GOOD MORNING: Either the weather forecast in the N&O Friday morning was way off mark or it was a whole lot warmer in Raleigh than it was in Louisburg, that’s for sure.
At 6 a. m. the thermometer in my front yard was reading 30.2 degrees as opposed to the forecast low of 38 degrees for Raleigh and vicinity. And two hours later, at 8 a.m. the mercury here had risen only 2.2 degrees to 32.4 degrees.
RALEIGH – As the new Republican majorities in the North Carolina General Assembly begin to sort out their leadership roles and priorities for the upcoming legislative session, the state’s political class is still trying to take in the full import of the 2010 election cycle.
Searching for that perfect Christmas gift? The North Carolina Education Lottery has your solution: $10 scratch-off lottery tickets in the $500,000 Jingle Jackpot. The festive TV ads almost had me convinced to stop at my nearest convenience store to purchase one for everyone on my list.
LOUISBURG – Bobby Owen Young, 67, died Wednesday morning, Nov. 10, 2010. Funeral service was at 2 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12, in the chapel of Strickland Funeral Home. Burial followed in Lancaster Memorial Park.
LOUISBURG - Funeral services for Deacon Otis Gill, 94, who died Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2010, will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 13, at Allen Chapel Baptist Church, with the Rev. Stanley Dunston officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
ROCKY MOUNT - Pearl Burnette Vick, 88, died Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2010 at Britthaven of Louisburg. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. today (Saturday, Nov. 13) at Rocky Mount Memorial Park Mausoleum, with the Rev. Keith Campbell officiating.
RALEIGH - Ialeen Sigman Mode, 89, of the Homestead at Croasdaile, formerly of Franklinton, died Sunday, Nov, 7, at Duke Hospice at the Meadowlands. No services are planned.
GREENSBURG, PA - William Joseph “Bill” Clancy, 77, formerly of Raleigh, died Sunday, Nov. 7, 2010. A funeral Mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. today (Saturday, Nov. 13) at St. Raphael Catholic Church, 5801 Falls of Neuse Road Raleigh.
CASTALIA - Lowell Eugene Shearin, 68, of Castalia, died Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2010 at Pitt Memorial Hospital. Graveside services will be held, Sunday, Nov. 14, at 3 p.m. at Lancaster Memorial Park, with Pastor Billy Henry officiating.
LOUISBURG - Funeral services for June Thomas, 72, who died Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2010, will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 14, at Jones Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, with the Rev. Quinton Alston officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
WAKE FOREST - Purvis Dixon Howard, 82, died Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2010. Funeral service will be conducted at 2:30 p.m. today (Saturday, Nov. 13) at Apex Funeral Home, 550 W. Williams St. (Highway 55), Apex, with the Rev. Ron Brisson officiating. Burial will follow in the Bells Baptist Church cemetery.
With rain forecasted for Nov. 17, the Franklin County United Way Jail-A-Thon has been rescheduled for Monday, Nov. 15.
“This is really a tactical move by the Sheriff’s Office to keep everyone off guard,” Event Co-Chair H.M. Edwards joked, referring to a second rain date rescheduling for the event. “All in all, though, we are now ready for Monday. CenturyLink will be hooking up the phone lines, and the majority of the warrants are in hand.”
On Sunday, Oct. 31, at a ceremony at the McKimmon Center in Raleigh, Franklin County Agriculture Agent Martha Leonard Mobley received the 2009 North Carolina “Search for Excellence” Award in Agriculture and Natural Resources. She received a plaque and cash award.
By:
CAREY JOHNSON, Times Staff Writer
Airport commissioners fine tuned their Transportation Improvement Plan wish list Wednesday night, moving up plans to expand their footprint.
The board discussed updating its annual five-year TIP requests and opted to move up plans to purchase a 31-acre property just northeast of the terminal by two years to 2011.
By:
GEOFF NEVILLE, Times Sportswriter
YOUNGSVILLE -- Vaughn Ford grew up in bass-fishing country, where most residents like nothing better than an afternoon sitting by a local pond -- or a quick trip to one of the nearby big-boat lakes.
Pictured (Above): CHAMPIONSHIP CATCH. Members of The Reel Thrill boat display their combined 68.79 pounds of king mackerel -- a number that was good enough to win the SKA National Fishing Championship last weekend in Florida. Pictured are (l to r) Derek Ennis (Raleigh), Ryan Brazill (Youngsville), Graeson Ford (Youngsville) and Vaughn Ford (Youngsville).
By:
KELLEN HOLTZMAN, Henderson Dispatch
HENDERSON -- John Allen and Tyler Bolton don’t have many similarities on the mound.
Bolton, a hard-throwing right-hander and Franklin County native, blows batters away at the plate with a 90 mph-fastball.
Allen, of Granville County, is a crafty southpaw that relies more on finesse than power.
By:
GEOFF NEVILLE, Times Sportswriter
LOUISBURG -- It seemed like forever ago -- but it was only in July -- when the Louisburg Warriors were declared the team to beat in the Northern Carolina Conference football standings by www.ncpreps.com.
Certainly, prognositicators for that website underestimated the potential of a Roanoke Rapids club that roared through all of its opponents in convincing fashion en route to repeating as NCC gridiron champions.
By:
GEOFF NEVILLE, Times Sportswriter
It’s one of the oldest clichés’ in the sporting book -- a tried-and-true axiom to defend what appears to be a ‘smart’ move by a player or coach.
He or she played the percentages.
So bravo to them.
High School Football
FRIDAY
CLASS 2-A STATE PLAYOFFS
Teams, Sites TBA 7:30 p.m
By:
GEOFF NEVILLE, Times Sportswriter
LOUISBURG -- Three Louisburg College athletic teams will be in action this weekend, including two at home.
LC’s football squad will end its campaign today, while the Hurricanes’ men’s basketball contingent will be at home as part of their annual Roger Taylor Classic.
The LC women’s hoops team will be on the road with a pair of events in South Carolina.
Freshman defender Shaylyn Poppe from Franklinton High School competed for the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs during recent action at the Big South Conference Women’s Soccer Tournament in Radford, Va. Gardner-Webb reached the finals of the tourney before falling 1-0 in overtime against High Point. The Runnin’ Bulldogs closed with a 7-10-5 overall record.
LOUISBURG -- Registration is currently ongoing for the upcoming Louisburg Parks and Recreation’s Winter Basketball League.
Boys and girls are both welcome to sign up.
Leagues will be offered in the following age groups:
The 2010 SKA Fishing Championship winner was Franklin County The Reel Thrill team of (l to r) Ryan Brazill, Derek Ennis, Vaughn Ford, Graeson Ford and Kim Ford.
By:
GEOFF NEVILLE, Times Sportswriter
BUNN -- If time of possession was the sole determining factor in the outcome of a football game, Bunn never would have made it past the first round of the Class 2-AA State Playoffs.
But the Wildcats used their big-play machine to counter North Pitt’s grind-it-out attack, and the result was a 21-20 victory in Bunn’s favor in opening-round action Friday in the East Regional portion of the postseason.
TABOR CITY -- It took Franklinton just one electrifying play to gain South Columbus’ undivided attention during Friday’s opening-round showdown in the Mideast Regional portion of the Class 2-A State Football Playoffs.
But after FHS struck first, the host Stallions dominated the rest of the way to earn a 43-7 decision over the Red Rams.
Undefeated and top-seeded South Columbus improved to 11-0 overall, while Franklinton wrapped up its season at 5-7.
