North Carolina is the second-most threatened state for farmland loss, with two neighboring counties, Wake and Johnston, ranking in the top 40 nationally in projected acres to be converted for other uses by 2040. Those were two facts in an April 16 presentation attended by Nash Commissioners in a recessed meeting at the Nash County Ag center.
Specific sections of Nash County are already predicted for farmland loss, or conversion to low-density residential land use.

NASHVILLE - A proposed Liberty Drive development consisting of 88 townhouse units finally crossed the finish line at the April 16 Nashville Town Council meeting, with the final hurdle, revised wording regarding requested conditions on the special use permit, submitted and approved.
Ace Needham LLC's permit request for the 17+ site was first presented in January, with council members subsequently insisting that the number of units be reduced from the original 124, along with having sidewalks looped to connect two interior street and the addition of a second parking area, among other plan amendments.

FUN DAY - Pictured above, Little Austin Wester, 2, is all smiles while exploring the inside of the ECU Health East Care helicopter at the Coopers Fire Department Community Day held last Saturday. Youngsters and adults were treated to activities, food and demonstrations during the annual event. Pictured beside Austin, Raelynn Wrenn, 3, peeks at the camera while sitting in a seat on the chopper.

NASHVILLE - Proposed Attendance Zone Maps for Nash County Public schools are now online, after two community forums allowed parents the chance to view them and ask questions in person.
The forums were held April 15 at Winstead Avenue Elementary and April 17 at Nash Central High School.
The thirteen impacted schools include Nash Central High School, Nash Central Middle School, and Nashville Elementary in addition to schools within the city limits of Rocky Mount.

RED OAK - A budget work session for Red Oak Town Council members April 18 resulted in a proposed budget of $1,247,500, which is a drop of 6%, or $81,855 from last year. Despite the drop, the town is allocating significantly more in sponsorship funds and increasing money to the 4th of July Festival.
"That's what the town is for, to support the community," said Sandra Russ, Councilwoman, who presented proposed budget figures to the board. "I think bumping it up is the right thing to do."

NASHVILLE - Two prominent African-American women, a Judge and a recently retired Assistant Director for the State Bureau of Investigation, were speakers at the Voice of Nashville Community Group April 14 meeting.
The Honorable Alicia Slaughter, District 8 Judge for Nash, Edgecombe and Wilson Counties, and Audria Bridges of Concord, NC, were introduced as was Tomasine Jones, Code Enforcer for the Town of Nashville.

APRIL 25
Nash Arts presents Nicholas Vernon in concert on Thursday, April 25 at 7 p.m. Advance tickets are $11 ($6 for Arts Council Members); $15 at the door ($10 for members.) Vernon is the 2023 nominee for male artist of the year, entertainer of the year for Carolina Country Music Awards. Nash Arts is located at 100 E. Washington St., Nashville. For more information call 252-459-4734 or visit www.nasharts.org

CASTALIA - Castalia Commissioners began work on the upcoming 2024-2025 budget at a special meeting last Tuesday.
The budget is projected to increase by a little over $25,000, from $232,200 to $257,573.
"This is just a projected figure that we think we will take in," Mayor James Alston said. "This is a projected figure we think we can live with."

ROCKY MOUNT - Twin County Community Pride, Inc. is accepting nominations for the Class of 2024 of people, living or deceased, whose impact on Edgecombe or Nash counties has been notable. "By recognizing these individuals, the Twin County Hall of Fame stimulates an interest in and an appreciation for the value of the history of this community and its citizens," a press release states.

NASHVILLE - The remaining two lots in Nashville's Business Center are changing hands.
Lot 4 has been chosen as the site for BuildLabs' first U.S. manufacturing facility.
Lot 3 is being handed over to Nash County in exchange for the county to build a 40,000 square foot shell building there.
ACDi Manufacturing occupies Lot 1 and Atlantic Natural Foods is on Lot 2.

Nash Arts has been invited to come under the Nash County umbrella, but council members have postponed any decision until they receive a proposal in writing to outline details of what that would involve. A public meeting Tuesday night at the Nash Arts building involved a presentation by Stacie Shatzer, Nash County manager, and a question and answer period for council members and anyone in the audience who wanted to participate.

INCIDENTS
Assault with deadly weapon with intent to kill; damage to real property reported at 1101 Brake St., Nashville on 4/10/24
Child abuse-felony; sex offense, second degree reported on Lumber St. on 4/12/24
No insurance, registration (cancelled/revoked/suspended title or tag) possession marijuana 1/2 to 1 1/2 oz. reported at Washington St./Barnes St., Nashville on 4/13/24

Domestic disturbance reported at 13106 Brantley Woods Rd., Zebulon on 4/11/24
Obtain property by false pretense reported at 234 W. Washington St., Nashville.
Assault on female reported at 2390 Cash Ln, Rocky Mount on 4/13/24
Larceny felony reported at 2620 S. Wesleyan Blvd., Rocky Mount on 4/12/24

ROCKY MOUNT - The Nash County area is growing so rapidly along with the rest of North Carolina, that Duke Energy anticipates peak load growth by 2030 will be eight times what was projected just two years ago.
Beth Townsend, Local Government and Community Relations Manager for Duke Energy, hosted a key leader update at Nash Community College March 26 to speak on the work being done to modernize the electric grid "as we prepare for the energy demands of a growing and vibrant regional and state," as Townsend put it.

Two years ahead of schedule, the number of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) in the state have surpassed 80,000, a goal set by Governor Roy Cooper for 2025. Cooper made the announcement March 28, citing 80,000 ZEV registrations recorded in November of 2023.
Cooper signed an executive order 80 in 2018, calling for state agencies to set "specific, firm and ambitious goals to decrease emissions" and to increase the number of ZEVs registered in North Carolina.

Nash County Public Schools logo has a new, more modern look: introduced today, the new logo uses blue and green colors, with a prominent capital "N" superimposed over a silhouette the shape of Nash County.
Heather Louise Finch, NCPS Executive Director of Communications, Planning and Engagement, said the rebranded logo would be officially launched July 1 during the demerger transition phase.

NASHVILLE - Approximately $6 million in capital improvement requests have been trimmed to $1.8 as part of the projected Nash County FY 2025 budget, with the three most costly recommendations a network server and storage solution, a replacement ambulance and detention facility capital.
Jonathan Boone, Deputy County Manager, went over capital requests and recommendations at the April 11 commissioners' budget session, held at the Ag Center, focusing those 'shortlisted' to be included in the current draft budget.

While talking about current events recently regarding Israel, Robbie and I recalled a miniseries from twenty years ago. It was called Revelations. The show's title had an "s" on the end of the name as opposed to the last book of the Bible - Revelation.
The show questioned whether we were living in the last days. It followed a scientist's struggle between the logic of science (which offers proof) and the illogic of faith (which the Bible described as substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen). Hebrews 11:1

Our agenda, our definition of what a good God should give us, is a life that is comfortable, pleasurable, and predictable; one in which there's lots of human affirmation and an absence of suffering. But consider God's agenda, as it's revealed in the following passages:

Welcome to Bob and Cindy Pike who joined the Red Oak Baptist Church family!
The Women in Action missions group at Red Oak Baptist Church met at the church on Tuesday, April 9. They learned about what WMU groups around the country are doing to reach out to others, prayed for missionaries with birthdays that day, and learned about the Singermans who serve as International Mission Board missionaries in Uganda.

H&H Constructors of Fayetteville, LLC to David Jonathan Vallette; Walnut Cove Subdivision, Phase 2, Lot 23; $300,000
Pamela Joyce Anderson Grady and Willie Grady to Pamela Joyce Anderson Grady Revocable Trust and Pamela Joyce Anderson Grady; Lot 5, Block A
Eastern Carolina Development Company of Rocky Mount, Inc. to Indra Alapati and Anish Doddapaneni; Greystone North Subdivision, Block A, Lot 1

Renovation/alteration; 5923 Harvest Ridge Rd., Battleboro; Donald Poland; $28,000
New single family dwelling; 700 Harrison Rd., Nashville; Mark Lucero; $242,064.67
Repair; 3320 Macedonia Rd., Spring Hope; Timothy Land; $10,000
Detached accessory structure; 4668 Ashley Dr., Battleboro; David English; $38,000

It's not Mr. Peabody's coal train that John Prine sang about hauling it away, but the logging trucks on my road have sure been giving it their best effort.
Starting every morning around six, the heavy machinery cranks up, buzzing, grinding and then an earth-shaking crash that we can feel in the house.
The large acreage that was thick woods my entire life has been erased. The pines well over a half century old that blocked cell phones, satellite and high-speed internet over the last 20 years are gone. Logging trucks have parked in the road, in the curb, muddled the highway, torn up the already soft road shoulders.

Dear Editor: With all sincerity, looking back over my professional career that has spanned more than half a century, I can say that a highlight, great privilege, and an honor on the highest level was my brief tenure as the executive director of the Nash County Cultural Center that ushered in the Nash County Arts Council roughly a quarter of a century ago. At that time, for a few months. I traveled from my home in Pamlico County to my second home, Nashville, one day per week to promote the arts and the sustainability of the Nash County Cultural Center.

This photo is from The Nashville Graphic "Lincke" archives of a busy day at Nashville's Train Depot. Part of the depot was later moved and now serves as the Nashville Community Center of Alston Street.

Nashville Elementary students celebrated Science Day recently. Pictured above, Joe'Nyiah Whitney sits with a Nash UNC Health worker while learning about CPR and the use of defibrillating units.

North Carolina Wesleyan University President, Dr. Evan D. Duff, along with Art Curator, Jan Sullivan Volz, and President of Bob Ross Inc., Joan Kowalski, announced that more of Bob Ross' famous original paintings are set to adorn the walls of The Mims Gallery at The Dunn Center this upcoming holiday season.
Bob Ross Bringing Back the JOY will be on display in the Mims Gallery of The Dunn Center, located on the beautiful NC Wesleyan University campus, from Monday, December 2, 2024 through Monday, January 13, 2025.