Tag Archive for: #warrencountynews

Warren County Funding Cycle For Non-Profits Open Through Aug. 30

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Warren County has opened the application process for its FY 2025 non-profit grant funding cycle. The budget allocates $50,000 for this program. The grant program will accept applications until Friday, Aug. 30.  Interested organizations are encouraged to apply.

Warren County adopted its current funding for local non-profit agencies policy in 2014. Funded services through this program must be equally available to all residents.

For more information, contact the Warren County Manager’s Office at 252.257.3115 or visit https://www.warrencountync.com/.

 

Distinguished Alumni Award Due To VGCC Foundation Board By Aug. 31

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The Vance-Granville Community College Foundation board is seeking nominations for its third annual Distinguished Alumni award. Nominations are due by Aug. 31.

Throughout its 55-year history, VGCC has served the citizens of Vance, Granville, Franklin and Warren counties, preparing them for careers and further secondary education in dozens of certificate and curriculum programs.

Many alumni of VGCC have gone on to make significant impact in their communities and careers. Two years ago, the Vance-Granville Community College Foundation began recognizing one outstanding VGCC alumnus each year with the Distinguished Alumni Award. The Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes and honors outstanding alumni who have made significant contributions to their community, college or career. Mara Shelton was the 2022 recipient; Dr. Priscilla Chavis-Lockley was honored in 2023.

Alumni who have completed a diploma or degree program at VGCC are eligible for the award. Current VGCC Foundation Board members are not eligible. Selection will be based on the following criteria:

  • Exhibits outstanding leadership and character
  • Achieved significant accomplishments in career area
  • Exhibits outstanding service to the community
  • Supports VGCC in some capacity

Visit www.vgcc.edu/foundation to complete the nomination form or request one via email at foundation@vgcc.edu. Please note that nominees remain nominated for three years after the receipt of their nomination.

The award will be presented during the annual the VGCC Foundation Scholarship Awards Luncheon on Sept. 26.

Warren County Seeks Members To Form New Tourism Development Authority

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The Warren County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution to establish a Warren County Tourism Development Authority.

State and local statutes require establishing a TDA to oversee revenue generated by the newly levied 5 percent occupancy tax on short-term lodging.

The occupancy tax is not a property tax; rather, it is similar to sales tax, in that it is passed on to visitors and occupants of short-term rental lodging facilities. While the tax is collected by the Warren County Finance Office, the established TDA board is the sole entity that oversees how revenues are spent.

Revenue must be spent on tourism and marketing and tourism-related infrastructure.

Individuals interested in participating should complete a statement of interest before Aug. 9. The form

can be found on the www.warrencountync.com website or by visiting https://www.warrencountync.com/FormCenter/County-Commissioners-9/Statement-of-Interest-to-Serve-on-the-Wa-79

The TDA composition includes:

  • One (1) Town of Macon representative recommended by the Town of Macon’s Board of Commissioners to be appointed to a three-year term.
  • One (1) Town of Norlina representative recommended by the Town of Norlina’s Board of Commissioners to be appointed to a three-year term.
  • One (1) Town of Warrenton representative recommended by the Town of Warrenton’s Board of Commissioners to be appointed to a three-year term.
  • One (1) representative recommended by the Lake Gaston Regional Chamber of Commerce to be appointed to a three-year term; this representative should be staff of the Chamber, or a member of the Chamber’s board that is also a Warren County-based business owner.
  • The Director of Warren County Community and Economic Development (CED). The CED Director’s term is not limited to the number of years.
  • One (1) short-term rental owner to be appointed to a two-year term; this membership position is intended to be filled by a property owner renting out a private residence as a short-term rental.
  • One (1) Warren County hotel, motel, or bed-and-breakfast operator to be appointed to a two-year term; in the absence of such a business, this member can be a private residence short-term rental owner.
  • One (1) Warren County tourism-related business owner to be appointed to a two-year term.

For more information on the Warren County occupancy tax, visit https://www.warrencountync.com/876/Occupancy-Tax-5.

Contact Paula Pulley, clerk to the Board of Commissioners, at paulapulley@warrencountync.gov or call 252.257.3115 to learn more about serving on the county’s boards and commissions.

Warren Industrial Site Project Gets Golden LEAF Funding

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Warren County was recently awarded $42,500 from the Golden LEAF Foundation that will be used for the county’s Hwy 1 Industrial Site.

The Warren County grant is one of 10 projects totaling more than $4.4 million in grant funds.

“The need for industrial sites, especially in rural areas, is no longer a luxury but a necessity to meet demand,” said Ralph Strayhorn, Golden LEAF Board Chair. “We are excited to see how these projects will help prepare counties for new and expanding companies in North Carolina.”

Warren County Community and Economic Development Director Charla Duncan said the award will fund due diligence documentation used in marketing the site and recruiting interested companies. Due diligence includes completing a threatened and endangered species report; an initial historical, archaeological & cultural resource review; and a buildable area summary map, among other tasks.

“Having due diligence documentation in-hand increases our site competitiveness because it cuts down on the length of time a business needs to determine if a location is suitable for their company,” explained Duncan. “We are thankful to Golden LEAF for awarding us the funding to increase our Hwy 1 Industrial Site’s competitiveness by limiting the amount of time an interested company can get to market.”

The SITE Program offers resources to help communities identify potential sites for economic development, provides funding to complete due diligence on publicly controlled sites, and provides funding to extend public utilities to publicly controlled sites or to conduct clearing and rough grading of publicly owned sites. The three phases of the SITE Program are Identification, Due Diligence, and Development.

Since 1999, Golden LEAF has funded 2,280 projects totaling $1.3 billion supporting the mission of advancing economic opportunity in North Carolina’s rural, tobacco-dependent, and economically distressed communities.

For more information about the Hwy 1 Industrial Site, email Charla Duncan, Director of Warren County Community and Economic Development, at charladuncan@warrencountync.gov.

To learn more about the Golden LEAF Foundation, visit https://goldenleaf.org/

NC Forest Service

N.C. Forest Service Set To Begin Annual Tree Seedling Sale

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 – information courtesy of the N.C. Forest Service

The N.C. Forest Service will begin accepting orders Monday, July 1, for its annual tree seedling sale. With an average annual production of 16 million seedlings, the NCFS Nursery Program produces enough native and genetically improved tree seedlings to plant roughly 30,000 acres of land, equivalent to nearly 23,000 football fields, each year.

“Having healthy trees and forests provides many benefits to our state, including helping to clean our air and water and sequestering carbon,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “I encourage residents to take advantage of the high-quality trees produced through the North Carolina Forest Service nursery program. Seedlings go quick so you’ll want to purchase them early.”

Quality conifer and hardwood seedlings are available for purchase in a range of quantities. Genetically improved stock is available for Fraser fir, loblolly, longleaf, shortleaf, Eastern white pine and Virginia pine. These seedlings offer better volume growth, tree form, disease resistance, straightness, and other characteristics needed to produce beautiful Christmas trees, healthy woodlands and quality forest products.

Customers interested in learning more about specific tree species and available inventory can speak with NCFS Nursery staff, as well as reference the ordering website or seedling catalogs.

There are several options for purchasing seedlings:

  • Tree seedlings can be ordered from the online seedling store at buynctrees.com.
  • Tree seedlings can also be ordered by phone at 1-888-NCTREES (1-888-628-7337) or 919-731-7988.
  • Tree seedlings can be ordered using the order form in our FY24-25 Nursery Seedling Catalog. Complete the form and mail to Seedling Coordinator, 762 Claridge Nursery Road, Goldsboro, NC 27530.
  • A user-friendly online catalog will soon beavailable at https://www.ncforestservice.gov/nursery/NurseryandTreeImprovement.htm. Seedling catalogs will also be available at local NCFS offices beginning in July. Within the catalog, landowners can find information about the types of tree species, quantities and cost to order. Each species description includes information about ideal planting locations and whether a species is typically used to benefit wildlife, restore forest habitats or as marketable timber.
  • Accepted methods of payment are check, money order, Mastercard and Visa.

Most containerized seedlings are available and used October through March while most bare root seedlings are available and used January through March. Seedling orders can be shipped to one of 13 distribution centers statewide for a small fee or via UPS for a charge. Seedling orders are also available for pickup from the NCFS Claridge Nursery in Goldsboro or the Linville River Nursery near Crossnore.

For information on planting trees, customers are encouraged to contact their local NCFS county ranger.

Rob Montague serves Vance and Granville counties. The office is located at 911 Hillsboro St., Oxford. Phone 919.693.3154 or email Vance.ncfs@ncagr.gov

Learn more at www.ncforestservice.gov/contacts.

American Flag

TownTalk: Wise Community To Celebrate 4th Of July

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Everything’s all set for the 23rd edition of the Wise July 4 Independence Day parade and festival. Mary Ann Perkinson, one of the organizers, said participants can enjoy live music, children’s activities and food and craft vendors after the parade passes by, but she’s not spilling the beans about the parade – “You’ll have to come see what they are – we’re not going to tell all of our secrets,” Perkinson said on Thursday’s TownTalk.

Bring a chair so you can sit under the shade of the trees in the church yard or under the pavilion at Wise Baptist Church, she said. Feature Attraction will be performing during the festival, which begins as soon as the last parade entry passes by.

They’re still taking entries, so anyone with a pretty, shiny car to show off or a wagon pulling grandchildren is welcome to phone Gary Paynter 252.438.0574. (No motorcycles or four-wheelers, she said.)

The parade begins at 10 a.m., so entrants need to be lined up earlier than that just across U.S. 1 from Bruce Parkinson’s home, Perkinson said. The parade route will follow U.S. 1 and will end right at the old school at Wise Baptist Church.

There’s plenty of parking there for people, and Perkinson said she and other organizers figure there will be upwards of 5,000 people who stop in between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

The parade and festival got its start in 2000, and since then, they’ve only missed one year. Yep, one parade was sidelined because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There will be different foods for sale, including homemade ice cream in flavors like peach, strawberry, chocolate and vanilla.

“It’s just a fun day for everybody,” Perkinson said. Organizing it is “a lot of work, but we do it because we love our community and we hope people will come.”

For more information about parade entry, vendor space or the car show please contact Gary Paynter at 252.438.0574, Danielle Edgerton at 252.204.2605 or Mike McCray at 919.604.3081.

CLICK PLAY!

Warren Seniors Can Get Coupons To Buy Fresh Produce At Local Farmers Market

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– information courtesy of Warren County Executive Assistant/Deputy Clerk Monique Hinton

The Warren County Senior Center and Warren County Cooperative Extension are teaming up to launch a program that will provide low-income senior adults with coupons that they can use to purchase fresh fruit and vegetables at their local farmers’ markets.

Senior adults can visit the Warren County Senior Center on Mondays between 9 a.m. and 12 noon or Thursdays between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to get coupons once during the growing season. The program kicked off last week, but there’s still plenty of time to stop in and get qualified.

In addition to getting healthy foods into the hands of older adults to improve their nutritional status, the program also helps local farmers increase their business and creates awareness of the local farmers market, said

A recipient must be a Warren County resident aged 60 years or older and meet certain self-declared monthly income eligibility requirements.  Monthly household income of no more than 185 percent of the 2024 federal guidelines; up to $2,322 for a one-person household or $3,142 for a two-person household.

The coupons are valid through Sept. 30, 2024, for use at the Warren County Farmers’ Market, located in the parking lot of the Warren County Health Department, at 544 West Ridgeway St., Warrenton.  The Warren County Farmers’ Market operates on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 12 noon, April through mid-October.

Contact the Warren County Senior Center at 252.257.3111 to learn more.

NCDOT

Some of U.S. Hwy. 158 in Warren County to Be Resurfaced

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– information courtesy of N.C. Dept. of Transportation

More than 16 miles of roadway in Warren County will see improvements over the next year, thanks to a $2.4 million contract awarded by the NCDOT.

Carolina Sunrock, LLC, will be responsible for milling, resurfacing and shoulder reconstruction along U.S. Hwy. 158 from U.S. Hwy. 1 to U.S. Hwy. 158 business as well as six secondary roads, according to information from NCDOT Spokesperson Kim Deaner.

Work can begin as early as this month and completion is expected by late 2025.

Granville, Warren Awarded Grants From N.C. Emergency Management

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Two local counties have been awarded Capacity Building Competitive Grants from North Carolina Emergency Management (NCEM).  NCEM has announced the recipients of the 2024 Capacity Building Competitive Grant Program (CBCG).

Granville County will get $115,000 for purchase of a disaster laundry trailer and Warren County is getting $61,000 for a mass care and disaster sheltering project.

The CBCG Program was authorized by the N.C. General Assembly for FY24 in the amount of $1,925,578.00 with the purpose to provide funding for building local emergency management capabilities, closing preparedness, response, or recovery gaps and to assist local emergency management agencies across the state with building capacity to effectively respond to all-hazards.

To be eligible for this grant program, counties must have a population less than 230,000 (based on the 2021 Certified County Population Estimates from the State Demographer, housed in the North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management).

The target priorities of the 2024 CBCG Program are:

  • Increasing local mass care and human services capacity.
  • Preparedness initiatives.
  • Improving incident management/coordination capacity.
  • Improving Emergency Operations Center capabilities, to include technology initiatives for continuity of operations purposes.
  • Resiliency initiatives.
  • Other targeted projects as identified by a local or regional Threat Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA).

“I would like to thank all of the applicants for taking the time to submit projects that will increase local capacity and ultimately build more resilient communities” said NCEM Director Will Ray. “North Carolina is fortunate to have such dedicated local emergency managers that always seek opportunities to build capacity to effectively respond and recover to any threat or hazard.”

 

Warren County Public Hearing July 1 On CDBG Funding

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The Warren County Board of Commissioners has scheduled a public hearing for July 1, beginning at 6 p.m., at the Armory Civic Center in Warrenton to get input from the community about the county’s application for Community Development Block Grant funding.

Warren County plans to submit a Neighborhood Revitalization application in the fall of 2024. This meeting will provide information about the available funding, including requirements and eligible activities. Citizens are encouraged to participate and provide feedback on the County’s potential use of CDBG funds.

This hearing will explain the funding available under the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Small Cities Community Development Block Grant – Neighborhood Revitalization Program (CDBG-NR). These funds benefit low- and moderate-income residents, and eligible activities include housing rehabilitation, relocation, reconstruction, emergency repairs, public facilities, and administration of these activities. Projects must benefit at least 51 percent low- and moderate-income persons for area-wide benefits and 100 percent for direct benefits.

All interested citizens are encouraged to attend to voice their views, respond to proposed funding plans, and ask questions. Another public hearing will be scheduled before the application is submitted to discuss specific project activities.

Community & Economic Development Director Charla Duncan said “Pursuing CDBG funding for housing rehab is the next step in growing the scope of work of the county’s community and economic development department.”

“The county’s 2022 comprehensive development plan addresses several goals around housing, particularly around workforce and affordable housing needs in the community,” stated Rose Ponton, Warren County Community Development Division Manager. “Homeowner assistance programs like the CDBG funding can fund critical and urgent repairs for some of our more vulnerable populations,” Ponton said.

For more information about the public hearing, the CDBG program, or to submit written comments; please contact Rose Ponton with the Warren County Community & Economic Development Office by email at roseponton@warrencountync.gov or by calling 252.257.3115.