Two traffic stops within a week led Nash County Sheriff's Deputies to charge four individuals with drug trafficking.
On Tuesday, Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone stopped a rolling meth lab.
Stone stopped the driver of the Ford Explorer, Freeman Cotton, Jr., for a traffic violation. Stone stopped the vehicle on US 64 Westbound, just after the Nash Community College exit. A duffle bag was sitting in the back seat and contained the ingredients to make methamphetamine. Crystal methamphetamine was also found in the vehicle.

A Nashville mom is hoping to start a Backpack Buddies program at Nashville Elementary School.
Gloria Liles said Nashville Elementary is one of only two schools in the Nash-Rocky Mount School System that currently does not have the Backpack Buddies Program.
The program provides children from food-insecure homes with healthy weekend meals during the school year. The children, selected by school principals, guidance counselors, and supervisors of various after school programs, receive a backpack containing six balanced meals and two healthy snacks at the end of every week.

Jaylin Cotton works on weeding flower beds Tuesday afternoon at Coopers Elementary School.

Two teachers at Coopers Elementary School have found a creative way to encourage, and teach, their students.
Lindsey Brannan and Amy Moore joined forces this school year to start a garden on vacant grounds at the school.
Brannan, a kindergarten teacher, said she had done gardens in the past with her students and since it was her first year at Coopers Elementary School, she was hoping to do the same. She had heard that Amy Moore, a fourth grade teacher, had done gardens with students in the past so Brannan asked Moore if she'd help start a garden.

The Nash County Human Services Board selected longtime Health Director Bill Hill to lead the newly formed organization.
The Nash County Board of Commissioners voted in March to consolidate the Department of Social Services (DSS), the Department of Aging and the Health Department under the general umbrella of Human Services. The consolidation will become effective on July 1.
Prior to July 1, the organization needed to select board members and choose its leader.

NEVER FORGET -- Larry Womack, a Vietnam War veteran and Nashville resident, speaks during the Memorial Day Service held Sunday at Forest Hil Cemetery.

A Nashville veteran served as the speaker for Nashville's Memorial Day service, which was held on Sunday at Forest Hill Cemetery.
Larry Womack went over the history of Memorial Day and how it began as Dedication Day following the Civil War.
Womack, who served in the Vietnam War, said he has visited many places that he considers hollow ground, places where soldiers who died while serving their country are buried.

Nashville Police Chief Thomas Bashore
Number of years in law enforcement:
It seems as though I have been in law enforcement all my life. At 17, I joined the United States Air Force as a Security Police Officer and spent the next 24 years working in military law enforcement in both the Air Force and the Army. In addition to this time, I have spent 18 years now in civilian law enforcement.

A first grader at Nashville Elementary School went above and beyond in her participation of the state's Give Five-Read Five campaign.
Taryn Reams donated 130 books on Tuesday afternoon to the school as part of the initative. The donation was on top of 20 books Reams had already given.
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction first launched the statewide Give Five - Read Five campaign in 2013 to address summer learning loss. As a part of the annual campaign, parents, business leaders and community members are encouraged to donate five new or gently used books to local elementary schools so that students have books to take home at the end of the school year.

Ms. Lindsey Brannon and Ms. Amy Moore (L-R) stand with a homemade sign that sits outside a garden the two teachers grew with their students. The teachers hope to expand the garden next year.

The Nashville High School Class of 1959 held its 56th reunion on May 2 at the Nashville Community Center. There were 24 class members present and one former teacher.

Nash County Planning and Inspections issued the following building permits from May 18 through May 22, 2015.

On Tuesday, June 2, the N.C. Department of Transportation will close a 1.2 mile-long section of U.S. 301 in Nash County while crews with Palmetto Infratructure Inc. of Greenville, S.C. begin work replacing several bridges along U.S. 301 and widening the road between Battleboro and Whitakers.
U.S. 301 will be closed to traffic between N.C. 4 in Battleboro and N.C. 33 in Whitakers until December 31, weather permitting. Crews will replace the bridges over Swift Creek and the Swift Creek overflow. They will also widen U.S. 301 and extend two drainage culverts under the road.

The Nash-Rocky Mount Board of Education will consider a summer school program at its regular meeting on Monday, June 1.
The program would cost the district potentially $250,000 based on data from last school year, said Robin May, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction.
The program became an option after it was approved by Dr. June Atkinson and the State Board of Education.

Momeyer will consider adoption of a $65,765 budget at its June 8 regular meeting.
A public hearing will be held on the proposed budget prior to commissioners voting whether to approve the budget.
The proposed budget is just under $2,000 less than the current budget.
The budget includes a $1,100 decrease in revenues received from property and vehicle taxes and a $300 decrease in revenues received from the franchise tax.

Supporters of the Spaulding Family Resource Center attended last week's budget meeting of the Spring Hope Commissioners to get answers about the facility.
At a prior budget meeting, commissioners had questioned the high utility bill at the Spaulding Family Resource Center. The town spends as much as $28,000 a year on utilities as the facility, which it does not own.
At that meeting, commissioners said they no longer wanted to foot that type of bill on a facility they didn't own and really had no say in.

Nash Community College has announced the following students have achieved academic honors during the 2015 Spring Semester.
To qualify for the Dean's List, students must earn a perfect 4.0 grade point average (all A's) while taking 12 or more semester hours.

Gene and Debbie Dawes, of Rocky Mount are proud to announce the engagement of their daughter, Meghan Chandler Dawes, of Wilmington to Johnathan Adam Owen, of Wimington. He is the son of Dr. and Mrs. James E. Johnson and Mr. and Mrs. Tommy Owen, of Fayetteville. An October 23, 2015 wedding is planned in Wilmington.

Sarah Kathryn Barnes of Nashville, a transfer student from Nash Community College, is the recipient of a Transfer High Honors Scholarship at Barton College. The renewable scholarship will cover $5,000 of tuition for the year.
Ms. Barnes is married to Brandon A. Barnes, and she is the daughter of Victoria and Kelton Frazier of Nashville. She will enter Barton College in the fall semester as a junior and plans to major in social work.

Nash County Ranger Bill Lewis with the North Carolina Forest Service presented the City of Rocky Mount with the Tree City USA award, the Tree City USA Growth Award, and the Tree Line USA award during the City Council meeting on Monday, May 11, 2015.
The Tree City USA program is sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation, in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters. This is the twelfth year the City of Rocky Mount has received the Tree City USA award by meeting the program's four requirements: a tree board, a tree-care ordinance, an annual community forestry budget of at least $2 per capita, and an Arbor Day observance and proclamation.

The sun shone brightly on graduates and their families as they gathered with the Barton College community on center campus for Commencement Exercises on Sunday, May 17.
Two hundred and fifty-seven seniors participated in the 113th annual commencement exercises. Dr. Norval C. Kneten presided over his twelfth commencement program as president of Barton College. Dr. Gary Daynes, provost and vice president for academic affairs, presented the graduating class. Mr. Gregg A. DeMar, chair of the Barton College Board of Trustees, presented the Board's Approval of the Graduating Class.

"I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to what light I have." Inspirational words by President Abraham Lincoln were expressed in a keynote address by Ginny Mohrbutter, Executive Director of the United Way Tar River Region on the evening of April 21 to an audience of newly inducted Phi Theta Kappa Society members. Twenty-three spring 2015 and twenty-seven fall 2014 inductees inductees were welcomed into the Beta Upsilon Delta Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa in the Brown Auditorium at Nash Community College.

Army Pvt. Theodore A. Richards III has graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C. During the nine weeks of training, the soldier studied the Army mission, history, tradition and core values, physical fitness, and received instruction and practice in basic combat skills, military weapons, chemical warfare and bayonet training, drill and ceremony, marching, rifle marksmanship, armed and unarmed combat, map reading, field tactics, military courtesy, military justice system, basic first aid, foot marches, and field training exercises.

Bryson Christina Reavis of Elm City, a senior at Southern Nash High School, is the recipient of a Barton W. Stone Scholarship at Barton College. The renewable scholarship will cover $28,000 of tuition, divided into increments of $7,000 per year for four years.
Ms. Reavis is the daughter of Jamie Spain Reavis of Elm City. She will enter Barton College in the fall semester and plans to major in business administration.

Joshua "Josh" Butler of Rocky Mount is among 20 incoming freshmen selected for the prestigious EC Scholars program at East Carolina University.
The four-year merit scholarship recognizes outstanding academic performance, commitment to community engagement and strong leadership skills. Recipients are admitted to ECU's Honors College and receive a scholarship for four years, along with a stipend for study abroad, for a total value of $61,000.

Two hundred and fifty-seven Barton College seniors received diplomas on Sunday, May 17, during the school's 113th annual commencement exercises.
Participating in the ceremony were Barton students who completed their baccalaureate degree requirements in December 2014 and May 2015, and baccalaureate candidates who expect to fulfill requirements over the summer.
Graduates are listed by their hometowns; their names are followed by degrees and majors and, where applicable, honors will appear in parentheses.

Members of the Boys and Girls Club in Nashville got a chance to talk with the Nash County Sheriff's Office and Nashville Fire Department on May 1 during the club's "Nash Bash." Deputy Tyre Carter and Corporal Greg Adams brought their K-9 partners, Rocky and Sasha, to show the kids and to talk about what the dogs do. Fire fighters then talked to the kids about their job and showed them one of their fire engines. Picture above are members of the Boys and Girls Club with Adams and Carter as well as Nashville Fire Fighters.

Seventy-one talented, driven students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill were honored on Wednesday, April 22 with the University's most prestigious awards for academic achievement and leadership.
Thomas Benton Moss, III, son of Thomas and Ashley Benton Moss, II, of Enfield received the Jim Tatum Memorial Award, given by the local chapter of Kappa Delta Sorority.

A Memorial Day worship service was held at Peachtree Church on Sunday. All of those who had served in the armed forces were recognized. Special tribute was given to those Peachtree members who had lost their life in the service of their country. Robert Lee Edwards lost his life in France in the Second World War. Eric Vick, son of Faye and Reggie Vick, died in Iraq on April 1, 2007. We will never forget their sacrifices. The choir sang, "Prayer for America".

Darcey James Joyner of Nashville enjoyed his 5th birthday recently with a party at the home of his great-grandparents, Roger and Eileen Shanks.
Tale Talk is one of the many fellowship opportunities offered through ROUMC. We greatly enjoyed our meeting on Tuesday, May 19 when we discusses Gifted Hands by Ben Carson, MD.

Thank you Carl Holland for asking me to write our community news for The Graphic. I really do enjoy it.....when I have something to write about LOL. I am so proud of Aventon and my Aventon family. So many people are miserable and unhappy where they live, but not me! This little community has a lot of history and deep roots. My grandchildren are the 6th generation on our little farm. Memories are everywhere. It's fun to get together with your neighbors and start telling stories on each other and be able to laugh at them and they laugh at you.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reminds farmers to file a Highly Erodible Land Conservation and Wetland Conservation Certification form (AD-1026) with their local USDA Service Center by June 1, 2015. The 2014 Farm Bill requires producers to have the form on file in order to remain eligible, or to become eligible for crop insurance premium support.
Many farmers already have a certification form on file since it's required for participation in most USDA programs including marketing assistance loans, farm storage facility loans and disaster assistance.

Air Force Airman 1st Class Brittne K. Gerald graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas.
The airman completed an intensive, eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills.

Wednesday, June 3 from 2 until 6 p.m. at Arlington Baptist, 1500 Bethlehem Road, Rocky Mount
Tuesday, June 9 from 10 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. at Edgecombe Community College, 225 Tarboro Street, Rocky Mount
Tuesday, June 9 from 3:30 until 6:30 p.m. at the Harrison Family YMCA, 1000 Independence Drive, Rocky Mount
Tuesday, June 9 from 10:15 a.m. until 1 p.m. at Lowes, 700 North Wesleyan Boulevard, Rocky Mount

Bobby Lewis, Gracie Couch and Gertie Lewis of Rocky Mount, attended the 59th state convention of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association in Hickory, North Carolina, May 5 through 7.
NARFE is the largest association of federal employees and retirees and is the only organization dedicated to protecting their earned health and retirement benefits. At the convention, delegates elected new state officers and Area Vice Presidents who will lead and guide NC NARFE for the next year.

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission will host nine public forums across the state in June to discuss deer management in North Carolina. These forums will utilize an interactive approach to share information and gain feedback from deer hunters and others about their preferences for deer management in North Carolina.
A forum is scheduled for June 11 from 7 until 9 p.m. at Nash Community College.

Nash Central High School honorees

The highest achieving 111 high school seniors from across Nash-Rocky Mount Public Schools came together Tuesday night, May 19, 2015 to celebrate 13 years of hard work along their journey of excellence. Dr. Anthony Jackson, Superintendent of Schools, congratulated the students on their many achievements, but especially for being in the top ten percent of their graduating class and maintaining high standards of academic excellence throughout each of their school years.
"Excellence is a journey, a journey that requires commitment, creativity, hard work, dedication, collaboration and determination.

Okay, I am laying out the facts again. Often, when I do this, my profound wisdom is dismissed as fluff.
Case in point, a little more than 20 years ago, Raleigh was vying for a minor league baseball team. A rule dictated the number of miles that had to separate two teams. Raleigh's proximity to the Durham Bulls was preventing a team from locating in the state's capital.
Off the wall, I penned a column noting the popularity of baseball in the Nash-Wilson area, recalling the Wilson Tobs and the Rocky Mount Leafs.

Sunday, I attended Nashville's Memorial Day celebration. It was a great event and it was so good to see such a big crowd come out to remember our fallen soldiers.
But, the crowd wasn't big enough.
If you looked around, you mostly saw people from the older generations. It made me wonder what such a service will look like in 5-10 years.

Flags have been in the news a lot lately.
There was a story about a professor at some college somewhere who required his students to walk on the American flag.
It seems like every month we hear about some community banning the flying of the American flag, and we've heard about schools barring students from wearing t-shirts with the flag pictured. Ditto for flag lapel pins.

GUN SAFETY -- This photo was originally published in The Graphic on July 2, 1981. The Nashville Police Department sponsored a gun safety class for women and was conducted by Nash Technical Institute, now Nash Community College. Pictured above, Ray Goodwin, the instructor of criminal justice at Nash Technical Institute, shows proper use of a gun. Over 60 women, varying in age from teens to mid 80s, attended the class.

Thousands die every year because people put cats out without spay or neutering. Our county practices TK. Trap and Kill. You call Animal Control because cats are walking on your cars or whatever. They come trap and, because they aren't tame (feral), they automatically die. What happens then? It opens up an area and others cats will move in and form new family groups. It is called the vacuum effect. Supply and demand. The greater/better territory encourages breeding. So you only did a very temp fix.

NASH COUNTY -- Wilson Fike controlled the proceedings during the regular season portion of the Big East Conference baseball slate -- so it was no surprise that the Demons swept the league's top awards for the 2015 campaign.
Fike, the regular season champ in the Big East, featured the Conference Player of the Year in D.J. Daniels, who also stars as a quarterback for the Golden Demons' football squad.

WATCH IF FLY. Billy Dickens follows his tee shot on a par-3 as part of last Friday's O.D. Moore Scholarship Fund Golf Tournament.

ROCKY MOUNT -- Golf can be a difficult sport to master -- or enjoy when a round isn't going as planned.
But fun -- and playing for a good cause -- was the main part of last Friday's Sixth Annual O.D. Moore Scholarship Fund Benefit Golf Tournament.
The event, which was held for the third consecutive year at Belmont Lake Golf and Country Club, was part of three days of festivities overseen by the Nash Central High School Alumni Association.

ROCKY MOUNT -- Nash Central High School added a bit of a twist to its 2015 Spring Sports Athletic Awards Ceremony last Thursday.
In addition to honoring some of the school's top athletes, NCHS also inducted the initial class into its Athletics Hall of Fame.
"It was something that has been talked about,'' said NC Athletic Director Michael Mosley. "It was pretty much something we needed to do.
"The school is 13 years old now, and it was time to start honoring some of these people. I talked with the booster club about it and mentioned it to the coaches -- we decided to go through with it.''

ELM CITY -- A perfect spring day greeted fans and teams as they arrived at Elm City's County Line Raceway on May 16.
The weekly racing series featured five divisions of racing action were on the action packed schedule and the fans would not leave disappointed.
The Super Stock Four Cylinder was the first division to take to the track in their first special event of the season paying $600 to the victor. Hunter Bailey would be the fastest qualifier turning the 3/8ths mile clay oval in 17.206 seconds.

GREENSBORO -- The annual North Carolina Coaches Association's East-West All-Star Girls Basketball Game will be played July 20 at the Greensboro Coliseum.
The contest will be held as part of a doubleheader with the boys event. Tickets will be available at the gate.
Durham Hillside's Ovester Grays will coach the East Team, while Bunker Hill's Randy Jones will be in charge of the West Team.
Rosters for the showdown are as follows:

NASH COUNTY -- Listed are updated Nash County Parks & Recreation Spring Baseball & Softball Scores:

NASH COUNTY -- Listed are updated Nash County Parks and Recreation Department Spring Youth Soccer League Scores from recent action:

WILMINGTON, DEL. -- The Carolina Mudcats suffered their ninth consecutive loss after falling 10-2 to the host Wilmington Blue Rocks on Sunday night in a Class A Carolina League baseball event.
Reliever Mauricio Cabrera allowed six earned runs on four hits while recording just one out in the loss.
The loss extended Carolina's losing streak to nine straight games. The skid is their longest losing streak since they 11 straight in 2010.

MASON, OHIO -- North Carolina Wesleyan College's Robert Kjellberg and Sebastian Sikh fell just short in their bid for the program's first NCAA D-III National Championship last Saturday, dropping a three-set heartbreaker to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the doubles title match.
Earlier in the day, the Bishop duo downed Chris Krimbill and Louis Stuerke of Case Western 6-3, 6-3 to earn a chance at the crown.
Wesleyan's pair then faced Joe Dorn and Warren Wood of top-ranked National Champion C-M-S for the title.

NASH COUNTY -- A limited number of spots are still available for a bus trip to a Women's World Cup Soccer match in late June in Ottawa, Canada.
Southern Nash soccer coach Kurt Bienias is helping organize the journey, which will include tickets to a quarterfinal match that is expected to feature the United States.
Cost is $400 per person. Covered in the price is charter bus transportation, three night's lodging, breakfast buffets and tours of the amazing cities of Ottawa and Montreal.

SECOND-PLACE HEROICS. (L to R) North Carolina Wesleyan College's Robert Kjellberg and Sebastian Sikh took second place in doubles at the recent NCAA Division III National Championships in Ohio.

CHAPEL HILL -- The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Photojournalism Department recently produced a documentary film on the lives of local Kyokushin Karate instructor Kenny Buffaloe and his son/student Christian Buffaloe.
The documentary film focused on Kenny Buffaloe's 40-year-career in Kyokushin Karate, his direct training under Shihan Oyama, a famous grand master from Japan, his martial arts work with youth in the public school systems, 4-H, recreation departments, and YMCA's in North Carolina and Virginia since 1980.

ROCKY MOUNT -- Brian Carter went 2-3 with two RBI and teammate Mason Pilgreen stroked a 2-run triple that spearheaded a 5-run third inning as the Wesley Men Yankees avenged an early season loss to the Western Sizzlin' DiamondBacks, downing their fellow League foe 7-1 in last Wednesday's Rocky Mount Little League action at the RCMT Sports Complex.
Carter and Pilgreen received yeoman support from a trio of 12-year-olds, Trent Lewis, Maliq Nicholson and Matthew Hill, as the Yankee triumvirate amassed 7 hits among them.

This approach from Rosa Sherk helped her foursome claim a birdie on this hole at the O.D. Moore Scholarship Fund Golf Tournament last Friday at Belmont Lakes GC.

George Gray likes the look of a shot during last Friday's O.D. Moore Scholarship Fund Golf Tournament, which was held at Belmont Lakes Golf and Country Club in Rocky Mount.

Alfred Thomas "Tommy" May, Jr., 85, passed away on May 22, 2015.

Carl Adam Sills, 85, passed away Monday, May 25, 2015. He was born in Nash County November 23, 1929 to the late Willard McClain Sills and Sudie Jane Sykes. In addition to his parents, Carl was preceded in death by his first wife Janie Sills and brothers, Ted and Bobby Sills.

Carol "Cookie" Joyce Beaudin, age 68, passed away on May 21, 2015.

ROCKY MOUNT - Daisy Williams, 74, of Rocky Mount, died on May 21, 2015.

Dan Jeffrey "Sye" Thorne, 51, of Castalia, passed away Sunday, May 24, 2015. A funeral service will be held Thursday, May 28, 2015 at 1 p.m. from the Lifeline Outreach Ministries in Louisburg. Burial will follow in the Thorne Family Cemetery. The Rev. Barbara J. Thomas will officiate.

Horace Dowd Cotton, age 88, passed away on Tuesday, May 26, 2015. He was born on July 14, 1926 to the late Patrick Henry Cotton and Frances Bessada Cotton. He was predeceased in death by four sisters and two brothers.

James Leon Jordan, 67, passed away Monday, May 25, 2015. He was born December 15, 1947 in Nash County to the late Henry and Myrtle Nelms Jordan. In addition to his parents he is preceded in death his wife, Patricia Moore Jordan, a son, Joshua Lee Jordan and a brother, Frank Jordan.

Janette Vanhook Hollifield of Nashville, passed away on Saturday, May 23, 2015.

ENFIELD - Joseph "Joe" Wright, 41, passed away on Friday, May 22, 2015.

Margorie Copeland Harris, 91, of Warrenton, passed away Thursday, May 21, 2015. A funeral service will be held Thursday, May 28, 2015 at 1 p.m. from the Pine Chapel Baptist Church in Hollister. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. The Rev. Robert Hedgepeth will officiate.

Paul David Whitley, Jr., age 89, passed away on Monday, May 25, 2015. He was born on July 27, 1925 to the late Paul David Whitley, Sr. and Ethel Joyner Whitley. He was predeceased in death by a daughter, Judy Carol Whitley Worrell and a brother, Charles Henry Whitley.

Robert Earl Cotton, 76, of Rocky Mount, died on May 23, 2015.

Timothy Clayton Mitchell, 50, passed away Saturday, May 23, 2015. He was born November 11, 1964 in Nash County. He was preceded in death by his mother, Linda Faye Mitchell.