Recent Articles

Noah Sullivan and Marissa Hines grab some of the goodies from Maria Garcia and her 3 Stars Kettle Corn, which hand prepares a variety of kettle corn for festivals, events and farmers markets.

BUNN -- Two years ago, Bunn pulled off one of the biggest football upsets in recent Big East Conference memory when the Wildcats stunned Rocky Mount at home.
RM returned the favor last season and was considered the clear-cut favorite for the rivalry's latest installment last Friday night at the BHS Football Field.
Early in the second quarter, the Wildcats were in position to possibly pull off another unlikely triumph -- but that was before the Gryphons began to flex their offensive muscles en route to earning a 34-7 decision over the Wildcats in the league opener for both clubs.

FRANKLIN COUNTY -- Southern Nash and Nash Central were expected to joust for the Big East Conference girls golf team championship this fall -- and the clubs took turns into the opening week of the season exchanging blows.
Southern claimed the inaugural standings event last week, but Nash Central returned the favor Monday during nine-hole action at The River Golf Club near Bunn.
Central closed with 158 strokes -- nine ahead of the defending league title holder Ladybirds.

ROCKY MOUNT -- With superstar and defending champion Brinkley Robinson sidelined by illness, the top girls spot at the most recent Big East Conference cross country event was suddenly up for grabs.
Robinson, Franklinton's elite-level sophomore, is expected back soon, but her unavailability last week suddenly made things interesting in the girls event at Rocky Mount High School.

Birthday girls: Auntie Innie Vaughan and Times' staffer Sherry Bell

Raleigh, NC--Funeral services for Gladys Carter Lee, age 78, who died on Tuesday, September 24, 2024, will be held 2 p.m., Saturday, September 28, from the Jones Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in Louisburg with Elder Carolyn Harris officiating. Burial will follow in the Jones Chapel Church Cemetery.

Louisburg, NC--Funeral services for Paul Williamson, age 78, who died on Monday, September 23, 2024, will be held 11 a.m., Saturday, September 28, from the Richardson Funeral Home Chapel in Louisburg with Rev. Linda Richardson officiating. Burial will follow in the Williamson Family Cemetery.

WILTON, NC--Gertrude "Nannie" Parker, age 83, died Friday, September 20, 2024, at her home. She was born on June 9, 1941, in Granville County, NC to the late Berry and Floy Parker.

Franklinton, NC--Funeral services for Rosa Robinson, age 85, who died on Thursday, September 19, 2024, will be held 12 p.m., Friday, September 27, from the Popes Chapel United Church of Christ in Franklinton with Rev. Leroy Dukes officiating.

Youngsville, NC--Donald Earl Harris, age 79, of Youngsville, passed away Thursday night, September 19, 2024, at Duke Raleigh Hospital with his family by his side.

LOUISBURG, NC--Reba S. Harris, 79, passed away peacefully on September 17, 2024 in Louisburg, NC.

LOUISBURG, NC--Roy Kimball "Pete" Finch, 83, of Louisburg, passed away Wednesday evening, September 18, 2024 at his home.

LOUISBURG -- A shot fired during a cold morning in January 2023 took 19-year-old Hamilton Woods from his family.
A jury decided Gavin Miller's decision to fire that .40-caliber hollow point bullet was murder -- and not self defense -- convicting him of second degree murder after a week-long trial.
Superior Court Judge Ed Wilson sentenced him to between 192 and 243 months in prison.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County commissioners agreed to inject more than another million dollars into the sheriff's department to retain and attract officers.
Franklin County management already planned to install countywide salary adjustments in October as recommended by its pay and classification study.
County Manager Kim Denton said it's estimated that the sheriff's office would have realized about half a million dollars in increased funding for salaries spread across the sheriff's office, jail staff and courthouse bailiffs.

Normal activities paused for a few moments last Wednesday as firefighters and others held the annual 9/11 memorial ceremony on the courthouse steps. Old Glory was flying high, held aloft by two fire department ladder trucks as the terrorist attack that shook America was remembered and those lost that day were memorialized.

LOUISBURG -- There was a lot to like -- and things to be concerned about -- in the statewide data on student performance for the 2023-24 school year that was recently announced and which was presented in great detail to the Franklin County Board of Education Monday.
Although Superintendent Rhonda Schuhler told the board that "a lot more work needs to be done" to improve student performance, there was a lot to be proud of in the data.

YOUNGSVILLE -- Town commissioners put their support behind an alignment of the southern tip of the bypass that's expected to have the least environmental and home impacts.
In the months prior to the board's Sept. 12 meeting, town staff worked with the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization representatives to amend the path of the bypass -- the genesis of the Youngsville Bypass Hot Spot Analysis.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County commissioners approved three EMS positions to get through a staffing pinch.
On behalf of the Emergency Medical Services Department, Assistant County Manager Ryan Preble asked the board for nearly $200,000, covering three three emergency medical positions.
The item was on the board's Sept. 3 agenda, set to be passed with no discussion, but Commission Chair Harry Foy said he wanted clarity about the department's staffing levels.

Jacki Waldron, Louisburg's new finance director

Don't push the panic button, but summer is just about over!
Fall begins this Sunday, Sept. 22, although it's been feeling a bit "fallish" over the last several days.
For many of us -- even those of us who don't mind the heat -- a respite from this summer's humidity will be quite welcome.
So welcome, in fact, I've seen a lot of folks getting outside to do long-delayed chores or to just have a little fun before you-know-what arrives and it gets downright chilly.

Court TV doesn't have a live feed inside the Franklin County Courthouse.
And, the superior courtroom doesn't have stadium seating.
But, as I spent the better part of last week covering a murder trial, I couldn't help but wish that every parent and every teenager in Franklin County could have listened to witnesses recount the months, weeks, days, hours and minutes leading up to a tragedy during the early morning hours of Jan. 29, 2023 -- on a nondescript, Youngsville-area cul de sac.

Dear editor: The lack of maintenance at the Owens Disc Golf Park is disappointing.
It has not been taken care of since this spring and it is no longer an enjoyable playing experience. Local players are going to Wake Forest, Wilson, Cary, Farmville, Rocky Mount and other nearby courses to play as a result.
Tee boxes and fairways are overgrown and basket areas are also not being mowed.

Dear editor: I'm hoping Franklin County's property tax revaluation gets more attention than the road sign covered by vegetation on South bound Bickett in advance of the Bickett Blvd. / NC 56 intersection.
At the Franklin County public meeting about property tax revaluation earlier this year didn't Franklin County residents say no to property tax revaluation?
Our farmland in Franklin County's revaluation came to $478,740. Even with a senior citizens' discount our property tax bill was about double what it was in 2023.

Dear editor: It's time to call a spade a spade.
Most longtime area residents probably know that our county was named in honor of Benjamin Franklin. Franklin was arguably the wisest and most versatile of our founding fathers. He was also "a little d democrat."