Recent Articles

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.

The Helping Hand Outreach Ministry conducted its annual Christmas event at 105 Surry Drive, Nashville, on Saturday, Dec. 20. Visitors were able to bag free clothing from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., while bag lunches, drinks and hot soup were provided between 11 a.m. and noon. Children were able to visit with Santa Claus, shop for toys and pick a gift for their parents, with gift wrapping provided. A bicycle giveaway was also conducted via ticket selection.

Serenity, age 3, is all smiles with her gift of Charm bracelets.

Let me be clear, I am looking forward to 2026, I think New Year's is great and I'm excited.
With a nod to the president, it will probably be the best year, and a lot of folks already think that, and that it will be a year like no one has ever seen.
I used to love to stay up and watch the New Year turn over and marvel at how Dick Clark's hair always looked the same as mine retreated and lost its original color despite being 40 years younger than the man. It remains a mystery.

A week after the 106 South Boddie Street in downtown building was bulldozed, we arrived one morning to work at our office to find a glass inkwell sitting at our back door.
For those who missed a recent history of the building, the South Boddie Street building housed The Graphic in the early 1900s until selling the paper to Tom and Joe Wilson - who then moved the paper to North Boddie Street.

This photo published in The Nashville Graphic on November 28, 1968. Congressman Harold D. Cooley cuts the ribbon to dedicate Nashville's new sewer treatment plant. Looking on (left to right) are L.R. Bass, Jr. and Woodrow Griffin, town board members, and Mayor Rex Paramore.

The gospel rests on three giant pillars:

•Jesus' virgin birth
•Jesus' atoning death
•Jesus' bodily resurrection

While the Easter season celebrates Jesus' death and resurrection, Christmas focuses on the virgin birth.

In our investigation of non-Christian sources that speak of Jesus and His crucifixion, we have thus far looked at the writings of Cornelius Tacitus. We also began investigating what the ancient historian Josephus had to say about Jesus. This week, we continue to look at his writings. The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus mentions Jesus in a work dated AD 93 titled Antiquities of the Jews. This passage, known as the Testimonium Flavianum, reads:

More than 200 guests were treated to a surprise mini-concert and free meals when members of Word Tabernacle Church returned to its tradition of partnering with Pizza Inn during the Christmas season.
From 6-7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 22, members of the Word Tabernacle Church choir shared songs, and members interacted with guests as they dined at the Pizza Inn located on Hunter Hill Road in Rocky Mount.

Neal Cobb of Oak Level dropped by The Nashville Graphic office to show an 11 pound turnip from his garden.

Momeyer Properties, LLC to Samantha Herring Wade and Tyler Blade Wade; 21.39 acres; $48,500
Adams Homes AEC, LLC and Don J. Adams to Nina P. Palmiotto; Breedlove, Lot 42; $390,000
Ta'nair Pinkett, Ta'nair Thompson, Morris Pinkett, Kennith Montrel Greene, Michael Greene, Michael Lavern Greene, Lisa M. Greene, Kelvin Ricks and Kelvin Carl Ricks to Ta'nair Pinkett, Michael Lavern Greene, Kelvin Carl Ricks, Ta'Nair Thompson, Morris Pinntet and Kenith Montrel Greene; .38 acres and .13 acres of NC 43

Today I preached a message focusing on the response of the shepherds to the announcement of Jesus birth. In 2025 and going forward, the Christian response to the birth of Jesus is characterized by a "faithful urgency" that moves beyond mere seasonal tradition to focus on the transformative power of the Incarnation in a broken world. For modern Baptists, the birth of Christ is not just a historical event but a call to immediate worship, joyful witness, and active service. A Return to Biblical Authority The modern Baptist response begins with a firm commitment to the authority of Scripture. Rather than following purely cultural traditions, congregations going forward from here must emphasize searching the Word to understand the "mystery of godliness". This involves: