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LOUISBURG -- After spending the first 30 minutes of its Friday night special meeting discussing the Depot Hill project -- and deciding nothing -- the Louisburg town council adjourned into an hour-long executive (secret) session to discuss contracts and personnel.
When the council returned to a public session during the Feb. 9 meeting, it unanimously agreed to make the position of fire chief a full-time, paid one.

LOUISBURG -- Defense attorneys for a woman charged with starving her four-month-old son to death have secured the services of a crime scene investigator to bolster her defense.
Franklin County sheriff's deputies arrested Jarquilla Vernee Wilson, of Mort Harris Road, on Dec. 20, 2021, charging her with second degree murder and two counts of negligent child abuse causing serious bodily injury.

LOUISBURG -- Registered voters can begin casting their ballots today.
Early voting began Feb. 15, and while voters will have a chance to pick party favorites in races from the president to treasurer to judicial races, locally, voters will get to narrow the field for available county commissioner posts and the board of education.

YOUNGSVILLE -- Within four days, Youngsville officials and staff took more actions they hope will speed up the bypass.
And, they're awaiting word from engineers with the State Department of Transportation about the probability of taking thru-truck traffic off Main Street.
During the board's Feb. 8 meeting, commissioners authorized Town Manager Nathan Page and Town Attorney Katie Barber-Jones to spend just more than $543,900 to purchase 12.087 acres, plus or minus, securing another chunk of the right of way that will be necessary for the Youngsville bypass.

LOUISBURG -- A woman who operated a Youngsville kennel where one dog died and dozens of others were abused, authorities said, was arraigned last week.
Anne-Marie Green is next slated to appear in Franklin County District Court on April 17.
Authorities arrested the 31-year-old Green in January after Animal Services Officer Joseph Williams alleged she deprived of necessary sustenance more than 20 dogs at her Green Meadow Kennels.

On Monday, Feb. 5, I had the opportunity to provide the Franklin County Board of Commissioners and our larger community with a comprehensive look at the work taking place in Franklin County Schools.
This overview highlighted the impact of our efforts in a number areas, including our successes and challenges as we navigate a changing educational landscape while providing the children of our county with a high quality education in preparation for the future.

Cortney Hargrove and Patrick Dolan

Several years ago I answered the telephone and was invited to a meeting at what was then called Louisburg's Training Center. I never dreamed that session would spark a community conversation that would be unresolved in 2024!
If I had, I might have let that call go to voice mail -- like government employees are apt to do -- and then run for the hills, or at least Mapleville.

I suspect in the next week, or so, I will have a news story or two to write about the emergency communications tower situation in a news story.
But, in this space, I have the freedom to write a column, which includes speculation, so far unanswered questions and, to be honest, some general exasperation as to how we all got here.
If you're not intimately familiar, here's a crash course refresher on what we know:

Dear editor: On Feb. 8, 2024, I went to the Franklin County tax office to give them my new address for them to send me my property tax money I paid before I sold my home.
I sold my home on Nov. 28, 2023, and had paid my property taxes until the end of the year.

Dear editor: I am writing to express my dismay of closing West Johnson Street in Louisburg.
Those of us who live on that side of town were delighted when the street was cut through.
Prior to that we had to go down N. Main Street with cars backing out on us many times.

The Depot Hill building was donated to the town by the Dickens Family. Their one ask was that the name "Dickens" be used in the naming of the building. I think we landed on "Depot Hill by the Dickens Family."
We had a logo made and someone in town hall should have it.

Traverse City, MI-- Byron Fergus Pearce, age 57, died Monday, February 5, 2024. Byron was formerly of Franklin County, NC.

Henderson, NC--Carolyn Rhodes Ayscue, 61, of Henderson died Tuesday, February 6, 2024, at Duke University Hospital in Durham, NC. She was born to the late James Shelton Rhodes and Rebecca Bobbitt Rhodes in Vance County on September 9, 1962.

Louisburg, NC--Funeral services for Enoch E. Nicholson, age 78, who died on Monday, February 12, 2024, will be held on Tuesday, February 20, at 2 p.m. from the Mt. Moriah Baptist Church in Louisburg with Pastor Linwood Long officiating. Burial will follow in the Mt. Moriah Church Cemetery.

Raleigh, NC--Funeral services for Evelyn "Christine" Woodard, age 61, who died on Monday, February 12, 2024, will be held on Saturday, February 17, at 11 a.m. from the Richardson Funeral Home Chapel in Louisburg. Burial will follow in the Haywood Church Cemetery.

Louisburg, NC--James J. Kirby, 83, of Louisburg, formerly of Middletown and West Hartford, CT, died February 7, 2024.

Louisburg, NC--Funeral services for Larry Donnell Kearney, Sr., age 67, who died on Friday, February 9, 2024, will be held on Saturday, February 17, at 2 p.m. from the Richardson Funeral Home Chapel in Louisburg.

LOUISBURG, NC--We are sad to announce the passing of Nancy Griffin Murphy of Louisburg, NC.

FRANKLINTON -- From the Muellers to the Camaras and beyond, there have been a handful of great wrestling brother tandems over the past 25 years in Franklin County.
But the latest is certainly one of the greatest as the Michael Brothers have made quite a name for themselves on the mat during their respective careers at Franklinton HIgh School.

ROCKY MOUNT -- Nash Central has two final steps to climb in order to sweep the Class 2-A portion of the Big East Conference girls basketball standings when the Lady Bulldogs hosted Bunn last Friday night at the NCHS Gymnasium.
Consider Part One done as Coach Terri Cash's young squad soared to a 50-14 triumph over the Ladycats in Big East hoops action.

FRANKLINTON -- The Franklinton High School Gymnasium was the spot last Friday for further determination of the Big East Conference boys and girls basketball standings -- and both squads in the lead took yet another positive step toward clinching their respective crowns.
Defending boys champion Northern Nash wrapped up no worse than a tie for the top spot heading into the final two games with a convincing 72-52 triumph over homestanding Franklinton.

LOS ANGELES --- Christian Buffaloe, local Kyokushin Karate fighter and instructor, recently gained 2nd place in the Japan sponsored "Kyokushin Karate USWC Championships" in Los Angeles on February 4.
Buffaloe made it into the finals to go up against strong Japanese fighter Kazuma Koike in an intense match.

LOUISBURG -- Louisburg College softball players will have a target on its collective backs this spring as the Lady Hurricanes look to enjoy another exceptional season under the direction of acclaimed veteran head coach Eric Lee.
Louisburg enters the campaign ranked first in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II National Rankings after going 63-5 in 2023 while winning region and district crowns en route to a fourth-place finish at the national tournament.

LOUISBURG -- The Franklin County Board of Education unanimously passed a resolution Monday night designed to seek pay equity for veteran teachers -- and they are planning to share that resolution with other school districts in an attempt to build broad-based support for the change.
The resolution asks that the state General Assembly rework its most recent budget, passed in December, 2023, and make the pay raises for veteran teachers more equitable.

YOUNGSVILLE -- A complete mechanical system failure prompted a 32,400-gallon sewage spill over the weekend.
About 20,000 gallons reached nearby Brandy Creek -- south of Franklinton High School and west of Cedar Creek Road.
According to county staff, the spill began at the Industrial Park Pump Station near the solid waste convenience center site on Park Avenue on Feb. 9. The spill lasted until the next day.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County continues to monitor an automated dispatch system that it switched to last month.
During the board's Feb. 5 meeting, County Manager Kim Denton noted that the county had implemented the automated locution dispatch system.
The county planned to implement the automated locution system in November, but held off after firefighters expressed concerns.

Almost everyone agrees that dogs are amazing creatures with awesome skills -- but who knew they could help children learn to read.
The folks at Louisburg's Crosscreek Charter School did -- and now trained dogs are an increasingly common site at the school.
It's all part of a new program called, appropriately enough, "Dog Tales."