Recent Articles

Dear editor: Grandma kept three baskets for all she'd seen and heard. She labeled them in all caps: SENSE and NONSENSE and TOTALLY ABSURD.
Grandma was a farmer's wife and never had much money, but she could separate the wheat from the chaff and spot what was real and what was phoney.
At the end of a day of hard farm labor she served lemonade and cookies in the Oak tree shade She also served up bits of knowledge and wisdom and warned against self-serving political "Koolade."

DUET. Roger Garcia and Laurel Thomas sing in perfect harmony during the May 16 Senior Fun Day in the Park.

Commissioners Harry Foy and Roxanne Bragg pose for a picture in between serving seniors hot dogs and drinks.

Janice McCracken, creative director of the Garden at Portridge poses in front of the Flower Bar and is quite floral during the farm tour, which took place on Mother's Day.

Jason, Joan and Sarah Dorsey take a moment to feed Black Pearl, Velvet and Wednesday Addams while at Hardly Farm, which was part of the Women in Ag Tour.

FRANKLIN COUNTY -- You might never find a more parity-filled Big East Conference baseball season than the one just completed -- and that's not an overstatement.
On a given night, six of the league's seven clubs could beat anyone else on a given night -- and the results reinforce that assessment.
In the end, Bunn and Northern Nash swept their respective series in the final week of the regular season to finish tied for the championship.

FRANKLINTON -- After a rebuilding season in 2023 that featured a young group, Franklinton High School's girls soccer squad showed vast improvement this spring in Coach Bri Folds' second campaign in charge of the tradition-rich program.
As its players continued to develop and mature, Franklinton climbed up the standings in the strong Big East Conference in 2024 -- and even secured a first-round victory in the Class 3-A State Playoffs.

FRANKLIN COUNTY -- The annual North Carolina Coaches Association's East-West All-Star Basketball Games will certainly have a Big East Conference feel to it this summer -- and for good reason.
In the boys contest, Northern Nash veteran head coach Henry Drake will in charge of the East squad, which will featured Knights' senior standouts Izeal Mallory and Randall King.

FRANKLIN COUNTY -- Living up to expectations -- and even exceeding them -- is the most a high school coach can ask for from his or her club, regardless of the sport.
And Southern Nash softball coach Scott Collie couldn't have asked for more from his Ladybirds squad during a historic 2024 campaign.
Southern Nash went 22-1 overall and didn't lose until a heartbreaker versus Dixon in the third round of the Class 3-A State Playoffs.

GREENSBORO -- Talk about coming through in the clutch when it mattered the most -- that's the story of Cannon Parrish's just-completed season as a discus ace for the Bunn High School boys track and field squad.
After winning the Big East Conference and Class 2-A Mideast Regional crowns in the event, Parrish, a junior, earned a fourth-place finish -- and a prestigious spot on the medals stand -- at last Friday's Class 2-A State Track and Field Championships at historic Aggie Stadium on the campus of North Carolina A&T State University.

KINSTON -- The Carolina Mudcats dropped a pair of games to the homestanding Down East Wood Ducks by scores of 3-2 and 7-2 on Sunday at Grainger Stadium in minor league baseball action.
In the first game, Carolina (23-13) took a 2-1 lead in the top of the eighth thanks to a Yhoswar Garcia groundout, scoring Juan Baez.

Louisburg, NC--Carolyn Southall Harrison, 83, of Louisburg died Friday, May 17, 2024. She was born to the late Clellan Wilbur and Josephine Strange Southall in Franklin County on April 2, 1941.

Franklinton, NC--Thomas Winston Dickerson, Sr., 85, of Franklinton died May 19, 2024.

Raleigh, NC--Funeral services for Linda Faye Dunston, age 58, who died on Friday, May 17, 2024, will be held 1 p.m., Saturday, May 25 from the Richardson Funeral Home Chapel in Louisburg with Rev. Sheila Alston officiating. Burial will follow in the Dunston Family Cemetery.

Louisburg, NC--Memorial services for Veraldine "Vera" Ward, age 82, who died on Sunday, May 19, 2024, will be held 1 p.m., Friday, May 24, from the Richardson Funeral Home Chapel in Louisburg with Bishop Ralphel Holloman officiating.

HENDERSON, NC--Joyce Perdue Collins Lassiter, 90, of Henderson, died Friday morning, May 17, 2024.

Louisburg, NC--Funeral services for Joyce "Meak" Alston, age 65, who died on Friday, May 17, 2024, will be held 2 p.m., Sunday, May 26, from the Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Castalia with Rev. Anthony Alston officiating. Burial will follow in the Hickory Grove Church Cemetery.

Abilene, TX--David Levone Mangum, age 72, passed away on May 12, 2024, in Abilene, Texas. A visitation was 5 - 7 p.m. Thursday, May 16, 2024, at Elmwood Funeral Home, 5750 Hwy 277 South. The funeral service was 9:30 a.m., Friday, May 17, 2024 in the Elmwood Funeral Home's Chapel. Interment followed in Texas State Veterans Cemetery.

FRANKLINTON -- A utility worker was taken to the hospital Wednesday morning as crews worked to restore power.
According to authorities and witnesses, a utility truck believed to be involved with Duke Energy Progress rolled over on Green Hill Road near Shady Lane -- west of Franklinton.
According to Franklin County Emergency Services, the incident involved "a complicated extrication of the driver."

GREENVILLE -- Good officers are known for going the distance to get their man.
In, this case, it was a boy.
Last week, Louisburg Officer Hector Cruz and Capt. Travis Lincoln drove down east to Greenville to lift the spirits of a Tarboro kid with an affinity for police.
"He's just a child," Cruz said, "and if something like this will lift his spirits, I wanted to do it."

LOUISBURG -- After spending about a half hour listening to eight persons -- six of them from outside Franklin County -- argue for the retention of certified school librarians, Franklin County Schools Superintendent Rhonda Schuhler responded by redirecting their concerns to both the North Carolina General Assembly and the Franklin County Board of Commissioners, citing the declining and often uncertain support for traditional public schools.
Earlier this year, the local school system decided to move its certified librarians to classrooms as teachers and replace them with instructional assistants.

Carolina Piedmont Writers Guild has announced the 2024 Carolina Prize for Writing Contest winners.
The contest is divided into two categories: prose and poetry. Winners were named in each category. In addition, the guild sponsored a cover art competition with the winning entry being used as the cover for County Lines: A Literary Journal.

DETAILS DISCUSSED. Tentative plans for the much-discussed Depot Hill warehouse project were unveiled this week during an event held at the Karl Pernell Safety Center. In the photo above, Mayor Christopher Neal and local resident Charla Ellis discuss how the public events portion of the building will eventually look. The drawing above depicts the proposed council meeting room.