The life of Mary Alice Wells can be summed up with one word.
Dedicated.
Wells was dedicated to her faith, her family and to the citizens of Nash County.
Wells passed away on Sunday, July 18. She was 84 years old.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION - The Nash County Courthouse courtyard will soon be home to a setting which will house the Charters of Freedom which include the United States Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. The setting is under construction and provided by Foundation Forward, Inc., an educational non-profit that installs life-size replicas of the United States' Charters of Freedom in communities across America.

"Nash County Public Schools (NCPS) is a low performing district," Dr. Steve Ellis, NCPS superintendent, told the board of education at their retreat Monday morning. "In 2018-19 we had a good possibility of coming out of that, based on the trend data we had. But this year, a whole year of the pandemic, whatever gains we had are probably lost."

The Town of Nashville is on the hunt for a new site for a second fire station, as earlier site proposals were deemed to be too expensive.
Town Manager Randy Lansing presented costs for two potential sites last Tuesday at the board's regular meeting.
The first site is a four-acre site owned by Clayton Homes. Lansing said the site is part of the haul road the company uses to haul finished out of so if the town were to purchase the property, the town would have to provide a new haul road.

Nashville's Town Council will vote on an inducement agreement for the Nashville Junction next month.
A public hearing was held on the agreement last Tuesday at the regular town council meeting, however, a vote on the agreement was delayed because one council member was attending the meeting remotely. Council members will vote on the agreement at their next regular meeting on August 3.

The filing period for November's municipal elections has closed with the exception a commissioner seat open in the Town of Bailey.
Nash County Board of Elections Director John Kearney released a statement Friday which said with two seats up for election and only one candidate having filed, the Board of Elections has extended the candidate filing in this contest only. Dillon Bissette is the only person who has filed for the seat.

Warrant service at 11020 Kevin Lane, Wilson on 7/15/21
Maintain vehicle/dwelling/place controlled substance felony; possession methamphetamine; simple possession schedule IV controlled substance was reported at 1428 Bowden Rd.,Spring Hope on 7/13/21

COOPER

On Thursday July 15, Sheriff Keith Stone and members of the Nash County Sheriff's Office were following up on complaints of the sale of illegal drugs and other illegal activities in the parking lot of the Golden East Mall.
Sheriff Stone observed two males near two vehicles conducting illegal narcotics sales in the Dunham's Sports parking lot.

A Georgia woman is facing drug charges in Nash County after a Nashville Police Officer initiated a vehicle stop for speeding on US 64 last weekend.
Valerie McNeil of Augusta, GA was a front passenger in the vehicle. A consent search was conducted and approximately 14.4 grams of marijuana edibles along with 49 grams of marijuana was located.

On Wednesday, July 14, 2021, James Montez Woodley was sentenced to eight years and seven months in the Federal Bureau of Prisons for the Distribution of heroin/fentanyl in the Rocky Mount area. The charges stemmed from a 2019 case lead by the Nash County Sheriff's Office Narcotics Division.
James Montez Woodley was actively on Federal Probation at the time of the above charges, which resulted in the revocation of his Federal Probation.

FOREMAN

A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging three Rocky Mount individuals and one Wendell woman with various narcotics distribution and fraud-related charges.
Tyrone Foreman, also known as "Ty Nitty", 33, is alleged to be the leader of a set of the United Blood Nation operating a heroin and fentanyl distribution ring in Nash and Edgecombe counties.

Jessi Nichole Sauls and Wright McBride Stallings were united in marriage on May 15, 2021 at 4 p.m. at Trinity Baptist Church in Wilson. Dr. John Check officiated the ceremony.
The bride's parents are Steve and Kim Sauls of Elm City.

The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks Lodge #1038 in Nashville honored one of its very own at a Flag Day Ceremony on Thursday, June 17th. Flag Day chairman, Parker Phillips and his committee selected the current Exalted Ruler Michael P. Davis (pictured above) for the Elks Flag Day Honoree for the year of 2021.

Gov. Cooper has appointed Patricia J. Mauldin of Rocky Mount as a member at-large to the North Carolina Awards Committee. Mauldin serves on the North Carolina Public Television Foundation Harrison Family YMCA. She has served on the Tar River United Way, Habitat for Humanity and Meals on Wheels.

Amanda Cutchin of Nashville has joined North Carolina Wesleyan College as Coordinator of Donor Gifts and Information. A current student in the College's Adult and Professional Studies program, Cutchin will complete her degree this December graduating with a bachelor's in Business Administration and Organizational Leadership. Amanda comes to Wesleyan from BB&T, where she recently worked as an Engagement Specialist in their commercial loan department.

The Minority Women Business Enterprise program will hold a virtual session entitled, "Added Value, #ContractReady" from 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. on Friday, July 23. Presenters will include city of Rocky Mount MWBE Coordinator Aaron Harris, who will share "Easy Bidding," an interactive walkthrough of the city's bid templates.
Chyna Green, who serves as the Project Diversity and Development Manager for Samet Corporation, will present "A Guide to Construction Projects: HUB Edition."

Blake Hager (9), Carter Ray Hager (10) and Wyatt Hager (6) visited The Nashville Graphic last week for a brief tour and a lesson on how a newspaper operates. They learned about news reporting, advertising and the steps of getting the newspaper to press. All three boys attend Coopers Elementary School.

For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5)
All of us wonder from time to time if God really cares about what's going on in our lives. Why? Because there are those occasions in life when "life" seems to be crashing down on us. We live for the Lord and when things go awry, we seek his comfort and his guidance. We pray, but nothing seems to come of it. "Where is he?", we wonder.

The word disciple means "learner, student." The ancient Greeks had disciples in the realm of philosophy. Plato, often called the "father of philosophy," developed a system of thought that dealt with issues of epistemology, and issues related to the meaning of life. Plato discipled his student Aristotle, who took what he had learned and built "gymnasiums," or academies.

Great day at Peachtree Baptist Church. The faithful were there to praise our Lord.
The sanctuary flower arrangement Sunday was loving presented to glorify God by Beverly Wilson in honor of her mother, Barbara, and her father, Beverly Privette, on their anniversary. They were married on June 23, 1951.

Congratulations to Caroline Griffith who was baptized Sunday, July 11 at Red Oak Baptist Church! Caroline is the daughter of John and Teresa Griffith.
Best wishes to Kayla LaPointe and Zachree Terrill who were united in marriage Saturday, July 17. Kayla is the daughter of Eric and Nichole LaPointe.
The Baptist Men had their breakfast on Sunday, July 18.

Bayden Collins was the recipient of two scholarships presented at the West Mount Ruritan Club meeting on Thursday, July 15th.
The Russell and Peggy Cockrell Scholarship was designated specifically for Collins. The Cockrell's were community leaders with a servant's heart for service to not only the community but the West Mount Ruritan Club.

Building Permits
Commercial
Amber Perkins, 567 E. Hilliardston Rd.; detached accessory; $11,441.47

Digital Business Corporation to Warren Henry Harper and Deborah Bonds Harper; 27.11 acres
Zachary Stevenson Stallings to Zachary Stevenson Stallings and Martha Holland; 13771 Taylors Mill Road, Middlesex
Wilbert Bryan Lewis to 1051 Shoreside, LLC; 2621 Shire Lane, Rocky Mount; $125,000

There are angels among us. These are people that see a stray pet or hear about it and tracks it down. They catch it and try to find their owner. They take it to the vet (or the Shelter) to check for a chip. They check all the lost and found posts on Facebook and Craigslist. They post a found ad. They notify the Animal Control Shelter, as hopefully the owner be looking there... besides, it is the law.

The Olympics open in Tokyo this weekend and just like everything else since early 2020, it should be a weird show.
For starters, there will be no fans allowed at any events. Projections are that because of that, there will be 90% less money spent.
The games are going to cost $15.4 billion to put on, about 22% more than projected because of costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Even with a record setting $3 billion raised from domestic sponsors.

Dear Editor: Nothing in Mr. Williams' statements prevent me, nor anyone else, from freely using their land as they choose. Neither does it have anything to do with gun ownership.
The second amendment provides only for the right to keep and bear arms, not shoot them anytime or for as long as one wishes and disturb others (on that note, I would like to thank all of the responsible hunters who live in our community. I never hear, or have had any issue with them and they hunt all around this area.

This photo originally published in The Nashville Graphic on October 22, 1970. Eight Boy Scouts from Nashivlle Troop 76 received awards and rating badges during a Court of Honor held at Nashville Baptist Church.

Phoebe Atkins aids a young teammate for Nash Rec in the Pup Squad event during last Thursday evening's road matchup against Westridge in Nash-Halifax Swim League action.

ROCKY MOUNT -- Westridge has put together a deep, talented roster this summer -- and it has shown during the club's meets to date in the Nash-Halifax Swim League.
Westridge has been dominant in the pool -- a stretch that continued last Thursday during a home meet against long-time rival Nash Rec in Rocky Mount.
Westridge its strong campaign with a convincing 458-254 decision over the Sharks.

NASH CENTRAL'S RENNY TAYLOR

ROCKY MOUNT -- As a history buff, it was only fitting that Renny Taylor made one of the most important decisions of his life during a recent trip to Boston to take in some Revolutionary War sites.
After a sleepless night, Taylor scripted an e-mail to Nash Central High School Principal Victor Ward -- informing him that Taylor was stepping down after 13 successful seasons as the Bulldogs' boys basketball coach.

NASH CENTRAL ALUM/MOUNT OLIVE STAR CANA SHROCK

NASH COUNTY -- What a first year it was for Cana Shrock as a member of the softball program at the University of Mount Olive.
Shrock, a former multi-sport standout at Nash Central High School, enjoyed a brilliant 2021 fast-pitch campaign at UMO.
Shrock, a freshman, batted .367 with four home runs and 32 RBI.

RALEIGH -- The North Carolina State University baseball program saw four more of its players selected on the third and final day of the 2021 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft as Jonny Butler, Terrell Tatum, Luca Tresh and Reid Johnston all heard their name calledlast Tuesday afternoon.
Butler was selected in the 14th round (428th pick) to the Oakland Athletics, Terrell Tatum was taken in the 16th round (485th pick) to the Chicago White Sox, Luca Tresh was drafted in the 17th round (499th pick) to the Kansas City Royals and Reid Johnston was called in the 19th round (576th pick) to the Cleveland Indians.

KANNAPOLIS - Ernesto Martinez hit for the cycle and was one of four Carolina Mudcats to hit a home run during Carolina's 10-3, series-finale and sweep-clinching, victory versus the homestanding Cannon Ballers on Sunday afternoon in Kannapolis.
The victory was Carolina's sixth straight, matching the club's longest winning streak of the season.

NASH REC SWIMMER RACHEL WINSTON

NASH REC SWIMMER JOSH HOLLOMAN

Local youth will perform productions of "The Little Prince" at he Imperial Centre for the Arts and Sciences July 22-25 in downtown Rocky Mount. The Little Prince is a production based on the book by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. It will include local youth ages 6-18, telling the story of a world-weary aviator whose malfunctioning plane strands him on the Sahara Desert.