Recent Articles

NASHVILLE - Fluctuating temperatures are being blamed for warping and then breaking steel tracks near the Nashville Junction Dec. 31st, causing two cars to derail. Both cars were full of cracked corn.
The cars have since been righted, but railway officials were still effecting track repairs as of Jan. 6.
The Nashville Fire Department got a call from Public Works at about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday to relate that several cars had come off the rails.

This newspaper should have hit your mailbox around Jan. 8 or so, which means that many New Year's resolutions are headed for the rocky shoals of failure.
Like any good American, I've given this a lot of thought and prioritized one key question: how can I profit from this? Also, if it's not too much trouble or inconvenient, could I help people?
I'm starting a new business. My model is this: if you've made a New Year's resolution that you can't keep -- even though you knew good and well you weren't going to work out for two hours every day -- you contact me.

Spending a little time with my oldest niece and her family recently truly offered an "aha" moment - realizing just how fragile the human attention span is - and how much (or little) it takes to catch (or divert) our attention.
My little great-niece, Lane, who is not yet crawling or walking, had a little rough start with lots and lots of crying for her first few months, as many infants do while adjusting to formulas - and all of the sudden changes of coming into this world.

This photo was taken in January, 1968. A different version of the photo published in The Graphic on Jan. 25, 1968. Barbara Strickland (now Barbara Harris) was ready to challenge anybody to a snowball fight. A light snow had fallen closing schools. Barbara, a junior at Northern Nash, and other students were out and about to play in the snow.

Local teens assisted with the hanging of holiday decorations on December 6th at Historic Stonewall Manor in Rocky Mount. Volunteers were led by Renny Taylor, Nash Central High School AP and Honors American History Teacher and tour guide of Stonewall Manor. The group researched what was used to decorate antebellum homes. All of the greenery came from the trees and bushes on the property.

More is almost always better. That is certainly the case when investigating Jesus's life, death, and resurrection. In the last couple of weeks, we have looked at the writings of Cornelius Tacitus and Flavius Josephus. Both of these first-century writers mention Jesus and His crucifixion and the early tradition of His resurrection from the dead. But there is still more. Several other non-Christian writers mention Jesus and the movement He began.
Pliny the Younger (61--c.113 AD) was a Roman senator and friend of Cornelius Tacitus.

Defining Your
"Shine" for 2026
Spiritual leaders have identified "Shine" as a guiding theme for 2026, rooted in Isaiah 60:1: "Arise, shine, for your light has come". Walking in faith this year isn't about personal striving or perfection; it is about reflecting the light of Christ through your unique identity and calling.

Karen L. Allen and Wesley Gene Allen to Thomas Daniel Allen and Jessica Saunders Allen; 2890 Spring Time Court, Nashville
Providence Bank to DBLII Properties, LLC; 4141 Capital Drive and 4161 Capital Drive, Rocky Mount
William Edwin Gilliam and Ivey Wilson Gilliam to Timothy Richardson, Herbert Richardson and Jacob Richardson; Stone Acres Subdivision, Section 1, Lot 32
Hurt, LLC to Taylor Management Services, LLC; 1286 West Raleigh Boulevard, Rocky Mount; $58,500

Happy New Year!
Red Oak Baptist Church enjoyed several special Christmas events during December. The choir gave a Christmas Cantata which also featured the youth. they also gathered to share special talents during the Family Night and followed that with refreshments.
The Nell Boone Sunday School Class of Red Oak Baptist Church once again provided Christmas gifts for two foster children this year.

The Northern Nash High School community and athletic department lost a true pillar of its history last week, as longtime boys basketball coach Bobby "B.T." Dunn passed away on Monday, December 22 at the age of 87 years old.
Dunn spent 26 years teaching and coaching in Nash County and 34 total years in education, leading the boys basketball program at Northern in the 1970s and 80s before his retirement in 1987.

NASHVILLE- Next steps for Low Performing Schools in Nash County are awaiting DPI state approval after the Nash County School Board approved 2025-2026 school improvement plans at its Dec. 4 board meeting.
School improvement plans are revised annually based on the preceding year's data, said Melissa Dancy-Smith, Asst. Superintendent of Academic Services and Accountability, who initially presented the list of low-performing schools in late October and performance plans on November 24th.

ROCKY MOUNT - Ella Wilks, 11, loves horses. In fact, she seems to eat, breathe and sleep horses. Not entirely unusual, you might say, for a young American girl. But on a closer look, the depth of Wilks' interest - and talent - is extraordinary, not just for her age, but for any age.
Wilks, the daughter of Mary Thurman Wilks and Dustin Wilks, was recently selected to be one of 33 young dressage riders from across the United States, Canada and the Cayman Islands to attend a special two-day clinic in Wellington, Florida, the "Christian Kennedy Future Stars Program Thanksgiving Clinic" at the Global Dressage Festival grounds.

RED OAK- A 98-acre, 67-lot subdivision planned south of E. Castalia Road, Red Oak entitled the "Doughtie Subdivision" is expected to come up for town council rezoning consideration in January after planning board approval Dec. 23rd.
`Owned by Peggy Doughtie of Bethel, the parcel, which engulfs the 15-grave Jesse R. Griffin Cemetery, is part of a current conditional rezoning application by developer Marvin Shearin. It is currently zoned Agricultural but the application is for a change to RM, or Residential Mix. An adjacent property to the south is zoned RM.

SPRING HOPE - Priming is underway on the historic Spring Hope depot, but the question remains about what the final color will be on the restored building once painting is done.
"The building will not be that grey color," said Andrew DeIonno, town manager, referring to the current primer color. DeIonno told The Graphic that town officials had not yet received potential color boards from the architect and general contractor.

The annual "Sheriff's Christmas," a charity drive conducted by the Nash County Sheriff's Office that culminates in a vehicle caravan bearing gifts, took off amidst lights and sirens on the morning of Dec. 23.
Just prior to loading up the more than twenty cars, trucks, SUVs and patrol cars at 9 a.m., Sheriff Keith Stone, who began the tradition in 2015 during his first year in office, briefly addressed 35-40 deputies, friends and family members.

NASHVILLE - An inaugural Landowner Summit for Nash County farmers or anyone interested in getting legal advice on farm and land succession planning is coming up Friday, Jan. 9 at the Nash County Agriculture Center.
The event, free to participants, will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Nash County Agriculture Center, with registration opening at 9:30 a.m. Lunch will be provided.

ROCKY MOUNT- The deadline for a beloved local tradition, the 18th annual "Daddy & Daughter Dance" is Jan. 2, with the Dance to be held two nights, Jan. 9 and Jan. 10, at Brown Auditorium of Nash Community College.
The event will be held both nights from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., with portraits starting at 5:30 p.m.
Leah Huelsing, Recreation Program Supervisor for Nash County, said the decision was made to offer the event on two nights to help with crowd congestion, waiting times and overall enjoyment.