Nashville residents can watch from the comfort of their homes as the town's Christmas tree is lit virtually on Saturday.
Nashville's Chamber of Commerce will host its Christmas festivities a bit different this year, with a socially distanced Santa visit followed by the tree lighting. The costume contest will still be a part of the festivities but winners will be announced later.

A Nash County Sheriff's deputy has died in the line of duty.
Deputy Jared Allison, 26, passed away on Tuesday night, December 1, less than a week after he was involved in a motor vehicle accident.
According to the Nash County Sheriff's Office, Deputy Allison was conducting traffic enforcement last Thursday, November 26, on US 301 in Rocky Mount as part of the Governor's Highway Safety Program's Thanksgiving Click it or Ticket Campaign.

Nashville's Town Council turned down one rezoning request while approving another on Tuesday night at the board's regular meeting.
Council members voted 3-1 against rezoning property at 608 Western Avenue from R-10 (medium density residential) to MF (multi-family).
The request on Tuesday night was for 5.01 acres of a 9.47 acre tract of land owned by Michael Hurt.

Pictured above, Red Oak Commissioner Craig New, dressed as the Grinch, with his wife Susan, during the town's annual Christmas Parade on Saturday. PIctured below, Macon Shearin reacts as he sleds down a slide on Saturday in Red Oak.

Macon Shearin reacts as he sleds down a slide on Saturday in Red Oak.

Saturday brought perfect sledding weather for the Town of Red Oak's third annual Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting Festival.
Sledding was a new addition to this year's festivities, which was deemed a success by both young and the young at heart.
Red Oak Town Clerk Tracy Shearin said this year's festivities were a huge success.

A second fire station in Nashville is closer to becoming a reality.
Nashville's Town Council voted on Tuesday night to offer Clayton Homes $65,000 for four acres of land at 1035 Eastern Avenue to build Fire Station 2.
Town Manager Randy Lansing announced in September that Clayton Homes had agreed to look into gifting the town the property for the fire station.

A tanker truck carrying LP gas overturned in Dortches on Monday morning, shutting down the area for several hours.
The accident happened just before 8 a.m. off of Highway 43 on Town Hall Road in Dortches. The tanker truck overturned into a ditch, forcing emergency officials to close parts of Highway 43, Halifax Road and Town Hall Road.

Nash County saw 52 new positive cases of COVID-19 over the weekend, Health Director Bill Hill reported on Monday.
On Saturday, Hill said 27 new cases had been reported while on Sunday 25 new cases had been reported.
The update was given on Monday afternoon during a COVID-19 meeting among county leaders and other officials. The update is one of three given every week.

The town board of Castalia did not hold a public hearing to discuss a property annexation as originally planned because public notice was not rendered in a timely manner. The plan now is to hold the hearing on December 29 at 6 pm in the Town Hall.
The board voted to approve holiday bonuses for the town's employees.

The following deed transfers were made in Nash County from November 20 - 27

Building Permit
(commercial)
Bobby Richardson; 15415 Avent Road; sign; $6725.25

A warrant service was reported on 11/21/20
A felony breaking and entering and damage to real property was reported on 11/16/20 at 10039 Sugar Hill Road, Wilson
A second degree trespassing and warrant service was reported on 11/15/20 at 11211 Red Bud Road, Castalia

Incidents
A larceny was reported on 11/22/20 at 1205 Eastern Avenue
A larceny was reported on 11/23/20 at 527 Indian Trail

Remains discovered on gameland in Castalia have been identified as a Guilford County man.
The remains were found on Wednesday, October 28 near the entrance of the Sandy Creek Gameland, located at 11872 Sumler Road in Castalia.
The Medical Examiner's Office was able to determine the remains were that of Jaleel Taqee Evans, 29, of Greensboro.

A Rocky Mount man has been sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for several robberies.
Antonio Devon Lynch, 34, was named in an Indictment, filed on June 3, 2020, charging him with four counts of interfering with commerce by robbery. On August 27, Lynch pled guilty to two of those counts.

"And I will not give my glory to another." (Isaiah 48:11)
The Bible teaches us that there are two things God will not share: vengeance and glory. I learned a great lesson about the latter during a job interview many years ago.
We all approach interviews pretty much the same way: We dress appropriately for them to make a good first impression.

The Bible has much to say about the consequences of your desires, thoughts, choices, words, and actions. Both in this life and the life to come, what you do matters.
"Those who make them [idols] become like them; so do all who trust in them." Psalm 115:8
"Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap." Galatians 6:7

What a great day for a parade! People of all ages came to Red Oak on Saturday, November 28 for the 3rd Annual Red Oak Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting Festival! Participants enjoyed the parade, concessions, vendor fair, music by Chandler James, and Santa! The annual Christmas tree lighting concluded the festivities. Thanks to everyone who worked together to make this a success!

Happy Christian New Year!
For the next four weeks we will be in a Series called "What Christmas Is All About (the other stuff)," where we are going to reflect on the not often talked about aspects of Christmas. Now, yes, Linus helped us out by telling the world what Christmas is all about. However, that powerful Christmas story from Luke's Gospel can, and should, propel us into deep depths as to why Christmas is so important.

On November 18, Mrs. Morgan Dollar of Southern Nash Middle School was recognized by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction for her outstanding work with EC Students.
Southern Nash High School gives a big thanks to the Walters Team for providing donuts and coffee for the staff on November 24.

Peachtree Baptist Church is now collecting donations for its N.C. State Missions fundraiser.
Peachtree Baptist Church has completed their annual collard sale. It was a great success. We sold more quarts of collards that ever before. Sold 4,100 lbs. and 1,772 quarts. WOW. We would like to thank everyone that bought collards, helped to cook them, and packaged them. Without you we could not succeed.

The Rev. Daniel Mark Cenci was awarded The Excellence in Historic Preservation Certificate and Medal by the Micajah Pettaway - Halifax Resolves Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. This award was for his work in restoring and preserving an Edgecombe County building, built in 1867 as the Red Hill School on land donated by the Howell branch of his family. His great grandfather, Eli Manning, who lived on a nearby farm, attended school there.

"When you dial 911, you expect the person who answers to be well-prepared to connect you to help during a critical time," Olivia Moss, Nash Community College Emergency Management Services Department Chair said. "We take our job training emergency dispatchers very seriously. They must be knowledgeable and confident to respond swiftly when every second counts."

Nash County Public Schools has released its Honor Roll lists for the first semester of the 2020 -2021 school year. The following students at CITI High School made the A or A/B Honor Roll.

Nash Community College and North Carolina Wesleyan College recently reauthorized an agreement that will help qualified NCC graduates transfer to Wesleyan. The agreement aims to provide a seamless transfer for students who enroll at Wesleyan following completion of their two-year degree at NCC.
Leaders of both colleges attended the November 6 signing held on the campus of North Carolina Wesleyan College.

Nash County Public Schools has released its Honor Roll lists for the first semester of the 2020 -2021 school year. The following students at Red Oak Middle School made the A or A/B Honor Roll.

Nash County Public Schools has released its Honor Roll lists for the first semester of the 2020 -2021 school year. The following students at Middlesex Elementary School made the A or A/B Honor Roll.

Nash County Public Schools has released its Honor Roll lists for the first semester of the 2020 -2021 school year.The following students at Bailey Elementary School made the A or A/B Honor Roll.

Rocky Mount City Manager Rochelle Small-Toney has promoted Captain Charles Williams to fill the roll of Interim Police Chief. George Robinson is retired as Police Chief effective December 1 after serving in the role since March 2019.
Williams, a Rocky Mount native, has spent his entire professional career with the Rocky Mount Police Department.

State crews closed South Halifax Road over Polecat Branch today to replace a crossline pipe with a larger culvert.
After a June storm damaged the pipe and roadway south of Sunset Avenue, the N.C. Department of Transportation made a temporary repair and reopened the road in July.

Cornerstone Building Brands, Inc., a manufacturer of exterior building products, will create 38 new jobs in Nash County, Governor Roy Cooper announced recently. The company will invest approximately $25 million over five years to establish a production facility in Rocky Mount.
"I know first hand about the dedicated workers and great quality of life in Nash County, and Cornerstone Building Brands agrees," said Governor Cooper.

Nash County Public Schools has released its Honor Roll lists for the first semester of the 2020 -2021 school year. The following students at MB Hubbard Elementary School made the A or A/B Honor Roll.

It was estimated that $9 billion was spent on Black Friday last week.
That's up over 20 percent from last year and that's with many stores being closed on Thanksgiving this year.
It's interesting that numbers were so high considering the last several years, Black Friday was becoming less of a "thing." Many stores were having sales earlier and discounts weren't as deep.

It seems 2020 is the year for all things controversial.
Between politics and COVID-19 and all things in between, it seems there's plenty of things for people to argue and disagree about. I think I've heard more name calling from adults here lately than I have from my three boys, who have perfected the art of "roasting" each other and telling "your mama" jokes.

Nashville's town council had some tough decisions Tuesday night, one of which was the final decision on an apartment complex proposed for Western Avenue.
The developer seems to be a well liked, very professional man and seems to have lot of interest in Nashville. I don't think anyone doubts his professionalism or visions.
However the proposed plan just didn't make for a good fit in the eyes of existing homeowners in that neighborhood.

This photo was originally published in The Nashville Graphic on April 8, 1975. Womanless beauty pageants were quite popular in the 70's. Beauty contestants are pictured practicing for the "Cinderfeller" contest which was held at the Nashville Elementary School auditorium.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- All football games have the potential to be difficult in the Atlantic Coast Conference, as evidenced by North Carolina State's road showdown last Saturday at Syracuse.
NC State entered the contest as a prohibitive favorite against the Orangemen, who had only one victory coming in.

ROCKY MOUNT -- The Tar River Youth Soccer Association (TRYSA) is hosting assessments and evaluations for its Soccer Academy for players born 2009-2014,this Friday.
These assessments are for the Spring 2020-2021 season. The Academy provides fall and spring seasons training and play, teaching children soccer enjoyment, individual responsibility and understanding teamwork.

RED OAK -- Local Class 3-A Big East Conference volleyball teams were back in action on Tuesday after taking a short break for the Thanksgiving holiday, with the week's slate headlined by Northern Nash hosting Wilson Fike in a 3-0 loss in the gymnasium on NNHS campus.
Head Coach Jeff Nelson's Fike Golden Demons were able to knock off the Lady Knights in three straight sets, winning each individual set in a unique way.

Santa waves at attendees of the Red Oak Christmas Parade on Saturday in Red Oak.