NASHVILLE - The prospect of offering off-campus Christian education to Nashville Elementary students during school hours is officially on the table, with board of education members given sample memorandums of understanding from Lifewise Academy to consider during an Aug. 29 committee meeting.
Christy Smith, Lifewise program director for Nash County, conducted an informational session with committee members at the request of Steve Ellis, Superintendent, after Ellis said there had been "a little confusion" around a prior presentation made by Lifewise at an Aug. 5th board meeting.

NASHVILLE - A plan to ask the town of Nashville to annex Nash Central Middle School is in the "preliminary stage," according to Steve Ellis, Superintendent for Nash County Public Schools, who said he wanted to bring the topic up "for information only" and to keep board members informed.
Ellis, speaking at an August 29 board of education committee meeting, said Chris Bissette, board member, had brought the idea up over the summer.

Cadet Chief Master Sgt. Giovanni Desimone (left) and Cadet Capt. Zachary Beal (right) show children some of the emergency services equipment used to search for ELT\'s (Emergency Locator Transmitters). Photo by Lt. Col. Liz Dunster, CAP

ROCKY MOUNT - There is a shortage of pilots in the United States, and fewer than one percent of the U.S. population holds a Private Pilot Certificate. One local organization, however, is doing its best to make that change by involving young people in aviation studies while also providing potentially life-saving services.
The Tar River Composite squadron, Civil Air Patrol (CAP), celebrated its 44th birthday with an Open House Aug. 29 at the Rocky Mount-Wilson (RWI) airport, providing visitors the chance to try out flight simulators, examine a plane, and play with STEM activities in order to find out a bit of what CAP is all about.

NASHVILLE - A Spring Hope woman is in jail, awaiting a possible indictment to be heard in Supreme court on charges of Patient Abuse & Neglect at a Nashville Assisted Living facility.
Yolanda Elaine Street, 40, of 627 S. Pine Street, Spring Hope, was arrested by August 9th by Spring Hope police on charges stemming from a July 9, 2024 incident at The Gardens of Nashville, located at 1022 Eastern Avenue, Nashville.

The intersection of North Old Carriage Road and Reges Store Road/Green Hills road has been scheduled for closure from Sept. 3 to Sept. 16, weather permitting, for construction of a new, single-lane roundabout.
The new roundabout planned for construction has been on DOT's agenda for several years, and is one of eleven planned for the Nashville-Rocky Mount area.
A $60.5-million-dollar design-build contract for a combined project was awarded by NCDOT in 2019, with the design phase finished in August 2022.

NASHVILLE - The hunt is on to find and hire qualified firefighters for the town of Nashville, so council members have approved hiring one still in Fire Academy.
Chris Joyner, Public Safety Director, asked for and got approval at the Sept. 3 council meeting to recruit a Firefighter-In-Training in manner similar to a program used by the Nashville Police Department, which involves paying a recruit while in-school 5% less than the Department's hiring salary of $45,238 in addition to receiving town employee benefits.

New study data for visitor and tourism travel show record-breaking results for Nash County, which ranked 25th in the state for tourism dollars last year; $348.14 million dollars were spent here in 2023 by domestic and international visitors. The ranking included a 4% rise for Nash.
Overall state figures for overnight visitors state that about one-third of visitors come from elsewhere in the state, with nearly the same number staying in private homes with the goal of visiting friends and relatives. Comparatively, about 45% of travelers stay in hotels or motels.

NASHVILLE - In the interests of school safety, and because elementary schools in Nash County do not have Evolv weapons detection systems installed, public school officials are instituting random 'wanding' checks of ten percent of elementary school students, beginning September 9.
Leondus Farrow, Asst. Superintendent, shared the news at the Aug. 29 meeting of a Nash County Public Schools committee meeting, saying that hand-held metal detector wands had been purchased for each elementary school to be used for random screenings of three student groups: walkers, bus riders and car riders.

NASHVILLE ‑ A Nashville couple are due in Nash district court Sept. 5 to answer truancy charges relating to two children kept out of school.
Elizabeth Ann Ferrell, 34, and Jason Morrow Smith,36, both of 6405 Land Road, Nashville, are each charged with two counts of violating the school attendance law relating to compulsory attendance.
Two children named in court records attend Coopers Elementary and Southern Nash Middle School.

Possession controlled substance prison/jail premises reported at 100 N. Boddie St., Nashville on 8/19/24
Resisting arrest/hinder and delay; damage to personal property reported at 10516 W. NC 97, Middlesex on 8/22/24
Warrant service reported at 1100 S. NC 581, Spring Hope on 8/20/24
Possession with intent to sell/deliver marijuana at 1108 instrument Dr., Rocky Mount on 8/21/24

INCIDENTS
Death investigation at 1117 Crescent Meadows Dr., Nashville on 8/19/24
Larceny misdemeanor; conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor; obtain property by false pretense reported at 1205 Eastern Ave., Nashville on 8/19/24
Driving while license revoked; DWI reported at mile marker 460 US 64 W., Nashville

Spring Hope downtown development board members have lined up the first two actors in their sights to immortalize in the town's planned 'Walk of Fame,' tentatively planned to be placed on the sidewalk on Main Street from S. Ash to Pine Street.
Frankie Muniz and Violette Beane both star in "Renner," a sci-fi thriller directed by Robert Rippberger and produced by Spring Hope's Ascent Studios. The film is scheduled for release this coming October 28, according to filmmaker Devin Keaton, who is a member of the DDB.

My wife told me a story several years ago, which took the form of a modern-day parable.
Jesus often relied on parables in the Bible to compare something in everyday life to a spiritual truth. However, many of us have trouble applying them in today's world because we don't belong to the culture for which they were written. In other words, the importance of the spiritual truth is easily misunderstood - if not lost altogether - because we can't relate to the everyday example to which Jesus compares it.

Every time you read scripture, it is like reading it for the first time. The word of God is pregnant with truth to be discovered. Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." The Bible is the living word of God.
In this 17th stanza of Psalm 119, the psalmist declares another truth about scripture.

Two of Nash County's neighbors, Edgecombe and Wilson Counties, are adding new manufacturing plants which should bring over 1,000 new jobs to the region.
Natron Energy, a global leader in sodium-ion battery technology, has selected Kingsboro, outside Tarboro, as the site for its first Gigafactory in the United States. The company plans to invest nearly $1.4 billion in Edgecombe County and provide approximately 1,062 new jobs with salaries averaging about $64,000.
"North Carolina's momentum in the clean energy economy reaches epic proportions with this news," said N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper.

A story that ran in last week's Nashville Graphic, "Nash saw 24 traffic fatalities last year," contained an error. In the story section entitled "One Crash's Effects" that detailed testimony from Stephanie Ronan about a 2018 accident involving her and an impaired driver, it was incorrectly reported that the impaired driver had been charged with 'alleged DWI', and that the charge had been thrown out.

I don't know what happened. I'm too old for a midlife crisis, but it sure seems like one of those decisions.
Last week, we got a puppy.
People who know me well may think I finally fell into a lifestyle of hard drugs. Others may think those years of ice hockey finally caught up with me.
Knowing that I've had a soft spot for French bulldogs for some time, a good friend at work alerted me a couple of months ago to available puppies.

Thanks to Nashville native Randy Shackleford we have had the unimaginable to happen.
Randy grew up in a home on Boddie Street which is still currently his "home place." He returned to the US several months back to spend time with his mother and also assist with some things around the home.
Shortly after his arrival back home, he dropped off a box of letters to me.

ELM GROVE HOMECOMING - This photo published in The Graphic on Sept. 10, 1953. Some of the leaders in homecoming services at the Elm Grove Baptist Church are shown in front of the church. An estimated 300 persons attended the homecoming event.

Rarely has a team experienced so much success while flying under the radar as the Nash Central Bulldogs have over the past three seasons.
In each of those campaigns, the Bulldogs have reached at least the third round of the Class 2-A State Playoffs -- and even advanced to the fourth round in 2023.
And among the accomplishments obtained in those years was back-to-back-to-back titles in the Class 2-A portion of the strong Big East Conference.

Northern Nash's previous two football seasons have resulted in as much success as any two-year run in program history.
In 2022, the Knights landed in the school's second State Championship game appearance in 58 seasons of football, while 2023 resulted in a loss to Seventy-First in the Class 3-A Eastern Final, accruing a two-year record of 28-3.

Funny as it may sound, but defense will be the key for Southern Nash this fall as the Firebirds look to defend their Big East Conference regular season championship.
On offense, Southern Nash has churned out so many good players through the years that it's almost become a given that the Firebirds, regardless of opponent, are going to pile up the points in a big way.

Taking a step back in time in the near future is the chief goal within the tradition-rich Rocky Mount High School football program.
The Gryphons have been known through the years for their gridiron excellence, including back-to-back state finals appearances in the best decade -- and a coveted state crown.