Recent Articles

100 N Boddie St, Nashville; 08/02/26; possession controlled substance prison/jail premises
10601 E NC 97, Rocky Mount; 08/08/26; liquor-open container in passenger area (broken seal); DWI
11046 Old US 64, Spring Hope; 08/04/26; missing persons
13693 Old Raleigh Wilson Rd, Middlesex 08/04/26; trespass-first degree on infrastructure; misuse of 911 system

A Celebration of Life for Xavien Harrison, Pastor and Nashville Town Councilman, who passed away August 11th, will be held Saturday, August 22nd, beginning at 12 noon at Northern Nash High School, 4230 Green Hills Road, Rocky Mount.
Harrison, 53, described by Nashville Mayor Brenda Brown as a "true servant of the community," has a distinguished history of service. A Shaw University graduate and former 8th grade history teacher, Harrison, Pastor at Philadelphia Missionary Baptist Church in Nashville, previously served for years as a youth Pastor for Union Hill Baptist Church.

NASHVILLE - A Nashville teenager arrested during an overdose death investigation may be back in court soon to answer charges following the June 15th drug-related death of a 17-year-old boy.
Dillon Blake Davis, 19, of 5603 Sandy Road, Nashville, was arrested August 11th and charged with the B-2 felony aggravated death by distribution.
The term "aggravated" as part of the charge is typically applied to people who have prior felony convictions for drug offenses within seven years.

RED OAK - At a quiet house in Red Oak sits a workshop filled with what looks like, on first glance, brightly colored children's toys. But they're not toys, they're puppets- and they come to life, each with their own names, voices, personalities and movements, under the hands of their creator, Chris Chappell.
Chappell, soft-spoken and unassuming, doesn't come across as a famous guy, but he is, kinda, with some famous friends. A series of signed photographs on the wall from people like Cheech and Chong, Noel MacNeal (the creator of "Ernie" on Sesame Street), along with film awards tell part of the story.

NASHVILLE- One of Nashville's newer businesses, JB's Billiards at 117 West Church Street, wants to get the message out that you don't have to be good at pool to come by.
"Just come play," said Bobbie Hargrove, manager and co-owner. "We want people to come have a good time without negativity."
'People' also includes children, who can play arcade and pinball games at the front of the hall along with foosball up until 7 p.m.; after that, it is adults only.

Danny Vester of Spring Hope stopped by The Nashville Graphic with a 73-pound cantaloupe grown on his farm. While the state record weight for cantaloupes is 72 pounds, Vester said he disqualified this one himself because it has a "soft spot." Vester grew a world record cantelope in 2018 weighing 65.90 pounds. He also grew a 55 pound cantelope in 2016.

MOMEYER - The town of Momeyer, in mid-swing with an overhaul of zoning regulations, has also been considering proposed changes in term limits, attendance, and eligibility for volunteer boards and committees.
Will Funderburg, Mayor, said August 10th it made sense to review terms, attendance and eligibility while the town code was undergoing some additions. He said he wanted to hear what the council thought.

ROCKY MOUNT - More than 1,200 people, including students, parents, teachers and school administrators, turned out Thursday, July 30th, for the annual Back-To-School Festival conducted by Nash County Public Schools.
Held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Nash Community College's Brown Auditorium, the family-friendly event offered free slushies and ice cream to the first 300 attendees.

SPRING HOPE - Planned street repaving in Spring Hope has been pushed back once again, with a promise August 3rd from town commissioners that they should have a potential work contract ready for a vote in September. In the meantime, the Mayor asked that Public Works look into pothole repair in the Walnut Street area.
Priscilla Capps of 505 Walnut Street addressed the town board earlier this month, asking what happened to what she said was a 2025 promise that Walnut Street would be paved this past April.

SPRING HOPE - An online community survey, completed July 31st, is driving the next work session of the town's Downtown Development Committee
April Barner, owner of the Artists Art Center and member of the town's Downtown Development Board (DDB), updated those present about survey results at the board's August 18th meeting.
Barner said 79 people completed the survey, designed to solicit input from residents, business owners, visitors and non-resident employees.

NASHVILLE - Nash County is one of only two counties in the state to launch a free, online mental health and well-being program, 'CredibleMind,' which is now accessible via a link on the Nash County Health Department page.
"Hosting the CredibleMind platform is important for Nash County because it directly supports two long-standing community health priorities: improving mental health and increasing access to care," said Liz Lord, Deputy Health Director.

It's back to school time and there's unbridled optimism everywhere -- teachers, administrators, students and parents all get a fresh start.
Purveyors of school supplies are running ad after ad. Many local churches and businesses are giving away supplies for those who need help.
However, there are things that should make us all angry about the start of school.
I'm not talking about the folks that act like they don't have any sense in the drop off/pick up line.

We learned of Nashville Town Councilman Xavien Harrison's passing just before our press deadline last week. Immediate information wasn't available for services and due to the printing time, we were not able to gather the information necessary to compile an article for such a pillar of our community.
We published a feature on Xavien in 2016 when he received a double organ transplant. His humble spirit was incredible considering what he had been through.
When Xavien decided to run for a seat on the Nashville Town Council, he visited The Graphic for advice on his advertising.

This photo was taken by The Nashville Graphic during the Spring Hope Pumpkin Festival in 1976.

Spaulding Alumni Association will celebrate its 52nd annual reunion during Labor Day weekend, Sept. 4-6, 2026, on the Spaulding Resource Center Campus.
The theme for this year is "Keeping the Spaulding Spirit Alive." Members and friends will come together to celebrate their commitment to education, their school, and the Spring Hope Community.

When I accepted Christ, I actually thought all my problems would disappear. After all, the burden of sin had been lifted from my shoulders. The sense of euphoria I felt initially placed an unrealistic expectation of what God would do for me. It was wonderful that I had been forgiven. However, the consequences from all those sinful choices I made were still with me. What a bummer!
Even mature Christians can fall into the same trap, too.

We continue this week looking at the biblical story of Cain and Abel (Gen 4:1-17), specifically observing the actions God takes (and does not take) concerning the question of why He may possibly allow evil to exist in the world. According to the biblical narrative, Cain kills his brother Abel in an act of unquenchable jealousy. In response to Cain committing the first murder in history, God acts in several significant ways, and it is from these subsequent actions that we might glimpse possible reasons why God may have allowed evil to exist in this particular case.

Congratulations to Rahsun and Jessica Lawrence and big sister Leilani Ellen, on the birth of their son and brother, Atlas Elio Lawrence born on August 3. Proud grandparents are Jo and Jo Ellen Reams. Great-grandparents are Billy and Marcia Davis.
Red Oak Baptist Church welcomes new member of the church family, Ethan Cockrell.
Women in Action met on Tuesday, Aug. 11 at Red Oak Baptist Church.