Archives

LOUISBURG -- A former substitute teacher is slated to appear in court today on charges of sexually assaulting three middle school students.
Wake Forest police officers and Franklin County deputies arrested Patrick Otis Perry on March 8, charging the 57-year-old with three counts of felony indecent liberties with a child and two counts of misdemeanor sexual battery -- charges that Franklin County authorities issued following two months of investigation.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County commissioners agreed to rezone 35 acres near the county line, making way for a mixed use development that could add health care resources and elderly residential options.
Brian Richards requested to rezone three combined lots, totalling 35.69 acres, from General Business to a mixed use of Conditional Use General Business/Conditional Use Residential-8.

GIRL SCOUT WEEK. Franklin County commissioners, above, and Youngsville leaders, below, recognized young ladies and proclaimed this week as Girl Scout Week. Above members of Girl Scout Troop 508, from left, Maya Leapley, Makayla Wilson, Phoebe Smith and Emily Dickerson lead county staff, commissioners and a crowded meeting room in the Pledge of Allegiance during the board's March 6 meeting.

YOUNGSVILLE -- Over the objections of vocal neighbors, town commissioners rezoned a residential lot so that a developer can turn it into a corporate park.
Cary-based Land Alternatives LLC initially petitioned Youngsville leaders to rezone 66.37 acres -- south of Northbrook Drive and west of Fleming Road -- from Agriculture Residential to Mixed Use.

Lenny Laflamme during a quiz bowl at Franklinton Senior Center

Could it be that this last little blast of chilly -- maybe even cold -- weather is the last gasp of winter?
Let's hope so.
After all, spring officially arrives on Monday, March 20, so there is every reason to hope the really cold stuff is behind us.
Of course, this is North Carolina and the weather has been known to change on a dime -- and give 9 cents in change.

When you're southern, born and raised and fully immersed in it, if you're anything like me, you never think much of it until Hollywood does a movie about the South and you hear these horrible approximations of what everyone else must believe is a southern accent -- and it makes you cringe.
I remember feeling that way watching "My Cousin Vinny," a film set in Alabama that did it's level best to tick off every southern stereotype you can imagine -- from the art that is making the perfect grits to the use of an exaggerated, syrupy twang.

Dear editor: Rather than taking time and space for public comment, I thought it would be most beneficial to review a small but very important portion of the Code of Ordinance, Town of Louisburg.
Let us start with Article II -- Town Council, Section 2-39. Meetings to be public. Provides that all meeting of the town council shall be open to the public.

Dear editor: In response to the letter concerning the balloons and the citizens of Franklin County, I feel that I failed to make myself clear. That is my fault.
I do feel that big city, liberal newspapers provide little if anything that relates to rural America. The editors of these publications live in a bubble and a have no idea about living, raising a family and enjoying life in rural America. That is sad.

CASTALIA, NC - Francine Collins Rich, 69, of Castalia, died Tuesday morning, March 14, 2023.

Henderson, NC--Memorial services for Leon Lamonte Davis, age 36, who died on Tuesday, March 7, 2023, will be 1 p.m., Friday, March 17, at from the Richardson Funeral Home Chapel in Louisburg.

Louisburg, NC--Funeral services for Mary Perry Strickland, age 77, who died on Friday, March 10, 2023, will be held 10 a.m., Saturday, March 18, from the Walnut Grove Baptist Church in Louisburg with Pastor Timothy Walker officiating. Burial will follow in the Walnut Grove Church Cemetery.

Louisburg, NC--Funeral services for Sarah Louise Gilliard, age 78, who died on Sunday, March 12, 2023, will be held 1 p.m., Sunday, March 19, from the Ambassadors for Christ Ministries in Louisburg with Pastor Jamaal Brodie officiating.

FRANKLIN COUNTY -- Elijah Jamison has made the most out of his strong freshman season for the University of Milwaukee men's basketball team -- and he isn't finished yet.
After finishing in the semifinals of the Horizon League Tournament, the Panthers have accepted a bid to compete in the postseason College Basketball Invitational, with a date and opponent to be determined.

ROANOKE RAPIDS -- As if the powerhouse Roanoke Rapids squad needed another edge, the Yellow Jackets enjoyed home-course advantage during last Wednesday's latest Big East Conference 18-hole boys golf matchup at Chockoyotte Country Club.
The Jackets are plenty familiar with that track, as evidenced by their collective strong score while once again taking the top spot in the league.

BURLINGTON -- The Class 2-A North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association (NCISAA) State Championship was held on February 25 at Forsyth Country Day School near Winston-Salem, and the event held significance for local talent.
The Burlington School would defeat Greenfield School by a final score of 78-65 to claim the state championship.

ZEBULON -- The Carolina Mudcats, the Class-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, have announced that single-game tickets for the 2023 season are on sale now at www.carolinamudcats.com, by calling (919) 269-2287 and by visiting the Five County Stadium front office in Zebulon.
Single-game ticket availability opens up all of Carolina's 2023 home games for purchase including each of the previously announced 10 souvenir giveaway events, the 11 Friday Night Fireworks nights, Opening Night on April 11, and the Mudcats for America Fireworks Extravaganza on Independence Day.

FRANKLIN COUNTY -- Here are last Saturday's results for the North Carolina High School Athletic Association's State Basketball Championship Games:

The National Dance Company of Ireland will bring its popular show "Rhythm of the Dance" to the JPAC 7:30 p.m., Saturday, March 25.
This extravaganza celebrates all elements of Irish culture with champion step dancers and innovative choreography, first rate Irish musicians and singers, and storytelling that is centuries old and yet utilizes the latest in stage technology to celebrate the Emerald Isle in the 21st century.

LOUISBURG -- The Franklin County Board of Education approved the contract for a major heating and air conditioning upgrade for Bunn High School during an unusually brief meeting Monday night.
The contract for the work went to Alford Mechanical of Bunn, one of three bidders on the project.

LOUISBURG -- Sheriff's deputies arrested a Youngsville-area man on child sex offense charges.
Wake County authorities took out warrants against Alexavier Stephens, 22, alleging he committed a statutory sex offense with a child under 15.
Stephens is also alleged to have committed indecent liberties, as well as soliciting a child by a computer.

YOUNGSVILLE -- Officer Gabriel Fanara was introduced as one of the town's newest hires at the beginning of this year.
If his community program takes off, he'll be far from the last.
"... Right now, across this nation, agencies are struggling to recruit brand new officers," Fanara told commissioners and others in attendance at the town's Dec. 9 meeting.