Recent Articles

The 16th Annual Down East Youth and Adult Bass Fishing Tournament, held at the Tar River Reservoir April 27, drew 23 children with 23 boaters.
A two-day event, beginning with a pre-tournament meeting and complimentary dinner for boaters, participating youth and their parents at the Booker T. Washington Theater on Friday night, April 26th, the tournament is a charity event to benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Rocky Mount and Beauty for Ashes Outreach.

The Nash County 4-H Drone Team took home second place in the state on Saturday, April 27, at their state competition at NC A&T State University in Greensboro. Pictured left to right are Coach Brittany Pendleton, team member Sawyer Vandemark of Nashville, team member Aubree Moss of Spring Hope, team member Benjamin Wallace of Nashville, and parent volunteer leader, Olivia Moss.

One of the telltale signs of the impending arrival of summer are the sounds of insect mating calls that can sometimes be deafening on certain evenings. These insects are cicadas, katydids, and crickets.
Cicadas are large insects related to aphids and other insects that feed on plants with sucking mouthparts.
There are many species of cicadas that appear each year during the summer.

Our six-year old grandson has started playing baseball for our county youth league. If you're a parent or a grandparent, you've also probably been out this spring watching your child or grandchild play baseball, soccer, or some other sport. It's a real joy to watch them, isn't it?
Have you ever noticed how much we live through the children? Take a good look at how all those parents and grandparents behave when you go to your next sporting event. And while you're at it, take a good look at yourself.

ROCKY MOUNT - Emily "Crews" Shearin has seen many remarkable changes in the health care profession since graduating from Rocky Mount's Park View Hospital (PVH) School of Nursing in 1943. The 102-year-old shared many memories during the Park View Nurses Alumnae Association's recent gathering to celebrate the 110th anniversary of the school's founding.

Detached accessory structure, 7301 Windy Ct. W., Bailey; Linda Liles; $10,000
Miscellaneous, 315 N. White St., Whitakers; Kathy Cunha; $80,000
Detached accessory structure, 5095 Wildlife Rd., Unit A, Castalia; Kristi Tanner; $13,371
Detached accessory structure, 5095 Wildlife Rd., Unit A, Castalia; Krisi Tanner; $9,757.57

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

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.

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."