NASHVILLE - A marathon Nashville Town Council session March 19 lasting nearly six hours, including the annual budget retreat session, culminated in a discussion about returning to the town's prior arrangement of having a police chief over the police department and a fire chief over the fire department.
Fire Chief Chris Joyner assumed Interim headship over the Nashville Police Department after former Police Chief J.T. Winstead resigned at the end of October 2023. He was named Public Safety Director over both fire and police departments in January.

SPRING HOPE - Barnes Farming of Spring Hope, the subject of a North Carolina Department of Labor (NCDOL) probe after the death of seasonal worker Jose Arturo Gonzalez Mendoza last September, has been issued three citations for safety violations and $187,509 in penalties but has issued a "notice of contest," according to DOL personnel.
Barnes Farming, or Farm Pak, which has addresses at 7840 and 7385 Old Bailey Highway, Spring Hope, is owned by John Barnes and his wife, Senator Lisa Barnes.

ROCKY MOUNT - Nash Central High School Senior Princess Holmes of Nashville took top honors at the Booker T. Washington Theater in Rocky Mount March 14, as, for the second time in two years, she was selected as "Youth of the Year," the highest honor a Boys and Girls club member can receive.
Holmes, who has attended the Nashville Clubhouse of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Tar River Region for six years, will go on to compete at the state level. She received a $1,000 check to be applied to college expenses at Appalachian State University, where she plans to begin career training to be a lawyer.

CASTALIA - The Town of Castalia is down a board member, as long-time Commissioner Brian Hinkle submitted a letter of resignation at the board's March meeting.
Hinkle, who was not in attendance at the March 5 meeting, submitted his letter to Mayor James Alston and said he was resigning from his post due to moving out of Castalia. Hinkle reportedly moved to Wake County.
Hinkle has served on the board since December 2013. His term was set to end in 2025.

Nashville's Chamber of Commerce 2024 Distinguished Citizen and Junior Achievement Award winner will be announced Thursday, March 28th during the chamber's annual reception held at Nash Arts. Refreshments will be served at 6:30 p.m. followed by the program at 7 p.m.
This year's keynote speaker is Nashville native Vera Morris.
Morris is currently resides in Cary.

Joyce "Faye" Cline presents a flag to be flown at the Veterans Memorial at the Jack Laughery Park in honor of her father to William Blackmon of the Cpl. Suzi Sannes Detachment 1262 of the Marine Corps League.

ROCKY MOUNT - Twenty years have passed, but the love that a Spring Hope woman has for her late father is still strong, finding new expression in a flag-raising ceremony Saturday at the Veterans Memorial, Jack Laughery Park in Rocky Mount.
Joyce "Faye" Cline of W. Old Spring Hope Road, Spring Hope, accompanied by her husband, brother and several generations of family, attended the ceremony in honor of Cline's father, Muriel Warren Brown, TSgt. U.S. Air Force, who passed in April of 2000.

The Nashville Parks and Recreation Department will host its third annual Easter Egg Hunting event, "Eggciting Saturday", the morning of March 23 at the Stoney Creek Environmental Park, with activities to follow in the Town Council Chambers.
The event is free, but with 300 participating last year, families are encouraged to arrive early so that they can be in place before 10 a.m., said Koy Worrell, Parks and Rec Director.

American Legion Post 110 member James Ervin, left, performs a POW/MIA ceremony during Monday night\'s event with church member Marco Schrader assisting.

NASHVILLE - American Legion Post #110 of Nashville held its annual Ladies Night March 19 at the Nashville Methodist Church, with a crowd of over sixty treated to dinner, entertainment, a moving POW/MIA ceremony and a speech celebrating the history and accomplishments of the American Legion, which is celebrating its 105th birthday.
Ladies Night is a special event designed to pay tribute to the widows and wives of local veterans.

Breaking or entering into or breaking out of motor vehicle(s) was reported at 11794 Red Bud Rd., Castalia on 2/26/24
Domestic disturbance was reported at 12130 Brock Circle, Bailey on 3/1/24
Larceny felony reported at 179 Lindsay Rd., Nashville on 3/1/24

INCIDENTS
Felony larceny; breaking and entering auto, larceny from auto reported at 1957 Oak Level Rd., Rocky Mount on 2/27/24
Missing persons reported at 120 W. Washington St., Nashville on 2/29/24

A 33-year old homeowner from Rocky Mount is due in Nash County Superior Court, accused of vandalizing and removing three headstones from a cemetery behind his house.
Antoine Lancaster of 5151 Redman Road, also the location of the James Thomas Mosley Cemetery, is charged with "destroying and taking away grave headstones and brick grave markers" for the graves of Susan Pittman Mosley, 1855-1930;

A Battleboro woman hired through a temp agency to work at the Cheesecake Factory has a pending Nash County District court date after her arrest for turning in fake time slips to collect six months' worth of paychecks totaling over $25,000.
Renee Shonta Langley, 42, of 224 Conyers Lane, Battleboro, is charged with twenty felony counts of obtaining property by false pretense, G.S. 14-100, for collecting between $700 and $850 in gross pay per paycheck between July 9, 2021 and January 28, 2022, court records stated.

A 32-year old Georgia man arrested two years ago in a joint interdiction operation on US Highway 64 near Rocky Mount has been found guilty on all drug-related charges and sentenced to 37 years in prison.
Omaar Amante of Gainesville, Georgia, was sentenced March 5 in Nash County Superior Court after his apprehension and arrest in March 2022 as a result of a cooperative effort between the Nash County Sheriff's Office (NCSO), the Martin County Sheriff's Office and the Williamston Police Department.

The Seegars Fence Company, with a Rocky Mount branch that covers Nash, Franklin and Edgecombe Counties, has been awarded the title of 2023 Fence Contractor of the Year by the American Fence Association.
Comprised of over 4,000 fence companies across the country, the AFA award recognizes individual businesses for being leaders in community service, said Ben Harper, Marketing Manager.

On the CBS Sunday Morning show, they were talking about a former reporter who had passed away. The reporter said one of his favorite interviews was with Ted Williams following his last time at bat. He had just ended a stellar career with a home run.
Williams was arguably one of the greatest hitters who ever played the game. His eyesight for the baseball was keen. In fact, he once explained could see the stitches on the baseball as it was approaching the plate.

The Great Commission is the mission of the church. Christ commands us to make disciples by proclaiming the gospel and calling the lost to trust the crucified and risen Savior for salvation. We also are to mark disciples of Christ through water baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then we mature disciples in the faith in Christ by teaching them to obey all the Lord commands of us.

Women in Action missions group met on Tuesday, March 12 at Red Oak Baptist Church. They enjoyed time together to learn about and pray for missions. The group also packaged up the pads they had been working on for the last few months for the "Pad Project" to support a missionary's work in South Asia. They were able to complete pads for 92 bags to be given away (6 pads per bag)! These bags will be filled with other items in order to make hygiene kits which will be given out to the women in the villages in South Asia. The bags Women in Action completed will be sent with another group traveling to South Asia in April.

Autumn Care in Nashville held its annual Sweetheart Dance on Feb. 16. This event has traditionally been open to all residents and families.
During the week prior, residents are asked to vote for a King and Queen who will be announced the night of the dance.
A few days before the dance, one of Autumn Care's residents, Dale Joyner, suddenly passed away. "He was very active throughout our community, and in all our activities. Our residents and staff, as well as families were all very shocked and saddened by the news," said Mollie Willis, Life Enrichment Director at Autumn Care.

H&H Constructors of Fayetteville, LLC to Travis Antwarn Montague and Jessica Montague; Walnut Cove, Phase 2, Lot 22; $266,000
Mary Evelyn Phelps Jenkins to Nicholas E. Jenkins; 726 Evergreen Road, Rocky Mount
Christie Elizabeth Smith Briggs and Christie S. Briggs to Christie S. Briggs, Whitney Elizabeth Briggs Parker and Truitt Andrew Briggs; Beth Eden Court, Rocky Mount
Adam Duane Wells and Malissa Minter Wells to Eric Nash, Gail J. Williams-Nash and Gail J. Williams Nash; Cedar Brook Subdivision, Block L, Lot 7

Suzanne Rumley; 3829 Baker Pond Trail; Nashville; new single family dwelling; $129,096
Suzanne Rumley; 3789 Baker Pond Trail; Nashville; new single family dwelling; $123,878
Suzanne Rumley; 3769 Baker Pond Trail; Nashville; new single family dwelling; $129,096
Suzanne Rumley, 3800 Josiah Ct., Nashville; new single family dwelling; $164,609

The mild winter season has caused many plants that should have had at least several more weeks of rest to emerge from their seasonal sleep. Several plants you may have noticed that bloomed early are Forsythia or yellow-bell, eastern redbud, flowering quince, ornamental cherry, and callery pear. Of the plants mentioned only one stands out with the smell of rotten fish - the callery pear. Most of the most common ornamental pear trees in the nursery trade originate from Pyrus calleryana or the Callery pear. This pear is native to China.

Countless surveys and opinion polls have been conducted by the newspaper industrial complex over the years and have proven that readers of The Nashville Graphic are above average in intelligence.
Further research has shown that readers of the "The Soapbox" are practically geniuses.
The Soapbox staff wants to continue to create as many wrinkles in the brains of our readers as possible.

Nashville leaders have begun the process of gathering information from the town's department heads to develop a budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. Town staff and council members met this week in a marathon session that most likely doesn't even touch the tip of the iceberg of developing a balanced and fair budget. There's a lot of work ahead for them. This week's edition includes coverage on police and fire needs. Be sure to watch The Graphic over the next few weeks for additional coverage of this session and others.

This photo originally published in The Nashville Graphic on November 29, 1983. Nash County 4-H members were honored at the annual Achievement program held at the Nash County Agriculture Center.

The second annual Stonewall Manor Historic Gardening Seminar will take place Saturday, March 23 from 9 a.m. - 12 noon at 1331 Stone Wall Lane, Rocky Mount.
The event will offer information about historic gardens, early gardening practices, native plants, along with several speakers, demonstrations, and expert gardeners sharing their knowledge.