an increase of 8.4 percent in proficiency at Aycock Elementary; and an increase of 7 percent in proficiency at both Dabney Elementary and Pinkston Street Elementary
  • student proficiency on state end-of-grade testing in reading and math increased by seven percent at the STEM Early High School and almost six percent each at Eaton-Johnson Middle and Henderson Middle last year.

“All of this took a lot of hard work,” Jackson said. “Our teachers and students should be commended for their accomplishments. This doesn’t happen overnight.  We want to continue to increase our student achievements at a greater rate than students are growing across the state. We recognize we have a gap between our achievements and state achievements, but if we can continue to grow as we did last year we can eliminate the gap over the next few years.”

Jackson acknowledged continuing to make substantial student achievements and closing the gap between proficiency by local students and state proficiency will take more hard work. “But, I’m convinced we can get it done,” he said.

Jackson continued to stress the school system’s theme for 2016-2017 of “Excellence . . . Without Excuse!” He also repeated the increasingly popular slogan of “I’m Vance County Proud. Are you?”

(Editor’s Note – WIZS News attended the luncheon.  The article above was written from our notes and includes excerpts written by Vance County Schools Public Information Officer Terri Hedrick as well.  WIZS News encourages you to read the full VCS article written by Hedrick and posted on the VCS Web Page by clicking on the link below.)

Vance County School State of Schools Luncheon Article as written and posted by Terri Hedrick

Midday Thursday Matthew Update Henderson-Vance

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Midday Thursday Matthew Update Henderson-Vance

Brian Short is the Director of Emergency Operations for Vance County.  Short has provided emergency preparedness teams and local media the latest from the National Weather Service on Hurricane Matthew.

Short wrote in an email, “Attached is the latest weather synopsis from the NWS on HurricaneMatthew — click here. As you can see, our wind gusts are expected to be very light with rainfall amounts of approximately 3 inches over the course of the next few days (not in a short period of time).

“While all eyes are fixed on Florida, our attention remains focused closer to home. Though we do not anticipate needing to implement any sort of emergency protective measures, those avenues remain open to us. We have been continually coordinating with our local and state public safety and response partners and are poised to change that posture quickly if it should be required.

“We encourage everyone to remain vigilant and to continue to monitor this system as it approaches our coast. Large hurricanes such as this one are very unpredictable so we should in no way let our guard down. We will continue to keep everyone informed throughout the coming days.”

For more, visit https://www.weather.gov/rah/.

Citizens Needed for “Community Voices” Program

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Citizens Needed for “Community Voices” Program

Thursday, October 13, 2016, at 6 p.m., a public kick off session will be held at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market
located at 210 Southpark Drive in Henderson (off Beckford Drive).  Join in to find out how “Community Voices” can help your community pinpoint issues and problems and move forward.

Concerned citizens, existing community leaders and representatives from all community-based organizations are encouraged to attend.  The goal is to introduce the “Community Voices” program and give residents the chance to define the issues they face, collectively as anc-coop-ext-community-voices-2016-2 community, and to find ways to solve them.

The program is sponsored by Vance County Cooperative Extension, which provided all these details to WIZS News, and the Cooperative Extension Program and N.C. A&T State University.  Register by calling Morris White, County Extension Director, at 252-438-8188 or email morris_white@ncsu.edu and invite your friends.

Full Community Voices Press Release

News 10/06/16

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IT certification courses offered at VGCC through new grant

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Information technology training courses are set to be offered soon at Vance-Granville Community College, and grant funding from the new NC TechHire program can help eligible area residents pay for them. These courses are offered in a “hybrid” format, with some coursework online and some on VGCC’s Main Campus.

Three upcoming courses provide opportunities to earn certain certifications through CompTIA, the Computing Technology Industry Association. The CompTIA certifications are internationally recognized and are required by most companies hiring information technology professionals. When students complete each course or module, they take the appropriate certification exams.

“CompTIA A+” covers the basic hardware of a personal computer, including the installation, operating systems, upgrading/maintenance of both equipment and software, as well as troubleshooting and repairing non-functioning personal computers. Upon completion of specific modules, the CompTIA 220-901 and 220-902 exams will be administered to students. The course will be taught by VGCC instructor Donna Gill.

“CompTIA Network+” will introduce students to the networking field and is also set to be taught by Gill. Upon completion, students should be able to perform tasks related to networking mathematics, terminology, models, media, Ethernet, sub-netting, and TCP/IP Protocols. Students will take the N10-006 exam at the end of this class.

“CompTIA Server+” covers the installation and administration of a Windows Server network operating system. VGCC instructor Gerald Young will teach students about managing and maintaining physical and logical devices, access to resources, the server environment, managing users, computers, and groups and managing/implementing disaster recovery. Students will take the SKO-004 exam at the end of this class.

These courses, which are being scheduled now and will be offered multiple times, are approved for funding through the NC TechHire grant that VGCC recently received as part of a consortium of four community colleges. Area residents between the ages of 17-29 who are not currently in school may qualify for grant funding, which can pay for registration fees, course fees, and certification fees.

For more information, contact Kenneth Wilson at (252) 738-3259 or wilsonk@vgcc.edu or Tiffani Polk at (252) 738-3291 or polkt@vgcc.edu.

Matthew Update: Central NC including Henderson/Vance

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MATTHEW UPDATE WEDNESDAY MORNING:

Brian Short is the Director of Emergency Operations for Vance County.  When events such as the potential impacts of bad weather and other public safety issues arise, Short sends out information to local preparedness teams, public service agencies and to the media.

Short wrote in an email this morning, “As you can see from the attached briefing packet from the NWS, our anticipated impact from Hurricane Matthew has lessened considerably overnight. At this point we are continuing to monitor the storm and will react accordingly if anything should change but as it stands now it does seem to be primarily a coastal event.

“I would like to emphasize that this change in no way means we are out of the woods. The storm is still far enough away that anything could change so please continue to keep a close eye on it. I encourage everyone to continue their preparation efforts just in case until we know with greater certainty what the path of the hurricane will be.

“We will continue to keep everyone informed.”

For details for your specific area, including all watches, warnings, and advisories…

•Northeast NC: https://weather.gov/akq
•Eastern NC: https://weather.gov/mhx
•Southeast NC: https://weather.gov/ilm
•Central NC: https://weather.gov/rah
•Northwest NC (& mountains): https://weather.gov/rnk
•Southwest NC (& mountains): https://weather.gov/gsp
•Cherokee and Clay Counties: https://weather.gov/mrx

For specific hour-by-hour forecast details and trends for your exact location, please visit https://forecast.weather.gov/gridpoint.php?site=rah&TypeDefault=graphical

This link will include hour-by-hour forecasts for temperature, wind, wind gusts, wind chill, precipitation chance, etc.

Commissioner Troxler urges Ag Emergency Plans

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With Hurricane Matthew looking more certain to affect North Carolina, Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler is urging farmers to have emergency plans in place for their farms and share those plans with workers in advance of landfall.

Many crops are still in the field and recent rains from tropical storms have saturated parts of eastern North Carolina, said Troxler. “This creates a perfect condition for downed trees, flooded pastures and crops lost in the field. But farmers can take some steps ahead of time to minimize losses or at least be prepared to respond after the storm.”

Troxler says farmers should review their farm emergency plan, which includes having a list of emergency contacts of whom to call after a storm. Farmers should include the county emergency management office to their list of important numbers.

“Every farming operation is different and has different needs. Assessing in advance what your most pressing needs will be if you should lose power, or are at risk for flooding, can be the difference in salvaging a crop or saving livestock,” Troxler said.

Gov. Pat McCrory signed a disaster declaration Monday that waived restrictions on vehicle weights for farmers preparing for the storm to move feed, crops or livestock in 66 central and eastern counties.
Previous storms have shown that backup generators are in high demand following storms, and on-site feeding capabilities for livestock operations are also critical.

“The need for generators is always high when a storm strikes,” Troxler said. “We encourage farmers to contact local farm suppliers and rental companies in advance of storms to reserve a generator on their own in the event of power outages.”

Troxler reminded farmers that they should have a transfer switch properly installed ahead of time so they can use a generator. A properly installed transfer switch is critical for the protection of farm facilities and utility workers, he said.

In addition, pesticide applicators should look to secure their pesticide storage areas. Applicators in low-lying areas should do whatever they can to elevate or move pesticides to locations that are less likely to flood.

More preparedness tips to consider:

  • Review insurance policies to be sure your farm is properly covered.
  • Clear ditches so that water can move freely.
  • Check power line clearance to see if trees need pruning or removing
  • Closely monitor local weather reports for up-to-the-minute information on storms.
  • Fuel up all vehicles and prepare your family’s disaster readiness kit. Don’t forget household pets.
  • Keep all electronic devices charged.
  • Store or secure items or equipment that might blow away.
  • Relocate livestock and animals from low-lying areas.
  • Check generators to be sure they are in good working order and secure a sufficient amount of fuel to operate them.
  • Secure propane tanks to prevent them from floating away. Turn off the propane supply at tanks.
  • Move equipment to the highest open ground possible away from trees or buildings that could cause damage.
  • Mark animals with an identifier so they can be easily returned if lost. Examples are ear tags with name of farm and phone numbers, brands, paint markings on hooves or coat or clipped initials in the hair.
  • Move feed to higher ground or to a more accessible place in case of flooding or transportation problems.
  • Secure or move pesticides to higher ground in the event of flooding.
  • Coordinate with neighbors beforehand and discuss what resources can be shared.
  • On social media, follow the National Weather Service @NWSRaleigh, NCDA&CS @ncagriculture, and N.C. Emergency Management @NCEmergency. Government officials will use #MatthewNC on social media channels to get word out about the storm as well.

More tips and information can be found at www.ncagr.gov/disaster.

News 10/05/16

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