The Nash County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved two rezoning requests at their regular meeting Monday morning, which gives the go-ahead to a new restaurant and a new retail store.
The former Highway 97 Family Diner building will soon house a new eatery: Bakin' n' Bacon, owned and operated by husband and wife team James and Kristie Cappelletti.

Jessica Strickland (right) and Leslie Jimenez (left) offer fresh sweet corn at the Mama Jean's Sweet Corn booth which operates at the Nash County Farmers Market on Saturday mornings.

The Nash County Farmers Market is a place for individuals to shop for fresh, locally grown produce and much more.
Bonita Baker Davis, daughter of one of the market's founders, said her father, Bruce Baker, Tim Bass, and Pete Butler started the farmers market in 1993. The market was held several places including at St. Paul's United Methodist Church located off of Highway 301.

Nashville residents are noticing the increase in their water and sewer bills.
Several residents came before town council on Tuesday to express concern over the increase in their bills.
Council members approved a rate increase for both water and sewer rates, effective in the new budget year, which began on July 1.

Businesses in Red Oak can apply for a grant with a variety of purposes that all involve enhancing and protecting the aesthetics of the community.
The Red Oak Community Grant is a 50/50 match grant in which funds are available for purposes to meet local needs including education, community development, beautification and improvement, and business and economic development. Businesses that can apply include churches, public schools, and gas stations.

Spring Hope's Town Manager Jae Kim is leaving the town.
Kim said he will be headed to Bald Head Island, just south of Wilmington, to fulfill his new role as Assistant Village Manager.
"I will miss Spring Hope, I've enjoyed every minute of the five plus years I've lived and worked here.

Animals that were moved to the Rocky Mount Animal Shelter are now back at the Nash County Animal Shelter as of July 6, as the building and grounds were improved to comply with state expectations. Scott Rogers, interim deputy director of the Nash County Health Department, told The Graphic that the July 1 follow-up state inspection revealed that all deficiencies noted in the April 28 inspection were satisfactorily corrected.

Four trees will be cut down along Washington Street, Nashville's Town Council agreed on Tuesday night.
The four trees are currently marked with pink ribbons.
The town's Tree Board met last Wednesday to review a second risk assessment that was done on the trees along Washington Street and compare notes with the first assessment done.

Friday, at noon, is the last day for filing to run for local municipal seats in November.
Nashville Town Council incumbents Larry Taylor and Kate Burns have both filed for re-election of the two available seats on the board.
In Spring Hope, two newcomers have tossed their name in the race for the mayor.

Rocky Mount Police are investigating a residential roberrty which took place on Monday, July 12 at at approximately 12 a.m in the 100 block of Julian Court. When officers arrived, they spoke with the victims, who stated two unknown subjects brandishing a firearm entered their home, held them at gunpoint, and assaulted them.
The suspects ransacked the home and took several items before fleeing the residence.

Rocky Mount Police are investigating a commercial robbery which took place at approximately 1:15 a.m. July 12 at 3601 Sunset Ave (Circle K).
When officers arrived, they spoke with the clerk, who stated that a black male entered the store and walked around the counter brandishing a knife, demanding money from the register. The suspect took an unknown amount of US currency and fled the scene before officers arrived.

Nash County Manager Zee Lamb told the Nash County Commissioners that a meeting regarding federal American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding is planned for Wednesday this week. He asked them for any input, and also asked for public input, as to ways to use these funds.
Funds could be used for infrastructure -- roads and bridges, water and sewage systems, electric systems, buildings and the like. Lamb said he plans to bring preliminary recommendations to the commissioners at their next meeting, scheduled for August 2.

At their regular meeting Monday morning, the Nash County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved amendments to the county noise ordinance that includes an exemption for agricultural propane-fueled cannons.
The noise ordinance was reviewed, county attorney Vince Durham explained, due to complaints last fall by Vanise and Deborah Hardee about the use of these cannons.

Warrant service at 100 N. Boddie St., Nashville on 7/10/21
Financial transaction card fraud was reported at 11901 Burgess Rd., Middlesex, on 7/6/21
Firearm by felon was reported at 1317 N. Wesleyan Blvd., Rocky Mount on 7/10/21

A Rocky Mount man was sentenced to 87 months in prison for possessing multiple firearms despite being a previously convicted felon. Keyonte Da'quan Smith, also known as "Smiley," entered his guilty plea on March 3, 2021.
According to court documents and other information presented in court, Smith, 27, of Rocky Mount, and another unidentified subject, were observed operating a sedan and shooting multiple rounds of ammunition into another vehicle while in traffic.

After much discussion of its water infrastructure system, the town of Spring Hope could possibly be receiving relief funds to resolve issues that arise.
NC Senator Lisa Barnes said she requested funding for Spring Hope after several individuals reached out to her expressing their concerns over the recent water line breaks that occurred in May. She also said she had prior knowledge of the town's aging water infrastructure system and its need for improvement.

The End of Watch Ride will honor Nash County Sheriff's Office Deputy Sheriff Jared Allison by stoping in Nashville on Friday, July 23.
The End of Watch Ride is a 17,000 plus mile ride across America to honor the men and women of law enforcement who paid the ultimate price in their service to our communities.

The governor answered and said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" They said, "Barabbas!" (Matthew 27:21)
In Jesus' time, the Romans had a long-standing tradition at Passover of releasing one prisoner as a gesture to illustrate its respect for the Jewish holiday. Mark's account of Pontius Pilate's decision to release Barabbas covers the exchange between Pilate, the Jewish leaders and others as Pilate struggled with his decision:

For this addition of the Peachtree Column, I am going to start it differently. I believe we need to take heed.
First, with an apology for not having the column in the paper last week. Second with a warning and why it wasn't in the paper.
I work on my column during the week and finish it on Sunday after I get all the information I need from church.

One of the themes that courses through the New Testament is that your walk with God is designed by God to be a community project. Anonymous, consumerist, isolated, independent, self sufficient, "Jesus and me" Christianity is a distant and distorted facsimile of the New Testament. You and I simply were not created or re-created in Jesus Christ to live all by ourselves.

Jayeshkumar T. Shah and Bela J. Shah to Jayantilal Patel, Taraben Patel, Himanshu Patel and Jesal Patel; 5094 Plantation Drive, Battleboro; $520,000
Leamon Lloyd Brantley, Mary Gaskill Brantley, Rebecca L. Brantley and Anne W. Brantley to Rebecca L. Brantley, Anne W. Brantley, Leamon Lloyd Brantley and Mary Gaskill Brantley; 1.3442 acres in Drywells Township

BUILDING PERMITS
COMMERCIAL

Halley Keyser, 5208 West Mount Drive; renovation/alteration; $15,000

The two months closure of the Shelter for repairs is over. We know there will be a new Shelter but until then, grateful that repairs were done on the old one.
The NASH SHELTER is OPEN 1-4 PM Mon-Fri (except for holidays). For AM, call for appointment, due to staff availability. Closed 11:30 AM - 1 PM. No weekends or holidays. During weekday business hours, call Nash Animal Control at 252-459-9855 if you need assistance.

It recently came to my attention that some people, even people I am related to -- gasp -- eat barbecue without slaw.
As often happens, this unfathomable situation triggered my self-righteous self and I sought support from others. I just could not imagine a world where these two foods were not paired together. It's practically a law.

Earlier this summer, North Carolinians saw just how troubling a ransomware attack can be as the Colonial Pipeline shutdown wreaked havoc at gas stations across the Southeast. But this wasn't a one-time thing - ransomware attacks are on the rise. Last year alone, nearly a quarter of the 1,644 data breaches that companies reported to my office were caused by ransomware attacks.

This photo originally published in The Nashville Graphic on October 22, 1970.

NASH CENTRAL SOCCER PLAYER CHRISTIAN BULLOCK

NASH COUNTY -- Plenty of changes -- along with a few familiar standys -- will be coming this fall to the Big East Conference.
Long a Nash County staple, the Big East has been drastically shifted by the most recent realignment by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.
Formerly a Class 3-A only league, the Big East will now be a split 2/3-A conference -- with an even number of four schools in each classification.

RED OAK -- Northern Nash High School will kick off its 2021 varsity football season on August 20 with a non-conference matchup versus SouthWest Edgecombe at historic Death Valley on the NNHS campus.
Northern's first Big East Conference meeting will be on September 24 at home against the Bunn Wildcats.

NORTHERN NASH'S CHLOE HARRINGTON

RED OAK -- The 2021 season proved to be an unforgettable one for the Northern Nash girls tennis team as the Lady Knights ascended new heights in the Big East Conference and beyond.
Northern, coached by veteran skipper Elaina Ingram, won the Big East Championship for the first time in school history and put together an undefeated overall record in team competition.

ROCKY MOUNT -- Rocky Mount High School's much-anticipated varsity football season will begin with a doozy -- a home showdown on August 20 against the Tarboro Vikings.
Tarboro, coached by Jeff Craddock, is the defending Class 1-AA State Champion and is coming off an undefeated campaign.

ZEBULON - Two costly errors in the second inning of action led directly to runs and proved to be the difference as the host Carolina Mudcats fell 2-1 in a six-inning, rain-shortened loss to the Lynchburg Hillcats on Sunday at Five County Stadium.
Starter Miguel Guerrero worked all six innings and allowed just two unearned runs while recording his first career quality start and his first career loss.

WILMINGTON -- The 2021 Major League Baseball Draft had a West Coast flavor to it for the University of North Carolina-Wilmington as Landen Roupp and Brooks Baldwin were selected by the San Francisco Giants and Adam Smith by the San Diego Padres on Tuesday.
Roupp, a righthanded pitcher who was the Colonial Athletic Association's Pitcher of the Year, went in the 12th round of the draft.

NASH COUNTY 8-UNDER
GIRLS SOFTBALL
LITTLE TARHEEL DISTRICT CHAMPS
STATE TOURNEY QUALIFIERS
JULY 22-25 IN SHELBY

NASH COUNTY 12-UNDER
GIRLS SOFTBALL
LITTLE TARHEEL DISTRICT
SECOND PLACE