NASHVILLE - What began as a horrific animal neglect investigation took a sickening turn last Wednesday into a case of child abuse, resulting in the arrest and imprisonment of a Nashville mother.
Nancy Beth Gupton, 39, of 5388 W. Castalia Road was charged with felony child abuse and animal cruelty after her Nov. 12 arrest at the home, where Nash County Animal Control called for assistance from the Nash County Sheriff's Office.

NASHVILLE - An 825-acre, 50-megawatt solar farm to be created through a combination of 19 tracts of land is on tap for rezoning consideration at the Dec. 8 Nash County commissioners' meeting. The project received initial rezoning approval from the Nash County planning board Nov. 17.
The developer, Castalian Spring Solar Farm, a subsididary of Hexagon Development, LLC, currently has lease agreements with all the parcel owners.

Masonic Morningstar Lodge #85 in Nashville celebrates 200 years with a banquet. Pictured, Carl Smith joins others to cut the ceremonial cake. Graphic photo by Nancy West-Brake

NASHVILLE - "Without our history, we have no future," said Charles Bell, Chaplain of Masonic Morningstar Lodge #85, during remarks Nov. 14 to celebrate a milestone achievement with plenty of history: the 200th Lodge anniversary. That makes the organization, chartered in 1825, the oldest continually operating institution in Nashville according to Donald Street, former town mayor.

SPRING HOPE - Two new ordinances have been adopted to tighten code enforcement regarding vacant and/or commercial properties.
A "vacant properties ordinance" and a "commercial building maintenance ordinance" were both approved at the Nov. 10 town meeting.

MOMEYER - Six months after beginning the process to overhaul and update town ordinances, the process is not yet complete, with some grumbling on the part of town leaders at their Nov. 10 council session.
Mid-East Commission, hired by the town to do the job after a meeting April 14, was first expected to produce a rough draft by June but a completion date has been pushed back several times.

Brittany Pendleton, Nash County Agriculture Agent, and Kelsey Grapperhaus meet "King," a Piedmontese herd bull during the Women in Agriculture Tour. Graphic photo by Nancy West-Brake

The 2025 Regional Women in Agriculture Banquet and Operations Tour, conducted Nov. 7 and 8 in Whitakers and Middlesex locations, fostered networking and empowerment for women farmers.
Heather Glennon, Nash County Extension Director and Livesock Agent was keynote speaker at the banquet, held at Wollett Mill Farm's event venue in Whitakers.
"For too long, our stories have gone untold.

The 8th annual Christmas Festival, "Christmas on Red Oak Farm," will take place Saturday, Nov. 29, from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., with the parade scheduled for 4 p.m. and tree lighting at the end.
For more information visit www.townofredoaknc.com/2025-red-oak-christmas-festival.

NASHVILLE - As promised last month, Nash commissioners have formally passed a resolution to ask the state to undo the missing left turn situation at Old Carriage and Sunset, this time sharing their request with every senator and representative in the state.
"I think we've all seen what (the no left turn) has done to the businesses there and what's it done to the motoring public," said Robbie Davis, commissioner, who introduced the resolution at the Nov. 3 commissioners' meeting.

ROCKY MOUNT- A collision between a vehicle and a horse and rider in Rocky Mount sent the rider to the hospital but resulted in euthanasia for the horse, which suffered a broken leg.
According to a redacted copy of the DMV traffic report released by the Rocky Mount Police Department, the accident happened on N. Church Street between Boddie Court and Sullivan lane on Friday, Nov. 7.

NASHVILLE - A proposed 46-lot housing subdivision off W. Hornes Church Road northeast of Bailey has been shot down, its request for conditional rezoning denied in a split vote by Nash County commissioners Nov. 3rd.
The C.T. Williams corporation requested rezoning for 44 undeveloped acres on the west side of W. Hornes Church Road, owned by Joan Joyner Taylor, to be switched from its current 40,000 square feet lot size to single-family RA-30-CZ, a more dense development.

NASHVILLE - A 406-acre chunk of land that butts up against Red Oak's municipal limits will be considered by county commissioners for general rezoning, even without a sketch plan for potential development.
The subject property, owned by Becky D. Smith and located on the north side of Red Oak Battleboro Road, east of the town of Red Oak Line, is currently split between two zoning districts;

NASHVILLE - A waiver request for a new 32-lot subdivision near the Nash-Wilson County line near the Bloomery Swamp has been approved by Nash Commissioners, with the waiver needed for a longer-than-usual new interior road.
Owned by the Barnes Land Corporation and located on the south side of Friday Road, Sims, and dubbed the Friday Cove subdivision, the land parcel is surrounded on three sides by water, including the Bloomery Swamp to the south and riparian waterways (streams) and ponds to either side.

Roland Harper celebrated his 90th birthday surrounded by family and friends during a party held at Coopers Ruritan Club. Harper was born Nov. 12, 1935. He took over his father's business as a wholesale plant nursery in 1963, retiring in 1999. Today the business, Harper's Nursery, is operated by his son, Mike Harper. In addition to his son, Roland has one grandchild and one great-grandchild.

NASHVILLE- The seat for Whitakers' third commissioner seat- where there was a tie vote between challenger John Ford and incumbent commissioner Janice Bellamy- was decided by lot Nov. 17 during a Board of Elections meeting.
John Ford was the winner, his name drawn out of a box by Cole Strickland, Soil and Water Director, who was asked to do the job by John Kearney, Elections Director. Bellamy's name was the only other one in the box, both names written on plastic chips.

My wife and I attended the National Quartet Convention in September. It is a week-long event that features hundreds of southern gospel groups as well as numerous nationally recognized ministers.
If you are unfamiliar with this genre of music, it is well represented by the songwriter, Bill Gaither. Mr. Gaither has written thousands of songs. Two of his most recognized ones are "He Touched Me" and "Because He Lives".

I am sure we have all asked someone how they were doing, and then after they got through telling us the truth, we said to ourselves, I didn't ask for all of that. Sometimes we just ask the question because it's the culturally accepted thing to do, but all of us should ask ourselves if we truly care for others. Let's consider Nehemiah 1:1-3.
[1] The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.

Before we investigate the historical resurrection claim that Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead, something more must be said about the Gospels here. We had said early on that in order to have a conversation about the existence of God and the truthfulness of Christianity, some common ground must be sought and claimed if the Christian and the unbeliever are going to have any meaningful conversation about religious things. This holds especially true for religious conversations with the Bible skeptics like "Michael." Where do we find common ground?

Women in Action met at Red Oak Baptist Church on Tuesday, Nov. 11. The missions group supported My Sister's House again this year by providing Christmas gifts for a family. The next meeting will be on Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 6:30 p.m. at the church.
The youth and children are currently selling car wash coupons for Tidal Wave Auto Spa. Coupons are $10 each good for one $30 Graph - X4 car wash. They will be selling these through November and proceeds support the youth and children attending summer camps.

The East Carolina Council, Scouting America, and its Northern District have announced that Beth Covolo, Rocky Mount Academy's Head of School, was presented with the 2025 Tar River Region Distinguished Citizen Award.
"Beth Covolo is being recognized for a lifetime of leadership and generosity to the local Scouting program in Rocky Mount and surrounding communities.

Joe Rudy Perry Sr. and Patricia Burgess Perry to Perry Revocable Living Trust, Joe Rudy Perry Sr. and Patricia Burgess Perry; 5.18 acres
B.E.R. Trading Company, LLC to Thankful Spirit, LLP; property along West Haven Boulevard, Rocky Mount
Jacqueline Evans Hunter to Jacqueline Evans Hunter and Jermaine Evans; 1368 North Old Franklin Road and 1392 North Old Franklin Road, Spring Hope
Christy Bailey and Christy H. Lamm to Johnathan Lamm; 3.86 acres

Resisting arrest/hinder and delay; DWI; fail to maintain lane control; yield right of way turning left; Washington St., Nashville; 10/20/25
Financial transaction card fraud; obtain property by false pretense; East Evans Dr., Nashville; 10/20/25
Larceny misdemeanor; Nashville Commons Drive, Nashville; 10/21/25
Larceny misdemeanor; East Evans Dr., Nashville; 10/22/25

Financial transaction card fraud reported at 105 Drake St., Nashville on 10/30/25
Larceny felony reported at 11271 Christian Rd., Wilson on 10/27/25
Assault on law enforcement officer at 1616 Corinth Rd., Nashville on 11/1/25
Larceny of dog reported at 2017 Wiley Rd., Spring Hope on 10/29/25

RALEIGH - The N.C. Forest Service is offering a 20% discount on tree seedling orders placed by active, honorably discharged or retired military personnel throughout November. The discount applies to the first $500 for all new orders, up to a $100 discount.
"Many veterans and current military members serving to protect our freedoms are also woodland owners who work hard to help keep North Carolina forests healthy and thriving," said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. "This discount is one way we can show our appreciation to those who have given so much."

All my life, I've been able to count on Sweet N' Low being on every restaurant table, whether it be a beloved greasy spoon, a classic barbecue joint or even fancy places.
This allowed my mama and me to turn away those scowls other patrons when we did the ungodly and ordered "unsweetened" tea in public.
However, I've noticed that I can no longer take this product being available for granted.

This time of year always reminds me of a time during my childhood when my mother and I would head to a little ceramic shop near Spring Hope several nights a week to paint items for Christmas gifts.
I recall her explaining there were a lot of pretty things we could choose to paint for gifts to give others. I was 10 years-old, so you would think my mind was only in a direction of what Santa could bring to me, not what we would be working on for others.

Dear editor: I've spent most of my life fighting for communities where the nearest grocery store was miles away -- places called "food deserts," where hunger hides in plain sight.
Today, millions of Americans -- 40 million nationwide, and 1.4 million right here in North Carolina -- are wondering how they'll feed their families because Washington is playing politics with their plates of food.

This photo was pulled from The Nashville Graphic 1962 archives. Contestants for Miss and Mrs. Nash County ride in the 1962 Harvest Festival Parade. We believe these ladies are (left) Miss Jennette Bissette and (right) Mrs. H.V. Langley.