Nashville will be gaining two more businesses in its industrial park on Cooke Road.
Council members took action on Tuesday night that will allow one building to finish up construction and a second to move forward with construction of a shell building.
The town purchased land on Cooke Road in 2013 to develop into an industrial park.

The Nash County Board of Commissioners voted Monday to hire an additional eight social workers in the aftermath of the beating death of a child weeks after reports of child abuse.
Christal Lane, 8, died of blunt force trauma Feb. 7. Social workers investigated a late December report by school officials of abuse, but didn't remove the girl from the Nashville home of her grandmother Patricia Ricks who has been charged with child abuse and first-degree murder.

Amelia Raynor of Tarboro sits with the Easter Bunny during the Eggciting Saturday event at Cooley Library in Nashville.

Rain held off just long enough for kids to enjoy a short outdoor Easter egg hunt and extended indoor activities last Saturday.
Sponsored by Braswell Family Farms and hosted by Nashville Parks and Recreation, the Eggcellent Saturday event saw hundreds of kids and their families from as far away as Edgecombe and Wilson counties enjoy traditional Easter fun and learn from some educational displays as well.

Two Hollywood filmmakers and a local contractor have joined forces to build in Spring Hope the largest movie studio in the state, according to a press release from Ascent Studios.
Award-winning filmmaker Robert Rippberger, filmmaker Devin Keaton, and business magnate Nathan Edwards announced the groundbreaking of the studio.
"Ascent Studios is more than just a film studio," Rippberger said in a statement.

Chamber member Cindy Puckett (at left) presents the 2023 Distinguished Citizen Award to Ray and Brenda Goodwin.

Brenda and Ray Goodwin were shocked to be named this year's recipients of the Distinguished Citizen Award.
The Goodwins were honored by Nashville's Chamber of Commerce last Thursday night at the 31st annual Distinguished Citizen Award's Ceremony and Reception. They attended the event under the guise that the Rocky Mount Optimist Club was receiving an award.

The Red Oak Town Council plans to add better parking and a nature trail to W.B. Ennis Park.
The council discussed the matter at Monday's meeting, deciding to figure out the exact environmental remediation steps that need to be taken before issuing a request for qualifications for the work to improve the park.

Providing contraband to an inmate and conspiracy to commit a felony was reported on 3/31/23 at 100 N Boddie Street, Nashville
A motor vehicle theft and damage to real property was reported on 4/1/23 at 1054 Bloomery Road, Bailey
A motor vehicle theft was reported on 4/1/23 at 11070 W NC 97, Middlesex

ARRESTS
George Randolph Davis Jr.; 3/30/23; charged with possession of cocaine
Kasey Lee Starr; 3/26/23; charged with possession of an open container, consuming alcohol in the passenger area, driving while license revoked, impaired and driving while intoxicated

A business associate previously labeling a truck yard as a truck stop in Spring Hope may have hurt the chances of a rezoning request.
Tiffany Williams spoke for Kent Sessums, who requested his property be rezoned from single-family residential to light industrial for his proposed trucking yard on 10 acres on Wilkins Street.

Nash County commissioners have approved a rezoning for a 800-acre mega solar farm outside Castalia.
A handful of adjacent property owners spoke in opposition to the request during the required public hearing. They said they are concerned about increased soil erosion from water runoff; the potential impacts on wildlife habitats, the natural vegetation and local agriculture; the use of foreign-made equipment; the safety of the materials contained within the solar panels; and the future clean-up of the site and disposal of the equipment.

We're heading into the time of year when the Nash County Animal Control Shelter will receive a large influx of unwanted puppies and kittens. The shelter has already begun to experience the increase. Baby animals tend to be adopted or rescued more quickly than adult animals due to their innocence and appearance. But the volume of shelter intakes can become staggering and as always, we beg citizens to spay or neuter their pets to keep the number of unwanted pets down.

"I am he who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death." (Revelation 11:18)
This verse answers the question posed in my headline. The Bible clearly records that between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, Jesus went to hell and back for us. Pastors and Sunday School teachers have taught us over the years that Satan and all the evil that goes with him were conquered by Jesus' death on the cross and resurrection from the grave. They base this view in part on what the Apostle Paul said about it in one of his letters to the Church at Ephesus:

If you were to ask 10 people, "What is worship?" most of them would probably say something about singing in church.
This makes sense given that we tend to divide our church services into two parts: worship and sermon. In years past, people engaged in "worship wars," debating what types of music were acceptable in the church.
But the reality is that worship is much more than just music.

The Easter Bunny came a little early this year. The Adult II Sunday School Class of Red Oak Baptist Church recently filled 25 Easter baskets for the children at the Bassett Center in Rocky Mount. In addition to toys, candy, books, stuffed animals, and more, the baskets also included a tract or card sharing the gospel of Jesus.
Everyone's invited to the Easter Sunrise Service on Sunday, April 9 at 7:30 am. Service will be in front of the Red Oak Baptist Church sanctuary.

BUILDING PERMIT
(RESIDENTIAL)
Garrett Fly; 4426 Dayspring Drive; detached accessory; $25,000
Melvin Charles Mullen; 5450 Hunter Hill Road; new single family; $210,000

Mark Siver, Elizabeth Siver, Andy Siver and Jan Siver to Siver HOA, Inc.; Colton Trail
Wake Stone Property Company to Wake Stone Corporation; 23.198 acres, 11.043 acres, 25.803 acres and 57.67 acres
Evert Richardson to Troy Boyce and Melissa Farmer; 528 Lark Lane, Rocky Mount
John Palacios and Ana Palacios to Nicolas Pastrana Noyola and Sara Marin Luna; 4709 Courtney Drive, Bailey; $245,000

TikTok is an app that features approximately 1 million billion short videos every second of the day. It is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance which is causing quite a controversy.
If you're over 35, you have a built-in immunity to this addictive phone application and don't care.
If you're under 30 you may be having some serious anxiety these days as the United States government is considering banning the app.

As mentioned here several months ago, I was labeled as a COVID-19 "long-hauler" after having the virus in October of 2022.
But my story evolved into something a little different than what had so far been documented as typical Long Covid. But honestly there's absolutely nothing typical about Long Covid.
I tested positive for COVID-19 on October 5. I felt horrible for about 5 days but it seemed to have gone away as quick as it came. Or at least that's what I thought.

This photo originally published in The Nashville Graphic on July 24, 1958. Mrs. Maude Winstead adds vegetables from her garden to her already well-stocked freezer to prepare for winter.

SMASH HIT. Northern Nash's Brady Jenkins delivers a single for the Knights during Tuesday evening's road baseball victory against the Bunn Wildcats.

BUNN -- Strange as it may have sounded in the preseason, but first place in the Big East Conference was on the line this week if Bunn was able to secure a sweep against Northern Nash in league baseball action.
Certainly, Northern's current standing atop the Big East is no surprise as the Fighting Knights boast a veteran group of returnees from last year's league championship squad.

ELITE EIGHT. Nash Central High School's Madison Bridgers (right) advances the ball upfield for the Lady Bulldogs during last week's Big East Conference girls soccer road contest against rival Northern Nash.

RED OAK -- Northern Nash's young girls soccer team took another huge step in the Big East Conference last Thursday during a key standings swing match against backyard rival Nash Central.
Needing a victory to stay tied atop the league standings with Southern Nash, the Lady Knights got the job done by a 2-1 margin at the NNHS Soccer Complex in Red Oak.

NASH CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL PITCHER COLBY LEWIS

ROCKY MOUNT -- Looking for an on-the-rise team in the Big East Conference baseball standings?
Look no further than the surging Nash Central Bulldogs, who are currently making plenty of noise in the league under veteran head coach Willie Langley.
The Bulldogs are currently on a three-game winning streak after sweeping Roanoke Rapids last week -- and following up those heroics Tuesday by opening their series against Franklinton with a 6-5 triumph at the NCHS Baseball Complex.

NASH COUNTY -- Considering the Big East Conference enjoyed such a banner year in boys hoops, it was no surprise when five league standouts were selected to the North Carolina Basketball Coaches Association's All-District Teams for the 2022-23 campaign.
The District 3 list featured a trio of stars from Nash County, led by first-teamer Jordan Vick -- a junior point guard from Southern Nash who was also tabbed as the Big East Player of the Year.'

NASH COUNTY -- Rocky Mount High School's dominance of the Big East Conference girls basketball standings this winter meant that postseason accolades were destined to come for the Lady Gryphons -- and that is exactly what is happening.
Three RM standouts recently claimed positions on the prestigious North Carolina Basketball Coaches Association's All-District 3 Team. Voting was performed by statewide coaches, with only players under NCBCA member coaches are considered.

RIGHT ON TARGET. Northern Nash High School's Emily Clay plasters a single for the Lady Knights during Tuesday evening's road softball contest against the Bunn Ladycats. (Graphic photo by Geoff Neville)

BUNN -- Northern Nash scored the first run of the game, but homestanding Bunn controlled the proceedings the rest of the way en route to securing a 13-1 victory on Tuesday night in Big East Conference girls soccer action.
Bunn is now 8-2 overall to go with a 6-2 mark in the Big East, which is good enough for a four-way tie for first place in the always-competitive league.
The young Lady Knights, who are in a building mode with just two seniors, dropped to 6-8 and 3-8.

ZEBULON -- The Milwaukee Brewers have announced the initial roster for the Carolina Mudcats in advance of the 2023 season starting on April 7 when the Mudcats travel to Fayetteville to play the Woodpeckers.
The new roster features several returnees from the 2022 team including top-ranked Brewers prospects Jacob Misiorowski, Hedbert Pérez, Jadher Areinamo and Jace Avina.Misiorowski (Milwaukee's second round selection in the 2022 MLB Draft) and Perez (the Mudcats' 2022 home run leader) rank seventh and 20th respectively

Northern Nash's Jordyn Harvin (left) awaits a throw at second base during a Bunn steal attempt as part of Tuesday's Big East Conference girls softball meeting.