Archives

RED OAK - What do goats, barbecue, skydiving, Brunswick stew, rifles, and chili have in common? The answer can be found on Wollett Mill Road in Red Oak, at the home of Jason and Stacey Knapp. Jason, also known as "the kitchen goat," uses all of the above to raise money to buy Food Lion gift cards for cancer patients.
The Knapp's 501 c 3 non-profit organization, the Kitchen Goat Feeds Corporation, was basically born out of a cooking video Jason did in March of 2020 showing how to make French Onion soup, which became popular, morphing into a cooking show called "Cooking A La Quarantine"

NASHVILLE - Nash commissioners, by a split vote, have postponed action on promoting farmland preservation initiatives until concrete financial details are provided.
Robert Covington, chairman of the Nash County Agriculture Advisory Board, flanked by Regina Moseley, Interim Nash County Extension Director, requested county support "both human and financial" at the Nov. 4 board of commissioners meeting while updating county leaders on various levels of farmland preservation and the current status of such lands in Nash County.

RED OAK- Some people might plan trips to France for romance, or to sight-see, bask in history, or sample the wine, returning with perhaps a collection of photos and memories. Lillian "Kinnie" Pruden of Red Oak, however, didn't go for those reasons. She went to compete in an international triathlon after nine months of training - and an injury.
"I was eight weeks out and strained a glute muscle running," said Pruden, whose initial reaction was almost a panic attack.

SPRING HOPE - Spring Hope's signature event, the Pumpkin Festival, may die on the vine for lack of chamber volunteers who are willing to do the work to bring it together.
Doubts about the festival's fate were expressed during a discussion of the town brochure, currently under development, at the Nov. 12 meeting of the Downtown Development Board.

Galatia AME Church recognized its veterans during a special service recently.
Around 20 veterans were in attendance at the service and were given an opportunity to introduce themselves and share their branch and years of service.
Veterans in attendance were from all across Nash County from Whitakers to Bailey, Rocky Mount and Wilson County. Branches of service included Air Force, Coast Guard, Marines and Navy.

NASHVILLE - The second phase of development plans have been approved for the Birchwood Preserves subdivision, consisting of 200 new single-family homes to be built on the former Birchwood Country Club; developer RBD Investments was given the go-ahead by the Nashville Town Council November 19. Council members, however, tweaked the plans by asking to eliminate a non-functional street in favor of putting in a pocket park and that dead-end sidewalks be replaced by others with a contiguous flow.

Shop local, shop often is the focus of the Nashville Chamber of Commerce's annual "It PAYS to SHOP Local" campaign.
The chamber launches the contest each year at Thanksgiving encouraging people to patronize chamber members. When shopping with a chamber member, you can send a copy of your receipt to the chamber and will be entered into a drawing for $500 the week of Christmas. Receipts can be texted to 252-459-4050, emailed to nashvillencchamber@gmail.com or mailed to PO Box 1003, Nashville, NC, 27856.

Assault with a deadly weapon; common law robbery; reported at 100 N. Boddie St., Nashville on 11/9/24
Fail to return verification form reported at 2536 Wintergreen Rd., Nashville on 11/6/24
Larceny of a firearm reported at 2695 Reges Store Rd., Nashville on 11/8/24
Damage to personal property reported at 3587 Sykes Rd., Nashville on 11/6/24

ARRESTS
James Brown was charged with larceny, misdemeanor on 10/30/24
Joshua Jamaal Smith was charged with resisting arrest/hinder and delay; trespass second degree on 11/2/24
Demetrice Lamont Dickens, Jr. was charged with resisting arrest/hinder and delay; simple possession schedule II controlled substance; possession stolen firearm on 11/11/24

Nash County's Farmers Market Manager Maurine Brown was recently recognized for her help with getting Nashville's market up and running successfully.
Nashville Parks and Recreation Director Koy Worrell, along Mayor Brenda Brown, presented Maurine with a certification of appreciation during last Tuesday's regular town council meeting.
"You've been a real blessing to our town in getting our market started," Mayor Brown said.

SPRING HOPE - Christmas events in Spring Hope are taking shape, with planning underway by members of the Chamber of Commerce.
An event permit was approved Nov. 4 by the Spring Hope board of commissioners, with the date set as Friday, Dec. 13 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Among activities planned is a lighting of the town Christmas tree, pictures with Santa, horse-drawn wagon rides, a scavenger hunt, gingerbread contest, and a performance by local school choirs.

Castalia is hoping for an old-fashioned community Christmas this year.
The town plans to host its first ever Christmas Tree Lighting on Sunday, December 8 from 3 until 7 p.m. at the Castalia Town Park.
There will be pictures with Santa and Mrs. Claus as well as homemade crafters, a live wreath bar, hot chocolate and food vendors as well as music by local choirs. The event will also include the lighting of the town's new Christmas tree.

Hedgepeth Hutson Insurance Services of Nashville, with the assistance of their customers and local elves, gathered a truck load of toys and gifts which were taken to Western North Carolina recently for children of families who lost everything due to Hurricane Helene. Pictured, left to right, are: Jennifer Hedgepeth Huston, Brian Hutson and staff member Kelsey McCarl.

NASHVILLE - Castalia may be small on the map, but it could end up having a sizeable energy footprint, now that a Battery Energy Storage system (BESS) has been approved as an addition to one of two solar farms in development in the town.
The 31-megawatt BESS, remotely-monitored and designed to store energy produced by the Skylight Solar farm, would be made up of four climate-controlled units the approximate size of shipping containers with 10 racks of pressure-sealed a lithium-ion batteries;

RALEIGH - Twelve North Carolina races in the 2024 General Election were contested, including two that affect Nash County; recounts locally began at 9 a.m. Tuesday last week and finished up about noon Thursday.
As of 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21, official recount tallies were concluded, confirming that Representative Allen Chesser and Allison Riggs would keep their standings as winners.

NASHVILLE - The 2nd Annual New Years Eve Egg Drop by Braswell Family Farms is on the calendar now after Nashville town officials approved a street and special events application for the event, to be held Dec. 31, 2024 at the Nashville Junction from 4 to 7 p.m.
Trey Braswell appeared before council members Nov. 5 to make the request, which includes street closures on Railroad Street and a section of S. Barnes between W. Cross Street and W. Railroad "because of the success of last year's event," according to Koy Worrell, Parks and Rec Director, who also spoke at the meeting.

NASHVILLE - Nash County Commissioners are due to elect a new chair and vice-chair at their Dec. 2 meeting, with current Chair, Robbie Davis, stating that he is ready to take a break.
"I have let the Board know I wish to take a break from being Chair," said Davis, relating that "the past two years have been especially challenging" and that the Chair job is not an easy one, particularly with the Board chair having to represent his or her own district as a board member.

Rocky Mount native Clifton Barnes, who was a reporter and editor at The Nashville Graphic in the 1980s, has won a national award for Editorial & Advocacy writing.
Writing for CapitalSportsNC, Barnes won an Award of Excellence from the DC area-based Communications Concepts through its 2024 Awards for Publication Excellence (APEX) competition.
Barnes, a UNC-Chapel Hill journalism and political science grad who lives in Cary, was one of seven winners nationally in the category.

PFC Desmond Sykes II, 18, of Rocky Mount graduated from United States Marine Corps boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island on Nov.1, 2024. PFC Sykes successfully completed 13 weeks of intensive basic training at Parris Island as one of 81 recruits in Training Platoon 2072. Following ten days home on leave he will report to Camp Geiger for one month at Military Combat Training. He then will report to his Military Occupation Specialty school. From there he will be assigned his duty station. PFC Sykes II is a second generation Marine following the footsteps of his father.

"Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." (James 5:16)
Several years ago, a former pastor of mine lamented from the pulpit that prayer was losing its appeal among Christians. It's a sad commentary, but I agree with him. In fact, my own Christian experience has convinced me that a lot of us don't take full advantage of the power and privilege of prayer.

Luke 8:43-48 tells us the story of the woman who had an issue of blood. For twelve years this poor woman had spent all the money she had to try to find a solution to her medical problem. But none could be found. All human effort had proven inadequate for meeting her desperate need.
Then, one day she heard that Jesus was nearby, and she had probably heard all the stories about His power. So, she elbowed her way through the crowd that had gathered around Him, and had to stretch out her arms to touch the hem of His garment. Instantly, she was healed.

All 31 members of the Coopers Ruritan Club were named this year's Ruritan of the Year at the club's annual Appreciation Banquet on Thursday, November 21.
Past President Danny Tyson announced the award and said the vote was unanimous and due to all the hard work the entire club has done this year.
"I usually give a big. long speech and do all this fancy stuff about how great this person done and all they've done," Tyson said. "Because of all the work that ALL the Ruritans have done this year, every member of the Ruritan Club is Ruritan of the Year this year."

The Elks Lodge #1038 at Birchwood hosted a special appreciation dinner for veterans on Saturday night.
Around a dozen veterans attended the event and were recognized after the meal. The anthem for each branch of service was played following the recognition.
"We appreciate all of our branches of service," Parker Phillips, Esquire of the Elks Club, said prior to the recognition. "Your service to our nation, and the work really, is beyond description."

Nash County will be offering training for Extension Master Gardener Volunteers beginning on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025 through Thursday, May 15, 2025.
Classes will meet weekly on Thursday mornings from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Nash County Agriculture Center.
During the course, participants will learn more about soils, fertilizer, pruning, propagation, and many other horticultural concepts, as well as learning how to diagnose insect and pest problems and make informed pest management decisions based on integrated pest management principles.

It's that time of year that gluttony, greed and excess have entered my life. I'll walk away having taken too much and spent too much, but still wanting more.
I'm not talking about Thanksgiving -- I bought a Costco membership.
I've always been opposed to paying for the privilege to shop at clubs. Plus, I just can't think of a time I needed to buy a 75-pound box of Ritz crackers.
However, I caved in to "external pressures" as they say.

SHOP LOCAL, SHOP OFTEN!
Nashville's Chamber of Commerce has, in partnership with The Nashville Graphic, launched two longtime holiday campaigns in hopes to boost sales of local merchants this holiday season.
Shop Small Saturday is Nov. 30th. From 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., participating merchants will offer registration opportunities for prizes and special sales.

These photos were published in The Nashville Graphic on October 15, 1964. Pictured above were contestants for Mrs. Nash County Harvest Festival.

Sharon Tyson demonstrates aspects of butter-making.

Iker Castro, Hunter Edwards, Juliet Fabrizio, Daniel Melendez, Aubrey Thomas and Skyler Glover of Middlesex Elementary handle baby chicks while learning about their care.

Za'Loniya Arrington of Nashville Elementary tries pumping water.

Brittany Pendleton, Extension Agent, Agriculture-Field Crops explains how cotton grows and is harvested.