Roanoke Rapids, NC

The Emporia City Council voted 4-1 to give a $4,000 retention bonus to the Emporia Police Department officers. The Virginia General Assembly approved $5,000 retention bonuses for the Virginia State Police and a $3,000 retention bonus for Sheriff’s Office deputies. The Emporia Sheriff’s Office deputies will receive the $3,000 bonus. EPD Chief Rick Pinksaw included them in his $4,000 request.

GARYSBURG — Barbara Ann Hardy Porch, 69, entered eternal rest Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021, while in the care of Vidant Medical Center in Greenville. She was born on May 1, 1952, in Northampton County, to the parentage of the late Deacon Lonza C. Hardy Sr. and the late Morlene (Harding) Hardy.

LAWRENCEVILLE – J. Richard Blankenship is the new Director of the Brunswick County Department of Social Services and he looks forward to serving the citizens of Brunswick County. Blankenship comes to the area from Ironton, Ohio and was the former Assistant Director with Lawrence County, Ohio, Department of Job and...

After several months of operation, a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday marked the official grand opening of Bertie Ambulance Service, Inc. in the building just outside Warrenton which housed Cam Comer’s shop for many years. The non-emergency medical transport service was founded in 1996 in Windsor. The Warren County location joins others in Roanoke Rapids and Portsmouth, Va. to provide the public with transportation to and from medical appointments, including wheelchair transport. Bertie Ambulance Service will continue to provide back-up for Warren County Emergency Medical Services as needed. BAS, located at 790 US Hwy. 158 west, Warrenton, is available 24/7. To arrange medical transportation, call 252-879-0015 at least 24 hours prior to an appointment; scheduling as soon as an appointment is made is preferred.

That’s a term heard at the Meherrin Ruritan Club every November — except in 2020 due to the pandemic. It’s a term used for Rise Against Hunger, a food-packing event to battle hunger worldwide. “We need to raise $3,500 to host Rise Against Hunger,” event coordinator Bobby Wrenn said. “We...

When the 2021 Valley football campaign began some four months ago, a sense of optimism took shape across the Valley. But a weighty, virus-forward question hovered. Would our teams actually complete the regular season?. Well, as of this writing, the answer is a resounding yes, and cause enough to publish...

Dr. Ashby Jeffries Burton III, M.D., “Jeff,” retired from the Rural Health group October 15, 2021 after 36 years of service. He graduated from the University of Richmond, then furthered his education at Eastern Virginia Medical School where he graduated in 1982. He completed his residency at Portsmouth Family Medicine in 1985.

SCOTLAND NECK — The Scotland Neck Board of Commissioners approved to amend the town’s police budget on Tuesday to appropriate using a $24,026 for a grant. The grant is issued by the Governor’s Crime Commission, according to Town Clerk Nancy Dempsey. Chief John Tippett said during Tuesday’s meeting that it...

If you were restoring a historic home and someone told you it was haunted, what would you do? Many people might reconsider their decision and find somewhere else to live. However, Don Arnold and Ernie Fleming take a very different perspective. They spent many years carefully restoring their home, Oakley Hall, located in the Ridgeway community just off US 1 a few miles south of Norlina. They have also devoted years to the restoration process at The Inn, a former stagecoach stop nearby.

Since Oct. 7, U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger’s office has received more than 1,500 individual responses from seniors, families, small business owners, and veterans throughout Virginia detailing significant delays in deliveries and shipments of medications, bills, checks, absentee ballots, and other pieces of mail. In total, Spanberger has received nearly 6,800...

The Greater Littleton Development Partnership will be hosting a Drive Thru Trunk or Treat event on Saturday, October 30 from 6 - 8 p.m. on North Main Street, Littleton. This is a drive thru event only, no pedestrians. Treats will be handed out. The Lake Gaston Regional Chamber of Commerce...

Since most of us in Jackson and Swain counties live in black bear habitat, which is woods, they do occasionally travel to towns and backyards in search of food, especially during the fall season to put on weight for the coming winter. They are also searching for a winter denning site which is anytime from early November to January.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — As one of the nation’s top-10 prospects in his class, Patrick Baldwin could have signed with just about any college basketball program in the country. He opted to stay home and play for his father at Milwaukee, instantly making the Horizon League school one of the nation’s more interesting stories this season.

RALEIGH, N.C. – On Friday, October 22, 2021, a Scotland Neck man was sentenced to 192 months in prison for narcotics and firearm violations while on post-release supervision for a prior federal felony. On April 2021, Gerard Roderkus Fenner, 40, pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute heroin, fentanyl, marijuana, and methamphetamine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession of a firearm by a felon.

At about 7:30 p.m. Sunday, deputies with the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office responded to a residence outside of Enfield regarding a domestic violence assault where a male had been cut, according to a press release from Chief Deputy Scott Hall. Through an investigation led by Lt. R. Rooks and A...

ROANOKE RAPIDS, N.C. (WITN) -Two people who were killed by a car this past weekend in Roanoke Rapids have been identified. Nuria Carrillo and Isidro Santos died in the 1:00 a.m. Sunday accident at Premier Boulevard and U.S. 158. Witnesses said a group of about eight people was crossing the...

ROANOKE RAPIDS, N.C. (WNCN) — Police identified two 31-year-old people who died after they were hit by a vehicle in Roanoke Rapids early Sunday morning. The incident was reported just before 1 a.m. on Highway 158 in the area of Premier Boulevard, according to Roanoke Rapids police. Witnesses said about...

Queen Silver of Roanoke Rapids was sworn in as a Guardian ad Litem Child Advocate on Oct. 13, by Chief District Court Judge Brenda G. Branch, Judicial District Six in Hertford County. As a new child advocate along with an attorney advocate, Silver will be assigned cases for Bertie, Halifax,...

The multi-million dollar mixed-use project to reimagine Raleigh's Seaboard Station is in progress, but some small businesses are seeking new locations

Roy H. Jaspering, 77, of Warrenton, passed away October 25, 2021, with family by his side. He was born December 30, 1943 to Alvin and Martha (nee: Schulze) Jaspering, at his childhood home in Foristell, MO. Roy was a member and confirmed at Friedens United Church of Christ in Warrenton. Roy was farming at an early age with his brother, Harry. He was an active member in 4-H and served as the FFA president his senior year of high school. He met his friend's younger sister and later was married on November 28, 1970 to Mary Ruth Huber.