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LOUISBURG -- Two Louisburg teens charged with second degree murder are slated to appear in court next week.
Franklin County sheriff's deputies arrested Gavin Lloyd Miller, 18, and 19-year-old Dillon Thomas Piper in connection with the death of Hamilton Mathias Woods Jr., 19.
According to authorities, the teens had gathered with others in the Kerigon Lane cul-de-sac to watch two girls fight during the early morning hours of Jan. 29.

LOUISBURG -- After about 45 minutes of public input, the Louisburg Town Council still doesn't have clear direction on how to develop its Depot Hill project.
Mayor Christopher Neal, though, said the dialogue will continue.
"Thank you citizens," Neal said at the end of the meeting to a heavily populated meeting space at the town's Operations Center on Industrial Drive.

LOUISBURG -- County department heads will start submitting their personnel request to human resources and finance staff this month.
Its the next step in a budget process that County Manager Kim Denton laid out to commissioners and the public during the board's budget forum on Jan. 26.
During the forum, Denton shared with the board the schedule by which staff and officials will examine, review and approve the budget, as well as outlining the factors that will impact the county's 2023-24 spending plan.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County's Animal Services Advisory Board got off to a slow start, as it didn't have all its members in attendance and they didn't elect officers.
But, it did two things expected to give it a better grasp of their task:

King Bryant, winner of the first annual Billiards Tourney, Franklinton Senior Center

Okay, the clock is running so, hopefully you'll get to work shortly because there is a lot to be done in the next 10 days or so.
Even non-football fans know that the big game is coming up very soon following last weekend's playoffs, which determined that the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs will square off -- with, at the time this was written, the Eagles being a slim, two-point favorite.
Pre-game indications are that the big bowl -- we aren't supposed to call it super because of trademark limitations -- is going to be a good game.

In the spring of 2018, Louisburg officials and staff announced that the Dickens family donated the Depot Hill building and nearly 1.5 acres to the town.
The only apparent stipulation was that the Dickens name be worked into the name of the finished development.
Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy, right?
Well, here it is, nearly four years later and it's more like stressed, depressed, lemon zest.

Dear editor:
Is it too much to ask that there should be public restrooms in a public building?
I've just returned from the new Shannon Village location of the Franklin County tax and planning office after fulfilling one of the more expensive citizen responsibilities.

Dear editor:
Over 1,000 private jets flew into airports around Davos, Switzerland for the recent World Economic Forum. The main topic for this group of global elitists was climate change. That seems like a lot of jet fuel and emissions to me. You must remember these are some of the richest people on earth and they evidently have different rules than the rest of us.

Zebulon, NC--Funeral services for Hamilton "Ham" Woods, Jr., age 19, who died on Sunday, January 29, 2023, will be held on Sunday, February 5, 2023 at 3:30 p.m. from the Faith Baptist Church in Youngsville, with Rev. Melvin Jackson officiating. Burial will follow in the Pine Forest Memorial Gardens.

Robert passed peacefully from this life the morning of January 31, 2022 after a gradual decline in health. Bob, as he was affectionately known, was born in Gary, Indiana to Jasper and Mary Sykes where he attended Roosevelt High School. He matriculated at Fisk University in Nashville TN where he earned a B.A. in Philosophy in 1969. Following his education at Fisk he pursued graduate classes at seminary studying the theology of the book of Revelations.

ROCKY MOUNT -- The most pertinent question of the 2022-23 Big East Conference swimming season was finally answered last Thursday afternoon at the Harrison Family YMCA Pool.
The quest for finding out the top girls squad in the league has been dotted with plot twists this winter, but Southern Nash had the final say during the annual Big East Championships.

STANHOPE -- Louisburg keeps getting better, but high-aspiration Southern Nash proved to be too much for the Lady Warriors during last Friday's Big East Conference girls basketball showdown.
LHS is building for the future, while the present is the aim for the Ladybirds, who are jousting for a quality position in both the Big East Conference standings and the Class 3-A State Playoffs.

STANHOPE -- There's something about the Southern Nash Firebirds that brings out the best in the Bunn Wildcats -- even during one of BHS' uncharacteristic down seasons.
When the clubs met a few weeks ago at the Bunn Dome, the host Wildcats played one of their best games of the season before Southern Nash established some control in the second half en route to earning a nine-point triumph.

STANHOPE -- Jermia Walker to the rescue.
That's been a common theme within the Southern Nash High School girls basketball program during Walker's storied four-year career as a star point guard.
And it was relived once again Tuesday as Walker came through in the clutch, helping the Ladybirds escape with a tight 32-31 victory over Bunn in a key Big East Conference showdown at the SNHS Gymnasium.

ZEBULON -- The Carolina Mudcats have shared details for the new promotions schedule for the 2023 season at Five County Stadium.
The new promotions schedule is highlighted by the return of several fan favorite theme nights, 10 souvenir giveaway events, 11 Friday Night Fireworks nights and the Mudcats for America Fireworks Extravaganza on Independence Day.

(L to R) Louisburg's Lindsey Lundy and Southern Nash's Precious Richardson joust for a rebound during last Friday night's Big East Conference girls basketball meeting at the SNHS Gymnasium in Stanhope.

Spring is noted for the sense of rejuvenation it inspires when temperatures warm up and flowers begin to bloom. But in the United States, the onset of spring is followed shortly thereafter by tax season, which typically generates entirely different feelings than the first sight of spring blooms.
The deadline to file tax returns in the U.S. in 2023 is Tuesday, April 18. With that deadline looming, now is a good time to consider these three basic tax preparation tips, courtesy of the Internal Revenue Service.

One of the first decisions taxpayers must make when completing a tax return is whether to take the standard deduction or itemize their deductions. There are several factors that can influence a taxpayer's choice, including changes to their tax situation, any changes to the standard deduction amount and recent tax law changes.

RALEIGH -- A Franklin County educator was one of five teachers from across the state awarded the Governor's Educator Discovery Award.
Franklin County Early College High School teacher Kerissa Armstead will use the $1,000 stipend to attend a modeling workshop in chemistry, presented by the American Modeling Teacher's Association.

YOUNGSVILLE -- Youngsville police will be teaming up with state traffic enforcers to keep commercial truck traffic off secondary roads.
During the board's Jan. 12 meeting, Commissioner Joe Johnson relayed concerns expressed by himself and neighbors about fully-loaded dump trucks rumbling down Winston Street and other side roads.
"... We've got to get that under control," Johnson said. "... That road is not wide enough to handle a dump truck and a car coming by at the same time.