Less than one month after the Town of Nashville suspended Human Resource Director Matt Joyner, Joyner's position is now open, with a job vacancy announcement posted as of Oct. 23.
Joyner, along with Police Chief John Winstead, were suspended for "non-disciplinary" reasons as of Sept. 27, according to Town Manager Randy Lansing. Lansing said at the time that a single investigation was in process and referred to NCGS 160A-168, which prohibits the release of employee personnel records.

Nash County Magistrate Kenneth Carl Barnes has resigned and is no longer on the payroll.
Records obtained by The Graphic from the North Carolina Judicial Branch show a separation for Barnes of Oct. 3, with no current salary listed.
His former salary was listed at $56,754.00.

Rodney Roan visits the new Nash County Pet Connection shelter to consider pet adoption.

What was a shining, new, quiet animal shelter at 3600 Eastern Avenue, Rocky Mount, now echoes with the sounds of hopeful meows and excited barks as the Nash County Pet Connection Center is open for business.
The Center has three kennel areas for dogs, separate rooms for cats, indoor "meet and greet" areas and an expansive fenced-in outdoor area with plenty of room for dogs and prospective owners to meet each other.

A public hearing for a townhouse development off of Birchwood Drive has been postponed.
The hearing was scheduled for last week's town council meeting but was tabled due to expert witnesses not being unavailable to attend the meeting. The meeting was initially tabled until the November meeting but Town Clerk Lou Bennett said Tuesday a new date for the public hearing had not been set, adding that it would likely be the first of next year.

A first-time educational event at the Nash County Agricultural Center designed to offer support and resources for people struggling with addiction drew an audience of twenty-five to thirty, with many walking or driving to gather on the steps of the Nash County Courthouse Saturday afternoon.
"Celebration of the Journey in Recovery: Lives That Thrive" was sponsored by the Coalition for Addiction Recovery and Education Oct. 21. Held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the free event included vendors and a panel address.

A subvariant of COVID is driving up numbers for the northeast part of the state, but local numbers are lessening, according to Nash County Health Director William Hill.
An online report from the "Covid-19 Hospitalizations Dashboard" of NCDHHS, updated Oct. 18, showed a map of counties under the Eastern Healthcare Preparedness Coalition (EHPC), which includes Nash, Edgecombe, Wilson, Halifax and counties to the north and east.

Middlesex Fire Department adds new UTV for rescue situations. Graphic photo by Nancy West-Brake

October is Fire Prevention Month, and while some local elementary students are treated to exciting trips to fire stations to learn basic fire safety, the grim reality is that homes, and lives, are lost every year to household fires.
Statistics compiled for The Graphic by Nash County 911 Operations Manager Bill Trimmer report 320 structure fires in Nash County in 2022, with 208 in 2023 as of October 10.

The unsettling sight of a blood-spattered, partially-overturned school bus resting sideways atop a crushed car set the stage Saturday for a Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) simulation event at 997 Atlantic Avenue, Rocky Mount, at the site of the Rocky Mount Fire Department Training Center.
Nash County EMS and students from Nash Community College's EMT and Paramedic programs, along with their counterparts from Edgecombe Community College, were among those who participated, along with ECU East Care and the Rocky Mount Fire Department.

Nashville's Town Council encouraged a downtown business owner to reapply for a facade grant after denying his initial request at last week's town council meeting.
Scott Tyson submitted a facade grant application for the existing building located at 302 W Washington Street. Wright CPA, PLLC currently occupies the building, which is in the town's Municipal Service District.
Tyson applied for the facade grant to repair or replace the roof and paint the porch and handicap ramp.

Larceny after breaking and entering; felony breaking and/or entering (two counts) reported at 10447 Liles Rd., Bailey on 10/19/23
Felony larceny reported at 1156 S Big Wood Rd., Spring Hope on 10/20/23
Assault on a female; simple assault (2 counts) reported at 1761 N. Old Carriage Rd., Rocky Mount on 10/15/23
Financial transaction card fraud reported at 186 S. Old Franklin Rd., Spring Hope on 10/17/23

An article recently published in the "New York Post" was entitled "Language Variation And Change". It stated that Generation Z is killing the southern drawl. The report said that the southern pronunciation of words has been shifting over the last few generations.
"Today's college students don't sound like their parents, who didn't sound like their own parents." Interestingly, it was noted that they also DO NOT want to sound like their parents.

A 2018 Pew Research survey stated, "Nine-in-ten Americans believe in a higher power, but only a slim majority believe in God as described in the Bible."
As we think about belief/faith, perhaps the closest that the Bible comes to offering an exact definition is Hebrews 11:1 - "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." From this particular passage we see that the central feature of faith is confidence or trust. In the Bible, the object of faith is God and his promises. A clear example of this is Abram's encounter with God in Genesis 15.

Several from Red Oak Baptist Church enjoyed an overnight trip to the Billy Graham Library and surrounding area on October 15-16.
The youth and children of Red Oak Baptist Church will be selling poinsettias through Sunday, October 29. The 6.5 inch pots are $15 each and the 8 inch pots are $20 each. Proceeds will support the summer missions camps.
Join in the fun on Sunday, October 29 at Ennis Park! The Community Trunk or Treat will be held at 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm.

The West Mount Ruritan Club recently made a donation to the Nash County Foster Care Program. Pictured, Wayne Outlaw (left) is shown presenting the check to Amanda Jankowski (right).

Elks Lodge #1038 at Birchwood newly installed members (left to right) are Mike Allen, Bradley McAdams, Alvin Joyner, David Snow, Shepherd Haggerty, Kevin Hoff and Jerome Costa.

Elks Lodge #1038 members donated school supplies to both Nashville Elementary School and Nash Central Middle School. Members include (not in standing order): George and Cyndi Carpenter, Betty Bissette, Faye Cahoon, Chris and Tressa Bissette, David Boykin, Damon Brantley, Brenda Brown and Ashley Cahoon.

Line dance classes will be held Wednesdays 2-3 p.m. at Town of Nashville Parks & Recreation Department, 108 S. Boddie Street, Nashville. Learn to line dance to popular songs in this beginner-friendly class. Four week class session, $10. Nashville town residents, $15. Nonresidents. For more information call the Town of Nashville Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resources Department at 252-459-9796.

Storytime is Oct. 26, Nov. 2, Nov. 9 and Nov. 16 from 11 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. for ages 2-5.

LEGO Club for ages 7 and older meets Oct. 24 from 4-5 p.m. at Harold D. Cooley Library, 114 W. Church St., Nashville. Please call ahead for groups of 5 or more. 252-459-2106.

Nash County Holdings, LLC to Boys and Girls Clubs of the Tar River Region, Inc.; 5.148 acres
NVR, Inc. to Pamela Winks; 8921 Shallow Creek Trail, Bailey; $284,000
River Dew Corporation to Matt Baldwin Homes, LLC; lots 37, 38 and 39, River Dew Subdivision; $105,000
Starlight Homes North Carolina, LLC to Rebekah Ann Lopez; Bryson's Ridge, Lot 6; $300,000

Building Permit Residential
Kellen Lynch, 378 Sawdust Lane; renovation/alteration; $5,000
Clayton Homes, 4210 Old White Oak Rd; deck; $3,500
Natalie Brown Shearin, 3683 S. Browntown Rd; detached accessory; $32,000

We had the Poet Laureate of North Carolina visit Barton last Wednesday. As we've been doing, we offered the leftover promotional posters to attendees to get autographed.
We ran out pretty fast and just after I handed out the last one, a student came up and asked if there were any left.
I said sorry, they're all gone.

I've witnessed two major meltdowns in our healthcare this week.
First, a family member who is extremely health-compromised caught COVID-19 for the first time. Due to many underlying health issues, it was of the upmost importance he get immediate attention and begin an antiviral. Just as the CDC recommends.
His first call was to his primary care provider who said they could not see him since he had symptoms of COVID-19. He would need to go to an immediate care.

This photo originally published in The Nashville Graphic on October 18, 1983. Northern Nash High School visited its "adopted" home of Nashville holding a Homecoming parade in downtown.