Tag Archive for: #oxfordnews

Orange County Speedway Media Day 2016 Press Release

Welcome to Orange County Speedway. We are starting our 10th season under the current management, and are pleased to announce exciting renovations that are underway. The main office is being renovated as well as the souvenir stand. OCS will have a new walk-in souvenir stand to offer fans the opportunity to have easy access to touch and feel the products they may want to purchase. We will also be offering a better selection of merchandise to appeal to all ages.

Track owner Melvin Stanley, and Operations Manager, Terry Deal, are making several upgrades to the track to make it a place where fans will have the most enjoyable experience and competitors will appreciate and enjoy their experience as well. “We want to make it a place enjoyable for everyone and a place where everyone will want to return,” said Deal.

Many local favorites are returning in 2016, such as 2014 Late Model Champion Chris Denny. Former champions Chuck Lawson and Terry Dease will throw their hat into the mix in 2016. Also returning is former Late Model competitor Tripp Massengill. Defending champion Craig Moore will be making periodic appearances throughout 2016, along with Layne Riggs.

Chris Elliott, Daniel Schadt, Dennis Sargent, Daryl Carver, and the Gray brothers are just a few names which will be running in the Limited Sportsman division. Defending Street Stock champion Jared Gillis will be returning to run for another Street Stock championship. Other Street Stock notables are the Purnell brothers and Jeffrey Martin, who is moving up from Super Mini Trucks, along with local favorite Scoot Hayden.

The Pure Stock and Super Mini Truck classes are growing and Orange County Speedway is expecting new competitors from Virginia and North Carolina. Danny Winstead has announced that he will be defending his Pure Stock title.

OCS is pleased to announce that the Modified Four Cylinder division will be running seven races this year with series sponsorship from Smokey Dave’s BBQ.

We are also running an open-wheel modified division with series sponsorship to be announced soon.

With new divisions, sponsorships, staff members, competitors, and renovations, everyone at OCS is excited about the 2016 season.

The first race of 2016 for Orange County Speedway is this Saturday, April 9th. Qualifying begins at five, and the first race begins at seven.

AT&T sponsors new VGCC Summer Bridge program

AT&T North Carolina has made a $10,000 contribution to Vance-Granville Community College to support a new student success initiative. For the first time, the college will offer a “Summer Bridge” program this year for incoming first-year students. With AT&T’s sponsorship, the program will be available at no cost to participating students.

“Thanks to the strong support of AT&T North Carolina, in a few months, our faculty and staff will be able to offer some extra help to students to prepare them to succeed as scholars at the college level,” said Dr. Stelfanie Williams, the president of VGCC.

Robert Doreauk, AT&T’s regional director of external affairs, formally presented the donation in February at a luncheon honoring donors to the college, held at the Masonic Home for Children in Oxford.

“We understand that there is no better way to make a lasting difference in a community than by helping support the education of its young people,” Doreauk said. “Through our signature philanthropic initiative, AT&T Aspire, we support opportunities to foster skills that will meet the needs of the future workforce while helping all students make their biggest dreams a reality. We appreciate the opportunity to support the Summer Bridge program and are excited about the impact it will have on students’ lives and futures.”

VGCC Dean of Arts and Sciences Cynthia Young explained that Summer Bridge will be a comprehensive, two-week program with two overarching themes. “The first theme is providing targeted support, supplemental instruction and skill-building to help students accelerate their pathway from developmental education to regular curriculum courses,” Young said.

Most VGCC students take placement tests as part of the admissions process to evaluate their current skills in reading, writing and mathematics. Placement test scores are used for academic advising and correct course placement. Students may be placed in a developmental math course, for example, to build math skills before moving on to more challenging college courses that are required for diploma and degree programs.

“The second theme of the program is college readiness,” Young said. “Students will participate in orientation and meet with faculty from various curriculum programs so that they understand the opportunities that are available to them here at Vance-Granville. In addition, our coaches from the Student Success Center will help students in the program to create academic plans in line with their career goals.” Young said that the program will serve North Carolina residents who are high school or high school equivalency graduates, are entering VGCC for the first time, and have placed into developmental education.

“We are excited about introducing this program,” said Young. “It will give students more tools to be successful.”

The Summer Bridge initiative is being developed as Dr. Williams and other college leaders across the country are increasingly focused on bringing students up to speed quickly, so that they can start their college-level coursework earlier and graduate on schedule. According to a new report from the Center for Community College Student Engagement, 86 percent of students nationwide believe they are academically prepared to succeed in college, but 67 percent test into developmental coursework.

For more information on the Summer Bridge program, contact Cynthia Young at youngc@vgcc.edu or (252) 738-3424.

Granville Sheriff asks for your help

Granville County Sheriff’s Office needs your help in locating Kenneth “Buddy” McIlhenny last known address of Grassy Creek Rd. He has outstanding warrants for Felony Larceny, Obtaining Property by False Pretense and Larceny of a Firearm. If you have information regarding his whereabouts please contact 911 or Granville County Sheriff’s Office at 919-693-3213.