Tag Archive for: #vancecountynews

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Vance Co. DSS, Senior Center to Occupy Former EJMS by 2021

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Vance County Manager Jordan McMillen provided WIZS with the following summary of the Vance County Properties Committee meeting held Tuesday, October 22, 2019:

Related to the former Eaton Johnson Middle School, the Vance County School System will convey the school and property to the County for $1.

In a separate, unrelated agreement, the County is agreeing to utilize school capital funds, lottery funds if necessary, and any future school bonds to provide $8.3 million in capital funding for several facility usage redesigns, preventative maintenance items, school safety and technology initiatives in the school system over the next five years.

During the meeting, commissioners met and reviewed budget and timeframes related to a renovation at Eaton Johnson in order to move the Vance County Department of Social Services and the Senior Center to the property.

The projected timeframe for the move of these departments to the former Eaton Johnson is March 2021.

Reminder: Maria Parham to Offer Free Clinical Breast Exams – Oct. 24

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-Information courtesy Maria Parham Health

To celebrate October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, FREE clinical breast exams will be offered at Maria Parham Health on Thursday, October 24, 2019, from 5 until 7 p.m.

Join Maria Parham for:

  • Free clinical breast exams
  • Breast cancer resources
  • Follow up resources
  • Prevention education
  • Wellness information

For more information, please call (252) 436-1605 or visit mariaparham.com

Early detection saves lives!

VGCC Dr. Levy Brown

VGCC’s Dr. Levy Brown Selected to Attend Prestigious Thomas Lakin Institute

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-Press Release, Vance-Granville Community College

Dr. Levy Brown, vice president of learning, student engagement & success at Vance-Granville Community College, has been selected to participate in the prestigious Thomas Lakin Institute for Mentored Leadership presented by the Presidents’ Round Table.

Dr. Levy Brown, vice president of learning, student engagement & success at Vance-Granville Community College, has been selected to participate in the prestigious Thomas Lakin Institute for Mentored Leadership presented by the Presidents’ Round Table. (VGCC photo)

Dr. Levy Brown, a resident of Youngsville, North Carolina is responsible for leading and working collaboratively with faculty and staff in the areas of academic programs, teaching and learning, student success, student services, enrollment management, K-12 partnerships and other areas at the Vance-Granville.

Prior to joining Vance-Granville, he served as Dean of Arts and Sciences at Lenoir Community College located in Kinston, North Carolina. Brown has a Bachelor of Science in communication from East Carolina University, a Master of Library Science from North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina and an earned Doctorate in Education with a concentration in Higher Education Administration from East Carolina University.

Hosted October 20-25, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri, The Lakin Institute seeks African-American participants whose experience and credentials indicate they are ready to attain the highest academic positions. The program is an opportunity for open dialogue with chancellors, presidents, and CEOs. It covers all aspects of academic leadership.

More than 300 participants have attended The Lakin Leadership Mentoring Program since its inception in 1994. The Institute has the highest graduate placement rate of any leadership institute in the United States. It is named in honor of Dr. Thomas Lakin, former Chancellor of the Ventura County (CA) Community College District.

Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Town Talk 10/22/19: Hicks Teaches Students to Use ‘I Power’ to Combat Bullying

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Teresa Hicks, counselor at Carver Elementary School, was on Tuesday’s edition of Town Talk to continue WIZS’ weekly series in recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. WIZS has featured local organizations involved in various aspects of domestic violence each Tuesday in October.

The focus of this week’s segment was on younger victims of domestic violence – elementary school children – and how exposure to violent situations increases the risks of bullying.

To combat bullying and to work on students’ self-esteem, Hicks developed a strategy she coined “I Power.” “I Power is a way to make a situation that could be negative, better,” Hicks explained. “It gives students a voice and allows them to advocate for themselves. I tell them to speak up and practice using your voice.”

The key is for students to become comfortable expressing their opinions and feelings in a respectful manner. Hicks said, “This can be as simple as saying ‘I like strawberry ice cream’ when someone else says they don’t like strawberry ice cream.”

Expressing their opinions on seemingly simple matters can give students the confidence needed to stand up for themselves in more serious situations, according to Hicks.

Hicks said she tells her K-5 students, who are often interested in superheroes, that “you can be a superhero too; use your own I Power.”

To hear the interview with Hicks in its entirety, please click the play button below. Listen live to WIZS’ Town Talk Monday-Friday at 11 a.m. on 1450AM, 100.1 FM or online at www.wizs.com.

U.S. Department of Justice

Dept. of Justice Awards $5 Million to Address NC School Violence

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-Press Release, U.S. Department of Justice

The Department of Justice announced it has awarded more than $85.3 million to bolster school security—including funding to educate and train students and faculty—and support first responders who arrive on the scene of a school shooting or other violent incident.

“These federal resources will help to prevent school violence and give our students the support they need to learn, grow, and thrive,’ said Attorney General William P. Barr. “By training faculty, students and first responders, and by improving school security measures, we can make schools and their communities safer.”

“Preventing violence in our schools is critical to the safety and security of all of our communities,” said Robert J. Higdon, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina. “These funds authorized by the Department of Justice will be used to better prepare school faculty, students and law enforcement to prevent, detect, and respond to security threats.”

The grants award more than $5 million in funding to prevent violence in schools in North Carolina. President Trump signed the STOP School Violence Act into law March 2018, authorizing grants that are designed to improve threat assessments, train students and faculty to provide tips and leads and prepare law enforcement officers and emergency professionals to respond to school shootings and other violent incidents.

The grant programs are managed by OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.

The Bureau of Justice Assistance, within the Department’s Office of Justice Programs, and the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services manage the programs and administer the grants, which include funds to:

  • Develop school threat assessment teams and pursue technological solutions to improve reporting of suspicious activity in and around schools;
  • Implement or improve school safety measures, including coordination with law enforcement, as well as the use of metal detectors, locks, lighting and other deterrent measures;
  • Train law enforcement to help deter student violence against others and themselves;
  • Improve notification to first responders through the implementation of technology that expedites emergency notifications;
  • Develop and operate anonymous reporting systems to encourage safe reporting of potential school threats;
  • Train school officials to intervene when mentally ill individuals threaten school safety; and
  • Provide training and technical assistance to schools and other awardees in helping implement these programs.

For more details about these individual award programs, as well as listings of individual 2019 awardees, visit https://go.usa.gov/xVJuV.

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Vance County Water, Technology Committees to Meet Oct. 28

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-Information courtesy Kelly H. Grissom, Executive Assistant/Clerk to Board, Vance County Board of Commissioners

The following Vance County committees are scheduled to meet Monday, October 28, 2019, in the Administrative Conference Room of the Vance County Administration Building located at 122 Young Street in Henderson.

Water Committee – (Wilder, Brummitt, Taylor)

Monday, October 28 at 3 p.m.

–       Availability Customer Incentive Program

Technology Committee – (Brummitt, Feimster, Taylor)

Monday, October 28 at 3:30 p.m.

–       Wi-Fi

–       Tower Agreement

–       Register of Deeds Online Service

–       Register of Deeds Preservation of Records

Town Talk 10/21/19

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Technology Committee Discusses Public Wi-Fi in Downtown Henderson, Kittrell

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Vance County Manager Jordan McMillen provided WIZS with the following summary of the Vance County Technology Committee’s meeting held Wednesday, September 11, 2019:

Public Wi-Fi: The committee (Brummitt [C], Taylor & Feimster) met with Rob Cranwell from Open Broadband, LLC on Wednesday, September 11, 2019, to discuss and determine final locations for proceeding with public Wi-Fi. The areas discussed included an existing water tank in Kittrell, the shopping and retail area near I-85 and Dabney Drive and the downtown Henderson area.

Open Broadband recommended moving away from the shopping and retail area as the necessary infrastructure was not in place making it cost-prohibitive to serve the area. The committee then focused their discussion on the downtown area and determined a service area between Rose Avenue to Orange Street to include Breckenridge Street and Chestnut Street around the library and McGregor Hall.

The committee desires to partner with the city for providing coverage in the downtown area and asked staff to discuss joint participation with the city. The committee asked Open Broadband to prepare final coverage maps and costs based on committee feedback.

Following the meeting, Open Broadband presented a cost of $600/month for Kittrell and $2,000/month for the downtown area with a one-time install fee of $4,000 for downtown. The Kittrell area would be served with a connection of up to 200 Megabits per second with the downtown area served by a gigabit capacity service.

The committee intends to review a contract at their next meeting.

Town Talk 10/16/19: Aarika Sandlin, VCS’ New Public Information Officer, On-Air

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Aarika Sandlin, public information officer (PIO) for Vance County Schools, was on Wednesday’s edition of WIZS’ Town Talk to discuss both her new role and the future of the local public school system.

Sandlin, who received her undergraduate degree from Mars Hill University and graduate degree from East Tennessee State University, believes her studies in journalism, corporate communications, public relations and education, along with her 16 years of work experience in education, will serve her well in her new position.

Pictured: Aarika Sandlin, public information officer (PIO) for Vance County Schools.

Of her time in the education field, Sandlin spent 11 years as a classroom teacher and five years as a high school test coordinator.

Taking the reins from long-serving VCS PIO Terri Hedrick, who retired in July with 21-years in the school system, Sandlin said one of her first tasks is to determine what has been working and what may need to be tweaked moving forward.

“We are looking at ways things have been, deciding what went well and then looking at things that we need to take down a different path,” said Sandlin.

One area of focus, according to Sandlin, includes getting more parents on-board with social media channels as a means of conveying information in a fast, effective manner.

In addition to Vance County Schools’ website and social media outlets, Sandlin explained that each school now has its own social media account that is managed by the principal or the principal’s designee.

It is beneficial for parents to follow both their child’s individual school account and Vance County Schools’ accounts to ensure updated information, said Sandlin.

Sandlin’s primary job is to “make sure the community, the parents, the staff and the teachers are aware of what’s going on in Vance County Schools, sharing the positive things and showcasing our students for the great things they are doing.”

To accomplish this, Sandlin must be on-the-go frequently. “I’m in my office very little,” she said with a laugh. “I’m in the schools. I’m meeting with community members and organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce to share what’s going on and to get them to partner with us.”

To hear the interview with Sandlin in its entirety, please click the play button below. Listen live to WIZS’ Town Talk Monday-Friday at 11 a.m. on 1450AM, 100.1 FM or online at www.wizs.com.

Reminder: Stew Sale in Memory of Tripp Watkins Set for Fri., Oct. 18

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-Information courtesy Morgan Watkins

 

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A Brunswick Stew Sale will be held at Rose Oil Company in Henderson on Friday, October 18, 2019, from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. in memory of Tripp Watkins.

Stew is available for $8 per quart; proceeds will help fund the George Rose Watkins III Foundation.

The foundation was founded after Watkins, the son of Chip and Gayle Watkins, passed away after a long battle with addiction.

The George Rose Watkins III Foundation exists to bring awareness and aid to those suffering from mental illness in the form of addiction and their families who are suffering and striving to find help and solutions.

“The foundation was started to continue Tripp’s legacy after he passed away two years ago. This is our way of helping families get through addiction and bring awareness to those around us,” said Morgan Watkins. “This foundation is close to our hearts and we are looking forward to lending a helping hand to those going through this terrible struggle in life.”

Rose Oil Company is located at 613 US 158 Bypass in Henderson. Please call (252) 438-7141 for tickets.