Tag Archive for: #vancecountynews

Granville Vance Public Health Logo

Positive Cases – Mostly Omicron – Still Rising In Vance, Granville

The Granville Vance Health District reports that 95 percent of all confirmed cases of COVID-19 are identified as the Omicron variant. Positivity rates in both counties remain high – 28.9 percent in Vance and 25 percent in Granville – and GVPH Director Lisa M. Harrison said there likely are more positive cases that simply haven’t confirmed through testing.

In the past 7 days, there have been 717 new cases in Vance County and 1,088 new cases in Granville County.

So far, Vance There have been 12,148 cases of COVID-19 in Granville County and 10,202 cases of COVID-19 in Vance County for a total of 22,350 across the health district.

Granville County has documented 108 deaths as a result of COVID-19 and Vance County has a total of 109 deaths, according to the weekly update from GVPH.

“Nearly 2,000 new cases have been confirmed through labs in the two-county district over the last week alone more than 3,500 in the district over the last two weeks,” Harrison wrote in the update, stressing the need for health offiicals to share the public health recommendations and tools to slow the spread of COVID-19.

“I realize we’re all very tired of navigating the pandemic,” Harrison said. “However, we will continue to work hard in public health to do our job well, to share our why as to the importance of vaccination (including getting your booster doses in!) and the importance of layered mitigation tools including wearing a well-fitting mask, distancing, practicing good hand hygiene, and paying attention to good ventilation in indoor spaces.”

In response to questions about cases within the Butner federal prison complex, Harrison said the most up-to-date numbers show 17 inmates and 15 staff members reported to our communicable disease team as testing positive for COVID-19.

If you feel ill or know you have been exposed to COVID-19, you should seek testing. Stay home when you’re sick to prevent transmission to others, and rapidly notify close contacts and seek healthcare to facilitate access to medical treatment if they are at higher risk for severe outcomes. Public health will continue to evaluate the optimal control strategies for COVID as the response evolves and make strategic changes to prevent or reduce transmission.

Nobles Named President of Local Crime Stoppers

Frankie Nobles has been named president of the Henderson-Vance Crime Stoppers, according to Henderson Police Chief Marcus Barrow. Nobles is Vance County’s chief of animal services.

Tonya Moore is vice president, and James Baines is secretary of the group. Danny Wright continues to serve as treasurer and Lorraine Watkins remains the state board representative.

The local Crime Stoppers program brings together members of the community, media, law enforcement and businesses to solve crimes.

A statement on the local social media page explains how Crime Stoppers works: “Citizens are encouraged through cash rewards and a promise of anonymity to provide information leading to the arrest and indictment of criminals. Crime Stoppers is governed by a board of volunteer directors dedicated toward making the community a safer place to live and work. A director is elected by the board to oversee the Crime Stoppers Program, receive confidential information about crimes, and to forward the information to the appropriate law enforcement agency.”

 

Vance County Logo

Commissioners To Hold Public Hearing Feb. 7 To Begin Planning 2022-23 Budget

The Vance County Board of Commissioners will hold a pre-budget public hearing on Feb. 7, 2022 in the commissioners’ meeting room, 122 Young St.

The meeting will begin at 6 p.m., or shortly thereafter, according to a public notice from the county manager’s office.

The board of commissioners will soon begin work on developing the 2022-23 county budget and is interested in receiving suggestions and priorities from residents to help them in the development of the budget. The Feb. 7 public hearing is the first of two public hearings that will be held on the budget. The county manager will submit a recommended budget in May and a second public hearing will be held on the proposed budget on June 6, 2022. The board will adopt the FY 2022-23 budget no later than July 1, 2022.

 

 

NCDA Junior Livestock Scholarship Applications Due Mar. 1

Information from NCDA&CS Livestock Marketing Section

Up to 25 $2,000 scholarships are available, in addition to one $2,500 Farm Credit of N.C. Premier Scholarship.Youth who participated in N.C. State Fair junior livestock competitions are eligible to apply for N.C. State Fair Junior Livestock Scholarships. The deadline to apply is March 1.

All youth who exhibited a livestock animal at the State Fair are eligible regardless of species, class or show placement. Scholarships are good for institutes of higher learning, including community colleges and technical schools. Students must be enrolled in a minimum of 9 course hours.

The scholarship money is raised through the State Fair’s annual Sale of Champions where grand and reserve grand champions are sold at auction. A percentage of the sale total goes into this youth livestock scholarship program.

“I am proud that this scholarship program has helped many young people and their parents pay for their college education,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “Since the program started in 2015, we have awarded over $300,000 in scholarships.”

Students will need to submit the completed application, including their State Fair junior livestock experience, a 500-word essay, academic achievements and extracurricular activities they are involved in. Youth are eligible to receive the scholarship a maximum of four times.

Applications can be downloaded at www.ncstatefair.org. Completed application packets should be returned to N.C. State Fair, Attn: Livestock Office, 1010 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1010. For questions, contact Neil Bowman at by email at neil.bowman@ncagr.gov.

Wayne Adcock

Wayne Adcock Auditorium Dedication Monday On Center For Innovation Campus

The auditorium at the Vance County Schools’ Center for Innovation will officially be named for longtime educator and former superintendent at a ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony on Monday, Jan. 24, 2022.

The public is invited to attend the event, during which the Wayne Adcock Auditorium will be officially dedicated, according to information from the school district. The ribbon-cutting is at 10 a.m., with the dedication immediately following.

Adcock, who was superintendent from July 1996 until January 2003, died Nov. 1, 2020 at the age of 73.

The Center for Innovation is a state-of-the-art facility where students, faculty and the community can engage in various programs and activities. It is located on the campus of  the former Henderson High School, 219 Charles St.

City of Henderson Logo

Public Hearing Jan. 27 To Review, Discuss Elmwood Redevelopment Project

The city’s redevelopment commission is scheduled to hold the first of two public hearings next week to review and discuss the Elmwood Urban Redevelopment Area plan. The group will meet on Thursday, Jan. 27 at 5:30 p.m. in Council chambers at City Hall, 134 Rose Ave. The public is welcome to attend either in person or via Zoom, according to information from City Clerk Esther J. McCrackin.

The public hearings are part of the overall process of creating a workable plan for the proposed area, which consists of about 200 acres that include both sides of Burwell Avenue, Chestnut Street all the way to Andrews Avenue and almost to Beckford Drive, including Elmwood Cemetery. The city is getting guidance and support from the UNC School of Government’s Development Finance Initiative as it continues to refine a detailed plan for redevelopment for the area.

The second public hearing is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 3, beginning at 5:30 p.m. The location is the same – Council chambers – and the public may attend in person or via Zoom.

Join the Jan. 27 meeting via Zoom at the following link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81555003103?pwd=czlpZnpXYVVHaE9HNmxhZlJVeFBXZz09
Meeting ID: 815 5500 3103
Passcode: 884056
One tap mobile
+19292056099,,81555003103#,,,,*884056# US (New York)
+13017158592,,81555003103#,,,,*884056# US (Washington DC)

 

Join the Feb. 3 meeting via Zoom at the following link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83435666091?pwd=RG9jSTgwdm1YSlI3VERZdzFUZEJzZz09
Meeting ID: 834 3566 6091
Passcode: 285955
One tap mobile
+13017158592,,83435666091#,,,,*285955# US (Washington DC)
+13126266799,,83435666091#,,,,*285955# US (Chicago)

Transformed Eaton Johnson Campus Getting Ready For New Life To Serve Community

The next few days are moving days for employees of the local department of social services, senior center and youth services as they transition from their old office spaces to their renovated spaces on the campus of the former Eaton Johnson Middle School.

Local officials gathered last week for a ribbon-cutting at the new facility, and County Manager Jordan McMillen said that it took a lot of work from a lot of entities to transform a former school building to a facility to serve the community.

McMillen thanked the county’s school board and county commissioners for helping to make the project a reality. “Putting a large, vacant school facility into reuse is always a challenge and…ultimately, we were able to take an existing facility in North Henderson and put it back into use. This was a win-win-win for the school board, the county as well as the city of Henderson,” he said.

“This new DSS facility is state-of-the-art and will allow our DSS to better meet the needs of our citizens. The facility includes areas for various units to work together, includes training spaces, conference rooms, adequate office space and storage space, interview rooms, youth and children observation rooms and play areas. We are very proud to introduce this facility to the public,” McMillen stated during remarks at Friday’s ribbon-cutting.

This is the first phase of renovation, and McMillen said additional space will be reused as well.

The facility is 102,700 square feet, and less than 41,000 square feet was involved in this part of the renovation project – 39,000 for DSS and 1,800 for youth services – that leaves more than half of the total space available for renovated. McMillen said the plan is to use most of that space.

There are plans to lease out the kitchen space as a commercial kitchen and space to house a Headstart facility.

FLVF Looking For Youth Advocate To Work With Young Victims Of Abuse, Assault

Families Living Violence Free is a WIZS advertiser. This is not a paid ad.

 

Families Living Violence Free is looking for a qualified person to be a youth development/court advocate to provide counseling and other advocacy services to youth who are primary or secondary victims of domestic abuse and/or sexual assault.

The position requires a candidate who can collaborate with FLVF staff, effectively lead small group counseling sessions, as well as conduct client intake and network with other agencies to connect clients with services and conduct outreach programs.

Candidates also should have a bachelor’s degree in in human services, social work, or psychology from an accredited university, with a minimum of two years’ hands on experience working in youth programs.

A clean driving record and access to reliable transportation are a must as well, as is previous grant-writing experience and management experience. Additional duties include some night and weekend work to take calls on the crisis line, attendance at FLVF events in the community and more.

Find the application at WWW.FLVF.ORG.

2022 Leadership Vance Class Forming Now – Apply By Jan. 21

The 2022 class of Leadership Vance is forming now. Applications will be taken until Jan. 21.

The program is designed to create a corps of informed and dedicated emerging leaders in the community as it educates and challenges participants to become more involved in their county.

The class is limited to 20 people, and participants will be informed of their selection by Tuesday, Feb. 1, according to information from the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce.

Orientation will take place on Feb. 15, 2022. Sessions in March include a business/economic development on Mar. 1 and leading a healthy & caring community on Mar. 15.

A typical program day begins at 8:30 a.m. and ends by 5 p.m. on two Tuesdays each month through July.

In addition to monthly sessions, class members are required to attend several public body sessions and a graduation ceremony. Each session is planned by a steering committee member. The sessions provide participants with a sense of issues relevant to the day’s theme.

Participants are introduced to the key leaders in each environment,  conducted through a series of discussions, lectures, group discussions  and tours. Leadership skills are challenged in a variety of simulation exercises.

Tuition is $500 for Chamber members and $750 for non-Chamber members and includes all training materials, meals, travel, graduation and diploma.

Contact the Chamber office 252.438.8414 to learn more or to request an application.

Vance County Middle Students Shift To Remote Instruction To Start School Week

Vance County Middle School is the latest area school to fall victim to the raging omicron variant and school officials announced that middle school students will shift to remote instruction for the first part of next week.

According to information posted Friday afternoon on the school system’s social media page, which stated, in part: “In an effort to mitigate the rapid increase of staff and student COVID-19 cases” reported at VCMS, students will not have in-person instruction on Monday, Jan. 10 and Tuesday, Jan. 11.

Families with students at VCMS will be contacted over the weekend with details, according to information posted about 3 p.m. Friday.

At this time, all other VCS schools will continue on a normal schedule with in-person instruction.

VCMS students are instructed to login with their teacher at their designated class time.