An estimated 50 women attended the first inaugural Women in Agriculture Banquet and Farm tour. Contributed photo

The inaugural Women in Agriculture Banquet and Farm Tour, organized by the NC Cooperative Extension Nash County Center, drew a group of about fifty to its Friday night event at Faithful Stables & Venue and twenty who took part in Saturday's Farm Tour series, beginning with the Nash County Farmers Market, a stop at Strawberry City and finishing up at the Enfield Cotton Ginnery.

RED OAK - Red Oak Town officials are buying traffic cameras, giving off-duty Nash County Sheriff's Office (NCSO) deputies that work town security a raise and planning future security checkpoints.
Town Council members involved NCSO Deputy Ben Blount, who they described as "one of our main masterminds who patrols our area," in their June 10 meeting, picking Blount's brain about the best place to place portable traffic cameras, also called Flock Street Cameras, after receiving information about the results of two April NCSO checkpoints, one on East Castalia and Womble Roads, the other at the Chuckwagon, the old Red Oak Café.

RED OAK - "I woke up this morning feeling fine, fine, fine"- a song frequently on the lips of Nona Lee Strickland Jones, who recently celebrated her 100th birthday at her daughter Connie's home in Red Oak, surrounded by thirty to forty relatives.
'Miss Nona' was born June 3, 1924, in Nash County but her daughter Judy Jones Hobbs doesn't know quite where. What matters is that Miss Nona was born and bred here and has lived a life fulfilled by service to family.

NASHVILLE - Nashville officially has its FY 2025 budget after a unanimous vote by town council members and a public hearing at their June 4 meeting.
The $19,039,437 budget is 3.4% higher than last year's, but drops the town's tax rate to 0.59 cents per $100 of taxable value, which is a drop of two cents from last year's.

Two new subdivisions in the Spring Hope area, one numbering 56 residential lots and the other 61, have been approved by county commissioners, with rezoning restrictions ruling out any manufactured homes in either spot.

Southern Nash High School graduate Sarah Bass shows her excitement upon receiving her high school diploma.

Photo by Jake Fowler

Cora Anna Aedtner of Germany, foreign exchange student, bids a tearful goodbye to Grace Oxendine, Marshal, prior to graduation. Aedtner was due to fly home the next day.

NASHVILLE - Nashville Town officials are "this close" to selecting and purchasing new lighted Christmas decorations for downtown - but now they want the public to come and help choose which ones. After much deliberation by the Downtown Strong Advisory Board, the Chamber of Commerce Board and the Town Council, a decision was made to stick with the company that made the current poinsettia decorations - Mosca Design of Youngsville- and the list of designs narrowed down to five: a "presidential snowflake," a "silhouette fantasy tree," "bells with bows," a "holly candle" and a "heavenly angel."

NASHVILLE - The town of Nashville is in the clear on the status of its FY 2023 audit, submitted late but now okayed by the Local Government Commission.
Town Manager Randy Lansing received a confirmation June 11 that the audit had been received June 6, within 12 months of fiscal year end, and that "the unit has therefore successfully complied with the Notice of Noncompliance issued by the LGC."

RED OAK - In a split vote, Red Oak Town officials have okayed the sale of adult beverages at Ennis Park the Friday night before the Red Oak Classic Sept. 7.
Roy Garner, a member of the Red Oak Area Historic Preservation Society, made a presentation to town council members at their June 10 meeting, asking permission to include a beer and wine garden in a designated area, with food vendors set up around the edge of the basketball area of Ennis Park.

NASHVILLE - Nash County officials have held their required public hearing on the FY 2025 budget, amounting to $142.9 million dollars, on June 3 but have yet to vote on it, that being scheduled Monday, June 17.
Last year's approved budget was $134.5 million.

NASHVILLE - The life and memory of a much-loved local woman, Pauline Thompson Battle, was commemorated with a Mayoral Proclamation at the June 4 meeting of the Nashville Town Council.
Battle, who passed away in February at the age of 103, had one daughter, six sons, one brother, sixteen grandchildren, thirty-five great-grandchildren and sixteen great-great-grandchildren.

NASHVILLE - Long-awaited street improvements to eleven Nashville streets are closer to coming about, now that town officials have committed almost a half million dollars to fixing them- and at no cost to the town.
Vale Street, South Creek Drive, Murfree Street, Thorne Street, Westwood Circle, South Clark Street, and Clark Circle are all due to be resurfaced by Ready Contractors of Wilson to the tune of $529,644. Also included are sections of Church Street, Lumber Street, and South Boddie Street along with a spot on Baker Street where a new water line was installed last year.

MOMEYER - The Town of Momeyer has an approved FY 2025 budget following a 7 p.m., June 6 meeting and public hearing at the Momeyer Ruritan Club. About ten members of the public attended, and none had comments or questions regarding the budget adoption.
Momeyer officials elected to go for a revenue-neutral tax rate, dropping it from .13 to .09 cents per $100 valuation. The town's estimated total property valuation is $17.9 million.

NASHVILLE - Nash County Extension Master Gardner Volunteers are inviting the public to attend a special Pollinator Symposium, featuring talks by experts in horticulture, butterflies and bees, Saturday, June 22, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Ag Center, located at 1006 Eastern Avenue, Nashville.
A $25 registration fee is required, which can be paid in advance or at the door. Refreshments will be served and door prizes will be awarded.

Approximately 1,011 seniors from Nash County Public Schools (NCPS) graduated in a series of ceremonies across various high schools.
Graduations included Early College High School, CITI High School, Tar River Academy, Nash Central High School, Northern Nash High School, Nash Everywhere Digital Academy, Southern Nash High School, Rocky Mount High School.

Are you ready? I had not planned to asked this question, but God, Sunday morning as I was preaching, the Holy Spirit simply took over. I don't say that in a frivolous manner, it's just the only way I can describe what happened as we worshipped at Castalia Baptist Church-NC. The Holy Spirit was present. As I began my sermon, I had asked our congregation, "How would we know if the Holy Spirit was not present with us this morning?" God wanted us to know He was present.

Oak Level Ruritan Club recently presented $1,000 in scholarships to Nash Central High School graduates. Pictured from left to right: Club President, Kaye Boone; Marquel Warren, attending Fayetteville State University; Dakota Leonard, attending UNC Charlotte; Hannah Frazier, attending UNC Wilmington; Not pictured: Kayla Lewis, attending Catawba College. Contributed photo

Oak Level President Kaye Boone presents a donation to Eddie Thomas for Community Christian Services (Ramp Team).Contributed photo

Tikal Property, LLC to Wilder Jose Dueque Ruiz; property of Rocky Mount Hosiery Co., Block D, Lot 27; $37,000
Robert Wilcox and Shannon Wilcox to Shannon Wilcox; 35.72 acres
George Thomas Jones and Jill Bruner Jones to Daniel Grabe Kirkpatrick and Allison Hedgepeth Kirkpatrick; Potter's Clay Subdivision, Lot 3

Multi-sectional; 8862 School St., Rocky Mount; John Armstong; $36,000
Addition; 8155 Red Oak Blvd., Rocky Mount; Donald Poland; $89,999
New single family dwelling; 4140 Dragonfly Rd., Bailey; Ryan Homes; $151,177

Having just returned from a family trip to Europe, I want to assure our readers that things ought to be getting better over there soon. We did our best to straighten that crowd out while we were there.
It's going to take more than one column to share what I gathered in my travels to Dublin, London, and Iceland, so fair warning.
Most of the people were friendly and courteous and not the least bit anti-American. I've seen more American haters on TV here than there.

I recently experienced the unfortunate truth of what happens when society doesn't support locally owned businesses and they disappear.
I was blessed enough to grow up during an era where the majority of our businesses here in Nash County were locally owned and operated. Even in my 20s and 30s, a good chunk of the service businesses were local as well as merchandise retailers.
Nashville was home to a highly respected appliance store and repair shop, Freeman's TV & Appliance.

Dear editor: Every time I see "Saving Private Ryan" movie I recall reading, in school, about French officers-- on returning to France-- after serving our brutal revolution [1776 war] some crippled, limbless, blinded, damaged; yet greeted heroically. Honored and uncompensated.
The movie shows a sea of white crosses; a man visiting with family. Not ever imagining George Floyd, "Black Lives Matter" or commenting to the somber dead - being losers- surely not belittling John McCain's heroism.

This photo originally published in The Nashville Graphic on December 5, 1968. Workers from Carolina Power and Light Company were busy in Nashville putting up Christmas decorations on Washington St. The new decorations were in the shape of Christmas trees and contained lights of many different colors.