Archives

RED OAK- Rough grading of the land surface at the Old Red Oak Landfill, a "Superfund" contamination site, is presently underway, the seventh of ten remediation steps required by NCDEQ.
'Superfund" is the nickname for a federal act created in 1980 to allow EPA to clean up contaminated sites presenting unique risks to the environment and to human health, requiring specialized equipment and training to safely remediate.

NASHVILLE - The old Swift Creek Elementary School, sold off by Nash County Public Schools last year, is going back up on the auction block now that the buyer has backed out of the deal.
Angie Miller, NCPS Special Assistant of Auxiliary Services, Operations and Athletics, first shared the news at a July 28 board of education committee meeting, relaying that the property would be put back up for sale.

ROCKY MOUNT - Nash County's Pet Connection Center re-opened this week to offer adoptions, with August 4th as its first day with open doors. It is, however, still paused on owner surrenders.
The shelter will be also open one Saturday each month for adoptions, beginning with its first Adoption Saturday this weekend, August 9, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Adoptions come with a standard $50 fee.

NASHVILLE - A special ceremony to mark the 25-year retirement of Sgt. Stanley "Stan" Ricks of the Nash County Sheriff's Office was held Thursday, July 31st, at the historic Nash County courthouse, followed by a caravan of law enforcement to Ricks' home outside Nashville for him to do a radio check off-duty.
Ricks, whose partner, K-9 Pebbles, retired earlier this month, was the subject of multiple speeches of praise, also receiving multiple plaques for his service from Sheriff Keith Stone, from Capt. Bryant from the Civil division, from Capt. Costa from the K-9 Team and from Chief Deputy Alan Wilson for the special response team.

NASH COUNTY- Nash County Commissioner Gwen Wilkins was elected Director of District 7 for the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) during the district's caucus meeting on July 31, 2025.
As District Director, Wilkins and her planning team will host upcoming district meetings where county commissioners and other county officials meet to share challenges, successes, and issues impacting counties within the region.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - One of Nash County's Cooperative Extension Agents, Colby Griffin, has another prize to add to his wall: this one for Distinguished Service. It is awarded by both state and national associations of county agricultural agents, recognizing Extension professionals for outstanding service, program excellence and high regard among peers. Only extension agents who have served ten or more years are eligible.
Griffin was awarded the prize at the state level in Concord, NC, on June 11th, proceeding to Billings, MT, July 1 to collect the national award.

RALEIGH- Longtime Nash County 4-H competitor Page Strickland has been inducted into the 4-H Honor Club, achieving the organization's highest honor at the state level.
Strickland, inducted July 21, 2025 during the NC 4-H Congress event in Raleigh, was awarded four scholarships at the Youth and Donor Event two days later: the Edward Gore/General Hugh Shelton 4-H Leadership Scholarship for $2,500; the Edmund & Elizabeth Aycock 4-H Scholarship for $2,000; the LR Harrill 4-H Scholarship for $2,000; and the Robert N. Wood Collegiate 4-H Scholarship for $1,000.

SPRING HOPE- While Spring Hope's Pumpkin Festival is alive and well, with more food vendors than ever lined up for October 3rd and 4th, the Spring Hope Pumpkin Pageant is taking a hiatus and will not be held this fall.
A press release from Michael Ward, Chamber of Commerce President, states that "this year marks a year of transformation for our cherished event," with 2025 being used to plan new developments for the pageant's future.

A broken power pole, with power lines still intact, is shown on Barnes Street near Strickland Equipment after an accident around 10:45 a.m. August 4. A box truck for Parrish Tires broke the pole, incurring a broken mirror and minor damage to its right side. The driver, 32-year-old Corey Tatum of Clayton, was charged with failure to maintain lane control. No injuries were reported. Duke Progress Energy completed repairs the same day and no outages were caused.

A hummingbird caught in flight as the days of summer begin to get shorter.

ROCKY MOUNT - A summer camp project for local middle school students may leave a lasting impression on first responders, with a message for firefighters and police officers who use the Nash Community College fire burn building near the Police Officer Physical Agility Test Field.
The side of the Burn building, used each year during NCC's Firefighter Academy, now is covered by an immense piece of "graffiti art" featuring a yellow sun burning on a blue background with the words "You Are Not Alone."

Nash County K-9 Fiji, along with handler Deputy Jack Thorpe, are shown during deployment to central Texas recently to assist with search and recovery efforts along the Guadalupe River, the site of devastating flash flooding. Fiji, a German Shepherd, is a certified Human Remains Detection Dog. The pair were requested by Texas Game Wardens at the city of Kerrville, Texas. They were part of a coordinated effort involving more than 50 K=9 teams from across the U.S. and Mexico, working 12-14 hour days to help locate approximately 160 people reported missing.

NASHVILLE - A proposed across-the-board increase in student parking permit prices to $100 has been stalled amidst some contention, pending talks between the Nash County Public School Superintendent and high school principals, who reportedly asked for the hike.
LaShawnda Washington, board of education member, said she had the item placed on the August 4 agenda for discussion after she had several inquiries from parents.

An across-the-board ban for student-owned wireless devices has gone into effect at Nash County public schools, after an immediate vote August 4 by the board of education.
Neither cell phones or smart watches are to be in sight or turned on during instructional time, basically defined as "bell to bell" during the school day, but starting at the tardy bell for high school students.

District 1
Doneva Chavis
dzchavis@ncpschools.net
(252) 459-7503
7818 McGregor Road

During a performance appraisal, I once had an employee who remarked: "I give my all everyday so when I go to bed at night, I don't have to apologize to the Lord for anything".
I thought she was just trying to make a point until she mentioned a verse from II Timothy, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith". (II Timothy 4:7)

Struggles are a part of life, and we all need renewed courage from time to time. So it's comforting to read words like these from someone as great as King David:
"I am in trouble," he wrote. "My eye is clouded and weakened by grief, my soul and my body also. -- Psalm 31:9 AMP
This morning, I discovered a resource for Christian men at faithgateway.com. The words above come from that resource.
Everyone struggles but I want to focus on men this week. Some may think men don't have struggles and/or grief. In fact I grew up believing men don't cry.

Over the last several months, we have been eager to explore the common ground between Christian believers and unbelievers. Those aspects of nature, life, and history are from which two people might engage in a fruitful discussion. After all, it has been the Bible skeptic, Michael, that we have spent much time discussing over the months. We have explored common ground through observations of the cosmos: the moons, the planets, and the stars. We also found common ground by exploring the apparent evidence of design found in nature, specifically in biological systems.

Top Dog Waste Solutions in Rocky Mount recently donated a total of $2,000 to the Edgecombe Community College Foundation. The local trash and recycling company's contribution will fund three distinct scholarships.
The Top Dog Welding Scholarship will provide $1,000 to students enrolled in the welding diploma program at ECC. A $500 gift will support students in business administration's marketing certificate program and is entitled the Top Dog Marketing Scholarship.

NASHVILLE- Two subdivisions in Middlesex and Bailey, neither new to Nash County but appearing in altered forms before the Nash County Planning Board July 21, were both recommended for denial regarding for requested conditional rezoning, but the final call for each will fall to Nash Commissioners at their August 11 meeting.

NASHVILLE- Initial plans for a new, 61-lot subdivision on the 114 acres on the south side of W. Old Spring Hope Road have been approved by the Nash County Planning Board.
The Frazier Creek Estates Subdivision, owned by The Lampe Reserves, Inc. & Quintet Holdings, through designer Mike Moss of CMP Professional Land Surveyors, submitted a site Plan July 21st, which was unanimously approved by the planning board subject to some sketch plan revisions.

ROCKY MOUNT - The N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles is seeking applicants for a commissioned contractor to operate a license plate agency (LPA) in Rocky Mount.
In North Carolina, NCDMV oversees LPAs, but the agencies are managed by private businesses or local governments.
The current agency, at 1850 Stone Rose Dr., in Rocky Mount, will close at 5 p.m. on Nov. 26 following the announced retirement of the contractor. The agency is owned by Rocky Mount, LPA, LLC, and has been operated by Vicki Bridgers since 1981.

ROCKY MOUNT - Nash Community College recognizes the academic excellence of its students for the Spring 2025 semester by announcing those named to the prestigious President's List and Dean's List.
The President's List honors students who have achieved a perfect term GPA of 4.0 while completing 12 or more credit hours during the semester. The following students earned this distinguished recognition:

The Nash County 4-H Sew What Club traveled to Greenville recently to donate items club members made during the year. Items donated included blankets and surgical caps, which would all go to patients at the children's hospital in Greenville. Pictured (L-R) is Landon Jones, Lydia Jones, Brendin Clark, Devin Clark, Club Leader Jane Tyson and Elise Ironmonger, who coordinates the donations for ECU Health Foundations.

D.R. Horton, Inc. to Margarita Martinez Garcia and Erick Villalon Ziranda; Bentridge Subdivision, Section 5, Lot 17
Airflow RE, LLC to Rocky Mount RE, LLC; 688 Porter Road, Rocky Mount; $312, 500
C.T. Williams Corporation to NVR, Inc. and Ryan Homes; Williams Ru, Phase 1, Lot 86 and Phase 2, Lot 66
Antoine Daniel Jackson and Antoine Jackson to Martin Alvarez Perez and Karen Raquel Molina Ramirez; 619 Clyde Street, Rocky Mount; $20,000

NASHVILLE- Reports of a man waving a machete at passing cars on July 26 near Nash Community College led to the apprehension and arrest of Isaiah Williams by the Nashville Police Department, who charged him with Going Armed To The Terror of the Public.
NPD officers were dispatched to the area of Eastern Avenue and North Old Carriage July 26, where a man wearing a Cook Out T-shirt was said to be armed with a machete and exhibiting threatening behavior.

Two New York City men, pulled over for speeding July 17 on I-95, are being held in jail under a $175,000 secured bond after their arrest on drug trafficking charges.
Luia Find Al Awdi, 27, of Richmond Hill, Queens, and Alhaggag Abdo Mohamed Musaid, 23, of the Bronx, were pulled by Nash County Sheriffs deputies around 8:22 am for speeding.

BATTLEBORO- Two out-of-state men are being held in the Nash County Detention Center after their arrest on July 15 on I-95 near Battleboro. The reason? Cocaine and a "large amount" of money found in the car.
According to a July 16 Nash County Sheriff's Office press release, Harry Rodriguez Felix, 35, of Erie, PA and Marcos Rivera Garcia, 26, of New Bedford, MA, were driving a white mini-van with out-of-state plates when they were pulled over at 1:45 p.m. July 15 for a routine traffic violation.

RALEIGH - Two Rocky Mount brothers have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in separate but related drug trafficking operations involving crack cocaine, fentanyl, and firearms.
"Pumping illicit narcotics--especially fentanyl--into our communities not only endangers the lives of our citizens, it is a serious federal crime," said Acting U.S. Attorney Daniel P. Bubar.

The Joyner family held their annual family reunion at Oak Level Ruritan Club July 18-20. Approximately 100 family members attended the event which has been taking place for the last 55 plus years.
Due to rain, a group photo couldn't be taken. The family provided the photo above which was taken at a prior event showing family members pose forming the letter "J" while a drone photo is taken.

Last week, I wrote about how Old Unreliable finally bit the dust, taking a deer and my credit card balance with it.
While that old Dodge served my dad and his pugs for a generation, it was not so kind to us. If a truck could smoke two packs of Marlboros a day, lay out of work twice a week and get in the occasional fight at the Waffle House, it would have been this one.
The truck was ruled totaled and I told my youngest son, the primary driver of the vehicle, that we'd try to take our time and find the right vehicle.

At times, I feel I was born in the wrong decade - especially when looking back at all of the people of Nashville who taught me so much are now gone. In my younger days, I spent far more time with locals 30 plus years my senior.
I truly treasure the many hours spent hanging out with folks like Betsy Valentine Fuller, Mary Hobbs McIntryre, Chris Johnson, Ms. Rachel Joyner - to just name a few.

This photo published in The Nashville Graphic on Sept. 29, 1977. Beaulah Hudson (center, left) fits a jacket for Shaun Bunn in preparation for the Nashville Business and professional Women's Club's annual Fall Fashion Review at the Nash County Agriculture Center in Nashville.