NASHVILLE - The issue of how the town of Nashville will handle shipping containers is one step closer to completion after yet another ordinance draft was reviewed at the Jan. 20 planning board meeting.
Still to come is another planning board meeting on the subject in February to consider display regulations for shipping container sales in the town's B-1 and I-1 districts.

NASHVILLE - In order to close the books on properties with multiple years of unpaid taxes, the town of Nashville has contracted with a legal firm specializing in foreclosures.
Nashville currently has 35 properties that owe $500 or more in back taxes, amounting to $142,780. A list of said properties, none of which are using payment plans, were attached as an agenda item at the Jan. 21 council meeting. Two hundred and thirty-five properties were listed.

About sixty crowded Nash Arts Friday, Jan. 16, for Spark The Stage Talent Takeover, a fund-raising talent show event, which featured seven performing artists competing with two performances each for prizes of $500, $250 and $100. Winners (above) were (L-R) Cameron May, vocals (2nd place); Carrington Pippen, performing jazz dance (first place); and Sophie Taylor, vocals and guitar (third place).

NASHVILLE - After several months of inactivity and violations of attendance policy by a former member, who has since been removed, Nashville's Downtown Strong Advisory Board (DSAB) will re-convene with three new board members.
Slade Woodard, Latanyna DuBois and Michael Aycock were all appointed at the Jan. 21 town council meeting.
Shawn Lucas, Planning Director, introduced DuBois and Woodard while explaining that Aycock, co-owner of the Trash 2 Treasuresrmt antique store on W. Washington Street, was unable to be present at the morning council meeting because he was on the road collecting antiques.

NASHVILLE - A four-generation, family-based business, Eastern Petroleum, has moved its corporate headquarters from Enfield to Nashville, celebrating its official ribbon-cutting on Jan. 22nd.
Located on 726 E. Washington Street, Eastern Petroleum, headed up by Audrey Shearin, President, "EP" owns and operates 12 EP Marts in Nash, Edgecombe, Halifax and Wake Counties, all of which are either branded Shell or Exxon.

ROCKY MOUNT - A tightly-timed full slate of candidates spoke at a Nash County Democratic Party Meet and Greet Jan. 22, the event occurring at Democratic party headquarters in Rocky Mount inside 301 S. Church Street's station square.
Cassandra Stroud Conover, county party chair, introduced nearly 20 candidates, most appearing in person but some speaking their piece via live Zoom calls. The event ran from 6 p.m. to nearly 8.

NASHVILLE - The first of two planned Nash County GOP Meet and Greets took place during the evening of Jan. 20 at the Elks Lodge in Nashville, featuring eight candidates for seats in the U.S. Senate, 1st District US Congress, NC Senate and NC House of Representatives.
Emceed by Owen Strickland II, Bailey Mayor and Chairman of the Nash County Republican Party, the event ran from 6:30 to 8 p.m., with each candidate having six minutes each to speak. Strickland said the candidates' order was done by drawing names from a hat.

SPRING HOPE- A long-planned street resurfacing project, which involves work on Second Street, Virginia Street, N. Walnut Street and Cherrington Court, has come down to planning its financial nuts and bolts- and choosing between two firms with similar price proposals.
Andrew DeIonno, town manager, presented commissioners Jan. 5th with project estimates by two firms: Wooten Company and Appian, for preliminary engineering and design, stating that both were "very capable engineers."

NASHVILLE -A conditional rezoning application designed to allow temporary mobile home placement on two acres of land in Battleboro has been bumped up to the county commissioners for consideration, albeit amid concerns from the county planning board that the approval could "open the door" for similar applications.
William Hold Ward, property owner, has applied for a conditional rezoning request to carve 2 acres out a larger 58-acre tract, the portion currently falling in two different zoning designations, in order to allow his daughter and her new husband to put a single-wide mobile home there until they build a permanent home on land the couple owns elsewhere.

NASHVILLE- The final phase of damage control over the town's backflow prevention debacle has concluded, with a council decision made to partially reimburse commercial customers whose water heaters broke after the backflow prevention devices were installed.
Town council members cast a split vote Jan. 21 to reimburse those customers for pro-rated replacement costs based on the water heaters' ages.

NASHVILLE - Madelyn's Flowers and Gifts just celebrated its 75th year as a part of Nashville history. The downtown florist shop operates with deep community roots, including regular participation in graduations and proms for Northern Nash High School, Nash Central High School and Nash Community College.
Given that flowers are 'good from birth to death and everything in between,' as they say in the business, that opens the door for owner Kaylan Collie and her staff to play a part in the highs and lows of people's lives.

We recently celebrated New Year's Day. It's the one day of the year when we look back at the year we've just experienced in relation to the year that lies ahead of us.
If you're like me, you are already hoping to see some much needed changes in your life during 2026. Although we call them "New Year's Resolutions", they are really nothing more than a list of the things that are frustrating us most in life. Interesting, isn't it? Our New Year's Resolutions often point to some of our most glaring weaknesses.

Last time, we began to look at three broad categories of criticism raised against the Christian resurrection narrative: First, critics claim the Christian resurrection is a legend that began long ago and has been perpetuated and perfected over time. Second, critics claim the Christian resurrection narrative violates Ockham's razor. And the third category of criticism against the Christian resurrection narrative is that the supporting sources of evidence are deficient. This week, we begin by taking a closer look at the claim that the resurrection narrative is legend.

A Reflection for the local Church Family
The story of Gideon in Judges 6-7 has resurfaced with fresh meaning for many believers today. It's a powerful reminder that God often works in ways that defy human logic, and that His strength shines brightest when our resources seem small.

Kevin Brown to Donald Ray Bailey and Belinda Bailey; Whitley Crossing, Phase 2, Lot 20; $352,000
Jonathan Stokes Powell Jr., Adalia W. Powell, William L. Powell II, William Luther Powell II, Agnes Burhoe Powell, Christian Powell Glasgow and Howard Wilson Glasgow Jr. to Bertie Threesome, LLC; 1.15 acres
George G. Bailey and Peggy C. Bailey to George G. Bailey Jr.; 2121 Edinborough Road, Rocky Mount

Malicious conduct by prisoner reported at 100 N. Boddie St., Nashville on 1/22/26
Identity fraud reported at 105 Drake St., Nashville on 1/23/26
Larceny misdemeanor reported at 10696 E. NC 97, Rocky Mount on 1/23/26
Larceny misdemeanor reported at 11331 Red Bud Rd., Castalia on 1/20/26

BUSINESS OF THE SEASON - The Nashville Chamber of Commerce honors Piggly Wiggly of Nashville with the Winter Business of the Season Award. Pictured, left to right: Chamber Board Member Scott Hale; Piggly Wiggly Store Manager D.J. Daughridge; Chamber Board Member Diane Taylor; Chamber Board Member Latanya DuBois. Back row: Chamber President Cliff Joyner; Chamber Board Member Koy Worrell.

Northern Nash vs. Nash Central Flag Football Photo By Nash County Public Schools

With last year as the pilot season for flag football, with all four Nash high schools participating, plans are underway for a second year of competition, particularly with the stellar standings for Southern Nash and Northern Nash High School.
Plans, however, remain on hold until a call is made by the NCHAA (the North Carolina High School Athletic Association) on which season it will be in, although indications are that flag football will become a sanctioned sport.

If you're reading this, it is likely you survived the Storm of the Century of the Week. If you're not reading this, I don't know why, the Graphic is pretty cheap, has a lot of useful stuff, and after used, it is appreciated by good boy dogs and people looking to start a fire.
According to TV media, every storm is "historic," and likely the end of mankind. Reporters often seem disappointed when we didn't all get freeze dried as they stand outside in sideways wind and sleet.

This week's edition features our annual Year in Review which captures many of the top stories from 2025.
This section has, in the past, been pretty easy to put together. However now, with all the growth of the communities we cover and the extensive coverage we offer, it's quite the challenge to make all of those top stories fit in the allotted space! Quite frankly, during the layout of the section, I actually had to cut close to 50 percent of the copy because we're covering that much more than in the past!

This photo published in The Nashville Graphic on Feb. 29, 1968. Susan Beard was crowned miss Rocky Mount by Ann Robertson, the outgoing queen, while Greyson Shuff (left), second runner-up, and Josephine Woodard, first runner-up, look on.