A journey that began at Food Lion decades ago began its last leg Friday as A Touch of the Father's Love moved from one old grocery store in Spring Hope to another in Momeyer.
The food bank charity that has fed thousands of people is making its permanent home in the former Bass Brothers IGA in Momeyer.

RED OAK -- The town council may be getting cold feet over a farm-to-table market and restaurant project.
The council voted in October to issue a request for quotes to design and build the ROSE, a multi-purpose agricultural market, farm-to-table restaurant, retail and office space facility to be built next to the Red Oak Fire Department.

Ten years ago, Felix went on an adventure that captured the hearts of local animal rescuers and even American Dog Magazine.
Felix was a stray dog who was brought to the Nash County Animal Shelter and later found a spot at a rescue in Vermont.
During vet checks, it was discovered Felix was heartworm positive so his trip was put on hold until his heartworm treatment was complete.

Local authorities are reminding gun owners to keep their firearms secure after responding late last week to a report of a weapon at Southern Nash Middle School.
The situation developed when someone made an anonymous tip to a school based tipline in reference to a weapon on campus, said Maj. Eddie Moore with the Nash County Sheriff's Office.

Pictured is W.L. Greene Middle School, former Nash Central Training School. Photo courtesy of "The History of NASH COUNTY North Carolina," by Richard L. Mattson.

Nash Central High School Alumni Association has longtime roots in Nash County education through its all-Black school history and O.D. Moore Scholarship offered to graduating high school seniors. Their school's history started in 1924 after concerned Black community members advocated to the Nash County School Board for a training school.

Teenagers and even some grade schoolers face challenges their parents and especially their grandparents never experienced.
That new dangerous path includes cellphones, gun violence and vaping, said Maj. Eddie Moore with the Nash County Sheriff's Office.
First, every school-aged kid has their own cellphone, which creates a ton of new issues that parents, law enforcement and school staff have to deal with, Moore said.

Two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of methamphetamine were reported on 2/13/23 at 10735 E NC 97, Rocky Mount
A misdemeanor larceny was reported on 2/14/23 at 11152 Boykin Road, Bailey
Communicating threats was reported on 2/13/23 at 13057 NC 33, Whitakers

INCIDENTS
A felony larceny was reported on 2/13/23 at 131 Nashville Commons Drive
A driving while license revoked, impaired, rev., speeding, driving while intoxicated and a firearm by a felon was reported on 2/17/23 on US 64E at the 460 mile marker

Renee Chou, news anchor and reporter for WRAL-TV, will be the spring Commencement speaker at North Carolina Wesleyan University. Chou will address NCWU's Class of 2023 during their ceremony at the Rocky Mount Event Center on Saturday, May 6.
Chou is a three-time, Emmy Award-winning anchor/reporter for WRAL-TV News.

Down East Radio Reading Service (DERRS) held its Volunteer Appreciation Dinner in September to celebrate and thank volunteers for all of their efforts in DERRS' mission - to share local newspaper stories and events over the air with fellow residents in the tri-county area who are blind or print-impaired.
Chairman of the Board Arnold Gordon-Bray, BG(R) USA, welcomed volunteers, board members, and guests to the event.

The Town of Bailey sworn in their officers for the Town Planning Board and Board of Adjustment. Pictured (L-R) is: Mike Davis, Tammy Bissette, Scott Hendricks, Chairman Mark Boykin, Vice Chairman Diane Melton, Kourtney Whitley and Lisa Matthews

Authorities say a social media argument between coworkers ended in a deadly shootout that put one man in the hospital and the other in the grave. Now the survivor has been arrested.
Nikita Rajhon Hatch, 34, faces a first-degree murder charge in the Feb. 7 shooting death of 27-year-old Quentin Earl McNair.

The Town of Nashville is seeking input on improvements for J.W. Glover Park.
A public input session is planned for Tuesday, February 28 from 3 until 7 p.m. in Nashville Council Chambers, located in Cooley Library.
The public input session is needed so the town can move forward with applying for funding through the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund (PARTF).

Candida Rosa Romero and Benito Antonio Romero to Edgar Antonio Romero and Yeny Ascencio Salmeron; 1.229 acres
Shirley M. Toney to Jennifer Turcio; Benbrook Subdivision, Section 4, Block G, Lot 9
Tony R. Stone and Brenda C. Stone to Ryan L. Skinner and Wendy W. Skinner; 12346 Old Bailey Highway, Wilson; $69,000

BUILDING PERMIT
(COMMERCIAL)
Meredith Sweitzer; 8921 Shallow Creek Trail; renovation/alteration; $6,000
Joshua Godwin; 5401 N Halifax Road; renovation/alteration; $29,000

The Arbor Day Foundation has named Nashville a 2022 Tree City USA.
Nashville achieved the designation by meeting the program's four requirements: maintaining a tree board or department, having a tree care ordinance, dedicating an annual community forestry budget of at least $2 per capita and hosting an Arbor Day observance and proclamation.

Jill and Bill Lewis, of Spring Hope, recently celebrated 50 years of marriage. Their sons, Eric and Luke, hosted a celebration on February 10 at Pup's Steakhouse in Wilson to honor the couple, who were married in Edenton in 1973 after 14 inches of snow fell overnight. They have two sons, five grandkids and one great grandchild.

WHEW! The minute you say not many at the Shelter, it is a jinx. From 5 dogs to overfull. Adoptions are down. We wish they were open a few hours on Saturdays!
PAWNC keeps having to pull into temporary foster care to give the Shelter enough empty kennels to go into the weekend, in case there are any pickups. Then PAWNC tries to find a rescue or perhaps an adopter. What would happen if PAWNC cannot help? Some die.

John 11 records the miracle of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. John tells the story in a series of conversations. The passage begins with a conversation Jesus has with his disciples about the sickness and death of Lazarus. When he finally arrived in Bethany, Lazarus' sister
Martha confronted him. In the ensuing conversation, Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25). Then Jesus talked with Lazarus' other sister, Mary.

The West Mount Ruritan Club had a special guest speaker at the February regular meeting. Marsha Winstead (at right) shared information on her responsibilities as Social Services Coordinator at Rocky Mount Preparatory School. Following her very interesting and informative remarks, Gladys Winstead (at left), Ruritan member and Chairperson of the Social Development Committee, presented her with a donation from the club to support the school's efforts to meet the needs of its students and help assure success in school.

Patrick Mahomes, of the Kansas City Chiefs, was named this year's NFL MVP and the Super Bowl MVP. That is such a rare occurrence.
The last time it happened was in 1999 when Kurt Warner was also named the NFL MVP and the MVP at Super Bowl XXIV.
When they mentioned Kurt Warner after Patrick Mahomes' honor, I remembered Kurt rushing to the stands to give his wife a victory kiss after his St. Louis Rams won the Super Bowl in 2000.

Women in Action missions group of Red Oak Baptist Church met on Monday, February 13 for their monthly meeting.
The Baptist Men enjoyed their monthly breakfast meeting on Sunday, February 19.
Several from Red Oak Baptist Church attended the Your Choice Resource Center's Celebrate Life Banquet on Thursday, February 16 at Englewood Baptist Church.

Tracey Drewery will become the city of Rocky Mount's interim fire chief effective March 1. He will replace Fire Chief Corey Mercer, who is retiring.
Drewery has worked with the Rocky Mount Fire Department for 25 years and currently serves as the assistant fire chief of administration and planning.
He started as a firefighter with the city on Feb. 23, 1998, and in July 2001 was promoted to fire engineer.

NINTH GRADE - A HONOR ROLL
Yaqeen Al-Hammori, Alyssa Allen, Emma Barnes, Denisse Campos, Adam Collier, Makenzie Edwards, Dylan Evans, Martin Gonzalez, Nicolas Groesser, Isabel Hernandez, Cameron Hunter, Cheyenne Lemus, Andy Liu, Nissi Perez Hernandez, Jakayla Powell, Jimmie Santana-Elias, Hannah Steele, Mallory Sutton, Zariona Terry-Strickland and Olivia Williams

THIRD GRADE - A/B HONOR ROLL
Luke Barwick, Penelope Bass, Calvin Bullock, Joseph Cooper, Alice Currier, Bradley Edwards, Connor Egan, Ethan Hawkins, Abigail Knight, Faith Knox, Leilana Little, Liam Long, Poppy Taylor, Alyssa Torres and Makhii Waring

THIRD GRADE - A/B HONOR ROLL
Avery Baker, Austin Bell, Waylon Carter, Cameron Davis, Dream Fogg, Brantley Oldham, Lauryn Scott, Madilyn Sutton, Amya Taft, Sabrina Tomaszewski, Kaylin Wheless, Desmond Whitaker, Ava Whitley and Bryleigh Wright

Destiny Smith, a junior at the Nash-Rocky Mount Early College High School, was nominated to serve as a delegate to the Congress of Future Medical Leaders on the University of Massachusetts Lowell Campus June 21-23.
The Congress is an honors-only program for high school students who want to become physicians or go into medical research fields.

The Southern Bank Foundation provided a $5,000 grant to the Town of Nashville Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Department. These funds will be used to add pieces of accessible playground equipment designed for children under five years of age and for children with special needs at Stoney Creek Environmental Park. The proposed playground equipment will incorporate musical and imaginary play elements as well.

NINTH GRADE - A HONOR ROLL
Alaina Bailey, Macey Bailey, Daniel Blackmer, Kellie Brantley, Demitri Braxton, Yolanda Cardenas-Cisneros, Aiden Chase, Seth Davis, Anta Diop, Sarah Ewers, Benjamin Finch, Lauren Glover, Levi Godfrey, Mary Hammett, Erika Landa, Natalia Lopez, Joseph Manning, Luis Negrete, Adrian Otero, Anna Pullen, Angel Rangel-Ramirez, Emma Register, Jeshua Richardson, Ryland Robinson, Monika Rocha, Emily Rodriguez, Genaya Silver, Marion Snow, Andraya Strickland, Macy Strickland, Jayshon Taylor, Rachel Thorne, Austyn Trotto, Makayla Weeks, Kasey Wilson, Brianna Wimberly and Camden Winstead

NINTH GRADE - A HONOR ROLL
Nicholas Batchelor, Kemora Battle, Alexander Beasley, Molly Boone, Sanjaya Claborne, Nathan Cooper, Carlos Cruz Olarte, Hilary Escobar Sanchez, Dariyel Geathers, Brylie Goble, Sanya Harris, Jhuntay Harrison, Makayla Harrison, Bria Hines, Tamala Jere, Glenn Jones, Jaedyn Jones, Yousef Kasem, Mykasia Lewis, Joseph Lopez-Velasquez, Noah Martinez, Jeremiah McClain, Kennedy McCoy, John McKellar, Keysha Mizzell, Zariyah Morales, Jackson Outland, Aaden Reynolds, Connor Skeels, Nysira Smith, Amanda Sydnor, Emily Tinklepaugh, Ashlyn Whitehead and Dustin Willis

I tell writing students the thing writers have known for a long time now -- you have to celebrate the wins when they come.
Writing is a business of rejections. Stories, manuscripts, pitches, essays, poems, grants for projects, writing jobs -- they all get rejected a lot. It's like baseball in some ways, where success one-third of the time is great.

I'm feeling pretty confident Spring may sneak up on us early and I am excited!
One of the hobbies I've discovered I enjoy while spending so much time at home and isolated is kayaking and kayaking is typically done in warmer weather so I'm excited to bring my kayak back out and hit the water!

YOUNG BUSINESSMEN - This photo originally published in The Nashville Graphic July 30, 1970. William Jackson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur Jackson, and Curt Edwards, son of Mr. and Mrs. John Edwards, sell watermelons at a roadside stand near their home on Rt. 2, Nashville. Curt raised the watermelons.

NORTHERN NASH'S (L TO R) ANDREW AND ASHLEY ZIPKO

RED OAK -- Veteran coach Tracy Dodrill knew her Northern Nash High School swim team was loaded with potential this season -- especially on the boys side.
But the Fighting Knights exceeded their coach's expectations with a strong campaign, despite featuring only one senior on the entire roster.
Northern Nash rolled to a second-place finish in the overall team standings at the Big East Conference Swim Championships last month at the Harrison Family YMCA Pool in Rocky Mount.

Franklinton's Parrish Rushing rises for two points during Tuesday's contest against Southern Nash in the opening round of the Class 3-A Boys Basketball State Playoffs.

FRANKLINTON -- Coaches love to say that it is difficult to beat a high school basketball team three times in a given season.
Conversely, it's just as difficult to beat a good team just once -- something the Southern Nash Firebirds found out during their campaign-long rivalry this winter with the Franklinton Red Rams in Big East Conference boys hoops action.

NORTHERN NASH SENIOR BRYSON JENKINS

RED OAK -- With several key players returning, the Northern Nash Fighting Knights will look to defend their Big East Conference baseball championship this spring.
NN claimed both the Big East regular season and tourney crowns as part of its historic 2022 campaign under the direction of veteran head coach Joey Keefe.
Now comes the encore as the Fighting Knights appear poised to be a key player again in the Big East Conference diamond standings.

ROCKY MOUNT -- The Franklinton Red Rams claimed their first conference championship in boys basketball since moving to a new conference in 2017 last Friday night by knocking off the top-seeded Northern Nash Knights 67-64 in dramatic fashion in the Big East Conference Tournament Finals.
The game was held on the campus of Rocky Mount High School, where the host Gryphons claimed the conference championship on the girls side in the preceding game with a 76-31 victory over Franklinton.

ZEBULON -- The Carolina Mudcats will hold open tryouts for National Anthem performers this Saturday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at fan-friendly Five County Stadium. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. on the Highway 264, third base side of the stadium. Auditions will be held on a first-come, first-served basis.
All singers, including solo acts or groups, wishing to perform the National Anthem at Five County Stadium this season should audition at this tryout event.

NASH COUNTY -- Christian Buffaloe, local Kyokushin Karate fighter, recently won first place in the Men's Lightweight Division of the Japan sponsored "Kyokushin Karate USWC Championships" in Los Angeles (Little Tokyo) on February 5.
In the final match, 23-year-old Buffaloe faced strong Japanese fighter Kohtaroh Zushi in a very tough and technical fight.

NASH COUNTY -- Here are updated scores from the Nash County Parks and Recreation Department's Adult Basketball League: