Thomas Roderick “Rod” Gillis, 87, of Ashville, N.Y. and Shelby, N.C., passed away at 5:10 pm Wednesday, May 8, 2019, in his home in North Carolina. An area resident for most of his life, he was born ...

The Rev. Roderick Thomas was struggling to find a topic for the return of Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church’s community-wide Black History Month program following a two-year hiatus. Over the decade before ...