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LOUISBURG -- There was a lot to like -- and things to be concerned about -- in the statewide data on student performance for the 2024-25 school year that was presented in great detail to the Franklin County Board of Education Monday.
Dr. Lela Nichols, chief of academics for the district, presented these highlights to the school board:

Young Sarahng Blossom Ambrosia displays great passing form as she fires a cold, wet sponge at "receiver" Dave Jerose during Youngsville's Night Out. Actually, Jerose may have had a pretty good gig considering that a cool sponge to the face might have felt pretty good on a hot, muggy evening. Or, maybe not so much -- but Blossom seemed to enjoy the challenge.

LOUISBURG -- A Raleigh man was sentenced to between 10 and 25 years in jail after a jury found him guilty of making repeated threats to "blow the brains out" of a Wake County assistant district attorney.
Prosecutors alleged Jesse Nathan Metcalf was serving time in the Franklin Correctional Center in Bunn when, in the fall of 2023, he made repeated threats to kill assistant district attorney C.J. Koscianski -- the prosecutor in a gun and domestic violence case that resulted in Metcalf's 16 month to two and a half year sentence on charges of discharging a firearm to incite fear, communicating threats and resisting an officer.

LOUISBURG -- The Franklin County Board of Education took the first steps toward finding a replacement for Supt. of Schools Rhonda Schuhler who has announced that she is ending her 32 years in public education at the end of this calendar year.
Sam Thorpe, an attorney with the North Carolina School Boards Association, attended Monday's meeting to give the board an overview of how it could help with a nationwide search for a new superintendent.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County commissioners pledged $10 million to bolster a grant application for a new Franklinton Elementary School.
But, not before suggesting the school system take a broader approach to expanding public education in that area of the county.
Franklin County Schools is in the midst of applying for a $42 million Needs Based Public School Capital Fund grant to build a new Franklinton Elementary School on the existing school compound.

Corey, Elijah & Katie Pursche

If you're reading this on the day of publication, take a moment, please, to reflect on what Sept. 11 means to America -- and remember the sacrifices made by so many and the loss of all those innocent lives.
Everyone who was alive that day 24 years ago and old enough to understand, will never forget the horror of watching those two huge airliners, filled with people, slam into the twin towers in New York City, and that was just the beginning.

I was leaving the disc golf course late last week and I saw something that sent a shiver down my spine: There was an unseasonable crispness to the air and leaves were falling from the trees.
Fall doesn't officially start until September 22, but these unseasonably cool days and the falling leaves leave no doubt that autumn is on the way.
And, I hate it.

Dear editor: I'm writing in response to the letter to the editor published on Aug. 28 regarding Christian fundamentalism. As someone who unashamedly believes in the fundamentals of the Christian faith -- the inerrancy of Scripture, the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, His substitutionary death, burial and physical resurrection, His imminent return -- I feel compelled to reply.

Dear editor: First I would like to thank you for your review of the recent grant received by the Town of Louisburg from the North Carolina State Great Trails Fund to begin to develop a Greenway from Depot Hill to Joyner Park.
However, I need to correct several incorrect statements that you made during your "My Turn" opinion.

Hollister, NC -- Funeral services for Bobie Rosser Massenburg, age 68, who died on Wednesday, September 3, 2025, will be Thursday, September 11, at 2 p.m. from the Richardson Funeral Home Chapel in Louisburg with Rev. Linda Taybron officiating. Burial will follow in the Rosser Family Cemetery.

LOUISBURG, NC -- Ellajean Hyatt, 85, died September 7, 2025 at Franklin Oaks in Louisburg, NC.

LOUISBURG, NC -- Lois Braxton Foster King, 83, of Louisburg, NC, went to be with the Lord on Wednesday morning, September 3, 2025, surrounded by her family.

LOUISBURG, NC -- Funeral services for Natasha "Tasha" Elliott, age 45, who died on Monday, August 25, 2025, were held on Saturday, September 6, at 2 p.m. from the Perry's Missionary Baptist Church in Louisburg with Elder James Alston officiating. Burial followed in the Perry's Church Cemetery.

Raleigh, NC -- Funeral services for William "Moses" Burrell, age 77, who died on Sunday, September 7, 2025, will be held on Monday, September 15, at 1 p.m. from the Faith Missionary Church in Louisburg with Pastor K. G. Hall officiating. Burial will follow in the Faith Missionary Church Cemetery.

Officer D. Cox sings the National Anthem.

Scott Brame and his son watch UNC's helicopter land.

Faith Baptist's Ross McVeigh welcomes visitors.

A Franklin County man, Brian Donald Grice, was arrested at his 1002 Julie Pearce Road home early Wednesday on charges that he allegedly used a town of Nashville credit card to make improper purchases.
Nashville police said Grice is the former Nashville director of public works. He resigned from that position Aug. 29 after less than a year and half working for the town.

WAKE FOREST -- Wake Forest police are looking for a Franklin County man who led them on a chase through Youngsville and Franklin County on Tuesday evening.
According to Wake Forest spokesperson Bill Crabtree, officers responded to a disturbance call at the Clarion Pointe Hotel on Wake Union Church Road at about 6:45 p.m.
When officers arrived, they learned that Leondric Fogg had gotten into someone's vehicle without their permission and left the scene.

LOUISBURG -- Backyard garbage trash collection will be returning to town soon following an abrupt change of direction by town leadership Tuesday night.
The move, which came on a split vote, effectively ends what had been presented as a "data collection" period to help town officials get a better handle on the cost of collecting garbage.
The town recently presented customers with large, roll-out trash containers and required that those be rolled out once a week to the front curb.

BUNN -- A Louisburg man was killed last month following a single-vehicle wreck outside of Bunn.
According to a report by Trooper I.H. Alwadei, John Franklin Lloyd was traveling along Old Halifax Road -- south of Perry Road -- at about 2:45 a.m. on Aug. 31 when he ran off the road to the right struck a tree on the driver-side door.
The 2007 Honda was the only vehicle involved in the accident and there were no passengers, authorities said.