Recent Articles

NASHVILLE - Communities in Schools, a statewide program that focuses on increasing student success and graduation rates for targeted students, is reporting better attendance, test scores and graduation rates while behavioral issues are decreasing.
Jill Cox, CEO for Communities in Schools NC, addressed the Nash County board of education at an NCPS committee meeting Feb. 23 to show program effects on students in seven Nash schools, including Northern Nash High School, Southern Nash High School, Nash Central High School, Rocky Mount High School and Tar River Academy. CIS is also offered at North Central Middle and Rocky Mount Middle.

A banquet to honor the winners of the VFW annual Voice of Democracy®, Patriot's Pen® essay program, and Law Enforcement Officer of the Year was held at the Post on February 24th. The awards Banquet honors local heroes and acknowledges high school and sixth through eighth grade students essays on a democratic and patriotic-themed recorded essay. Law Enforcement Officer of the Year was Nash County Deputy Sheriff Jack Thorpe. His K-9 partner Fiji was recognized as Law Enforcement K9 of the Year. Voice of Democracy honorees were Teagan Horst and Hannah Lucas. Patriot's Pen honorees were Isaiah Horst and Andrew Lucas.

There's a Del McCoury song called "The Streets of Baltimore" that has a few lines that came to mind last week as a train clack-clacked me north to a writing conference.
The narrator/Del sings, "She said the prettiest place on earth is Baltimore at night" and then a line later, "And I kind of like the streets of Baltimore."
After spending the better part of a week there, it seemed the later lines about being dragged through the streets of Baltimore and "...heading home on that same train that brought me here before" fit better.

I've been asked by a few folks in the past if The Graphic might consider adding the Rocky Mount City Council to its coverage. My quick answer has always been no - unless the management and leadership of Rocky Mount begins to affect people in The Graphic's coverage area - meaning water and utilities.
Nashville relies on Rocky Mount for its water. Some of the rural areas in our coverage area also rely on Rocky Mount for water, natural gas or electricity.
In the past, our coverage has usually been limited to those two things in unison with covering the Nashville Town Council and county government.
It's more than obvious that the leadership of Rocky Mount has (forgive the pun) been on somewhat rocky ground for some time now.

This photo published in The Nashville Graphic on June 27, 1968. Bill Shackleford (pictured far right) explains the process used in bulk tobacco curing to local businessmen who were invited on a tour of farming operations. The curer was owned by L.R. Joyner of Sandy Cross. Bulk barns were becoming more popular at that time in this area.

Where does your food come from? If you're like many Americans, the answer is the grocery store, which is disturbing. The grocery store isn't where food comes from - it's just from where it's distributed. In reality, far too many people are unaware of the role of American agriculture in their daily lives . . . and what it really takes to have food on their dinner table.
Just a few generations ago, most people were a part of - and had friends or relatives involved with - agriculture.

Two Nash County farmers have received NC AgVentures grants, already making plans on how to use the money to further their family farms.
Madison Costa with Fowl Creek Farms of Nashville operates a beef cow-calf operation and produces hay, according to a Feb. 23rd press release from North Carolina State University.
Costa, who received a grant for $8,000, will be purchasing a sprayer to use on pastures and hayfields to increase pasture growth and quality of forage.

NASHVILLE - Two new proposed subdivisions in the Spring Hope area have received county approval for rezoning, adding what could amount to 34 future homes.
The larger of the two subdivisions, the Hollow at Hope Creek, was approved for a change from A-1 to RA-30 on just over 25 acres of land on the east side of W. Old Spring Hope Road. The subject property, approved for 28 lots, lies between the five-lot Tar River Hills subdivision to the north and the nine-lot Brenda Dickerson subdivision to the south.

There is a new miniseries about the late John F. Kennedy, Jr. It's hard to believe his plane crash was 25 years ago. Death seems to work its way earlier into the Kennedy family than it does in most other families. Why?
Well, the Kennedy's were and are a family of risk takers. President Kennedy was advised not to go to Dallas. He not only went, but rode in a convertible, waving to onlookers while his assassin patiently waited for him.

In light of the resurrection, the apostle Paul rightly makes a bold claim that Jesus really is who He says He is. Further, Paul writes to the Romans that He "was declared the Son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom 1:4). Considering Jesus's divine nature, one might naturally ask; "what exactly did Jesus think about the Bible?" because if Jesus is who He says that He is, then it matters a great deal what He thought about the Bible.

One of the last encounters with Jesus before He enters Jerusalem is recorded in Mark 19:1-10
You perhaps remember learning a song about him years ago, maybe in Sunday school or a Vacation Bible School.
"Zacchaeus was a wee little man - And a wee little man was he - He climbed up in a sycamore tree - For the Lord he wanted to see."
Zaccheaus was short in stature and people following Jesus made it impossible for him to see Jesus. Well, what do you do when you face these obstacles?

Several ladies enjoyed the Nash County Spring WMU meeting on Monday, March 9 at West Edgecombe Baptist Church. The meeting included the call to order by Kay Turner, chairperson, and minutes from the last meeting shared by Beverly Perry, secretary/treasurer. The Nash County WMU Banner was passed this year from Audrey Pearce, WMU Director at Red Oak Baptist Church, to Ben Mary Bradley, WMU Director at West Edgecombe Baptist Church. There was also a time for churches to share projects and upcoming events, and missionaries John and Pat Gordy. John and Pat shared stories from the field in China and Africa.

Despite a "no" from the Planning Board, Castalia's Board of Commissioners gave a local developer the green light last Tuesday night, unanimously approving a rezoning of the vacant Family Dollar building on Main Street.
The unanimous vote transitions the property from retail (B-1) to light industrial (L-1). While the move technically raises the floor for what can be built on the site, board members argued that the town's permit process provides enough oversight to block businesses--like vape shops or gaming halls--that wouldn't benefit the community.

NASHVILLE - A decided lack of trust on the part of some members of the public permeated a recent public hearing on a rezoning application to turn a house into office space. Nearby residents were vocal at both the March 3rd council meeting and an earlier planning board meeting, stating that they are afraid the developer is going to try for apartment complexes.
In the end, the application was withdrawn in favor of submitting a new one asking for conditional rezoning.

BAILEY - Under warm sunshine at the edge of a field that sits atop one of the highest geographical points of Nash County, a community of stakeholders participated March 5th in groundbreaking for the new Southern Nash Middle School.
Among those participating in the 11 a.m. event were five sixth-graders at the current SNMS, who will walk the halls of the new school when they become 8th-graders.

SPRING HOPE - In order to combat the problem of people erecting cemetery stones across plot lines, town officials are considering issuing permits to ensure correct placement.
Clinton Hedgepeth, cemetary contractor, said at the March 3 board of commissioners' meeting that there was a problem at both Meeks and Oak Dale cemeteries with incorrect stone placement.