Nash County Commissioners made two changes to the budget last week during a work session before moving forward with setting a public hearing.
Typically, the board meets on the first Monday of the month at 10 a.m. but due to scheduling conflicts among board members, the meeting was moved to Monday, June 8 at 10 a.m. A public hearing on the proposed 2015-2016 budget is set for that meeting.
The budget is proposed at just under $92 million dollars and includes no increase in property taxes.

Spring Hope commissioners continued to debate a tax increase Monday night in order to balance the 2015-2016 budget. The final result was a 3-1 vote to implement a 3 cent increase which brings the general fund budget to $1,063,597 and the town's tax rate to 63 cents per $100 valuation.
Spring Hope's tax rate of 76 cents in 2002 had been reduced to 57 cents until a tax increase was necessary last year. Last year, Spring Hope's board initially rejected a tax increase recommended by Town Manager John Holpe but later found it necessary to add 3 cents to its tax rate.

Nashville Town Manager Preston Mitchell was asked to trim the proposed 2015-2016 budget even more to include a two percent cost of living increase for employees.
Council members held a budget work session on May 28 to review the proposed $8 million budget. At the work session, Mayor Donald Street said council members needed to go over the town's insurance program and go over a cost of living increase.
Council member Louise Hinton and Charles Taylor, along with Mayor Street, attended the meeting.

In just four hours, over 100 volunteers put together 30,000 meals as part of Stop Hunger Now.
This is the second year Red Oak United Methodist Church has hosted the event, which provides meals to crisis-burdened areas around the world.
This year, Rev. David Joyner said the meals will target school aged children who drop out of school to help provide for their families.
"We think they will be going to Africa but that's not a guarantee," he said. "They are targeting those school aged kids specifically. We'll know the exact location in three to four weeks."

The main topic of discussion during the Town of Castalia's second budget workshop, held Monday night, was an increase to the current water rate. Mayor Ellene Leonard said that even with the increase the town would be "still short money [in its budget]"
The water rate increase, put forth in a motion made by Town Commissioner Sylvia Mann, was approved unanimously by the board. The base fee water rate will increase $2.26, bringing it to $15 per month, while the above rate will increase 2 cents, bringing the cost for every 1000 gallons of water used to $5.

Nashville Councilwoman Patricia Rogers surprised other council members last Wednesday night when she announced her resignation from the board at the end of the meeting.
Rogers told council members she was resigning due to personal reasons and later said she was moving. Her resignation was effective immediately.
Rogers was appointed in April 2013 to the board to fill the seat of her husband, Tommy, who passed away in January 2013. Rogers served until November 2013, when she was re-elected for another term.

A Nashville girl's prayers have transformed into a fund raiser for cancer.
Clara Danforth, 8, spoke to Nashville's Town Council on Tuesday night asking permission to hold a Fun Run for Cancer at Glover Park on Friday, June 12 at 7 p.m.
The event will be held just prior to the town's family movie night, which begins just as the sun goes down.
Clara told council members that she knows two people that she prays for that have cancer. She said she decided she wanted to do even more.

Former Town Commissioner and Mayor of Castalia, Owen Hale Sr., aged 75, passed away Saturday, May 30. Hale served as Town commissioner between 1986 and 1989 and later served a second term from 1992 to 1995. He served as Castalia's mayor from 2002 to 2005. During his first term as commissioner, Castalia was in the process of developing the public water system.
Born in Franklin County on October 22, 1939 to Ben T. and Doris Mosley Hale, he was preceded in death by his brother, Bennie Ray Hale.

The Nash-Rocky Mount Public Schools Board of Education revised the fee it will charge for students taking driver's education.
The board agreed last month to begin charging students $65 for taking the driver's education course, a course that was previously done at no charge to students. The decision was made in expectation of the North Carolina General Assembly changing funding for the driver's education program in the state.
The General Assembly is considering cutting funding to the program or possibly providing no funding to the program, leaving school systems to fully fund the program.

This year's Lucky Loser winner was Liz Cahoon. Jason Edwards was the winner of the 50/50 drawing.

The Nashville Fire District Auxiliary hosts a Reverse Raffle each year as a fundraiser for the fire department. All proceeds support the Fire Department's Life Safety and Injury Prevention Program. This year's event was held on Friday, May 29th at Nash Community College.
Only 300 tickets are sold for the event. Tickets are $100 each and ticket buyers are treated to dinner and a chance to win $10,000. Other monetary prizes are also given out at the event.

INCIDENTS
An obtaining money/property by false pretense and credit card/ATM fraud was reported on 5/18/15 at Wendy's, 1200 Eastern Avenue
A larceny was reported on 5/19/15 at 922 Brake Street
A breaking and entering a residential was reported on 5/20/15 at 612 Haley Drive

Nash County Planning and Inspections issued the following building permits from May 25 through May 29, 2015.

A Nashville mom has received a full-tuition scholarship and the title of America's Most Inspirational Moms.
Sonynia Nicholson Leonard received the Most Inspirational Mom recognition by the Boys and Girls Club of America and the University of Phoenix. Leonard is one of only five moms honored nationwide for the scholarship and recognition.
With the full-tuition scholarship, Leonard will pursue her Master's Degree in Administration of Criminal Justice and Security at the University of Phoenix.

A former member of the Nash-Rocky Mount Public Schools Board of Education, who also served on the Nash County Public School Board before the two entities were merged, presented a resolution honoring Dr. Anthony Jackson on Monday night at the school board's agenda meeting.
Dr. John Avent presented the resolution on behalf of the Nash Central Senior High Alumni Association and the O.D. Moore Scholarship Foundation.
Avent said over the past four to five years, there has been significant progress made in the Nash-Rocky Mount School System.

Local scout Ryan Eason took a community service project and expanded on it to recently earn his Eagle Scout Rank.
In October 2013, Eason unveiled an old postal service mailbox outside of Nashville's Police Department. The mailbox had been refurbished and turned into a collection box for retired United States Flags.
Nashville's American Legion Post 110 assisted Eason with the project and members of the post are responsible for picking up the flags and appropriately retiring them.

A barbecue chicken plate sale will benefit a newly formed organization in North Carolina.
Red Oak United Methodist Church will host the plate sale on Friday, June 5 from 11 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. at the church.
Proceeds from the event will benefit Alzheimer's North Carolina, a non-profit organization supporting local Alzheimer's research and Alzheimer's North Carolina, Inc.
Anna Romanus, a member of Red Oak United Methodist Church who also serves as the Eastern Area Marketing Director for Spring Arbor, said a walk is planned for November 21 in Rocky Mount and the money will help support that walk.

Spring Hope's first 5-K Race attracted approximately 500 people to its downtown. Planners report that 154 runners participated in the 5-K and 75 participated in the one-mile run.

The Christian Homeschool Association of Rocky Mount (CHARM) celebrated their 7th annual graduation ceremony on May 29th at Rock Creek Baptist Church, where five high school students were recognized.
Dan Rolf, pastor from Servants Heart Fellowship, challenged the students to not just be a Christian in name (as so many of us are), but to go out into the world and really show Christ's love.

On a beautiful summer morning Peachtree folks gathered at the church for worship. Sanctuary flowers were an arrangement of roses given by Melba and Jerry Hobgood in honor of the pastor and his wife, Eugene and Marta Whitehouse.
Pastor Whitehouse directed the choir as it sang, "Oh, the love of my Redeemer". His sermon was titled "Your Redeemer is on the Way". It was based on scripture found in Genesis 40.

Worship is a big topic within the church. It's a big consideration outside the church too. Neutrality is a myth. There are not two categories of people, those who worship and those who do not. We all worship someone or something. Athletes are idols and role models for some. Others fawn over their cars. We all have objects of veneration, personal or inanimate.

Dorothy, Audrey, and Suzy Pearce along with other relatives had a great time at the Pearce-Tant Family Reunion on Saturday, May 30 at Bunn Chapel Church of God in Bunn! Several family members attend or have attended Bunn Chapel so this really had a special meaning. Family from Oxford, Henderson, Raeford, Zebulon, Louisburg, Spring Hope, Rocky Mount, Red Oak, and many other cities gathered together for a covered dish lunch and time to catch up with each other.

School will be out soon and summer time fun will begin. People are planning vacations, but not me. I did my little going this past spring and I don't have any plans, don't want to make any plans, and that's exactly the way I plan to keep it. I don't mind day trips, but come night, I want to be on Ricks Farm. I am like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz "there's no place like home, there's no place like home" in Aventon.
Sue Shearin and JoJo Ricks went visiting on Thursday afternoon late.

Sunday School began at 9:45 a.m. at Beulah Church of Christ. Church services followed at 10:45. Welcome and announcements were given by Elder Earl Cary. A few of the announcements given were as follows; the church will have a community yard sale on Saturday, June 20th; Ministry installation service is June 28th. This is for our new minister, Chris Matchem. Vacation Bible School is July 24th through the 26th. Fall Ministry Kick Off begins in September. Fall Festival is October 10th and our annual homecoming will be Sunday, October 11th. I will give you a little more information on these upcoming events later.

Tar River Land Conservancy recently completed the purchase of 57 acres on Fishing Creek. The project received generous funding support from the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund, the Eddie and Jo Allison Smith Family Foundation, and the NC Attorney General's Environmental Enhancement Grant Program. The project is the latest to be completed by these long-time partners who have worked together to preserve extensive forested habitats along Fishing Creek over the last decade.

Southern Nash Middle School (SNMS) sixth grade students swept the essay portion of the county-wide awards for the annual Nash Soil and Water Conservation Poster and Essay Contest. The awards banquet was held at the Agricultural Center in Nashville on March 18, 2015 and drew a large crowd of families, teachers and sponsors.
Posters from elementary school students decorated the walls and a catered Chick-Fil-A dinner preceded the ceremony.

North Carolina Wesleyan College in Rocky Mount is the fastest growing private college in the state, according to figures released recently to presidents of the North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities (NCICU) organization headquartered in Raleigh.
Of the 36 NCICU member institutions, N.C. Wesleyan grew 19 percent between fall 2013 and fall 2014. Livingston College in Salisbury had the second highest enrollment increase, with a growth rate of 11 percent, followed by Chowan University, which grew by 9 percent.

A group of 14 Boy Scouts from the East Carolina Council in Wilson braved temperatures around 20 degrees and frost on their tents and shoes as they camped out over Friday and Saturday, March 6 and 7, at North Carolina Wesleyan College in Rocky Mount.
While the Scouts practiced wilderness survival and camping skills, they also accomplished their goal of providing community service for North Carolina Wesleyan.
The campfire they built as a necessity actually served a dual purpose.

Boy Scout Troop 7 was invited to attend the 53rd annual West Point Military Academy's Camporee. This event is put on by the cadets attending the academy and is by invitation to Boy Scouts, Venture Crews and Girl Scout units. Troop 7 sent 23 scouts and four adults for the weekend of May 1 through 3. Over 2,000 scouts attend this event, which was held in the foothills of upstate New York. The scouts compete in events ranging from zodiac races, first aid, physical fitness and team problem solving. Prior to the camporee Troop 7 took a guided tour of West Point College.

Nash-Rocky Mount Public Schools (NRMPS) recognized eight NRMPS educators who renewed or earned National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT) status this school year at a breakfast held in their honor on March 24, 2015. During the celebration, the honorees enjoyed a performance by the Benvenue Children's Choir that included a stirring version of "We are the World." Superintendent Dr. Anthony Jackson applauded the honorees for their dedication to education and reminded them of the life-long impact each were making in the lives of their students during his remarks at the event.

Army Pfc. Saadiquah F. Ayler has graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C. During the nine weeks of training, the soldier studied the Army mission, history, tradition and core values, physical fitness, and received instruction and practice in basic combat skills, military weapons, chemical warfare and bayonet training, drill and ceremony, marching, rifle marksmanship, armed and unarmed combat, map reading, field tactics, military courtesy, military justice system, basic first aid, foot marches, and field training exercises.

Nash Community College recognized 23 Associate Degree Nursing graduates during the Nurses Pinning ceremony on Thursday, May 14, 2015. Renee Godwin Batts, RN, MSN, who serves as the Associate Director of Academic Programs with the North Carolina Community College System, was the speaker at the 2015 Associate Degree Nursing Pinning Ceremony. The College is proud to announce the following nursing graduates are eligible to take the NCLEX-RN licensure exam.

Beverly W. Whitehurst, left, Outgoing Worthy Matron of Nashville #332 Order of the Eastern Star, passes the gavel of leadership to Darothy K. Smith, Incoming Worthy Matron for 2015-16. Roger Shanks will preside in the East with Darothy as Worthy Patron. The officers and members look forward to an exciting year.

Cassie Jo Hill and Adrian Garcia were united in marriage on Saturday, May 30, 2015 at The Leaning Tree in Bailey. The bride is the daughter of Wayne and Sheila Hill. The groom is the son of Lucy Garcia. The bride was given in marriaged by her father, Wayne Hill. Attendants included Penny Jo Hill, of Spring Hope, who served as Maid of Honor, and Reyna Garcia, of Nashville, who served as Best Man.

Wednesday, June 3 from 2 until 6 p.m. at Arlington Baptist, 1500 Bethlehem Road, Rocky Mount
Tuesday, June 9 from 10 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. at Edgecombe Community College, 225 Tarboro Street, Rocky Mount
Tuesday, June 9 from 3:30 until 6:30 p.m. at the Harrison Family YMCA, 1000 Independence Drive, Rocky Mount

Carolina Giraldo of Spring Hope earned a Bachelor of Arts at Mary Baldwin College's Commencement ceremony on May 17, 2015.
Mary Baldwin College, founded in 1842. At the undergraduate level, the College for Women serves about 750 students on the college's historic main campus in downtown Staunton, Virginia, and the Adult Degree program serves both men and women on campus and at regional centers throughout Virginia.

We need HELP. This is the busiest time of year for shelters. It is known as puppy and kitten season because puppies and kittens flood the shelters. For example, one person brought in a laundry basket with 10 kittens and earlier that day a mama and her 4 kittens had arrived. Owner surrenders are up. No one knows why, but it happens every year about this time.

Thursday past, I penned a column for the New Bern Sun Journal comparing the new Jeep SRT, 475 horsepower, with my first new vehicle, a '69 Beetle, 50 horsepower. I observed that with two people on board, the Beetle used 25 horses per passenger; the Jeep SRT corralled 237.5 horses for each of two passengers. That's 25 HPP vs. 237.5 HPP.
With Volkswagens on my mind, I awakened Friday morning, retrieved a phone message from Dorothy Rich, and learned that one of the most remarkable people I had ever met in my entire life had passed.

The thing about boys is that they get hurt -- a lot!
I have a four-year-old, two-year-old and four-month-old and they get boo-boo's on a weekly basis. A good week is when the boo-boo's don't require hospitalization, doctor or dentist's visits.
In the past four months, we've been to the hospital once and the dentist once. We've also been to the doctor a lot just for general sickness. We actually started this week off with all three boys in the doctor's office. But the boo-boo's have been the most challenging for me to get used to as a mom.

For as long as I can remember, I've been a reader. First, it was Curious George, Dr. Seuss, and those Sunny Books Mama bought me at White's Supermarket once a week when we bought groceries. They were 19 cents each.
Soon enough, it was choices from the Bookmobile out of Braswell Library, a Godsend for those of us in rural areas who didn't get out much. Whenever I had a question, I was told to go look it up in the World Books. They were Google for a lot of folks for a large chunk of the 20th century.

NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPS -- This photo originally published in The Graphic July 28, 1981. The Ward Drug team captured the 1981 regular season and tournament titles in the Nashville National League. Pictured (front row, left to right) Matt McAuley, Grant Rogers, Roger Flake, Jimmy Edwards and Bart Brown. Second row: Wayne Denton, Lee Hedgepeth, Chris Williams, Danny Wrenn and Coach John Hunter. Not pictured: Coach Tommy Rogers.

NEXT STOP -- RALEIGH. Southern Nash High School senior standout Laura Garcia (17) will continue her soccer career at Wake Tech Community College, which is located in Raleigh. (Photo Submitted)

STANHOPE -- Coach Kurt Bienias had just one regret about the season Laura Garcia spent on his Southern Nash High School girls soccer squad.
And that was the fact that it was Garcia's lone one at Southern Nash.
The talented midfielder transferred to SNHS from Oregon and joined the Ladybirds' program for her senior campaign.
Garcia's effective work for Southern Nash caught the eye of area college scouts, despite the fact that she was not involved in travel soccer.

STANHOPE -- Before her senior track and field season, Southern Nash's Amanda Johnson came up with a singular goal -- to break the 60-second mark in the Girls 400 event.
Johnson was able to reach that elusive number -- but didn't stop there until she had place fifth at the Class 3-A State Track and Field Championships in May in Greensboro.

SLICK WITH THE BALL. Ishmael Rodriguez will go down as one of the top soccer players in the history of the boys program at Southern Nash High School.

STANHOPE -- In the not-too-distant past, the thought of a Southern Nash High School boys soccer player inking a college scholarship -- let alone on the Division I level -- was almost unheard of.
But SN suddenly developed into an area powerhouse almost overnight three years ago, and the Firebirds haven't stopped fielding high-octane squads since then.
So it's no surprise that Southern Nash is starting to place standouts in next-level programs -- a trend that began with the recent signings of Will Liles (Gardner-Webb) and Moises Gonzalez (UNC-Greensboro) following the 2014 campaign.

ROCKY MOUNT -- The 2015 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Div. III All-Region baseball teams have been announced, and for the first time in his stellar career, North Carolina Wesleyan College shortstop Ciro Norzagaray was honored as a Second Team All-South performer at shortstop.
A junior who hails from Mexico City, Mexico, Norzagaray led the Battling Bishops in nearly every offensive category this spring, including batting average, hits, doubles, triples, homers, RBI, total bases and slugging percentage.

NASH COUNTY -- Here are updated Nash County Parks & Recreation Spring Baseball & Softball League Scores:

ROCKY MOUNT -- Listed are the honorees from the recent Nash Central High School Spring Sports Athletic Awards Ceremony:

ZEBULON -- Wilmington designated hitter Ty Stubbs hit a two-run home run in the first, doubled and scored a run in the fourth and was a triple shy of the cycle as he helped lead the Blue Rocks to a 4-1 win over the host Carolina Mudcats at Five County Stadium on Monday night.
The loss snapped Carolina's winning streak at four straight games in the Class A Carolina League.
Subbs hit his first-inning home run off Carolina (23-25) starter Brandon Barker.

The champions from the O.D. Moore Scholarship Fund Golf Tournament were, in no particular order, Jim Feaster, Billy Dickens, Braxton Speller and Alvin Hyman.

The second-place finishers from the O.D. Moore Scholarship Fund Golf Tournament were (l to r) Charles Whitfield, John Joyner, Lester Spivey and Richard Noel.

The third-place finishers from the O.D. Moore Scholarship Fund Golf Tournament were (l to r) James Hartfield, Rosa Sherk and Grady Davis. Not pictured is John Sharp.

ROCKY MOUNT -- Isaih Strickland powered a huge 3-run homer in the fifth inning to pace the Pizza Inn Marlins over the Wesley Men Yankees 6-4 in a rare Friday night game in Rocky Mount Baseball League action at the RCMT Sports Complex.
The see-saw contest between league leaders went back and forth until Strickland's big blow and was capped by left fielder Desean Mayo's defensive gem in the same 5th inning.

FORT WORTH, TEXAS -- Chasing its third Super Regional appearance in the last four years, North Carolina State University's baseball team allowed fourth-ranked TCU to escape with a 9-8, 10th inning victory on Monday night in the championship game of the NCAA's Fort Worth Regional.
The Wolfpack (36-23) built an 8-1 lead through the top eighth behind a sterling effort from Johnny Piedmonte, who worked the first 3 2/3, holding the Frogs (47-12) to one earned on four hits with five strikeouts.

Nash Arts' Minor Concert Series will present Nashville's Meredith Davis on Saturday, June 6 at 7 p.m.
Meredith Davis found her calling when she began piano lessons in Kindergarten, which she said was her first step to falling in love with music.
Davis grew up singing in church with her family and taught herself how to play the guitar at the age of 12. Since then, her musical endeavors have included placing in the top 20 for Cary Idol, followed by auditioning for American Idol in 2011 and many performances at various local venues, fundraisers, weddings, and community events including four main stage appearances at the Nashville Blooming Festival.

The Monitors

Other events at Nash Arts include the Nashville Showcase, which will welcome The Carter Brothers on Thursday, June 4 at 8 p.m. General admission is $17 and $15 for Nash Arts members.
Nash Arts' African American Music Trail will present a Night of Entertainment and Cultural History featuring The Monitors, Friday June 19, 2015 at 7 p.m. General admission is $15; Senior Citizens and students 17/under - $13. Nash Arts member discounts applied according to level of membership.

Alvanell Martin Denton, 73, passed away May 27, 2015. She was born June 21, 1941 in Nash County to the late Marcus and Effie Lilley Martin. In addition to her parents she is preceded in death by a sister, Margie Lancaster.

Anthony Alston, age 62, passed away on Wednesday, May 27, 2015.

Carl O. Smith, Jr., of age 67, of Rocky Mount, passed away on Wednesday, May 27, 2015. Born in Lima, OH on March 6, 1948, he is the son of Joyce Folk Smith of Austin, TX and the late Carlowen Smith.

Harold Cromwell, 46, of Rocky Mount, died on May 30, 2015.

HAMPTON, VIRGINIA - Henry Lee Battle, 62, of Hampton Virginia and formerly of Rocky Mount, died on June 1, 2015 at Hampton V.A. Medical Center in Hampton, Virginia.

Janette Vanhook Hollifield of Nashville, passed away on Saturday, May 23, 2015.

Jerry Gray Dickerson, 63, passed away, Sunday May 31, 2015. He was born July 9, 1951 in Wilson County.

Jerry Leon Taylor, age 59, of Rocky Mount, passed away on Thursday, May 28, 2015. Born in Nash County on August 30, 1955, he is the son of Jean Griffin Taylor and the late William Jake Taylor.

Julia Ward Davis Perry, age 79, passed away on Thursday, May 28, 2015. Born in Brunswick County on November 3, 1935, she is the daughter of the late Thomas Teddy Ward and Vada Mae Jenrette Ward. She was predeceased by her husband, George Ray Davis, Sr.; her husband, Donald Allen Perry; her son, Jeffrey Jay Davis and step-mother, Inez Dutton Ward.

Lillie Gorham, 47, of Rocky Mount, died on May 30, 2015.

Robert Russell Trimmer, 68, of Nashville, passed away on Friday, May 29, 2015. Robert was born in Fayette County in Ohio to the late Charles G. and Margaret Speakman Trimmer.

Ronnie Wayne Drewery, age 60, of Goldsboro (formerly of Spring Hope), passed away May 22, 2015. He was one of five children born to George and Doris Drewery.

William Lynch, 55, of Rocky Mount, died on May 28, 2015.