Nash Soil & Water Conservation District has recently hired a few new faces to its department.
Cole Strickland, Michael Smith, and Heather Portiss were all added to the team.
Nash Soil & Water Conservation District chairman Bobby Joe Fisher said Strickland was employed August 2021 and both Smith and Portiss in February 2022.

Nashville's Fire Department has been given approval to purchase a new fire engine but the new truck won't be delivered for almost two years.
Town Council approved ordering the new fire engine, which will replace a 2001 Pierce Dash fire engine.
Fire Chief Chris Joyner came before council on Tuesday night with the request.

Nash County EMS Paramedic Sam Bell demonstrates how to use Narcan during a training presentation.

A training on how to help someone who has overdosed on opioids was held recently.
Nearly 30 people attended Narcan training at the Bailey Church of God to learn about the stigma surrounding substance abuse and how to potentially save a life though a presentation.

Nash County Department of Social Services (DSS) is experiencing an inflow of demands without enough staff to meet them along with other issues.
Amy Pridgen-Hamlett, Nash County social services director, said the DSS is balancing limited resources against its everchanging needs.
"Our agency has great staff that are charged with meeting the needs of many Nash County citizens.

The identity of a man who lost his life in a home fire at 112 Arrowood Drive on February 6 has been released.
The Medical Examiner's Office at Brody School of Medicine in Greenville has identified the deceased through dental records as Wayne Earl Howington, 56 years old.
The cause of death is noted as smoke inhalation and thermal burns.

Seth LaHay is named Senior 4-H'er of the Year.

Nash County 4-H'ers and volunteers were honored for their achievements Monday during an awards program held at the Nash County Agriculture Center.
Sandy Hall, Nash County 4-H extension agent and cooperative extension director, said the theme for this year's program was "4-H."
Tables were covered with green tablecloths and garnished with foam 4-H clovers.

Nash County Health Department Director Bill Hill said COVID-19 cases in the county is continuing to dwindle.
He said over the past week there has been 96 new cases which brings the county to 26,913 confirmed cases.
Hill said four deaths have occurred this week which increases the total number of fatalities to 283.

Nash UNC Health Care has revised its visitation policies due to the declining number of new COVID-19 cases.
A press release on Friday states, "Due to sustained improvements in the COVID community spread metrics and the hospital's inpatient COVID census, Nash UNC Health Care has revised its visitation policy to improve the patient experience, while maintaining a safe environment for patients, visitors and staff."

Children will be able to catch thousands of plastic eggs as they drop out of a helicopter at an upcoming Easter event happening in Red Oak.
New Life Church in Rocky Mount is hosting its second annual Helicopter Egg Drop event April 16 at W.B Ennis Memorial Park from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Pastor Tim Suber of New Life Church said the egg drop is intended for children ages one to 12 and is expected to have an even higher turnout than 2021.

Heaven can be a complex topic to explain to children, but Judy Hendrickson simplifies it in her first ever book for kids.
Hendrickson's book entitled "Heaven" explores the holy dwelling place through a biblical standpoint with explanations that are easy for children to comprehend. She said her book is written for children ages seven and above. Illustrations were drawn by Hendrickson's husband Robert Hendrickson and Indian artist Sanghamitra Dasgupta.

Nash County Animal Friends of NC (NCAF) is not a rescue group. We are an animal advocate group for Nash County pets. Our mantra is Spay and Neuter. Our focus is to work on reducing the pet overpopulation problem by spay/neutering, to keep the pets out of the shelter with the help of our advocate partner, Promoting Animal Welfare in NC (PAWNC). Adoptions are good but today someone will adopt one pet from the Shelter.

False/counterfeit credit device, simple possession schedule VI controlled substance, forgery-notes, checks, securities, obtain property by false pretense, larceny-credit card, and credit card theft with scanning device reported at 12714 E NC 97, Rocky Mount on 2/25/22
Assault on a female reported at 13763 Old Smithfield Rd, Bailey on 02/20/22

Death investigation reported at 210 Woodfield Dr, Nashville on 02/25/22
Breaking and entering felony reported at 237 Macon Dr, Nashville on 02/21/22
Assault on a female and assault-simple reported at 1847 S. First St, Nashville on 02/26/22

A few Nash County towns will be receiving Wi-Fi and handwashing stations through one of four grants the county has received.
Nash County was awarded four types of Community Development Block grants, which aims to assist low to moderate income communities in development projects.
The county was allocated $900,000 to address health or economic impacts of COVID-19 with the Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus (CDBG-CV).

Elvira Rodriguez Garcia and Jose Hugo Hernandez Moctezuma to Norma Jean Garrett; 1025 North Hornbeam Drive, Rocky Mount; $196,500
Joan B. McKeel to Kevin D. McKeel; property in Bailey
Rosalie Development, LLC to Michael W. Manning; 5981 Harrisontown Road, Rocky Mount

Building Permit
Commercial
Quenten Draughn, 4400 A Red Oak Battleboro Rd; detached accessory; $6,600

Local cadets forming a combined team, the "River Rats," from Tar River and Pitt Greenville Composite Squadrons, from Wilson and Greenville, won first place in the All Services Gold Tier of the State Round of CyberPatriot XIV and made it through to the semifinal round of the fourteenth season of the Air Force Association's National Youth Cyber Defense Competition.

Coopers Fire Department Ladies Auxilliary Department presents Coopers Ruritan Club with a check. Pictured are Aaron Becerra, Coopers Fire Department, Danny Tyson, Coopers Ruritan president and Donna Collie, Cooper Fire Department Ladies Auxilliary.

"But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' And they began to be merry'." (Luke 15:22-24)
The Parable of the Prodigal Son is arguably the most "sermonized" parable in the Bible.

Peachtree members would like to have everyone to pray for Ukraine and this world and its people. We hope you spend a peaceful afternoon and coming week.
The Sanctuary flower arrangement was lovingly given to honor our Lord by Brenda and James Shepherd in honor of their 23rd wedding anniversary.
PASTOR'S MESSAGE: "You Are Under Grace", Romans 6: 14.

Red Oak Baptist Church began their 40 Days of Prayer study on Sunday, February 27. The study is being facilitated through the Sunday School classes, a Sunday evening class, and special messages during the morning worship service at 11:00 am.
Red Oak Baptist Church is collecting items for baby layettes to be used by the Your Choice Resource Center's HOPE Program

The story is told of a young, new preacher who preached his first sermon before his new congregation. It was a great message. He received many compliments. The following Sunday, he preached the very same sermon. It was good, but he received fewer compliments. On his third Sunday at the church, he preached the same sermon he had shared the two previous Sundays. The congregation was bewildered. They instructed the deacons to find out what was going on.

Thousands of student in grades 6-8 across the nation compete each year entering the VFW's Patriot Pen youth essay contest for their share of more than $1.4 million in state and national awards. This year's theme was: How can I be a good American. VFW Post 2057 awarded its winners last week. Isaaca Jefferys (far right) won first place. Sophia Sisolak (far left) won second place.

The Nash UNC Health Care Foundation has welcomed four new members to its Board of Directors: Keen Gravely, Mike Gaynor, Nancy Nelson and Shelayna Parker.
Keen Gravely is a retired educator from Nash County Public Schools. He works with an elementary school tutoring program at Englewood Presbyterian Church and has served on the board at Rocky Mount Preparatory School since 2019.

FEDERAL - STATE MARKET NEWS SERVICE, DIVISION OF MARKETING - NCDA&CS
North Carolina's egg prices were lower on all sizes when compared to last week. Supplies of extra large were fairly light, large light, while medium were heavy to meet a moderate demand.

Nash UNC Health Care has appointed three new members to its Board of Commissioners, due to Jeffrey Batts completing his final term and two additional vacancies needing to be filled. New board members David Browder, MD, H. Mike Johnson, OD, and Kevin Jones started their terms after being sworn in at the January 6 board meeting.

Jackie Webb

Two recent graduates of North Carolina Wesleyan College's Teacher Education Program have earned First-Year Teacher of the Year awards from Nash County Public Schools. Zack Foster, a spring 2021 graduate, teaches English at Southern Nash High School and Jackie Webb, a fall 2021 graduate, is a Mathematics teacher at Northern Nash High School.

Last week I visited two Civil War battlefields in Virginia to talk about my book, Galvanized: The Odyssey of a Reluctant Carolina Confederate.
I went to battlefields at Bull Run and Bristoe Station.
Bristoe Station was where my great-great-grandfather was captured for the second time during the Civil War.

This week's Backward Glances photo takes us back to a much simpler time in our own childhood when the most important thing of the day was playing outside. I've heard many people say their parents gave the signal to come inside when street lights came on meaning it was then too dark to be outside playing.
I grew up in the country where there were no street lights.

This photo originally published in The Nashville Graphic on August 28, 1979. The photo was captioned GRANDMAS ARE GREAT. Chris Batchelor is pictured playing in the yard accompanied by his grandmother, Mrs. Edgar Batchelor.