Recent Articles

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

NASHVILLE - Well over 300 people gathered at the O.D. Moore building in Nashville Jan. 19th for the annual MLK Banquet in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., fittingly conducted on the federal holiday set aside in King's honor.
The event, organized by the Nashville Willing Workers, included a luncheon and multiple speeches reflecting on King's ideals and how those need to be applied to struggles today.

SPRING HOPE - The town of Spring Hope, sharing results of its 2025 audit at the January town board meeting, got some glowing praise from its auditor, who described the town's financials as "very clean."
Sam Potts of Thompson, Price, Scott, Adams & Co, via live telephone call that was easily audible at the Jan. 5 meeting, went over a power point summary of the town's audit from June 2025.

NASHVILLE- - An inaugural landowner summit, well-attended with 82 people present at the Nash County Agriculture Center Jan. 9, offered attendees a volume of information about how to preserve family farmland. Presenters from Nash County, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, NC State, Working Lands Trust and a legal firm experienced in succession planning talked farmers through options for what to do and how to do it.
Farmers asked questions before, during and after the presentations.

NASHVILLE- Now that Nash County commissioners have pledged a half million dollars to pay for five additional school resource officers, the three agencies involved - the school system, Nash County Sheriffs Office, and Rocky Mount PD- are working out hiring details.
Leondus Farrow, Associate Superintendent for Nash County Public Schools, gave an update to the school board at their Jan. 8 meeting, detailing which elementary schools would be receiving new full-time officers, and which would be retaining the ones they have, previously having been split half-time between two schools.

Broderick Cande Bello, M.D., a well known family physician serving Nashville and Nash County, passed away Jan. 11, 2026.
Dr. Bello came to Nashville to serve as a physician at Boice-Willis Clinic in 2001. February would have been his 25th anniversary with the clinic.
Bello was a graduate of the University of Virginia earning both his undergraduate and medical degrees at UVA.
After serving in the US Navy, he continued to serve as an active duty medical officer and physician.

RED OAK- In order to prevent a potential flood of nuisance property complaints where those complaining don't give their names, Red Oak town officials are sticking to their guns by enforcing current policy: a complainant has to sign the nuisance complaint form.
"I've talked with Jackie (Johnson, Zoning Officer) and we need to get things cleaned up before there's a problem," said Sandra Russ, commissioner, at the Jan. 12 town council meeting.