Archives

LOUISBURG -- The state of agriculture, most importantly, tobacco, appears tenuous.
That was the message that Cooperative Extension Director Charles Mitchell delivered to commissioners last week.
In 1977, the national price per pound for tobacco was $1.18. With a production cost of .70 cents per pound, a farmer could expect a profit of .48 cents per pound.

LOUISBURG -- The county is preparing to add more monitoring sites and conduct more reporting at its landfill after state testing revealed higher than preferred levels of metals and volatile compounds in groundwater there.
But, there is no need for alarm, a geologist told county commissioners last week.

RALEIGH -- Four Special Olympics competitors blazed a trail for Franklin County athletes.
For the past four years, Kimberly Dixon has been providing Within My Rein -- an equine assisted therapy program for those with special needs -- here in Franklin County.
Along with Natalie Poli, a Special Olympics volunteer, they decided to build a Special Olympics equestrian team to represent Franklin County.

LOUISBURG -- What do drones have to do with public education in Franklin County? Perhaps a bit more than is apparent at first glance and that's the reason the Board of Education is considering a drone use policy that was presented Monday night during a routine meeting of the board.
The policy -- which covers six typed pages and was developed by the North Carolina Board of Education -- is designed to "define and regulate the use of unmanned aircraft" around school facilities and it comes as drone use has become almost commonplace in today's world.

YOUNGSVILLE -- By the end of this year, town officials could sell their old town hall/police department building.
Town commissioners voted to sell the property in February 2018 and, by the end of that year, the town's attorney notified the board he had begun negotiations to sell the property.

The Howle Family with twins, Walker & Blake

Looks like I'm gonna need a new recipe for crow -- because it's on the "menu" first this week.
Remember that we've never promised to be perfect -- especially me! -- only that we'd do our best to report on Franklin County and her people.
That hasn't changed and won't.

In my line of work, making sense of government actions, keeping track of what official said or did what when, and figuring out the quickest way to get a hold of pertinent information is incredibly crucial.
Theoretically, county managers, town managers and town administrators are the staff members one would expect to go through for that type of information.
And, don't get me wrong, they often do -- when they have time.

Dear editor:
This is in reference to the Oct 10 news story about bridge repairs on Pete Smith and Person roads.
That's great news that they are going with private contractors. It's long overdue for sure.

WARRENTON -- Bunn stopped Warren County for an 11-yard loss on the opening play of the game -- and that was just a sign of things to come for the Wildcats.
BHS dominated last Friday's Northern Carolina Conference football event at Warren County from the get-go, surging to a 53-24 triumph over the homestanding Eagles.
Bunn is now 3-4 overall and 2-0 in the NCC, while Warren County remained winless overall.

BUNN -- Winning hasn't necessarily been the main priority of Allen White's long tenure as the head girls and boys tennis coach at Bunn High School.
Instead, White yearns to introduce young people to the sport he loves -- and does whatever he can to help them improve and remain interested in the game even after they graduate from BHS.

STANHOPE -- Two teams on different missions met last Thursday when Southern Nash entertained Franklinton as part of the annual Senior Night festivities for the Ladybirds' volleyball squad.
While honoring the upperclassmen was certainly a priority, SNHS coach Melanie Hicks was also concerned as to whether her club's overall body of work would be good enough to earn a spot in the Class 3-A State Playoffs.

LOUISBURG -- Oxford Webb has been touted as one of the Northern Carolina Conference's most improved football teams this fall -- and the visitors lived up to that billing last Friday night at Louisburg.
Webb broke open at tight game in the third quarter and never relented en route to spoiling Louisburg's homecoming by a 38-6 margin at historic Patterson Field on the LHS campus.

ROCKY MOUNT -- The Rocky Mount Gryphons, with some help from the Franklinton Red Rams, tallied 42 unanswered points last Friday as part of a 42-0 victory over FHS during the Big East Conference football opener for both clubs at Gryphon Stadium.
With the loss, the Red Rams fell for the fifth time in a row and are now 2-5 overall to go with a 1-0 mark in Big East Conference play.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Former North Carolina State University Wolfpack baseball standout Trea Turner (2012-14) and the Washington Nationals are headed to the World Series after its 4-0 sweep in a seven-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals.
It is the first World Series appearance in franchise history for the Nationals.

LOUISBURG -- Regardless of the sport and circumstance, it's always intense when Bunn and Louisburg tangle on any playing field.
Such was the case last Wednesday as the schools met in a key boys soccer showdown at historic Patterson Field on the LHS campus.
Bunn entered the event in the mix for a playoff spot in the ultra-competitive Northern Carolina Conference standings, while Louisburg is in the lower tier of the league, despite showing some dramatic improvement this fall.

Members of the Louisburg High School senior volleyball class were recently honored before the Lady Warriors' home match versus South Granville.

GREAT SEASON AT K-VA. The Kerr-Vance Academy girls tennis team recently won the CIC Championship and has posted a 15-3 overall record. The NCISAA State Playoffs begin this week and the state championships will be held October 26 in Rocky Mount.

Franklinton's Rebekah Smith (center) and De'Nyla Harden (right) attempt to block Southern Nash's Lyndsey Turner during last Thursday's volleyball showdown, which was held at the historic SNHS Gymnasium in Stanhope.

Bunn High School No. 2 Singles standout Maecie Corbett delivers a powerful serve for the Ladycats during last Thursday's home victory against Warren County.

Franklinton's Sarah Dodrill (center) and Amber Rushing (right) elevate for a double block attempt for the Lady Rams during last Thursday's road volleyball meeting with the Southern Nash Ladybirds in Stanhope.

Warren County's Jay Goode (with ball) picks up yardage for the Eagles during their home loss last Friday against Northern Carolina Conference foe Bunn High School.

Louisburg High School quarterback Jaheim Brown (right) escapes a defender from Oxford Webb during last Friday night's key conference football matchup.

Bunn High School senior veteran Hannah Martin returns at shot at No. 3 Singles for the Ladycats during last Thursday's home league match against the Warren County Lady Eagles.

Brenton Bullock is a standout performer this season for the Louisburg High school boys soccer squad.

Joel Fan, acclaimed Steinway Artist, will perform at Cherry Hill in Inez on Sunday, Oct. 20. The program, which begins at 3 p.m., will include works by Beethoven, Chopin, and Evan Ziporyn and Christine Southworth. Fan has performed over 40 different concertos with orchestras worldwide including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Pops, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Singapore Symphony, Odessa Philharmonic, and London Sinfonietta. He serves as artistic director of the Open Source Music Festival.

Fall is an ideal time for homeowners and gardeners to take soil samples for their cool-seasons grasses, fall vegetable garden, as well as other landscape plants.
This is a good time of year for sampling because the soil lab within the NC Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services begins to process tens of thousands of samples beginning in late fall through winter. This service is free to North Carolina residents between April 1 and Nov. 27 each year. Peak testing season begins Nov. 28 when a $4 fee per sample is initiated.

RETIREMENT EVENT. Laureen Jones (third from left) retired from Franklin County Schools on Sept. 25 after a career that spanned more than 36 years of service. She started with Franklin County Schools as an in-school suspension coordinator in 1984. The following year, she became a job placement coordinator. In 2003, she began working in the role she would keep until her retirement as the director of Career and Technical Education (CTE).

FRANKLINTON -- The town's Board of Commissioners adopted an initiative to spur downtown development.
The five-prong approach, which will be deployed over the next six months, will be pivotal in reviving the area, said Town Manager Gregory Bethea.
"We're at a critical stage," Bethea said. "We've had fits and starts with activity there. Now, we're starting to see some activity with commercial development. To spur that along, we've got five new policies that we want to start over the next six months."

A Louisburg native has been recognized for her service. Air Force Airman 1st Class Leilani M. Strickland has been named the 2nd Maintenance Squadron's Highlighted Airman.
Selection was based on the Strickland's exemplary duty performance, job knowledge, leadership qualities, teamwork ethic, personal achievements and record of supporting and serving the community.

FALL FUN. For adults, auctioneer Henry Nelms auctioned off a variety of items like the device being held up by Chris Edwards, one of the organizers of what has become an annual event.

RALEIGH -- A Youngsville man made his first appearance in court this week on charges that he defrauded his grandmother.
Michael Hollen Surles was charged with obtaining property by false pretense and exploiting a disabled person/elderly person's trust.
According to a televised report, Surles, 32, stole more than $46,000 from his grandmother, between October 2017 and June, using her money to pay his bills.

Rose Garden Boutique, located downtown Louisburg, 119 N. Main Street, held its grand opening and ribbon cutting Friday, Oct. 11. The shop features items that are local and handcrafted. Currently they have 20 vendors at the boutique. Pictured above are proud owners, Derrick and Jennifer Losee. The boutique will also have small workshops and classes at their new business.