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Current Events
COG Board meeting on March 22, 2018
at the COG Office, 7:00 P.M.
Executive Committee will meet at 6:00 P.M.
March 22 Opening Ceremonies for Senior Games @ John Graham
Gymnasium, Warren County 9:00 A.M.
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North
Carolina Department of Commerce Employer Needs Survey Results
Earlier this month, the
NC Department of Commerce released the findings from its
recent 2018 Employer Needs Survey, which was conducted by the
Labor & Economic Analysis Division (LEAD). There
are some fascinating results from this survey, and you can find a copy of the full LEAD
presentation here. Some of the highlights include the
following:
- Half
of all hiring employers had at least some difficulty
hiring in 2017 – up from previous surveys.
- This increase may have more to do
with low unemployment, a tight labor market, and
structural changes in the economy
than to growing problems with the labor force itself –
but we can’t know for certain.
- A higher percentage of
Manufacturers continue to have hiring difficulty than
non-manufacturers.
- Hiring difficulties are greatest in
small- and mid-size NC’s metropolitan areas
(excluding Charlotte & the Triangle)
- Employability
Issues (work ethic, professionalism, etc.) are oft-cited
reasons for difficulties in entry-level positions.
- Relevant work
experience frequently cited for
hiring difficulties in mid-level and experienced
positions.
- 28% of total employers
& 41% of Manufacturers say they use workforce system
resources (Career Centers, NCWorks Online, NCCCS, WDBs)
- Most common reasons for
not using workforce system resources: 45% Unaware of
Resources (higher in rural areas); 41% Services Don’t
Match Needs (lower in rural areas). Only 7% said
Poor Quality Services.
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New Report Offers Strategies to Improve Health
and Equity in Rural Communities
The NORC
Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
has released a final report and series of practice briefs from
the Exploring Strategies to Improve
Health and Equity in Rural Communities
project. The project focused on enhanced understanding of
culture and history, priorities, assets, partners, and
promising strategies unique to and common across rural
communities and regions. The NORC Walsh Center team
engaged partners across sectors to explore how assets can be
leveraged to strengthen rural communities and to create
conditions that promote overall health and well-being.
The NADO Research Foundation served as national partner on this
project. Click here
to access the final report and practice briefs.
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RURAL
COUNTS SPRING WEBINAR:
WEDNESDAY,
MARCH 21 @ 2:00 P.M.
The Master Plan
for Water & Wastewater Infrastructure
If you live in rural North Carolina, you know that maintaining
and improving our water and wastewater systems are critical needs
for our communities. That's why the Rural Center's 10 Rural
Counts strategies for economic development identifies accelerating
modernization of essential rural water and wastewater
infrastructure as one of our top priorities for state and federal
advocacy.
What are the top challenges facing our rural communities? What is
already being done across the state to plan for the future,
create regional economies of scale, and promote and expand best
practices? Importantly, what is the state's role in funding and
supporting local water infrastructure?
For our spring
2018 Rural Counts webinar, we welcome two experts from the NC Department of
Environmental Quality to share with us what's going on in North
Carolina to meet these critical needs.
The North Carolina State Water Infrastructure Authority
(Authority) was created by the North Carolina General Assembly to
assess and make recommendations about the state's water and
wastewater infrastructure needs. One of the Authority's key tasks
was to define and address these needs through a first-of-its-kind
State Water and
Wastewater Infrastructure Master Plan. The Authority immediately recognized that the
Master Plan needed to address issues beyond just the cost of
water infrastructure. A holistic look at the challenges facing
public water and wastewater utilities revealed that the state
must also help utilities address the organizational and financial
management challenges that may contribute to their physical
infrastructure limitations.
Join us as we provide advocacy updates and learn more about
the Master Plan for Water and Wastewater Infrastructure.
The Master Plan for Water and Wastewater Infrastructure
Wednesday, March 21
2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Register Now!
Panelists:
Francine
Durso
Senior
Project Manager
Division of Water Infrastructure
Jennifer
Haynie
Environment
and Special Projects Supervisor
Division of Water Infrastructure
John
Coggin
Director of
Advocacy
NC Rural Center
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Butner is a town in Granville County, North Carolina,
United States. Butner is located in southwestern Granville
County. The population was 7,591 at the 2010
census. Originally an agricultural community, it became a
training camp during World War II known as Camp Butner. Butner
is now an industrial hub, also home to several distribution
centers including Food Lion. There are many upcoming events
happening in the town of Butner, for a calendar of upcoming
events, click here.
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Planning
& Economic Development
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Please join with
the Planning Department in welcoming their newest staff member,
Stephanie Harmon. Stephanie grew up just outside of Boone. She
attended ASU and received a BS in Exercise Science, working in
healthcare for a few years before deciding to return to school.
She attended Western Carolina University and received a BS in
Geography, completing 2 internships with small communities in the
area, concentrating on planning. She returned to ASU once again
and received a MA in Geography, with coursework mainly focused in
planning and community development. After Graduate School she
began working with the Middle Georgia Regional Development Center
in Macon, GA. It was there where she focused on land use planning
and ordinance development. She also worked for the City of
Canton, GA as a Zoning Administrator and Forsyth County, GA
focusing on Long Range Planning. Her most recent planning job
before joining Kerr-Tar was with the Georgia Mountains Regional
Development Center in Gainesville, GA. There she focused on
transportation planning and such issues as: bicycle and
pedestrian planning, rails to trails, and regional transportation
programs. Between working in Gainesville, GA and accepting this
position she lived and worked in Boone. She worked full-time in healthcare
and also taught Geography part-time at Caldwell Community College
& Technical Institute. She is very close with her
family and has two cats. We welcome Stephanie to Region K!
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Upcoming 2018
KTRPO Meeting Schedule:
(Meetings are held from 3-5pm in the Kerr-Tar COG Offices, 1724
Graham Avenue, Henderson, NC 27536)
Tuesday February 13, 2018
Thursday March 8, 2018 MEETING
CANCELED
Thursday May 24, 2018
Thursday June 28, 2018
Thursday October 25, 2018
(Please note that additional meetings may need to be scheduled
to accommodate NCDOT deadlines)
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CMAQ Applications: The NCDOT has notified the Kerr-Tar RPO of available
funding for FY18-19. Funding for projects intended to improve air
quality and reduce emissions are available to local governments
and municipalities located in: Franklin, Granville, and Person
Counties. If interested, please contact either Alrik Lunsford or
Stephanie Harmon for more information.
Deadline: Members of the TAC are to be reminded of the
upcoming deadline to have disclosures submitted to the State
Ethics Commission. The deadline to complete the 2018 Statements
of Economic Interests is April
16, 2018. Kerr-Tar RPO staff are available to
assist Committee members.
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Resources:
Click here for the 2018-2020
NCDOT Highway Maintenance Improvement Plan (HMIP). This
is a GIS based site where you can see if/when maintenance is
being done on state roads in your community.
Here is the link to
the NCDOT "Report a Problem" page.
The 2016 annual
average daily traffic (AADT) counts are available in an
interactive map which can be found here.
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First
Responders Clean Transportation Demonstration Day
On Wednesday, February 28,
COG staff and members of our region’s law enforcement and
emergency services departments participated in a First Responders
Clean Transportation Demonstration at the Center for Automotive
Research in Garysburg. Attendees were able to learn about the new
and exciting technologies available for First Responders that
reduce fuel consumption, increase fuel efficiency, and are good
for the environment. The COG was fortunate to have representation
from Franklin and Person Counties.
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Participants:
Michael Kelly; Franklin County Sheriff Deputy Deny Buchanan; Greg
White, Person County EMS Operations Manager; Lewis Powell,
Person County EMS Shift Supervisor & Alrik Lunsford.
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This March, the Kerr-Tar Area Agency on Aging will
be introducing a program, Powerful
Tools for Caregivers to Vance County. Powerful Tools
for Caregivers is an educational series designed to provide you
with the tools you need to take care of yourself. This program
helps family caregivers reduce stress, improve self-confidence,
communicate feelings better, balance their lives, increase their
ability to make tough decisions and locate helpful resources.
This class will give YOU, the family caregiver, tools to:
•
Help you reduce stress
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Communicate effectively with other family members, your doctor,
and paid help
•
Take care of yourself
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Reduce guilt, anger, and depression
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Help you relax
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Make tough decisions
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Set goals and problem-solve
Classes consist of six sessions held once a week. Two
experienced Class Leaders conduct the series (many are
experienced caregivers themselves, who have successfully applied
the techniques they teach). Interactive lessons,
discussions and brainstorming will help you take the “tools” you
choose and put them into action for your life!
Participants will receive a book, “The Caregiver Helpbook”,
developed specifically for the class. Classes will be FREE,
thanks to support from Spring St. Missionary Baptist Church!
Classes will be held at Spring St Missionary Baptist Church, 511
Orange St Henderson from 12:00 p.m-1:30 p.m. Sessions are
held every Monday and begin on March 26th. For more information
or to register, contact Anita Williams at (252) 436-2040.
Class size is limited and pre-registration is required.
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SENIOR
GAMES
Let the games begin! Senior Games is a holistic approach
to body, mind and spirit staying fit, while enjoying the
company of friends, family, spectators, and volunteers.
Volunteers from all areas of the community are welcome.
Athletic and SilverArts are open to individual’s age 50 and
better. Sports events include basketball shooting, billiards,
bocce, cornhole, golf, horseshoes, shuffleboard, softball
throw, table tennis, cycling, track and fields events, pickleball,
badminton, bowling, tennis and many more. The SilverArts
category will include events in Heritage Arts such as knitting
and quilting, Visual Arts such as drawing and photography,
Literary Arts such as essay and poems and Performing Arts such
as dance and vocals. The full list of events, schedule and
event locations can be found in the registration packets, which
can be picked up and turned in to the local county senior
centers. Anyone interested in becoming involved in
the Senior Games program as a staff member, sponsor or
volunteer, please contact: Laura Yeatts lyeatts@kerrtarcog.org
or call (252) 436-2040. For more information visit www.ncseniorgames.org.
Important
Dates:
March 22- Opening Ceremonies & Basketball- Warren
County- John Graham Gymnasium 9:00 A.M
March 29- Shuffleboard- Person County- Huck Sansbury
Gym- 9:00 A.M.
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Caregiver Support Groups
Within our Region, caregiver support groups are
offered monthly in the following counties: Warren, Granville,
Person and Franklin. If you are a caregiver, or know someone who
is, we highly recommend attending! Our caregiver support groups
offer information, assistance, guidance, and support! The
following times for the meeting are listed below:
Franklin County
Caregiver Support Group
Louisburg Senior Center
2nd Monday @ 7:00 P.M
(919) 496-1131
Warren County Caregiver Support Group
Warren County Senior Center
2nd Tuesday @ 3:00 P.M
(252) 257-3111
Granville County Caregiver Support Group
Granville Primary Care Education Classroom
1st Wednesday @ 12:00 P.M
(919) 690-3273
Person County Caregiver Support Group
Person County Senior Center
4th Tuesday @ 6:00 P.M
(336) 599-7484
Person County Caregiver Support Group
Cambridge Hills
2nd Tuesday @ 6:30 P.M
(336) 599-7484
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Community
Advisory Committee Members Needed
We are in dire need for new Community Advisory Committee
members. These individuals volunteer to monitor the homes as
Advocates. Their main purpose it to ensure and support the
Residents Bill of Rights and address concerns noticed in the
homes that affect the quality of life provided by the home to
the residents. If you are interested in serving, please contact
me Kimberly Hawkins at (252) 436 – 2050.
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Are you
having a hard time landing a job and feel defeated or
frustrated? NCWorks Career Centers have staff that can help
assist you. If you need a little inspiration, read this
success story and how an individual who was living in a shelter
and trying to go to school has now gained employment.
Click here
for the entire story.
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Communities Served:
Franklin County
Granville County
Person County
Vance County
Warren County
Town of Bunn
Town of Butner
City of Creedmoor
Town of Franklinton
City of Henderson
Town of Kittrell
Town of Louisburg
Town of Macon
Town of Middleburg
Town of Norlina
City of Oxford
City of Roxboro
Town of Stem
Town of Stovall
Town of Warrenton
Town of Youngsville
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