The only live 4D show in the world is coming to the Louisburg College JPAC on May 10. Mark Nizer will bring a new dimension of laser light and technology. Nizer has performed in thousands of corporate events, civic centers, festivals and performing arts centers including the Kennedy Center and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. This 4D show requires the use of special glasses that will be distributed before the show. Tickets are available on-line at www.jpacarts.com, or by calling the Louisburg College box office at (919) 497-3300, M-F, 1-5 pm.

Strawberries are the first fruits to ripen in the spring. The small wild strawberry often found along roadsides and woodland edges are the parents of our hybrid strawberries today.
The cultivars recommended for home gardens in NC are June-bearing strawberries such as 'Galletta,' 'Chandler' and Jewel. June bearers are short-day plants, which means they start forming flower buds when days are less than 12 hours long. Runners begin to form as a long-day response when day length is more than 12 hours.

RALEIGH -- A controversial bill that would have given Franklin County the unilateral power to take land from its neighbors was withdrawn from consideration Tuesday afternoon -- to applause.
Sen. Benton Sawrey, who filed the local bill in February 2025 that morphed into legislation that would have let Franklin County buy or condemn land in Vance, Warren and Halifax counties, asked that matter be "withdrawn from consideration, today," he said during an afternoon Senate session on Tuesday.

Franklinton Commissioner Tasha Hatten, right, helps Public Works Director Brad Kearney, left, and Public Works team member Bill Hylander plant a Japanese maple along N. Main Street as part of the town's Arbor Day Springfest activities.

LOUISBURG -- Two parachutists escaped serious injury when high winds affected their sky dive.
According to Franklin County Emergency Management, one skydiver was hurt during a hard landing late Saturday afternoon near the runway of Skydive Raleigh -- a skydiving operation on N.C. 56, between Louisburg and Franklinton.
That skydiver, authorities said, was taken to WakeMed where he was treated for minor injuries.

LOUISBURG -- The case against the fourth suspect in a 2025 drive-by killing was continued until this summer.
Authorities arrested Donavan Boyd, Anarie Brown, 20, and Ny'zir Karian Miller-Stevenson, of Warrenton, and Jaquan Lynch, of Durham days after they allege they were responsible for shooting and killing Bernice Pender Massenburg, who was inside her Bert Winston Road home during the April 1, 2025 incident.
The cases against 23-year-old Boyd and 24-year-old Lynch were declared exceptional -- which means the case is recognized as complex, requiring specialized management, which often means the case is assigned to a specific judge to handle the case for its entire duration, rather than rotating through different judges.

Franklin County Relay for Life held their annual event Friday, April 24, at Franklinton High School. Teams have been raising money for months for the American Cancer Society and raised even more Friday night. The first lap of the evening was for survivors and caregivers, pictured above.

Quinton Macon, celebrates his 96th birthday today

Above, children and adults were treated to Nana T Storytime during Franklinton's Arbor Day Springfest festivities last Saturday. The event featured live music, tree and flower plantings, and a litter sweep. The town also showed off its new ladder truck with a paper plane launch from the top of the apparatus. Franklinton is a Bee and Tree City, committed to protecting trees and pollinator habitats.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County commissioners declined awarding a bid for utility project, but they did agree to move forward with improvements at Franklinton Park.
Commissioners also agreed to move forward with renovations at Franklin Plaza to house public works, permanently, and the register of deeds on a temporary basis.
The actions came during the board's April 6 meeting.

THE ARTS. Above, Ishah Justice, left, shows off a piece of jewelry to Joy Justice, right, as vendor Erin Heller, center, looks on. Collective Arts of Franklin County hosted the Burg Arts Fest in downtown Louisburg.

Franklin County commissioners have just attempted the most unprofessional, irresponsible, deceitful, disrespectful, government-by-ambush scheme in the history of this county. And perhaps this entire state.
They should be ashamed!
As you've read elsewhere in this edition, the commissioners have attempted a "sneak attack" to get water from Kerr Lake and, in the process, have not only embarrassed themselves and this county by their ineptitude, they have made enemies throughout the region.

I'm not a lawyer, and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn last night.
But, I've been around enough courthouses and enough lawyers to know better than to ask a question for which you don't know the answer.
But, here I am.
So, back in March, Gov. Josh Stein announced and kicked off his Rural Listening Sessions Tour.

Dear editor: How much does honesty and transparency cost in Franklin County?
We've all heard the old saying, "follow the money." Usually, if you follow the money trail long enough, you eventually find the answers. But in Franklin County, that's hard to do when so much seems to happen in the shadows.

Dear editor: There is, on average, a mass shooting in the U.S. every day. They are so common, most of them hardly make the news anymore.
But the Sandy Hook school shooting, which killed 20 first-grade children and six adults 13 years ago, still stands out as an exceptional horror.
Is there any greater fear a parent can have than that something similar could happen to their child?

Dear editor:
A lone 31-year-old California Democrat took a 75 hour Amtrak train ride to Washington, D.C.
Packed away in his baggage were a shotgun, handgun and several knives. He checked into a 10th floor room of the Washington Hilton Hotel booked in March shortly after the announcement that President Trump would attend the Whitehouse Correspondents' Dinner there.

The strawberry is a beautifully sweet, aromatic, fiber-rich fruit packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Strawberries are one of the most well-liked fruits on the market, with a naturally delicious flavor and lots of nutrition to offer.
It's easy to see why strawberries fit perfectly into a healthy lifestyle. They're an excellent source of vitamin C and manganese and also contain decent amounts of folate (vitamin B9) and potassium.

BUNN -- The price of everything is going up, including the cost of providing service to the town's residents.

As a result, the town is proposing to raise taxes by 10 cents, from 45 cents per $100 of valuation to 55 cents per $100 of valuation.

"We decided to go to 55 cents," Mayor Marsha Strawbridge said following the board's April 6 budget work session, a session that started with a staff recommendation of increasing taxes by 5 cents per $100 of valuation.

HENDERSON, NC -- Cora Helen Fuller Driver, 93, passed away on April 24, 2026 at Kerr Lake Nursing Home in Henderson, NC.

Conway, SC -- Ricky Thomas Nowell, 68, of Conway, SC and formerly of Franklinton, NC, passed away on April 25, 2026. Ricky was born in Franklin County, NC on March 26, 1958 to the late John Thomas and Anne Rose "Patty" Perry Nowell.

Franklinton, NC -- Thomas "Wayne" Harris of Franklinton, North Carolina, passed away peacefully on April 26, 2026, at the age of 79. He was born on November 14, 1946, to the late Thomas Junious Harris and Dorothy Evans Harris in Franklin County, NC.

Franklinton, NC -- Blanche Earl Lynch, age 87 of Franklinton, daughter of the late John and Elnora Davis, was born on October 13, 1938, in Franklin County, NC. Blanche died Sunday morning, April 19, 2026.

Louisburg, NC -- Debra Crabtree Dickerson, 70, of Louisburg, died Sunday afternoon, April 26, 2026 surrounded by her loved ones.

Elon, NC -- Martha Lou Foster Harper passed away peacefully at her home on April 26, 2026, after a brief illness, surrounded by the love of her family.

Louisburg, NC -- Thomas John Reghanti, 73, passed away on April 21, 2026 at home in Louisburg, NC. Thomas was born on December 24, 1952 in Chicago, IL to the late Thomas Jules and Violette J. Reghanti.

Louisburg, NC -- John Paul Waikas, lovingly known as "Cadillac Jack," passed away peacefully on April 11, 2026, in Louisburg, North Carolina, at the age of 84.

LOUISBURG, NC -- Dan Roswell Ellis, 78, of Louisburg, passed away unexpectedly at his home, April 21, 2026.