Water and sewer rates are projected to increase under Nashville's proposed 2021-2022 budget, which was presented to council members on Tuesday during a budget work session.
The budget is proposed at $15.2 million, a four percent increase from 2020-201 amended budget, Nashville Finance Director Samantha Sanchez told council members.

Nash County EMS and telecommunicator staff were recognized for going above and beyond in their response to the Thanksgiving day accident that took the life of Nash County Sheriff's Deputy Jared Allison.
Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone presented five telecommunicators and four EMS personnel with Meritorious Service Awards during a recent Nash County Board of Commissioner's meeting.

A ribbon cutting was held Saturday in celebration of the official grand opening of Nash County's Miracle Park at Coopers.

Saturday was an emotional day for Harold Winstead of the Coopers Community as he celebrated a dream come true.
A ribbon cutting was held for the grand opening of Nash County's Miracle Park at Coopers including the baseball fields, all thanks to Winstead's persistence and vision.
The park held a soft opening in February but due to social distancing restrictions, the ribbon cutting was delayed until Saturday welcoming hundreds from the community.

Concerns continue to be brought before Nash County Commissioners over firearms being shot consistently in rural areas.
Dorothy Battle, who lives at 13343 Taylors Store Road, Nashville, has appeared before commissioners many times with complaints about Ted Williams, of Force Firearms Training and an outdoor shooting range he utilizes on property near Battle's home.

Fifteen trees are slated to be removed by end of June due to deterioration. An assessment was presented by a professional Arborist in April.

Fallen trees which damaged homes during a severe thunderstorm in March has prompted Nashville to take a close look at the condition of very mature trees on Washington Street.
Nashville's Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Director, Koy Worrell, and the town's Tree Board agreed it was time to seek a risk assessment of the trees along Washington Street, many of which are assumed to be nearly or greater than 100 years-old.

Audrey Vick was led to write a children's book about Jesus.
The Nashville resident did just that and "Jesus Is My Big Brother" is the result. Vick penned the book using her maiden name Faye Cooley.
"Jesus Is My Big Brother" came out in early April and soon, Vick will have a book signing at H.D. Cooley Library.

Spring Hope Police have charged Joshua Frazier, 33, with felony first degree murder as a suspect in the death of his mother, Mildred Allen Frazier, 60.
Police arrived at Ms. Frazier's home at 308 N. Walnut Street Wednesday morning, May 12th, finding her inside suffering from multiple lacerations to her upper body. Nash County EMS pronounced her deceased at the scene.

An inmate in possession of tobacco/phone/ cocaine/marijuana was reported at 100 N. Boddie St. on 5/12/21
A possession of cocaine was reported at 1206 Liberty St., Rocky Mount on 5/11/21
A felony larceny was reported at 13268 W. Hanes Ave. on 5/15/21

WOLFE

A local store was the target of larceny Saturday, but little did the alleged thieves know the store manager and owner both have extensive military backgrounds.
At approximately 12:50 p.m. officers responded to Strickland Equipment Company at 309 S. Barnes Street in reference to a female chasing a male out of the store.
Mary Creekmore, general store manager, chased one of the three suspects to his car attempting to stop him. She was able to slow the exit of the car as police were en route.

In an outdoor, socially distanced pinning ceremony Nash Community College recognized graduates from its Associate Degree Nursing and Veterinary Medical Technology programs. The event was held on campus on Thursday, May 13 at 5:30 pm. Twenty-two nursing graduates and six Veterinary Medical Technology graduates were honored during the event.

Nash Community College Nursing Student Jarren Webb received the DAISY in Training Award for commitment to extraordinary compassionate patient care and outstanding clinical skill that will make a meaningful difference in the lives of many people.
Webb also is the 2021 Excellence in Associate Degree Nursing award recipient. He is a local and national member of the Student Nurses' Association and has volunteered for community events including supporting local hospitals, long-term care facilities, and fire stations.

"Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God." (Genesis 6:9)
My wife and I vacationed in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, several years ago. Lancaster County is widely known as "Amish Country". However, we found something much more memorable.

In the previous three stanzas of Psalm 119, the psalmist is overwhelmed by a fierce storm of affliction and verses 81-88 is the low point of the psalm. The storm nearly wiped out his faith. In this section, the psalmist is coming through the storm. He is anchored to the sovereignty of God.
He is standing on the rock. Verses 89-96 record the psalmist's faith-filled testimony about the permanence, power, and perfection of God's word.

Kingdom International Church opened with prayer and offering followed by a selection from the Worship Team and the morning message given by Pastor Daniel Moss.
Sandy Cross United Methodist Church received the morning message from Pastor Eric Packard entitled "The One Hope To Which We All Are Called".

Satan is an accuser. His arrows (Eph. 6:16) are his accusations, our sins.
His greatest weapon against us are our worst acts.
Sin, while separating us from God, also fills the enemy's quiver with arrows a plenty and his aim is our minds.

Thank God Peachtree Baptist Church is getting its older and missing members back and we are getting closer to opening up completely. In just a couple of short weeks we will start our Sunday School Classes again. We are so excited.
The sanctuary flower arrangement Sunday was presented to glorify God by JoAnn Blankenship in loving memory of all the Covid-19 victims.

Congratulations to Dylan and Hunter Smith Willette on the birth of their daughter, Millie Caroline, born May 12!
Red Oak was busy last weekend! Crowds turned out for the Food Truck Rodeo on Saturday, May 15 and Sunday, May 16 organized by the Red Oak Area Historic Preservation Society and the Town of Red Oak. People of all ages enjoyed a variety of good foods.

Mckaylah Collins, a Sophomore Early Childhood Education major from Nashville, was among approximately 800 Bob Jones University students named to the Spring 2021 Dean's List.
The Dean's List recognizes students who earn a 3.00-3.74 grade point average during the semester.

Two Nash Community College students were recently selected as members of the Transfer Class of 2024 Goodnight Scholars. Yasmin Arellano and Killian Smith were among the recipients selected for the North Carolina State University Goodnight Scholarship.

MAY 21
Rocky Mount - 2 p.m. - 6 p.m., Cornerstone Independent Baptist Church, 1481 Beechwood Drive

The Nash County School Board of Education has appointed three district administrators.
Monique Hargrove Jones has been hired as the district's Executive Director of Elementary Education, Sherri Wells as the new Online Learning Coordinator, and Janet Morris as the Director of Federal Programs.

Four Palms Properties, LLC to Sheila Shelton; 12158 Bellamy Mill Road, Whitakers
Brian Dieter Speer to Pamela Sue Faircloth; 104 Thornberry Drive, Spring Hope
James W. Whatley to Sally H. Whatley; 108 Bramblebush Court, Rocky Mount

Building Permits
(Commercial)
Dennis Fields, 209 Virginia Ave; renovation/alteration; $12,000
Richard Belk; 8171 Planer Mill Rd; addition; $14,200

The big news late last week was that people who are fully vaccinated for COVID-19 are no longer required to wear masks indoors or outdoors.
While there was some confusion from the CDC and the White House, it appears to be the beginning of a return to normalcy.
Some businesses have decided that they will continue to require masks. That's fine -- that's a right and those that don't like it can conduct their business elsewhere.

A Nashville citizen called me last week asking if I knew why white dots had been painted on many of the trees on Washington Street.
I had no clue and suggested maybe Duke Energy was looking at pruning some limbs prior to hurricane season. I promised him I'd check to find out if that was the case.
I checked in with our town manager to learn a professional Arborist had been called in to inspect and make a recommendation on the extremely mature trees which provide a beautiful canopy across the street.

This photo originally published in The Nashville Graphic on July 2, 1970. The headline read, "Nash Farmers to get $1.3 million in 1970 crop diversion payments. The photo was captioned: Diversion crop payments are being readied for mailing by employees of the ASC office in Nashville. Approximately 85 percent of the checks were mailed to farmers Wednesday.

SOUTHERN NASH HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLER JULIUS HILL

STANHOPE -- COVID-19 has impacted all high school sports over the past year, but few endeavors have been more fundamentally affected than wrestling.
Due to the pandemic, the 2021 mat season was moved away from its usual winter spot into the spring -- and will last well into June.
And the wrestling format is different this time around as there will be no North Carolina High School Athletic Association Dual Team State Playoffs.

RED OAK -- Student-athletes signing to continue both their athletic and academic careers is always an exciting moment for fans of the respective area high schools.
An element is added to that excitement when it's a local school they're pledging.
However, it's sweetest when multiple student-athletes sign to play at the next level at the same school.

HARDWARE COLLECTION. Louisburg College's Carrigan Ewers poses with the Region X and South Atlantic District Championship plaques.

BURLINGTON -- With his club on the cusp of winning the Region X Tournament Championship, Louisburg College softball coach Eric Lee knew who to turn to in order to finish off the job.
Carrigan Ewers.

ZEBULON -- The Carolina Mudcats, in conjunction with Minor League Baseball, have announced that starting pitcher and Creedmoornative Justin Bullock has been named Low-A East Pitcher of the Week for the week ending on May 16.

ROCKY MOUNT -- The East Division Champion and 13th-ranked North Carolina Wesleyan College Battling Bishop baseball team fell 9-4 to West top seed LaGrange College in the USA South Championship Game on Monday afternoon from Bauer Field after earlier winning game two 7-6 to force the winner-take-all-game.
The Bishops and head coach Greg Clifton were led by senior and all-conference first team catcher Brad Pennington as he totaled 3 hits, six RBI, and a three-run homer in game three during the final home game of his stellar North Carolina Wesleyan College diamond career.

NASH COUNTY -- Listed are Nash County Recreation & Senior Services Youth Soccer League game scores:

RED OAK -- Last week was a crucial one for both Franklinton and Northern Nash's baseball teams, who squared off against one another in two vital Big East Conference contests on the diamond.
Despite falling behind early in both games, it was the Northern Nash Knights who emerged victorious, using big offensive efforts en route to a 13-7 win last Tuesday, and an 8-4 decision last Thursday.

KENLY -- For the first time since 2006, the North Carolina Wiffle Ball Tournament will return to its original location of on July 17-18.
The tournament began there in 1982 as the Kenly Wiffle Ball Tournament, and this is the 40th consecutive year a tournament has been held.
It is the second oldest Wiffle Ball tournament in the world, trailing only the World Wiffle Ball Championship of Midlothian, Illinois, which began in Mishawaka, Indiana, in 1980.

ROCKY MOUNT -- Jaelyn McLean pitched and batted his Wesley Men team to an 11-1, mercy rule win Tuesday against the Optimist Club in RCMT Little League action at the Rocky Mount Sports Complex.
McLean received ample backing from Ethan Bellamy (2 hits/2 runs batted in) and Hunter Andrews (2 RBI) at the plate as 8 different Methodist boys scored in the early afternoon contest.

Northern Nash's Sencere Battle (front, center) signs a letter-of-intent to continue his basketball career at Barton College. Also pictured are (back, l to r) NN Athletic Director Joey Keefe, NN football coach Andrew Farriss, NN Assistant Principal Michael Crosby, NN basketball coach Henry Drake and NN assistant football coach Cameron Avery; (front, l to r) Kimberly Dawes (mother) and Deon Battle (brother).

Southern Nash's Jadel Davis (right) works his way to a victory during last Friday's wrestling action at the SNHS Gymnasium.

Southern Nash High School's Nathaniel Palacios prepares to engage an opponent from South Central during last Friday's wrestling tri-meet event at the SNHS Gymnasium.

Southern Nash High School veteran mat standout Luke Coble (top) finishes off a pinfall during last Friday night's tri-meet wrestling action at the historic SNHS Gymnasium in Stanhope.