Recent Articles

A Thanksgiving dinner table can be a sight to behold. For foodies and others who love the array of comfort foods on display come the second Monday in October (in Canada) or the fourth Thursday in November (in the United States), Thanksgiving is a day to circle on the calendar each year.
While a mouth-watering turkey and sides like mashed potatoes and stuffing garner the bulk of the attention on Thanksgiving, the dessert table also can be a tempting place to direct one's eyes.

Having a turkey on your Thanksgiving table is a timeless American tradition. Use this information when purchasing, preparing, handling, and serving your Thanksgiving turkey.
Buying Your Thanksgiving Turkey:

Tis the season to be jolly and to take care of your Christmas tree. Now that you are surely in the mood and waiting for more information, let's get started.
A fresh tree remains fresh and fragrant if you take care of it. A neglected tree loses much of its beauty after only a short period of time.
Care of a freshly cut tree: Cutting your own tree from a Christmas tree farm is the most reliable method insuring a fresh tree.
If possible, try to avoid hauling your tree over long distances. Air movement across the needles will cause a rapid evaporation of the water in the tree.

Ervin Braswell at Louisburg Senior Center Veterans Day Breakfast

LOUISBURG, NC--Anthony Perry "T.C". Collins, 67, of Louisburg, NC died Saturday, November 23, 2024, at his home.

BATTLEBORO, NC -- Funeral services for Jo Anne Cyrus, age 65, who died on Thursday, November 21, 2024, will be held on Wednesday, November 27, 2024 at 12:00 p.m. from the Richardson Funeral Home Chapel in Louisburg with Rev. Ed West officiating.

LOUISBURG, NC--Alvin Eugene Batchelor, age 78, of Louisburg, died Tuesday, November 20, 2024, surrounded by his family at WakeMed Hospital, Raleigh, NC.

YOUNGSVILLE, NC--Graham Clark Stallings, 86, of Youngsville, passed away peacefully on November 23, 2024 at his home.

LOUISBURG, NC--Robert Lee Swanson, 90, of Louisburg, passed away early Thursday morning at his home.

The efforts of the Franklin County Interfaith Council's campaign against hunger and homelessness was honored last week by the Louisburg Town Council, which passed a resolution proclaiming November 2024 Franklin County Hunger and Homeless Awareness month.

A complex, multi-tier Freedom of Information request apparently seeking to uncover the relationship between Franklin County officials, specifically Sheriff Kevin White, with a Florida public relations firm was filed this week.
The request, which contains 35 specific and detailed questions that demand information, was sent to the county, all of the county commissioners, the sheriff, this newspaper and others by Youngsville attorney Doug Berger.

LOUISBURG -- The Franklin County Board of Elections made the Nov. 5 election official.
The Nov. 15 canvassing did extend Commissioner Mark Speed's win over Russell Bottoms for the District 3 seat -- taking a recount request off the table.
On election day, Bottoms was within 1 percent of Speed, which would have given him the ability to demand a recount.
But, after tabulating provisional and absentee ballots, Speed earned 3,716 votes to 3,633 for Bottoms -- a difference of 1.12 percent.

Emma Ruth Stewart, who served 30 years as a Louisburg council member and has been involved in many civic projects, received the prestigious Order of the Long Leaf Pine award Sunday afternoon at Louisburg College. The award was made by North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and presented to her by Louisburg Mayor Christopher Neal. The Order of the Long Leaf Pine is presented to individuals who have a proven record of extraordinary service to the state.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County swore in its new tax administrator this week.
John Preston was sworn in Monday and appointed as the tax administrator for Franklin County -- filling the vacancy of former Tax Administrator Marian Cascone, who resigned in July.
Dan Williams, who served in that capacity before Cascone, served the county on an interim basis until Preston was hired.

LOUISBURG -- Several major suggestions for the Louisburg Town Council to consider emerged from last Thursday's Louisburg EDC meeting, the second session for the newly formed group.
EDC members liked the idea from Chairman Will Hinton who suggested that "opening up" the land along the Tar River near the town's proposed new town hall building would turn the long-neglected river into an attractive landscape visible even from Bickett Boulevard.

READY TO RESPOND. This trio of young firefighters looked like they were ready to respond Sunday afternoon at the opening of the Louisburg Fire Department Museum. The three were seated on "Maude," the museum's fully restored 1921 American La France fire engine. From the left are Liam Gupton behind the wheel, Brookelyn Pendergrass (center) and Savana Pendergrass. They attended the official opening of the museum which volunteers plan to have open the afternoon of the third Sunday of every month from 2 to 5 p.m. -- and also for special tours that can be arranged in advance. Given the big smiles on these young people, Maude was the star attraction on Sunday. The museum is at 121 Davis Street in Louisburg.

LOUISBURG -- Dillon Piper's defense attorney said his client has grown and matured in the nearly two years since he played a role in the death of Hamilton Woods.
Special Prosecutor Lisa Coltrain said Piper's involvement -- when compared to the trigger man, Gavin Miller -- warranted lesser punishment.
Superior Court Judge Ed Wilson apparently agreed with them both when he sentenced Piper to a year of supervised probation, determining that the 15 months Piper has already spent in jail was suitable punishment.

Self discipline and self control were the character traits emphasized in Franklin County Schools during October and the following students were honored for exemplifying those traits during a recent board of education meeting:
• Tiana Wilson, Louisburg Magnet High School;
• Gianluca Trujillo, Franklinton Elementary School;

YOUNGSVILLE -- After hearing and seeing how dangerous downtown side streets have become, commissioners agreed to lower the speed limit on essentially every downtown street to 15 mph.
After half a dozen residents shared stories -- and video footage -- of speeders, stop-sign runners and cantankerous drivers, officials agreed to take action to limit conflicts with cars and pedestrians on its side streets.

Keep your fingers crossed and hope for the best.
Almost buried in a long Louisburg Town Council meeting last week was a kernel of good news which just might be the first step toward dealing with a long-standing problem in Franklin County.
A young Raleigh contractor named Tommy Brooks told council about his plans to build single family "affordable housing" on property that will have access from South Main and Ridley streets.

In my line of work, the 'what' is sort of the foundation of it all.
But, the 'why' is always more important than the 'how.'
And, the 'who?!?' Well, that's always juicy.
So, here's the 'what:' A story posted to WRAL's website on Tuesday and updated on Wednesday noted that our state senators were set to debate a bill that would provide Hurricane Helene assistance.

Dear editor:
I am disappointed that Franklin County Schools did not get the state funded capital outlay grant they applied for in September. This money was going to be used for building a new school for Franklinton Elementary.
Now the school system and the Board of Education are back at square one on how to fund a much needed new school.

Dear editor:
If you were interested in a career where you could be wrong more than a meteorologist and still keep your job, I have a solution. It seems to me that political pollsters can be way off the mark and still maintain credibility. Most of the national polls were inaccurate.
I do not understand how a political poll, at times with less than one thousand respondents, could show an accurate picture of the voters in an entire state.

Abigail Grace Shaeffer, 17 of Granville County is the winner of this year's James D. Speed Achievement Scholarship which is presented to a junior beef exhibitor, age 14 to 18, in the Junior Market Steer and/or Junior Beef Heifer competition at the NC State Fair. She is the daughter of Greg and April Shaeffer. The Franklin County Cattlemen's Association honored the late State Sen. Speed by establishing the academic scholarship in his memory. This year, the scholarship was increased to $1,500 and this year's winner was selected by a committee of Franklin County cattle producers and was announced at the state fair.