Local News

MOMEYER - The Momeyer Outreach Committee is just getting the fire started, having planned out not only the upcoming May 7th Day of Prayer event, but also having nailed a reservation to host a two-day visit by a Freedom Truck in July. They are also working on a veterans' event for late October and early November.
Tracey Jackson and Taryn Edwards, committee members, reported to town council members at their April 13th meeting, supplying the final details first for May 7th.

SPRING HOPE- The Spring Hope Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring its second outdoor sidewalk contest, "Chalk It Up," on Saturday May 2nd.
Pam Brantley, commissioner, shared the details at the town's April 6th meeting while sharing that a permit request had been submitted from the Chamber.
The inaugural event, held in 2025, had "low turnout," Brantley said, but this year's event has a $100 grand prize as an incentive.
The contest, for which chalk will be provided, will be open to participants in four classes: 3rd through 5th grade; 6th through 8th grade; 9th through 12th grade, and adults.

The Rocky Mount Debu-ette Club was founded in 1966. The club consists of young women in grades ninth through twelfth who volunteer together in the community. They become community leaders while developing lifelong friendships during four years of service.
This year, the senior class of 33 young women volunteered their time and collected donations to support local organizations. Those organizations included A Touch of the Father's Love, Red Oak Teacherage, Sleep in Heavenly Peace, Salvation Army, Ripe for Revival, The Historical Society, Peacemakers, The Unlimited Impact Project, American Heart Association Heart Walk, and Your Choice Resource Center.

NASHVILLE- Planned development on two parcels to add 113 homes outside Bailey have been greenlighted for conditional rezoning despite considerable and long-running public protest.
Nash commissioners voted to approve rezoning for both by split vote at their April 6 meeting, paving the way for 76 new homes in Williams Run, Section 2 on the north side of Strickland Road and another 49 in the West Hornes Church Road subdivision.

SPRING HOPE - A rezoning request for a 12-acre parcel off First Street has been approved, with the intention of providing room for up to 26 homes.
After gaining split vote majority approval from the planning board March 26th, the board of commissioners gave unanimous approval to the project April 6th.
As presented by Shawn Lucas, Code Enforcement officer, the application by Morgan Properties was to change the zoning of the property, which is bordered on three sides by residential lots, from R-MF (residential multi-family, or apartment complexes) to R-8 high density residential, which would allow single family homes.

SPRING HOPE- After more than a year of work, Spring Hope now has an official town brochure, in digital form, with plans to put it on the town website.
Presented by Brandi Jobe, Vice-Chair for the town's Downtown Development Board, at the April 6th commissioners' meeting, the 8-page document has a cover featuring an aerial shot of the town, what appears to be a town seal with a train and train tresle, and the phrase "tucked between Raleigh and Raleigh and Rocky Mount, Spring Hope offers the perfect day trip or weekend getaway or anyone looking to slow down, shop local and experience the warmth of a tight-knit community with big ambitions."

NASHVILLE- Planned sidewalk repairs along E. Washington Street hit a snag- or more accurately- hit a natural gas line- April 9th but repairs were made that same morning.
Nash County 911 was notified of the puncture at 9:07 a.m. last Thursday in front of 110 E. Washington Street, with Rocky Mount Utilities already having a crew dispatched. The smell of gas, easily detectable from the Austin street intersection, was the tell-tale sign of a leak.

"Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" (Isaiah 5:20)
The world sees Christians differently than it did twenty years ago. Why? Because now we live in a world of moral relativism.
What exactly is "Moral Relativism"? It's a belief that man on his own can determine what is true and untrue and what is right or wrong. As Ernest Hemingway said, "What is moral is what you feel good after. What is immoral is what you feel bad after."

The crux of the matter is simply this: Is the Bible authoritative? To this stage, all of the articles in this column ultimately lead to this question. This is ground zero for the Christian and skeptic alike--those like Michael. You remember Michael. He has been with us from the start of this column and the argument that began over a year ago. Michael does not believe the Bible is authoritative. Nonetheless, biblical authority is an essential question that very much sets at the heart of the debate over God's alleged death.

The Baptist Men will have their monthly breakfast meeting on Sunday, April 19 at 8:30 a.m.
Women in Action will host the missions celebration for ladies, "Go Fish!", on Tuesday, April 28 at 6:30 p.m. in the dining room of the Family Life Center at Red Oak Baptist Church. Enjoy a delicious meal with great fellowship and guest speaker, Donna Upchurch. Donna has been a volunteer missionary to Jamaica for several years and they look forward to hearing about the ministry there. Sign up by April 19 at the church.

Since the state-issued ban on open burning was enacted March 28, a total of 554 wildfires has burned more than 2,200 acres across the state. With little rainfall or improvement expected over the next 7-10 days, the statewide burn ban and enforcement action will continue until further notice.
"Even with a burn ban in place we are continuing to see significant wildfire activity across the state because of conditions," said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. "Persistent drought, warmer temperatures, low humidity and no rainfall, mean fires start quickly, spread quickly and burn intensely, which makes them harder to contain, control and extinguish.