Recent Articles

Ralph and Diane Sykes will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on Thursday, March 27. Ralph Edward Sykes is from Nash County and Martha Diane Smith is originally from Valrico, Florida. The two were married on March 27, 1964 at Diane’s home. They have three sons: Edward R. Sykes, Brad C. Sykes and Reade B. Sykes and one granddaughter, Victoria Rose Sykes. The family will have a private celebration for the couple.

William Peace University, a private four-year university located in downtown Raleigh, announced that Leeann Pace, of Castalia, is a 2013 Fall Dean’s Scholar. Pace, along with 66 other students, maintained a 4.0 GPA and earned an A in each course for the fall semester.

Local resident Ronnie Lee was recently recognized for receiving the #1 Leading Sales Representative Award for Fire in 2013. Lee lives in the Oak Level community and is an insurance agent with United Insurance Company in Rocky Mount.

Rotarian President Krista Ikirt, right, stands with US Senator Richard Burr, who spoke to the Rocky Mount Rotary Club on Monday, March 17th at the DoubleTree hotel during their 1pm meeting.

A local Jeep club is hosting an event to raise money for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. 
The Banana Slap Jeep Club, along with Mike Keffer Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, will host a Jeep Day on Saturday, March 29 from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. behind the dealership at the club’s private obstacle course.
The event is free and open to the public, however, donations for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation will be accepted.

The Northern Nash Drama Department will present  Rodgers & Hammerstein’s beloved musical CINDERELLA at the Imperial Centre on the Maria V. Howard Stage Friday, March 28 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, March 29 at 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday matinee audiences are invited to a special reception with Cinderella before the show from 12 noon-1 p.m.  where there will be treats, games, and prizes.  You can even get your picture taken with Cinderella.

Nash County Ruritans joined together last Tuesday for the 55th Annual Meeting of the Nash County Ruritan Clubs.
The meeting began by remembering the six Ruritans who had passed away over the past year.
The meeting also included the installation of officers for 2015.

Last Thursday’s 2014 Advancement Spelling Bee, sponsored by Delta Center for Life Development, Inc. and Teacher Education Program of North Carolina Wesleyan College, presented a spirited competition that ended with Southern Nash Middle student Hailey Lancaster earning first place honors. Lancaster is a sixth grade student at Southern Nash Middle. 

Nash-Rocky Mount Public Schools was recently awarded the Green Ribbon from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s Safe and Healthy Schools Support Division and will now represent the state in national competition. NRMPS was the only school district to receive this designation in 2014. Exploris Middle School in Wake County was the school selected to also move forward to the national competition.

Western Carolina University recently announced its graduation and Dean’s List for the Fall 2013 Semester.
The university recently conferred degrees on approximately 670 students who completed their studies during the fall semester. A total of 223 undergraduate students received academic honors, with 53 graduating summa cum laude (with highest honors), 102 graduating magna cum laude (with high honors) and 68 graduating cum laude (with honors).

Hobgood Academy Honor Rolls
The following students at Hobgood Academy made the Principal’s List (A’s) or the Honor Roll (A’s and B’s) the fourth six weeks of school.

Congressman G.K. Butterfield visited Nash-Rocky Mount Public Schools in Nashville recently night to speak with a group of students, parents, teachers, administrators and school board members on how federal government policies are impacting public education.

Nash Central Middle School students recently netted the top honors at the middle school Quiz Bowl competition held March 12 at the Booker T. Theater in Rocky Mount. This was the second year in a row that students from the school won the competition.
The Nash Central Middle School’s Quiz Bowl team earned first place after achieving nine wins and a total of 955 points.  Their team, coached by teacher Stephen Tobie, answered questions from all academic disciplines, as well as pop culture to achieve the victory.

Twenty-two NRMPS schools were recognized by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction for their implementation of Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) programs. 
PBIS programs are a way to impact the learning environments in the schools in order to support high student performance and to reduce behavioral problems. PBIS has been implemented in NRMPS since the 2005-2006 School Year.

What is the first thing you do, especially when adopting or buying a female pet? After getting an ID tag and collar, you need to go to the veterinarian for spay! Otherwise, you may be presented with more than you bargained for.  It isn’t a moral issue, it is a health issue. Besides what will you do if a couple of months down the road you have a lot of pets? 

Our choir sang “The Windows of Heaven Are Open” for the call to worship. Pastor Ronnie  prayed the prayer of invocation and welcomed everyone. Hymns of worship were “The Lily of the Valley” and “Surely Goodness and Mercy.” Algie Jones Jr. led the singing. Prayer concerns were shared and remembered.

It was a chilly March morning as Peachtree folks gathered at church for worship.  Sanctuary flowers were grown and arranged by Beth Baines.  She and her sister, Patsy, gave them in memory of their parents, Willie and Kezia Griffin; their brother, Spencer; Beth’s husband, Bobby Baines.

Englewood Baptist Church in Rocky Mount will host Matt Papa’s “Look and Live Tour” on Friday, April 4 at 6:30 p.m.
The North Roanoke Baptist Association is sponsoring the 2014 Youth Event, which will showcase Matt Papa and feature special guest Cloverton.

Women in Action will meet at Red Oak Baptist Church on Thursday, March 27 at 6:30 p.m.
The Bible study at Red Oak United Methodist Church concluded Friday, March 2. During the study they reviewed the Belt of Truth, the Breastplate of Righteousness, Feet Sandaled with the Gospel of Peace, the Shield of Faith, the Helmet of Salvation, the Sword of the Spirit, and the Power of Prayer.

USDA North Carolina Farm Service Agency (FSA) Executive Director Bob Etheridge encouraged everyone to appreciate the hard working farmers and ranchers in North Carolina on March 25, which was National Ag Day. This year’s theme was “Agriculture:  365 Sunrises and 7 Billion Mouths to Feed.”

Brian Davis of Nashville and Kasey Clift of Bunn are performers in Forest Moon Theater Company’s first youth production, Curiosity Cat. The play premiered Friday and continues this coming weekend, March 28-29.
Directed by Heather Snow Clark, Curiosity Cat is the story of two displaced children living with their aunt, and a stray cat named Curiosity, whose own effort at helping other stray cats find somewhere to live eventually leads him and the children to a place they can all call home together.

Rocky Mount Academy participated in the Eastern District of the North Carolina Music Educators Association Showcase in Wilson on Saturday, March 1, 2014. Liz Lehnes and Baileigh James both received a Superior Rating. Raven Norton, Nyla Green and Spencer Bulluck all received an Excellent Rating. All five students performed vocal solos in Italian.  Pictured (L-R) is: Nyla Green, Baileigh James, Spencer Bulluck, Raven Norton and Liz Lehnes.

Wednesday, April 2 from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m at Faith Christian School, 1333 Faith Christian Drive, Rocky Mount
Thursday, April 3 from 8:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. at Nash Community College, 522 N Old Carriage Road, Rocky Mount
Saturday, April 5 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m at Thorne’s Chapel Baptist Church, 1624 Windsor Drive, Rocky Mount

The 2014 Special Olympics North Carolina Eastern Basketball Tournament was held in Selma, Smithfield, Micro and Kenly on Saturday, March 15 and provided a full day of competition for more than 600 athletes, according to Keith L. Fishburne, SONC president/CEO.

BUNN -- Even though Nash Central High School is in a semi-rebuilding mode this spring in girls soccer, it was still expected that the Lady Bulldogs would be solid on the defensive side of the ball.
So while Central has been searching for some forwards to step up and become offensive threats, the defense has been sturdy, led by senior goalkeeper Abigail Ross.