Archives

CASTALIA -- Back in the 1800s, a gold rush brought many prospectors to northeastern Franklin County.
Members of the Northeast Franklin County Revitalization Committee wonders if the nostalgia of it all could re-ignite interest in the long-neglected region of the county.
For the past several years, members of the grassroots committee have put their heads together to achieve three goals:

LOUISBURG -- Auditors gave the county's finances a clean bill of health, but warned that changes on the horizon for an enterprise fund could get messy.
Tara Roberson with Winston, Williams, Creech, Evans & Company presented commissioners with the county's 2018-19 audit, noting the county received a "clean" opinion -- meaning auditor's believe that the county's financial statements fairly present its financial results, financial position, and cash flows.

Vance County resident Lisa Reeves keeps Snowman calm while Dr. Younger administers a test. Reeves rescued the curly horse through Last Chance Kill Pen Horses for Rescue-Asheboro. Reeves has taken the more than 20-year-old horse on rides and other adventures.

LOUISBURG -- During the first meeting of a medical services advisory committee in about two years, members suggested the county invest more into its community paramedic program.
Community Paramedic Heather Lewis updated members of the Emergency Medical Services Advisory Committee about the program during its Jan. 29 meeting.

FRANKLINTON -- Franklin County sheriff's deputies are investigating two Sunday shooting incidents.
One of them is believed to be related to a shooting incident from the week before.
At about 9:30 a.m. on Feb. 2, authorities were notified that 19-year-old Bennie Lee Crudup was shot in his neck while driving along Dogwood Street in Franklinton.

LOUISBURG -- Preventing and ending sexual assault and domestic violence takes an entire community, say operators of a county program designed to do just that.
Next week, Safe Space is joining forces with Iron 2 Iron Inc. to bring to the table a segment of the community that's often overlooked in efforts to combat these societal ills -- men.

Youngsville Police Chief Greg Whitley sworn in last month

January is fast fading into our rear-view mirror and nearly a week of February has slipped past, meaning that it's only about 42 more days until Spring arrives!
And that can't happen soon enough, if you ask me, even though we had a fairly minor winter thus far. That can change in those 42 days -- and maybe even into the first few days of Spring -- but maybe Mother Nature will give us a break this year.

Full disclosure: I was a liberal arts major, so sitting through an audit presentation is not my idea of fun, but, my job requires me to be engaged -- so I was.
And, let's just say you don't have to be a mathematician to understand that losing money is not as good as making money.
So, I perked up when the auditor -- while giving the county, overall, a glowing financial report -- noted that the county's newest enterprise fund is losing money.

Dear editor, After having read quite a few complaints about our Main Street "bump out" or curb extension, I can't help but notice one key conclusion is consistently being missed: the inconvenience to drivers is the point.

Dear editor: The best thing that could happen to the state of North Carolina would be for Thom Tillis, Richard Burr, and Mark Meadows to pack up and go to Florida where they could sit at the feet of their king, Donald J. Trump, and continue to kiss his butt.

LOUISBURG--Ann Nevils Gilliam, 74, of Louisburg departed this earthly life on January 30, 2020 at her home. She was born on November 3, 1945 to the late Alton Leo and Alice Irene Jeffreys Nevils. In addition to her parents, she was also preceded in death by her brother, Floyd Nevils.

FRANKLINTON--Patricia Dorothy Smith Finn, 80, of Franklinton departed this earthly life on January 30, 2020. She was born in Ipswich, England on August 4, 1939 to the late Stanley Lawrence and Dorothy Rose Howard Smith. In addition to her parents, Patricia was preceded in death by her husband, Luther Finn, Jr. Patricia was passionate about her grandchildren and loved helping her family. She loved fishing with her son, Troy, knitting blankets, cooking, and was an exceptionally well versed reader and extremely knowledgeable of English history.

STANHOPE -- Southern Nash High School was the final stop on the 2019-20 Big East Conference Wrestling Tour as the league's mat stars met last Saturday for the annual Big East Individual Tournament.
The conference had convened one week earlier for the team duals, which were controlled -- as expected -- by the strong squad from Wilson Fike High School.

BUNN -- Thanks to a coincidental fate of geography, Matt Roberts already knew the drill.
Roberts, the College of Charleston Athletic Director, was a student-athlete back in the 1990s at Wake Forest-Rolesville High School -- close enough to Franklin County to understand how the town of Bunn supports its own.

BUNN -- What a whirlwind -- and profitable -- one-week span it has been for the Bunn High School wrestling squad.
Last Wednesday, the Wildcats wrapped up their second consecutive Northern Carolina Conference championship by securing a 57-21 home victory against Roanoke Rapids at the Bunn Dome.

LOUISBURG -- A Senior Night victory over South Granville could have gone a long way toward obtaining a spot in the Class 1-A Basketball Playoffs for the Louisburg Lady Warriors.
But it wasn't meant to be as the back-and-forth game ended with the ball on South Granville's number by a score of 36-33 in Northern Carolina Conference action Tuesday at the historic LHS Gymnasium.

FRANKLINTON -- Most Big East Conference basketball fans were expecting back-to-back-to-back conference champion Northern Nash to win easily at Franklinton on Tuesday night.
However, the Red Rams, in front of a passionate "Senior Night" crowd, had other plans.
Using a strong defensive effort, that prevented the Knights from making a shot from the floor in the second quarter,

BUNN -- Parker Haake, Bunn High School's wrestling coach, considers Jeremy Cope to be one of his squad's most aggressive, determined performers.
The talented Cope took that same tact toward fulfilling his aspiration to compete on the mat on the collegiate level.
That dream was realized last Friday when Cope signed a letter-of-intent to continue his wrestling career at St. Andrews University, which is located in Laurinburg.

LOUISBURG -- Even with two of their top players unavailable due to injury, the Louisburg Warriors were able to give powerhouse South Granville its best shot during Tuesday's Senior Night boys basketball showdown at the LHS Gymnasium.
Louisburg was able to stay close in the game in the opening half, much to the glee of the boisterous crowd.

Bunn High School alum and Franklin County resident Troy Wheless poses with legendary former College of Charleston coach John Kresse, who had quite an impact on Wheless' life.

PARKER HAAKE CELEBRATES NCC TITLE

North Carolina's own "Balsam Range" will bring their bluegrass sounds to the Seby B. Jones Performing Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22.
Balsam Range, the 2018 International Bluegrass Music Association Entertainers of the Year, have become one of the genre's most award-winning acts. Since forming in 2007, the group has garnered 13 IBMA awards on the heels of nine critically-acclaimed albums.

LOUISBURG -- The recharged Emergency Medical Services Advisory Committee is looking to remove a barrier that kept them from serving the county.
Continued debate about the status of the county's emergency radio system prompted county officials to solicit input and direction from EMSAC.
However, the 21-member board -- which is expected to at least meet quarterly -- hadn't met in about two years, previous emergency management staff noted, because of an inability to generate a quorum.

IRS Tax Tip 2020-01
While many people are required to file a tax return, it's a good idea for everyone to determine if they should file. Some people with low income are not required to file, but will need to do so if they can get a tax refund.

IRS Tax Tip 2020-04, January 16, 2020
The tax filing season is upon us, and many people will be looking for someone to help them file a tax return. These taxpayers should choose their tax return preparer wisely.

Tax Tip 2020-09
Many people will be filing federal taxes for the first time this year. For these taxpayers, IRS Free File may be the perfect match, especially if they are looking to save money on tax preparation.